Sold Into Slavery

Genesis 37:12-36

“And his brethren went to feed their father's flock in Shechem. And Israel said unto Joseph, Do not thy brethren feed the flock in Shechem? come, and I will send thee unto them. And he said to him, Here am I. And he said to him, Go, I pray thee, see whether it be well with thy brethren, and well with the flocks; and bring me word again. So he sent him out of the vale of Hebron, and he came to Shechem.

And a certain man found him, and, behold, he was wandering in the field: and the man asked him, saying, What seekest thou? And he said, I seek my brethren: tell me, I pray thee, where they feed their flocks. And the man said, They are departed hence; for I heard them say, Let us go to Dothan. And Joseph went after his brethren, and found them in Dothan.” (Genesis 37:12-17)

Still playing favorites, Jacob kept Joseph at home while sending his brothers out to herd sheep, further deepening their resentment. After a period of time, Jacob sent Joseph out to check on them. It had been long enough they had had to relocate the herd, and they were not where Joseph expected to find them. Finally he met a man who knew where they had gone and went to Dothan.

“And when they saw him afar off, even before he came near unto them, they conspired against him to slay him. And they said one to another, Behold, this dreamer cometh. 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.” (Genesis 37:18-20)

Having already been in trouble because of his tattling, the older boys knew he would be looking for something to tattle about. It stirred up their anger and hatred even more, capping a life time of family conflicts and favoritism. Colossians 3:21 warns, “Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged.” Jacob’s were despaired of receiving fair treatment and love as long a s Joseph was alive. Since Simeon and Levi had murdered the men of Shechem and all of them had spoiled the city, the idea of murder didn’t seem like as much of a big deal since they had gotten by with it before. Once again we see how the family culture influenced the attitudes of the children.

Ephesians 6:4 tells us how to avoid this type of attitude among our children. “And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.” Jacob had neglected to teach his family about the Lord, as was obvious from Rachael’s stealing Laban’s idols and his lack of worship while in Padanaram. His favoritism and selfishness accentuated the problems, leading to the intent to kill Joseph. As the beneficiary of Jacob’s actions, Joseph had become quite proud and overbearing.

“And Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands; and said, Let us not kill him. 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.” (Genesis 37:21-22)

Reuben knew that it was wrong to murder their brother, and that as the eldest it was his responsibility to try to prevent it. Years of being caught in the fighting had led to his becoming hesitant to speak up or take action. Others like Simeon and Levi had become quite aggressive, and even belligerent and he was afraid of angering them. He suggested that if they left Joseph in a pit where he couldn’t escape, he would still die, but they wouldn’t have killed him and wouldn’t have to lie. His goal was to free Joseph when the others weren’t around and let them think Joseph had escaped by himself.

“And it came to pass, when Joseph was come unto his brethren, that they stripped Joseph out of his coat, his coat of many colours that was on him; And they took him, and cast him into a pit: and the pit was empty, there was no water in it. And they sat down to eat bread: and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and, behold, a company of Ishmeelites came from Gilead with their camels bearing spicery and balm and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt.” (Genesis 37:23-25)

When Joseph finally came up to them his brothers acted on Reuben’s suggestion, stripping off the coat that symbolized his father’s favoritism. Hoping for an opportunity to free Joseph later, Reuben volunteered to watch the flocks while the rest of them ate lunch. While they were eating they spied a caravan of Ishmeelites in the distance, carrying spices, incense and medical supplies to Egypt to trade.

“And Judah said unto his brethren, What profit is it if we slay our brother, and conceal his blood? Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmeelites, and let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother and our flesh. And his brethren were content. Then there passed by Midianites merchantmen; and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmeelites for twenty pieces of silver: and they brought Joseph into Egypt.” (Genesis 37:26-28)

Judah had thoroughly imbibed Laban and Jacob’s efforts to get rich. When he saw the Ishmaelites he saw and opportunity to kill two birds with one stone. It they sold Joseph they could make some money, and get rid of him at the same time. The other brothers were agreeable so they sold Joseph as a slave for two pieces of silver each, or between sixty and a hundred dollars each. They wouldn’t carry guilt for having killed Joseph, and they had a had the money besides.

“And Reuben returned unto the pit; and, behold, Joseph was not in the pit; and he rent his clothes. And he returned unto his brethren, and said, The child is not; and I, whither shall I go?” (Genesis 37:29-30)

When the brothers went out to herd the flocks, Reuben used the excuse of getting his lunch to rush to the pit and free Joseph, not knowing the others had sold him. He was panic stricken when he found Joseph gone, suspecting they may have killed him in his absence. As the oldest, he was sure the blame would fall on him. I wonder if they ever told him what happened and gave him his two pieces of silver?

“And they took Joseph's coat, and killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the coat in the blood; And they sent the coat of many colours, and they brought it to their father; and said, This have we found: know now whether it be thy son's coat or no. And he knew it, and said, It is my son's coat; an evil beast hath devoured him; Joseph is without doubt rent in pieces.” (Genesis 37:31-33)

Taking the hated coat that symbolized their father’s favoritism, the brothers smeared it with blood to make it appear that Joseph had been killed and took it back to Jacob to ask if it was Joseph’s. Identifying the coat, Jacob was convinced some evil wild animal had killed his son, carrying away and eating the body.

“And Jacob rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days. And all his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted; and he said, For I will go down into the grave unto my son mourning. Thus his father wept for him.” (Genesis 37:34-35)

Jacob was broken hearted at losing his son, especially so soon after losing his mother. Hypocritically, the boys sought to comfort him, never letting on what had really happened. Jacob would suffer, believing Joseph dead for twenty years, never knowing that his suffering was the result of the examples he had set for his children.

“And the Midianites sold him into Egypt unto Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh's, and captain of the guard.” (Genesis 37:36)

In Egypt, Joseph was sold to the Captain of Pharaohs guard. At seventeen, he must have looked like a very good investment, old enough to work hard but young enough to learn easily, and with a lot of years of labor to be expected.

Just as Joseph was sold into slavery, we are “sold under sin”, as natural men, according to Romans 7:14. Just as Joseph became a slave by the actions of his brothers, we became sinners by the actions of Adam. Romans 5:19 tells us, “…by one man's disobedience many were made sinners,…” By disobeying God, Adam sold us all into slavery to sin. Fortunately, God has provided a way out. The last part of Romans 5:19 declares, “… by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.”