OUR MESS, HIS MASTERPIECE BETRAYAL GENESIS 37:12-36 AUGUST 14, 2016
GENESIS 37:12-36 AUGUST 14, 2016 TEACHING PLAN PREPARATION > Spend the week reading through and studying Genesis 37:12-36. Consult the commentary provided and any additional study tools (such as a concordance or Bible dictionary) to enhance your preparation. > Determine which discussion points and questions will work best with your group. > Pray for our pastors, the upcoming group meeting, your teaching, your group members, and their receptivity to the study. HIGHLIGHTS BIBLICAL EMPHASIS: In an act of hatred and jealousy, Joseph s brothers sold him into slavery in Egypt. All the while, God had a divine plan for Joseph. TEACHING AIM: God is in control of every circumstance in our lives. 2 Our Mess, His Masterpiece Brentwood Baptist Church
INTRODUCTION As your group time begins, use this section to help get the conversation going. 1 Have you ever experienced a time when everything seemed to be going wrong? How do these situations influence your frame of mind? Notes 2 Without dishonoring anyone, tell about a time when someone betrayed you. What emotions did you experience? How long did it take you to get over it? 3 Have you ever witnessed God bring good out of a terrible circumstance? If so, what happened? Betrayal is always painful, but when a family member who is supposed to love and care for you inflicts it, it s even more devastating. Joseph s brothers were jealous of him because he was Jacob s favorite son. They also resented Joseph because of the dreams he had. Sometimes God s children are faced with jealousy, resentment, and betrayal. But Joseph s story demonstrates that God is always working to bring good, even out of heartbreaking circumstances. In fact, God orchestrated a series of events that were fueled by the jealousy and hatred of Joseph s brothers to get Joseph to Egypt, where God would use Joseph in an extraordinary way. UNDERSTANDING Unpack the biblical text to discover what Scripture says or means about a particular topic. > Have a volunteer read Genesis 37:12-17. What task did Jacob assign Joseph to do? Was this a wise thing for Jacob to do? Explain. 3 Our Mess, His Masterpiece Brentwood Baptist Church
Glance back at verse 13. How did Joseph respond to the order to check in on his brothers? Dothan Jacob called on young Joseph to check in on his brothers and report back to him on how they were doing. Joseph traveled about 50 miles north to Shechem. Joseph was persistent and obedient to his father s instructions. When he learned that his brothers had already moved on, he traveled an additional 15 miles north to Dothan. > Have a volunteer read Genesis 37:18-22. A major city in the area of Ephraim located 14 miles north of Schechem. Dothan s pastureland is the location where Joseph s brothers sold him to a passing Ishmaelite caravan. When Joseph s brothers saw him approaching from a distance, what did they plan to do to him? What did they call him? How and why did the brothers jealousy toward Joseph progress to the point of wanting to kill him? On the other hand, what stands out about Reuben s response? Joseph s ten brothers (Benjamin was not present) saw him from a distance. As Joseph approached, they referred to him as that dreamer and made plans to kill him. The fact that they were mindful of Joseph s dreams suggests that they may have been concerned about the validity of the dreams and hoped to prevent them from being fulfilled. If this was the case, they were rebelling against prophetic knowledge. However, Reuben, Jacob s firstborn son (Gen 29:32) suggested that they spare his life and, instead, throw Joseph into a cistern. The other brothers likely assumed Joseph would die of natural causes and they would not feel as guilty about his death. Secretly, Reuben planned to rescue Joseph and return him to their father. Cistern A well has an underground source of water, while a cistern is a holding tank for water that is directed into it. Cisterns were usually pear shaped, which made it possible to cover the small opening at the surface and made them capable to function as a holding cell for people or material. 4 Our Mess, His Masterpiece Brentwood Baptist Church
> Have a volunteer read Genesis 37:23-28. When Joseph finally arrived at his brothers worksite, what did they do to him? Notes Verse 25 tells us that after stripping Joseph of his robe and throwing him in the cistern, the brothers sat down to eat a meal. What additional insight does this detail give us into their character? As Joseph approached his brothers, they stripped him of the robe that symbolized his special relationship with his father and threw him into an empty cistern. The fact that his brothers were able to sit down and eat a meal immediately after disposing of their own brother demonstrates how blatantly sinful they were. While the brothers were eating, a caravan of Ishmaelites traveling south on the main road from Egypt to Damascus approached. Since Reuben, the firstborn, was absent, Judah assigned himself as the ringleader of the family and suggested they sell Joseph as a slave to the traders. This plan would relieve them of the guilt of killing him and also provide a financial profit. Interestingly, Joseph was sold for twenty shekels of silver. In a time to come, this would be the same value of a young male that had been dedicated to the Lord and was being redeemed (Lev. 27:5). How did the brothers sin of jealousy multiply into other sins? What is the lesson here for us? > Have a volunteer read Genesis 37:29-36. When Reuben returned, how did he respond to what had transpired? 5 Our Mess, His Masterpiece Brentwood Baptist Church
What did the brothers do to hide their crime? Did Jacob believe his sons lies? Reuben was upset when he returned to find Joseph missing, but there was nothing he could do. The text says he tore his clothes, which signifies intense grief. As the eldest brother, Reuben likely felt a sense of responsibility for Joseph s safety. To cover up their crime, the brothers took Joseph s robe and dipped it into goat s blood, then showed it to their father so he would believe that a wild animal killed Joseph. The brothers deception was similar to Jacob s actions when he deceived his own father by tricking him to believe he was Esau to steal his father s blessing (Gen 27:16). Sadly, the brothers followed in their father s footsteps and acted with deceit. The one who conceals his sins will not prosper but whoever confesses and renounces them will find mercy. Proverbs 28:13 How does this story demonstrate the reality that children often repeat the sins of their fathers? As Christians, how do we demonstrate a godly response to our family when we fail them? For better or worse, the homes we grow up in shape and influence our character. We tend to repeat the behavior we see demonstrated by our parents. No parent is perfect. However, as Christians, when we sin it is important that we confess and repent of our sin first to God, and then to our families. It s imperative that those God has entrusted to us see that we repent of our sin and change our behavior. This kind of example sets families on a corrected course. For Joseph, it must ve seemed as if his life was over when his brothers sold him into slavery. Surely he was convinced his family of origin had doomed him. But God hadn t forgotten Joseph, and He hasn t forgotten us. God was working behind the scenes and Joseph s best days were ahead of him. 6 Our Mess, His Masterpiece Brentwood Baptist Church
APPLICATION Help your group identify how the truths from the Scripture passage apply directly to their lives. 1 Are there dismal circumstances in your life where you need to start trusting God to bring good? If so, what are they? Notes 2 Given Jacob s display of favoritism, Joseph s potential boasting, and the brothers jealousy and betrayal, what can we conclude about the way God can use even our sins to accomplish His purposes? How have you experienced this? 3 What are some promises of God in Scripture that we can remind one another of for those times when we have a hard time remembering God is in control? P R A Y Give thanks to God for orchestrating even the worst times of our lives for good. Ask that each group member be quick to identify areas of sin and repent from them. Praise God for His gift of salvation in Jesus Christ, the One who never sinned. Pray each group member will have a sense of God s presence working in his or her life. 7 Our Mess, His Masterpiece Brentwood Baptist Church
FOLLOW UP Midway through this week, send a follow-up email to your group with some or all of the following information: > Questions to consider as they continue to reflect on what they learned this week: In what areas in your life do you sense God working? Are you praying for an increased awareness of His activity? > A note of encouragement, following up on any specific prayer requests mentioned during your group gathering. > The challenge to memorize Proverbs 28:13. 8 Our Mess, His Masterpiece Brentwood Baptist Church
COMMENTARY AUGUST 14, 2016 GENESIS 37:12-36 37:12-17. Genesis 35:27 indicates that Jacob was living in Hebron at this time. He decided to send Joseph to the fields near Shechem to obtain a progress report on the brothers and the flocks. Shechem was located about sixty miles north of Hebron. This was the site of the slaughter of the Shechemites by Simeon and Levi years before (Gen. 34:25-26). At that time Jacob had been afraid to remain in the area (Gen. 34:30), but he still owned a small piece of land there (Gen. 33:19). When Joseph arrived at Shechem, he discovered that his brothers had moved to Dothan, about fifteen miles north of Shechem and seventy-five miles from Hebron. Joseph was persistent and faithful to his father s instructions and went to find his brothers. Notes 37:18-22. Joseph s ten brothers (Benjamin was not part of the group) saw him in the distance. Referring to him as that dreamer, they decided to kill him. This reference to a dreamer may indicate that they were concerned about his dreams and therefore determined to act in such a manner as to prevent the possible fulfillment of the dreams. If so, they were acting in conscious rebellion against what they might have suspected was prophetic knowledge. Reuben, Jacob s firstborn son (Gen. 29:32), apparently had second thoughts about this plan. He suggested that rather than taking an active role in killing Joseph, they should throw him into a cistern. The other brothers assumed that Joseph would then die of natural causes and their guilt would not be as severe over his death. Later Reuben would remind his brothers of his warning about killing Joseph (Gen. 42:22). Reuben had plans to rescue Joseph and secretly restore him to his father (Gen. 37:22). This was probably not motivated by love but by a desire to make restitution to his father for his act of sleeping with his father s concubine Bilhah (Gen. 35:22). 37:23-27. Joseph was stripped of his robe that symbolized his special relationship with his father and thrown into the dry, empty cistern. As the brothers were eating, a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead approached. Traveling the 9 Our Mess, His Masterpiece Brentwood Baptist Church
COMMENTARY AUGUST 14, 2016 east-west trade route that would now join the north-south trade route, these merchants used camels to carry their cargo of spices, balm, and myrrh. Without firstborn Reuben present, Judah acted as the ringleader of the brothers and suggested that they sell Joseph to the traders. This would not only release them of the guilt of killing him, but it would gain them a financial profit as well. Notes: 37:28. Joseph was sold for twenty shekels of silver. In later times in Israel, this was the value of a young male who had been dedicated to the Lord and was being redeemed (Lev. 27:5). 37:29-33. Reuben was upset when he returned, but there was nothing he could do, since the caravan had disappeared. To conceal their crime the brothers took Joseph s robe, dipped it in goat s blood, and took it to their father to make him think his favorite son had been killed and eaten by a wild animal. 37:34-35. The deceptive, hypocritical actions of Jacob s family are reminiscent of Jacob s actions in deceiving his father Isaac by the use of the skin of a goat (Gen. 27:16). In some fashion he now received what he had given. Jacob was more willing to believe the evidence for Joseph s death than he was to believe the revelations of Joseph s dreams, although God had also spoken to him in a dream. 37:36. In Egypt Joseph was sold by the Midianites to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh s officials, the captain of the guard. The story of Joseph will continue in Genesis 39. 10 Our Mess, His Masterpiece Brentwood Baptist Church