Genesis 37:18-36 - When Joseph’s brothers saw him coming, they recognized him in the distance. As he approached, they made plans to kill him. “Here comes the dreamer!” they said. “Come on, let’s kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns. We can tell our father, ‘A wild animal has eaten him.’ Then we’ll see what becomes of his dreams!”
But when Reuben heard of their scheme, he came to
Joseph’s rescue. “Let’s not kill him,” he said. “Why should we shed any blood?
Let’s just throw him into this empty cistern here in the wilderness. Then he’ll
die without our laying a hand on him.” Reuben was secretly planning to rescue
Joseph and return him to his father.
So when Joseph arrived, his brothers ripped off the
beautiful robe he was wearing. Then they grabbed him and threw him into the
cistern. Now the cistern was empty; there was no water in it. Then, just as they were sitting down to eat,
they looked up and saw a caravan of camels in the distance coming toward them.
It was a group of Ishmaelite traders taking a load of gum, balm, and aromatic
resin from Gilead down to Egypt.
Judah said to his brothers, “What will we gain by
killing our brother? We’d have to cover up the crime. Instead of hurting him, let’s sell him to
those Ishmaelite traders. After all, he is our brother—our own flesh and
blood!” And his brothers agreed. So when
the Ishmaelites, who were Midianite traders, came by, Joseph’s brothers pulled
him out of the cistern and sold him to them for twenty pieces of silver. And
the traders took him to Egypt.
Some time later, Reuben returned to get Joseph out of
the cistern. When he discovered that Joseph was missing, he tore his clothes in
grief. Then he went back to his brothers and lamented, “The boy is gone! What
will I do now?”
Then the brothers killed a young goat and dipped
Joseph’s robe in its blood. They sent the beautiful robe to their father with
this message: “Look at what we found. Doesn’t this robe belong to your son?”
Their father recognized it immediately. “Yes,” he
said, “it is my son’s robe. A wild animal must have eaten him. Joseph has
clearly been torn to pieces!” Then Jacob
tore his clothes and dressed himself in burlap. He mourned deeply for his son
for a long time. His family all tried to
comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. “I will go to my grave mourning
for my son,” he would say, and then he would weep.
Meanwhile, the Midianite traders arrived in Egypt,
where they sold Joseph to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt.
Potiphar was captain of the palace guard.
Today, we transition
from Jacob to Joseph, Jacob’s favorite son by his favorite wife. Jacob’s tale is a sorted one, involving
spirals of deception, toxic jealousy, one-upmanship and treachery. Feel free to read it is Genesis 29-37. It is better than any soap opera you’ve ever
seen. The author wants us to see though,
that God is still at work in the extremely messy life of Jacob. It’s what God does. That’s one thing we can remember today in the
midst of our own little soap opera – God hasn’t abandoned us.
Like in so many other
families, the favorite son is often the target of the other siblings’
resentment. In the case of Joseph, the
resentment, fueled by jealousy, is thick.
It’s toxic enough that all but one want to kill him, but they know it has
to be an “accident.” Let’s pause right
here.
Imagine being
murderously jealous of someone in your everyday life. How does that happen? The reality is that jealousy like that has to
be nurtured. It may begin with an unjust
favoritism, but in order for it to reach homicidal proportions, one must feed
it regularly – replaying the injustice over and over to the point that every
episode is seen through the filter of jealousy.
In the circle of Joseph’s brothers, this jealousy spread. At this point, the jealousy begins to be
fueled by each other. Over the course of
seventeen years, it becomes so consuming, outright murder begins to look like a
legit option.
Friends, such is the
pathology of the cancer of jealousy.
Though God was able to actually use Joseph being sold into slavery to
eventually to save the entire family, the truth is God would prefer the
jealousy be abandoned. Proverbs 14:30
states, "A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the
bones." Making the conscious choice
not to feed and nurture jealousy contributes to a heart of peace.
Is there any jealousy
taking up real estate in your heart.
When you think of “that” person, do familiar recordings begin to play. You have the ability to press stop. You can ask God to begin to replace it with a
heart of peace – peace that flows out of the knowledge and experience that you
need not be jealous because God will provide everything you need. Let go of the comparisons so that you can
receive the assurance that you are and will be blessed in ways you can’t see
now.
Prayer: Thank
you God for you providential love for me.
Help me embrace that love so fully that I no longer have need of
jealousy for another. Amen.
Prayer Focus:
Pray for peace for those who are being consumed by jealousy and/or
anger.
Song: Queen –
Jealousy
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