Genesis Chapter Thirty Seven
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Joseph dreamed some dreams (the dreams of one who had the gift of prophecy):
Did Joseph use wisdom in telling these dreams to his father and his brothers? Probably not, but how much wisdom is a seventeen year old boy supposed to have? Joseph probably had pride at this time in his life, however, God helped to give him humility and patience later in his life
Did the dream of Joseph (in Genesis 37:9) have any prophetic significance?
The dreams that came to Joseph meant that God was planning on doing something in his life. Joseph, and then the rest of his family, eventually, had to go to Egypt. God wanted them there for several reasons. He did not want them in Canaan where they would be continually influenced by the sex sins of the Canaanites. God would bless them in Egypt. Does God still bless His children? Yes. God only gives good gifts because of His great love for each one of us. God guards, shelters, and protects us like He did to Joseph and his brothers
I imagine that Joseph loved his brothers. There was quite an age difference between Joseph and his older half brothers. Some psychologists have thought that a child, who has an older sibling at least seven years or older, looks upon the older one as a parent figure. Were the older sons of Jacob good parent figures to Joseph? Are you and I good parent figures to those in our sphere of influence?
Joseph's brothers hated him (hatred and envy are deadly emotions):
Joseph had a coat of many colors (robes of various colors):
How many robes of different colors are mentioned in the bible? Jesus was forced to wear a purple robe in mockery of His kingship
Joseph was obedient to his father (you and I need to be obedience to our Heavenly Father):
Joseph left home (when you leave home and head for the mission field):
Many of the sons of Jacob were outlaws (but let us act like Jesus did instead):
Where was Dothan? It was some distance north of Shechem. Later, Dothan was the place where the prophet, Elisha, prayed and asked God to strike the Syrian army with literal blindness
Those sons of Jacob were not obedient to their father. I recommend that you and I NOT act like them but act like Jesus did. Let's always keep our spiritual eyes open so that we can see what the Lord wants us to see.
A (great) man helped Joseph while he was searching (divine guidance):
Let us always help someone in need. You or I could be an earthly messenger to someone to give them the help they need. There are many ways to help others- let us be the Lord's outstretched hand to others. And let us show them the Lord's love at the same time.
Joseph proudly wore his coat when he went out to find his brothers. That coat was a reminder to them that everything they were working for would one day belong to Joseph because he was going to inherit the birthright. Knowing how his brothers felt about all of this, do you think that Joseph, wearing that coat, was a mistake?
The sons of Jacob were violent again (however, they needed to forgive):
Let us exercise forgiveness (however, the sons of Jacob did not forgive their father?):
I guess the real question to be asked here is this- did the sons of Jacob disrespect God and that is why they also disrespected Jacob? What was the real spiritual condition of each of their hearts? There appeared to be quite a difference between the unforgiveness of Jacob's sons and the forgiveness of Joseph
The attempted murder of Joseph (let us not commit sins of the flesh):
"All who will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution" (2 Timothy 3:12)
The coat of many colors was probably seen as a red flag of financial danger to Judah. Why? Because Judah was next in line to receive the birthright. However, this coat of favoritism from their father meant that Judah would not receive it as long as Joseph was alive. Would a person commit murder in order to receive the birthright inheritance? Yes. Why? Because we have already observed (earlier in Genesis) that
Esau wanted to murder Jacob in order to get it.
But God prevented that from happening. And God prevented the murder of Joseph from happening, however, Judah was instrumental in selling Joseph into slavery. And we have already observed (earlier in Genesis) that
slavery is against the will of God and is considered a living death.
Did Judah's treachery against Joseph ever get him the birthright? No. The birthright went to Joseph. This began a lot of family drama in that dysfunctional family. How? The contention over this birthright began a family feud in Israel that lasted for hundreds of years. As we follow the history of the nation of Israel in relation to these two tribes, Judah and Ephraim (Joseph's son), we observe an internal power struggle going on. Eventually, Ephraim, as the leader of the ten northern tribes, broke away from the rule of King Rehoboam of Judah and split the united kingdom
Jacob reaped what he had sowed (you and I will reap what we sow):
"...they took Joseph's coat, and killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the coat in the blood; and they sent the coat of many colours, and they brought it to their father". What was that about? To answer that question, let's go back a little ways in the bible to
The Apostle Paul also taught the truth of this spiritual principle to his readers
Joseph was sold into slavery (the long trial of his faith began):
I am sure many of us can appreciate Joseph for being a man of integrity- for passing a trial test like that. But, how can a Job's trial like that be relevant to you and I? Individuals go through trials today as Joseph did back then. One has to be hand picked by God to go through that kind of a trial because it is so horrible and because God has to trust that person explicitly. I went through such a trial- it lasted the better part of nine years and two months. I lost nearly everything that I had and I still carry the scars. God trusted me and I survived it but it took every ounce of my integrity, faith, and courage to endure it. I am sure it was that way for Joseph also. If you go through such a trial, you will suffer much but you will be better off at the end of it if you are an overcomer. Here are a few tips for you to survive such a trial if you have been hand picked by the God of this Universe to suffer for Him. I originally wrote it as a gospel tract and named the tract Battered Armour.
Here is a link to it:
¤ Click here for information on how to survive a Job's trial
The Beginning of the Mistreatment of Joseph
"And Jacob dwelt in the land wherein his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan. These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren; and the lad was with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives: and Joseph brought unto his father their evil report. Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colours. And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him. And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and they hated him yet the more. And he said unto them, hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed: for, behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf. And his brethren said to him, shalt thou indeed
reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words. And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me. And he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, what is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth? And his brethren envied him; but his father observed the saying. And his brethren went to feed their father's flock in Shechem. And Israel said unto Joseph, do not thy brethren feed the flock in Shechem? come, and I will send thee unto them. And he said to him, here am I. And he said to him, go, I pray thee, see whether it be well with thy brethren, and well with the flocks; and bring me word again. So he sent him out of the vale of Hebron, and he came to
Shechem. And a certain man found him, and, behold, he was wandering in the field: and the man asked him, saying, what seekest thou? And he said, I seek my brethren: tell me, I pray thee, where they feed their flocks. And the man said, they are departed hence; for I heard them say, let us go to Dothan. And Joseph went after his brethren, and found them in Dothan"
(Genesis 37:1-17).
Why do I say that Joseph had the gift of prophecy? Because he said so
(Genesis 44:15). And his great grandfather, Abraham, also had the gift of prophecy
(Genesis 20:7). God was dealing with Joseph at an early age. God owned him and they had a strong love relationship. Joseph was special to God and God had a special plan for Joseph's life. Dream interpretation is one of the prophecy gifts from God. God trusted Joseph with this gift and Joseph used it many times in his ministry. Here is what God said at a later time-
"Hear now My words- if there be a prophet among you, I the Lord will make Myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream. My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all Mine house. With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the Lord shall he behold: wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against My servant Moses?"
(Numbers 12:6-8).
(Genesis 50:19). His dreams may have seemed like self exaltation when he told them and that brought a rebuke from his father, but his father observed the saying. Why? Because Jacob had dreams from God also in his life and knew they had a divine purpose.
I think so. God showed him that he was going to be a ruler. His statement "the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me" refered to Jacob, Jacob's wife, and Jacob's sons. They knew full well what the meaning was because Jacob said to him "shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth?" Does this verse of scripture have more than one application? I think so. Why? Because it had one meaning for Joseph, at that time, but another meaning for the nation of Israel, that came from Jacob, at a different time. Why do I say that? Because
the Apostle John wrote:
"And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars"
(Revelation 12:1).
This symbolism refered to the nation of Israel. It had relevance to Israel in the past and it has relevance to Israel in our future. Why did God use symbolism? In my opinion, God used symbolism in His word so His word could be made relevant to different folks at different times.
(Psalm 21).
Jacob chose favorites among his children. I imagine that he learned to do that from his parents because that is what they did. Remember, in regards to children, that values are more easily caught than taught. That means they are more readily to follow what you do than what you say.
Joseph's brothers envied him. Envy is referred to as the green eyed monster. They also seethed with resentment and anger against him. They called him the derogatory name, "the dreamer". Two of his brothers were murderers and one was a sex offender. Most of the others were thieves who liked to get their hands on anything that they did not have to pay for. Is it any wonder, then, that Joseph was persecuted by them?
Jesus said:
"...and a man's foes shall be they of his own household"
(Matthew 10:36). Three times it is mentioned that they hated him. The Hebrew word for hated is sane and the Hebrew word for envy is qana meaning to excite or to provoke to jealous anger. These are deadly emotions and, if unchecked, can lead to rejection, anger, and violence. For example, Cain murdered his brother, Abel, and Esau wanted to murder his brother, Jacob. I recommend that you and I avoid these emotions at all costs and place them under the blood of Christ when necessary.
Joseph's father made him a coat of many colors- a robe of distinction, honor, and authority- a robe that let everyone know that one day Joseph would inherit the birthright.
(Matthew 27:28-31; Luke 23:11; John 19:2-5). The priests wore blue robes
(Exodus 28:31, 39:22). The hem of the priest's blue robe was of many colors
(Exodus 39:24-26). King's daughters wore multi-colored robes
(2 Samuel 13:18). It appears that King David wore a robe of blue linen
(1 Chronicles 15:27). The father of the prodigal son placed a robe on his returning son
(Luke 15:22). The scribes wore long robes (Luke 23:11). Let us always be a willing and obedient servant to our Lord. It may be that some day He will put a white robe of righteousness on our shoulders if we endure to the end
(Isaiah 61:10; Revelation 6:11, 7:9-14). That is also a robe of significance and we will inherit our spiritual birthright- our place in Heaven.
Joseph was old enough to be a sheperd. Later, King David was a sheperd at a young age. So, why was Joseph at home while his brothers were working? My guess is that he was home schooled and had his own teacher. He may have had an Egyptian teacher who was also teaching him the Egyptian language and culture. He was learning about God, how to read and write Hebrew, mathematics, history, geography, science, and learning how to run his father's business and keep his father's financial books. He was being groomed to receive his father's birthright blessing. As Joseph was obedient to his father, as any soldier is obedient to his commanding officer, so let us also be obedient to our Heavenly Father so we will receive our Heavenly birthright blessing from Him when we get there. There will be a payday someday
(Romans 1:5, 6:16, 16:19 & 26; Hebrews 5:8; 1 Peter 1:2; 2 Corinthians 7:15, 10:5).
Jacob was concerned about the welfare of his children and about his financial assets. He always liked to get regular positive reports, so he sent Joseph to do his bidding. Joseph communicated well with his father and was obedient to him so he started out on his mission to find his brothers. Joseph had to go far away. Sometime or another, you may want to obey your Heavenly Father and leave on a mission's trip for Him. You might have to go far away. Folks back home want to hear positive testimonies of folks getting saved as a result of your efforts. But please check your financial assets, before you start out, so you do not have to be overly concerned about them once you are on the foreign field.
There is an old saying: "a criminal will always return to the scene of his or her crime". I doubt if that is always true. Nevertheless, Jacob's sons returned to the area of Shechem- that was the general area where they had previously committed a crime against God and humanity- the men of Shalem City were killed with the sword, slaves were taken, and the city was looted. I wonder if the sons of Jacob had feelings of guilt as they passed through that area? Joseph was looking for them at the scene of the crime (Shechem) but they had fled the crime scene. Joseph pursued them and caught them at Dothan. Dothan means "the law". So, one could say that this was a place where they met up with the law. But many of the sons of Jacob were law breakers or outlaws. The law did not mean anything to them, especially the attempted murder of Joseph
(Romans 13:1-5, Hebrews 13:17).
(2 Kings 6:13-23). Joseph's brothers were at that same location and it appeared they were blind to their own sin of the attempted murder of Joseph. Pride will do that- it will blind a person to his or her own sins. The name Reuben means he "who sees the son". Reuben was the only one who could see Joseph, the son of Jacob- he was the only one who was wasn't blind- he was the only one who wanted to rescue Joseph rather than murder him.
Moses tells us that "a great (certain) man found him, and, behold, he was wandering in the field: and the man asked him, saying, what seekest thou?"
Why do I say that it was a great man? Because the Hebrew word for man in this verse is
'iysh that can be interpreted to mean "great man". Does that mean it
could have been the pre-incarnate Christ Who is the great Son of Man? It is possible,
however, the context of the scripture appears to indicate that it was probably a
real human who the Lord used as an instrument or a Seraph in the form of a man
(Hebrews 13:2). Either way, it appeared that Joseph was lost and wandering around aimlessly, not knowing where to go. Sometime in our past, you and I might have been spiritually lost- wandering around searching for something that we could not seem to find. Before I was saved at the age of twenty one, I wandered around looking for peace in my heart but could not find any way to get it. God had to send a person my way to guide me to my destination. He shared the Word of God with me and showed me the way to salvation through Christ. After I was saved, I had peace in my heart. I found what I had been searching for. Maybe something similar happened to you.
God had a helpful messenger point Joseph in the right direction. Joseph followed those directions and fulfilled his ultimate destiny. God may place "helpful messengers" along our pathway of life to help point the way to us so we can fulfill our ultimate destiny. Have you ever thought what might have happened if that stranger had not helped Joseph? The destiny of the world might have changed. It was a small circumstance but God is the Lord over small circumstances as well as large ones. If you think back, what small circumstance took place in your life that changed your life's destiny? Do you think that God had anything to do with it?
"And when they saw him afar off, even before he came near unto them, they conspired against him to slay him. And they said one to another, behold, this dreamer cometh. Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into some pit, and we will say, some evil beast hath devoured him: and we shall see what will become of his dreams. And Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands; and said, let us not kill him. And Reuben said unto them, shed no blood, but cast him into this pit that is in the wilderness, and lay no hand upon him; that he might rid him out of their hands, to deliver him to his father again. And it came to pass, when Joseph was come unto his brethren, that they stripped Joseph out of his coat, his coat of many colours that was on him; and they took him, and cast him into a pit: and the pit was empty, there was no water in it. And they sat down to eat bread: and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and, behold, a company of Ishmeelites came from Gilead with their camels
bearing spicery and balm and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt. And Judah said unto his brethren, what profit is it if we slay our brother, and conceal his blood? Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmeelites, and let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother and our flesh. And his brethren were content. Then there passed by Midianites merchantmen; and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmeelites for twenty pieces of silver: and they brought Joseph into Egypt. And Reuben returned unto the pit; and, behold, Joseph was not in the pit; and he rent his clothes. And he returned unto his brethren, and said, the child is not; and I, whither shall I go? And they took Joseph's coat, and killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the coat in the blood; and they sent the coat of many colours, and they brought it to their father; and said, this have we found: know now whether it be thy son's coat or no.
And he knew it, and said, it is my son's coat; an evil beast hath devoured him; Joseph is without doubt rent in pieces. And Jacob rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days. And all his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted; and he said, for I will go down into the grave unto my son mourning. Thus his father wept for him.
And the Midianites sold him into Egypt unto Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh's, and captain of the guard"
(Genesis 37:18-36).
Is it possible that the sons of Jacob were not only angry at Jacob but disrespected him as well? Why? A short time in their past, Esau and his four hundred men descended upon them. Jacob was afraid that Esau would slaughter all of them. Therefore, he placed most of his sons in front of himself. That was because they had lesser value to him and could be slaughtered first
(Genesis 33:1-2).
Joseph was taken to the rear in safety and he was the one who was to receive the birthright. They were to be slaughtered first in order to save Joseph? How do you think that made the sons of Jacob feel? They may have harbored unforgiveness towards Jacob and wanted to get even with him. What a better way to get even with their father than to get rid of his favorite son. There is an old saying: "vengeance is a dish that must be served cold". The sons of Jacob had to make a choice between vengeance and forgiveness. There is a spiritual principle at work here in regards to forgiveness- once something has been done, it cannot be undone, it can only be forgiven. Since God casts our sins into the sea of His forgetfulness, then we must forgive and forget the hurts that others have caused us. It is like spilled milk- the deed is done, it can't be undone so move forward in running your race, leaving unforgiveness behind you so it does not weigh you down and keep you from winning your
prize of eternal life
(1 Corinthians 9:24-27; Hebrews 12:1).
(Genesis 50:19). What can unforgiveness lead to? It can lead to disrespect, contempt, rejection, anger, vengeance, violence, and more. On the other hand, forgiveness can lead to love and acceptance. Which one will you and I choose in our life?
Lies, deceit, treachery, betrayal, and conspiracy to commit murder- these were some of the sins of the sons of Jacob. I am sure that Jacob taught his family members right from wrong, encouraged them to love and serve the Lord, and to be persons of honor and integrity. However, many of the sons of Jacob committed sins of the flesh. Just what are the sins or the works of the flesh? God, through King Solomon, listed some of them:
"These six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto Him: a proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, an heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, a false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren"
(Proverbs 6:16-19).
And, God through the Apostle Paul, listed the rest of them:
"Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God"
(Galatians 5:19-21).
These sins are listed so we can avoid any entanglement with them. And we can learn from the mistakes of others- especially the sons of Jacob. As well, these are sins that spice up any good book and make it worth reading. Our bible has it all- it is a good book worth reading for more than one reason. It is a good thing that God is a forgiving Person, because if He weren't, there would be no human being in Heaven with Him.
Joseph was persecuted by his brothers:
Sometimes, spiritually unsaved folks persecute spiritually saved folks. As soon as they saw him coming they began to plot against him, and would have killed him had not Reuben intervened. Who did the devil first use to try to murder Joseph? Moses assigned the blame to mostly all of the sons of Jacob because they all seemed to be in agreement, except Reuben. Benjamin was too young at the time, as he was at home (being brought up by Bilhah, his mother's slave servant, who probably became his step-mother). I am sure that Joseph was emotionally close to Benjamin, and was probably closer to his half brothers from Bilhah, Dan and Naphtali, than the others. These brothers did not appear to persecute Joseph like the rest did in selling him into slavery. My guess is that it was Simeon who first wanted to murder him. Why? Because Simeon was the angry one. In my opinion, a consistently angry person, many times, will have a criminal past that he or she is trying to conceal. Simeon helped murder the men of Shalem
City- he was a killer at heart, so it is logical to accuse him of the attempted murder of Joseph. This is probably the reason why, later, Joseph had him put into prison in Egypt
(Genesis 42:24). It is possible that Joseph gave him a criminal record there at that time. Simeon was probably put on probation in Egypt and placed under surveillance there for the rest of his natural life. He would be executed if he ever committed murder in Egypt.
(1 Kings 11:29-31).
I think the devil was active among the rebellious brothers of Jacob because the mockery statement: "this dreamer cometh" has a spiritual connection to it. How so? Who was it that gave Joseph the dreams? Yep. It was God. Many times, individuals in rebellion against God, will lash out at those individuals who truly love God and are obedient to Him. Has something like that ever happened to you? If so, just remember that they are not, necessarily, attacking you but the Jesus who lives inside of you.
When I came home from the U.S. Navy, with Christ in my heart, my unsaved earthly father persecuted me. Having Jesus near, put him under conviction for his wicked lifestyle that he was living at the time. He also persecuted a Christian man (a man who prayed for him) who he worked with. Maybe something like that has happened to you. Did Jesus have anything to say about that? Yes. Jesus said:
"And a man's foes shall be they of his own household"
(Matthew 10:36). "If the world hate you, ye know that it hated Me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. Remember the word that I said unto you, the servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept My saying, they will keep yours also. But all these things will they do unto you for My name's sake, because they know not Him that sent Me. If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloak for their sin. He that hateth Me hateth My Father also"
(John 15:18-23).
Time and again, in the bible book of Genesis, we have observed that a person always reaps what he or she sows. You will reap what you sow, more than you sow, and later than you sow. What you send out always comes back to you. If you sow love (and help someone), someday, that will come back to you. However, if you sow something negative and treat someone unkindly, someday, that will come back to you. This spiritual principle holds true for Christians and non-Christians alike and I believe the reason that God, through Moses, placed it in His Word more than once was because He wanted us to thoroughly understand it. He wanted us to get it.
Genesis 27:9-29. We read that Jacob probably used one goat to get it's skin in order to deceive his father, while his mother used the other goat to make goat stew, so good, that it tasted like venison stew. Jacob pretended to be Esau in order to get the birthright blessing. Now, in this passage of scripture, the sons of Jacob used a goat. They placed goat blood on the coat of many colors to deceive Jacob into thinking that Joseph was dead. In each instance, a goat was used to deceive. In other words, Jacob was deceived by the use of a goat just as he had deceived his earthly father by the use of a goat many years earlier.
(Galatians 6:7).
A goat was used in Old Testament days as a sin offering and as a scapegoat (a Judas goat)
(Leviticus 16:9-10). No fat from any goat, used as a sin offering, was to be eaten
(Leviticus 7:23). Because goats were used to deceive people (especially in Genesis), they were spiritually associated with the devil
(Matthew 25:31-46). Many modern day Satanists incorporate the baphomet goat inside an inverted pentagram as the symbol for their spiritual rebellion against God in regards to their worship of Satan.
As far as those rebellious brother's of Joseph were concerned, that was the end of the beginning of Joseph, and that was the beginning of Joseph's extended duration trial, also known as a Job's trial. For the next thirteen years Joseph's integrity was tested. He was in pain and lost everything that he had. He was separated from his family members who loved him. Satan kicked him around like a football but Joseph kept his integrity for all of that time.
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Joseph left Hebron that means "friendship" and wound up in the unfriendly pit of his jealous brothers. Sometimes, life may seem unfair to you or I. Sometimes God's ways are beyond our comprehension. God's way up is down- humiliation has to come before exaltation. A person can be emotionally in the pits (down or depressed) when he or she is rejected by others. Rejection hurts. Or, sometimes, we might get discouraged and wish for happier times or better circumstances. We might whine and complain until no one wants to listen to us anymore. One time there was a man with one eye who was riding a bus. He was feeling sorry for himself until another man boarded the bus who had no arms. The one eyed man was feeling better when he exited the bus because he felt himself fortunate to have both of his arms. At a depressed time in our life, we might think that our life is the pits. But our condition may not be as bad as it was with Joseph. He was thrown into a literal pit, sold into slavery, and forgotten about. His life was really the pits, so if your life's condition is better than his was, then you should feel fortunate.
Those folks were really going through spiritually dry times in their lives (a wilderness experience). The waters were a type of humanity. The tree was a type of the cross of Christ. The tree was placed into the water. Humanity is as bitter as sin without Christ, but when Christ is accepted by humanity, He makes humanity sweet with His love and forgiveness. If you are going through a spiritual dry spell right now and feel like your life is the pits, I recommend that you pray to the Lord and ask Him to help you. You will find that He is more than able to make your life spiritually sweet and well worth living. A spiritual healing is always wonderful and then your life may well be blessed with abundance.
Joseph was sold to the Ishmaelites. The Ishmaelites were descendants of Abraham from his slave wife, Hagar. The Midianites were descendants of Abraham from his last wife, Keturah. Those folks were working together on the caravan headed to Egypt. I think that it is kind of ironic that Abraham hated the concept of human slavery and thought of it as a living death, yet he bought Hagar as an Egyptian slave for his wife, Sarah. They say that a person's sins are like a bunch of chickens- they always come home to roost. To that end, the descendants of Abraham believed in slavery and had no problem at all in purchasing and selling Abraham's great-grandson, Joseph. Do you and I have any sins that are going to come back to our extended family after we are gone?