26.#Sell Joseph to the Ishmaelites

Genesis 37 : 12-35
Size: 38×47cm
Material: silk thread

Joseph’s brothers were tending their sheep in Shechem. At the sight of Joseph approaching, their hearts were filled with anger and jealousy. On that day, Joseph was wearing a coat of many colors that their father had made especially for him. As soon as Joseph arrived, his brothers ripped off his coat and threw him into an old cistern. They were so furious with him that they even plotted to kill their little brother. Joseph’s brothers wanted Joseph to pay for the years of unfair treatment they had received because Jacob loved Joseph more than all his other sons.
Fortunately, Judah stopped his brothers from killing Joseph. A caravan of Ishmaelites heading for Egypt happened to be passing by at the time and they all decided to sell Joseph to the Ishmaelites instead. The Ishmaelites then took Joseph down to Egypt.
Without a doubt, Jacob was devastated at the news of losing his beloved son. Seeing their father’s agony, the brothers regretted their actions, but they did not dare confess what they had done.
This story has a surprising ending. Joseph later became Egypt’s second-in-command. He saved the lives of his family during a famine. When his older brothers apologized to him years later for the evil they had done, Joseph comforted them saying, “Don’t be frightened! You had meant to harm me, but God was behind this and in control all along. It was God who sent me here ahead of you to save many lives.”
Nothing can happen to us unless it has God’s stamp of approval. When the time comes, what God had in mind will be revealed.