"But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive."
Genesis 50:20
Part 3
Yesterday: How the Conflict Began in the Hearts of Joseph’s Brothers
A spoiled son, Jacob’s favoritism, and jealous brothers equal a family ready to explode!
Today: His Brothers have an Evil Plan
Joseph’s story reveals to us a time when he was young and naïve. Like many young teens who think the world is going their way and life is all about them. We could say Joseph was living the dream. He was his dad’s favorite, and pretty much he had it made. Joseph did not see that his brothers picked up on this, and he was not their favorite!
“And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him” (Genesis 37:4).
How many little arguments erupted that his brothers picked with him when they saw Joseph day after day? And yet he didn’t see it, but what did that matter because he had his dad’s heart and his eye, and he could do no wrong. But his brothers hated him.
One day, without realizing it, Joseph rubbed his brothers’ noses in it when he told them his dream about their sheaves bowing down to his. How they railed on him for his words,
“Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us?” (Genesis 37:8b).
Joseph’s words only brought on more hatred, and his dreams enraged the brothers.
After the second dream, the boys knew they needed to do something, and they started to hatch a plot against their little brother Joseph.
“Ye thought evil against me.”
Yes, his brothers had murder in their hearts. It wasn’t long until these boys had an opportunity to take care of their little “thorn in the flesh.” They were off taking care of the flocks when Jacob came to Joseph and said, to check on his brothers. He did, and they were all many miles from home when he found them. It was the perfect opportunity to get rid of him.
“And when they saw him afar off, even before he came near unto them, they conspired against him to slay him. And they said one to another, Behold, this dreamer cometh. Come now, therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into some pit, and we will say, Some evil beast hath devoured him: and we shall see what will become of his dreams” (Genesis 37:18-20).
“We will get rid of the boy and will never have to hear another of his dreams,” they reasoned. Fortunately, for Joseph’s sake, Ruben tempered their plan. He said not to kill him but put him in a pit out there by himself. They did so, and for the moment, Joseph was safe. While Ruben was away attending sheep, a caravan came by, and the boys decided they would sell Joseph off as a slave. This caravan was headed to Egypt, and they will never have to see their brother again! Their plan was easy. Sell the boy. Take his coat of many colors and tear it apart. Kill a lamb and dip Joseph’s coat in the blood. Then when they get home, they will lie to their father and tell him some wild animal killed Joseph in the wilderness. Show him the coat, and their cover-up will be complete. If no one talks, they’ve got it made. No more lip from “that dreamer!”
Their plan from their wicked hearts was a success, their evil goal accomplished. As far as his brothers were concerned, Joseph was no more. “He’s out of our lives for good!”
What were the thoughts and feelings that were slogging their way through Joseph’s mind as reality set in? He never saw this coming. His world was crashing in on him. Had his life at home been purely conceited? He thought his brothers had to accept him for they were family, and families don’t do this. Doesn’t our family love each other? What will this do to the old man? It must have been a long miserable trip to Egypt for Joseph; his thoughts grated and ground on him, haunting him.
Many centuries after Joseph’s time, David will also have issues with family and enemies around him. He understood what it was to be hunted and hounded. Here are some of his thoughts during hard times.
“Every day they wrest my words: all their thoughts are against me for evil. They gather themselves together, they hide themselves, they mark my steps when they wait for my soul” (Psalm 56:5-6).
Even during David’s rough times, he knew that his God was still in control.
Dear believer, you too may have faced betrayal by family or friends, but please understand God knows the end of your story. How much of Joseph’s story did God tell him ahead of time? None of it. Joseph was flying blind but with great faith in his God. When we face hardships, evil plots against us, and even the betrayal of a loved one, we don’t know the end of the story yet, but God does. Trust Him.
When the Midianite caravan arrived in Egypt, they sold Joseph to Potiphar, the captain of Pharaoh’s guard. He became Potiphar’s house slave. And after all this betrayal by his brothers, he still trusted in his God, for He was right there with him.
“And the LORD was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man, and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian” (Genesis 39:2).
Surely Joseph’s brothers meant to do evil to him, but please come back tomorrow as we see the good that God will bring forth from their wickedness.
Quotes: “The Lord afflicts us at times, but it is always a thousand times less than we deserve, and much less than many of our fellow creatures are suffering around us. Let us, therefore, pray for the grace to be humble, thankful, and patient”[1] (John Newton).
“There is no attribute of God more comforting to His children than the doctrine of Divine Sovereignty. Under the most adverse circumstances, in the most severe troubles, they believe that Sovereignty hath ordained their afflictions, that Sovereignty overrules them, and that Sovereignty will sanctify them all”[2] (Spurgeon).
[1] Newton’s quote Downloaded: Wednesday, August 4, 2021. From: https://gracequotes.org/topic/affliction/.
[2] Spurgeon’s quote Downloaded: Wednesday, August 4, 2021. From: https://gracequotes.org/topic/affliction/. Divine Sovereignty, 1856.