Episode 307 - "Joseph is sold into slavery" - Genesis 37:12-36

Gen. 37:12 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.

Gen. 37:18 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.

Gen. 37:25 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.

Gen. 37:29 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?” 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.” 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. 36 Meanwhile the Midianites had sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard.

Well, after what we read last week about Joseph, the events that unfold here are not too surprising, are they? Joseph was Jacob’s favorite son. Joseph had given a bad report to Jacob about his brother’s activities, which upset them. But then he shared with them dreams he had that everyone interpreted to mean that Joseph would someday rule over all of them. It appears to be this last matter that is the straw that breaks the camel’s back. Their plot to kill Joseph appears to stem from their resentment over these dreams. They said, “We will see what will become of his dreams” (v. 20)

This part of the story begins with Joseph leaving home under the auspices of his dad wanting to find out if everything is well with his other sons who were shepherding the flock. It’s interesting that Joseph wasn’t with them. Did they exclude him? Perhaps either Jacob or Joseph did not want Joseph along with his brothers, knowing the animosity they had toward him. Whatever the reason, Jacob believes that they were shepherding near Shechem, about 50 miles north of his home. This seems a reasonable fact because these animals can destroy the grasses in an area if they are left in one place too long. They had to keep moving. In fact, when Joseph got to Shechem, he was informed that they had moved an additional 15 miles further north. I suspect this great distance between Jacob and his sons lends itself to Jacob’s belief that a wild beast had killed Joseph. He had to have been gone at least a few days, covering so much ground.

Two things this story reveals to the readers are, first, character development of some of Joseph’s brothers, and second, the beginning of an explanation of how Israel ends up in a foreign land, an element of what the LORD had revealed to Abraham about the descendants he was going to give Abraham.

When the brothers see Joseph approaching, their hatred is provoked and they conspired to kill him. But Reuben interceded and suggested they only throw Joseph into a cistern and not kill him. The narrator tells the reader that he planned to later rescue Joseph. What motivated Reuben to have this measure of compassion? Was he hoping to earn back favor from his father after having slept with his dad’s concubine? Reuben was the oldest. Perhaps he felt the weight of the responsibility for Joseph’s well-being. He must have gone away after having convinced his brothers not to kill Joseph, because we learn that he is surprised and dismayed when he finds out Joseph is no longer in the pit.

While Reuben was away and Joseph was still in the pit (cistern), the fourth-oldest son, Judah, had the idea of selling Joseph. While he appears to have a little bit of compassion or conscience in suggesting they not kill one of their own family members, his priority is making money by getting rid of this “dreamer.” In Judah’s mind, this was a win-win proposition. The brothers who were there agreed, and Joseph was sold as a slave to Ishmaelite traders who, in turn, sold Joseph to Potiphar, the captain of the guard to Pharaoh in Egypt. All that was left was for the brothers to cover their actions to their father, which they accomplished by taking the coat Jacob had given Joseph and making it look as though a wild animal had attacked Joseph. It worked.

So, what do we make of this story? How does it fit with what we already know? Well, first of all, we have the advantage of knowing that Moses is credited with authoring the first five books of the Hebrew Bible. We’ve read that the LORD promised Abraham that someday his descendants would be in bondage in a foreign land, but that He would deliver them out of that bondage and bring them back to the land the LORD was giving to Abraham and his descendants. We know from the book of Exodus, which follows Genesis, that Moses is God’s prophet who leads the children of Israel out of bondage in Egypt. Ah! This provides an introduction to how they arrived in Egypt in the first place. Joseph was not killed. So, we’re expecting something to happen to him that will be significant to the story. We also know that Jacob’s brothers have demonstrated themselves to be unworthy to be “the seed” who would crush the serpent's heads. The oldest four, Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, have all been scoundrels so far. It seems to me that, despite the evil intentions and actions of these sons of Jacob, the LORD is in control.

Perhaps I’m reading into the text too much on this next point. But doesn’t it seem odd in this story that as Joseph journeyed to find his brothers, “a man found him” and “asked him, ‘What are you seeking?’” (v. 15) When Joseph informs him that he’s looking for his brothers, the man seems to know exactly who he’s looking for. Were Joseph’s brothers the only ones shepherding in that area? I doubt it. Perhaps the conversation was much more extensive, leading to that deduction. However, it seems to me that Moses included this detail to suggest that the LORD was watching over Joseph the whole time, and the reader is to anticipate that the LORD is watching over him in Egypt as well.

Episode 92 - "One of you will betray me" John 13:21-30

John 13:21   After saying these things, Jesus was troubled in his spirit, and testified, “Truly, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” 22 The disciples looked at one another, uncertain of whom he spoke. 23 One of his disciples, whom Jesus loved, was reclining at the table at Jesus’ side, 24 so Simon Peter motioned to him to ask Jesus of whom he was speaking. 25 So that disciple, leaning back against Jesus, said to him, “Lord, who is it?” 26 Jesus answered, “It is he to whom I will give this morsel of bread when I have dipped it.” So when he had dipped the morsel, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. 27 Then after he had taken the morsel, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, “What you are going to do, do quickly.” 28 Now no one at the table knew why he said this to him. 29 Some thought that, because Judas had the moneybag, Jesus was telling him, “Buy what we need for the feast,” or that he should give something to the poor. 30 So, after receiving the morsel of bread, he immediately went out. And it was night.

Throughout this entire book, John drops little pieces of information that should cause us to stop and reflect on why that information might be important. For instance, in verse 21, John mentions that Jesus “was troubled in his spirit.” It would appear the reason he was troubled is his awareness that one of his disciples would betray him. But, this raises some questions. 

First, why was it important for John to mention that Jesus was troubled within his spirit? What does this detail communicate to the reader? If Jesus has this foreknowledge, why doesn’t he prevent it? He’s raised the dead back to life and performed many other miracles. There is no need to be troubled because he could prevent his would-be betrayer from doing that. 

Second, why is there a need to say “one of you” and not specify who is the betrayer? It’s obvious from the context that he not only knows that he is going to be betrayed by one of the twelve, but he knows who it is. Yet, he does not announce that to the group. 

My answers to these questions will be at least in part based on my speculation. But, I will try to defend them within the context of this book.  My answer to why Jesus was troubled within his spirit and why John shares it with us is due to both his humanity AND his deity. Let me explain. Jesus was human in every way except without sin. The author of Hebrews makes that point in Hebrews 4:15. But, John is emphatic about communicating that Jesus is both divine and human. In John’s prologue, he wrote of the Word who was God, “and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” (John 1:14) John did not understand this reality for quite a while. In fact, Jesus had made John one of his closest friends. John saw and heard things being near Jesus that many others did not. But, later when he records his own entrance into the empty tomb, he “believes.” Believes what? He doesn’t tell us specifically. But, I think it’s when he first believed that his friend Jesus was God in human flesh. As this understanding settled in, he realized that the Incarnate Son of God had chosen to hang out with him, teach him, and love him. This is why I think he doesn’t refer to himself in this book by name, but as “the disciple whom Jesus loved.” John is not bragging. John lived the rest of his life humbled by the immense grace God showed to him in having this uniquely privileged place and role in human history. He is in complete and continual awe of Jesus. Therefore, it is his passion that you and I also understand the significance of the Incarnation of the Son of God. So, he shows us the humanity of Jesus alongside his deity. He shows us Jesus weeping at Lazarus’ tomb with full knowledge that the Father will have him raise Lazarus back to life. Now in this passage, Jesus has a human response of being troubled in spirit knowing that one of his friends will betray him. Who among us would not be troubled with that kind of knowledge? So, if we understand how such treachery would cause us pain, why would a loving, holy, and just God not be troubled by our betrayal? I think John wants us to see how our own sin troubles Jesus. It should cause us to consider our priorities and seek the Lord’s help in our faith and faithfulness to Him. 

This brings us to the second question and why I think Jesus said to the whole group “one of you will betray me.” In fact, all of them would betray him in one manner or another. Yes. Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus into the hands of his enemies leading to his arrest and crucifixion. But, Peter denied even knowing Jesus three times when he was under pressure and the rest of the disciples ran. Jesus told them this before any of it happened. I cannot imagine that any of them ever forgot it. 

Why didn’t he stop it? Because this was all within the Father’s will and plan and Jesus was perfectly faithful to his Father and to us. 

There is another important truth within this passage that I want you to see.  If you recall at the beginning of this chapter, John writes that “the Devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot . . . to betray him.” (John 13:2) But, in verse 27 after Jesus had given Judas the piece of bread dipped in the cup, John informs us that Satan entered into him(Judas). What is going on here? What happens in verse 2 is the work of the Devil to influence Judas. But, John is recording Jesus telling “the disciple who Jesus loved” a.k.a. Himself that he would reveal who his betrayer is by giving that person the morsel of bread dipped in the cup. Then, he did it and once Judas took that bread from Jesus, THEN Satan entered Judas. The point is that while Satan has the power to influence people, his power is limited and completely subject to God’s will and timing. We learn this lesson in the book of Job as well. Satan and Judas both have culpability. But the extent of what Satan can do and when he can do it is under the sovereign will of God. That’s deep stuff there, isn’t it. Understand that there are mysteries regarding God and we cannot fully understand everything He is doing. 

I believe our “takeaway” from this lesson is knowing that God is in complete control and that means things will happen that may trouble us. But, we should pray that the Lord will sustain us in being faithful to Him.

One last observation before stopping. Did you notice John pointing out in verse 30 when Judas went out to betray Jesus, that he adds, “and it was night?” That’s when Nicodemus came to Jesus. Nicodemus came to Jesus at night when he was in as much spiritual darkness as he was physical darkness. The disciples were in a boat in the middle of a stormy Sea of Galilee “and it had become dark and Jesus had not yet come to them.” Now Judas, who has been with “the Light of the world is departing into darkness.” How tragic! May the Lord sustain us in His truth and Light.