“Now his brothers went to pasture their father’s flock near Shechem. ¹³ And Israel said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers pasturing the flock at Shechem? Come, I will send you to them.” He answered, “Here I am.” ¹⁴ So he said to him, “Go now, see if it is well with your brothers and with the flock; and bring word back to me.” So he sent him from the valley of Hebron. He came to Shechem, ¹⁵ and a man found him wandering in the fields; the man asked him, “What are you seeking?” ¹⁶ “I am seeking my brothers,” he said; “tell me, please, where they are pasturing the flock.” ¹⁷ The man said, “They have gone away, for I heard them say, ‘Let us go to Dothan.’” So Joseph went after his brothers, and found them at Dothan. ¹⁸ They saw him from a distance, and before he came near to them, they conspired to kill him. ¹⁹ They said to one another, “Here comes this dreamer. ²⁰ Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits; then we shall say that a wild animal has devoured him, and we shall see what will become of his dreams.” ²¹ But when Reuben heard it, he delivered him out of their hands, saying, “Let us not take his life.” ²² Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but lay no hand on him”—that he might rescue him out of their hand and restore him to his father. ²³ So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the long robe with sleeves that he wore; ²⁴ and they took him and threw him into a pit.” Genesis 37:12-24

“My desires are pictured in the Bible just as I find them working in my heart. Whatever picture it draws of the human soul I find within myself, and whatever I find within myself I find within its pages, and thus I know that it is true. No man can know me as the Bible knows me nor picture out my inner self as the Bible pictures me; and since no work of man could correspond with my inner self as the Bible corresponds with me, I know that it did not come from man.” (C.W. Naylor, “Heart Talks”, p. 30)

Many people believe that the Bible has nothing to do with them – that it is an outdated book about old superstitions and prejudices. However, as I have had the time to read and study this book for some twenty years now, what I have found is that the Bible does have a lot to say about humanity, and particularly how I feel emotions in my life. The life of Joseph is one of those stories–in fact it is one of the best stories ever written. He was favored by his father–and hated by his brothers, who sold him into slavery. The rest of his life is one of betrayal, commitment, and future success.

Let me share with you just three lessons of many from the story of Joseph.

1. Jealousy can ruin family relationships

Children fighting with one another, parents who seem to favor one child over another, and sibling rivalry. These can lead to dysfunction within a family.

2. Joseph’s coat had been stripped, but not his character

The gift of a singular coat did not endear Joseph to his brothers – which led to their betrayal and eventually the brothers giving this coat back to their father exclaiming Joseph was dead. Interestingly, although his coat had been taken off from him, he was able to keep up his character and integrity.

3. G-d protected him in the midst of troubles

Joseph was cast into a pit and then sold into slavery — he was accused of indiscretion with Potiphar’s wife – he was eventually lifted out of prison to be second in command second only to Pharaoh. In the midst of dangers and adversities, G-d protected him because of his faithfulness.

We may not see the overall picture of G-d’s plan and even G-d’s activities in our lives every day, yet remaining faithful to G-d instead of complaining is an overarching lesson from the story of Joseph. The Bible is a good source for teaching us about humanity, about forgiveness, about love and about perseverance.

Pastor Dave