Jacob worshipped God and tried to do right, but his sons were some pretty rotten boys!
His oldest son, Reuben was horrible! He was acting like he was married to the servants when he wasn't!
Remember Dinah, Jacob's daughter? Well, she wanted to hang out with the other young girls in Caanan. She went into the city and got into trouble! She got with this guy whom she shouldn't be with and then he wanted to marry her.
Jacob's sons said that if they followed all their traditions that he could marry their sister. Do you think that was a good suggestion? But, these boys were just as deceitful as Jacob was when he was young!
Genesis 34:25- And it came to pass on the third day, when they were sore, that two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brethren, took each man his sword, and came upon the city boldly, and slew all the males.
Jacob's 2 sons were murderers! They killed all the men! And they weren't sorry for it!
Judah got into a lot of trouble and ended up with twins!
But their wickedness wasn't just on those around them!
Genesis 37:1-2- And Jacob dwelt in the land wherein his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan. These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren; and the lad was with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives: and Joseph brought unto his father their evil report.
These wicked brothers didn't like being told on. And Jacob made it even worse because he treated Joseph differently than the others.
Genesis 37:3-4- Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colours. And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him.
Oh, that's not good! Jacob knew how bad his sons could be! I wonder if he ever thought they'd be evil to their own family?
Joseph was different from the other boys. Not just because of how Jacob treated him, but because God had something very special in mind for him.
Genesis 37:5-7- And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and they hated him yet the more. And he said unto them, Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed: For, behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf.
We may wonder what this means, but his brothers knew what it meant!
Genesis 37:8- And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words.
They knew it meant that Joseph would rule over them. Perhaps they thought because he was their father's favorite that he would become leader of the house of Israel. Whatever they thought, they hated him even more because of it!
Genesis 37:9-10- And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me. And he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth?
Jacob didn't understand the dreams either. Fathers don't normally bow to their sons. Jacob thought he had to rebuke Joseph for wrong. But the brother....
Genesis 37:11- And his brethren envied him; but his father observed the saying.
They hated him and envied him! And they were about to do something so wicked!
Genesis 37:12-14- And his brethren went to feed their father's flock in Shechem. And Israel said unto Joseph, Do not thy brethren feed the flock in Shechem? come, and I will send thee unto them. And he said to him, Here am I. And he said to him, Go, I pray thee, see whether it be well with thy brethren, and well with the flocks; and bring me word again. So he sent him out of the vale of Hebron, and he came to Shechem.
Jacob's sons were out with the flocks. When you have sheep and goats you have to move them to where the food is because they eat up all the grass! So, Jacob sent Joseph to find his brothers and make sure everything was okay.
Genesis 37:15-17- And a certain man found him, and, behold, he was wandering in the field: and the man asked him, saying, What seekest thou? And he said, I seek my brethren: tell me, I pray thee, where they feed their flocks. And the man said, They are departed hence; for I heard them say, Let us go to Dothan. And Joseph went after his brethren, and found them in Dothan.
Joseph had to search to find them, but he finally saw where they were and went to meet them. But they weren't happy about it!
Genesis 37:18-20- And when they saw him afar off, even before he came near unto them, they conspired against him to slay him. And they said one to another, Behold, this dreamer cometh. Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into some pit, and we will say, Some evil beast hath devoured him: and we shall see what will become of his dreams.
Woah! They hated him so much that they wanted to kill him!
Genesis 37:21-22- And Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands; and said, Let us not kill him. And Reuben said unto them, Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit that is in the wilderness, and lay no hand upon him; that he might rid him out of their hands, to deliver him to his father again.
Reuben knew that his father knew about his sin! Perhaps he was hoping that saving Joseph would keep his father from punishing him?
Genesis 37:23-24- And it came to pass, when Joseph was come unto his brethren, that they stript Joseph out of his coat, his coat of many colours that was on him; And they took him, and cast him into a pit: and the pit was empty, there was no water in it.
God's chosen people were not starting out too well- lies, deception, mass murder, sibling rivalry. It seems that all Abraham had tried to teach had been forgotten in just a few generations.
Fortunately for them, God doesn't forget.
