23 “And it came to pass, when Joseph was come unto his brethren, that they stripped Joseph of his coat, the coat of many colors that was on him; and they took him, and cast him into the pit: and the pit was empty, there was no water in it. And they sat down to eat bread; and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and, behold, a travelling company of Ishmaelites came from Gilead, with their camels bearing spicery and balm and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt. And Judah said unto his brethren, What profit is it if we slay our brother and conceal his blood? Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother, our flesh. And his brethren hearkened unto him. And there passed by Midianites, merchantmen; and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. And they brought Joseph into Egypt. And Reuben returned unto the pit; and, behold, Joseph was not in the pit; and he rent his clothes. And he returned unto his brethren, and said, The child is not; and I, whither shall I go? And they took Joseph’s coat, and killed a he-goat, and dipped the coat in the blood; and they sent the coat of many colors, and they brought it to their father; and said, This have we found; know now whether it be thy son’s coat or not. And he knew it, and said, It is my son’s coat; an evil beast hath devoured him; Joseph is without doubt torn in pieces.”
Golden Text.—“The patriarchs, moved with envy, sold Joseph into Egypt; but God was with him.” Acts 7:9.
SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS.
(1) When Joseph came to his brothers, what did they take from him? Where were Joseph’s brethren? and why had he gone to them? Verse 23. Note 1. (2) What then did they do with him? Verse 24. Note 2. (3) How was their cold-heartedness further manifested? What did they see as they were eating? Verse 25. Note 3. (4) What comment did Judah then make? Verse 26. (5) What action did he suggest? What did his brothers think of this proposition? Verse 27. Note 4. (6) When the caravan came along, what did the brothers do? What did the merchantmen do with Joseph? Verse 28. Note 5. (7) When Reuben came to release Joseph, what did he find? How did he express his disappointment? Verse 29. Note 6. (8) On returning to his brothers, what did Reuben say to them? Verse 30. (9) What then did they do with Joseph’s coat? Verse 31. (10) To whom did they take it? What report did they give? Verse 32. (11) What did Jacob surmise when he recognized the coat? Verse 33. Note 7.
NOTES.
1. Joseph was the eleventh in order of age of the twelve sons of Jacob. Because Joseph was the first-born of Rachel, who was the wife of Jacob’s first choice and real affection, his father’s attitude toward him led the older brothers to suspect that he designed to bestow upon him the birthright. Certain dreams of Joseph’s were also interpreted to mean that Joseph was to have the pre-eminence. This naturally aroused the envy of his ten older brothers, who were Jacob’s sons by different mothers. Then to add to their discomfort, Jacob had shown his preference, and perhaps his ultimate design, by clothing Joseph in a very conspicuous coat. The ten brothers had been sent away to feed their father’s flocks in Shechem, and Jacob sent Joseph, who was then but seventeen years old, to see how they were getting along. At Shechem Joseph was told that his brothers had moved on to Dothan, so he went on to their new camp. When his brothers saw him approaching, some of them wanted to kill him, and thus get him out of their way. But Reuben proposed putting him into a deep pit, and the rest agreed to this plan. Reuben intended to secretly take him out and send him home. This introduction brings us to the lesson scripture.
2. There were many cisterns, also called pits, in that country. They were either cut out of the rock or dug in the earth and plastered. Being covered, with the exception of an opening in the center of the top, escape unaided was impossible.
3. The heartless satisfaction of the brothers with the prospect of being rid of their hated brother, could not be better illustrated than in their deliberately sitting down to eat under such circumstances.
4. The proposition of Judah to sell Joseph shows that the brothers were discussing the situation as they were eating. After all, there was an instinctive shrinking from either killing him outright or allowing him to starve to death in the pit. So the suggestion to sell him was readily accepted.
5. Selling Joseph into slavery, when a career of pre-eminence over his brethren had been marked out for him, would be a temporary satisfaction to his envious brothers, and they could imagine themselves innocent of his blood; but that could not cleanse their hearts of the sin of murder. 1 John 3:14, 15.
6. Reuben was not with his brethren when they sold Joseph. He was grievously disappointed at the failure of his plan to rescue Joseph from the evil design of his brothers. He rent his clothes in token of his great grief. This was the common oriental token of extreme sorrow or indignation. But he had not shown a spirit of real courage in opposing their designs, and did not afterward have the fortitude to expose them.
7. For over twenty years did Jacob’s sons allow him to labor under the impression that Joseph had been slain by a wild beast. The terrible secret had to be wrung from them through the ordeal of trial and suffering.
