Genesis 37:23–33

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."

God defeated their evil plan by touching the hearts of two of the brothers, Reuben and Judah. Of the two, Reuben appears in the better light. His purpose was to bring Joseph back to his father in the end. They stripped Joseph of the coat that showed the special place he had in his father's heart, and threw him into a pit with no water in it. Judah backed Reuben in this, but while Reuben was away he took the lead in selling Joseph to the Midianite merchants for twenty pieces of silver. So although Joseph did not actually die, he went down into the pit and was sold as a slave.

The tearing of his clothes was the outward expression of his indignation and grief (Gen. 37:29; Lev. 10:6; Judges 11:35; Esther 4:1).

Reuben was clearly not present when the brothers sold Joseph. When he returns to the pit he is shocked to find him gone (v. 29). His question to his brothers, "and I, where shall I go?" shows he feared being held responsible. Did he think Joseph had escaped and gone to report the whole matter to his father?

His elder brother Reuben comes to the rescue, meaning to get him out of the pit the brothers had thrown him into, and take him back to his father. Joseph would of course have been delighted if he had known Reuben's plan. But that kindness would have stopped Joseph's dreams from coming true, and so it failed.

Two other features stand out in Reuben's character. One of them is the constant misery of the undecided mind. It is never really repentant, yet it is always full of regret over its weaknesses and its missed opportunities. When Reuben returned to the pit and found Joseph gone, "he tore his clothes … and said, 'The boy is gone, and I, where shall I go?'"

All the brothers were guilty, but not to the same degree. Reuben was unstable, and morally corrupt, as we know from his history (Gen. 35:22; Gen. 49:3-4), but he was not cruel by nature. Like his brothers he has wronged his father, yet not all human affection has died in his heart. He would have spared Joseph's life, and his father's feelings.

Many are like Reuben — they try to take a neutral place. He tries in a weak way to save Joseph's life, but he is careful that it costs him no risk. And he suffers along with his wicked brothers, just as if he had taken the leading part, like Judah… You cannot take a neutral place between this Christ-rejecting world and openly confessing His name.

Reuben suggested just putting Joseph into a pit he could not escape from. He meant to set Joseph free later, so that Joseph could go back to his father (v. 22). He clearly felt that, as the oldest, he would answer to his father for what the brothers did. Evil does not usually stay hidden for long.

Reuben clearly was not there when the brothers sold Joseph. When he comes back to the pit, he is shocked to find him gone (v. 29). His question to his brothers, "and I, where shall I go?" shows he was afraid the blame would fall on him. Did he think that Joseph had escaped and gone home to tell his father the whole story?

Joseph was in danger from his brothers. Reuben was the eldest, and he should have protected him. He does go so far as to say, "Shed no blood… throw him into this pit." He meant to rescue him. But something always happens to upset a Reuben's good intentions.

While Zebulun and Naphtali were "risking their lives on the heights of the field," locked in a death grip with a strong enemy, Reuben stayed among the sheepfolds. He was searching his heart about what he ought to do — sitting on the fence. I expect he had almost made up his mind by the time the battle was over. Well, it is a convenient way. And he has left many descendants.

One feature that usually stands out in the Reuben character is the misery of the undecided mind. Such a mind is never truly repentant, yet it is always full of regret over its weaknesses or its missed opportunities. When Reuben returned to the pit and found Joseph gone, "he tore his clothes … and said, The boy is gone, and I, where shall I go?"

Perfect goodness brings out the guilt of everyone. But though all are guilty, there are different measures of guilt. The Judge of all the earth will take account of this in due time, giving one person few lashes and another many. We see hints of these different degrees of guilt in the story of Joseph. All the brothers were guilty, but not in the same degree. Reuben was unstable, and morally corrupt, as we know from his history (Gen. 35:22; Gen. 49:3-4), yet he was not necessarily cruel. Like his brothers he has wronged his father, but not all human affection is dead in his heart. He would have spared Joseph's life, and his father's feelings.

Joseph is sold into Egypt, and his brothers have got rid of him. Jesus is killed, and the world has got rid of Him. The lies and deceit of Joseph's brothers work so well and for so long that Joseph is almost forgotten. If he is ever remembered, it is only as the one who is dead, or "the one that is not."

They were guilty of cruel hatred both toward their brother and toward their father. They ask their father to examine the coat, to make sure it was Joseph's. Of course, in recognising it he assumed that a wild animal had killed and eaten his son. Apparently it did not occur to him to ask them if they found bones nearby or other pieces of clothing. A wild animal would not be so careful as to hide everything else and leave only a bloodstained coat.

His brothers avoided the telling of a plain lie, they only inferred it, and Jacob fell into their trap.

Jacob is only reaping what he had already sown. Thirty years before, Jacob had deceived his father with "the skins of the young goats." Now, after long years, his own sons deceive him with "a young goat." There may be long years between the sowing and the reaping, but at last the reaping time comes. The mills of God grind slowly, but they grind exceedingly small.

Esau's garment is called "fine clothing." As he was the elder, it may have been something very like Joseph's "coat of many colours." With fine clothing Jacob deceived his father; with fine clothing his sons deceived him. As he measured out, so it was measured back to him. God's government of His people works with great precision.

So when Joseph's brothers sell him into Egypt, they take his coat of many colours, kill a young goat and dip the garment into the blood. They show it to their father, who thinks a wild animal has killed his beloved son. In both these cases the deceivers used a young goat, not a lamb. We find goats' hair used the same way when Michal, Saul's daughter, tried to deceive her father. David had fled from him.

They dipped the favoured coat, the coat that the old father had put on Joseph, in blood. Then they sent it to their father with these words: "This we have found; please identify whether it is your son's robe or not." This is the language of Cain: "Am I my brother's keeper?" Cain was laying the burden of Abel's blood on the Lord, hinting that the Lord should have been Abel's keeper, since He had shown such respect to him and his offering. So these words of Joseph's brothers seem to lay the burden of Joseph's blood on the aged father. If he loved him as much as this coat seemed to say he did, he should have looked after him better than this blood seemed to say he had.

Do you remember that they stripped Jesus of His clothes? When Joseph's brothers stripped off his coat, they killed a little goat and dipped the coat in the blood... It was very, very bad to deceive their old father like that. Even so, God saw all those things, and did not forget. He says, "they do not consider that I remember all their evil." For more than twenty years they kept quiet about the goat's blood on the coat. Nobody knew about it — nobody but God.

How bad it is to try to cover up sin! God says, "be sure your sin will find you out." ... Now God has made a way to cover all the sins of those who confess them. There is no other way. Only the Lord Jesus' precious blood can cover people's sins.

Verses 31-35 recount the crafty way the brothers led Jacob to one conclusion: some evil beast had killed Joseph and eaten him. His brothers avoided telling a plain lie; they only implied it, and Jacob fell into their trap.

What depths there are in the corruption that is in us! Here they took the favoured coat, the coat the old father had put on Joseph, and dipped it in blood. They sent it to their father with these words: "This we have found; please identify whether it is your son's robe or not." This is the language of Cain: "Am I my brother's keeper?" Cain was laying the burden of Abel's blood on the Lord. By these words he hinted that the Lord should have been Abel's keeper, since He had shown such regard for him and his offering. So these words of Joseph's brothers seem to lay the burden of Joseph's blood on the aged father. If he loved him as well as this coat seemed to say he did, he should have looked after him better than this blood seemed to say he had.

They were guilty of cruel hatred both toward their brother and toward their father. They ask their father to examine the coat, to make sure it was Joseph's. Of course, in recognising it he assumed that a wild animal had killed and eaten his son. Apparently it did not occur to him to ask them if they had found bones in the area, or other pieces of clothing. For a wild animal would not be so careful as to hide everything else and leave only a bloodstained coat.

They played a heartless trick on their father, and it plunges the old man into the deepest sorrow. Then these hypocrites gather round to comfort him. No one can excuse the wickedness of his sons. Even so, this scene shows Jacob only reaping what he had already sown. Thirty years before, Jacob had deceived his father with "the skins of the young goats." Now, after long years, his own sons deceive him with "a young goat." There may be long years between the sowing and the reaping, but at last the reaping time comes.

Like the Lord, Joseph was in his measure a vessel of divine wisdom in humiliation that deepened into the shadow of death. He was rejected and scorned most by his brothers, and sold to the Gentiles. His father had sent him to them on an errand of love, and that very errand gave them the chance to vent their hatred on his lowly and blameless head.

It was very, very bad to deceive their old father like that. Even so, God saw all those things and did not forget... For more than twenty years they kept quiet about the goat's blood on the coat, so nobody knew it — but GOD.

They had once hidden their guilt under the lie they sent to their father. Now they are willing to hide their innocence about the cup under the confession they make to Joseph.

They ask their father to examine the coat, to make sure it was Joseph's. Of course, in recognizing it he surmised that a wild animal had killed and eaten his son. It seems it did not occur to him to ask them if they found bones in the area or other articles of clothing. For a wild animal would not be so careful as to hide everything else and leave only a bloodstained coat.

His brothers avoided telling a plain lie; they only implied it, and Jacob fell into their trap.

Thirty years before, Jacob had deceived his father with "the skins of the young goats." Now, after long years, his own sons deceive him with "a young goat." There may be long years between the sowing and the reaping, but at last the reaping time comes. The mills of God grind slowly, but they grind exceedingly small.

In Genesis 27 we read how Jacob deceived his blind father, Isaac, by wearing Esau's fine clothes. Since Esau was the elder, that clothing may have been very similar to Joseph's robe of many colours. By fine clothing Jacob deceived his father; by fine clothing his sons deceived him. As he measured out, so it was measured back to him. God's government of His people works with great precision.

That the word cannot mean the grave here is clear from this passage. Jacob believed his son Joseph was dead. The sight of his son's robe of many colours, dyed red in blood, deceived him, and he exclaimed, "Joseph is without doubt torn to pieces." So he had not the slightest hope of his own body being put in his son's grave, since he did not believe that grave existed at all.

Jacob says, "I shall go down to Sheol to my son, mourning." But of David we read that he "arose… and went into the house of the LORD and worshipped." Both men are facing the death of a child. One says, "I will go down to Sheol mourning." The other says, "I will go up to the house of the LORD and worship." Yet both were true saints. One looked no further than death and the grave. The other looked beyond death to resurrection.

Joseph's blood is on themselves, however much they try to hide it. The day is coming when their sin will find them out. Then this blood on Joseph's coat will be a swift witness against them.

For more than twenty years they kept quiet about the goat's blood on the coat, so nobody knew it — but God.

When Joseph made himself known to his brothers, he had been, as it were, dead for about twenty years. Twenty long years had passed since his father had said, "I shall go down to Sheol to my son, mourning." Jacob had torn his clothes, put on sackcloth, and wept for him. But now Israel said, "It is enough; Joseph my son is still alive." As a picture of Christ, death and resurrection are the two great points.