What profit is it?

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.”

This passage begins the story of Judah, his corruption and then his rehabilitation. Judah, which means “praise” is an interesting man. He was born into a time of great strife in Jacob’s family. He was the unloved Leah’s fourth child while the loved Rachel was childless. Reuben means “the Lord has looked on my affliction” showing conflict; Simeon means “the Lord has heard” also showing evidence of struggle and conflict. Levi means “attached” Leah longed to have a connection with her husband and believed that this third son would allow this attachment to develop. However, Judah means “praise” for when Judah was born Rebekah gave up the struggle for a time and praised the Lord that she had another son. However, in this episode we find that Judah, the fourth born son followed in the footsteps of his older brothers. Reuben destroyed his birthright, Simeon and Levi proved to be murderous and treacherous and now Judah loved money enough to sell his brother. However, as the story progresses, Judah, like his older brothers, shows more noble characteristics. It is interesting that many people today say that they don’t want to be Christians because they don’t like the way Christians behave but we don’t have to worry about Christians; the Lord Jesus Christ is the only Person who matters and He will rehabilitate any sinner who is willing to believe in Him.

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

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I will give it

Genesis 35: 8-13: “But Deborah Rebekah’s nurse died, and she was buried beneath Bethel under an oak: and the name of it was called Allonbachuth. And God appeared unto Jacob again, when he came out of Padanaram, and blessed him. And God said unto him, Thy name is Jacob: thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name: and he called his name Israel. And God said unto him, I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins; And the land which I gave Abraham and Isaac, to thee I will give it, and to thy seed after thee will I give the land. And God went up from him in the place where he talked with him.”

Rebekah was Jacob’s mother and her nurse or maid died. We don’t read about Rebekah’s death but we do know where she was buried (see Gen 49: 30, 31 “In the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field of Ephron the Hittite for a possession of a buryingplace. There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried Leah.”) This was a time of weeping as Jacob was a mummy’s boy and the loss of this person who had been with Jacob when he was born was quite painful. However, it was time for Jacob to move on and the Lord appeared to him again. God reminded Jacob of his important place in the history of redemption and that God had changed his name from Jacob to Israel. He was not longer a cheat but someone who was willing to persevere so that he could see God’s blessings. Because Jacob was willing to persevere, God reminded him again of the promises and that they applied, personally, to him as well. Anyone who trusts in God and is willing to keep trusting God throughout their lives will know personal blessing. This doesn’t necessarily mean that person will be rich or famous but that they will know the peace of God in their hearts and minds and they will be content. (compare Phil 4: 7 “And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” and Phil 4: 11 “Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.”)

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

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Lay no hand upon him

Genesis 37: 21-22: “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.”

This section is rich in God’s grace. From the beginning of Joseph’s document to the end, at the end of Genesis, we discover a process of sin followed by rehabilitation. Reuben’s sin did not occur in this section, we saw earlier how he lost his respect as the firstborn son by having a sexual affair with one of his father’s concubines. This act was more than just a betrayal of marital trust, it was also symbolic of taking his father’s authority. There are two significant examples of this later in the Bible. In 2 Samuel 16: 22 (“So they spread Absalom a tent upon the top of the house; and Absalom went in unto his father’s concubines in the sight of all Israel.”) we read that Absalom took his father’s concubines in order to show Israel that he had taken his father’s place and was now king. In 1 Kings 2: 22 (“And king Solomon answered and said unto his mother, And why dost thou ask Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? ask for him the kingdom also; for he is mine elder brother; even for him, and for Abiathar the priest, and for Joab the son of Zeruiah.”) after Solomon was crowned king of Israel, his older brother, Adnonijah, asked Solomon’s mother if he could marry King David’s last concubine. This act was deliberate to show that Adonijah had taken David’s place as king and he was executed for this act of treason. However, this section shows that Reuben was rehabilitated for he was the one who tried to protect his brother Joseph from death. God always deals with people in grace and there are always opportunities for rehabilitation unless we choose to die in our sins.

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

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We shall see what will become of his dreams

Genesis 37: 18-20: “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.”

The Lord gave Joseph dreams and he was careless enough to tell these dreams to his brothers even though they hated his for being spoilt. When the brothers saw Joseph visiting them they hatched a plan to get rid of him. This way he they wouldn’t have a spoilt younger brother taking all their father’s attention away from them and they would be able to destroy all his dreams. How often do people in Christian service seem to find opposition and arguments blocking their way and preventing them from doing what they believe the Lord has called them to do? This is evidence of the spiritual battle, similar to the one described in the first two chapters of the book of Job. Satan delights to destroy anything that God is doing, this includes destroying the Lord’s people and their work. There is nothing that will destroy a Christian work than arguments among Christians and people demanding that they be shown respect that they haven’t earned. People who have read the rest of this book will know that the Lord gave Joseph the dreams and that the Lord made sure they were fulfilled. If you are facing opposition and arguments remember that it is probably the spiritual battle and you are a victim. God, on the other hand, is in control and His will always happens, whether we like it or not.

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

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Here am I

Genesis 37: 12-17: “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. 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.”

Even though Joseph was precocious and annoyed his brothers, he wasn’t stupid. He understood that he still had to please his father, even though he was the favourite. He knew that things may not always be the same as they were at that stage and he has to protect his own interests. This was the reason why he was careful to keep his father happy by doing whatever his father asked him to do. It would have been easy for him to come home and tell his father that his brothers weren’t were they were meant to be but he made the extra effort and found out where his brothers had moved on to. Joseph may have been the favourite son but this didn’t protect him from the hard road that the Lord gave him to walk. He survived because he wasn’t stupid; and because God was working for good in his life. God has promised not to forsake those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ (see Heb 13: 5 “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”) We can always rely on God but we can also expect to live with the consequences of being stupid.

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

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And they hated him

Genesis 37: 5-11: “And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and they hated him yet the more. And he said unto them, Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed: For, behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf. And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words. And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me. And he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth? And his brethren envied him; but his father observed the saying.”

At this stage of his life Joseph was just a precocious young man. He was spoilt by his father and though that he could do whatever he wanted to do. He had some dreams and made sure that he told everyone in the family about the dreams because he knew that the dreams showed that he was much better than all the other sons in the family. We know that, later on, these dreams come true but Joseph wasn’t wise to tell everyone about them at the time because that made his brothers hate him even more. However, we can learn that God uses people who are willing to submit themselves to Him in His service, even if they weren’t always perfect in their behaviour. That should be a great encouragement to a person who is just a normal Christian who thinks they don’t have much to offer. The fact is, that no one has much to offer God but God uses anyone who is willing to be used. After all, it is God’s work no ours, all we have to remember is that the glory belongs to God and not to the individual whom God uses in His service. Much later in his life Joseph had the proper attitude to his brothers. In Gen 50: 15-20 (“And when Joseph’s brethren saw that their father was dead, they said, Joseph will peradventure hate us, and will certainly requite us all the evil which we did unto him. And they sent a messenger unto Joseph, saying, Thy father did command before he died, saying, So shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy brethren, and their sin; for they did unto thee evil: and now, we pray thee, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of thy father. And Joseph wept when they spake unto him. And his brethren also went and fell down before his face; and they said, Behold, we be thy servants. And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God? But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.”) He forgave his brothers because he had trusted God and knew that God had worked for good in his life.

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

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They could not speak peaceably to him

Genesis 37: 3, 4: “Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colours. And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him.”

A problem always arises when there is favouritism, real or perceived. This was the beginning of a long difficult period for Joseph, even though he didn’t know it at the time. he was given a special coat, on that meant he couldn’t work out in the fields with the other brothers. As a result of this his brothers hated him. We assume that this didn’t include his full brother Benjamin because he was probably too young to be involved at that stage. His brothers were so angry that they couldn’t even have a decent conversation with Joseph. Sometimes we allow our circumstances to make us so angry that we lose the ability to communicate with anyone at all. This is what happens when people go on a shooting or a bombing spree. They are filled with frustration and anger and feel that they can’t do anything about their situation. When this happens they are overtaken by an irrational urge and end up doing something that shocks everyone who knows them. It is better to turn your mind to prayer for God can make a difference. In Prov 21: 1 (“The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.”) We learn that the Lord is in control of everything and He can make the impossible happen. He is always working for our good in everything that happens if we love God and have been called according to His purpose (Rom 8: 28 “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”)

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

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