Genesis Bible Study: Lesson 7 of 7

GOD WAS WITH JOSEPH

Genesis 37:1-50:26

Key Verse 45:5

** The Lord Was With Joseph (37:1-41:57) 

1. Read 37:1-36.  Why did Joseph’s brothers hate him (1-11)?  What did Joseph’s brothers plan to do to him (20)?  How did Reuben try to rescue him (21-22)?  How did Judah lead his brothers to sell Joseph as a slave (26-28)?  What did they lead their father to believe (31-33)?  

* Joseph shared his two dreams with his brothers and later, his father and mother, in which they bow down to him. 

* Murder him. (Note: Joseph is a type of Jesus. He is innocent but must suffer many things at the hands of wicked men. As with Jesus, these sufferings will achieve God's good purpose through Joseph, the saving of many lives (Gen 50:20).) 

* Reuben tried to save his brother’s life, but he failed. Although he is the oldest son, his brothers failed to respect him and listen to him. As the firstborn son, he failed to be strong and uphold justice in the family. 

* Judah acted as the ring leader and sold Joseph to Midianite merchants. He thought it was better to make some money off his brother, rather than just kill him out of spite.

* They convinced their father that Joseph had been killed by a wild animal. Reuben does not come forward with the truth, but is in agreement with his brothers to cover up their sin.

2. Read 38:1-30.  Why do you think Judah left his brothers (1)?  How did Judah lose his first two sons (6-10)?  Why was Judah afraid to let his youngest son marry Tamar (11)?  What might Judah have learned through these experiences (cf. 37:34-35)?  How did Tamar get Judah to fulfill his duty to her?  Why is the son who came from this union important (cf. Mt 1:1-3)?  

* He could not stand his father’s mourning in the absence of Joseph. It must have been very annoying, especially since Judah despised Joseph.

* The Lord put them to death because of their wicked lives. 

* He was afraid that his youngest son might also die.

* Judah learned the pain and heartache of losing his precious sons, just like his father (cf. 37:34-35). He could now understand the pain his father Jacob went through in losing Joseph.

* She tricked him through her feigned prostitution.

* This son became one of the early fathers in the genealogy of Jesus Christ.

3. Read 39:1-40:23.  How did Joseph prosper as a slave (39:2-6)?  Yet how did Joseph end up in prison (7-20)?  How did Joseph prosper in prison (21-23)?  How did Joseph help Pharaoh’s cupbearer and Baker (40:1-22)?  Yet how did the chief cupbearer repay Joseph (40:23)?  How do you think Joseph could endure so many injustices?  

* God was with Joseph and gave him success in everything he did. Despite the great injustice dealt to him, Joseph somehow kept a relationship with God and trusted in him. Because of this trust, or faith, he worked hard and faithfully as a slave. God was with him and gave him great success.

* Through the scheming of the adulterous wife of Potiphar. 

* Joseph became the ghost-warden. He was in complete charge of the prison, although he himself was a prisoner. God was with Joseph in the prison and gave him success in whatever he did.

* Joseph shared God’s interpretation of their dreams when they were in distress.

* He forgot Joseph, leaving him in prison for two more years. 

* By faith in God, Joseph could endure it all rather than despairing or becoming bitter. 

From Joseph we learn that it is important to make decisions in our lives based on the desire to keep our integrity before the Lord and do what is right in his eyes. It is also important then, because we fear God, to keep integrity before our earthly masters as if serving the Lord. 

4. Read 41:1-57.  How did Joseph come to Pharaoh’s attention (1-14)?  What did Joseph tell Pharaoh (15-36)?  What position did Pharaoh give Joseph (37-46)?  What did Joseph do in this position (47-49)?  What was Joseph’s testimony when his two sons were born (50-52)?  What can you learn from Joseph?  

* The cupbearer finally remembered Joseph (2 years later) to interpret Pharaoh’s dreams, 

* He taught Pharaoh that the interpretation of the dream came from God. There would be seven years of great abundance and then seven years of great famine. Therefore, Pharaoh should assign someone to take charge of preparing for the years of famine. 

* The position of preparing for the years of famine. Ultimately, Pharaoh gave Joseph charge of all Egypt. He is practically equal to Pharaoh, except for his title. 

* Joseph faithfully and wisely carried out his task of preparing for the years of famine. He did well for Egypt and did not abuse his privileges or power.

* Joseph testified to the fruit of his faith in God at this moment in his life through the naming of his sons. He named his first son Manasseh, and said, “It is because God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father’s household.” Joseph named his second son Ephraim, and said, “It is because God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering.”

* We learn how we can completely overcome trouble in our life. Through patiently trusting that God is in control of every detail and that his plans for us are good, we can get the victory and bear fruit. 

** It Was to Save Lives that God Sent Me (42:1-50:26)

5. Read 42:1-45:8.  What did Joseph do when his brothers came to Egypt to get food (42:6-9)?  Briefly outline what Joseph put his brothers through.  How did they interpret what was going on (42:21-22, 28; 44:16)?  How did Joseph feel when he saw his brothers and their distress (43:23-24; 30-31; 45:1-2)?  What was the fruit of all that Joseph put his brothers through (44:16-34)?  Why wasn’t Joseph bitter toward his brothers for selling him as a slave (45:4-8)?  

* Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him. Then he recalled his dreams about them. Then, rather than revealing himself to them, he accused them of espionage. (It is remarkable that Joseph remembered his dreams after all these years. Could it be that, during all this time, these dreams had been alive in his heart, supplying him with hope to endure the long years of suffering?)

* The brothers interpreted what was happening as God’s punishment and justice to them for selling Joseph. It was God’s method of exposing their sin and bringing guilt into their hearts. 

* He too was in distress. He wanted to weep and reveal himself to them, but he did not. Eventually, he could not stand it any more and revealed himself to them. He loved his brothers deeply.  

* Their sincere repentance, especially that of Judah. Judah was the ringleader in selling Joseph. He had experienced the pain of losing his sons. Now he repented before God about what he had done to Joseph and took the responsibility of his brothers’ lives into his own hands before God and before his father Jacob. They were changed men.

* Joseph confessed God’s sovereignty in and through his life. The key to victory is to believe in the Sovereign God who his working out his good plan of redemption. Through Joseph we learn how faith in the Sovereign God makes our lives victorious and glorious. Faith in the Sovereign God helps us to love others, even people like Joseph’s brothers, our enemies, for the sake of helping them to repent and have the right relationship with God. Without faith in the Sovereign God, we become humanistic, vengeful, bitter, or full of regret and remorse. 

6. Read 45:9-48:22.  How did God use Joseph to help fulfill his promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (45:11, 17-18; 46:1-6, 33-34; 47:11-12; cf. Ge 15:13)?  How was Joseph’s way of distributing food to the people during the years of famine wise (47:13-26)?  What promise did Jacob ask Joseph to make (47:27-31)?  What can you learn from Jacob’s blessing of Ephraim and Manasseh? 

* Joseph’s story is really the story of God’s work to fulfill the promise given to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Joseph’s story is really the conclusion to Jacob’s own story. Through the events of Jacob’s son Joseph, Jacob and his ungodly sons could be changed and meet the Sovereign God. Through Joseph’s hard life, God prepared Jacob and his family to be the spiritual nation Israel.

* Although the people eventually even sold themselves to Joseph and to the King of Egypt, they were happy and thankful for Joseph’s work to prepare for the famine and sustain them during those terrible seven years. In this way, he was a type of Savior.

* To bury him in the cave of Machpelah in Canaan, where Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, and Leah are buried. 

* God was Jacob’s shepherd all his life to this day and had been fulfilling his promise to Abraham and Isaac. He blessed them according to the Shepherd God whom he knew and included them as part of his own sons rather than regarding them as grandchildren. Jacob expresses a sense of justice, for Joseph was cut off, but now he is included in again as a son in double proportion through the including of Ephraim and Manasseh as part of Israel. This blessing is honored throughout the history of Israel until the time of the Babylonian conquest of Judah.

7. Read 49:1-50:26.  Why did Jacob not give favorable blessings to his first three sons (49:1-7)?  What is the significance of Judah’s blessing (8-12)?  What was the significance of Jacob’s burial in the cave in the field of Machpelah (49:29-50:14)?  What did Joseph’s brothers fear after Jacob’s death (50:15-17)?  How did Joseph reassure them (19-21)?  What was Josephs’ final request (24-25)?    

* Again, Jacob is exercising justice for what his sons had done. Reuben had done the unthinkable and slept with his father’s wives, the mothers of his half-brothers. Simeon and Levi were murderers and shed much blood.

* Judah receives the blessing in the place of the firstborn and is the successor of the covenant blessing. Jesus Christ comes from the line of Judah through David. Revelation 5:5 says, speaking of Jesus Christ, “Then one of the elders said to me, ‘Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed,’” Although Judah became a kingdom later in Israel’s history, this blessing ultimately looks forward to Jesus Christ who is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, our true king who establishes the kingdom of God forever. 

* The cave of Machpelah is the cave Abraham bought in Canaan to bury Sarah. There Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, and now Jacob and Leah are buried. Although they were promised the whole land from Egypt to the tip of the River Euphrates, Abraham and his descendants to Jacob only owned that very small piece of land and that cave. But to buy that cave and to be buried in that cave was the outward expression of their faith in God. It was the sign of their acceptance of God’s promise. The cave represents their outward expression of planting themselves in God’s promise and vision. We should bury our bones in the land of God’s promise and mission.

* They feared that Joseph might get his just revenge.

* Joseph did not get revenge. Instead, he told his brothers what had happened from God's perspective (50:20) so that they might not fear but have faith. He assured them that he would take care of them and their children in Egypt and not do them any harm. 

* Joseph’s final request was for the Israelites to remember him and to bring his bones out of Egypt when they leave and bury them in Canaan, the land of his fathers. This shows that Joseph looked ahead to the Exodus. By faith in God and in his promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Joseph could see that Israel would not stay in Egypt forever, but would come out by God’s power and return to Canaan. And so, by faith, in the Sovereign God, he made this final request.