Joseph, Part 3
In the third of his series of sermons on Joseph, Pastor Shane shares how his brothers tragically eject him from the family and ultimately send him to Egypt. Click here for the recording of this 6/30 Service, and you can fast-forward to 35:10 to get to the start of the sermon.
Our text comes from Genesis 37.29-36
29 Now Reuben returned to the pit, and behold, Joseph was not in the pit; so he tore his garments. 30He returned to his brothers and said, “ The boy is not there; as for me, where am I to go?” 31So they took Joseph’s tunic, and slaughtered a male goat, and dipped the tunic in the blood;
32and they sent the multicolored tunic and brought it to their father and said, “We found this; please examine it to see whether it is your son’s tunic or not.” 33Then he examined it and said, “It is my son’s tunic. A vicious animal has devoured him; Joseph has surely been torn to pieces!” 34So Jacob tore his clothes, and put on a sackcloth undergarment over his waist, and mourned for his son many days.
35Then all his sons and all his daughters got up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. And he said, “Surely I will go down to Sheol in mourning for my son.” So his father wept for him. 36Meanwhile, the Midianites sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, Pharaoh’s officer, the captain of the bodyguard.
Backstory to our text
Vv12-16- Joseph’s father Jacob sends him to check on the welfare of his brothers and Jacob’s sheep
He goes from Hebron, to Shechem, about 50 miles, likely 3-4 days walk
At Shechem a man directs him further to his brothers who have moved on to Dothan, some 15 miles, or another day’s walk
Vv18-24- his brothers see him coming from a distance and conspire to kill him (that’s what favoritism and jealousy does to a family); Rueben intervenes to spare his life, so the brothers strip him of his coat and drop him into a pit
Vv25-28- the brothers encounter a band of Ishmaelite (descendants of Abraham/Hagar) traders in route to Egypt, to whom they sell Joseph for 20 shekels of silver (about $200 today)
What is happening in the text
V29- Rueben returns to rescue Joseph from the pit, only to find him gone
Vv30-32- the brothers slaughter a goat and cover Joseph’s coat in the blood to make it appear to Jacob that Joseph had fallen prey to an animal; once again, this is the latest in a long line of familial deception, going back to Abraham
Vv33-35- believing his son has been killed by a wild animal, Jacob goes into mourning; he refuses to be comforted by his family, and declares that he will go the place of the dead (Sheol) with no comfort
V36- meanwhile Midianites (also descendants of Abraham and Keturah) sell Joseph to Potiphar, in charge of Pharaoh’s security
Questions
How would this story be different had not the unknown man at Shechem redirected Joseph to his brothers in Dothan?
What would have happened had not oldest brother Rueben intervened to spare Joseph’s life?
Why was there such deception in the marriages of Abraham/Sarah-Hagar-Keturah, Isaac/Rebekah, Jacob/Leah-Rachel-Bilhah-Zilphah?
How is it that Ishmaelites (from Abraham/Hagar) and Midianites (from Abraham/Keturah) end up playing roles in this story?
Some things to think about
Nothing happens by accident in the life of a believer; both the bad and good in Joseph’s life were used for the good of his people
The door of God’s will often turns on seemingly small, insignificant hinges- i.e., the man at Shechem who directed Joseph on to Dothan; my ending up here
You can clean up the damage of LMSD (Long-standing, Multi-generational, Spritual Dysfunction), but it often takes 2-3 generations of concentrated, Christian effort and hard work
Some LMSD, in the form of situations brought about outside God’s plan, can be redeemed, but they are not going away; the fallout of LMSD has to be either managed, or suffered from
