But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peacefully to him.
Love seen, hatred born
The chapter opens on a household where affection has become evidence. The brothers do not react to anything Joseph does; they react to what they see in their father's face, and the sight breeds a hatred that even ordinary conversation cannot survive.
One writer traces the root of the trouble to what the brothers had no share in:
C. H. MackintoshHe was the object of his father's love, and he was marked out for very high destinies. His brothers' hearts had no share in these things, so they hated him. They had no fellowship in the father's love. They would not accept the thought of Joseph's exaltation.
Another writer puts the fault on the father, not on the son:
L. M. GrantThe love of Jacob for Joseph drew out the bitter animosity of his brothers. Jacob was to blame for this, of course, not Joseph, but the same thing has happened in many families. In the case of the Lord Jesus, Israel hated both Him and His Father (John 15:24). They did not have the slightest excuse for this, though Jacob's brothers might have had some excuse for hating Joseph.
Hatred that starts in the mouth
Their hatred took away even a friendly greeting. One writer follows it from that first sign to where it ended:
F. B. HoleThe clearer it became that his father loved him in a special way, the more they hated him. Their hatred first showed in their speech — they "could not speak peacefully to him." Later it broke out in wicked action. But we see at once a type of the One of whom Psalm 69 speaks prophetically: "They ... hate Me without cause"; and again, "I have become a stranger to my brothers, an alien to my mother's sons."
Why goodness is resented
Joseph had served his brothers and done them no injury. One writer answers the puzzle of why such a person should be hated at all:
Hamilton SmithWhy was Joseph hated by his brothers? Was he not in their company as one who served? He was. But they were evil. However welcome his service might be, his presence exposed their evil and called out their hatred. For the same reason, and far more deeply, the world hated Christ. He could say, "It hates Me because I testify about it that its works are evil."
The loneliness behind the words
The verse says nothing about what this cost Joseph himself. One writer pictures it:
Boyhood Scenes of ScriptureJoseph had done them no harm — no, he loved them, so very much: yet he lived among his brothers as one alone. He "was separate from his brothers." How it must have hurt poor Joseph — out "feeding the flock with his brothers," or at home with them, and never hearing a kind word from any of them.
A lesson for every servant of God
The love that drew the hatred was also what had to carry Joseph through it:
The Bible TreasuryOn one side he learned the tenderness and the resources of his father's affection. On the other he suffered reproach and persecution for being so favoured. So early in life, and in his own family, Joseph learned — as all God's servants do — the basic truth that had to sustain him in the highest service later on: that the one loved by God is the one hated by man. His father's love, marked out by the coat of many colours, had to make up to him for the hatred of his brothers. It had to strengthen him and prepare him for all their opposition and envy.
The same hatred in every heart
One writer turns the verse on the reader:
C. KnappIn verse 4 of our chapter we read that Joseph's brothers "hated him and could not speak peacefully to him." It was the same with Jesus here on earth. People hated Him without a cause. And this is every sinner's attitude toward Christ until he comes to Him by faith and learns His love. You may not want to believe this of yourself, but it is true all the same. You may not know this enmity to Christ is in your heart, but it is there just the same.
Summary
- Loved — the whole trouble starts with a father's love his brothers had no share in. They wanted no part in what the father valued.
- Hated — the clearer the love, the deeper the hatred. It showed first in their speech, long before they raised a hand.
- Exposed — the deeper cause was moral. His service was welcome, but his presence showed up their evil, and that is why the world hated Christ too.
- Alone — the loved son lived among his own family as a stranger, never hearing a kind word from any of them.
- Sustained — every servant of God learns this early. The one loved by God is hated by man, and the Father's love must make up for it.