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GENESIS 37
God’s election led Joseph to be sold as a slave by his jealous brothers. -- (DATE: 1683 BC)
DISCOVER Genesis 37: Joseph, the firstborn son of Rachel worked with the sons of his father’s concubines after his mother’s death. Since he was only seventeen years old, he was just a helper, who brought his father news of them even when it was bad. His father loved him the most among all his brothers, and gifted him with a rich and colorful dress of clothing to express it. This affection made his brothers intensely jealous of him, causing them to be unable to even speak with him without antagonizing him. When Joseph then began to dream of how not only his brothers but everyone would bow down before his authority, it not only enraged his siblings, but also angered his father, who chided him for it, even though in his heart he held on to his son’s words. [Joseph had two dreams about the future: 1. during harvest the sheaf of Joseph stood upright, while the sheaves of his brothers bowed down to him; and 2. the sun, the moon and eleven stars bowed down to Joseph.] -- At some point thereafter, Jacob’s older sons had taken his flocks up from Hebron to distant Shechem in the north of Canaan [travelling via the regions of Bethlehem, Jerusalem and Bethel]. So he sent Joseph to them, to see how they and the flocks were faring. When Joseph arrived in the area, he learned that his brothers had moved on with the pasturing flocks to Dothan, several miles to the north-west. -- When young Joseph came close to where they herded the flocks, his brothers spotted him in his rich garment. Driven by the jealous hatred that had festered in their hearts, some among them said that here, far away from their home, they could easily kill the dreamer and hide his corpse in one of the dried up waterholes. The eldest, Reuben, however, reproved this idea. (But since he wasn’t eager to fight his brothers to the point of killing some of them,) he commanded them not to shed Joseph’s blood and instead simply throw him in a nearby pit alive, hoping that when the others were gone he could come and rescue the boy and send him back to their father. Following their eldest’s suggestion, the brothers took Joseph when he arrived, stripped him of his fine clothing, bound him and threw him into the pit, before settling down to enjoy a meal. -- As the brothers ate, they saw an Ishmaelite caravan approach. This gave Judah a devious idea, which he immediately told the others: Let us sell our brother to the traders. That way we don’t have to dirty our hands with his blood and he would be gone for good regardless. The brothers with him immediately agreed to this plan and stopped the caravan as it passed by. It turned out to be no trouble for them to sell Joseph for twenty pieces of silver to the Midianites, who were carrying spices to sell in Egypt. -- Reuben had been away and did not participate in this devious plan. By the time he returned, the deed was already done and the pit his brother had been thrown into was empty. This caused him to rip up his clothes in anguish and devastation, as he had no idea where he was to turn now (in his shame). His brothers, meanwhile, were going through with their ploy and slaughtered a goat to use its blood to soil the rich and colorful garment of their brother, so that when they returned to their home in Hebron, they could show it their father and say that Joseph must have fallen victim to wild animals. When Israel learned this lie, he did not notice it and in grief tore his clothes and mourned his beloved son’s passing, and none of his family was able to comfort his sadness. -- Upon arriving in Egypt, the Midianites sold Joseph on to Potiphar, an officer to the Pharaoh and captain of the guard.
PRAYER: Holy God of Jacob, we are amazed about how you subtly revealed your plans concerning Jacob and his family by giving Joseph extraordinary dreams. At the same time we are shocked about how jealousy can switch into hatred and bring the desire to kill and lie. Please help us not to give in to such Satanic feelings in our hearts. We worship you that you nevertheless were in charge of the lives of Joseph and his family, by using Judah to disable both the plan of Joseph’s brothers to kill him and the plan of Reuben to bring him safely back to his father. Thank you heavenly Father for watching over the young boy Joseph in spite of the difficult events he had to go through. We also commit ourselves to you, trusting that you never make mistakes and lead us even in most trying events. Amen.
QUESTION 37: Why is God not mentioned once in this chapter, and how was He nevertheless secretly and in a sovereign way shaping the life of Joseph?