You will, perhaps, remember that Jacob had twelve sons; he had daughters also; we are not told how many. But of all his children Joseph was; the one he loved most, for he was Rachel’s son; and he was the son of his old age. Ins his love for this child he made him a coat of many colors, which was no doubt very nice. But when Joseph’s brothers saw that he was loved more than they were, they began to hate him, and could not speak peaceably unto him. This was a very sad, state of affairs and brought its own sorrow to all of them.
When Joseph was seventeen years old he helped his brothers to take care of their father’s flocks. One day he asked them to listen to a dream he had had. In his dream, he and his brothers were in a field binding sheaves, and his sheaf arose and stood upright, and their sheaves stood round about and made obeisance—that is, bowed down—to his sheaf.
His brothers thought he meant by this dream that they would someday bow down to him, and this made them very angry. They said to him, “Shalt thou indeed reign over us?” and they hated him yet the more for his dreams and because he made mention of them.
Joseph had another remarkable dream, which he told to his father and his brothers. This time he dreamed that the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to him. When his father heard it he rebuked him and said, “What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth?” Although Jacob thus rebuked Joseph, he observed what he said; but his brothers envied him.
After this, when they were off at Shechem feeding their father’s flocks, Jacob sent Joseph out to where they were, to see how they were getting along, and to see if it was well with the flocks, and to bring him back word. When Joseph reached Shechem he found his brothers were not there. As he wandered about in search of them some man met him and told him that he had heard them say, “Let us go to Dothan.” So Joseph went to that place and found them. When they saw him coming they said, “Behold, this dreamer cometh!” Then they proposed to kill him and throw him into some pit and say that some evil beast had devoured him. They said, ‘‘We shall see what will become of his dreams!”
Was not this dreadful? They were going to murder their brother, and then tell a lie to hide it! Now the root of all this wickedness was the hatred in their hearts working against their brother. Do not, dear children, allow hatred to work in your hearts; it will be with sad consequences if you do. “Hateful, and hating one another” is a mark of the ungodly; while goodness and love should mark those who are the Lord’s.
But God was watching over Joseph, and He did not allow his life to be taken in this wicked way. He raised up a deliverer, in the person of Reuben, his oldest brother. Reuben said, “Let us not kill him; shed no blood, but cast him into this pit that is in the wilderness.” He said this that he might deliver Joseph from their hands and give him back to his father again.
When Joseph came up to his brothers they took off his coat of many colors, and then cast him into a pit.
The poor lad was in anguish of soul, and besought his brothers; but hatred brings cruelty; and envy will harden the heart; so Joseph’s cries were of no avail; they cast him into the pit and left him.
Remorse does not seem to have troubled them, for they sat down and began to eat together. While they were eating a company of Ishmaelites, on their way to Egypt, came along. When Judah saw them he said to the others: “What “profit is there in killing our brother and concealing his blood? Let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother and our flesh.” They were satisfied to have it this way, so they drew Joseph out of the pit, and sold him to the merchantmen for twenty pieces of silver. And these Midianite merchantmen carried Joseph down to Egypt.
Can you tell me who it was who was betrayed and sold for thirty pieces of silver? It was One of whom Joseph was but a type.
ML 02/02/1902