(Genesis) Genesis 37:4-6

And verse 4, When his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him. And they certainly did hate him. They could not speak peaceably unto him.

Now, we look into this family again and you notice the strife that's been in all of these families. I tell you, I don't care what family it is, sin today, friends, not only ruins lives, it ruins families. Not only ruins families, it'll ruin a community.

It'll ruin a city. It's ruining our cities today. They say this thing and that thing and another thing's ruining our cities.

Just one thing, God calls it sin, S-I-N, sin. And it ruins nations. And so this boy, Joseph, he's being discriminated by both the father and now the brethren.

The father loves him, the brethren hate him. And verse 5, And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren, and they hated him yet the more. Anything that Joseph did certainly didn't bring the love of his brethren for him.

And he said unto them, Here, I pray you, this dream which I've dreamed. Now, I have a feeling that this 17-year-old boy at this time who has been kept, I'm sure as long as Rachel lived, on her apron string, very much like Jacob had been reared at first. Generally, when a fellow like this, who's been raised tied to his mama's apron string, does finally break loose from the apron string, he's apt to go any direction.

In fact, he's apt to go every direction. Jacob did, but Joseph won't. Joseph is a remarkable individual.

Now, how do you explain, though, this conduct here? Why would he go and tattle on his brethren when he knew it would incur their hatred, and why would he tell them this dream? Well, I think that there's one explanation for it. He's been tied to his mama's apron string so long, he doesn't know how bad this world can be. And he doesn't know how bad his brothers can be.

I'm of the opinion he's a rather gullible boy at this time. And you'll find out that it took him a long time to find out about the ways of the world. And when he did, he probably knew as much about the ways of the world as anyone later on, but not at this time.

He's a 17-year-old boy, raised as he was raised in that day, and a favorite of his father. His father now centers all of the affection that he had for Rachel. And you can understand, there's a tremendous background here in how human we all are.

Oh, Jacob as a young man went out there and saw Rachel. Boy, he fell in love with her, love at first sight. She was a beautiful thing.

He had to work 14 years for her. And then there was several years before a child was born, and finally Joseph is born. And my Rachel's gone now, so what does he do? He just centers all of his affection in this boy.

He shouldn't have done it. He's got more of them around there. But he centers his affection in this boy here.

But listen at the dream that he has. And he just tells it right out.