Friday of the Second Week of Lent
“3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his children because he was the son of his old age, and he made him an ornamented robe. 4 But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peaceably to him.
12 Now his brothers went to pasture their father’s flock near Shechem. 13 And Israel said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers pasturing the flock at Shechem? Come, I will send you to them.” He answered, “Here I am.”
17 The man said, “They have gone away, for I heard them say, ‘Let us go to Dothan.’ ” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan. 18 They saw him from a distance, and before he came near to them they conspired to kill him. 19 They said to one another, “Here comes this dreamer. 20 Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits; then we shall say that a wild animal has devoured him, and we shall see what will become of his dreams.” 21 But when Reuben heard it, he delivered him out of their hands, saying, “Let us not take his life.” 22 Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but lay no hand on him”—that he might rescue him out of their hand and restore him to his father. 23 So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the ornamented robe that he wore, 24 and they took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it.
25 Then they sat down to eat, and looking up they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, with their camels carrying gum, balm, and resin, on their way to carry it down to Egypt. 26 Then Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? 27 Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.” And his brothers agreed. 28 When some Midianite traders passed by, they drew Joseph up, lifting him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt”
Genesis 37: 3-4, 12-13, 17-28.
Defeat and humiliation is a huge part of the Bible. I know many business men and women who tell me that failure is a big part of their being successful. In bible story after bible story, in one event after another event, we discover the truth that there is no going up until you go down. That has sadly been a significant part of my life. I have failed the Lord miserably, at times, before realizing the moments I was a grace of God to others.
The Joseph story has always intrigued me of such and experience of going down before going up. Joseph, ironically, was sold by his brothers into slavery because “he was the dreamer.” But it was his dreaming that one day freed the brothers from prison.
Today, don’t we see so many people at home and abroad “beating, stoning, and killing” others by their words, by their thoughts and philosophies, as well as by their weapons of hatred and mass destruction. The absence of love and forgiveness continues to turn the world upside down.
This “spirit of rejection” is what put Jesus on the cross, and killed Him.
Psalm 118:22 says it best: “22 The stone that the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.” Jesus speaks of this in Matthew’s Gospel: “42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the scriptures: ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord’s doing, and it is amazing in our eyes’? 43 Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that produces its fruits. 44 The one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, and it will crush anyone on whom it falls” Matthew 21:42-43.
Pray to God for mercy for being so wrong. Pray that you will always be on the side of losers.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me a sinner.
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