Message of the Week

The Little White Community Church

Scripture: Gen. 37: 1-11

May 17, 2026

Message: “Insights from Above!” 

By Pastor George Gnade

Play to Listen

8:16

Introduction:

1. One of the most colorful stories in the entire Bible is the story of Joseph, as told to us in the Book of Genesis.

a. Joseph was a son of Jacob, one of the twelve sons born to him from four women. He was next to the youngest and dearly loved by his father.

b. Jacob had two wives, Rachel and Leah, and two concubines named Bilhah and Zilpah. Bilhah and Zilpah were slaves of Rachel and Leah, who were given to him by his wives in order to increase the number of sons born to him (Gen. 29:31-30:24).

2. This is how cities and even nations were born through one man. Our passage tells us Joseph was 17 year old. But by the end of this story when the whole family had come to live in Egypt, there would be 70 of them already (Gen. 46:8-27).

In 400 years, they were too many to count.

3. God often works through the culture of the day. Polygamy 

was a common practice in those days. Even though this was not God’s perfect will, God allowed it while discouraging it. 

a. Jacob fell in love with Rachel, but was forced to marry Leah first, again because the culture required the older daughter in the family to marry first.

b. As a result, he didn’t really love Leah the way she deserved (Gen. 29:30-31). That didn’t change till Rachel died.

4. This created jealous between Leah’s children and Rachel’s children. And the children born to the concubines were considered to be slaves like their mothers, making them feel like they were last on the list.

a. This resulted in a very mixed up family, filled with internal problems. Joseph inherited these problems.

b. Because Rachel had trouble getting pregnant, Joseph was one of the last ones to be born into this family. Benjamin was finally born to her years later.  So Joseph was the favorite son of his father’s favorite wife, making all of the older children feel inferior.

5. While our backgrounds do not make us sinners, our backgrounds often create settings in which we are prone to sin. Jacob made his share of mistakes and probably wished he had done things differently (Gen. 25-35). But none of us can turn back the clock. All of this resulted in a lot of sadness that probably could have been avoided if he had done things differently.

a. In our passage, the sons of his concubines showed their resentment by doing as little as they could get away with. When Joseph reported this to his father, it only aggravated the situation even more (Gen. 37:1-2).

b. Meanwhile, Jacob bought Joseph a very expensive  coat that demonstrated how much more he loved him over his brothers (Vs. 3-4). This added to their jealousy. All of this created a time bomb ready to go off.

6. It all came to a head when Joseph began to have dreams. In his first dream, his brothers were seen bowing down to him.

 In his second dream, the sun, moon, and eleven stars all bowed down to him. This even upset Jacob. Did Joseph really believe even his father would someday bow before him?

7. Understanding all these mistakes and conflicts will help us understand what happens next. But for today, let us take a few minutes to compare Joseph to the Lord Jesus Christ. 

8. As imperfect as even the best of us might be, none of us could ever be Jesus’ equal. But it is amazing how God used these stories from the past to illustrate truths that I’m sure the Holy Spirit wanted us to see.

A. To begin with, Joseph was his father’s beloved son. In the same way, God the Father often described Jesus as His “beloved Son” (Matt. 3:17).

1. Joseph did not have to earn this privilege. It was his through birth. Jesus did not earn His privilege either. He simply was and is God’s beloved Son from all eternity.

2. But Joseph was different from his brothers in his desire to please his father. And God calls Jesus “my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.”

a. Certainly Joseph made his share of mistakes, but clearly he tried to please and obey his father.

b. Jesus never made a mistake, but obeyed His Father in everything.

B. Secondly, Joseph was rejected for being too good.

1. His brothers didn’t want to please their father because they were angry and wanted to do their own thing. When Joseph tried to be different, they hated him for it.

2. In the same way, Jesus was eventually crucified, not because He was bad, but because He was good. “They hated Him without a cause.”

a. Sometimes when we take a stand for the Lord and try to do what we know is right, the world hates us too. Some-times it can even create tension in our own families (John 15:18-27).

b. But the Bible says it is better to suffer for doing what is right than to suffer for doing what is wrong. God wants us to be like Jesus (I Peter 2:18-25).

C. Thirdly, Joseph was chosen by God to be honored above His brethren. This made them very angry, especially when Joseph told them his dreams. But it was still true. Ultimately they did bow before him (Gen. 42-45).

1. Jesus was also chosen by God to be honored above His brethren. In the end, God would “highly exalt Him and give Him a name above all names that at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil. 2:10-11).

2. Many people in our day are not willing to accept this. Many even reject Him. Others come to acknowledge Jesus as Lord of their lives. But in the end, every knee shall bow before Him. It is better for us to do it now than later (Rev. 5 and 19).

D. Fourthly, Joseph was a prophet, given the ability to predict the future.

1. This was a special gift from God, used by God at different times to help fulfill God’s will.  Joseph not only told his brothers what would happen, he also helped the butler know he would be restored to his position of honor before the king, and he helped Pharaoh  understand about the famine that would come upon the land (Gen. 40-41).

2. Jesus is the greatest prophet that ever lived. He knows the future and has told us about the future. If we listen to Him, we will be prepared for the future.

a. Satan has tried to mimic this through astrology, mediums, and spiritists. This is not new in our day. It goes all the way back to ancient times (Is. 8:16-22, esp. vs. 19).

b. From the beginning, God warns us not to listen to these false prophets and to make sure we only listen to the Lord Jesus Christ and His Word. We would do well to heed this advice.

In conclusion: 1. There are many lessons we could learn from this passage about how to live our lives. May God help us to heed the advice and the warnings that are there.

2. But above all, may we heed God’s call to accept the Lord Jesus Christ, God’s only begotten and beloved Son, who suffered for us and has been chosen to reign over us, so that we may be saved through Him. Amen!