Unrecognized Rescue
Genesis 37: 23 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. 24 Then they took him and cast him into a pit.
And the pit was empty; there was no water in
it.
25 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. 26 So Judah said to his brothers, “What
profit is there if we kill our brother and conceal his
blood? 27 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. 28 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.
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Joseph’s brothers were filled with jealousy and rage. When
Joseph came up to them, they ripped off his coat that Israel had carefully
created. They threw Joseph in a pit, and then sat down to eat a meal.
My Observations:
- GOD
made the pit dry way before Joseph’s brothers came up with their plan.
- Reuben
and Judah were Leah’s children and seemed to be different than the other
enraged brothers.
- GOD
orchestrated the situation where the Ishmaelites just happened to be
passing by, almost at the exact moment Joseph was pushed into the pit.
Joseph did not have to spend a long time in the pit. I
believe his brothers threw him in and the next thing they did was to sit down
and eat a meal. This detail tells me that not much time had passed. While they
were eating, the Ishmaelites came by.
GOD’s protection over Joseph seemed to be implied because
the same brothers who wanted to kill him, were now rescuing him out of the pit
for their own personal gain. They did not want Joseph’s blood to be on their
hands and they could make a quick buck. GOD used their evil for HIS good.
Challenge
- Why
do you think GOD told Moses about the timing of these events?
- Have
you ever been thrown into the pit of life?
- Do
you believe that GOD can use your enemies to raise you out of the same pit
they threw you in?
