Genesis 36-39 The Lord was with Joseph

Esau & Jacob were both sinners, however, we don't read of Esau repenting and giving himself back completely to God.  Hebrews 12:16-17 demonstrates this is the case.

Edom, the descendants of Esau were rejected by God, whereas Israel, the descendants of Jacob were chosen by Him.  cf Obadiah 1-4, 8-10, 17-18, Malachi 1:2-5

Joseph was hated by his brothers who were envious of him for 3 reasons:
- Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons
- Joseph had a dream & told it to his brothers.  He was unwise.
- Joseph had another dream & told this to his brothers.  Again, he was unwise.

The brothers' envy led them to murder, both in thought and effectively deed, to lying and deceit, to dishonouring their father...James 3:16 rings true.

Jacob's possessive love of Joseph was fine, but not to the detriment or neglect of the other brothers.  His favouritism was at fault for much of Joseph's ill-treatment by his brothers.  His grief was a natural reaction to obvious sadness.  There are lessons for parenting, sibling relationships and a reminder to steer clear of evil throughout all of this.

Ch 38:  The events of sin & shame all originated from not trusting God and His purposes to provide and bring about His promises.  In marrying multiple women and taking them from outside God's boundaries, the family brought real grief upon themselves.

Ch 39:  Joseph exemplified the best qualities of his ancestors:
Faith & faithfulness of Abraham:  by trusting in God, even when circumstances seemed to be going against him.  By being obedient to him, even when it must have been hard (impossible?).
Meekness of Isaac:  he humbly allowed God to use him in the circumstances he found himself in, rather than exerting power or authority.
Energy & ability of Jacob:  he demonstrated capability to work well and bring God honour in the way he worked.
Beauty of Rachel:  he was well-built and handsome, but showed this in his character also.

Joseph won victory over sexual temptation, the temptation to exert himself and defend himself, even in the face of lies, even the temptation (presumably) to get revenge.  The key to his success was that God was with him throughout, and that he clearly was with God.