Life of Joseph 4 (2)

Betrayed By His Brothers

Genesis 37:12-28

Lesson 4

INTRODUCTION

Sometimes our darkest days are the ones God is using to shape us the most. The worst day Joseph would ever have would eventually be used by God in great ways.

The worst day of my ministry – The day I decided to resign at Wister.

Sometimes God moves in a way exactly opposite to what we expect or desire. But He is unfolding our lives in His own way, and it isn’t necessary for us to understand every detail. Our responsibility is to be faithful every day. That’s the example Joseph sets. His life shows us that God is in control, even when we don’t understand what He’s doing.

Genesis 37:12–28 ESV

12 Now his brothers went to pasture their father’s flock near Shechem. 13 And Israel said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers pasturing the flock at Shechem? Come, I will send you to them.” And he said to him, “Here I am.” 14 So he said to him, “Go now, see if it is well with your brothers and with the flock, and bring me word.” So he sent him from the Valley of Hebron, and he came to Shechem. 15 And a man found him wandering in the fields. And the man asked him, “What are you seeking?” 16 “I am seeking my brothers,” he said. “Tell me, please, where they are pasturing the flock.” 17 And the man said, “They have gone away, for I heard them say, ‘Let us go to Dothan.’ ” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan. 18 They saw him from afar, and before he came near to them they conspired against him 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 will say that a fierce animal has devoured him, and we will see what will become of his dreams.” 21 But when Reuben heard it, he rescued him out of their hands, saying, “Let us not take his life.” 22 And Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but do not lay a hand on him”—that he might rescue him out of their hand to restore him to his father. 23 So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the robe of many colors 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 bearing gum, balm, and myrrh, 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 let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.” And his brothers listened to him. 28 Then Midianite traders passed by. And they drew Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. They took Joseph to Egypt.

Jacob’s Request

Genesis 37:12-13 “12 Now his brothers went to pasture their father’s flock near Shechem. 13 And Israel said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers pasturing the flock at Shechem? Come, I will send you to them.” And he said to him, “Here I am.””

The need for the request.

Left Laban’s to return to Canaan, Rachel had died and they settled in Hebron, the land of Abraham and Isaac. His flocks became so great there was no longer any room to graze them. He sent the ten older boys to Shechem to graze the flocks in a larger area.

Joseph was asked to go check on his brothers.

Jacob was concerned because they had a reputation.

They were grazing near Shechem, where his daughter Dinah had been raped and his boys committed murder in defending her honor.

They had been involved in flagrant evil in the past, even witnessed by Joseph and reported to their father.

Joseph’s Response

“Here I am”- Genesis 37:14 “14 So he said to him, “Go now, see if it is well with your brothers and with the flock, and bring me word.” So he sent him from the Valley of Hebron, and he came to Shechem.”

Joseph went but could not find his brothers.

A stranger said they went to Dothan, another town. (17)

2 Interesting characteristics of Joseph’s life.

Joseph was courageously obedient.

He knew he wasn’t popular with his brothers.

When Jacob asked him to go fifty miles to check on them he immediately obeyed.

There was no questioning or complaining, just obedience.

Joseph was completely obedient.

He went another 24 miles to Dothan because he knew his father wanted to him to check on them.

He was courageous and was completely obedient.

Brother’s Reception

The brothers saw Joseph coming. They could see him at a distance because of the special coat. They saw the heir, the one they hated, and they noticed that their father wasn’t with him. They were also where no one could witness their actions.

How are you when you won’t get caught?

Brother’s Plot

Genesis 37:18-20 “18 They saw him from afar, and before he came near to them they conspired against him 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 will say that a fierce animal has devoured him, and we will see what will become of his dreams.””

How could they get rid of this pest.

It wasn’t a moment of passion that took Joseph from his family but a premeditated crime on the part of his brothers.

They were going to kill him and throw him into a pit.

Reuben’s Proposal

Genesis 37:21-22 “21 But when Reuben heard it, he rescued him out of their hands, saying, “Let us not take his life.” 22 And Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but do not lay a hand on him”—that he might rescue him out of their hand to restore him to his father.”

Reuben worked to save him.

Talked them into putting him in cistern alive, so he could rescue Joseph after the others were gone.

Genesis 37:23-25 “23 So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the robe of many colors 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 bearing gum, balm, and myrrh, on their way to carry it down to Egypt.”

They were so callous.

Ate dinner amidst their brother’s cries for help.

This haunts them for the rest of their life.

Genesis 42:21 “21 Then they said to one another, “In truth we are guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the distress of his soul, when he begged us and we did not listen. That is why this distress has come upon us.””

Evil men always want to kill the one who speaks God’s truth, to rid themselves of the annoyance of his godly presence.

Judah’s Plan

Reuben wanted to save him but Judah steps in with a new plan.

Genesis 37:25-28 “25 Then they sat down to eat. And looking up they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing gum, balm, and myrrh, 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 let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.” And his brothers listened to him. 28 Then Midianite traders passed by. And they drew Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. They took Joseph to Egypt.”

Sold Joseph for nine dollars.

They patted themselves on the back for not killing him.

They took an evil and tried to make it seem good.– a common occurrence with those who have persecuted God’s people throughout history.

Reuben’s Panic

Apparently Reuben wasn’t present for this part of the scheme.

Genesis 37:29-30 “29 When Reuben returned to the pit and saw that Joseph was not in the pit, he tore his clothes 30 and returned to his brothers and said, “The boy is gone, and I, where shall I go?””

Reuben was the oldest brother– the one who lost the most when Joseph became the heir.

He also should have been the leader of the others.

He had to sneak around in order to save him.

He did not have a strong enough character to stand up to his brothers.

Jacob said this of Reuben

Genesis 49:4 “4 Unstable as water, you shall not have preeminence, because you went up to your father’s bed; then you defiled it—he went up to my couch!”

Reuben’s remorse seems to be more of what Jacob would think of him than what was right.– Only thought of himself.

False Report

Genesis 37:31-33 “31 Then they took Joseph’s robe and slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood. 32 And they sent the robe of many colors and brought it to their father and said, “This we have found; please identify whether it is your son’s robe or not.” 33 And he identified it and said, “It is my son’s robe. A fierce animal has devoured him. Joseph is without doubt torn to pieces.””

With Joseph on his way to Egypt they decided to deceive their father.

Jacob reaped a lifetime for what he sowed.

Jacob’s Remorse

Genesis 37:34-35 “34 Then Jacob tore his garments and put sackcloth on his loins and mourned for his son many days. 35 All his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted and said, “No, I shall go down to Sheol to my son, mourning.” Thus his father wept for him.”

He was still mourning the loss of his son 30 years later.

What hardness in the hearts of those other boys, who allowed their own father to grieve so!

No sign that they were ready to go to Egypt and find him.

Key Truths

Power of Envy

Envy caused the boys to sell their brother caused Cain to Kill Able, caused King Saul to pursue David, kept the prodigal’s son’s brother from welcoming him back, caused the Jews to nail the Son of God on the cross.

The Proverbs say that wrath is cruel and anger outrageous, but no one is able to stand before envy. Envy leads us into great evil and can have great power in our lives.

Pretense of Morality

Man will do almost anything to substitute his own morality for God’s morality.

They tried to make themselves feel good by not killing Joseph and selling him to slavery.

They allowed their father to come to his own conclusion on what happened.– like withholding truth is better than outright lying.

The pretense of morality leads us to think we are good people because we are great sinners. Substituting a lesser sin for a greater sin is nothing but a pretense of morality.

Penalty of Sin

The wages of sin is death.

There is a way that seems right to man, but in the end it leads to death.

Sin always hurts people.

They hurt Joseph, Jacob and self (memory)

Providence of God

They tried to stop his dreams, instead they made them come true.

Even when it may seem that dark clouds hover over our lives, the Lord is at work, superintending the details. Like we see in Joseph’s life, God is always working on our behalf.