“Now Jacob dwelt in the land where his father (Isaac) was a stranger (or: “sojourner”,  temporary resident), in the land of Canaan. (Notice how the very land in which the Fathers of the Faith were once strangers, became The Promised Land.) This is the history of Jacob. (Recognise how the beautiful testimony of the life of a child becomes a credit to the parent i.e. the story of Joseph is the history of Jacob. Sadly the reverse is also true – the sin of a child becomes the shame of the parent i.e. the behaviour of Joseph’s older brothers. Nevertheless it is worth noting that the story of Joseph’s life far outshines and dominates that of his brothers: “The memory of the righteous [person] is a [source of] blessing, But the name of the wicked will [be forgotten and] rot [like a corpse].” – Proverbs 10:7 (AMP), so much so that their sin and even life stories exist for the sole purpose of literally serving the story of Joseph: highlighting, amplifying and ultimately glorifying it.) Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brothers. (Just like King David this was the age at which this Godly man’s life changed forever. I cannot help but notice the widely accepted truth that girls mature faster mentally than boys by roughly two years. Both I and the young mother Mary were 15 years old when our lives changed forever. King David and Mother Mary entered their formal walk with God through grand displays of glorifying him. I and Joseph entered our formal walk with God through the initiation of great suffering – being “sifted as wheat”, “learning obedience through all that we suffered”.)  And the lad was with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives; (it is interesting to note that at this point Rachel’s former- and Leah’s maidservants, Bilhah and Zilpah have formally been “promoted” to the standing of wives, most probably as a blessing from the Lord; welcoming these gentile women into the fold of the nation of Israel as their very sons will resemble it’s tribes and also as a prophetic marker for what will take place under the New Covenant. Isn’t our God awe-inspiring in how He already hints at the perfect fulfilment of the Law in the adoption of Sons and Daughters in Christ even before the Law is given?! Time is but a cyclical, malleable tool in His hands) and Joseph brought a bad report of them to his father. (a. Joseph was of course only speaking objective truth, prophetically illustrating what an intimate relationship between a true father and child looks like and what we ought to cultivate with our heavenly Father as His Children: full disclosure, honesty, reporting on all that was revealed to the child throughout his or her day, what they had learnt, what they had seen, lamenting and grieving the wickedness they might have beheld, rejoicing over- and glorifying the beauty. b. Angered by the light shone on their dark deeds by a mere innocent observer giving a faithful report and fuelled by envy, Joseph’s brothers’ animosity and indignation toward him quickly escalated into that state amongst them where “confusion and every evil thing are there” [James 3:16].) Now Israel (Jacob) loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age. (That age at which we are most wise, able to discern the mistakes we made when rearing children in our ignorant youth and more aware of the benefits of unconditional Love, as we ourselves have been purified and taught by the Agape Love of God over many years.) Also he made him a tunic of many colours. (He literally covered him with a garment of righteousness; of praise; of glory; of grace; the many colours representing the many facets of all that we are covered and crowned with by our Father in Christ.) But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they HATED him and COULD NOT SPEAK PEACEABLY TO HIM. (Bear in mind that they are creating a platform for hatred and bitter envy to flourish amongst themselves, by standing in agreement with earthly, demonic wisdom [James 3:14-15] and continually inciting one another to more of the same through grumbling and murmuring; making a pastime of gossiping about- and slandering Joseph. If only people would understand how dangerous these seemingly small sins in word can be; how it ultimately leads to violence, even murder, in deed [James 3:1-12].) Now Joseph had a dream, and he told it to his brothers; (note poor young Joseph’s naiveté, once again he is only faithfully reporting an objective truth, ignorant in his innocence of the malice and hatred already cultivated in his brothers as he can by no means relate to- or even imagine such evil arguments that sets itself up against the knowledge of God  [2 Corinthians 10:5]) and they HATED him even more (let us not make light of the matter; they truly HATED him – the very seed that would grow into horrific cruelty and deception, sinning both against the Father and the Son, as represented by Joseph and Israel [Jacob] in this historical narrative).”

“¹Now Jacob dwelt in the land where his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan. ²This is the history of Jacob.

Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brothers. And the lad was with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives; and Joseph brought a bad report of them to his father.

³Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age. Also he made him a tunic of many colours. ⁴But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peaceably to him.

⁵Now Joseph had a dream, and he told it to his brothers; and they hated him even more.”

– Genesis 37:1-5 (NKJV)