UNBROTHERLY BROTHERS
‘They conspired against (Joseph).’
The scene changes. Dothan was, and is, on the line of traffic between the East and Egypt; it was quite natural, therefore, that a company of merchants, camels and servants should pass along. A happy (?) thought now struck the brethren, as this picture rose to view, and, on the suggestion of Judah, they at once sold their young brother for twenty pieces of silver—about £3, as he was only a boy.
There is curious irony in this transaction, as the Midianites were the descendants of Abraham through his union with Keturah. Thus do these men oppress the children of promise.
I. A striking feature in the narrative is the discomfiture of Reuben on returning to the pit.—Joseph is gone! Could you not imagine such a possibility, Reuben? Feeble, wicked compromises will avail no more than the rending of your garments!
‘Is there no balm in Gilead?’ asked the prophet, and the question is proverbial. These Midianites (or Ishmaelites) were carrying sweet spices from Gilead to Egypt; but we may be sure that they had no balm sweet enough to heal poor Joseph’s breaking heart, as he is thus torn away from the past.
II. How hard and terrible is sin!—Some would have us believe that sin is only weakness, imperfection, and ignorance. How fearfully selfish it is! The offended vanity—the amour propre—of these men cares nothing about the state of Joseph’s feelings. He may go to Egypt, or elsewhere. He may die a cruel death. Anything! Nor do they care about their father’s feelings either. He had sent Joseph after their welfare. They send him Joseph’s coat dipped in blood.
Jacob naturally inferred—as he was meant to do—that Joseph was rent in pieces by some wild beast. And many, many days he mourned for the bright and interesting dreamer who was gone. And when, with strange perversity, these murderers would have comforted him, Jacob—with the olden determination—resolves to mourn on until he enters the grave— Sheol: not the tomb so much as the abode of the departed. Thus he had his ideas of future life. The words most certainly warrant the interpretation that his mourning would end, not in extinction, but in re-union.
III. Let us notice again, how awful is the indifference of the sinners brought before us.—For many a long year they never felt their guilt. They could eat, and drink, and sleep, and work—and even comfort their father. They felt secure. But they were startled at length (Genesis 42:21). Moreover,
Two people look at a boy. One can see only a butt for ridicule, a good object for missiles, cuffs and blows, or of cruel indifference. The other person sees not only a human being, but future greatness—Joseph, Adam Clark, Walter Scott, etc., etc. What makes the difference between those people? Which type do you belong to?
IV. Lastly, suffering souls rejoice!—We know that Joseph suffered. Long after it came to his brothers, and they described to one another the ‘anguish’ of his soul as he vainly cried for mercy (Genesis 42:21). Perhaps to-day you think that your cry is neither heard by God nor man. Fear not. ‘God shall lift up thy head.’ And just as only we can be soothed by the thought of our suffering being fellowship with Christ, so also can we alone truly love one another through Him. It is ‘Jesus only.’ Native amiability, ordinary ‘good-nature,’ is about as reliable as Reuben of old. The best of people need a Saviour.
Illustration
(1) ‘Was Jacob reproved for his own weakness? The coat now so stained with blood had played a fatal part in this tragedy, and he was responsible for it.
Did he remember? There, in yonder tent, a pale, colourless old man of 168 years, his own father, is quietly fading out of life. How had he treated him when, long ago, he seemed on the verge of the grave? Yes, someone else had played a trick with a kid of the goats, and that someone was Rebekah, his mother, lying to her feeble husband for the sake of her favourite son. What a Nemesis there is in history (Genesis 27:9).’
(2) ‘Both the despair of Jacob and the despair of Joseph were mistakes, for had they seen what God was providing for them, they would have rested calmly in peaceful hope, knowing that God would do all things well.
Let us remember that amidst all the sin and wickedness, and misery of the world, God is reigning, and He will bring all things that seem dark and sad to some issue which will repay all the pain by which it has been reached.’