20260906 Genesis 37:2-36 Joseph and the Pattern for the Suffering Messiah

We begin the last section of the book of Genesis, the narrative of the sons of Jacob in Genesis 37-50. I want to show that these fourteen chapters are Christian Scripture and point to Christ.

There are obvious ways in which our chapters point to Jesus. The strange events of Genesis 38 between Judah and Tamar result in a child who is part of the Messianic line. Beyond Genesis 38, Gen 49:9-10 we have a  clear clear Messianic prophecy. Now, I also want to show that the whole narrative of Genesis 37-50 points to Jesus.

In Luke 24:44-47, Jesus says, “44“… Everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” 45Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, 46and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, 47and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.”

Jesus is saying that the books of Moses teach that a chosen one should suffer and then, following his deliverance, repentance and forgiveness would be proclaimed to the whole world.”[i] Does Genesis present a chosen one who suffers, who is rescued, which leads to a blessing to the whole world?

The book of Genesis has presented the following pattern over and over. There is a chosen one, like Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob. The chosen one goes through death, or suffering, or they surrender themselves. What follows is blessing for the many. Noah was chosen. He went through the deadly flood. He surrendered himself, offered a sacrifice. And God promised to Bless the World. God said in Gen 8:21, “I will never again curse the ground because of man”. Abraham and Isaac follow this pattern. They are chosen ones. Abraham surrenders himself by giving up his son, and Isaac faced death by being the sacrifice. God responds in Gen 22:18, “In your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.” Jacob in the face of his brother’s murderous rage, experienced a kind of death by becoming a slave in exile. God delivered him. He brought him safely home as a large family who would one day bless the whole world.

Like the lives of Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, among the sons of Jacob, now, the lives of Joseph and Judah follow the pattern. These repeated patterns create a prophetic expectation of the Messiah. A chosen one is elevated. He will be delivered and suffer. He will offer himself sacrificially for the sake of the world, to bless the world. According to Luke 24, this is what Jesus wants us to get out of the OT. This is our lesson from Genesis and Gen 37-50.

Genesis is not just a history book or a collection stories with moral applications. Genesis is Christian Scripture. It is a history of God's people that reveals patterns that we would understand our lives, our world, and our God who solves our sin problem through his chosen one who suffers for the Blessing of the world!

As we turn to the narrative of the sons of Jacob, as attentive readers of Genesis, we expect the patterns from the sons of Adam, sons of Noah, the sons of Abraham, and the sons of Isaac to repeat with the sons of Jacob. There will be a younger chosen son, sibling rivalry, violence, death in some form, exile, and God’s deliverance for the blessing of the many.

In Genesis 37, Joseph is the favored younger brother. There is favoritism, sibling rivalry, siblings who want to murder their brother. There is deception with clothing, and the themes of death, exile, and slavery. In this way, Genesis 37 connects many themes of Genesis in one chapter.

Because Genesis 37 is Holy Scripture, it is not just fascinating story telling. The repetitions and patterns invite us, God’s people, to interpret our own lives with these categories.

The People of Israel as a whole in the pages of the OT, are God’s chosen one who struggle with the brother nations. They are sent into exile and slavery and are delivered for the blessing of the many.

For us Christians, Jesus was the chosen one who suffered at the hand of his brothers, he faced death and offered himself, and was delivered he offered his life for our sins, for the blessing of the nations. For us now, The first application is not, suffer to bless, but we have in Christ, an elevated chosen one, who suffered, was delivered, and now blesses us. The secondary application is that we can also, now, as a people elevated in Christ, suffer differently with an eye on blessing those around us.

The NT teaches us to view our suffering as participating in Christ’s suffering. Text like Col 1:24 and Phil 1:12-14 invite us to view our suffering through the Genesis lens, through Israel’s lens, through Jesus’ lens. We expect the pattern to keep repeating, so that we can associate our suffering with God’s future deliverance and to expect the blessing for the many. This is the big picture of how the Joseph narrative is Christian Scripture. Now, we turn to Genesis 37.

Genesis 37, is about an exalted chosen younger brother, sibling rivalry, and the pit that anticipates God’s deliverance for the blessing of many. We will see that these three points offer us a pattern for the suffering Messiah who comes to save the world.

First, in Genesis 37:3, 7, 9, The Pattern of the Crucified Messiah with the Beloved Elevated Brother.

We’ll see that Joseph is elevated. We’ll see why God elevates some and what that means for us.

Gen 37:3, 7, 9

According to Gen 37:3, “Israel (Jacob) loved Joseph more than any other of his sons, because he was the son of his old age. And he made him a robe of many colors.”

Jacob was his own mother’s favorite then as an adult he shows favoritism. He preferred his wife Rachel over his other wife Leah. Now that Rachel is dead, he shows favoritism to Joseph, Rachel's first son.

According to Gen 37:7, Joseph tells his brothers about a dream he had where the twelve brothers were in the field tying up bundles of grain. In the dream, Joseph’s bundle stood up and the siblings’ bundles bowed low before Joseph’s.

According to Gen 37:9, Joseph has a second dream where the sun, the moon, and eleven stars bowed down to him. Joseph implies that his father, mother, and eleven brothers will bow before him.

This theme of an elevated younger brother, who will rule over others and sibling rivalry reminds us of Cain and Abel, Ishmael and Isaac, and Esau and Jacob.

By now, we are trained in Genesis, particularly in the life of Jacob, to see that being chosen does not imply moral superiority. God chooses a sinful vessel for the sake of blessing the many. Now, in a similar way, God elevates Joseph for the sake of his brothers. This is why God elevates. It is for the sake of others.

Application

The concept of one who is elevated for the sake of others is most fulfilled in Christ. In the Gospels, the Good News announcement, was repent for the Kingdom of God has come near.

King Jesus came to fulfill all previous Biblical foreshadows of an elevated one who blesses the World. The Coming of the True elevated King who restores all things is the Christian Good News.

We respond to Christ, our elevated one and his offer of blessing by trusting in him and enjoying the forgiveness of sins. We enjoy Christ’s blessing and we must also respond to God’s elevated chosen one by submitting to him. We find that as we make ourselves low and as we find our identity as servants of Christ, we are elevated and commissioned. As we are found in Christ, we also play the role of the elevated ones through whom God’s blessings flow as we make Christ known.

Philippians 2 reminds us what it took for Jesus to be elevated. According to Phil 2:7-9, Jesus “emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name.”

If we are now chosen in Christ to make him known, we must remember that in God’s economy, we must humble ourselves, and the elevated use their blessing to bless. Earlier in Phil 2:3-4, Paul wrote, “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” Christ was elevated but he came to serve. In Christ, we are elevated but we must serve.

Michael Faraday (1791–1867) offers us an example of one who knew Christ’s blessing in his life, And as an elevated one, he knew how to serve others. He was a groundbreaking scientist. His discoveries in electromagnetism and electrochemistry laid the foundation for modern electrical technology. Because of his achievements and contributions he was offered an honorary doctorate, but he turned it down. One two occasions he was offers knighthood by Queen Victoria, but he also turned these down. Instead of “Sir Michael Faraday” he insisted on remaining “plain Michael Faraday.” In some circumstances he offered lectures in elite scientific societies. Behind the scenes, he was an elder in his local church. He frequently visited the sick and supported the poor. Despite his greatness, this man of God remained humble and used his gifting to serve those around him. He first knew God’s blessing, the forgiveness of sins in Christ and was able to live for others.

Joseph is elevated for the sake of the world. Joseph foreshadows Christ. Now as we are elevated in Christ. Our sins are forgiven, we are empowered by the Spirit to love and make Christ know. We are elevated in Christ for the sake of others.

Second, in Genesis 37:2-8, 18-35, The Pattern of the Crucified Messiah with themes of sibling rivalry.

Genesis 37:2, 4, 5, 8, 18-35

Under this theme of sibling rivalry we will see the theme of hatred, murder, slavery, and deceit.

Genesis 37 begins with Joseph bringing a bad report to his father about his brothers in Gen 37:2. The word "hate" occurs three times in Gen 37:4, 5, 8. According to Gen 37:4, “When [Joseph’s] brothers saw that their father loved [Joseph] more … they hated him…”. According to Gen 37:5, when Joseph told them his dream, “They hated him even more.” Following the second dream, according to Gen 37:8, “They hated him even more.” By Gen 37:18, this hatred has turned into a plot to murder Joseph. 

We turn to the theme of slavery. At this point we see a new rivalry that emerges between Rueben and Judah, the sons of Leah, Jacob’s first wife. Rueben convinces his brothers not to murder Joseph. He suggests throwing him in a pit with the intention of rescuing him according to Gen 37:22. Judah’s alternative plan is to sell Joseph into slavery. This is what happens. They sell him. 

Joseph’s distant cousins, the Midianites drew Joseph out of the pit and sold him to other distant cousins, the Ishmaelites, who took Joseph to Egypt. Joseph’s whole family, even distant cousins, are all against him.

In Gen 37:29-35, there is a scene of deceit. The brothers take Joseph’s robe dipped in animal blood to make Jacob believe Joseph has been devoured by a wild beast. In his youth, Jacob deceived his own father with his brother’s clothing, now Jacob’s sons deceive him with their brother’s clothing.

Application

Genesis 37 highlights the depth of our own sin. The theme of sibling rivalry is present in every generation in Genesis and so it remains for us in the church. It is tragic to think about when we Christians claim to keep our eyes on the crucified Messiah who died for our sins. And as unthinkable as it may seem, we have and I have, this rivalry, deceit, jealousy in our and my own heart.

A few things explain the animosity between Joseph and his brothers. There is the bad report, and then, also, Joseph’s dreams. The narrator explains a root of the brother’s hatred in Gen 37:4, “When his brother saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peacefully to him.” Genesis 37 reveals the relationship between rejection, shame, contempt, violence, and murder.

The brothers saw their father’s love for their brother. They felt overlooked, unworthy, not good enough. Shame, is a bodily felt sense of not being good enough. It is an extremely hard sensation to carry, and it is extremely vulnerable to express it. We must recognize it and express it to compassionate listeners. If we do not express it and try to burry it, the discomfort of shame boils over in our hearts and expresses itself in contempt.

This contempt is either targeted inwardly to ourselves or towards others in gossip, anger, violence. In Genesis 37, the root of the brothers’ violence is shame. They cover their shame with violence. They want to murder their brother because he was their father’s favorite. In Genesis 3, the man and the woman covered their shame with blame shifting. So often when we express judgment, or belittle another, we are attempting to cover our shame. 

I have found in my own life, that this insight allows me to get to the root of what is really going on inside me when I have a hostile posture towards another. What is it, about this person that makes me feel less than?

When I understand my contempt towards others as an expression of my shame, I realize other people are not responsible for my contempt, but in a way, I am. As I identify my shame, I treat other people better.

With this insight, when we see a judgmental posture in someone else, instead of calling them out adding a layer of shame, we can cut through their contempt with kindness and offer them a context to address their shame.

Genesis 37 shows the connection between rejection, shame, contempt, and murderous intent. It implicitly hints at the cure as well. If shame is a deeply embodied sense of feeling unworthy That stems from neglect, favoritism, or rejection. Then kindness, joy, love, and delight are the cure to shame. It is not our responsibility to cure other people’s narcissism. But, in our day to day, kindness really does diminish our contempt. Other people’s delight reduces our shame and eliminates our contempt.

In the church not only should we have each other to be the faces of delight we need, but our Christian faith is founded on a God who delights in us and shows us his love by offering himself through the Son who died for our sins and was and is the ultimate cure for shame.

Jacob showed favoritism, so the siblings wanted to murder their brother. The brothers’ murderous hearts connected to their shame, their father’s preferential treating of one over the others, and Joseph’s dreams. Sibling rivalry remains in the church but God’s love and delight helps us in our love for one another.

Jesus suffered from rivalry and deceit, he returned evil with good. This is how we benefit from the forgiveness of sins. Now, as we follow in his footsteps, we too must return evil, with good.

Third in Genesis 37:36, The Pattern of the Crucified Messiah: The Pit that Anticipates Deliverance and Blessing

Gen 37:36

Cain the older murdered Abel the younger and Abel and he was replaced by Seth who was a new father for humanity. Ishmael the older laughed at Isaac, but Isaac’s birth was for the joyful laughter of the nations (Gen 21:6).

Esau the older wanted to murder Jacob. Jacob was exiled and became wealthy and a big family who would bless the world.

Following these previous patterns of a younger brother who suffers, we expect that God will be with Joseph and deliver him from the pit for the blessing of many.

According to Gen 37:36, the Midianites sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard.

Not only do earlier accounts in Genesis help us anticipate repeated patterns in the life of Joseph, but the life of Joseph also anticipates the life of Jesus.

The picture of being sold for pieces of silver Looks forward to Jesus being sold with pieces of silver. The same way, Joseph’s brothers thought they were getting rid of a problem, the religious leaders thought executing Jesus would solve their problem. In both the cases of Joseph and Jesus, what was meant for evil, God used for good.

If Joseph was not sold in slavery, his whole family would have died in the coming famine and there would have been no Messiah. What was meant for evil, God used for good. Jesus had to die, to offer himself to demonstrate the love of God and to pay for the punishment of our sins to offer the forgiveness of sins and the blessing to all the families of the earth!

Application

In Luke 24, Jesus sees the repeated pattern of a chosen one who suffers before being delivered for the blessing of the many as prophesying God’s final act of redemption of Christ on the Cross.

As Christians our identity is “in Christ.” The repeated pattern in Genesis that is fulfilled in Christ trains our minds to experience our own suffering differently.

Sometimes it is obvious how good things come out of bad things. A firing sometimes leads to a way better job. A hard break up can lead to finding a romantic partner who is a way better fit. There are other kinds of suffering, like a death of loved one, a severe illness or severe abuse that leads to suffering for which we will never see any good.

But for Christians, there is always goodness and hope. Because God used the murder of Jesus to forgive his people, for Christians, no matter what happens to us, our sins are forgiven. We have a father in heaven who loves us and delights in us. We have the hope of glory of eternal bliss in God’s presence forever.

Good may not directly come out of our suffering, and yet good always awaits us through any suffering because of God’s saving benefits.

Beyond this too, no matter what the hardship, the Scriptures teach us, that God always uses our suffering to help us identify with Christ’s suffering, to grow in maturity, and to give us wisdom to care for those who suffer like we have suffered.

It is interesting that often the way we most bless others are connected with our own suffering. Our own suffering teaches us to be more attentive to the suffering of others and allows us to be a helpful presence. As a people who has been forgiven much, we forgive much.

Some who know personally that substance abuse destroy their families become substance abuse therapists. Those who suffered from racism, have a particular care for minorities. Those who have suffered from unhealthy and toxic churches have a passion to cultivate safety in the church.

The patterns of Genesis help us anticipate goodness to come in the life of Joseph despite his slavery. We also learn to see the good in our suffering as well with this biblical theological lens.

I knew a man who suffered greatly in his marriage. His children just seemed so healthy. I did not understand how children in such an unhealthy marriage could be doing so well. This is not to encourage people to remain in abusive situations, but looking at the mystery of his children’s wellbeing, part of the answer, in this case, is that this husband and father, knew how to see his suffering in his marriage as participating in the suffering of Christ, for the blessing of the many. His grace, steadiness, patience, nurtured his children. Again, this is not a universal invitation to remain in an abusive situation, but an illustration of participating in the suffering of Christ with the blessing of others in mind.

Conclusion

The repeated patterns in Genesis shape us. Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph build on patterns for us to expect a suffering Messiah who dies for our sins for the blessing of all the nations and families of the world.

The repeated patterns in Genesis offer hope to us, a sinful people. We are called to love our neighbor but we fail. We deceive and quarrel. And what remains true is that God uses what we meant for harm for our good.

This is true with the salvation God provides in Christ. Now Christians can trust God when hard things happen. The patterns in the Bible teach us blessing is still to come. Now, in Christ, we are elevated chosen ones. We can expect to know God’s presence in our suffering, and continue to spread the love of God through the good news of Jesus that more people will know God’ blessing Christ offers, the redemption of sin, New Creation life now and for all eternity by God’s side.

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[i] Tim Mackie's Lectures on Genesis 37-50