Sermon Tone Analysis

! Introduction:

n our last study in /“The Life of Joseph, Part 1 - Joseph the Son”,/ we looked at

!! ·         /Why is so much written in the Bible about Joseph?// /

!! ·         /The Age of Joseph (//Genesis 37:2//)/

!! ·         /The Purity of Joseph (//Genesis 37:2//)./

!! ·         /The Preference for Joseph (//Genesis 37:3//)//./

!! ·         /The Privileges of Joseph (//Genesis 37:3//)./

Today we are going to look at a little bit of what we went over in our last study, then moving on into some more points on “The Life of Joseph”

\\ !! A.           The Preference for Joseph (Genesis 37:3)

!!! 1.            “Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, he /was/ the son of his old age…”  (Gen.37:3).

!!!! a)            The Cause of the Preference.

!!!!! (1)           The cause of Jacob's preferential love for Joseph was Joseph's character.

But this is not what the text seems to state.

!!!!!! (a)           The text says that Joseph ("was the son of his old age").

The lack of understanding of this text has resulted in much criticism of Jacob.

!!!!!! (b)           He has been criticized for showing favoritism and foolishness in his preferential love for Joseph.

!!!!!! (c)           The/ favoritism/ criticism says Jacob was guilty of loving one of his children more than the others.

We would call this favoritism and favoritism is truly wrong.

!!!!! (2)           */Favoritism/* – Although I don’t believe that the phrase /“son of his old age”/ is referring to favoritism specifically, which we will talk about in a moment, but I do want to touch on the subject of favoritism.

!!!!!! (a)           Favoritism is forbidden in scripture:

*Deuteronomy 21** says* "Suppose a man has two wives, but he loves one and not the other, and both have given him sons.

And suppose the firstborn son is the son of the wife he does not love.

When the man divides his inheritance, he may not give the larger inheritance to his younger son, the son of the wife he loves, as if he were the firstborn son.

He must recognize the rights of his oldest son, the son of the wife he does not love, by giving him a double portion.

He is the first son of his father’s virility, and the rights of the firstborn belong to him."

(Deuteronomy 21:15-17, NLT)

(i)             If you want to destroy your child, just make him feel inferior to everyone else in the family.

!!!!!! (b)           Favoritism or partiality discriminates *(James 2:1-9*.

!!!! b)            The Meaning of the Preference.

!!!!! (1)           The phrase "son of his old age" in our text does not refer to how old Jacob was in years but to how mature Joseph was in behavior.

!!!!!! (a)           Jamieson says this phrase is a "Hebrew phrase for 'a wise son,' one who possessed observation and wisdom above his years—an old head on young shoulders."

!!!!!! (b)           Matthew Poole speaks likewise.

He says, "The ancient translations, Chaldee, Persian, Arabic, and Samaritan, render the words thus, a wise or prudent son; old age being oft mentioned as a token of prudence; one born old, one wise above his years, one that had a grey head, as we say, upon green shoulders."

!!!!!! (c)           Joseph's wisdom is especially evidenced in his holy character.

*Wisdom is indeed evidenced in character as is seen in *"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom" (Prov.9:10),

and "The fear of the Lord is to hate evil" (Prov.8:13).

!!!!!! (d)           If it was simply Jacob's old age at the birth of a son that determined who was the favorite and got the most love, then Benjamin, not Joseph, should be the most loved.

\\ !!! 2.            “Joseph made him a tunic of many colors…”  (Gen37:3).

!!!! a)            The Coat for the Preference.

!!!!! (1)           /The description of the coat:/

!!!!!! (a)           These words are a translation of two Hebrew words “/kethoneth passim”/.

/Kethoneth /means coat, tunic or robe; /passim /means ankles or wrists.

!!!!!! (b)           The two words together mean a long-sleeved coat, or tunic reaching to the ankles.

!!!!! (2)           /The significance of the coat./

!!!!!! (a)           It signified rank.

It indicated that the wearer was an overseer or master.

!!!!!! (b)           By giving this coat to Joseph, Jacob plainly indicated that Joseph was to have the privileged position of preeminence over his brothers in the family's administration.

!!!!! (3)           /The qualifications for the coat: /

!!!!!! (a)           These would vary from family to family, but normally one must at least be the firstborn to be given such a coat.

Joseph, of course, was not the firstborn.

!!! 3.            “When his brothers saw their father loved him more, the hated him…”  (v.4).

!!!! a)            The Contempt for the Preference.

!!!!! (1)           The kind of persons these ten brothers were would predict such hatred.

But they have no justified reason for complaining.

!!!!!! (a)           The ten brothers could not complain that Jacob loved Joseph more than he did them, because they were evil themselves which certainly did not help Jacob to love them.

!!!!!! (b)           Furthermore, they certainly did not love Jacob.

Their meanness later to Jacob in their evil treatment of Joseph shows their great lack of love for Jacob as well as for Joseph.

!!!!! (2)           Many people are like Jacob's ten evil sons.

!!!!!! (a)           They complain about God's lack of love to them and get upset quickly when God shows any preference for the godly.

!!!!!! (b)           But they ignore the fact that they are the ones who have the love problem.

!!!! b)            Hated Without a Cause *(John 15:18-25)*.

!!!!! (1)           We can say the same of Jesus.

Jesus too was loved by his Father.

He too stood for truth.

!!!!! (2)           I think of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem on what we call Palm Sunday.

*He came, as Zechariah prophetically described it: *"Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!  Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem!

Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, Humble, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey."

(Zechariah 9:9)

!!!!! (3)           Yet within the week the crowds were provoked by the leaders of the nation to cry out, “Crucify him!

Crucify him!”

Why did they hate the Son of God?  

!!!!!! (a)           It was because he was not like them.

He spoke out against evil.

He was hated without a cause in him.

The cause was in the people, in their hearts.

!!!!!! (b)           It was directed against anyone who called their wickedness into question.

!!!!! (4)           We know what happened.

Joseph was kept through the days of hatred and was at last exalted to the second highest position in Egypt.

!!!!!! (a)           Jesus was betrayed, tried, and crucified; but he was raised from the dead and today sits upon the throne of the universe.

!!!!!! (b)           Are you suffering?

If you suffer with him, you will also reign with him.

Are you hated?

*The Lord said,* “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matt.

5:10).

\\ !!!!! (5)           We today can turn to passages like (Phil.1:28–30;

*2Tim.2:9**–12*;

Heb.12:3–4; and *1Pet.4:12-17*).

We also have the encouraging words of our Lord found in the Gospels.

*Paul says to not be *"terrified by your adversaries, which is to them a proof of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that from God.

For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake, having the same conflict which you saw in me and now hear is in me."  (Philippians 1:28-30, NKJV)

*Paul said that he suffers *"trouble as an evildoer, even to the point of chains; but the word of God is not chained.

Therefore I endure all things for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.

This is a faithful saying: For if we died with Him, We shall also live with Him.

If we endure, We shall also reign with Him.

If we deny Him, He also will deny us."

(2 Timothy 2:9-12, NKJV).

*When we feel like giving up, we nee to *"consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.

You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin."

(Hebrews 12:3-4, NKJV)

*1Peter4:12**ff*

!!!!! (6)           As you read the life of Joseph, you see in him a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ.