Monday: The Attack on Joseph
However horrible the events that were to follow, they’re not hard to comprehend. To be in that close proximity to, and even to be related to, someone whom you hated would inevitably lead, sooner or later, only to trouble.
And it did.
Read Genesis 37:12-36. What does this teach us about how dangerous and evil unregenerate hearts can be and to what they can lead any one of us to do?
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The brothers hated Joseph because they were jealous of God’s favor (Acts 7:9), a favor that will be confirmed at each step in the next course of events. When Joseph has lost his way, a man finds him and guides him (Genesis 37:15). When Joseph’s brothers plot to kill him, Reuben intervenes and suggests that he be thrown into a pit instead (Genesis 37:20-22).
It’s hard to imagine the kind of hatred expressed here, especially for someone of their own household. How could these young men have done something so cruel? Did they not think, even for a few moments, about how this would impact their own father? Whatever resentment they might have had toward their father because he favored Joseph, to do this to one of his children was, truly, despicable. What a powerful manifestation of just how evil human beings can be.
“But some of them [the brothers] were ill at ease; they did not feel the satisfaction they had anticipated from their revenge. Soon a company of travelers was seen approaching. It was a caravan of Ishmaelites from beyond Jordan, on their way to Egypt with spices and other merchandise. Judah now proposed to sell their brother to these heathen traders instead of leaving him to die. While he would be effectually put out of their way, they would remain clear of his blood.” — Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 211.
After they cast him into the pit, planning to kill him later, a caravan passes, and Judah proposes to his brothers to sell Joseph to them (Genesis 37:26-27). After Joseph is sold to the Midianites (Genesis 37:28), the Midianites sell him to someone in Egypt (Genesis 37:36), thus anticipating his future glory.
| Why is it so important to seek God’s power in order to change bad traits of character before they can manifest themselves into some acts that, at one point in your life, you would never imagine yourself doing? |
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I know the story today is about Joseph, but I would like to take a little look at the side story - Reuben.
Rueben went against the tide of his brother's plans:
Considering the state of mind of his brothers, it took a bit of courage to stand up against them and their evil acts. His plan was to return Joseph home and was clearly distraught when, in his absence, the other brothers sold him into slavery. Perhaps there were other brothers who were uncomfortable with the murder plan too but they did nothing.
There is a poplar saying, wrongly attributed to Edmund Burke that says:
And while the statement itself is not true, it emphasizes the fact that doing nothing in the face of evil is not really an option for us.
The story of Joseph being sold into slavery is a complex one and also illustrates that God often works on a longer time-line than most of us would like. This is not instant miracle stuff. It gives a sense of slow maturation as the Holy Spirit works on the hearts of people.
As some of you might have guessed by now, when I open the Hebrew Scriptures, my focus is looking for a *type* / *shadow* of Christ which is the Spirit of prophesy in all the Hebrew scriptures.
The sun casts a shadow, the shadow is not reality.
The SON casts a shadow in the Hebrew Scriptures of himself, messiah/Christ as he claimed by this own words in the Christian Greek scriptures. 100% proof that Jesus is the messiah that came to earth, fulfilled his promises to carnal Israel, and made available the Spirit to us through his death and resurrection.
Luke 24:25-27 (CSB)
25 He said to them, “How foolish and slow you are to believe all that the prophets have spoken!
26 “Wasn’t it necessary for the Messiah to suffer these things and enter into his glory? ”
27 Then beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted for them the things *concerning himself in all the Scriptures.*
Revelation 20:10 Then I fell at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, “Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers and sisters who hold firmly to the *witness of Jesus* Worship God, because the *witness to Jesus* .... IS the spirit of prophecy.”
This story is about carnal Israel plotting to kill Jesus their messiah and ours !
Matthew 23:29-36 (CSB)
29 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous,
30 “and you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we wouldn’t have taken part with them in shedding the prophets’ blood.’
31 “So you testify against yourselves that you are descendants of those who murdered the prophets.
32 “Fill up, then, the measure of your ancestors’ sins!
33 “Snakes! Brood of vipers! How can you escape being condemned to hell?
34 “This is why I am sending you prophets, sages, and scribes. Some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town.
35 “So all the righteous blood shed on the earth will be charged to you, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. 36 “Truly I tell you, all these things will come on this generation.
Shalom
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I get it that Joseph and Jesus share some similar experiences... sold for pieces of silver 20-30, ...
I dont get or see the prophetic connotation of Joseph's life as a shadow or a forebearer to Jesus. I'm very happy to learn and be corrected, but we can draw academic and life lessons from them, just as we can compare the lives of Paul, Elijah (he has a clearer prophetic reference to John the Baptist and the end of time), and David to Jesus.
The Patriarchs and Prophets quote in today's lesson refers to Joseph's brothers being motivated by revenge. Wider reading of the same chapter in Patriarchs and Prophets indicates that Joseph's brothers had cultivated characters based on self-seeking - the foundation of revenge.
Revenge has at its heart the desire to see someone else experience pain and suffering in order that they experience 'payback'. While many people would recognise revenge in its more obvious forms such as that demonstrated by Joseph's brothers, revenge is just at much at work in far more subtle forms. It is not primarily the wanting to see someone experience the true consequences of their actions, but the reason why you want them to experience those that distinguishes revenge-seeking.
Self-seeking wants other's to experience pain and suffering as 'payback'. But other-seeking desires that others will come to repentance and salvation that they may then spend eternity with them as their restored brother or sister. We see this latter sentiment reflected in Jesus teaching in Matthew 5:44-45 where Jesus says:
Loving, blessing and praying for those that have hurt or wronged us is God's alternative to revenge. That is a pretty radical alternative. And that was the contrasting, Christ-like spirit of Jospeh towards his brothers (as we will later see).
I may not always be right with God, but the "fear/respect of God" can save me from a lot of trouble!
The key point relies on 'to surrender'! How much am I willing to surrender to God today? The constant repetition of this attitude may really prevent myself from falling into a big 'character pit'!
Only God can save us from ourselves, through Jesus Christ!
Jacob’s sons slaughtered a city of vulnerable men and took their wives, children and property with the excuse that it was justified because their sister had been violated. That should have been a warning to Jacob of what they were capable of. We lie to ourselves when we think we can contain sin and channel it in the direction of our choice. R Zaccharias said, 'Sin will take you farther than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, and cost you more than you want to pay.” We can tell ourselves that our cheating, lying, stealing, or whatever it may be, is justified in such-and-such a circumstance, but once we let the beast in the door, it takes control of us, and we find ourselves where we never imagined we would reach. Thank God for his grace that saves us from ourselves.
That is why when we let Christ in the door we ask Him to fill the whole room with His light eliminating all the dark corners. As that miracle takes place in our lives, we witness His grace, which is sufficient.
Through Jacob's mistakes, God still showed He was there for Jacob. I do believe Jacob was a man after God's own heart. Jacob could be called a son of God, because he accepted God as his Father. 2Corinthians 2:18. Yes we too can partake in His grace, and be called sons and daughters of God, if we allow Christ to push the beast out the door of our hearts.
Very well said, Jocelyn. Amen to this.
I see GRACE shining through this story. If God can use these wicked men as the bedrock of his chosen people, I am excited and hopeful that God can use me, weak and simple as I am. It was not Elija, it was not Samuel here... it was the 10 hardened-heart brothers, even Ruben a 'bed-sharer' can be the light in this dark hour.
The next two times they meet, Joseph would say you meant for evil what you did, but God turned it into good. This assurance doesn't take away from the pain, struggle, and separation he went through, but the experience becomes meaningful. Our pain/life is connected to a higher purpose.
My prayer is to not make choices that put others in situations to turn their back on God. ...and that though I go through pain now, Jesus is with me and it will end with praise. This is my hope and prayer.
Thank you for your contributions, Larry. I think it's really great to look for shadows and types of the ministry of Christ in the pre-incarnation portion of the Scriptures!
Would you consider that what you call the "Hebrew Scriptures" are as accurately called the "Christian Scriptures," since Christ's Apostle Paul writes that all Scripture is "is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness," considering that the only "Scripture" available at the time is what we now call the "Old Testament"?
Now for a slight modification to your example: The sun does not cast a shadow the way we think of shadows (in terms of light). It would only casts a shadow if there were a brighter light source behind it, relative to the viewer. This is not an insignificant detail in light of our discussion. For purposes of discussing spiritual "shadows," Christ is the Sun of Righteousness (Mal. 4:2), and there is no brighter light than Christ.
Since a shadow is cast as a result of a bright light shining on an object, it's not possible to separate a shadow from the real object which creates the shadow. If we understand the nature of shadows, a shadow can give as a fair one-dimensional representation of a three-dimensional object. That is so with the earthly sanctuary, which provides a limited understanding of the heavenly sanctuary reality. On the other hand, the shadow is so closely bound to the reality that it would not exist at all if there were not a real object.
Besides shadows, we also think of "types" of Christ. A type is a representation of one thing or person by another thing or person. The "type" can never fully represent the reality. So it is more limited. However, a type is a real object or person distinct from the object or person it represents. For instance, while Isaac was a "type" of Christ in a number of ways, he was a real person living in the real world in his own right.
I pray that we may value and study "all Scripture" that is available to us today as Paul valued the Scripture available to him.
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Note: (See "Can the Sun Cast a Shadow?" In this article you can see that the sun can cast a radio-frequency "shadow.")
While enjoying a meal and listening to their brother cry out from the pit, shows what blind hatred the men had towards Joseph.
Jocelyn, as you mentioned quoting R Zacharias „ Sin will take you farther than you want to go…“ this is what happened.
Had it not been for the intervention Ruben and later Judah, led by God’s spirit, Joseph would have perished.
The devil plays his game straight into the hand of God who turns all into fulfilling His heavenly plan - „from the pit to the palace“.
Somehow, our lives go in a similar manner- from one pit of sin to another pit of grace.