God, What Am I Doing In This Pit?

God, what am I doing in this Pit?

Genesis 37: 13-24

Before we get into the main theme of this message, let’s go back a few verses and gather a little background to this story.

Joseph was the son of Jacob. Verse 3 says he was the son of his old age.

Because he was the son of his old age, he was particularly found of him more than all his other children.

I would imagine Jacob did not hide the fact that Joseph was his favorite son.

He even made his a coat of many colors, or a coat like those of royalty would normally wear.

Of course this situation made his siblings very jealous of him, and hatred for him began to develop in their hearts.

They couldn’t even speak kind words to him.

It didn’t help matters when Joseph told them about his dreams.

Notices verses 7-9, “7 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.

8 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.

9 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.

11 And his brethren envied him; but his father observed the saying.

Now according to the scriptures in our text,

Jacob desiring to hear tidings of his sons, who had gone to Shechem with their flocks, some 60 miles from Hebron, sent Joseph to check on their welfare.

As soon as they saw him coming they began to plot against him, and would have killed him had not Reuben interposed.

Again, verses 18-24 says,

“18 And when they saw him afar off, even before he came near unto them, they conspired against him to slay him.

19 And they said one to another, Behold, this dreamer cometh. {dreamer: Heb. master of dreams}

20 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.

21 And Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands; and said, Let us not kill him.

22 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.

23 ¶ 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; {colours: or, pieces}

24 And they took him, and cast him into a pit: and the pit was empty, there was no water in it.

Here was Joseph, the favorite son of his father in a stinking pit, not placed there by some enemy, but by his own brothers.

Brothers, who cared nothing for him! Brothers who only a few moments before was conspiring to kill him.

This teenager had dreams for the future. He felt in his heart that someday he would be important.

But here he is in a pit, left there to perish with hunger and thirst.

Some of you this morning may be in the pit.

Someone or something put you there, and there was nothing you could do about it.

You thought everything in your life was going good.

You may have achieved success and life could not be any more satisfying.

The road of life was smooth and graceful, with just a few minor bumps along the way.

But then, you found yourself in the pit, and you cried out to God, “God, what am I doing in this pit?”

You lost your job, and you said, “God, what am I doing in this pit??

You come home and find a dozen messages on your phone from those you owe money to, and you say, “God how did I get in this pit?”

Your children are about to give you a nervous breakdown and you cry out, “God, what did I do to deserve this pit?”

Some heavy trial comes along and you say, “God, what am I doing in this pit?”

“I paid my tithes, I am faithful to the church, I treat my neighbor right, I’m good to my children, I’m a faithful husband or wife, why am I in this pit?”

“I’ve got more problems than I know how to handle, why am I doing in this pit?