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Genesis 37:12 Then his brothers went to feed their father’s flock in Shechem.
Genesis 37:13 And Israel said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers feeding the flock
in Shechem? Come, I will send you to them.” So he said to him, “Here I am.”
Genesis 37:14 Then he said to him, “Please go and see if it is well with your brothers
and well with the flocks, and bring back word to me.” So he sent him out of the Valley
of Hebron, and he went to Shechem.
Genesis 37:15 Now a certain man found him, and there he was, wandering in the field.
And the man asked him, saying, “What are you seeking?”
Genesis 37:16 So he said, “I am seeking my brothers. Please tell me where they are
feeding their flocks.”
Genesis 37:17 And the man said, “They have departed from here, for I heard them
say, ‘Let us go to Dothan.’ ” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them in
Dothan.
Genesis 37:18 Now when they saw him afar off, even before he came near them,
they conspired against him to kill him.
Genesis 37:19 Then they said to one another, “Look, this dreamer is coming!
Genesis 37:20 Come therefore, let us now kill him and cast him into some pit;
and we shall say, ‘Some wild beast has devoured him.’ We shall see what will
become of his dreams!”
Dysfunctional definition:
Dys·func·tion·al (adjective) not operating normally or properly.
Also deviating from the norms of social behavior in a way regarded as bad.
Both Joseph and Jesus were shepherds, and Jesus is the good shepherd.
Joseph and Jesus were both sons loved by their earthly and heavenly fathers.
Joseph and Jesus were both hated by jealous brothers.
Both Joseph and Jesus had a family that did not believe in their destiny.
Both Joseph and Jesus had people who did not want them to reign over them.
Family Flaw #1 — Dysfunctioinals Fathers.
Family Flaw #2 — Dysfunctional Succumb to Bad Systems.
Family Flaw #3 — Dsyfunctionals Show Favoritism.
Family Flaw # 4 — Dysfunctionals Lack Communication.
Family Flaw #5 — Dysfunctionals Reject God’s Will.
Family Flaw #6 — Dysfunctionals Neglect Family Members.
Genesis 37:12 Then his brothers went to feed their father’s flock in Shechem.
Genesis 37:13 And Israel said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers feeding the flock
in Shechem? Come, I will send you to them.” So he said to him, “Here I am.”
Genesis 37:14 Then he said to him, “Please go and see if it is well with your brothers
and well with the flocks, and bring back word to me.” So he sent him out of the Valley
of Hebron, and he went to Shechem.
Genesis 37:15 Now a certain man found him, and there he was, wandering in the field.
And the man asked him, saying, “What are you seeking?”
Genesis 37:16 So he said, “I am seeking my brothers. Please tell me where they are
feeding their flocks.”
Genesis 37:17 And the man said, “They have departed from here, for I heard them
say, ‘Let us go to Dothan.’ ” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them in
Dothan.
Family Flaw #7 — Dysfunctionals Are Dream Killers
Genesis 37:18 Now when they saw him afar off, even before he came near them,
they conspired against him to kill him.
Genesis 37:19 Then they said to one another, “Look, this dreamer is coming!
Genesis 37:20 Come therefore, let us now kill him and cast him into some pit;
and we shall say, ‘Some wild beast has devoured him.’ We shall see what will
become of his dreams!”
Family Flaw #8 — Dysfunctionals Create Intense Sibling Rivalries
Genesis 37:23 So it came to pass, when Joseph had come to his brothers, that
they stripped Joseph of his tunic, the tunic of many colors that was on him.
Genesis 37:24 Then they took him and cast him into a pit. And the pit was empty;
there was no water in it.
Genesis 37:25 And they sat down to eat a meal.
Genesis 42:21 Then they said to one another, “We are truly guilty concerning our
brother, for we saw the anguish of his soul when he pleaded with us, and we would
not hear; therefore this distress has come upon us.”
Genesis 37:25 “… Then they lifted their eyes and looked, and there was a company
of Ishmaelites, coming from Gilead with their camels, bearing spices, balm, and
myrrh, on their way to carry them down to Egypt.
Genesis 37:26 So Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is there if we kill our brother
and conceal his blood?
Genesis 37:27 Come and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be
upon him, for he is our brother and our flesh.” And his brothers listened.
Genesis 37:28 Then Midianite traders passed by; so the brothers pulled Joseph up
and ‘lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver.
Joseph and Jesus were both sold for pieces of silver, the price of a slave, 20 and
30 pieces of silver respectvely.
Family Flaw #9 — Dysfunctionals Keep Family Secrets.
Genesis 37:29 Then Reuben returned to the pit, and indeed Joseph was not in the pit;
and he tore his clothes.
Genesis 37:30 And he returned to his brothers and said, “The lad is no more; and I,
where shall I go?”
Genesis 37:31 So they took Joseph’s tunic, killed a kid of the goats, and dipped
the tunic in the blood.
Genesis 37:32 Then they sent the tunic of many colors, and they brought it to their
father and said, “We have found this. Do you know whether it is your son’s tunic
or not?”
Genesis 37:33 And he recognized it and said, “It is my son’s tunic. A wild beast has
devoured him. Without doubt Joseph is torn to pieces.”
Genesis 37:34 Then Jacob tore his clothes, put sackcloth on his waist, and mourned
for his son many days.
Genesis 37:35 And all his sons and all his daughters arose to comfort him; but he
refused to be comforted, and he said, “For I shall go down into the grave to my
son in mourning.” Thus his father wept for him.
Joseph and Jesus were both stripped of their clothing. Joseph and Jesus both wear
a robe dipped in blood.
Revelation 19:13 He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called
The Word of God.
They say your only as sick as your secrets.
Genesis 37:36 Now the Midianites had sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer
of Pharaoh and captain of the guard.
Joseph and Jesus were both taken to Egypt as young men.
Joseph and Jesus were both thrown in a hole, Jesus in his tomb.
The major difference, of course, is that Joseph was only reported to be dead, while
Jesus did give His life on the cross and was raised from the dead to save us.
Joseph and Jesus, both were separated from their father.
Joseph from his earthly father, Jesus from his heavenly father when he died on
the cross in our place, for our sins.
Joseph and Jesus, both forgave those who sinned against them.
Joseph and Jesus, both bring life and grace to a multitude after they get out of their pit.
Romans 5:20 “….But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more,
Revelation 21:1 Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven
and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea.
Revelation 21:2 Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out
of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
Revelation 21:10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain,
and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from
God,
Revelation 21:11 Having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone,
like a jasper stone, clear as crystal.
Revelation 21:12 Also she had a great and high wall with twelve gates, and twelve
angels at the gates, and names written on them, which are the names of the twelve
tribes of the children of Israel:
Revelation 21:13 Three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on
the south, and three gates on the west.
Here’s the lesson: Apart from forgiveness and God’s grace, nobody gets in.
Someone broke down Joseph’s life this way:
He was chosen and rejected.
He was loved and hated.
He was favored and abused.
He was betrayed and rescued.
He was promoted and imprisoned.
He was tested and rewarded.
He was slandered and praised.
He never took his eyes off the Lord.
At no point did he ever take his eyes off the Lord.
Acts 7:9 “And the patriarchs, becoming envious, sold Joseph into Egypt. But God
was with him
Acts 7:10 and delivered him out of all his troubles,…”
Psalm 40:1 I waited patiently for the Lord; And He inclined to me, and heard my cry.
Psalm 40:2 He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set
my feet upon a rock, and established my steps.
