Everyday, we who have come to understand more of Yehovah’s eternal and unchanging ways, experience rejection. And the deeper our understandings and the more our actions deviate from those around us, the greater that rejection becomes. Yehovah can harden the hearts of our family members just as he hardened the heart of Pharaoh and the hearts of Joseph’s brothers to accomplish His perfect will in our life. But the most hurtful, the most grievous rejection of all is family rejection.
Today we begin the story of Joseph, a less than perfect man who experienced family rejection in its fulness when his brothers decided to murder him. But he went on to become a man used by Elohim to save his family and many others.
Other than the birth of Joseph in Genesis 30:24, he is not mentioned until he is 17 years old. Joseph was only 14 when his brothers fought the 6 day war with the 7 Amorite cities 3 years before; and he is not mentioned there because he and Benjamin were too young and, I believe, too precious to Jacob to fight.
Yasher 41:5 And Joseph the son of Jacob, and his brother Benjamin, the sons of Rachel, the wife of Jacob, were yet young in those days, and did not go out with their brethren during their battles in all the cities of the Amorites.
6 And when Joseph saw the strength of his brethren, and their greatness, he praised them and extolled them, but he ranked himself greater than them, and extolled himself above them; and Jacob, his father, also loved him more than any of his sons, for he was a son of his old age, and through his love toward him, he made him a coat of many colors.
7 And when Joseph saw that his father loved him more than his brethren, he continued to exalt himself above his brethren, and he brought unto his father evil reports concerning them.
8 And the sons of Jacob seeing the whole of Joseph’s conduct toward them, and that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak peaceably to him all the days.
9 And Joseph was seventeen years old, and he was still magnifying himself above his brethren, and thought of raising himself above them.
Here is a time-line for the life of Joseph, just like the ones I did for Abraham and Jacob.
0 – Joseph born in Haran (Gen 30:24 & Yasher 31:21)
9 – Rachel dies at 45 & Benjamin is born (Yasher 36:11 & Gen_35:16-18)
14 – Joseph’s 10 older brothers fight the 6 day war with the 7 Amorite cities. (Yasher 37 – 39 & Yasher 41:5-6)
17 – sold in slavery (Gen_37:1 & Yasher 40 -42)
17 – In Potiphar’s house (Gen_39:1 & Yasher 42)
18 – Placed in prison for 12 years. (Jasher 44:77)
27 – Butler and the baker arrive at the prison (Yasher 46:5)
28 – Interprets the butler’s and the baker’s dreams (Yasher 46:19-20, Gen_40:23)
30 – Joseph interprets Pharaoh’s dream (Gen_41:46)
34 – Joseph’s twin sons are born (Yasher 50:15 & Gen_41:50-52)
37 – Famine begins (Genesis 41:54 & Yasher 50:18)
38 – Brothers come to Egypt the 1st time (Genesis 42:1 &Yasher 51:1-6)
39 – Brothers (39 – 45) come 2nd time w/ Benjamin (30) and go back for their father (130) and families (Yasher 53 & Gen_45:1 – Gen_47:9)
56 – Jacob, and then Esau (147) die (Gen_47:28 & Yasher 56:1-2)
71 – Pharaoh dies, and Magron (41) his son reigned in his place – Joseph acts as Magron’s father (Yasher 58:1-2)
71 – Joseph reigned over Egypt for 40 years (Yasher 58:11)89 – Joseph and the sons of Jacob with 600 men killed 200,000 of 800,000 men sent by Esau. (Yasher 58:17)
110 – Joseph dies (Gen_50:26)
Jacob was sheckleless and alone when he arrived in Haran. 
In today’s lesson, Yehovah has commanded His son (Israel) to take vengeance for Him on Midian for what they did to us in the incident of Peor. We were to kill all their males and their women who had been with a male and then bring back the Midianite virgins alive. But we are still a bit new at all of this.
Esau hates Jacob, and he always will! The man who lives out his life in the flesh, will always hate