JOSEPH 4.
Jacob blatantly expressed his favoritism by making Joseph a richly
CITYLIGHTS -1
Joseph & His Family
Genesis 37
Joseph‘s family was a complex web of relationships.
Joseph’s father, Jacob, had 2 wives, 2 concubines, 12 sons, and 1 daughter.
Joseph’s generational heritage and immediate family were highly
dysfunctional.
1. Much of Jacob’s life was characterized by deception.
2. Joseph’s brothers were consumed with revenge.
3. Joseph’s father and grandfather faced conflict with avoidance and
passivity.
1
Jacob lived in the land where his father had stayed, the land of
Canaan.2 This is the account of Jacob.Joseph, a young man of seventeen,
was tending the flocks with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah and the sons of
Zilpah, his father’s wives, and he brought their father a bad report about
them. Now Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons, because he
had been born to him in his old age; and he made a richly ornamented robe
for him.4 When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of
them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him.
Genesis 37:1-4
ornamented robe. Genesis 37:5-11
5. Joseph’s brothers were filled with hatred and jealousy.
Genesis 37:18-28
6. Joseph’s brothers demonstrated their hatred by betrayal.
 Joseph’s brothers plotted how to kill him.
 Reuben and Judah intervened to save Joseph’s life.
 His brothers sold Joseph to Midianite merchants heading to
Egypt. Genesis 37:31-36
The merchants sold Joseph to Potiphar.
Jacob’s sin of deception was perpetuated by his sons.
 The brothers deceived their father with Joseph’s blood-soaked robe.
 Jacob mourned and refused to be comforted.
 Genesis 50:15-21
By trusting God, Joseph refused to be defined by the dysfunction of his
family.
1. Joseph rejected deception and chose integrity.
2. Joseph rejected revenge and chose forgiveness.
3. Joseph rejected passivity and chose initiative.
4. Joseph rejected favoritism and chose impartiality.
5. Joseph rejected jealousy and chose contentment.
6. Joseph rejected betrayal and chose loyalty.
Our Response
1. How has the dysfunction in the home you grew up in negatively
impacted you?
2. Have you, or will you, forgive your parents and siblings?
3. In what one specific area do you most want to break your
generational pattern and establish a new legacy?
4. In what ways do you see your personal character flaws manifested
in your children?
5. When and how will you humbly ask your children’s forgiveness and
help them learn from your mistakes?