Transcript

An old story is told of a king who had a close friend with whom he grew up. The friend had a habit of looking at every situation that ever occurred in his life (positive or negative) and remarking, “This is good!”

One day the king and his friend were out on a hunting expedition. The friend would load and prepare the guns for the king.

The friend had apparently done something wrong in preparing one of the guns, and after taking the gun from his friend, the king fired it and the top of his thumb was blown off.

Examining the situation the friend remarked as usual, “This is good!” To which the king replied, “No, this is NOT good!” and proceeded to send his friend to jail.

About a year later, the king was hunting in an area that he should have known to stay clear of. Cannibals captured him and took him to their village.

They tied his hands, stacked some wood, set up a stake and bound him to the stake. As they came near to set fire to the wood, they noticed that the king was missing the top of his thumb. Being superstitious, they never ate anyone that was less than whole.

So untying the king, they sent him on his way. As he returned home, he was reminded of the event that had injured his thumb and felt remorse for his treatment of his friend. He went immediately to the jail to speak with his friend.

“You were right,” he said, “I guess it was good that part of my thumb was blown off.” And he proceeded to tell the friend all that had just happened. “And so I am very sorry for sending you to jail for so long. It was wrong for me to do this.”

“No,” his friend replied, “This is good!” “What do you mean, ‘This is good’? How could it be good that I sent my friend to jail for a year?” He replied, “Because if I had NOT been in jail, I would have been with you.”

Putting ourselves in Joseph’s shoes when he was sold by his brothers and being carried away into Egypt, we wouldn’t be thinking, “This is good.” Instead, we would’ve thought, “this is not good.” But knowing the whole story as we do, and as Joseph would later see it, we could say, “This is good.”

As one author put it, “Little did Joseph think then that hereafter he should look back on that day as one of the most gracious links in a chain of loving providences; or that he should ever say to his brothers: ‘Be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me here before you to preserve life.’

“It is very sweet, as life passes by, to be able to look back on dark and [puzzling] events, and to trace the hand of God in one’s life.”

Through all the peaks and valleys of Joseph’s life, God was with him all the way, and He ultimately accomplished His plan for his life, and worked all things together for good.

Genesis 37:12-14: “And his brethren went to feed their father’s flock in Shechem. And Israel said unto Joseph, Do not thy brethren feed the flock in Shechem? come, and I will send thee unto them. And he said to him, Here am I.

“And he said to him, Go, I pray thee, see whether it be well with thy brethren, and well with the flocks; and bring me word again. So he sent him out of the vale of Hebron, and he came to Shechem.”

Sometime after Joseph’s dreams, his brothers went to pasture their father’s flocks, but Joseph didn’t go with them.

It’s interesting that Jacob’s sons took the flocks to feed in the place called Shechem. According to Genesis 33, Jacob owned property there, and they had lived there for a time.

But what makes it interesting, is that this was the very place where their sister, Dinah, had been raped and where Levi and Simeon had massacred and killed many men to avenge their sister, and then afterwards raided their homes and took their property.

Jacob and his family had left that area in fear of the inhabitants of the land after the massacre. But they apparently had no fear in going back.

However, when Jacob realized where they had gone, he was concerned about their welfare and that they may be in danger. So he ordered Joseph to go and check on his brothers and their flocks and to report back to him.

Jacob knew he could depend on Joseph for a truthful report, because Joseph had brought back honest reports of his brothers before.

But notice Joseph’s response to his father asking him to do this, he said, “Here am I.”

When the Lord appeared to Isaiah, and Isaiah saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and he heard the words, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Isaiah’s response was, “Here am I, send me.”

Joseph’s response was the same here, “Here am I,” as he was ready and willing to go, and do whatever his father asked. There was no hesitation, but only instant obedience. Joseph knew of the danger and risks of going to Shechem, but obedience to his father’s commands was his first priority.

So Joseph set out from the “vale” or valley of Hebron to go north to Shechem. From Hebron to Shechem was a journey 50 miles, which was at least a two to three day trip.

Genesis 37:15-17: “And a certain man found him, and, behold, he was wandering in the field: and the man asked him, saying, What seekest thou? And he said, I seek my brethren: tell me, I pray thee, where they feed their flocks.

“And the man said, They are departed hence; for I heard them say, Let us go to Dothan. And Joseph went after his brethren, and found them in Dothan.”

When Joseph arrived at Shechem he was dismayed to find that they were not there. So he roamed around the area looking everywhere, searching high and low, trying to find some clue as to what might have happened to them or where they might’ve gone.

Then a man from the area noticed Joseph wandering around and looking for something, so he questioned Joseph and asked him what he was seeking. Joseph told him that he was seeking his brothers and where they were feeding their flocks.

The man responded that he had overheard them saying that they planned to go on to Dothan. Dothan had a good water supply and pasturage for their flocks.

Joseph’s brothers were in no mood to return home, and so they had just kept on going farther away from Hebron and from home.

Many might have concluded that they had fulfilled their obligation when they could not find their brothers in the place their father sent them too, and turned around and gone home. But not Joseph! He “went after his brethren” verse 17 says.

His father wanted to know the welfare of his sons and he wanted word brought back to him. And Joseph was going to fully carry out the will of his father, even if it meant going beyond the original command. So he continued to pursue after them to find them.

Dothan was about 15 miles or so north of Shechem so it took Joseph at least another day to reach there. After arriving in Dothan he finally found his brothers.

What you see in all this is a type of Christ: The brothers represent the children of Israel, wandering far from home and God the Father, searching for greener pastures in the world.

As Joseph was sent by his father to find his brothers in a dangerous place in Shechem, Christ was sent by God the Father to his brothers, the children of Israel, in a dangerous place of sin, death, and spiritual warfare in this world.

And as Joseph said “Here am I,” and willingly and obediently went to carry out his father’s will, so Christ willingly and obediently came to this world determined to carry out His Father’s will.

Like Joseph had to search for his brothers, Christ came “to SEEK and to save that which was lost,” and to pursue the children of Israel with a steadfast love and determination.

But having come to his brethren, Joseph, like Christ was rejected by His own, and they moved with envy against Him, and had murderous thoughts against Him. And as John 1:11 says of Christ “He came unto His own, and His own received Him not.”

And like the children of Israel with Christ, Joseph’s brothers had the same thoughts and attitude as the parable of the wicked vinedressers, like the children of Israel had with Christ: Matthew 21:38 says, “When the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir, come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance.”

Genesis 37:18-22: “And when they saw him afar off, even before he came near unto them, they conspired against him to slay him. And they said one to another, Behold, this dreamer cometh.

“Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into some pit, and we will say, Some evil beast hath devoured him: and we shall see what will become of his dreams.

“And Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands; and said, Let us not kill him. And Reuben said unto them, Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit that is in the wilderness, and lay no hand upon him; that he might rid him out of their hands, to deliver him to his father again.”

Joseph’s brothers saw him coming a great way off, recognizing him by his colorful coat, and as Joseph came, they began to devise an evil plan.

The combination of hatred and envy can be lethal. And we see here the extremes to what these sins can lead a person to do.

The brothers’ plan for murder and cover-up was the fruit of their hate and envy of Joseph. Their pent-up emotions were ready to explode and all they needed was the opportunity, and they see this as their opportunity.

As they saw him coming, they sarcastically said to each other: “Behold, this dreamer cometh.”

The Hebrew word for “dreamer” speaks of one who is a master at dreaming. So they were saying, “Here comes the dream expert!” or “Look, here comes that specialist in dreams!” suggesting that he is good for nothing else.

Their initial plan was to kill him outright, throw him into a pit, and then cover it up and report back to their father that he had been killed by a wild animal. And after that, “We shall see what will become of his dreams!”

This shows that the brothers feared that Joseph’s dreams might have actually come true. But by killing him, they would prevent this.

But Reuben would not go along with the plan. Reuben’s thought was to teach him a lesson, but not to kill him. He did like the part of the idea of throwing him into a pit though. Reuben wanted to spare Joseph’s life and he intended to help Joseph escape, but he knew the murderous intent of the other brothers would not allow this immediately.

So he persuaded them with the idea of not killing him right then, but to catch him and throw him into the pit alive, letting him die of thirst or exposure rather than shedding his blood.

Thus, Reuben was able to persuade them against the overt act of killing their brother.

Reuben’s thinking was that after they had thrown him in the pit and left the area, he’d return later alone, and rescue Joseph out of the pit so he could return home.

As verse 22 says that he had come up with this plan so “that he might rid him out of their hands, to deliver him to his father again.”

Genesis 37:23-28: “And it came to pass, when Joseph was come unto his brethren, that they stript Joseph out of his coat, his coat of many colours that was on him;

“And they took him, and cast him into a pit: and the pit was empty, there was no water in it. And they sat down to eat bread: and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and, behold, a company of Ishmeelites came from Gilead with their camels bearing spicery and balm and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt.

“And Judah said unto his brethren, What profit is it if we slay our brother, and conceal his blood? Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmeelites, and let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother and our flesh. And his brethren were content.

“Then there passed by Midianites merchantmen; and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmeelites for twenty pieces of silver: and they brought Joseph into Egypt.”

Having agreed and decided what they were going to do, the brothers laid their hands on Joseph as soon as he reached them. And the first thing they did was to tear off the coat of many colors which they resented.

The hated robe of favoritism and his vaunted symbol of prestige was the first thing to go. And in their hatred, they ripped it off him.

Then they grabbed him and dragged him to a deep hole, and we can be certain, violently threw him down into the depths of a dark, muddy, empty pit beside their camp.

They took care to choose a pit that had “no water in it.” And the pit was deep, so that Joseph could not climb out of it.

After they threw Joseph into the pit, they then realized that they were hungry and that it was time to eat lunch. Since Reuben was there it makes me wonder if they ate Reuben sandwiches?

But it can be difficult to understand how the brothers could sit down and calmly eat a meal while their brother was suffering nearby and also begging them to set him free.

There is no record of Joseph’s crying or begging for help in these verses, but Genesis 42:21 makes it clear that he did. In that passage we learn how the brothers later said to one another, “We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul, when he besought [begged] us, and we would not hear.”

As they were eating lunch, Joseph cried out to them, but they hardened their hearts and turned a deaf ear to his pleas.

During that meal, out of the “anguish of his soul” Joseph pleaded for his brothers’ help: “Judah, save me. Brothers, help. Dan, Gad, Issachar get me out! Naphtali, Levi, Simeon, why are you doing this?”

In the meantime, sometime after Joseph was thrown into the pit and before lunch was finished, Reuben left, probably to check on their flocks.

As the other brothers were still eating, they saw a caravan in the distance, following the nearby common trade route which went by Dothan down into Egypt.

This caravan must’ve smelled both bad and good. Bad because of the camels, but good with all their spices and the myrrh they were carrying. And they also had the medicinal and healing “balm of Gilead.”

The men in the caravan are called both Ishmaelites (v. 25,27,28) and Midianites (v. 28). Both Ishmael and Midian were sons of Abraham, and their respective descendants were often together. Both groups were present in this caravan. And they were actually family. They were distant cousins to the sons of Jacob.

Joseph and his brothers were grandchildren of Abraham’s son Isaac, and those in the caravan were descendants from Abraham’s sons Ishmael and Midian, but they all had the same great-grandfather: Abraham.

Seeing the Ishmaelites gave Judah an idea: why not sell Joseph to them? That way, Joseph would be removed from the family, which was what the brothers wanted most of all. Plus, his life would be spared and they would not be guilty of murder. And on top of this, they could make a financial profit in the process! It was a win-win in his mind.

And since anybody taken to Egypt and sold as a slave wasn’t likely to gain their freedom and ever come back, there was no danger that their plot would ever be discovered.

His idea was met with a positive response. His brothers all agreed to sell Joseph into bondage, rather than to leave him die in the pit.

When the caravan came by, the brothers hailed them. Passing by were some Midianite merchantmen within the caravan and they told them their proposition.

Probably after bargaining a bit, they settled on a price of 20 pieces of silver as Joseph’s price, the price of a common slave. And so Joseph, like Jesus Christ, was betrayed by someone who should’ve loved him, for the price of a slave.

But some bargains are bad bargains. These 10 men lined their pockets with silver, but they also lined their conscience with guilt, guilt that they would carry for many years to come. And guilt is a heavy burden to carry in life.

The deal was struck, Joseph was drawn up out of the pit by his brothers, sold and handed over to the Ishmeelites, and then carried by the caravan into Egypt. And so Joseph’s journey to Egypt began with the world’s first pit stop!

Genesis 37:29-36: “And Reuben returned unto the pit; and, behold, Joseph was not in the pit; and he rent his clothes. And he returned unto his brethren, and said, The child is not; and I, whither shall I go?

“And they took Joseph’s coat, and killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the coat in the blood; And they sent the coat of many colours, and they brought it to their father; and said, This have we found: know now whether it be thy son’s coat or no.

“And he knew it, and said, It is my son’s coat; an evil beast hath devoured him; Joseph is without doubt rent in pieces. And Jacob rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days.

“And all his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted; and he said, For I will go down into the grave unto my son mourning. Thus his father wept for him. And the Midianites sold him into Egypt unto Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh’s, and captain of the guard.”

After selling Joseph, the brothers went back to their flocks and left the vicinity of the pit and got back to work. Reuben then returned, probably intending to free Joseph at this point. But to his surprise and horror, he discovered that Joseph was gone.

Reuben then “rent his garments,” the conventional way of expressing grief in those days. Now he was “in the pits!” But his grief showed how much he had actually wanted to rescue and free his brother.

Reuben then rushed to catch up to his brothers to tell them about Joseph’s disappearance, only to find out what they had done with him.

He realized that he would be held responsible by his father Jacob, and he was distressed over where he would go to hide from his father, and what he should do and how he would ever account for his disappearance.

Although he was absent at the time of the sale, he would be held responsible for the treachery and so he joined in the cover-up. They all settle on a convenient lie.

One sin led to another sin as the men now fabricated the evidence to deceive their father into thinking that Joseph was dead.

The brothers would lead their father to believe Joseph had been tragically killed by a wild beast, as they had originally intended to say anyway. They would not just tell the lie though, they would let their father deduce this from the evidence.

They were for all intents and purposes placing the responsibility for Joseph’s supposed death on their father, who had sent him out alone to find his brothers in the wilderness.

And so as the caravan winded its way down the road and out of sight, the brothers calmly dipped Joseph’s robe in the blood of a freshly killed goat.

Then they coldly took the bloodstained garment back to their father, handed it to him, and said, “We have found this. Do you know whether it is your son’s tunic or not?”

Years before, Jacob had killed a kid of the goats in order to deceive his father, Isaac, into thinking he was Esau in order to give him the blessing of the firstborn. Now his sons were following in his footsteps in killing a kid of the goats to deceive him!

Jacob immediately recognized Joseph’s coat. But rather than questioning his sons more carefully, in grief he jumped to the conclusion that Joseph had been killed by an animal and torn in pieces. He didn’t stop to notice that the coat was not torn in pieces though.

Jacob didn’t have DNA testing available to him, so he had no way to test the blood to see if it was Joseph’s.

Jacob just accepted the evidence, believed their story, and came to the desired conclusion that Joseph was dead. And at the thought of his son being torn in pieces by a wild beast, Jacob was so heartbroken that he tore his clothes.

And he went into a protracted period of great mourning. Now, he had not only lost his favored wife Rachel, now he had lost her first, and his favored son, Joseph.

Jacob was inconsolable and continued mourning for many days. After so many day of mourning, hypocritically, his sons tried to “comfort” him, but to no avail. No one could comfort Jacob, so great was his loss.

Jacob was sure he would carry his grief with him until he died and went to his son in “the grave,” or literally “sheol,” which was the place of the dead, for both the saved and unsaved during the time of the Old Testament, in the center of the earth.

And 20 years later, later in chapter 42 we find that he was still bereaved and grieving over the death of Joseph.

In the meantime, the caravan carrying Joseph arrived in Egypt. God providentially had brought Joseph safely to Egypt and saw to it that Joseph was sold to one of Pharaoh’s chief officers, a prominent Egyptian official named Potiphar.

This is a sad place of the story. Joseph is gone, sold as a slave, and is off to Egypt. Jacob is heartbroken and inconsolable, as the beloved son of his wife Rachel; is gone and believed to be dead.

The brothers are guilty of a terrible sin against their brother, their father, and their God. It appears that Joseph’s hopes are dashed, and that his life is over.

But behind the scenes of this tragedy moves the unseen hand of God. What appears to be a hopeless situation is merely setting the stage for hope in the future!