Perspective: WK1 - MON
Hostility
Genesis 37:2-4: 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. 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.
Maybe you know someone you would say, if you want to know the story of Fred, Barbara, or Sam, then let me tell you about his or her son. She hung the planets on that boy. Everything revolved around his favorite. That’s how it is in the 37th chapter of Genesis. You want to know the story of Jacob? Then you are going to need to hear about his son, Joseph.
Don’t misunderstand. Jacob has twelve sons. It just takes a while for the others to be mentioned by name. And when they are, it’s in the context of the story of Joseph. He is the centerpiece of this patriarch’s affections, and they all know it.
Some of this is predictable. A few chapters earlier in the book of Genesis, you will find the story of Jacob being tricked into marrying Laban’s daughter Leah instead of his true love, Rachel. Seven years of hard labor later, Jacob earned the right to marry his originally intended bride. It appears he never got over the trickery, and his marriage to Leah was loveless (Genesis 29:31), while his devotion to Rachel grew stronger.
Rachel struggled to have children, while Leah bore Jacob six sons. To complicate matters, both Rachel and Leah gave Jacob their handmaids, Bilhah and Zilpah, in marriage to help produce offspring. Each handmaid bore two sons. Four wives and ten children later, the household was a hotbed of competition, tension, and resentment, as Rachel remained childless. Finally, Rachel gave birth to Joseph. Then, when he was between 6 and 9 years old, Rachel died in childbirth as Jacob’s final son, Benjamin, was born.
Jacob should have known the crippling effects of family favoritism, having grown up in the household of a father who favored his brother Esau (Genesis 25:28). Yet, as is often the case, what should have cautioned him only drove him to imitation. At times in our story, Joseph is privileged to stay home while the other sons must work the sheep fields. Joseph is treated as his father’s representative and spokesperson to his older brothers. If it wasn’t enough for them to notice the obvious, Jacob gave Joseph a special coat to wear, proclaiming his favored position.
Some translations of Scripture describe the coat as “multi-colored,” and it may have been. But the best translation of the Hebrew suggests it was a “lengthy coat” (likely with long sleeves). This language describes a princely coat, not one intended for work. In a vivid depiction, Jacob makes a plain statement. “I am elevating my eleventh-born son to the birthright of the family. He is the first son of my beloved wife Rachel. None of the rest of you fully count as my sons. I have exempted him from working the same way you will each have to. He is my favorite.” Joseph’s brothers could see that their father loved him most, and they hated him for it.
The primary problem with favoritism is its exclusionary nature. I used to joke with my mother that I was her favorite among her three children. She would smile and say, “Yes, you are, you all are.” Everything about her behavior validated that claim. This story starts with pain. Not on Joseph’s part. It begins with a multitude of family members who don’t feel included or loved. How might this story have differed if this father’s love had been universal, unconditional, and freely given? What a contrast to the love of God described in Zechariah 2:8, when He says of His followers, “… whoever touches you touches the apple of my eye…”
Genesis 37:2-4: 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. 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.
Maybe you know someone you would say, if you want to know the story of Fred, Barbara, or Sam, then let me tell you about his or her son. She hung the planets on that boy. Everything revolved around his favorite. That’s how it is in the 37th chapter of Genesis. You want to know the story of Jacob? Then you are going to need to hear about his son, Joseph.
Don’t misunderstand. Jacob has twelve sons. It just takes a while for the others to be mentioned by name. And when they are, it’s in the context of the story of Joseph. He is the centerpiece of this patriarch’s affections, and they all know it.
Some of this is predictable. A few chapters earlier in the book of Genesis, you will find the story of Jacob being tricked into marrying Laban’s daughter Leah instead of his true love, Rachel. Seven years of hard labor later, Jacob earned the right to marry his originally intended bride. It appears he never got over the trickery, and his marriage to Leah was loveless (Genesis 29:31), while his devotion to Rachel grew stronger.
Rachel struggled to have children, while Leah bore Jacob six sons. To complicate matters, both Rachel and Leah gave Jacob their handmaids, Bilhah and Zilpah, in marriage to help produce offspring. Each handmaid bore two sons. Four wives and ten children later, the household was a hotbed of competition, tension, and resentment, as Rachel remained childless. Finally, Rachel gave birth to Joseph. Then, when he was between 6 and 9 years old, Rachel died in childbirth as Jacob’s final son, Benjamin, was born.
Jacob should have known the crippling effects of family favoritism, having grown up in the household of a father who favored his brother Esau (Genesis 25:28). Yet, as is often the case, what should have cautioned him only drove him to imitation. At times in our story, Joseph is privileged to stay home while the other sons must work the sheep fields. Joseph is treated as his father’s representative and spokesperson to his older brothers. If it wasn’t enough for them to notice the obvious, Jacob gave Joseph a special coat to wear, proclaiming his favored position.
Some translations of Scripture describe the coat as “multi-colored,” and it may have been. But the best translation of the Hebrew suggests it was a “lengthy coat” (likely with long sleeves). This language describes a princely coat, not one intended for work. In a vivid depiction, Jacob makes a plain statement. “I am elevating my eleventh-born son to the birthright of the family. He is the first son of my beloved wife Rachel. None of the rest of you fully count as my sons. I have exempted him from working the same way you will each have to. He is my favorite.” Joseph’s brothers could see that their father loved him most, and they hated him for it.
The primary problem with favoritism is its exclusionary nature. I used to joke with my mother that I was her favorite among her three children. She would smile and say, “Yes, you are, you all are.” Everything about her behavior validated that claim. This story starts with pain. Not on Joseph’s part. It begins with a multitude of family members who don’t feel included or loved. How might this story have differed if this father’s love had been universal, unconditional, and freely given? What a contrast to the love of God described in Zechariah 2:8, when He says of His followers, “… whoever touches you touches the apple of my eye…”
- What are some of your favorite things? Holiday? Vacation spot? Dessert? Hobby?
- Have you ever known yourself to be someone’s favorite? Whose and why do you think they favored you?
- What does it mean to you to know that you are the apple of God’s eye? Is this easy to believe? Why or why not?
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