By Jeffery M. Leonard, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Biblical & Religious Studies, Samford University
The Pitfall of Betrayal
Genesis 37:1–5, 19–24, 26–27
Currents of favoritism ran deep in Joseph’s family. His grandparents, Isaac and Rebekah, played favorites when it came to their children, Jacob and Esau. Isaac loved Esau and the tasty game he brought back when he went on a hunt; Rebekah preferred the homebody Jacob.
The struggle between the two parents came to a head when Rebekah prevailed upon Jacob to disguise himself as his brother and steal Esau’s blessing. Jacob was forced to flee to Mesopotamia to escape his brother’s wrath. Of course, Isaac was just as complicit in the affair, as the blessing he intended for Esau was also meant to be a curse on Jacob (Gen. 27:29).
Jacob picked up the torch of his parents’ favoritism and carried it even further. Through a series of twists and turns, Jacob had ended up with four wives: Leah and her maidservant, Zilpah, plus Rachel and her maidservant, Bilhah. Unfortunately, Jacob only really loved one of these wives, Rachel, and his feelings toward the women were reflected in his feelings toward the sons they produced. Jacob’s affections rested squarely on Rachel’s two, Joseph and Benjamin.
The extent of Jacob’s favoritism is perhaps most vividly seen in the way he prepared for his reunion with Esau. After his sojourn in Mesopotamia, Jacob had four wives, 11 sons (Benjamin was still to come) and flocks and herds galore. He thought to lessen the grudge his brother might harbor toward him by restoring some of the blessing he had stolen.
Jacob sent waves of animals and gifts to Esau, hoping to get back in his good graces. But Jacob hedged his bets when it came to his wives and sons. The maidservants and their sons went in the first and most dangerous position to meet Esau; Leah and her sons went next; and last of all, in the safest position, went Rachel and her son Joseph. None could have missed this show of favoritism (Gen. 33:1–2).
Sometimes pitfalls come through no fault of our own. (1–5)
The resentment of Joseph’s brothers over their father’s favoritism would come to a head through three particular issues. First, Joseph had brought his father a bad report about his brothers while they were shepherding. Second, he had been given a special coat specifically, the text tells us, because his father loved him more than his brothers. Third, Joseph had shared dreams about his family that suggested they would one day bow down to him.
Animosity and jealousy can cause others to betray us. (19–24)
One day, while the brothers were out working as shepherds, Joseph (who was not) was sent by his father to check on them. Perhaps still stung by the bad report Joseph had given about them, the brothers were apparently in no mood to welcome Joseph again. They spotted him from a mile away (he was wearing his “Dad’s Favorite” coat!) and planned to do their own part to see to it that Joseph’s dreams never became reality.
The brothers seized Joseph and threw him in a pit; they would have done worse had Reuben not prevented them from killing him outright. That their father’s favoritism was forefront in their minds was evident from the way they treated Joseph’s “special robe.” They stripped it off him, dipped it in goat’s blood and sent it back to their father. They left him to work out the obvious suggestion that his favorite son had been torn apart by wild animals.
God is at work on our behalf even when others abandon us. (26–27)
In the end, Joseph was taken to Egypt, where he would be sold as a slave to an official named Potiphar. Reading the story in real time, one could be forgiven for thinking that was the end of Joseph, but such is not the case. In a particularly striking display of God’s ironic sovereignty, He used the brothers’ mistreatment of Joseph to later rescue them from famine and to preserve His promises to the nation.
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