Joseph at Home (Genesis 37)

Genesis continues to be the story of God using flawed people to accomplish His redemptive purposes. We begin Joseph’s story with scenes from his home life growing up. The family is—true to patriarchal form—quite flawed. Jacob is showing favoritism. You would think that he would be sensitive to that sort of parenting trap and against it. But the sins of the father have a way of repeating themselves into the next generation.

And Joseph is no angel either. He tattles on his brothers. He shares his dreams of greatness—more than that, he specifically sees himself ruling over his brothers and parents. Never mind that these visions seem to be more than just aspirations; they will prove to be prophetic visions. But we still see here a character flaw, or at the very least an immature foolishness.

We often hear stories that humanize our heroes by exposing their flaws. Joseph is a man destined to be used in great ways for God’s plan, but we see here that he has a pride problem. It likely never really left him. We see this sort of disconnect from reality often in celebrities and famous people who are thrust into public consciousness.

However, despite these flaws, we will also see virtues as the story progresses. He quickly becomes a passive figure in this opening scene as his brothers conspire to kill him but ultimately sell him into slavery and out of their lives. Or so they think…