From Brat to Boss

Joseph Was Hated
Lesson Thirteen

Genesis 37:1–17

Joseph’s brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them. So they hated Joseph. They couldn’t even speak one kind word to him. (Gen. 37:4 NIRV)

Joseph was now seventeen years old. He was in the fields with some of his brothers. He and his brothers from Bilhah and Zilpah were taking care of the flocks. Joseph told their dad the bad things he thought his brothers were doing. Was Joseph being a tattletale? What do you think? A tattletale is someone who tells on another person to make that person look bad or get him or her in trouble. The person telling does it because, I think, he or she believes that making someone else look bad makes him or her look good. Does that make sense? Adults don’t mind if you are telling on someone to protect that person or to protect someone else. But at some point you need to learn to work things out yourself without force.
Israel (Jacob) loved Joseph more than his other sons. Joseph was born when Israel (Jacob) was old. Also remember what we learned in lesson two. Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah (Gen. 29:30). And who was Joseph’s mother? Rachel was.
It was obvious to his brothers that their father loved Joseph more than them. Their father made Joseph a beautiful robe; some Bibles translate this to say it was a robe or coat of many colors. I’ve also heard it could mean a coat with sleeves.
Joseph’s brothers hated him so much that they couldn’t say a nice word to him. That must have made for a lot of arguments. That makes me wonder if Joseph told on them because they were ugly to him, or maybe they were ugly to him because he told on them. I think it may have been a little of both. What do you think? Don’t just say what I said and move on. But think about Joseph and his brothers as if they were you and your family. You see, Joseph and his family were just that—a family like yours and mine. You may decide you agree with me, or you may have an idea of your own. Pray and ask God, “What do You want me to learn from this?” That’s what Bible study is all about. It’s not just reading the Word (scripture) to see how much you can read.
I can’t imagine hating someone like that. I was taught that we must forgive those who do bad to us and to pray for them. My mom said, “It is hard to hate someone you are praying for.” Scripture says it this way: “But here is what I tell you. Love your enemies. Pray for those who hurt you” (Matt 5:44 NIRV).
If you think you hate someone, pray for him or her. If you know of someone who hates you, ask yourself why. If you think you did something wrong to them, pray and ask God to forgive you. It would also be good if you would ask the person to forgive you.
It is hard to forgive people who are constantly picking on you. That is exactly why the Lord tells us in Luke 11:4 (NIRV), “Forgive us our sins, as we also forgive everyone who sins against us.”
Sins are things we do wrong. Forgiving and praying for your enemies is not to say that you should let yourself be bullied. Let’s remember that bullying and teasing are different. Teasing is usually done between friends or family, people who like one another. It’s for fun and done in a playful way. It’s not meant to hurt you. If you get your feelings hurt, let them know in a nice way, “That hurt my feelings.”
Bullying is usually done by a person who is trying to force someone else to do what he or she wants or to give him or her something (like lunch money). A bully may want to hurt someone, thinking it will make him or her popular or happy. If someone is bullying you or someone you know, tell an adult you trust. This is not being a tattletale. Telling on a bully is protecting yourself and others from being hurt. You should not continue to listen to or read phone or text messages or social media posts that are negative about you or your family. Instead, remind yourself of positive things.
If you think you may be a bully, pray that God will forgive you. Also pray that God will change your heart and give you the strength to change your ways. It is possible! Scripture says, “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.” This scripture can be found in your Bible. Look up Philippians 4:13. Look back at the introduction of this book if you need a reminder on how to find a scripture in your Bible. It doesn’t matter how many times you have to refer back to that before it becomes easy.
I would like to give you an example. A baby falls many times when it is learning to walk. No one says, “Oh no, she fell again. I guess she will have to give up.” No, they always cheer each time the baby tries.
Let me tell you something you may not have ever thought about. Most everyone has to do new things over and over many times before they are happy with their results.