Sibling relationships aren’t always easy, but few involve throwing your brother into a pit and then selling him into slavery. Things were pretty desperate in Jacob’s household and the events that unfold in Genesis 37 resonate with the way Jacob chose his wives and the favouritism he showed to them after their marriages, loving Rachel more than Leah (Genesis 29v30). The sisters struggle together as they bear children to Jacob (Genesis 30v8) and similarly the brothers struggle with jealousy when their father shows greater love for his son Joseph than his other sons.
Throughout the account only Joseph shows unerring faithfulness in his dealings with his brothers, despite the evil that they did to him. He saw God working in his life and trusted in Him, knowing that God had a greater purpose for his people, and that all things were working for Joseph’s good (Romans 8v28).
What an example Joseph is of patience towards his brothers. Even they can’t quite believe it. When their father has just died they send to Joseph to try to appease the punishment that surely he is going to exact on them following Jacob’s death. That wasn’t how Joseph thought about things. He weeps when they send to him, and reassures them that he is not in the place of God but will nourish them and their little ones. He speaks to them of God’s purpose and encourages them in faithfulness (Genesis 50).
This doesn’t look much like the sibling rivalry we sometimes see but Joseph was building a household of faith based on the promises God had given to his fathers. He understood that through God’s great plan of salvation, he and his brothers could share together in God’s kingdom and should help one another to that end, rather than fighting.