Tuesday, August 12, 2014

Joseph Is Sold Into Slavery Genesis 37:4-36

To see Genesis 37:4-36 without my comments click HERE.

In Genesis 37 Joseph was being prepared by Jacob to receive the family's birthright and blessing although Joseph never actually received it.
Joseph had a dream that his brothers and parents would someday bow down to him. One day when his brothers went to the land of Shechem (to water their sheep), Joseph was sent by Jacob/Israel to see what his brothers (that kept getting into trouble) were doing. When he arrived at Shechem he found that his brothers were not there, instead there was a man that was there that knew his brothers and told Joseph that his brothers went to Dothan. 

The word Dothan means “two wells”. Dothan as well as having two wells also contained a major trade route to Egypt. It's my opinion that Joseph's brothers were in Dothan because of the trade route, in which they could easily take advantage of the merchants passing through. They were buying and selling as they gambled on the market with the traders that passed by which was unknown to their father.

When Joseph's brothers saw Joseph coming they immediately conspired to slay him because they knew Joseph would report to their father what they were actually doing instead of tending sheep. Reuben was the eldest and just got done being in trouble by laying with his father's concubine Bilhah. Reuben tried to save Joseph's life by having his other brothers put him in a dried well and he planned to take him out later after his brothers left. 

To illustrate the cruelty of the mindset of his brothers, this chapter tells us when Joseph was in the well calling for help when his brothers simply ignored him,  sat down and had lunch v25.

Along came some Ishmaelites that were carrying spices, balm, and Myrrh. These spices came from India, Mesopotamia, and Gilead. These highly valued spices were in demand by the Egyptians for the Egyptian mummification process and it would be an understatement to say it was high priced cargo. The Ishmaelites purchased Joseph, who was then 17,  for the biblical sum of twenty pieces of silver from Judah. This is the normal price for a child slave (Lev 27:5). Because Judah actually was the one that sold him, this may indicate there was animosity between the two over the birthright/blessing.

His brothers, in an attempt to put the matter at rest, killed a goat and put the blood of the goat on Joseph's coat to deceive their father Jacob into thinking that Joseph was killed by a wild animal. Joseph's father (Jacob/Israel) grieved and could not be comforted by his sons.
Jacob said in verse35 “I will go down into the grave unto my son mourning.”
It's important to notice Jacob did not say that he was going to mourn until he sees Joseph again in heaven which is what most churches erroneously teach today!
Jacob obviously believed Joseph was dead and buried in the ground!

I have written about the subject of Christians going to heaven in another post.
I pray all will have a blessed day!


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