And Reuben returned to the pit, and behold, Joseph [was] not in the pit; and he rent his garments,
Reuben left Joseph alive in a waterless pit, meaning to come back for him and take him home to their father. He returns to an empty hole and tears his clothes. The verse leaves us with a man undone by a rescue that came too late.
Reuben's plan was not simple cruelty. One commentator sees God at work inside the scene, defeating the brothers' scheme through the brothers themselves.
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.
Torn clothes were a recognised act with a settled meaning. One commentator, writing about Ezra tearing his clothes, lists this verse among the examples.
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 does not ask where Joseph is. He asks where he will go. One commentator hears fear in that question and asks what Reuben was afraid of.
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?
If Reuben had succeeded, Joseph would have gone straight home. One writer explains why that rescue was never going to work.
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.
One writer treats this moment at the pit as the signature of Reuben's whole character.
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?'"
The brothers were not all guilty in the same way. One writer weighs Reuben's share against the rest.
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.
Reuben's half-measure saved nobody, and it did not save Reuben either. One writer turns that into a question for the reader.
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.
- Intention. Reuben meant well: his purpose was to lift Joseph out and give him back to his father.
- Absence. He was not there when the sale happened. Good intentions that wait for a safe moment arrive at an empty pit.
- Reaction. Torn clothes were the sign of grief and indignation. But his cry is about where he will go — he feared being held responsible.
- Overruling. The kindness failed because it would have cancelled Joseph's dreams. God's purpose ran straight through the brothers' evil.
- Warning. Remorse that never turns into decision leaves you standing with the guilty. There is no neutral place to take.
and returned to his brethren, and said, The child is not; and I, where shall I go?
Reuben comes back to the pit alone, expecting to lift Joseph out and take him home, and finds it empty. His first words at the empty pit are not about his brother but about himself. That one sentence opens a window into the man.
Reuben's earlier plan (v. 22) was not pure rescue. His own place as the oldest son was part of the reckoning.
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.
His question points away from Joseph and back to himself. One writer asks what lay behind it.
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?
Reuben was the eldest, so guarding Joseph was his duty. He did speak up for him — and one writer weighs what that speaking up was worth.
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.
The same writer follows the trait down into Reuben's tribe, to a day when Israel went to war.
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.
Reuben tears his clothes. One writer separates that kind of grief from real repentance.
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?"
Reuben shared in the crime, but his brothers went further than he did. One writer says God keeps that difference in view.
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.
Reuben's words — the boy is gone — become the family's settled account of Joseph for years. Writers see in this the shadow of a greater rejection.
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."
- Intention. Reuben meant to lift Joseph out and take him home. The plan was right. It was also about himself: as the oldest, he would answer to his father.
- Hesitation. He waited, and the chance was gone. Meaning well is not the same as acting in time, and his tribe kept the habit.
- Remorse. Torn clothes are not repentance. His cry is about his own exposure, not his brother's suffering.
- Accountability. The guilt was shared, but not equal. God weighs the difference and will settle it in His own time.
- Absence. "The boy is gone" became the family's story for years. Joseph was sold and almost forgotten — as Christ was rejected by the world.