A lot of genealogy is shared in chapter 36. We also learn that Esau took his household and his animals and left Canaan to go to Mount Seir. Esau and his brother Jacob had both grown their household and animals so big that they could no longer dwell in the same place.

            Chapter 37 begins with the story of Joseph, one of Jacobs 12 sons. My bible notes that he was Jacobs favorite, and because of this his brothers hated him, so they tricked him and sold Joseph into slavery. However, God had bigger plans for Joseph, which is why he emerged as ruler of all of Egypt. From Joseph we will learn that no matter what trials or tribulations we go through, God is more powerful than it all and is in full control of us and our lives, if we have surrender all to Him. As He protects us we can learn a deeper wisdom and strength throughout life obstacles.

            We learn from Jacob, that we shouldn't have a favorite child, we should love all of our children equally. The last thing any parent should do is favor one child and cause the other child(children) to have resentment, insecurities and hate. Always ask God to help you have an equal love for your children,  the kind of God loving that they deserve.

            We learn from Joseph’s brothers that jealousy and envy isn't a good thing, even if we feel its justified. Satan will always try to allow you to justify hate/envy/jealousy. But God doesn't want us to give into those negative, satanic emotions. God wants us to rise above and look to God to make things right for us. We cant control how others treat us, but we can control how we let it affect us and whether or not we choose to go to God for love and strength, or satan for hate and bitterness. We always have the choice of which direction we will go. If you find yourself filled with any type of negative emotion, ask yourself if its there because you chose to dwell in that, rather than seek love and forgiveness and strength from God. It all starts with what we choose to allow to enter our conscience and dwell on.