Series: Intended for Good: The Life of Joseph
Title: God’s Purposeful Presence in the Pit
Genesis 37:12-36
We’ve developed some odd ways of cutting people out of our lives.
When we had answering machines, people would screen calls and avoid talking to certain people.
“Ghosting” has become a thing, where people stop responding to any calls, voicemails, or texts.
Then there’s unfriending people on Facebook or other social media.
Back in the day our face book was our high school annuals.
unfriending was evidenced by the person’s face being scratched off the page of your yearbook.
There’s plenty of evidence that this practice predates the 80’s though.
It turns out erasing others form our lives is a practice that goes back quite a ways.
Yep, people used to just cut em right out of the photgraph.
This morning we see that it was certainly going on in the days of Jacob’s sons.
We’re going to see how Joseph’s brothers decide to respond to the dreams he’s had of them bowing down to hime and the favoritism he’s been shown by their father.
So, we pick back up in Genesis 37:12-36
12 Now his brothers went to pasture their father’s flock near Shechem. 13 And Israel said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers pasturing the flock at Shechem? Come, I will send you to them.” And he said to him, “Here I am.” 14 So he said to him, “Go now, see if it is well with your brothers and with the flock, and bring me word.” So he sent him from the Valley of Hebron, and he came to Shechem.
15 And a man found him wandering in the fields. And the man asked him, “What are you seeking?” 16 “I am seeking my brothers,” he said. “Tell me, please, where they are pasturing the flock.” 17 And the man said, “They have gone away, for I heard them say, ‘Let us go to Dothan.’ ” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan.
18 They saw him from afar, and before he came near to them they conspired against him to kill him. 19 They said to one another, “Here comes this dreamer. 20 Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits. Then we will say that a fierce animal has devoured him, and we will see what will become of his dreams.”
21 But when Reuben heard it, he rescued him out of their hands, saying, “Let us not take his life.” 22 And Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but do not lay a hand on him”—that he might rescue him out of their hand to restore him to his father. 23 So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the robe of many colors that he wore. 24 And they took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it.
25 Then they sat down to eat. And looking up they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing gum, balm, and myrrh, on their way to carry it down to Egypt. 26 Then Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? 27 Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.”
And his brothers listened to him. 28 Then Midianite traders passed by. And they drew Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. They took Joseph to Egypt.
29 When Reuben returned to the pit and saw that Joseph was not in the pit, he tore his clothes 30 and returned to his brothers and said, “The boy is gone, and I, where shall I go?”
31 Then they took Joseph’s robe and slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood. 32 And they sent the robe of many colors and brought it to their father and said, “This we have found; please identify whether it is your son’s robe or not.”
33 And he identified it and said, “It is my son’s robe. A fierce animal has devoured him. Joseph is without doubt torn to pieces.”
34 Then Jacob tore his garments and put sackcloth on his loins and mourned for his son many days. 35 All his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted and said, “No, I shall go down to Sheol to my son, mourning.” Thus his father wept for him.
36 Meanwhile the Midianites had sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard.
This morning, we find Joseph’s life forever changed by the actions of his older brothers.
But we’re also going to be reminded of the hand of God in these evil deeds.
I hope that you’re encouraged and challenged to follow Christ as we look at - God’s Purposeful Presence in the Pit
You’ll recall from last week that Joseph is the favorite son of Jacob.
He’s the first born son of Jacob’s favorite wife, which goes a long way.
But we’ll also see how the other older brothers were likely disqualified by their character.
Jacob carries the blessing of God’s covenant with his grandfather, Abraham.
So, being his favored oldest son might carry some additional benefits other than being the supervisor.
We also learned last week Joseph’s brothers despised him.
They couldn’t stand the favor their dad showed him.
And none of this was helped by the dreams that God gave Joseph, which depicted his brothers one day bowing down to him.
Their Callousness is displayed in their sarcastic statement when Joseph is approaching them.
They call him the “dreamer,” with no concern about whether God had given him his dreams.
And it gets dark fast when they decide to kill him.
Their lack of concern in their callous hearts also appears when their described as sitting down to eat even as their own brother is trapped in the pit they threw him into.
If you recall from last week, we expanded on the statement –
Trust that God is at Work to Fulfill His Good Plan to Keep His Covenant Promises.
We looked at God’s plan, prophecies, and promises that are on the line in this section of Genesis.
God told Abraham He would make his descendants into a great nation.
God told Abraham that his people would be strangers in a foreign land for over 400 years.
Today, we see how God moved His plan forward one big step.
But as we move forward with this theme, we can also learn some things from dynamics that are going on.
First, from these sad family dynamics, we learn to.
1. EXPECT SIN TO BRING SORROW INTO YOUR LIFE.
We’re going to dig a little more into what’s going on with Reuben.
Reuben is a conflicted character among Jacob’s sons.
And we see that come to the surface in our verses.
He’s the oldest and thus should be worthy of the birthright.
But he’s not the oldest of Jacob’s favorite wife – Joseph is.
Reuben lost any favored status when he had relations with Jacob’s concubine, Bilhah (Gen 35)
Bilhah is the mother of Dan and Naphtali.
Yeah, lots of tension among these guys.
If it tells you anything about the other older brothers, Levi and Simeon fell out of favor with Jacob in Ch. 34
It had to do with the two of them taking vengeance on a whole city full of men for the mistreatment of their sister.
Judah is the 4th oldest of Leah’s sons.
He’ll actually be the main character in Ch. 38.
And his unethical and immoral character will be shown in his dealings with his daughter-in-law, Tamar.
Since we’re focusing on the life of Joseph, we’re going to skip to Ch. 39 next week.
I share these details of the family to reiterate our point - Expect Sin to Bring Sorrow into your Life
But, back to Reuben
Reuben seeks to save Joseph from his brother’s murderous intent.
And he plans to get him back to his father, Jacob, safe and sound.
It’s pretty agreed on that Reuben was hoping this would get him back into his father’s good graces.
This would explain his wailing in v. 29-30
29 When Reuben returned to the pit and saw that Joseph was not in the pit, he tore his clothes 30 and returned to his brothers and said, “The boy is gone, and I, where shall I go?”
As I mentioned, he likely saw this as his opportunity to return to his father’s good graces.
He doesn’t mourn Joseph as much as he mourns the position that he’s put in – where shall I go?
The cowardice and deception that takes place when Jacob picks up his son’s robe is heartbreaking.
His sons watch him grieve and cowardly let him draw his own conclusions about Joseph’s fate.
This drama echoes the deception that Jacob brought on his father, Isaac, just before he left home.
With His mom’s help, Jacob disguised himself with his brother’s robe so that Isaac couldn’t recognize him.
He brought him a roasted goat after Isaac requested from Esau bring him a meal of fresh game.
And with his deception, Jacob had also wronged his brother, Esau – stealing his blessing
It seems like God chooses to point out the IRONY in the events of scripture
Both Jacob and his sons used a goat and the robe of their target to deceive their father.
Jacob brought a goat to his father while dressed in his brother’s robe.
Jacob's sons bring their brother’s robe to him, dressed in the blood of a goat.
Sadly, we’re seeing some “like father, like sons” going on in all this.
I love the Progressive Commercials with Dr. Rick, the "Parental-Life Coach,"
You know, he helps young homeowners avoid "turning into" their parents.
Dr. Rick's mission is to help young people navigate the "Parent-a-morphosis" that often occurs after they buy their first home.
I think we all a favorite of these commercials.
And some of us see ourselves in them.
I’m the guy at the hardware store leaning over and saying, “If you’re looking for a good grout float…”
Or the guy that crawls under the wabbling restaurant table to put a napkin under the short leg.
I heard a much less funny statement about becoming like our parents from Jake Gilbert
He said, “What you do in moderation, your kids will do in excess.”
No amount of “I’m not gonna be like my parents” prevents you from being like your parents.
That’s because the problems in our behavior come from deep within our hearts.
The solution is God-sparked, Spirit-driven repentance.
As Paul tells the Corinthians in –
* 2 Corinthians 7:10 For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.
We have a deep desire for God to change us a church family through true repentance.
This is part of our desire to see God change Fathers, Families, and Family Trees
This is what Jacob’s family needs.
And I think we’ll see some glimpses of it in Egypt.
Both Jacob and Reuben were in a “pit” of their own making…
And you’ll see what I mean by that in a moment as we study the idea of the “pit.”
There’s a saying, “if you find yourself in a pit, the first step to getting out is stop digging”
The way for Rueben and his brothers to stop digging would be to stop lying, repent, and seek to make things right.
Like Jacob, are there patterns of sin in your life or your family that is bringing sorrow to you or those around you?
Like Reuben, is there something that you’re trying to make-up-for rather than repenting from it?
We all must seek a truly repentant heart from God in order to change.
God can use the sorrow that comes with sin to bring us to that place.
What’s probably the most significant take away from our passage is that you can -
2. EXPECT CHRIST TO BE THE ANSWER TO THE PIT YOU’RE IN.
One element that’s specifically mentioned seven times in our verses is “the pit.”
This is the first time theHebrew term is used in the Old Testament.
And it really seems to become a theme throughout the Old Testament after this passage.
The term can refer to several types of pits.
Many of them are simply cisterns like the physical pit/cistern that Joseph was thrown into.
But as far as what the pit symbolizes from this point forward, they range from the grave to God’s discipline.
I’ve provided a small number of the passages that use this term.
We’ll see in Genesis 40 that Pharaoh’s dungeon is called “the pit.”
It’s used to describe the Grave through the Psalms and other books.
The Grave
It’s used several times in Isaiah, such as in –
* Isaiah 14:15 15 But you are brought down to Sheol, to the far reaches of the pit.
The “pit” can also refer to God’s discipline
God’s Discipline
* Psalm 88:6–7 You have put me in the depths of the pit, in the regions dark and deep. Your wrath lies heavy upon me, and you overwhelm me with all your waves.
* Zechariah 9:11 As for you also, because of the blood of my covenant with you, I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit.
Emotional or physical trials are referred to as “the pit.”
Emotional or Physical Trials
Some of you U2 fans might think of Psalm 40 that states
* Psalm 40:1–2 I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry. He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog
If someone asked you about a job you really hate, you might tell them, “it’s the pits!”
Joseph’s experience is the first place where we see this term used.
From there, his experience became a metaphor for a lot of different pits that we might experience.
So, I think we’ve established the scriptures expanded on this idea of being stuck in a pit.
So, how is Christ the answer to whatever “pit” we find ourselves in.
This is a neat question to ask at many points in Joseph’s story because so much of his life points ahead to Christ.
Think about it.
Joseph is the favored son sent by his father to go and find his brothers.
Joseph is rejected by his brothers.
Joseph’s was disrobed and mocked.
The 20 sheckles that Joseph’s brother’s are paid happens to be the price of a slave.
Joseph is sent down into the pit.
Joseph’s mistreatment will ultimately play into the salvation of his whole family.
Jesus came to seek the lost.
He came to His own countrymen first but was rejected.
You might recall from our time in Matthew that why Judas is paid 30 sheckles – the price of a slave.
He was disrobed and mocked and killed.
He went down into the grave.
His mistreatment ultimately makes salvation available to all people.
We all go through difficult times – pits if you will.
They may be of our own making or they may be from something that’s been done to us.
And we all need help.
I recall a time when Kelly was having a rough season.
And I happened to hear a radio program advertising a book.
I thought it was just what Kelly needed.
So, I ordered it and gave it to her.
The book was called, Get Out of That Pit!
Um, it didn’t help her.
In fact, I think how I went about it kind of made it worse.
So, while we might not be able to get straight out of a pit we’re in, we can rest in who Jesus is and what He’s done.
When we’re in a pit because of our sin (whether it be the discipline of God or just disappointment with ourselves) repentance is possible because Jesus went into the pit and purchased our redemption.
When we’re in the pit of physical pain or even terminal illness, it’s the fact that Jesus has experienced the same pain and conquered the grave that makes our pain purposeful and bearable.
It’s the strength that He promises with His presence that can give us the strength to go on.
How should the fact that Christ descended into the “pit” and defeating death affect the pits you’re in when…
you’re emotionally or physically distressed?
you’re under God’s discipline for sin?
you’re concerned about death?
Though Jacob and Reuben and Joseph may have believed everything was going against them, God was working events for their good.
By sending Joseph ahead, God was securing the future of Israel as a nation.
Along those line, let’s look at how you can -
3. EXPECT GOD TO BE IN SOVEREIGN CONTROL OF HIS PLAN.
20 Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits. Then we will say that a fierce animal has devoured him, and we will see what will become of his dreams.”
Amazingly, these men state that they’d like to kill him to test if his dreams would become a reality.
According to how dreams have been used in the book of Genesis, they’re trying to derail what God has predicted will take place.
They tried to end the fulfillment of Joseph’s Dream.
But they’ll actually end up moving Joseph further along in its fulfillment.
The original reader of these recorded events knew the nation of Israel grew in Egypt.
They knew this season was in fulfillment of God’s prediction to Abraham of how they would live there.
The reader knows what needs to happen next is for Jacob’s family to move down to Egypt.
This is why we read a progress report of sorts at the close of a few of the section of our passage
After the decision is made to sell Joseph to the slave traders, we read in –
28 Then Midianite traders passed by. And they drew Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. They took Joseph to Egypt.
Also, at the close of the sad description of Jacob’s mourning, we read -
36 Meanwhile the Midianites had sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard.
Psalm 105 connects God’s sovereign plan for His nation, Israel and Joseph’s experience.
Psalm 105:1–10
Oh give thanks to the LORD; call upon his name;
make known his deeds among the peoples!
2 Sing to him, sing praises to him;
tell of all his wondrous works!
3 Glory in his holy name;
let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice!
4 Seek the LORD and his strength;
seek his presence continually!
5 Remember the wondrous works that he has done,
his miracles, and the judgments he uttered,
6 O offspring of Abraham, his servant,
children of Jacob, his chosen ones!
7 He is the LORD our God;
his judgments are in all the earth.
8 He remembers his covenant forever,
the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations,
9 the covenant that he made with Abraham,
his sworn promise to Isaac,
10 which he confirmed to Jacob as a statute,
to Israel as an everlasting covenant,
Psalm 105:16–17
16 When he summoned a famine on the land
and broke all supply of bread,
17 he had sent a man ahead of them,
Joseph, who was sold as a slave.
It’s pretty amazing that God worked through the sinful envy of Joseph’s brothers to place him in Egypt.
Ps. 105 says “he had sent a man ahead of them”
This after it tells us that God “He summoned a famine on the land and broke all supply of bread”
Again, all of this was so God could make Israel into a great nation in Egypt.
And Israel would then usher in our Messiah.
On one of my trips to Liberia, I learned that I was going to miss my connection in Brussels.
This wasn’t good because there was a group in Brussels that I was supposed to meet up with.
It also wasn’t good because that flight would go for another 4 days.
So, I was offered the fly from London to the next nearest airport.
But it was in another country – Sierre Leon.
The only things I’d heard about Sierre Leon were bad – horrible civil war bad stuff.
But it was the closest I could get, and I could supposedly find my way into Liberia from there.
I was going to arrive late at night, and try to figure things out the next day.
I went for it.
And the whole flight, I was just praying, “God, you’ve got to make a way. God please protect me.”
Once we landed, I learned that the airport was closing.
So, I couldn’t stay there overnight.
As I hung around praying for direction, a man came to me and asked if I was with the other Americans.
He led me to the people he was talking about.
And I’ll never forget walking into the terminal seeing over 100 Americans staying overnight in the airport.
What’s crazy is that the group included the people that I was supposed to meet in Brussels.
Their flight had a stop in Sierre Leon and a mechanical issue while on the ground there.
They all had to get off the plane and wait until another one came the next morning to take them the rest of the way to Liberia.
I remember telling them,
“I’m sorry that you all had to stay overnight in the airport. But I’m sure glad you did have to.”
You can Expect God to be in Sovereign Control of His Plan.
Is it a comfort to you that God is in sovereign control of His plan?
Or is it frustrating for you to recognize that God is in sovereign control of His plan?
What situations might it be easy for you to think that God’s not in control/accomplishing His plan?
When you’re mistreated by others?
When you’re disappointed with your circumstances?
Whatever Pit your in, whether it’s the making of someone else, or your own, Jesus is the answer.
Like Jacob and Rueben, It could be a pit from past sin that you’ve decided is just your consequence.
Or it might be a pit of emotional or physical pain.
Or it might be a pit of worry about the future as you wonder if God’s in control or if His will is good.
Jesus went into the pit and conquered it.
And He’s ready to be there in yours and work out God’s perfect plan for you from there.
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