Joseph In The Pit Series

Joseph in the Pit

Genesis 37:12-36

His brothers had gone to pasture their father’s flocks at Shechem.

Israel said to Joseph, “Your brothers, you know, are pasturing the flocks at Shechem. Get ready. I’m sending you to them.” “I’m ready,” Joseph replied.

Then Israel said to him, “Go and see how your brothers and the flocks are doing, and bring word back to me.” So he sent him from the Valley of Hebron, and he went to Shechem – Genesis 37:12-14.

Joseph’s story, as told in the Bible, is a beautiful illustration of how God’s purpose can be found in our pain. If we could understand that there is always a reason why God allows pain in our lives, we would be able to endure anything. Before we deal with that though, I want to give you a different perspective of Joseph’s story Let us approach it from his viewpoint: without the knowledge of the purpose God had for him.

Joseph was an ordinary person with an ordinary life. Long before the dreams, he had witnessed the death of his mother Rachel as a little boy and it made him even closer to his father. By the time he was seventeen, life was somewhat better. Somewhat I say, because although he was the favorite child of Jacob, his brothers did not get along with him. All of them were half-brothers and had grown up seeing their father show special affection to Joseph. They initially disliked him but soon that dislike turned to hatred.

Joseph felt more isolated every day; his brothers avoided him, whispered when they saw him and often ridiculed his honesty and integrity. He really did not do anything to warrant that treatment but he at least had the love and support of his father. Jacob knew that his sons did not like Joseph but had no idea just how much they detested him.

Having to live with ten elder brothers most of whom were hostile to him was not easy. He endured it but around this time he had the dreams. These dreams reaffirmed him. Jacob had already given his son a special coat that made him feel like a prince, and now God seemed to say, “I see how they treat you and I see how you try to do what is right; I will make you great. “ Of course his brothers only hated him more when he shared the dreams, but his father considered what he said.

Jacob is apparently oblivious to the hatred of the older brothers for Joseph when he sent Joseph to Shechem —or, if he is aware of the tension, he did not think that the older brothers would harm Joseph. Jacob would never knowingly send Joseph into a dangerous situation.

Joseph also appears as oblivious to the danger from his brothers.

Perhaps Jacob considers this to be a routine status check—it is also strange that he did not consider that the populace of Shechem may turn against his sons because of the incident which happened some time ago. This is related in chapter 34.

Let me repeat the incident here. Jacob passed through Shechem (the city) when he was fleeing Laban and was returning to Gerar/Beersheba. While there, Shechem (the ruler’s son) raped Dinah, Jacob’s only daughter. Shechem loved Dinah and wanted to marry her, and Shechem’s father, Hamor appealed to Jacob to allow Shechem and Dinah to marry. Jacob’s sons agreed to the marriage provided that “every male be circumcised.” Hamor and Shechem complied with that requirement, but Jacob’s sons had no intention of honoring their agreement. While the men of Shechem were still hurting from their circumcisions, Simeon and Levi killed all the men of Shechem and Jacob’s other sons joined Simeon and Levi in looting the city of Shechem “ (chapter 34). This was the background of the incident but it appears that the people had forgotten it by now.

Now Joseph came to Shechem but he did not find them there but was led by a man to a nearby location named Dothan where his brothers were shepherding the flock. It is indeed strange that this man was at the exact time and place to overhear the brothers saying “ Lets go to Dothan” - 37:15-17

The brothers were able to see him coming from afar and discussed how they could get their revenge on their brother. You can tell that they were still angry and were mulling over the dreams that Joseph had because they say to one another, “here comes that dreamer” (37:19). As you read Genesis 37:18-28 you see their conspiracy in real time. They initial desire was to kill him and cover it up as the work of a wild animal, but one brother desired to rescue him by convincing them to throw him in a pit and leave Joseph there.