God's Protection

Now when they saw him afar off, even before he came near them, they conspired against him to kill him. Then they said to one another, “Look, this dreamer is coming! Come therefore, let us now kill him and cast him into some pit; and we shall say, ‘Some wild beast has devoured him.’ We shall see what will become of his dreams!” But Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands, and said, “Let us not kill him.” And Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit which is in the wilderness, and do not lay a hand on him”—that he might deliver him out of their hands, and bring him back to his father. So it came to pass, when Joseph had come to his brothers, that they stripped Joseph of his tunic, the tunic of many colors that was on him. Then they took him and cast him into a pit. And the pit was empty; there was no water in it.  And they sat down to eat a meal. Then they lifted their eyes and looked, and there was a company of Ishmaelites, coming from Gilead with their camels, bearing spices, balm, and myrrh, on their way to carry them down to Egypt. So Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is there if we kill 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 and our flesh.” And his brothers listened. Then Midianite traders passed by; so the brothers pulled Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt. Then Reuben returned to the pit, and indeed Joseph was not in the pit; and he tore his clothes. 30 And he returned to his brothers and said, “The lad is no more; and I, where shall I go?” Genesis 37:18-30 NKJV

What is happening in this section of scripture?

Brothers are scheming against their brother. Most of them want to kill Joseph, but Rueben didn’t. Reuben stood up to the other brother and suggested they not kill Joseph. Judah got the others thinking about making a profit off of their brother Joseph by selling him. The brothers stripped Joseph of his father’s gift to him – the multi-colored coat, just to humiliate him. The brothers were self-centered thinking about themselves – about profit to them, eating a meal while they had thrown Joseph in a pit.

Can you spot a timeless principle here?

God is in control even when bad things happen. God’s hand of protection was on Joseph. Notice how God used Rueben to save Joseph from being murdered.

How could looking at the situation from God’s perspective help us stay calm in tough times in life?

Lord God Almighty your word says you are with us therefore who or what shall we fear? You are in control. You will work everything out for the good of those who love you and are called according to you purposes. Help us remember that in times of trials. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

~Elizabeth Marks~