Genesis 37:21

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.