The Selling of Joseph
(Genesis 37)
Genesis: Creation & Covenant
Bill Eubanks
October 6, 2013
The Narrative of Joseph
•  “by far the longest and most masterful narrative
in Genesis, if not the entire Bible”
Kent Hughes
Value of the Joseph Narrative
1.  Historical
Ø  The gestation of the nation of Israel in its
transition from Canaan to Egypt, where it
will grow to full-term in the womb of slavery.
Background
“Know for certain that your offspring will be
sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be
servants there, and they will be afflicted for four
hundred years. But I will bring judgment on the
nation that they serve, and afterward they shall
come out with great possessions. . . . And they
shall come back here in the fourth generation, for
the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”
Genesis 15:13-16
Value of the Joseph Narrative
1.  Historical
Ø  The gestation of the nation of Israel in its
transition from Canaan to Egypt, where it
will grow to full-term in the womb of slavery.
2.  Seeing Christ
3.  Encouragement
Genesis 37
I.  The Root of Brotherly Contempt (vv. 1-11)
II.  The Wrath of Brotherly Contempt (vv. 12-28)
III.  Deceiving Jacob (vv. 29-36)
I. The Root of Brotherly Contempt (vv. 1-11)
1.  Evil Report
2.  Jacob’s Favoritism
3.  Two Dreams
Ÿ  Harvest dream
Ÿ  Celestial dream
II. The Wrath of Brotherly Contempt
(vv. 12-28)
A.  Joseph sent to his brothers (12-17)
B.  Joseph abused by his brothers (18-24)
C.  Joseph sold into slavery (25-28)
III. Deceiving Jacob (37:29-36)
• 
Bitter irony
• 
“No, I shall go down to Sheol to my son,
mourning.” Thus his father wept for him.
• 
Meanwhile the Midianites had sold him in
Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the
captain of the guard.
Life Lessons
1.  Parental favoritism is very harmful.
Life Lessons
1.  Parental favoritism is very harmful.
2.  Envy eats one alive.
Ø A tranquil heart gives life to the flesh,
but envy makes the bones rot.
Proverbs 14:30 Ø  For where you have envy and selfish ambition,
there you find disorder and every evil practice.
James 3:16
Ø  Whom have I in heaven but You?
And besides You, I desire nothing on earth.
Psalm 73:25
Ø  Keep your life free from love of money, and be
content with what you have, for he has said, “I
will never leave you nor forsake you.”
Hebrews 13:5
Life Lessons
1.  Parental favoritism is very harmful.
2.  Envy eats one alive.
3.  Put away anger and resentment.
Life Lessons
1.  Parental favoritism is very harmful.
2.  Envy eats one alive.
3.  Put away anger and resentment.
“And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom
you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all
bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and
slander be put away from you, along with all malice.
Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one
another, as God in Christ forgave you.” (Eph 4:30-32)
Life Lessons
1.  Parental favoritism is very harmful.
2.  Envy eats one alive.
3.  Put away anger and resentment.
“If you stay mad,
you might do bad,
and make God sad.”
“See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of
God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and
causes trouble, and by it many become defiled”
Hebrews 12:15
Life Lessons
1.  Parental favoritism is very harmful.
2.  Envy eats one alive.
3.  Put away anger and resentment.
4.  The throne of God [His sovereignty and
providence] drips honey and sweetness to the
believer.
Stephen Charnock
Providence
“God’s work of providence is His most holy, wise,
and powerful preserving and governing all His
creatures, and all their actions.”
Westminster Shorter
Catechism, Question 11
Whom have I in heaven but You?
And besides You, I desire nothing on earth.
Psalm 73:25