Genesis Chapter 37 We saw Esau's descendants in Chapter 36. Now we will turn to Jacob's descendants (vs. 2), beginning with the account of Joseph. Through the life of Joseph, the family of covenant through Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob will change from living in the land of Canaan to the land of Egypt. At first, they will have favor in the eyes of the Egyptians as Joseph's family, but the new Pharaoh will not have known Joseph and he will make the Hebrews slaves in Egypt for 430 years. (Exodus 12:40)
1. What did God tell Abraham when He made the covenant with Him?
- Genesis 15:12-16 -
| God is never caught off guard. He declares the end from the beginning, as He is all knowing and has a plan of history no man can thwart. |
Back to Genesis 37:
2. Where did Jacob (Israel) and his family live at this time?
- vs. 1 -
3. Joseph was 17 years of age. He was pasturing the flock with his brothers. What kind of report did he bring back to their father Jacob about them?
- vs. 2 -
4. How did Israel (Jacob) feel about his son Joseph and why?
- vs. 3 -
5. What did Israel (Jacob) make his son Joseph?
- vs. 3 -
6. How was Joseph treated by his brothers and why?
- vs. 4 -
7. What caused his brothers to hate him even more?
- vs. 5 -
| Joseph told them the following dream he had had: "We were binding sheaves in the field. My sheaf rose up and stood erect. Your sheaves gathered around and bowed down to my sheaf." |
8. How did the brothers interpret the meaning of this and what did it cause them to do?
- vs. 8 -
| Joseph had another dream and related it to his brothers as well. This was the dream he told them: "The sun and the moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me." |
9. What did his father Israel say when he heard the dream?
- vs. 10 -
| Joseph's brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the saying in mind. The brothers went to pasture their father's flocks in Shechem. Israel sent Jacob to check on the welfare of his brothers and to bring back word to him about them. |
10. A man found Joseph as he was wandering around in a field looking for his brothers. Where did the man say that the brothers had moved to?
- vs. 17 -
11. What were the brothers plotting to do to Joseph?
- vs. 18
12. How were they going to cover up their crime to let their father know what happened to his beloved son Joseph?
- vs. 20 -
13. What did the firstborn son of Israel, Reuben, do in regard to the plot to kill Joseph? What did he plan to do as well?
- vs. 21-22
| When Joseph reached his brothers, they stripped him of his tunic (the varied colored coat his father had made him), and they threw him into a waterless pit. They didn't kill him. They sat down to eat a meal and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead on their way taking spices to Egypt. |
14. What did the brother Judah suggest to the others they do with Joseph?
- vs. 26-27 -
15. How much did they sell Joseph for into slavery?
- vs. 28 -
16. Where was Joseph taken?
- vs. 28 -
| Reuben returned to the pit with intent to rescue him and return him to Israel, their father. He was gone and Reuben tore his clothes. This was not out of genuine concern for Joseph or he would have come clean with his father instead of going along with the lies. He was just so worried about being the firstborn and the fact that he would be held responsible for his well-being. |
17. How did they stage the cover-up to tell their father about him?
- vs. 31-34 -
18. What did Israel believe had happened to his beloved son Joseph and how did he take the news?
- vs. 35 -
| Can you imagine the brothers watching their father grieve so deeply day after day when they knew in their hearts they had lied and what had happened to their brother? |
19. When the Midianites (Ishmaelites) got to Egypt, who did they sell Joseph to?
Application:
Imagine how Joseph must have felt in the bottom of that pit (well)? He was stripped of his father's gift ... he was afraid of the unknown ... would he die? ... he felt the pain of rejection that not one of all his brothers stood up for him to help him .... he was hungry and thirsty and tired from the long trip he had made to check on his brothers ... and yet they were sitting down to a meal while he was suffering in the pit! How could this all be in the plan of God? We don't know how Joseph might of comforted himself as he waited to see what God would do to help him, but we do know some verses in God's word to help us when we are in the pit, hungry, thirsty, afraid, rejected....
- Isaiah 40:9-10 -
- Isaiah 40:13 -
- Isaiah 40:17-18 -
- Lamentations 3:19-23 -
- Lamentations 3:32-34 -
When we also know the end of Joseph's story and can take great comfort at the outcome, although Joseph had no idea what would be done for him when he was in the pit or what he would go through for many years ahead of time...to get to this result:
- What are we told in Romans 8:28?
- Does this encounter of Joseph help you to believe that in a new level of faith?
Your summary and prayer today:
Written for RTB websites by B LeMoine, use by email permission only.
No comments:
Post a Comment