Read with Me
Genesis 37:23-28 (HCSB)
When Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped off his robe, the robe of many colors that he had on. Then they took him and threw him into the pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it.
Then they sat down to eat a meal. They looked up, and there was a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were carrying aromatic gum, balsam, and resin, going down to Egypt.
Then Judah said to his brothers, “What do we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? Come, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay a hand on him, for he is our brother, our own flesh,” and they agreed. When Midianite traders passed by, his brothers pulled Joseph out of the pit and sold him for 20 pieces of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took Joseph to Egypt.
Listen with Me
After Reuben convinced his brothers that they should drop Joseph into one of the nearby dry cisterns to teach him a lesson instead of killing him, Joseph arrived. His brothers stripped his fancy robe from him and dropped him into the closest cistern. Reuben then went off to move the flock to their afternoon grazing site while the rest sat down to eat lunch, ignoring the cries of Joseph from the bottom of the cistern.
It was then that Judah noticed a caravan coming toward them from the northeast. Canaan was situated on the main trade route between the eastern countries and Egypt to the southwest, so passing caravans were a common sight.
But seeing this caravan gave Judah an idea. If they followed Reuben’s plan, they would have to pull Joseph out of the cistern and take him back home with them, where he would doubtless continue to be an irritant. That was not a good solution to his mind. But what if they sold him to the Ishmaelite traders instead? They would take Joseph away with them, and he would no longer be a bother.
With Reuben away from the group, there was no opposing voice of reason. So, the brothers pulled Joseph out of the cistern and traded him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. Even though Joseph pleaded with them (Genesis 42:21), they turned a deaf ear to him, completed the transaction, and went back to eating their lunch as the caravan disappeared in the distance.
Pray with Me
Father, it’s sad how hard the hearts of Joseph’s brothers had grown because of their jealousy and resentment. They had grown so blind that they couldn’t even see the possible consequences of their rash actions against Joseph until Reuben returned. Resentment and jealousy really do that to us. That’s why Jesus repeatedly urged forgiveness, the only solution to resentment, even if it has to be extended seven times a day (Luke 17:4)! Without that whole-hearted forgiveness, we will continue to dig ourselves deeper and deeper into our own dry cisterns, and we will ultimately begin making decisions that will have far-reaching, long-term consequences. Help us, Lord, to do things Your way always. Amen.