"Hope for Fractured Families" Genesis 37:1-11 Pastor Allan Wooters, D.Min.

Joseph is one of the greatest, most well-known men of all time. His fame caused Andrew Lloyd Webber to write his massively successful play, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Given this, most believe Joseph looks like Donnie Osmond who played Joseph in Webber’s play. In Genesis, Joseph’s story occupies more space than any other individual. More than that of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, or even his own father.  

Moreover, many have noted the similarities between Joseph and Jesus. Both were loved by their father, hated and betrayed, sold for the price of a slave, falsely accused, judged guilty of a crime they did not commit, and both were exalted after their suffering. Joseph’s story is classically a comedy; a riches, to rags, to riches narrative. And it is a story of hope; a hope anchored in and driven by a gracious God who stands behind the entire account.  

But there is one other fact about Joseph’s life we must not miss. It is the fact that he came from a radically dysfunctional family. Indeed, Joseph’s clan is a virtual poster family for dysfunction. Someone noted that families are like fudge – mostly sweet with a few nuts. Others are more pointed. Jeff Foxworthy said, “For the first time ever I was taking the family on the road. We stayed with my in-laws, which on life’s list of experiences ranks right below sitting in a tub full of scissors.” George Burns said that “Happiness is having a large, loving, caring, close-knit family in another city.” Mary Karr noted, “A dysfunctional family is any family with more than one person in it." It sounds like fractured families are almost the norm. But there’s hope. To quote Jeff Foxworthy again, "If you ever start feeling like you have the goofiest, craziest, most dysfunctional family in the world, all you have to do is go to a state fair. Because five minutes at the fair, you'll be going, 'you know, we're alright. We are dang near royalty.'" Or, you could look at Joseph’s family!  

It All Starts with Jacob 

“These are the records of the generations of Jacob” (v.2). What becomes evident in the following account is that Jacob is repeating the same toxic family pattern from his own youth. In Jacob's childhood family, his father Isaac preferred Esau, while Jacob was his mother's favorite. The text makes it clear that Jacob favors and even fawns over Joseph. You would think he would have learned to at least keep his favoritism secret but no, Jacob plays favorites for all to see.  

This favoritism comes out in the detail of the coat or as the Scripture has it, “a varicolored tunic.” It is not necessarily a “coat of many colors” as tradition has it. The same garment is mentioned only one other place in the Bible. It’s in 2 Samuel 13:18 where it refers to a royal garment. Whatever the precise kind of robe it was, it was clearly not the kind of garment you wore if you were planning to work. Joseph, we read about later, didn’t go out to work with his brothers but stayed home; a place of privilege which created more problems in the family, especially with Joseph’s brothers.  

The Brothers 

How could these men not feel jealous of Joseph? But jealous is just one emotion. These men grew to despise him. The text says, “so they hated and could not speak to him on friendly terms” (v.4). They hated Joseph so much that they could not speak a kind word to him. Imagine the mounting pressure in that home. It was a powder keg on the verge of exploding which it eventually did.  

Then to add insult to injury, Joseph experiences two dreams that further alienate him from his brothers. The dreams speak of Joseph’s eventual exaltation over his family but more, they declare he is God’s favorite as well. At least that’s how the brothers would have seen it. You see, although not specified here, in Genesis, dreams are normally associated with divine revelation (20:3; 28:12, 31:10). We know that later these dreams came true, but the brothers didn’t see it that way. Thus, we’re told in v.8, “So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.” But what of Joseph himself?  

Joseph 

What may surprise some is the fact that Joseph is messed up as well. That may sound strange given that Joseph is deemed one of the great Old Testament saints. He is but we must always see the word “saint” used somewhat loosely. It’s true that Joseph is a man of great faith, of sterling moral character, and one used mightily by God. He is much like Daniel. Commentator Kent Hughes highlights this fact noting: 

Both Joseph and Daniel displayed the wisdom of God, both men interpreted the dreams of their kings, both could not be compromised, both were jailed for their obedience, and both were made vice-regents of their adopted realms. And more, Joseph’s actions sometimes foreshadowed those of Christ himself, whose rejection by men played an essential part in effecting our deliverance (cf. Isa. 53: 3; John 1: 11; Mark 9: 12). ¹ 

But there were flaws. While Joseph might be the least messed up of his family, he was not without fault. We see this in two incidents. First, there’s his bringing to his father a “bad report” about his brothers, (v.2). For us, a “bad report” can be either true or false. In Hebrew however, this particular phrase has the connotation of a false or malicious report. In Proverbs 10:18 for example, the word is translated “slander.” It’s shows that Joseph didn’t like his brothers or maybe he didn’t like being around them, which is easy to understand. However, that does not mean he is to be excused for fabricating or exaggerating some incident regarding his brothers. The problem is it worked! It is after this report that Jacob makes the famous coat and starts keeping Joseph home while the other boys must go out to shepherd the flocks.  

The second issue with Joseph is his handling of his dreams. You might think, given all the tension in the home and trouble his brothers gave him, that Joseph might have kept the dreams to himself. Oh no! He tells them all the details. Now maybe he could have been excused for telling them of the first dream but revealing to them the content of a second dream, well it’s like he is rubbing their noses in it. The fact that Joseph told them – why not just tell his father in secret? – suggests insensitivity on a massive scale. The whole scene also hints at an arrogance that if allowed to continue would destroy this promising young man. So, like his family, Joseph too needed help. Now the stage is set for God to go to work.  

God 

“Go to work” is not the right statement, however. Up to this point in the Genesis narrative, God has been at work. From the first words of Genesis, “In the beginning God created…” up to this point, God has been moving. This is crucial to understand. With Genesis 37, God does not suddenly drop from view. On the contrary, He is fully seen in the narrative as He works through everyday events. In the Joseph saga, there are no miracles that occur. God does not suspend His natural laws to make things happen. The story is how God works in, though, and around the characters, including Joseph, to bring about His perfect plan for that time and for the world.  

Let’s be clear. This story isn’t about Joseph, or Jacob, or the brothers. It is only about them in a secondary sense. This story is about God! It is about the hidden but very active work of God. His providential hand arranges everything without show or explanation or violating the nature of things. God is involved in all events – the good and the bad – directing them to their appointed end. What we see is that God is not just the God of the miracle, of the big show, the extraordinary. He is also the God of the ordinary. His power and infinite wisdom takes in both the good and evil actions of Joseph’s dysfunctional family and brings about good indeed, lifesaving good.  

And don’t miss this. In this account there is hope for us as well. Whether you’re from a dysfunctional, fractured family or not, we are reminded again that God is always involved with us and those around us. If we are from a family that sounds very much like Joseph’s relatives there is good news. God has not left your family. Moreover, God can turn it around or at least He can redeem the hurts and/or use the experiences to bring some good from it all.  

But such change starts with us first being sensitive to God and learning of His will. We may tend to blame most of our problems on our family or lack thereof and maybe there’s much truth in that feeling. Yet, the other issue is that our biggest problem lies in our own hearts. That may be hard to hear but it’s the biblical insight. The real problems we face in life are not “out there” as much as they are “in here,” in our sinful hearts.  

Our challenge is to learn how to deal with all the dysfunction both outside and inside ourselves. We can decide that regardless of how messed up things have been or are in our family, we are going to be different. More than twenty years before his death, Michael Jackson sang these lyrics: “I’m starting with the man in the mirror. I’m asking him to change his ways. And no message could have been clearer, if you want to make the world a better place… take a look at yourself and make a change.” 

That change must start with you turning to God for wisdom. Start by looking in the mirror of God’s word because it speaks the truth about our condition. It doesn’t lie to us about our unlimited potential or tell us with a little effort we can make it. The Bible tells us we are all separated from God, dead in our sin, spiritually blind, and unable to fix ourselves to the degree we truly desire and need. We are all dysfunctional in and of ourselves. And that is why the gospel is such incredible news. It tells us that we can be fixed. Our brokenness can be mended, and our future transformed for good. God used that incredibly messed up family of Joseph’s to save thousands of lives in that day and the lives of all the redeemed. You see, it was through the fractured family of Joseph that God sent His Son Jesus to redeem sinners, to reclaim rebels, to save me and to save you.  

Get right with God. Determine that with you, things are going to be different in your family. It won’t be easy, but change can come because you won’t be alone, God will be working with you behind the scenes to make it a new day.  

For Further Reading 

You can Change, Tim Chester 

Broken-Down House, Paul David Tripp