“HATED WITHOUT A CAUSE.”
-GEN.
37:12-36.-OCT. 6.-
Golden Text: “The patriarchs, moved with envy, sold Joseph into
Egypt: but God was with him.”-Acts 7:9.
RACHEL, the dearly
beloved wife of Jacob, was dead, but her first-born son, Joseph, was beloved by
his father above his ten older half-brothers. And from the narrative it is not
unreasonable to assume that this love was not merely on his mother’s account,
but that Joseph himself had a kindness and nobility of character which
specially commended him to his father, and drew forth his affection. As a son
of his old age, Jacob was inclined to favor Joseph in various ways, and amongst
others procured for him an expensive robe, of a kind peculiar to that time,
samples of which have recently been found in Egypt, in the tomb of
Beni-Hassan,-“long, richly embroidered robes in various patterns and colors,
which seem to have been produced by sewing together small pieces of different
colors. Herodotus describes one sent as a present by the king of Egypt, which
‘had a vast number of figures of animals interwoven into its fabric, and was
embroidered with gold.’“
Jacob probably did not realize to what extent his partiality was
cultivating in his other sons a feeling of enmity and envy against Joseph; and,
indeed, we may question if it would have been to Joseph’s advantage, as
respects development of character, to have remained at home under such
conditions; he would probably have been a spoiled young man, just as
grandparents are very apt to spoil grandchildren by too much petting and
partiality, developing in the favored child a spirit of pride, to plague and
injure it for the remainder of life.
The envy of his brothers over his father’s partiality was intensified by
two dreams which Joseph had, and which he told them of, apparently with all
simplicity and innocency. In the one dream he saw twelve sheaves in the field,
one for each of the sons of Jacob, and the other eleven sheaves bowed down to his
sheaf. In the other dream he saw the sun, moon, and eleven stars bow down to
him. His brothers were incensed at any thought of his ultimate superiority to
them, who were his elders; and even his father repudiated the thought that the
dream could have any meaning, since it would imply that Joseph would be greater
than his parents, as well as greater than his brethren. We are not to account
for these dreams as the work of the boy’s imagination and ambition, although
such may be the case in respect to many dreams; rather we are to understand
that those dreams were prophetic: that God was foretelling, foreshadowing the
future-to the intent that Jacob and Joseph and his brethren might all
eventually discern that the Lord’s hand was connected with all the peculiar
circumstances of his life;-that God foreknew and overruled them in the manner
in which they ultimately resulted. This forestatement would make the lessons
many times more weighty, when they would be understood, just as prophetic
declarations respecting our Lord and his experience, are the more convincing on
this account. The dreams were fulfilled later on, when Jacob and his family
presented themselves before Joseph, a prince in Egypt, and made obeisance to
him as to a king.
Well does the Apostle class envy as one of the works of the flesh and the
devil. (Gal. 5:19-21.) It is a seed which thrives rapidly in any heart where
it takes root, and who can tell what bitter fruitage it will produce? So rank
had been its growth in the hearts of Joseph’s brethren that when he came to
them in the field at Dothan with a message from his father, their envy
overflowed all bounds, and they premeditated murder. Subsequently, at the
instance of Reuben, one of their number, his life was spared, and he was merely
put into a pit, a dry cistern, to die of starvation; Reuben, however,
premeditating his deliverance. Subsequently, at the instance of his brother
Judah, his life was spared from the pit, and he was sold to some traveling
merchants as a slave for the Egyptian market, where shortly afterward he was
installed as a servant in the house of Potiphar. How hard must have been the
hearts of these brethren, and how sore and affrighted the heart of Joseph, the
favored child of his father! The narrative tells us nothing respecting his
tears, his entreaties, and the refusal of his brethren, but an account of this
is given us elsewhere (Gen. 42:21), for the guilty brethren, when in trouble
themselves, exclaimed, “We saw the anguish of his soul when he besought us, and
we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us.”
Whoever finds envy, hatred or malice in his heart in any degree should
know that he is harboring an enemy; a spirit which, under certain
circumstances, might quickly develop into a spirit of murder. The Apostle,
therefore, urges all who have become new creatures in Christ Jesus to mortify,
to kill, to bury, to put away, the spirit of evil, of hatred, of strife, of
envy, and through the transforming influence of the Lord’s spirit to put on more
and more, day by day, the spirit of love, the spirit of Christ. We can see a
lesson in the experience of Joseph’s brethren; and even though envy never led
us thus far, it should be an illustration to us of its tendency, and we should
hate it and proportionately eradicate it from our hearts.
The chief point of this lesson is its illustration of divine providence.
It reminds the children of God of this Gospel dispensation of the promise of
the Lord’s word, that “all things shall work together for good to those who
love God.” It teaches us how implicitly we may rely upon divine power and
wisdom and love, even when all things seem to be against us; and also how
futile are all the powers of our enemies to do us real injury if God be for us.
(Rom. 8:31.) Apparently the spirit of murder was in the nine brethren, and
apparently had the Lord not so led the matter about, some of them would have
killed Joseph quickly. But we are not to suppose that it was the only way God
could have adopted for bringing Joseph into Egypt, and ultimately (Gen. 41:40)
to its throne, to be the life-giver (bread-provider) for the Egyptians in their
famine, and also for the Israelites, and thus to lead on to the captivity of
the whole nation of Israel in Egypt, and to their discipline and education in
the arts known to the Egyptians, and ultimately to cause their deliverance, as
he did. We are to remember that the All-mighty is All-wise as well as
All-powerful, and that he could have selected any of many ways to accomplish
his purpose. The lesson illustrates, however, God’s wisdom, by which he is
able, not only to circumvent the machinations of evil men, but also to use
their evil deeds to serve his purposes, to carry out his designs, and to bless
those whom he is leading. Would that all of God’s consecrated people,
spiritual Israelites indeed, might obtain a great impetus to faith from this
lesson, and henceforth rely more strongly and fully than ever upon the Lord and
the power of his might. What a peace, what a joy, what a comfort it brings, to
be able by faith to realize that the Lord is at the helm in respect to all of
our interests and affairs, temporal and spiritual!
Those who can plan murder, and who are full of envy, malice and hatred,
will not hesitate to support their evil way by fraud, deception, lying. And so
it was with the ten brethren. They took the coat of many colors, they draggled
it in blood, and sent it to their father Jacob, probably at the hands of a
messenger. Never doubting them, Jacob assented at once to the proposition that
his beloved son had been cruelly devoured by a wild beast, and he mourned his
loss, apparently for years;-his other sons vainly endeavoring to comfort him,
and, no doubt, suffering to some extent anguish on account of their deeds. Perhaps
this experience with evil was beneficial ultimately both to Jacob and his sons.
Indeed, the subsequent narrative seems to imply this. And there is a lesson
here for us, to the effect that those who yield to evil influences may
subsequently learn valuable lessons therefrom, and that we may entertain hope
for their recovery to righteousness. This is a part of our hope respecting the
world in the coming Millennial age-that present experiences with sin, envy,
hatred and strife will prove valuable to them by and by, when they shall have
experienced some of the retributions and have learned a more excellent way,
under the judgments of that time.
As Joseph was hated by his brethren, and that without a cause, and
figuratively killed, when sent to them by his father, so Jesus came to his own
brethren, the Jews, came in their interest, as the representative of the
Father, was hated without a cause, and was actually put to death, murdered.
Nevertheless, in the Lord’s providence this very hatred will ultimately bring
him to the throne of earth, and to the place of power, and give him control
over all the food, the “bread of life,” and thus indirectly make him the
life-giver, not only to the world of mankind, represented by the Egyptians, but
also to his brethren, the Jews-to as many as will receive the bread of life
upon the generous terms and conditions then laid down.
And “as he was, so are we in this world”-as members of his body-as his
fleshly representatives now, and, if faithful, to be his joint-heirs in the throne
by and by, and with him to dispense life to the dying world.
We are not to be surprised, therefore, if we find ourselves hated of the
world; for, as the Master said, they shall say all manner of evil against us
falsely for his sake. Let us remember his words, “If the world hate you, ye
know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world
would love his own; but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you
out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.”-John 15:18,19.
As our Master was hated without a cause, so let
it be with us, so far as possible, that the hatred, malice, envy and murder
which may be poured out against us may be wholly unmerited by us-that our lives
shall be as nearly pure as possible; that so far as possible our thoughts and
words and deeds may show forth the praises of our Lord, and speak of our love
for all men, especially for the household of faith. By and by, when the Church
shall have been glorified, and a new dispensation inaugurated, those who hate
us now, largely because they are blinded by the Adversary and misled, will bow
before us, as the Lord’s anointed, and we shall have the great pleasure of
lifting them up, blessing them, encouraging them and forgiving them; and
assisting them back to the full image and likeness of God.
In our Golden Text let us note the significant statement,-“But God
was with him.” Success in life may be viewed from different standpoints. To
some the successful lives are those represented by Alexander the Great, and
Caesar, and notable kings, emperors and generals; or by its money
accumulators-Croesus, Carnegie, et al. But we write for such as have
different conceptions of greatness from these;-to those who, without disdaining
the merits and charities of any, have accepted the divine standard of greatness
as delineated in the Bible;-Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Job, David, the holy
prophets and apostles, and above all our Lord Jesus. And the secret of the
success of each of these was,-“God was with him.”
The same principle holds true to-day, in all matters connected with the
divine service,-“Without me ye can do nothing.” God’s favor during the Jewish
age was manifested in earthly prosperities; but not so in this age, when
spiritual prosperity alone indicates God’s favor, and when not many rich or
great are called, but chiefly the poor of this world, rich in faith, heirs of
the Kingdom. And, if God be with us and for us, who can be against us? What
will their opposition amount to? They may indeed cause us pain or
inconvenience, but they cannot harm us or injure our highest interests; because
the Almighty has given assurance that “All things shall work for good to those
who love him, to the called ones in his purpose.”
But what must be the character of this class whom God is with and for; and
for whose blessing he intervenes in all of life’s affairs?
Ah! they are a peculiar people-zealous of good works-zealous for
righteousness-zealous for God and his favor-zealous for his service and the
smile of his face-faithful, trustful, meek. “Beloved, now are we the sons of
God”; now we have these assurances of God’s favors which will surely continue
with us if we seek earnestly to follow the footsteps of our dear
Redeemer-walking not after the flesh, but after the spirit. Let us, therefore,
remember to purge ourselves of envy, malice, selfishness, including
self-conceit; that we may be vessels unto honor and meet for our Master’s
service.