God’s Love, Part 2

 Genesis 37: 17b-28

“17b So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan. 18 They saw him from a distance, and before he came near to them they conspired to kill him. 19 They said to one another, “Here comes this dreamer. 20 Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits; then we shall say that a wild animal has devoured him, and we shall see what will become of his dreams.” 21 But when Reuben heard it, he delivered him out of their hands, saying, “Let us not take his life.” 22 Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but lay no hand on him”—that he might rescue him out of their hand and restore him to his father. 23 So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the ornamented robe[b] that he wore, 24 and they took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it. 25 Then they sat down to eat, and looking up they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, with their camels carrying gum, balm, and resin, on their way to carry it down to Egypt. 26 Then Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? 27 Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.” And his brothers agreed. 28 When some Midianite traders passed by, they drew Joseph up, lifting him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt.”

Joseph, Jacob’s favorite son, was sold by his brothers into slavery.  And for all they knew, he was to live out the rest of his life in misery as someone else’s property..

But they did not care.  All they knew was that they would not have to listen to his boasting and watch him parade around in his fancy coat of many colors, flaunting his father’s special love for him.

It seems strange to us today that siblings would do such a thing to their brother.  And the simple answer is they were jealous of him, but it goes a little deeper than that.  During Joseph’s day, a father’s blessing meant everything.  It meant food, clothing, wealth, power and even survival.

So, Joseph’s brothers did what they thought needed to be done to ensure their and their families’ survival.  They put their self-interest above their brother’s welfare; their feelings above those of their father’s; their hatred above Godly love and forgiveness.

But, as we shall see, Joseph and Joseph’s brothers would encounter God’s love and forgiveness in a powerful way.  

And hatred never stood a chance.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)