“They saw him from afar, and before he came near to them they conspired against him to kill him. They said to one another, “Here comes this dreamer. Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits. Then we will say that a fierce animal has devoured him, and we will see what will become of his dreams.””
Genesis 37:18–20 ESV
Before any blow is ever thrown, or shot fired, there’s the inexorable march of sin in the hearts of men and women. The truest battle of all isn’t a Gettysburg or a D-Day but in the quiet, in the silence and privacy of one’s heart that yields to God and turns away from the flesh. No human revolution will ever succeed in defeating sin because sin can only be defeated by Christ, through grace and through faith. Alone. Lest any one of us should boast. The truth is that none of the story of Joseph happens if his brothers were content in the Lord and His provision. How much oppression and conflict stems simply from this: we’re not happy because we refuse to trust the Lord and instead try and manipulate our circumstances.
If we pause to consider the implications of the divine inspiration of Scripture, and we certainly should, we reckon with the fact that not a single word is there by accident. It’s communication to us, for our benefit, for our instruction, by the Most High God. Every aspect is meant for our edification. It’s meant to bring us to a knowledge of our sin before the holy God and the truth of grace in Jesus Christ. Every single word is, therefore, gold. Pure gold. Nothing can be compared to it (Psalm 19:10).
My mother died twenty years ago. We were very close and, as you can imagine, her tragic passing was devastating. In the months before the curtain came down upon her earthly journey she took the time to mail to me her journals. They came in taped up brown USPS boxes…notebooks that covered the years of her life…so many private thoughts. So many memories. I remember opening them for the first time and seeing that distinctive and familiar handwriting. She was gone and yet I had this. I had records of her prayers and her faith. Her triumphs and her struggles. I read with a focus like none other. I read, if you will, with all my heart. They were my mom’s very words. And a few times they made me cry like I never had before, nor since.
Well, the Scriptures are the oracles of God (Romans 3:2). They’re God’s words to us. God’s very words! The Almighty One of Israel has written us and whether our Bible is wrapped in a leather cover, a worn paperback, or anything else, it has arrived on the doorstep of our heart and is for us. A letter. From God. How then should we read it?
Now, my mother was Sicilian and she loved her family, me included, with a fervency and loyalty that would have made her great in the mob. Or so the family joke went. Loyalty was very important to her. Family was essential. She instilled these things in us and we felt them all the way through our bones. The thing is, though, sometimes her ardent love was a blind one; sometimes her loyalty, not guided by Scripture, blinded her to the facts. I read those journals and knew her so well…and I could see the issues. Sometimes she was praying to God through her pen and basically badgering Him for not “taking care of her boy” (read that: me at one regrettable time in my young life) despite the fact that I was the one at fault, not Him. In fact, it was an amazing mercy that He didn’t send me to the gallows right then and there, so much was my youthful pride and arrogance. It’s weird to see that on paper. She was mad at me and yet worried at the same time as I walked a crooked path marked by vanity back in my early 20’s.
What’s funny is that I started to see then, as I read them, and can see now as I write this, how family isn’t the main thing. To say that is to make it an idol. Faith is the main thing and always must be or else there’s no answer to sin within our homes. My mother’s journals displayed both the glory and the limits of her love and her word. We’re all blind, truly groping in the dark, unless our eyes are opened to God by God and for God.
“While he was still speaking to the people, behold, his mother and his brothers stood outside, asking to speak to him. But he replied to the man who told him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.””
Matthew 12:46, 48–50 ESV
To my mother, and to many parents, their kids can do no wrong. They give them every benefit of the doubt. They sacrifice for them. They go without so that the children will have. But what will they have if they don’t have Christ and the humility needed to see Him as Savior? Jacob’s sons were shot through full of sin and our Heavenly Father doesn’t hide this fact. That’s truly amazing, isn’t it? When we read that they saw the weak little brother coming we’re told a few things that no historian would ever know unless the brothers’ confessed.
They intended to murder him, not merely sell him into slavery.
They did it because their hearts were shot through full of envy.
They bitterly mocked him…calling him “this dreamer” rather than brother. Such language dehumanized their own family member. Such was the hatred that grew in the soil of envy within their hearts. Then they mocked him in all that violent energy surging amongst them, bubbling up, ready to run over the sides of their cup, ready to kill. They said, “then we’ll see what becomes of his dreams.”
God tells us this. He shows us the depravity.
Have you noticed that the Lord doesn’t – repeat, doesn’t – detail the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah in this fashion? Have you noticed that He didn’t itemize the sins of the world before the flood in this way? That’s fascinating. And instructive. I noticed the contrast in my own life. I dwell on the sins of others. I rehearse and reflect on hurts and disappointments. I’m a faultfinder and critic at heart. My mother was an expert in what was good about her children and what was wrong with others who disappointed us or hurt us. None of that is Godly. If we’re to be like Him, this is an important lesson.
So, why would He write us this and detail the otherwise hidden thoughts, pregnant with envy and hatred, concerning not Canaanites or others, but His own chosen people? Simple. The logic of the gospel is simple. There is none righteous. Our “love” is often impacted and perverted due to our own sin. Loyalty outside of Scripture is easily counterfeited as true love but a love can’t be true that’s unrighteous. Our sincerity and emotions are not evidence of godliness.
“Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!”
Matthew 7:9–11 ESV
Yes. We’re evil. Shot through with sin. And the Lord, in all His love, for our benefit, wants us to know this so that we don’t put confidence in the flesh. To love our family or friends with a loyalty outside of Christ is to be deceived. Loyalty outside of Christ is pride masquerading as love. Joseph’s brothers hate him not because they don’t have things and he does. They have great wealth and authority. They’re in charge of their father’s flocks. They murdered the former dominant clan of the area and now roam free. But envy is alive even and especially in the hearts of God’s chosen. It’s that way with us today. We often fear more for our children’s comfort and wealth than we do their holiness. And that’s why the Lord writes this to us. It’s not just thrown in. The state of the Jacob’s family is repugnant and the Lord pulls no punches.
And remember, this is the chosen family. The royal family, so to speak. We later read in the law of Moses:
“Whoever steals a man and sells him, and anyone found in possession of him, shall be put to death.” Exodus 21:16 ESV
Catch that? The penalty for what Joseph’s brothers do to him is death. All Israelites who later heard the law would have known this and, then, they would have heard the rest of the story. They would have known God’s incredible holiness, our terrible depravity, and yet…oh, and yet…the Lord’s amazing grace!
We should see that too. We should read this and it should cause us to see in God’s holy mirror, the Scriptures, our own envies and hatred. We should see our own lack of contentment and how that disquiets us and exposes our lack of faith…true faith. Our obsession about what others are doing and what they have and what they owe us is a dreadful sin. Our black belt ability to whine, complain about others, and plot and connive to get our way is open before Him. Look. Look deeply because it’s in you just as it’s in me too. It was in my mother.
But the thing is, Christ already knows all this.
He knows us perfectly and loves us anyway.
He doesn’t excuse sin, though. He’s it killed. He died on the cross so that we would be freed not only from the penalty of sin but also the power of it. Let’s consider it. Let’s be humbled. Let’s be on our knees in sweet tears of repentance and thankfulness to Him who loves us so much more than we can fathom. And then, in gratitude to Him, because we owe Him all, let’s obey Him and live by faith. Holiness and contentment don’t start until one sees how forgiven they truly are. If we routinely think on how much we owe God and how we’ve failed Him, but are forgiven, restored, and loved, we can’t help but live holy lives.
My mother’s love was vast. Yes. But it’s nothing like the love of God in Christ for me…and for you. Will you hide and deny your depravity? Look at the chosen people and see. Look at our churches and see. We’re worse than we can ever know and yet that means, in faith and through faith, we understand that God’s love is greater than all.
So, let us watch our hearts. Let’s guard them. Let’s vow in Christ to love our neighbors just as we’re loved. Let’s speak truth with grace. Let’s remember who we are before God so that we’ll know who we are with other men. Let’s trust God so comprehensively, and adore Him so absolutely, that the wiles of the Enemy – especially the horrific cancer of envy – finds no root in us. As Calvin wrote:
“We have been forewarned that an enemy relentlessly threatens us, an enemy who is the very embodiment of rash boldness, of military prowess, of crafty wiles, of untiring zeal and haste, of every conceivable weapon and of skill in the science of warfare. We must, then, bend our every effort to this goal: let us not be overwhelmed by carelessness or faintheartedness, but with courage rekindled let us stand our ground in combat.”
We must not think lightly of the Devil. We mustn’t think lightly of sin. To do either shows how little we think of our life’s great goal: progressive personal holiness through the deepening faith/trust in our Lord Jesus Christ. What we think our real problem is will always show whom we truly worship – Christ or ourselves. Joseph’s brothers were convinced, despite their abundant material blessings, that their trouble was their little brother rather than their own covetousness. This will set off the evil events to follow…and yet God will bring the house of Jacob through it all because He is never overcome by evil.
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