The Life Of Joseph - From Prison To Prime Minister - Part 3
Sold Into Slavery (Genesis 37 verses 12-36)
We have already been introduced to the character we are studying, Joseph of the Old Testament, and have seen the bitterness and hatred shown to him by his ten brothers. We have reminded ourselves of the large and ugly weeds that can grow from small seeds, and we will soon discover that this was the experience of the brothers of Joseph, the children of Israel. It happened like this; Joseph’s brothers had taken their father’s flocks near to Shechem for grazing, and Jacob was getting concerned about their welfare, so asked Joseph to go and bring back news of them. We immediately see the young man, in his mid-teens, acting with…
Obedience
This was before the Ten Commandments had been given, with their pointed reminder “honour your father and mother”. Here, without any specific command from God, Joseph responds to his father’s request with prompt obedience. So we see the young man setting out on his lonely trail to the town of Shechem, some 50 miles distance, doubtless with the threat of wild animals and possibly marauding robbers. When he reaches his destination there is no trace of his brothers, but rather than turn back toward home he asks a local resident whether he has seen ten men with their sheep. The man immediately told him that he had indeed seen his brothers, and they had indicated that they were going to Dothan, about 15 miles north of Shechem. The diligence and integrity of this young man is clearly seen as he searches for his brothers at considerable personal inconvenience. No doubt they would be delighted to see him, bringing news from home…but no! Rather than showing pleasure, the brothers saw him in the distance and the record tells us that “before he reached them they plotted to kill him” (Genesis 37 verse 18). This is a case of the seeds of jealousy and bitterness developing into plans of murder. Let us always be on our guard, for if we harbour unkind thoughts of other people, they can so easily turn into bitterness, which can bring forth the evil fruit of murder. The Lord Jesus was very forthright when challenging the people of His day about the requirements of the law. “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago ‘Do not murder ... but I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment”. (Matthew 7 verse 21). We do well to think about it!
Once the circumstances became clear to the brothers they saw it as a wonderful…
Opportunity
As we go through our lives we are all presented with opportunities. Indeed, rarely a day passes without us being given the choice between good and evil, an action which will either bring blessing and encouragement to others, or leave them worse off than before. Do we approach each day with a prayer in our hearts that God will give us the wisdom and strength to take the right and helpful course, or do we allow our fallen, human nature to take over? These brothers were still holding a bitter grudge in their hearts, and they saw the opportunity as an opening for evil! “Let’s kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns and say that a ferocious animal devoured him” (Genesis 37 verse 20). They had it all worked out, and in the process were quite prepared to deceive their old father into thinking that his favourite son had been killed by wild animals. This is so often the case. One sin leads to another; in this case bitterness was leading to murder, which in turn was taking them into a lifetime of lies and deceit. Thankfully God had other plans, and He would not forsake the young man who was prepared to trust Him, although Joseph had a hard, uphill road ahead before such plans would come to pass.
So we see, over and above the wicked plans of man, God’s…
Over-Ruling
Centuries later the Apostle Paul was able to confirm that “in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose” (Romans 8 verse 28). For the believer this is a wonderful promise of assurance upon which we can rest with complete confidence. Perhaps you are passing through difficult circumstances; you don’t know which way to turn. Rather like Joseph, you are facing an unknown future, which looks extremely black. If you are in a right relationship with God through His Son, the Lord Jesus, you can rest in the sure and certain hope that He is in control. “God is faithful: He will not let you be tempted (or tested) beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it” (1 Corinthians 10 verse 13). These words were not written at the time of Joseph, but he would live to prove the truth of them!
So we see the young man taken roughly by his brothers, stripped of his robe, and thrown into an empty cistern. The record tells us that “there was no water in it”. No doubt in that hot climate Joseph could well have wished that it were half-full of water! Judah, one of Joseph’s older brothers, then took the lead, for a caravan of merchantmen was passing by, and he hit upon the idea of selling their brother as a slave, thus providing them with some ready cash. Everything went according to plan, and the twenty pieces of silver that changed hands would give two pieces to each brother! No doubt they thought they had done a good day’s work, for they had got rid of their over-bearing brother and had lined their pockets with silver into the bargain. Little did they realise where their cruel and hard-hearted act would lead, but as the story unfolds you will discover that God was on the throne controlling the events, even though Joseph may very well have felt that God had let him down.
When the brothers returned home with Joseph’s coat, suitably covered with animal blood, their father Jacob was…
Overwrought
The blatant hypocrisy of his sons is almost unbelievable. It was bad enough to deceive their father into thinking that a wild animal had killed their brother, but to pretend to comfort him in his bereavement, knowing that they had last seen the young lad alive and well, on his way to Egypt, was hypocrisy at its’ worst. We wonder how they could stand by and hear the old man cry from his heart “In mourning will I go down to the grave to my son” (Genesis 37 verse 35) without telling him the truth and confessing their sin. Did they think that God would allow such a thing to happen without bringing them to account? If not down here, then certainly in a coming judgment day. Yet we can be all too ready to point the finger at others, and not realise that we are not the men and women God wants us to be. We may not have descended to such depths as Jacob’s sons, but we can all be guilty of “living a lie”. Many people, every day, are putting on a front, pretending to be walking with the Lord, when their hearts are not right with Him. How thankful we should be that the chorus expresses a real biblical truth when it says “There’s a way back to God from the dark paths of sin, There’s a door that is open and we may go in, At Calvary’s cross is where we begin, When we come as a sinner to Jesus”. Perhaps I’m speaking to someone who has never come to the Lord Jesus for salvation. The way is open for you to come to Him in repentance, acknowledging your need of a Saviour, and receiving His forgiveness and cleansing. If you are a Christian who has failed your Lord, the way is also open for you. Again we must confess our sin, knowing that “He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1 verse 9).
If only the brothers had taken such a step, what a different story we would have had to tell. As it is, we have a grieving father, a young man being sold into slavery in a foreign land, and ten brothers who have deceived their aged parent and will no doubt find it difficult to look him in the face. The lesson is clear for each one of us, deceit and lying will never pay. Although the immediate outcome may look favourable, God will ensure that truth and righteousness will triumph in the end. In the Day of Judgment all wrongdoing will be revealed. Let’s make sure that we learn the lesson now, before it is too late!