SUBJ: Joseph as an exemplary man of God and his introduction to us as a type of Christ in the display of rejection to the place of power.

AIM: That we learn through Joseph more about Jesus and the imitation of Him in our lives.

INTR: The well-known Bible stories are given us as things easy to remember, to show us examples of a Godly character and to show that Christ was prefigured before He came into the world.
1. We have witnessed such pictures in several such as the offering of Isaac and the intercessory prayers of Jacob and several others found in the Old Testament.
2. While we may be rejoiced and entertained in reading of the operations of divine providence, they are worthy of meditation in the light of Gospel revelation.
3. The difficulty in the study of the life of Joseph is in that we want to jump to the conclusion with his brethren in Egypt. There is much to consider along the way.

THESIS: In our enjoyment of the providential working of our God, we would be reminded of grace experienced in men such as Joseph and that what happened to him was for our good and God's glory.

I. The favorite of Jacob (vv. 1-4)
1. We are made to wonder at the occupation of Joseph with the sons of the handmaids of Leah and Rachel and what was discovered with them.
2. We consider the fact that Joseph was not going to tolerate their mischief in that it seemed to be directed toward his father.
1) It is likely that they would have been abusive toward him and
2) Also, toward Jacob and the others considering who their mothers were.
3. Moses is careful to tell us of the special love that Jacob had for him and the reason of it.
1) He was the son of his old age and the firstborn of Rachel, his favored wife.
2) The coat of many colors was perhaps one of honor and indicated that Joseph was the one to be blessed in the end.
4. Instead of loving their younger brother as did Jacob, his brothers resented him and treated him badly. Consider that the personal desire of men for honor at the expense of others.

II. The Dreams (vv. 5-10)
1. It is well noted that the sheaves were a fitting emblem of what happened in Egypt and their submission to him for food.
2. The sun, moon, and the eleven stars looked to a higher place of authority and looked to the subjection of the whole family to the care of Joseph in time to come.
3. It is probable that Joseph (at age seventeen) had no idea what these things meant or implied.
1) What is noteworthy is that his brothers sensed it and assumed that he was claiming something that either desired or planned and
2) So, comes the resentment and a deepening of the hatred they already felt for him and
3) Even Jacob rebuked him.
4. What we see in their resentment was played out fully in Christ and He was sensitive to it:
1) In a parable He pictured His subjects as crying "We will not have this man to reign over us," and we see in their actions in crucifying Him.
2) It continued as we note that this resentment and the rejection of Christ was called out by Stephen and the resentment was so intense, they stoned him to death.
3) So, it continues to this day that men will become more resentful and event violent over the claims of the Gospel and will rather insert their own willful ways and despise the mercy of God.

III. The Crime that Followed (vv. 12-37)
1. The narrative:
1) The brethren in Shechem and Joseph sent by Jacob to see to their welfare and he found them in Dothan
2) They, sighting him immediately laid plans to kill him - thee was a clear reference to the dreams and what they sensed of the superiority of Joseph.
3) Reuben (with problems enough) interceded to prevent outright murder and devises a plan to return him to Jacob. They threw him into a pit
4) Judah further intervened and they sold him to some Midianite merchantmen
5) They all conspired to deceive Jacob and took the coat and made it look as though it had been torn by wild animals and they put the blood of a kid on it.
6) There was no thought for either the life of their brother or the grief of their father and
7) Such were they who crucified Christ and still are.
2. Hating the Son is the same as hating the Father.