End of a Dream

Introduction

We have heard the phrase “we reap what we sow.” This is a proverb—a short concise way to express a general truth. The key is to recognize that it is a general truth. It isn’t always true, but it generally is. It is certainly an idea that we try to pass on to our children and each successive generation. The idea is really very simple. If you give yourself to using drugs (that is the sowing), then you may have the consequences of such actions (this is the reaping). If you sow the seeds of unwise spending, then you will reap the consequence of debt and potential bankruptcy. If you sow the seeds of gossip, then you will reap the consequences of others not trusting you. You get the idea. We reap what we sow.

Perhaps this principle is most evident in Jacob’s life. He sowed the seeds of deceit in his early life as he took his brother’s blessing and he reaped the harvest of fear when he met his brother 20 years later. He sowed the seeds of deceit with his father-in-law and reaped the harvest of being a wanted man. Then we come to the way he raised his family. He sowed the seeds of favoritism with his children, preferring Joseph over all the others and he reaps the harvest of jealousy and hatred. As we study the latter section of Genesis 37, we need to remember that we reap what we sow. We will see the validity of this proverb as we study today.

Betrayal

Verses 12—36 begin with a verification of Joseph’s favored status. The brothers are out taking care of the sheep. Where is Joseph? Seventeen-year-old boys in that day and time are quite capable of tending sheep. David was seventeen when he fought Goliath and he had been tending sheep for a while. Joseph has been at home to be with his father. No work for the favored son. Verse 14 may contain a statement of a spy mission. Whether Joseph understood it as a spy mission or just to see how things were going, we don’t know. But he is commissioned to go and check on his brothers. That alone will not settle well with them.

They are grazing in the area of Shechem. It was in Shechem that their sister, Dinah, had been raped. Simeon and Levi through deceit had tricked all the men into being circumcised. At the height of their discomfort, they attacked the city and killed the men. This could have been an innocent mission in which Jacob was truly concerned about the safety of his boys in such a hostile environment. Nonetheless, Joseph’s appearance in his richly ornamented coat would have produced anger and hatred among his brothers. One more time his favored status would be seen.

The story progresses quickly. The brothers see Joseph coming in the distance. They plot to kill him. Reuben, the oldest, suggests not killing him, but at least getting him out of the way. His intention was to take Joseph back home to Jacob. The brothers agree to this second plot. They forcibly take Joseph, stripping away his ornamental coat, and throw him into a dry cistern. Don’t you wonder what was going through Joseph’s mind? Genesis 42:21 tells us. Joseph pleads for his life. He wants to get out of this cistern.

What were the brothers thinking? In 37:25 they sat down to eat. Imagine the scene. The brothers are sitting around a campfire eating their meal while their own brother cries out for mercy. He sobs for release. He pleads that his brothers will let him go. As the afternoon gives way to the shades of darkness, they look in the distance and see a caravan of traders heading south. Judah offers an idea: let’s sell Joseph to this band of traders and be rid of him forever. After all he is our own flesh and blood.

Convinced that they weren’t going to kill him, neither could the brothers just let him go back home to tell Jacob what had happened. Even Reuben is quickly convinced that they had done the best they could to deal with their hatred and yet not hurt Joseph. A side note: Reuben’s statement in verse 30 is based on the fact that he already was in hot water with Jacob. In 35:22, after the death of Rachel, Reuben had sexual relations with Bilhah, Jacob’s concubine. While nothing is said in the immediate context about Jacob’s reaction, in 49:4 Jacob never forgot the incident and severely rebuked Reuben for his sin. So Reuben has no options left except to join his brothers in this deception and sin.

So what are the points to learn in this episode? First, you reap what you sow. Jacob sowed the seeds of favoritism and reaped the harvest of hatred and jealousy. Our children learn from us very well. They see our sin and learn how to be just like us. The Harry Chapin song entitled “Cat’s in the Cradle” is a song which depicts this truth. The father never had time for his child and when the child grows up he has no time for the father. If we have an angry disposition, our children will develop one as well. If we lack integrity, so will our children. If we sow dishonesty, we will reap the harvest of mistrust. If we sow hatred, we will reap the harvest of isolation. If we sow kindness, we reap the harvest of harmony. We reap what we sow.

Second, this story must not be seen in isolation. God takes the brother’s deception and sin and uses it to bless them later. God had made a promise that while the land of Canaan would belong to his descendants, they would have to live 400 years in another land before finally possessing this land (15:16). Abraham’s descendants were to be in Egypt. There is nothing in the text which leads us to believe that Joseph’s brothers were thinking about this promise. They were trying to do away with the Master Dreamer. But God with great care and planning will bring about his will and purpose. We need to recognize that God uses the sin of his creation to even accomplish his purposes. Our God is constantly at work in all situations to bring about his will.

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