The Joseph Series: Can It Get Any Worse?

“’Here comes the dreamer!’ they said.  ‘Come on, let’s kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns.  We can tell our father, ‘A wild animal has eaten him.’  Then we’ll see what becomes of his dreams!’”  [Genesis 37:19-20]

Last week we began looking at Joseph and what life applications we can learn from his life.  We focused on how God was going to work on Joseph’s character.  We discovered  that Joseph was his father’s favorite son (and the youngest of 11 brothers).  Joseph began having some “weird” dreams and told his brothers about them.  They hated him even more after he told them.  Joseph also told his father (Jacob) who scolded him for telling him and his brothers about his dreams.

This week, we learn that the 11 brothers are tending the family sheep and have gone quite some distance from home.  After an extended period of time, Jacob sends his favorite son, Joseph, to check-in on how the brothers are doing.  The above reference tells us the next part of the story.

One of the brothers (Reuben) intervenes and convinces his brothers not to kill Joseph directly, but just to throw him into a cistern and let him die there.  Joseph arrives and the brothers remove his “beautiful robe” (which they despise)  and throw him into the cistern.  But just in the nick of time, another brother (Judah) sees a band of traders coming towards them.  Judah convinces the brothers to sell Joseph to the traders, who are on their way to Egypt.  So, they pull Joseph out of the cistern and sell him – surmising they will never see him again.

If you were Joseph, what would you be thinking?  If you are anything like me, your head would be spinning after these turns of events.  After all, Joseph was sent on an innocent mission to check on his brothers, who throw him into a cistern with no way out.  When he yells for help, no one can hear him.  Then all of a sudden, his brothers pull him out of the cistern and sell him to a bunch of strangers.

I’d be wondering what have I done?  WHY is this happening?  Where is God in all this?  What did I do to deserve all this?  I’m begging God to just get me out of this mess.

Maybe you have never been in a mess quite this bad, but we have all experienced similar thoughts or questions.  God, where are You?  Why don’t You do something?  And it seems as though God has gone silent.  Or has He?

Even when it seems as though God isn’t doing anything, He is working on our behalf.  He IS at work and HE wants us to learn that we can trust Him regardless of how desperate our circumstances. 

Hang in there!!   Don’t despair!  Don’t give up!  God is working for your good!