Genesis 37:17–28

Joseph does not find his brothers when he comes to Shechem. They have left. Now is his chance to return to Hebron if his heart is not wholly in his mission. Here was a good excuse for turning back and giving up the task. But no; he has no thought of turning back, or of giving up the work his father gave him to do.

Joseph took this path of service. He carried his father's message and stood for his father's interest. He came to Shechem, but found his brothers gone, and his mission stalled. Such checks often come to test how real we are — whether the Father's will is all we want. Joseph's heart was set on finishing the errand. Instead of going home when he could not find them, he waited at his post until he got news of them. Then he followed them to Dothan, unprepared for the murderous and spiteful welcome that awaited him.

Joseph was certainly not one to break from his brothers without cause. He followed them forty miles to be with them and serve them, but "they hated him without a cause." He was a picture, given in advance, of One whose deepest human sorrow was that "His own people did not receive Him." He was wounded in the house of His friends, and He said to those He had held close, "One of you will betray me."

Dothan means "their decree." Just as Joseph found his brothers at Dothan, so the Lord Jesus found Israel in a place of their own decrees and traditions, rather than in the place of subjection to the law of God.

They were zealous law-keepers, and Dothan points to this exactly, if I am not mistaken. The name means "laws" — not "precepts," the moral and spiritual guidance that God's law was, but imperial "decrees." Israel had gone away from God and from the path of their forefather. That is what God's word had become to them.

"Dothan" means "two wells," or perhaps better, "cisterns." That at once recalls what God says of Israel in Jeremiah 2:13: "they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water." This was Israel's condition exactly when the One who held the fountain of life was among them.

Because of their self-righteousness and pride they would not be convinced by Him of their wickedness. So He appealed to their unsatisfied hearts and cried out, on the last day of the feast, the great day: "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink." Joseph goes from Shechem, the scene of their wickedness, to Dothan — heart thirst. This is still Christ's way with souls. Some find it impossible to think of themselves as great and grievous sinners. But they do have empty hearts. When they see how broken earth's cisterns are, they will come to Him who is Himself the satisfying fountain of true joy.

They were heartless toward the innocent sufferer and toward the father who had sent him in love. Yet in the middle of it rises the foreshadowing of Him who was to come, one infinitely greater than Joseph. He too was the Beloved of His Father, and His Father sent Him as Son of Man to seek the lost.

Joseph's touching story also points ahead to the reception the world has given to the One sent by the Father. Having no heart for their father, these men of evil ways have no eyes to recognise the one his love had sent. To them Joseph is only a dreamer whose dreams they would gladly stop by conspiring to kill him... And how eager man is to express his hatred: "They saw him from afar... they conspired against him to kill him." But God's thoughts are not our thoughts, nor His ways our ways. If it is a question of the Son of the Father's love coming near to men, then He will be rejected while still far off. But it is different when a sinner is drawn to the Father. Then we read that "while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him."

These words are a powerful reminder of the parable in Matthew 21: "Finally he sent his son to them, saying, 'They will respect my son.' But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, 'This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.' And they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him." God sent His Son into the world with this thought: "They will respect my son." But man's heart had no respect for the "well beloved" of the Father. They cast Him out... Man crucified Him; but God raised Him from the dead. Man placed Him on a cross between two thieves; God set Him at His own right hand in the heavens.

The evil heart of man is marked by corruption and violence. The brothers are ready to rid themselves of Joseph by violent acts. They were also prepared to cover their violence with corrupt and lying words. "Let us kill him," they say, "and we will say, Some fierce animal has devoured him." Violence and corruption are the outstanding marks of fallen man. He is shameless in both. He is not merely overcome by a sudden temptation. Like Joseph's brothers, he can plan his violent act and his corrupt lies in advance.

God sent Joseph's dreams, and the outcome proved them real, while what other people call reality is only a daydream. And what a mercy it was for his half-brothers, who were not brothers in heart! Their cruel purpose succeeded only in part. God turned it, in His goodness, wisdom, and power, into the very means of bringing about the exaltation they hated as much as they envied. Like Cain, their intent was to kill their brother. And why? Because, at bottom, their works were evil and their brother's righteous.

The Jew did this nineteen hundred years ago. You and I, and every man, would do the same today, if grace had not renewed us and we stood in the same place.

Joseph then starts on his mission. He is sure of his father's love. He knows his brothers hate him. And deep inside he carries an idea of future greatness that he does not yet understand. Responding to the will of the father, he did not shrink from the post of danger which the father did not foresee for him... instead of returning when he could not find them, he stays at his post until he gets news of them. He then follows them to Dothan. He was not ready for the murderous, spiteful welcome waiting for him.

They could not bear the idea of his exaltation. They hated him, and called him "this master of dreams" (v. 19), so they plotted his death. But Reuben rescued him, and says, "Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit."

For them Joseph is only a dreamer whose dreams they would gladly frustrate by conspiring to kill him... And how eager man is to express his hatred. "When they saw him afar off … they conspired against him to slay him." But God's thoughts are not our thoughts, nor His ways our ways. If it is a question of the Son of the Father's love drawing near to men, then indeed He will be rejected while still far off. But what if it is a question of a sinner drawn to the Father? Then we read that while he was "still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him."

These words strongly remind us of the parable in Matthew 21. "But last of all he sent to them his son, saying, They will respect my son. But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him and have his inheritance. And they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him." God sent His Son into the world with this thought: "They will respect my son." But sadly, man's heart had no reverence for the "well beloved" of the Father. They cast Him out. Earth and heaven were at issue about Christ, and they are at issue still. Man crucified Him; but God raised Him from the dead.

They thought his dreams were only an idle fancy, which they could easily get rid of. They had to learn that the dreams were a revelation of the purpose of God, and they could not overthrow it.

The dreams of Joseph were God-sent, and as real in the outcome as the realities of others are only daydreams. And what a mercy it was for his half-brothers, who were not brothers in heart! Their cruel purpose took effect only in part. God, in His goodness, wisdom, and power, turned it to bring about the very rise they hated as much as they envied.

Man imagines in vain that corruption and violence will prosper. The brothers of Joseph did the same. They had planned to kill their brother and meant to cover their act with lies, yet they could say with complete confidence, "We shall see what will become of his dreams." They will indeed see. And it is a terrible thing for those who reject Christ. They too will see, for it is written: "Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of Him."

The evil heart of man is marked by corruption and violence. The brothers are ready to rid themselves of Joseph by violent acts. They are also ready to cover their violence with corrupt and lying words. "Let us kill him," they say, "and we will say that a fierce animal has devoured him." Violence and corruption are the outstanding marks of fallen man, and he is shameless in both. He is not simply overcome by some sudden temptation. Like Joseph's brothers, he can deliberately plan his violent act and his corrupt lies.

And so his sufferings begin. The Lord marks him out as the heir of glory. Joseph speaks of the goodness he had found, and of God's high purpose for him, and his brothers hate him. They envy him; and who can stand before envy? They had already begrudged him his father's favour, and now they hate him for God's. They hate him for his words and for his dreams. They are in the field together, as Cain and Abel had been long before. There they discuss whether to kill him, to throw him into a pit, or to sell him to strangers. And all this happened while he was serving them. He had come a long way to ask after their welfare ... and to carry them blessings from their father's house with their father's love. Such a moment was their opportunity.

He came into this world, which He had made along with everything in it, but what happened? He was hated. He was not wanted. So Joseph's brothers hated him... In the same way, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ sent His Son to be the Saviour of the world. When He came into the world men said, "This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours" (Mark 12:7). Joseph's brothers say, "Come now, let us kill him... and we will see what will become of his dreams." In other words, they plan to murder him, and then to back up their murder with deceit and lies. That was the proposal, but it was not carried out, because Reuben stepped in and Joseph was thrown into the pit. But with the Lord Jesus Christ the murder did take place. Men did kill Him.

Man imagines in vain that corruption and violence will prosper. Joseph's brothers had planned to kill their brother, and they meant to cover the act with lying. Yet they can say with complete confidence, "We will see what will become of his dreams." They will indeed see. And it will go badly for those who reject Christ. They too will see. Is it not written, "Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him"?

God sent Joseph's dreams, and they proved as real in the event as other people's realities are mere daydreams. His half-brothers were not brothers at heart. What a mercy it was for them that their cruel purpose only took effect in part! God's goodness, wisdom and power turned it into the very elevation they hated as much as they envied. Like Cain, they intended to kill their brother. And why? Because, underneath it all, their works were evil and their brother's were righteous.

The Jews did this nineteen hundred years ago. You and I, and every man, would do the same today if grace had not renewed us and we stood in similar circumstances.

Joseph was still some distance away when his brothers saw him coming. They plotted to put him to death (vv. 19-20). From the time the Lord Jesus was born, Herod was determined to kill Him (Matt. 2:13-16). But at this time God's sovereign protection was clear. Reuben, the oldest of the brothers, had some sense of responsibility for a younger brother, and he was able to persuade them not to kill him. In the same way, the Jews often tried to kill the Lord Jesus. But they could not do it until the time God Himself had set. In the meantime their fear of consequences restrained them (Matt. 21:45-46).

Reuben suggested simply putting Joseph into a pit from which he could not escape, intending himself to afterward liberate Joseph so that he could return to his father (v. 22). He evidently felt that, being the oldest, he would be answerable to his father for what the brothers did, for evil does not generally continue long without being discovered.

There may be different measures in the common enmity; but in a great moral sense they are all one generation. Reuben was Jacob's firstborn. We may suppose that he felt more answerable to their aged father for the boy than any of them did. He saves Joseph from the sword, and Judah proposes a sale of him to the merchants, instead of the pit. In ways like these there are measures in the common enmity… here, all are the guilty brothers of Joseph.

Many are like Reuben — they try to occupy a neutral place. He seeks, in a timid, half-hearted way to save the life of Joseph. If he knew Joseph did not deserve such treatment, why did he not step out and say plainly, "No; lay no hand on this defenceless boy. Why do you want to kill the child? I shall stand by him; and if you kill him, you must do it over my dead body." "Well said, Reuben!" we would all exclaim. But no; he is too cowardly. He tries in a weak way to save Joseph's life, but he makes sure it costs him no risk. And he suffers along with his wicked brothers, just as if he had taken the leading part, like Judah.

Joseph was in danger from his brothers, and Reuben, as the eldest, should have protected him. He does go so far as to say, "Shed no blood" — people like him hate the thought of blood, especially in theology — "throw him into this pit." He meant to rescue him; but something always happens to upset a Reuben's good intentions. He means to be an upright man, no doubt, but falls into the terrible sin of which his father accuses him.

His older brother Reuben comes to the rescue. He plans to get Joseph out of the pit they threw him into, and to send him back to his father. Joseph would have been glad to hear of Reuben's plan. But that kindness would have stopped Joseph's dreams from coming true, and so it failed.

Joseph is sent to see the welfare of his brothers, follows them to Dothan, and there the last errand of love brings out their deepest hatred. They determine to get rid of him. They will have this dreamer no more. Reuben sets himself against their plan to murder him. But the result is that, at Judah's proposal, he is thrown into the pit and given up for death. Yet he is taken out of it and sold to the Midianites — a wonderful picture of One greater than Joseph.

The inner garment is the kethoneth, a long tunic worn by men and women. It was made of wool, cotton, or linen. This was the garment God made of skins for Adam and Eve, and what Jacob made of many colours for Joseph. Gen. 3:21; Gen. 37:3, 23-33. It formed part of the priest's dress... It was this garment of the Lord's that was woven in one piece, John 19:23.

The name does not mean exactly "of many colors." Nor was it a seamless robe of one piece, the kind the Lord Himself usually wore. It is a "tunic of pieces," which suggests variety. I think it points to the many powers seen in the Lord in those mighty works which He called works "from the Father."

His brothers stripped him of his coat of many colours and threw him into the pit. The father had marked him out with that coat; the brothers degrade him by tearing it off. It happens again and again with Christ. Some special display of divine power, wisdom and grace sets Him above all others, and at once man strips Him of His coat of many colours. Man tries to drag Him down to the level of an ordinary man by asking, "Is not this the carpenter's son?"... With Joseph the stripping was only the first step toward the pit. So with Christ: man rejected every witness to His glory, and at last, with wicked hands, delivered Him to death.

Joseph here shows himself as the righteous or separated one, and so he stirs up the hatred of his wicked brothers. The light makes the deeds of darkness visible, and the darkness hates the light. In the same way the world later hated Joseph's Lord, because He testified that its deeds were evil. And the marks of divine favour placed on the righteous one only stir that hatred further... His brothers envy him. Later, out in the field together, they take counsel like another Cain, who killed his brother: shall they kill Joseph, throw him into the pit, or sell him to strangers?

They likely took pleasure in stripping Joseph of his coat of many colors, because of their jealousy toward him over his father's favouritism. All of this reminds us of men taking the garments of the Lord Jesus and casting lots for them at the time of His crucifixion (Matt. 27:35). Joseph's brothers calmly sat down to eat. In the same way, Matthew says of those who crucified the Lord, "they sat down and kept watch over Him there" (Matt. 27:36).

The many-coloured coat... was a mark of renown, of superior dignity or excellence... The persecutors of the Son of God were not satisfied until they had stripped Him, as far as they were able, of everything the many-coloured coat of Joseph stood for — His dignity, His moral excellence, His honour. They took everything they could lay their guilty hands on... Yes, they stripped Him. But like a sheep silent before her shearers, He did not open His mouth. He submitted without complaint to the mockery and humiliation, and because of this God has "highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name that is above every name."

Enough was done, and enough is written, to show that the Holy One of God stood before the eyes of the One who knows how to carry out His deliberate counsel and foreknowledge. God did this not only despite the unbelief of the Jews who had turned away from Him, and despite the hands of lawless Gentiles, but through them. In their blind pride they did not know what they were doing. Yet they knew more than enough to leave both without excuse.

The father had distinguished him by a coat of many colours; the brothers degrade him by stripping him. So it is with Christ. On many notable occasions He stands out above all others by some special display of divine power, wisdom and grace. At once man strips Him of His coat of many colours. Man tries to drag Him down to the level of a mere man by asking, "Is not this the carpenter's son?" or "Is not this the carpenter?" As with Joseph, the stripping was only the lead-up to the pit; so with Christ, the rejection of every witness to His glory led men at last with wicked hands to hand Him over to death.

Isaac goes up to the mountain to be offered up. Joseph goes down to the pit. The mountain speaks of the glory of the Person offered up. The pit tells of the misery and degradation of those for whom He is offered up… If his brothers are ever to enter blessing and share in Joseph's glory, then Joseph must take their place — the place of distance and shame that the pit sets out. "Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins," and "unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies it remains alone."

Joseph may again take up the story of the cross as his brothers cast him into the pit. But for him "the pit was empty; there was no water in it." How different the cross of Christ! At God's word "Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son." That same God can now say, "Awake, O sword, against My shepherd, against the man who stands next to Me." Twelve legions of angels await His commands, yet He tells not one of them to hold back the sword of judgment. It is no empty pit into which He must go. He can say, "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" (Ps. 88:6-7).

Cruel as the treatment by Joseph's brothers was, he was not forsaken. But Jesus cried out, "My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?"… The sufferings of Joseph were against his will; but the death of Jesus was His own voluntary offering. "I lay down my life for the sheep."

At Dothan, then, Joseph's brothers are found, and at once they plan to kill him. In fact they cast him into a pit, but one that holds no water. "It is not lawful for us," the Jews said to Pilate, "to put any man to death." Then they draw him out of it and sell him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. So Israel handed the Lord over to the Gentiles.

He was rejected and cast into the pit. He passed, in figure, through the deep waters of death, and so reached the place of dignity and glory. He was raised from the dungeon to rule over the land of Egypt, and to keep his brothers alive and provide for them… A striking picture of Him who hung upon the cross, lay in the grave, and is now on the throne of the majesty of heaven.

Joseph did not speak of it; no one in Egypt knew of it; but conscience spoke inside them. It had been quiet for a time, but it could not be silent for ever. It now woke, and each of them remembered the very look of anguish on his face: "We saw the distress of his soul, when he begged us and we did not listen." Memory does not die, though it may sleep for a while.

Having cast Joseph into the pit, his brothers "sat down to eat bread." Nor was it otherwise at the cross. The presence of Joseph only reveals the evil of his brothers. In the same way, the cross exposes how deep the corruption of man's heart goes. The leaders of Israel hand the true Passover Lamb over to death, and then calmly sit down to eat the Passover feast. They are an evil and adulterous generation, like the adulterous woman of Proverbs, of whom it is written, "she eats and wipes her mouth and says, 'I have done no wrong.'"

None can teach like God. He alone can give the conscience the true sense of sin. He alone brings the soul down into the deep places of its own condition in His presence. Men run on in their life of guilt, taking notice of nothing, until the arrow of the Almighty pierces their conscience... Joseph's brothers had no idea of all that was to flow to them from what they did to him. "They took him and cast him into a pit … and they sat down to eat bread." "Woe to those … who drink wine in bowls and anoint themselves with the finest oils, but are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph." (Amos 6:6)

The gum of the balsam bush, of great medicinal value. Gilead was noted for producing it. It is used as a proverb to describe the healing God had for His people if they really turned to Him. Jer. 8:22; Jer. 46:11; Jer. 51:8. It was carried by the merchants into Egypt and elsewhere. Gen. 37:25; Ezek. 27:17.

Meanwhile Joseph had gone "wrapped" with the myrrh and spices of the Ishmaelites to Egypt. Was it his fragrance that attracted Potiphar to buy him?

The traders on their way to Egypt at once suggest to Judah a chance of making a profit out of their brother. Why not sell Joseph and make a little money? If they are not going to satisfy their hatred by killing Joseph, why not satisfy their greed by selling Joseph?... "Profit" is the word that governed the actions of Joseph's brothers. Judah asks the question of the greedy heart — not "Is it right?" or "Is it wrong?" but "What profit is it?"

Yet in the middle of this heartlessness — toward the innocent sufferer, and toward the father who had sent him in love — a foreshadowing rises of Him who was to come. He is infinitely greater than Joseph. He too was the Beloved of His Father, and sent as Son of man in search of the lost. As the Faithful Witness, He drew out man's evil by divine good, and in everything He pleased God the Father.

Notice what Joseph's trial did. God's ordering kept it from anything that would hinder it. It was meant to frustrate God's purpose, and it looked completely against it. Yet that trial, and his righteous suffering in Egypt, only brought about the very thing they seemed to frustrate. It was the Egypt his brothers sold him to, and the prison Potiphar put him in, that brought him to the butler and the baker. That is what made him governor over all the land of Egypt. We cannot put God out of His way. It is better to trust Him.

The company of merchants on their way to Egypt at once suggests to Judah the chance of making a profit out of his brother. Why not sell Joseph and make a little money? If they are not going to satisfy their hatred by killing Joseph, why not satisfy their covetousness by selling Joseph? So they gave their brother up to the Gentiles, and gave themselves up to money-making… "Profit" is the word that governed the actions of Joseph's brothers. Judah asks the question of the covetous heart — not "Is it right?" or "Is it wrong?" but "What profit is it?"

A company of Ishmaelite traders appears, travelling towards Egypt. Judah is quick to see an ideal way to get rid of Joseph and make some money at the same time. So he points out to his brothers that killing Joseph and hiding it would gain them nothing. Selling him as a slave to the Ishmaelites would bring a profit — and leave them no dead body to get rid of. He also appeals to their sense of loyalty to their family relationship. Joseph was their brother. He seems to have a conscience against killing his brother, but no conscience against selling him as a slave!

There may be different degrees in the shared hatred; but in a deep moral sense they are all one generation. Reuben was Jacob's firstborn, and we may suppose he felt himself more answerable to the aged father for the boy than any of them. He saves Joseph from the sword, and Judah proposes selling him to the merchants instead of the pit. … The Judge of all the earth will surely do right. Sins will get their many stripes and their few stripes. But the world has cast out Jesus, and the world is the world. Here, all alike are the guilty brothers of Joseph.

How evident that in Jehovah alone can one boast, and that the objects of His choice are in themselves nothing and worse than nothing! Yet heartlessness towards the guiltless sufferer, and towards the father who had sent him in love, is not all we see. In the middle of it rises a foreshadowing of Him who was to come, One infinitely greater than Joseph. He too was the Beloved of His Father, and sent as Son of Man in search of the lost.

We may notice that it was not Reuben or any other of the tribal heads who proposed the sale of Joseph. It was Judah. In his own house he later showed the evil that brought curse after curse. In the end he had to admit that Tamar, whom he had sentenced to die by fire, was more righteous than himself. Yet through this guilty Judah, and through Tamar, came He who cleanses from all sin by His blood. He will reign over the universe to God's glory, far beyond all that Joseph pictured, for He went far lower in humiliation and suffering.

He had taken the lead in selling Joseph to the Midianites going to Egypt, speaking with much hardness of heart. Now he has to speak about Benjamin, and what a change is clear! Instead of hardness, great tenderness of feeling, especially for his old father, Jacob. Then it did not matter how Jacob would feel: now it mattered everything to him. Here we see the working of a repentance not to be repented of.

If they are not going to satisfy their hatred by killing Joseph, why not satisfy their greed by selling him? So they handed their brother over to the Gentiles, and handed themselves over to making money. "Profit" is the word that governed the actions of Joseph's brothers. Judah asks the question of the covetous heart — not "Is it right?" or "Is it wrong?" but "What profit is it?"

A company of Ishmaelite traders appear, traveling toward Egypt. Judah is quick to see an ideal way of getting rid of Joseph and gaining some money at the same time… He also appeals to their sense of some loyalty to their family relationship. Joseph was their brother (v. 27). He seems to have a conscience against killing his brother, but no conscience against selling him as a slave!

The same kindred: "you are my bone and my flesh," Gen. 29:14; "he is our brother, our own flesh." Gen. 37:27.

There may be different measures in the common hatred, but in a great moral sense they are all one generation. Reuben saves Joseph from the sword, and Judah proposes selling him to the merchants instead of the pit… The Judge of all the earth will surely do right, and sins will get their many stripes and their few stripes. But the world has cast out Jesus, and the world is the world. Here, all are the guilty brothers of Joseph; and, as the outcome of their plans and their shared hatred, he is sold to the merchants.

Judah sells him for a few pieces of silver, just as Judas sold the One he pictured — the same name, and a descendant of the same man. They kill him ("in a figure"). He passes to the Gentiles, where he is tempted, slandered, and numbered with wrongdoers.

Twenty pieces of silver is the price they get for him. This was just two-thirds the price of an average adult slave (see Ex. 21:32). Judas asked the chief priests what they would give for Jesus. Thirty pieces of silver is their offer… "Every man has his price" is a common saying of the world, and it is often untrue. But every soul that Satan cheats out of Jesus has its price. Some accept gold, others position or power. With some it is cheap pleasure, or lust, or some favourite secret sin.

Notice how Joseph's trial… meant to frustrate God's purpose, and looking completely against it — and his righteous suffering in Egypt — only bring about the very thing they seemed to prevent. It was the Egypt his brothers sold him to, and the prison Potiphar put him in, that led him to the butler and baker, and made him governor over all the land of Egypt. We cannot put God out of His way. It is better to trust Him.

Reuben's plan to save him from his brothers fails. True, they do not kill him. They strip him of his coat of many colours and throw him into a pit in the wilderness. And in Reuben's absence, it seems, they sell him to the Ishmaelites. Twenty pieces of silver is the price they get for him. This was just two-thirds the price of an average adult slave (see Ex. 21:32). Judas asked the chief priests what they would give for Jesus. Thirty pieces of silver is their offer. They valued Him at the price of a slave. Yet He was always God's delight. All angels adore Him, demons fear Him, and to the crowds of the redeemed He is the "all" and the "altogether lovely"... The sold and slighted Saviour may well watch it all and say, with what sounds like irony, "What a fine price they set on Me!" (Zech. 11:13).

The group of merchants on their way to Egypt at once gives Judah the idea of making a profit out of their brother. Why not sell Joseph and make a little money? If they will not feed their hatred by killing Joseph, why not feed their greed by selling him? So they gave their brother up to the Gentiles, and gave themselves up to making money... Judah asks the question for the covetous heart — not "Is it right?" or "Is it wrong?" but "What profit is it?"

In fact they throw him into a pit that holds no water. ("It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death," the Jews said to Pilate.) Then they draw him out of it and sell him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. So Israel handed the Lord over to the Gentiles.

Like Isaac in this picture, Joseph did not die; there was no water in the pit. But our precious Jesus sank in the deep mire... Isaac lay on the altar and was spared. Joseph went into the pit and was spared. But when Jesus hung on the cross, God did not spare His own beloved Son. Joseph's brothers treated him cruelly, yet he was not forsaken. Jesus cried out, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"... Joseph suffered against his will. Jesus offered up His own life freely.

The famine was the immediate reason they went down to Egypt. But through the famine, and through the wickedness of Jacob's sons in selling their brother to the Ishmaelites (Gen. 37:28), God was simply carrying out His own purposes. Long before this He had said to Abram, "Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years. But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions."... So even human anger is harnessed to the chariot wheels of God's decrees.

Conscience connects their present trouble with their past sin. The prison has so far done its work. They not only say, "We are guilty," but "We are guilty concerning our brother." We saw the anguish of his soul, but we hardened our hearts. He begged us, but we shut our ears to all his pleading. "That is why this distress has come upon us."