Slices
Prepare
Have you noticed how the deepest wounds come from those closest to us? A stranger cannot hurt us as much as a family member can. Open your heart to feel Joseph’s hurt in today’s reading.
Bible passage
Joseph sold by his brothers
12 Now his brothers had gone to graze their father’s flocks near Shechem, 13 and Israel said to Joseph, ‘As you know, your brothers are grazing the flocks near Shechem. Come, I am going to send you to them.’
‘Very well,’ he replied.
14 So he said to him, ‘Go and see if all is well with your brothers and with the flocks, and bring word back to me.’ Then he sent him off from the Valley of Hebron.
When Joseph arrived at Shechem, 15 a man found him wandering around in the fields and asked him, ‘What are you looking for?’
16 He replied, ‘I’m looking for my brothers. Can you tell me where they are grazing their flocks?’
17 ‘They have moved on from here,’ the man answered. ‘I heard them say, “Let’s go to Dothan.”’
So Joseph went after his brothers and found them near Dothan. 18 But they saw him in the distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him.
19 ‘Here comes that dreamer!’ they said to each other. 20 ‘Come now, let’s kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns and say that a ferocious animal devoured him. Then we’ll see what comes of his dreams.’
21 When Reuben heard this, he tried to rescue him from their hands. ‘Let’s not take his life,’ he said. 22 ‘Don’t shed any blood. Throw him into this cistern here in the wilderness, but don’t lay a hand on him.’ Reuben said this to rescue him from them and take him back to his father.
23 So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe – the ornate robe he was wearing – 24 and they took him and threw him into the cistern. The cistern was empty; there was no water in it.
Explore
That day must have felt just like any other. Jacob sent Joseph to check on his brothers and ensure all was well (v 13). The delay in finding them underlines how far away he was from home when he finally found them (vs 12–17), probably a day’s journey.
The brothers spotted Joseph coming and quickly hatched a plot on his life (v 18). They wanted to end his life to disprove his dreams. They clearly understood the dreams to be of his imagination. So they stripped him of his ornate robe and threw him in a cistern (vs 23,24). On the positive side, the eldest brother, Reuben, intended to rescue him from the cistern and bring him home to his father (vs 21,22). On the negative side, there was no water in the cistern. That might sound like good news, but not in Middle Eastern weather – Joseph would have been baked alive had he remained in there.
As the story progresses, it becomes clear that Reuben is not a strong leader and his rescue plan would soon fail. Who could rescue Joseph from a seemingly impossible situation?
Respond
How often do we trust inadequate rescuers to come to our aid? It could be political leaders, the kindness of others or even our resourcefulness. We need to recognise that only God can truly rescue us! Pray for God’s rescue.
Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year: Genesis 3,4; Matthew 2
Pray for Scripture Union
Thank God for the volunteer members of the SU Council who provide a forum for the development of spiritual vision and discernment of God’s leading on the overall direction of the movement. Ask God to bless them in their service and to give them wisdom and discernment in their role.
