Bible Talks: The story of Joseph

From: Messages of God's Love: 1967

Gen. 37:31- 38:30³¹And they took Joseph's coat, and killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the coat in the blood; ³²And 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 no. ³³And he knew it, and said, It is my son's coat; an evil beast hath devoured him; Joseph is without doubt rent in pieces. ³⁴And Jacob rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days. ³⁵And all his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted; and he said, For I will go down into the grave unto my son mourning. Thus his father wept for him. ³⁶And the Midianites sold him into Egypt unto Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh's, and captain of the guard. ¹And it came to pass at that time, that Judah went down from his brethren, and turned in to a certain Adullamite, whose name was Hirah. ²And Judah saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite, whose name was Shuah; and he took her, and went in unto her. ³And she conceived, and bare a son; and he called his name Er. ⁴And she conceived again, and bare a son; and she called his name Onan. ⁵And she yet again conceived, and bare a son; and called his name Shelah: and he was at Chezib, when she bare him. ⁶And Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, whose name was Tamar. ⁷And Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the Lord; and the Lord slew him. ⁸And Judah said unto Onan, Go in unto thy brother's wife, and marry her, and raise up seed to thy brother. ⁹And Onan knew that the seed should not be his; and it came to pass, when he went in unto his brother's wife, that he spilled it on the ground, lest that he should give seed to his brother. ¹⁰And the thing which he did displeased the Lord: wherefore he slew him also. ¹¹Then said Judah to Tamar his daughter in law, Remain a widow at thy father's house, till Shelah my son be grown: for he said, Lest peradventure he die also, as his brethren did. And Tamar went and dwelt in her father's house. ¹²And in process of time the daughter of Shuah Judah's wife died; and Judah was comforted, and went up unto his sheepshearers to Timnath, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite. ¹³And it was told Tamar, saying, Behold thy father in law goeth up to Timnath to shear his sheep. ¹⁴And she put her widow's garments off from her, and covered her with a vail, and wrapped herself, and sat in an open place, which is by the way to Timnath; for she saw that Shelah was grown, and she was not given unto him to wife. ¹⁵When Judah saw her, he thought her to be an harlot; because she had covered her face. ¹⁶And he turned unto her by the way, and said, Go to, I pray thee, let me come in unto thee; (for he knew not that she was his daughter in law.) And she said, What wilt thou give me, that thou mayest come in unto me? ¹⁷And he said, I will send thee a kid from the flock. And she said, Wilt thou give me a pledge, till thou send it? ¹⁸And he said, What pledge shall I give thee? And she said, Thy signet, and thy bracelets, and thy staff that is in thine hand. And he gave it her, and came in unto her, and she conceived by him. ¹⁹And she arose, and went away, and laid by her vail from her, and put on the garments of her widowhood. ²⁰And Judah sent the kid by the hand of his friend the Adullamite, to receive his pledge from the woman's hand: but he found her not. ²¹Then he asked the men of that place, saying, Where is the harlot, that was openly by the way side? And they said, There was no harlot in this place. ²²And he returned to Judah, and said, I cannot find her; and also the men of the place said, that there was no harlot in this place. ²³And Judah said, Let her take it to her, lest we be shamed: behold, I sent this kid, and thou hast not found her. ²⁴And it came to pass about three months after, that it was told Judah, saying, Tamar thy daughter in law hath played the harlot; and also, behold, she is with child by whoredom. And Judah said, Bring her forth, and let her be burnt. ²⁵When she was brought forth, she sent to her father in law, saying, By the man, whose these are, am I with child: and she said, Discern, I pray thee, whose are these, the signet, and bracelets, and staff. ²⁶And Judah acknowledged them, and said, She hath been more righteous than I; because that I gave her not to Shelah my son. And he knew her again no more. ²⁷And it came to pass in the time of her travail, that, behold, twins were in her womb. ²⁸And it came to pass, when she travailed, that the one put out his hand: and the midwife took and bound upon his hand a scarlet thread, saying, This came out first. ²⁹And it came to pass, as he drew back his hand, that, behold, his brother came out: and she said, How hast thou broken forth? this breach be upon thee: therefore his name was called Pharez. ³⁰And afterward came out his brother, that had the scarlet thread upon his hand: and his name was called Zarah. (Genesis 37:31‑38:30)

Joseph’s brothers considered that they had acted very shrewdly in selling him to the Ishmaelites. But Reuben’s question presented a problem they had not weighed. What, indeed, should they tell their old father? Alas, how many there are today who have rejected the Son of God and have never given thought as to what they shall say when, in a future day, they stand before the great white throne, to answer for all their ungodly deeds which they have committed, for everything shall be revealed then.

Job was terrified to think of this and said: “If I justify myself, mine own mouth shall condemn me: if I say, I am perfect, it shall also prove me perverse.” Job 9:20²⁰If I justify myself, mine own mouth shall condemn me: if I say, I am perfect, it shall also prove me perverse. (Job 9:20). God will require that which is past (Eccles. 3:15¹⁵That which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath already been; and God requireth that which is past. (Ecclesiastes 3:15)). How happy for those who can now say, “The Lord Jesus has borne all my sins and suffered all the judgment in my place, on Calvary’s cross.”

The heartless brothers now conceived a means of covering up their evil deed and of deceiving their aged father. “They took Joseph’s coat, and killed a kid of the goats, 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 no.” vv. 31,32. We look sorrowfully at this touching scene—the hearts of these hypocrites being so hardened that they can add another sorrow to their poor father, apparently with no conscience or pity. How true it is that “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked.” Jer. 17: 9.

Jacob readily recognized the blood-stained coat. Had it not been his special gift to his son and a token of his love? “It is my son’s coat,” he said; “an evil beast hath devoured him; Joseph is without doubt rent in pieces. And Jacob rent his clothes and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days.” vv. 33,34. His grief was overwhelming and although his family sought to comfort him “he refused to be comforted.” There is no indication that Jacob recovered from this sorrow until many years later, when he saw Joseph exalted to a place of supremacy and glory in Egypt.

Meanwhile, the merchantmen journeyed south, looking forward to a profit in selling the young Hebrew as a slave. “And the Midianites sold him into Egypt unto Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh’s, and captain of the guard.” v. 36.

Chapter 38 turns briefly from The story of Joseph and in it is recorded the evil that reveals itself in men’s behavior when walking after their own lusts. While Joseph suffers as a slave at the hands of the Gentiles in Egypt, Judah, who had taken the lead in rejecting him, sinks down into the most debasing moral conduct. He is the principle subject here, together with his daughter-in-law, Tamar. As the story of their relationship is recited, we are amazed at the grace of God, and wonder that He did not cut them off from a place in Israel. Yet such is man, such is Judah; but such also is God. Not only did He spare them, but granted them both a privileged place in the lineage through which the Messiah Himself came. “For it is evident that our Lord sprang out of Juda.” Heb. 7: 14. What grace on His part! Well may we exclaim, “How unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out!” Rom. 11:33³³O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! (Romans 11:33).

ML 03/05/1967

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