No Ordinary Joe: SOLD!
Genesis 37:12-35
Pastor Jefferson M. Williams
Chenoa Baptist Church
10-02-2021
Brotherly Love?
I could beat up my little brother, but you better not mess with him.
That was my motto when I was growing up. Mark and I fought like cats and dogs, but I would’t tolerate him being picked on any school and actually had to threaten several younger punks for messing with my brother at school.
We fought but we never wanted to kill each other.
I actually Googled “brother kills brother” and the first two pages turned up twelve stories other brother killing brother from all over the world.
The official term for this is fratricide and history is full of such murders.
This shouldn’t surprise us since the very first sibling rivalry ended in murder when Cain killed Abel. (See Gen 4)
Even in King David’s family, Absalom kills Amnon for raping their Tamar, their sister. (See I Sam 13)
Romulus killed his twin brother Remes, the cofounder of Rome.
Claudius kills King Hamlet to become the King of Denmark.
In the Godfather, Michael Corleone has his brother Fredo shot.
But this morning, we are going to see something far worse, far more wicked, than a brother killing a brother. We are going witness a scene where nine brothers conspire to murder their little brother, cover it up, and lie to their dad about it for over twenty years!
Recap
Three weeks ago, we began our series on the life of Joseph entitled, “No ordinary Joe.”
We learned that Joseph was favored by his father Jacob because he was the first born son of his favorite wife, Rachel.
Because Jacob loved Joseph more than the other brothers he had a coat of many colors made for him.
If you remember from that sermon, the color of the tunic was not the important factor but the length. It was long sleeved and came down to the ankles. In other words, it was not work clothes and was more like a tuxedo.
This coat represented Jacob’s decision to make Joseph the heir of the first-born’s blessings since Rueben had forfeited the blessing by sleeping with his step mother.
And because of this coat, the brothers hated him with a murderous rage. Three times it says that they hated him and that they were jealous of Joseph.
We also learned that God spoke to Joseph in dreams. He shared two dreams with his brothers. In one, his sheaf of grain stands up straight while their sheaves bow down to him. In the other, the sun, moon, and eleven stars bow down to him.
The brothers are indignant, and even Jacob rebukes him. But Jacob has also experienced dreams from God so Scripture says, “He kept this in mind.”
Much like Mary who “pondered these things in her heart” (Luke 2:19) concerning Jesus, Jacob wondered to himself if the gift of dreams ran in the family.
That brings us to our study today. Turn with me to Genesis 37 and we will begin at verse 12.
Prayer.
Joseph Sent
“Now his brothers had gone to graze their father’s flocks near Shechem, and Israel said to Joseph, “As you know, your brothers are grazing the flocks near Shechem. Come, I am going to send you to them.”“Very well,” he replied. So he said to him, “Go and see if all is well with your brothers and with the flocks, and bring word back to me.” Then he sent him off from the Valley of Hebron.” (12-14)
First, let’s see that Joseph is sent.
Jacob’s family was semi-nomadic and would travel from place to place looking for pasture to feed their flocks that numbered in the thousands.
Jacob owns a plot of land and the brothers have gone to graze the flocks there. This was about 50 miles north of their home.
Jacob knows that the brothers are dangerously close to Shechem, the place where Simeon and Levi committed mass murder to avenge their sister Dinah’s rape. Jacob was probably worried about their safety and decided to send Joseph to check on them.
They were a long way from home and hadn’t check in so Joseph would travel to them and bring back a report to dad. If you remember from the first sermon, Joseph was good at telling on his brothers.
Notice two things. First, Joseph wasn’t in the fields with the brothers. He doesn’t sleep outside and tend to dirty, dumb sheep. He’s daddy’s favorite.
Second, this is a very unwise decision that Jacob makes. He knows that the brothers hate Joseph’s guts and sending him to check up on them is going to increase their hostility.
But Jacob seems oblivious to the danger and send Joseph on his way.
Joseph Searches
"When Joseph arrived at Shechem, a man found him wandering around in the fields and asked him, “What are you looking for?” He replied, “I’m looking for my brothers. Can you tell me where they are grazing their flocks?” “They have moved on from here,” the man answered. “I heard them say, ‘Let’s go to Dothan.’” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them near Dothan.” (14b-17)
Joseph makes the fifty mile journey north in search of his brothers. This would have taken at least five days.
When he arrived at Shechem, his brothers were nowhere to be found.
He could have just turned around and headed back home and everything that happened in this story would have been avoided.
But in God’s providence, there just happened to be a man there who knew where his brothers had gone.
So Joseph travels another 14 miles north and finds his brothers in Dothan. He is now 64 miles away from home and the protection of his daddy.
The Brothers Plot Murder
“But they saw him in the distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him. “Here comes that dreamer!” they said to each other. Come now, let’s kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns and say that a ferocious animal devoured him. Then we’ll see what comes of his dreams.” (v. 18-20)
The brothers looked at the horizon and saw their little brother coming toward them. How did they know it was him? The coat he was wearing could probably be recognized for miles.
Here comes the dreamer is how they announce his arrival. His dreams about them bowing down to him are still ringing in their ears and in their angry souls.
They hatch a plot that has three steps:
kill Joseph
Throw him into a cistern
Cover up the murder by claiming that he had been killed by a “ferocious animal.”
When a person begins the murder plot already planning how to cover it up, you know it is serious.
To be thrown into a cistern would mean that the body wouldn’t have a proper burial, which is the ultimate dishonor for a Jewish person.
They end their plot with this statement: “then we’ve seen what comes of his dreams.”
One pastor that I read this week approached the idea of Joseph being a dreamer this way,
“When God wants to change the world, He puts a dream in someone's heart. He is the giver of dreams!” - Jentzen Franklin
But this story is not about Joseph’s dreams. It is about the faithfulness of God’s Word to Joseph.
The brothers were ultimately fighting against God’s purposes and they were going to lose.
Rueben’s Plan
“When Reuben heard this, he tried to rescue him from their hands. “Let’s not take his life,” he said. “Don’t shed any blood. Throw him into this cistern here in the wilderness, but don’t lay a hand on him.” Reuben said this to rescue him from them and take him back to his father.” (v. 21-22)
Rueben was the firstborn, the oldest. Maybe he felt some sense of responsibility for Joseph.
In the Hebrew, his words are strong - “You will not take his life!”
His command not to shed any blood probably refers to Abel’s blood crying out to God after Cain killed him.
Rueben has a plan. After Joseph is thrown into the cistern and left to die, he will come back for him and rescue him. Then he could return Joseph safely to his dad and maybe get back into daddy’s good graces.
Joseph Assaulted
“So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe—the ornate robe he was wearing— and they took him and threw him into the cistern. The cistern was empty; there was no water in it. As they sat down to eat their meal… (v. 23-25a)
For those of you who grew up in church and remember this story from the flannel board in Sunday school, you have a very limited understand of what happened here.
This was eight on one, Rueben had left to probably water the flocks. This was violent. The Hebrew word for stripped is the same word word used for “to skin a wild animal.”
They attacked him, beat him up, ripped off his coat, and threw him naked and bleeding into a cistern.
It might have look something like this.
[Video]
When we think of a cistern, many of us have a picture in our mind of a well. This is actually what a cistern looks like in Israel.
So Joseph is at the bottom of this cistern and he is crying out for help. It doesn’t say that in these verses but we find out that out from Gen 42:21:
“Surely we are being punished because of our brother. We saw how distressed he was when he pleaded with us for his life, but we would not listen; that’s why this distress has come on us.” (Gen 42:21)
“Hey guys…Simeon…Issachar…come on guys I’ve learned my lesson…really I have…I won’t be a jerky little brother…I won’t tell you my dreams…you’ll see…guys…I think my arm is broken…please help…Help?! Help!
While Joseph begged for his life, the brother sat down to eat.
“Hey look, the little brat brought food with him. Lamb chops…pass the salt…Joseph, be quiet, we’re trying to eat here.”
This is absolutely cold hearted.
Commentator Keith Krell writes,
“They are ruthless and cold. All they care about is their stomach. The callousness and cruelty of Joseph’s brothers is shocking! There is no sense of guilt, no remorse, not even a loss of appetite. The next time the brothers would eat a meal in Joseph’s presence he would sit at the head table (43:32-34). For the next 23 years, Joseph’s cries for mercy would haunt them in their dreams and ring in their ears (see 42:21).
We are going to talk more about this at the end of the sermon.
Judah’s Alternative
“…they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were loaded with spices, balm and myrrh, and they were on their way to take them down to Egypt. Judah said to his brothers, “What will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? Come, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him; after all, he is our brother, our own flesh and blood.” His brothers agreed. (V. 26-27)
Dothan was located on a major trade route and the brothers spy a caravan of Ishmaelite and Midianite traders headed to Egypt.
Judah appears to have cold feet about killing his own brother, “our own flesh and blood.” Killing Joseph wouldn’t gain them anything so he proposes that they sell him to the approaching caravan.
So when the Midianite merchants came by, his brothers pulled Joseph up out of the cistern and sold him for twenty shekels of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt. (V 28)
Can you image Joseph’s relief when a rope is lowered down into the cistern to pull him out?
Can you image the horror he experienced when he got to the top and was bound and lashed to a camel?
The exchange was for twenty pieces of silver, the price for a handicapped slave.
Joseph left home as an Israelite prince and now he is naked, bruised and beaten, being lead behind the caravan as a slave.
Can you imagine his cries? Come on guys…please don’t do this…please…tell dad I love him….
When Reuben returned to the cistern and saw that Joseph was not there, he tore his clothes. He went back to his brothers and said, “The boy isn’t there! Where can I turn now?” (v. 29-30)
Reuben returned to rescue Joseph and he isn’t in the cistern. He is distraught and lets his brother’s know that his plan had fallen apart.
The Cover Up
“Then they got Joseph’s robe, slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood. They took the ornate robe back to their father and said, “We found this. Examine it to see whether it is your son’s robe.” He recognized it and said, “It is my son’s robe! Some ferocious animal has devoured him. Joseph has surely been torn to pieces.” (v. 31-33)
The brothers now have to cover up their crime. You may not see it at first, but there is a terrible irony in these verses.
Jacob deceived his father Isaac by killing a goat and putting its skins on his arms so he would think it as Esau. (See (Gen 27)
Now Jacob is deceived by his own sons using the blood of a goat.
Notice that they never say Jospeh’s name or what happened, they just asked Jacob to examine the coat.
Jacob immediately recognized the coat he had given to Joseph and the boys let their dad come to his own crushing realization - Joseph, the apple of his eye, was dead.
They had sold Joseph and now they drive a dagger into their father’s heart.
Jacob’s Grief
“Then Jacob tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and mourned for his son many days. All his sons and daughters came to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. “No,” he said, “I will continue to mourn until I join my son in the grave.” So his father wept for him.” (v. 34-35)
Jacob is devastated. He goes into a period of deep mourning marked by tearing his clothes and putting on sackcloth.
The sons and daughter -in-laws tried to comfort him. Think about that. They knew Joseph wasn’t dead but they let their dad suffer through his deep grief. What incredible cold-hearted hypocrites.
A normal time of mourning was seven days. The Israelites mourned for Moses for forty days. But Jacob mourned for Joseph for twenty years!
Listen to Jacob’s breaking heart
He mourned for him for many days
He refused to be comforted
I will continue to mourn until I join my son in the grave (this wasn’t true but he had no way of knowing that)
Jacob wept for him.
Jacob most likely blamed himself for sending him to search for his brothers in the first place.
While the brother’s lied and Jacob cried, Joseph was safe and exactly where God needed him to be.
Joseph is Safe
“Meanwhile, the Midianites sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard.” (v. 36)
The Midianites found a buyer for Joseph. He was bought by Potiphar, the captain of the king’s guard who was married to a woman with a wandering eye and was in charge over the king’s prison. Both of which will play prominently in the story as we go forward.
But for now, Joseph is safe and he is in position to be the savior of the Jewish nation.
Applications
Let’s look at some applications from what we’ve studied today.
The Green Eyed Monster
Amit Tiwari, a 28 year old Indian man was arrested for killing his 26 year old brother by stabbing him and then slitting his throat.
When interrogated by the police, he admitted that he committed the murder because his mother and other relatives liked his younger brother more.
A ten year old killed his brother with an ax because he was jealous that his younger brother was getting more attention from his parents.
An eleven year old North Carolina boy killed his 7 month old little brother by dropping him on his head repeatedly because he was jealous of how much attention he got from his mother.
We see the same murderous rage today that we did in the story of Joseph.
Jacob’s favoritism led to the brothers’ jealousy which lead to hatred which ultimately leads to attempted murder and human trafficking!
The writer of Hebrews warns us:
“See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.” (Hebrews 12:15)
Jealousy is defined by Boice as “ill will occasioned by another’s good fortune.”
Envy and jealousy are bitter roots that can destroy us if we allow them to flourish.
James writes:
"For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.” (James 5:16)
Once the root takes hold, it can lead to the bitter shoot of hatred. We see this in the story of Joseph. The brother’s envy of Joseph lead to intense hatred for him.
Solomon writes in Proverbs these haunting words, “Envy rots the bones.” (Prov 14:30) and “Anger is cruel and fury overwhelming, but who can stand before jealousy?” (Prov 27:4)
If you don’t cut off the shoot, it can lead to the bitter fruit of attempted murder and human trafficking.
We all deal with jealousy from the time we are born. Just watch a bunch a of preschoolers. Even our pets can be jealous. When Maxine and I hug, Luna will stand on her hind legs and try to get in between us.
What’s the answer to the bitterness of jealousy and envy?
The Christian writer Jerry Bridges proposes:
“The cure for the sin of envy and jealousy is to find our contentment in God.”
Joseph’s brothers hated him but, more than that, they hated his dreams. Or even more to the point, they hated the God of his dreams.
They couldn’t stomach the thought of their punk younger brother being in a position of authority of them. They wanted the limelight. They wanted the power.
How different Jospeh’s story would be if the brother’s had celebrated Joseph and his dreams?
I know of a pastor who found himself having feelings of envy about a church down the street that was growing and doing amazing things. He said that he decided to nip that feeling in the bud by praying every morning and thanking God for his little church where God has planted him and then praying for the pastor and the church down the street and asking God to bless their socks off!
Point to Ponder: Are you letting the bitter root of jealousy take hold? Cut it off before it becomes a shoot and turns into fruit that can cause untold damage in your life and others.
Providence
Remember that providence is God “seeing to” events that will ultimately lead to His will being fulfilled. Many times, He does this through natural circumstances. There are no amazing miracles in the story of Joseph, but we can see God’s hand in every detail of the story.
John Piper in his new 700 plus page book simply titled, “Providence,” defines it this way.
“The belief that God upholds and governs all things - from galaxies to subatomic particles, from the forces of nature to the movement of nations, from the public plans of politicians to the secret acts of solitary people - all in accord with His eternal, all wise purposes to glorify Himself, yet in such a way that He never sins, nor ever condemn a person unjustly; but that His ordaining and governing is compatible with the moral accountability of all persons created in his image.”
In other words, God can even use our sinful actions to fulfill his purposes. It doesn’t mean He is the author of sin or condones it but can “work all things for good for those who are called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28)
A young man committed a crime that resulted in him being sent to prison. While in prison, he born again and begins to share Christ with his fellow inmates and even some correctional officers.
One of those COs, would walk past this man’s cell every day. While other inmates would curse and throw poop at him, this inmate asked him a question that caused him to pause. He asked, “If you died tonight, would you go to heaven?”
The corrections officer responded with, “I hope so.” The inmate share the Gospel with him and told him that he could have absolute assurance of his salvation. The C.O. committed his life to Christ and went home and shared the Gospel with his wife.
And this is how Phil and Dannette Riggenbach begin their spiritual journey!
God positioned the inmate and Phil so that their paths would cross and Phil could be secure about his eternal security.
God can work through even the sinful actions of others, or ourselves, to bring about His purposes for His glory and our good.
Prosperity preachers don’t mention this part of Joseph’s story. I’m sure Joseph wished that God could have positioned him in Egypt without being beaten, thrown into a cistern, and sold into slavery.
Point to Ponder: Do you trust God? Really trust Him? Do you understand that at any given time He doing ten thousand things in your life and you may be aware of three of them?
Sylvia Schroeder wrote in a beautiful blog post:
“The Bible is full of stories of people whose lives were dealt rotten blows. Moses, David, Paul and John the Baptist. Yet they believed God. They believed His Sovereignty reigned over everything, even wrongs dealt them. They chose against bitterness. It is never an easy choice to make….At some time each of us is affected by unfairness and hurt. Each of our stories would be, could be, maybe even should be different had people or situations not altered our path. In society, in families, and as my husband’s father knew, even in ministry we might be richer, own more, have risen higher. We can choose to replay wrong and rewind hurt or…” we can choose to trust God and know He is always working for His ultimate glory and our ultimate good.
“The Love of most will grow cold” (Matt 24:12)
When Jesus’ disciples ask Him about how the end would come in Matthew 24, He answers them by giving as list of things that will be evident in the last days. I want to focus on one phrase in verse twelve:
“Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” (Matthew 24:9-14)
We are told that the “love of most will grow cold,” and I think we are seeing that in our culture right now.
While I’ve been in Memphis, there was a mass shooting at the Kroger right down the street from where I was staying, there was a shooting at a school where one eighth grader shot another eighth grader, there was a home invasion that resulted in a beloved sophomore at Rhodes college being shot to death. I watched a woman scream at a manager in Walmart. I sat next to two trucks that stopped in the middle of the road to scream and curse at each other.
This world has gone mad and many people are angry have become mean.
...I’m worried about my family. If I get COVID, I’m going to bring it to my family, and I talk to my grandparents a lot. They are higher risk than me, so I don’t want to give them COVID. This time last year, my grandmother, who was a former teacher at the Rutherford County school system, died of COVID because someone wasn’t wearing a mask.”
This is how Grady Knox, a high school student speaking at the school board meeting in Murfreesboro, Tennessee began his talk.
That’s when the adults in the room started heckling him. Several laughed, others told him to shut and sit down. Even one of the school board members, a lawyer, tried to quiet the room and said that he was appalled that people would do that to Grady knowing he was talking about losing his grandmother.
The clip went viral and the school board apologized for letting the adults act this way. One of the women that screamed at Grady to shut up was actually fired from her job.
When did it become okay for adults to scream at a grieving high school student? Where were the Christians in that room? Where was the salt and light that would have said, “You may not agree with him but please stop yelling!”
Grady was shaken but finished his talk. He said he was surprised that adults acted that way towards him.
I’m not.
We are seeing, the “love of most will grow cold” happen in real time. It’s true in the world but, sadly, it’s true in the church.
For every viral video of a racist Karen going off on someone, there are viral videos of pastors spouting the most ridiculously cruel things from the pulpit.
As the Christian church in North America has surrendered her Scriptural authority and become more and more enmeshed in the the current political debates, we are losing our ability to communicate the Gospel clearly. This is true in our churches, in our personal lives, and most importantly on social media.
As churches argue and even split over to mask or not to mask, to take the vaccine or not to take the vaccine, the outside world is watching us fulfill their beliefs that Christians are mean, judgmental hypocrites, even to each other.
But it’s not just the world. I sat around a fire pit a couple of weeks ago with two couples in their twenties - millennials. They both own homes, work hard, and are newly married. They both love Jesus and the church, the bride of Christ. But they are all but done with the church in America.
The Gospel is more important that these temporary issues. Yes all of these things are temporary. Want me to prove it? Ask a 25 year old Monica Lewinsky. They’ve never heard of her.
In ten years, or less, there were be others things to argue about and people will look back on this time and wonder how churches split over wearing a piece of cloth over their faces.
What’s remedy to all of this coldness? The white hot love of Jesus.
I’m going to put these verses on the screen and we are simply going to let the Word do it’s work:
“Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God,? did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
rather, he made himself nothing? by taking the very nature of a servant,? being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,? he humbled himself? by becoming obedient to death—? even death on a cross!
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place? and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,? in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,? to the glory of God the Father.”
Point to Ponder: Do you have to mind of Christ in all of your interactions with others? Especially, people who are far from God?
“Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” (Col 4:5)
In Kansas City, drug me to a WaffleHouse for a late dinner. Believe me, I didn’t want to go.
Our waitress approached and I noticed her tattoos. Tattoos tell a story and I asked her to tell her story to us. It was an amazing time as she walked us through about twenty five tats and one of them read “Love never fails.” I told her that was a Bible verse and she didn’t know that. Gary and I got the chance to minister to this sweet lady.
Jesus and Joseph
One commentator has written :
Extensive analysis of parallels to Luke 2:46-51 of both Joseph and our Lord, it is recorded that he is:
beloved of his father,
whom he obeys faithfully,
the subject of prophecies concerning his role as deliverer,
the object of his brethren’s hatred and jealousy,
so that they conspired to destroy him,
stripped of his clothing • and sold for silver,
the object of false accusations,
condemned along with two criminals,
yet recognized by his people after they had given him up for dead,
sent by God to preserve his people.
We are going to end with a song from Casting Crowns that encourages us that if we want to see change in the world it starts with us.
Evangelist Gipsy Smith once asked his audience if they wanted to see revival come. When they said yes, he replied:
“Do you really want to see a revival begin?” When the people said yes, Gipsy replied, “Then go back to your home and draw a circle around you on the floor. Then get down on your knees in the middle of the circle and ask God to convert everybody inside that circle. When you do that, and God answers, you are experiencing the start of revival.”
[Start Right Here - Casting Crowns]
