God Is Still in Control

Genesis 37:12–36 CSB

His brothers had gone to pasture their father’s flocks at Shechem. Israel said to Joseph, “Your brothers, you know, are pasturing the flocks at Shechem. Get ready. I’m sending you to them.” “I’m ready,” Joseph replied. Then Israel said to him, “Go and see how your brothers and the flocks are doing, and bring word back to me.” So he sent him from the Hebron Valley, and he went to Shechem. A man found him there, wandering in the field, and asked him, “What are you looking for?” “I’m looking for my brothers,” Joseph said. “Can you tell me where they are pasturing their flocks?” “They’ve moved on from here,” the man said. “I heard them say, ‘Let’s go to Dothan.’ ” So Joseph set out after his brothers and found them at Dothan. They saw him in the distance, and before he had reached them, they plotted to kill him. They said to one another, “Oh, look, here comes that dream expert! So now, come on, let’s kill him and throw him into one of the pits. We can say that a vicious animal ate him. Then we’ll see what becomes of his dreams!” When Reuben heard this, he tried to save him from them. He said, “Let’s not take his life.” Reuben also said to them, “Don’t shed blood. Throw him into this pit in the wilderness, but don’t lay a hand on him”—intending to rescue him from them and return him to his father. When Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped off Joseph’s robe, the long-sleeved robe that he had on. Then they took him and threw him into the pit. The pit was empty, without water. They sat down to eat a meal, and when they looked up, there was a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were carrying aromatic gum, balsam, and resin, going down to Egypt. Judah said to his brothers, “What do we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? Come on, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay a hand on him, for he is our brother, our own flesh,” and his brothers agreed. When Midianite traders passed by, his brothers pulled Joseph out of the pit and sold him for twenty pieces of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took Joseph to Egypt. When Reuben returned to the pit and saw that Joseph was not there, he tore his clothes. He went back to his brothers and said, “The boy is gone! What am I going to do?” So they took Joseph’s robe, slaughtered a male goat, and dipped the robe in its blood. They sent the long-sleeved robe to their father and said, “We found this. Examine it. Is it your son’s robe or not?” His father recognized it. “It is my son’s robe,” he said. “A vicious animal has devoured him. Joseph has been torn to pieces!” Then Jacob tore his clothes, put sackcloth around his waist, and mourned for his son many days. All his sons and daughters tried to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. “No,” he said. “I will go down to Sheol to my son, mourning.” And his father wept for him. Meanwhile, the Midianites sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and the captain of the guards.

God Point: God is still in control—even we suffer because of others’ sin.

Supporting Content:

Even in betrayal, deception, and pain, God is not absent. He is working through the brokenness to accomplish His good purposes. Suffering often comes because of human sin or Satan’s evil plan. Yet God uses even these dark seasons to form and mature us into Christlikeness.

God works through suffering to teach, discipline, and mature us.

Suffering is formative: it shapes our character, deepens our faith, and draws us into greater trust and obedience.

Seasons of pain teach us to entrust our lives to God’s plan, power, and love.

The goal is not the suffering itself but the fruit it produces in us and through us for His glory.

Supporting Scripture:

"You rejoice in this, even though now for a short time, if necessary, you suffer grief in various trials so that the proven character of your faith...” (1 Peter 1:6–9)

"Consider it a great joy... whenever you experience various trials..." (James 1:2–4)

Supporting Quotes:

"God is too good to be unkind, and He is too wise to be mistaken. And when we cannot trace His hand, we must trust His heart." – C.H. Spurgeon

"Nothing whatever... can happen to a believer, without God’s ordering and permission..." – J.C. Ryle

"While it looks like things are out of control, behind the scenes there is a God who hasn’t surrendered His authority." – A.W. Tozer

Grow Point: A faithful life doesn’t take shortcuts. God calls us to do what’s right, even when it’s hard.

Supporting Content:

Reuben had good intentions but lacked courage. He stood up for Joseph in secret, but not in the open.

Judah took a sinful shortcut—choosing slavery over murder, but still violating God’s will.

The brothers' actions were marked by cowardice, compromise, and conniving.

These responses reflect a rejection of God's authority and plan.

True faith chooses obedience even when it’s costly. Faithfulness means:

Standing up for what is right, even when it’s unpopular.

Avoiding the temptation to take the "almost right" option.

Living with integrity in the light, not just when it’s safe.

Supporting Scripture:

"So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin." (James 4:17)

"Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them." (Ephesians 5:11)

Supporting Quotes:

"Discernment is not knowing the difference between right and wrong. It is knowing the difference between right and almost right." – C.H. Spurgeon

Gauge Questions

For Believers:

Are you choosing obedience to God, even when it’s hard—or are you taking the easier path of cowardice, compromise, or craftiness?

For Unbelievers:

What’s shaping your choices: God’s truth or your own sinful desires?

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Extra Content & Thoughts

God Point: God is still in control—even we suffer because of others’ sin.

Supporting Content:

Even in betrayal, deception, and pain, God is not absent. He is working through the brokenness to accomplish His good purposes.

Suffering often comes because of human sin or satan’s evil plan.

God works through suffering, and he will often allow it in the life of a believer to teach, discipline, and/or mature us to become more like Christ. Often the good works he does for and through us are by products of the season of formation that came during the seasons of suffering he allowed us to walk in.

These seasons teach us to entrust our lives to God’s plan, his power, and his character, specifically his love for us. When we trust him we remain close in fellowship to him, learning to live obediently, as beloved children of God.

We should rejoice that we are counted worthy to suffer for Him, like Christ suffered. suffering is not good in and of itself, but as a believer our suffering is always worked by God for his glory, our good, and the greater good of others.

Supporting Scripture:

1 Peter 1:6–9 , James 1:2–4

Supporting Quotes:

“God is too good to be unkind, and He is too wise to be mistaken. And when we cannot trace His hand, we must trust His heart.” - Spurgeon

“Nothing whatever, whether great or small, can happen to a believer, without God’s ordering and permission. There is no such thing as ‘chance,’ ‘luck,’ or ‘accident’ in the Christian’s journey through this world.” - J.C Ryle

“While it looks like things are out of control, behind the scenes there is a God who hasn’t surrendered His authority.” - Tozer

Grow Point: A faithful life doesn’t take shortcuts. God calls us to do what’s right, even when it’s hard.

Supporting Content:

Reuben tried to do right in secret. Judah chose a sinful shortcut. But following God means standing for what’s right—openly, boldly, and faithfully.

Jospeh’s Brothers were conniving, unknowingly seeking to disrupt God’s plan to preserve their selfish desires and bitterness. The lived to please their own flesh and not God.

Rueben was a coward, who chose to stand up for Jospeh only to the point where his reputation was not on the line. He had good intentions, but he fell short of doing the right thing.

Judah, chose a sinful compromise, willing to sell his brother and lie about his death instead of just killing him. He lived righteously enough to appease his own conscience, but not to please God.

Supporting Quotes:

“Discernment is not knowing the difference between right and wrong. It is knowing the difference between right and almost right.” -Spurgeon

Gauge Question:

Believers: Are you choosing obedience to God, even when it’s hard or are you looking for an easier way? (cowardice, compromise, conniving)

Unbelievers: What’s shaping your decisions—God’s truth, or your own sinful desires?

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Initial thoughts:

Suffering will come, we will be hated but will that mark an end to our faith in God & our obedience to His Plan.

The brothers mock Jospeh as the “Lord of the Dreams.” Their jealousy & mockery of Joseph led to a unknown mockery of God and His divine plan.

Their treachery against God’s plan shows their unwillingness to live under God’s authority. Their unwillingness to believe Joseph and humbly submit to his eventual leadership is also paired by their unwillingness to submit to the will of God. They would do anything to not yield or bend, they were willing to kill to ensure their position.

Unchecked Jealousy ignites a burning hatred that can drive our hearts to do wicked things. (murder, slavery, lying.) They sat down for a meal, shows that their hatred seared their conscience, giving them peace to live wickedly.

In the case of Rueben, as the oldest he ought to have stood up for what he knew was right. Cowardice is not found in only the wicked, but also in the righteous who bow down to the opinions of man over doing what is right. The righteous must live righteously in the light and not only in secret.

Wickedness is not graded, murder exchanged for slavery is still sin.

In this story the brothers jealously led to further cowardice, sinful shortcuts, and deception all to rid themselves of Jospeh. Their sin unknowingly disobey God’s plan.