Well, this morning we consider together verses 12 through 36 of Genesis 37, the rest of that chapter. We'll read that in a moment. Let's turn first to John 11, verses 45 through 53. John 11, 45-53, and then turning back to Genesis 37, beginning at verse 12. Hear now the Word of our God. John 11, verse 45, the Word of the Lord says, Therefore, many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary and had seen what Jesus did, this is the raising of Lazarus from the dead, put their faith in Him. But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin. What are we accomplishing, they asked. Here is this man performing many miraculous signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation. Then one of them, named Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, spoke up. You know nothing at all. You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish. He did not say this on his own, but as high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation and not only for that nation, but also for the scattered children of God to bring them together and make them one. So from that day on, they plotted to take his life. And turning back to Genesis 37, beginning at verse 12. Joseph, we know, had told his brothers the dreams. They already hated him, we know, because not only of those dreams, but the richly ornamented robe. Beginning at verse 12, Now his brothers had gone to graze their father's flocks near Shechem, and Israel said to Joseph, As you know, your brothers are grazing the flocks near Shechem. Come, I'm going to send you to them. Very well, he replied. So he said to him, Go and see if all is well with your brothers and with the flocks and bring word back to me. Then he sent him off from the valley of Hebron. When Joseph arrived at Shechem, a man found him wandering around in the fields and asked him, What are you looking for? He replied, I'm looking for my brothers. Can you tell me where they are grazing their flocks? They have moved on from here, the man answered. I heard them say, Let's go to Dothan. So Joseph went after his brothers and found them near Dothan. But they saw him in the distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him. Here comes that dreamer, they said to each other. Come now, let's kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns and say that a ferocious animal devoured him. Then we'll see what comes of his dreams. When Reuben heard this, he tried to rescue him from their hands. Let's not take his life, he said. Don't shed any blood. Throw him into this cistern here in the desert, but don't lay a hand on him. Reuben said this to rescue him from them and take him back to his father. So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the richly ornamented robe he was wearing, and they took him and threw him into the cistern. Now the cistern was empty. There was no water in it. As they sat down to eat their meal, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were loaded with spices, balm, and myrrh, and they were on their way to take them down to Egypt. Judah said to his brothers, What will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? Come, let's sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him. After all, he is our brother, our own flesh and blood. His brothers agreed. So when the Midianite merchants came by, his brothers pulled Joseph up out of the cistern and sold him for 20 shekels of silver to the Ishmaelites who took him to Egypt. When Reuben returned to the cistern and saw that Joseph was not there, he tore his clothes. He went back to his brothers and said, The boy isn't there. Where can I turn now? Then they got Joseph's robe, slaughtered a goat, and dipped the robe in the blood. They took the ornamented robe back to their father and said, We found this. Examine it to see whether it is your son's robe. He recognized it and said, It is my son's robe. Some ferocious animal has devoured him. Joseph has surely been torn to pieces. Then Jacob tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and mourned for his son many days. All his sons and daughters came to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. No, he said, in mourning will I go down to the grave to my son. So his father wept for him. Meanwhile, the Midianites sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh's officials, the captain of the guard. Let's bow together in prayer. Father, as we come before You, having read Your Word, we thank You and praise You for this, Your Word of truth. And we confess, O Lord, that of ourselves, we are blind to the truth of Your Word. And we pray for Your Holy Spirit to indeed illumine us, to empower us, Father, to understand what You have to teach to us in this morning hour. We thank You for Your truth. We thank You that You have given it to us. We pray, Father, for Your blessing upon Your Word and upon our hearts as we receive it in this morning hour. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Beloved in Christ the Lord, when we think about the providence of God which we have recently considered together in the Heidelberg Catechism, we confess with regard to that providence that God cares for and He provides for all that He has made. And we confess that all things come to us not by chance, not by accident, but from His fatherly hand. And we confess that He will turn to my good whatever adversity He sends to me in this sad world. Now that's quite a confession. That's quite a confession. Notice, we don't confess that God spares us, that He keeps us from adversity, from tough times, or from the danger of those who hate Him. But we confess that even as we face trouble and trials and tribulation and temptation, that God is with us. and that He protects us as we face these things and that He turns it for our good. Again, that's hard to understand. Especially when one is in the midst of difficult times. It's hard to understand, but we confess this is true, beloved, because this is what God tells us in His Word. Especially Romans 8, verse 28. But also this is what God shows us in His Word. And one clear example is Joseph. Now after reading in verses 4 and 8 and 11 consecutively that his brothers hated him and could not speak a kind word to him, and that they hated him all the more, and that they were jealous of him after reading that, and then we read in verses 12 and 13, Now his brothers had gone to graze their fathers' flocks near Shechem, and Israel said to Joseph, As you know, your brothers are grazing the flocks near Shechem. Come, I'm going to send you to them. After reading that, we want to say to Joseph, Joseph, stop, don't. Don't go. No, don't do it. But Joseph is faithful. Not only to God, but also to his father Jacob. Very well, he replied. We want to ask, didn't Joseph, did he not understand the hatred and envy of his brothers against him? Remember, they could not speak a kind word to him. They did not desire peace and blessing for Joseph. Was he ignorant of their true feelings against him? Or maybe he simply never imagined what his brother's hatred against him was capable of. Of course, we really don't know. We must understand, beloved, that Jacob did not simply send Joseph across town to a neighboring field to check on his brothers. Shechem was about 50 miles from Hebron and Dothan was another 12 miles beyond Shechem. 62 miles, roughly. 62 miles away. Joseph had traveled, no doubt on foot, about four to five days' journey and he was nowhere near the protecting hand of his father Jacob. But we know, again, because we have the rest of the story, we know that he was under the protecting hand of his heavenly father. Now the first part of Genesis 37, 1-11, sets up and introduces to us the brother's hatred and envy for Joseph. And now verses 12-36 shows us the fruit of unchecked hatred and envy. The fruit of undealt with hatred and envy, as well as an example of the suffering of the righteous at the hands of the wicked. You might say that, if you think about it, we have the Cain and Abel story all over again. But again, this was God's plan. And that plan included that as Joseph suffered, as he faced the wrath of his brothers, God spares his choice for leadership. Remember, the brothers seemed to understand what Joseph's dreams meant. It was clear to them. He would rule over them. He would be the family leader. But they just couldn't have that. In their minds, that simply wasn't an option. And therefore, we notice first the evil plot conceived. Now, Jacob wants Joseph to go find out if all is well with his brothers. Now, this may be because Shechem is where Simeon and Levi tricked and murdered the men of Shechem after the man named Shechem had violated their sister Dinah. But it's interesting, and I think rather sad, that Jacob was worried about the peace and the welfare for his sons from the outside world, but he seemed to have no idea about the lack of peace within his family. The second part of verse 17, we begin there, So Joseph went after his brothers and found them near Dolphin. But they saw him in the distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him. Here comes that dreamer, they said to each other. Come now, let's kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns and say that a ferocious animal devoured him. Then we'll see what comes of his dreams. Then we'll see what comes of his dreams. Now on the one hand, this attitude of the brothers marks the nature of Joseph's first test, doesn't it? What would happen to Joseph's dreams with regard to Joseph's faith with regard to the dreams when those over whom he was to rule had sold him into slavery. Indeed, his faith in what God had revealed would be tested because for a time that revelation and reality wouldn't match. They wouldn't fit. They wouldn't agree. They would contradict each other. But also the emphasis of the brothers on that dreamer and his dreams shows their hatred for what they knew or at least thought to be divine revelation. Boys and girls, it shows their hatred for God and their rejection of His sovereign plan. They evilly plot to destroy the very person ordained by God to preserve them. Nothing less than the blood of Joseph would satisfy the brothers. And of course, beloved, we cannot miss the parallel with our Lord Jesus Christ. To the unbelieving Jewish leaders, the best way to stop a threat was to eliminate it. Again, as we read in verses 49 and 50 of John 11, then one of them named Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, spoke up, you know nothing at all. You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish. His own people plotted to destroy the very one ordained from eternity to save them from their sin. Nothing less than the blood of Jesus would satisfy their hatred of Him. Ironically, nothing less than the blood of Jesus would satisfy God for you and for me. Beloved, this is Satan's work in this dark world, to silence the Word of God, to remove it so that it has no effect. One example from our day alone, it's plain to see that the idea of the separation of church and state has gotten out of control and stretched and misused well beyond what our nation's founding fathers ever imagined. Their idea was not to take the church out of the state, but to take the state out of the church. And beloved, be sure that the attacks will keep coming one day, maybe even against true churches and against faithful Christian schools. And that's why the psalmist calls us to hide God's Word in our heart. Indeed, that we might not sin against Him, but also for those who truly believe, you see, no one and nothing can ever take away from you and me that which the Holy Spirit writes upon our hearts. Even from a distance, the brothers have no doubt who's coming toward them as the message, the sermon of that richly ornamented robe preached loud and clear of God's sovereign choice. That robe, you see, was the very symbol of all that the brothers hated about Joseph. And therefore, to silence the message of the robe, They plot with evil intent to destroy the very one to whom the robe belongs. Simple. Problem solved. They would murder him. They don't call it murder, notice. They say, we're going to kill him. We know it's murder. They'll murder him, throw his body in a well where it will never be found, and they had a cover-up story already. We'll just say that a ferocious animal devoured him. And thus, the sinful fruit is harvested. However, there is a slight change in plans. Reuben, in effect, appeals to their consciences by saying, don't shed any blood. This is wrong. You know it. God said to Noah after the flood, whoever sheds the blood of man by man shall his blood be shed, for in the image of God has God made man. Reuben comes up with an alternate plan which seems agreeable. You see, Joseph certainly won't be able to survive very long in a cistern in a hot well in the desert and it will be less messy for us. And of course, Scripture tells us Reuben's true motive. He had a plan to rescue his brother. And no doubt it wasn't so much because of his love for Joseph, but maybe more for his love for his father. And who knows, maybe out of guilt for sleeping with his father's concubine, Bilhah. And that's human nature, isn't it? I mean, how often haven't we tried to buy back the trust of those whose trust we violated and done something nice for them, not because we really wanted to. We're just to earn something back from them. But as the sinful fruit of the evil plot is harvested, I believe that we are to understand from the original language that just as soon as Joseph was within reach, his brothers attacked him. Now who knows? Joseph may very well have greeted his brothers with that customary greeting, Brothers, peace be with you. With their response being that they attacked him, they stripped him of that robe which spoke not only of his father's love for him, but again, of his dreams for leadership and rule over them. Indeed, Joseph was attacked and devoured by a ferocious animal called his brothers. These cisterns or wells could be fairly deep and up to 100 feet wide or in diameter at the bottom, used to store much needed water. Jeremiah, you may recall, was placed in one of these and it was muddy at the bottom. This one, we're told, was empty. God would not let his choice drown. Now, we're not told in this chapter how Joseph handled this because the focus here is really not on him. The focus here is on the wickedness and the insensitivity and the hatred of the brothers. But in Genesis 42, verse 21, when the brothers themselves were in trouble in Egypt, they said to one another, surely we are being punished because of our brother. We saw how distressed he was when he pleaded with us for his life, but we would not listen. That's why this distress has come upon us. Clear as a bell, they remembered his cries. They remembered his trouble. But here on this day, as Joseph cried out for his life, what did the brothers do? Like a ferocious animal, after the attack, they sat down to eat their meal. Who of us has a settled stomach in the midst of a difficult situation? We don't. We can't eat. They sat down as if nothing was happening to eat a meal. It shows how numb they were. What a picture of a lack of conscience. They had no sympathy for Him. They closed their ears to His cry. They didn't care what happened to Him. Their hearts were hardened and calloused toward Him. They were just content. Content enough to eat. Content that their evil plot was working. And beloved, this is how the wicked world acts. The bosom buddies of wickedness are selfishness and indifference. Once in a while, we'll see a news report of a crime that has been committed or of someone who had been in danger, and there will be those who had witnessed it but wouldn't lift a finger because they didn't want to get involved. It's not my problem. They ignore the cries for help. But unfortunately, beloved, this also happens among Christians at times. Even in the church. And let me give two real-life examples that hit close to home that might make us feel very uncomfortable. We have here a young girl. Many of you know who she is with a severe peanut and peanut product allergy. There are many others who have it too in this world, some not so severe. This one is a deadly allergy for her. And when she started school across the parking lot last fall, some changes had to be made on her behalf to make school safe for her. And at first, a few of the families of the school were not very sympathetic. It's not our problem, it's her problem, was the attitude. We won't stop sending peanut butter sandwiches. To my knowledge, I think everything is going pretty smooth. People have come to understand the danger. And the school community has become a safe place for her. And here we try to make the church community a safe place as well. But it takes thought. It takes compassion. It takes effort from all of us. And we are willing, aren't we, because of our love for her. But there's another situation here in this church that's been brought to your attention from the pulpit as well as in the sharing care and also in the bulletin. And some of us here won't want to hear about it again, but we must. We have a member, a sister in the Lord Jesus Christ with a severe sensitivity to most perfumes and strong scents that we like to wear and which are found in many of our daily products. Many of you know whom I'm talking about. She's not here this morning. And it's not because I warned her that I was going to be talking about her. She has no idea. But it's because she can't be here. She has tried over and over again, but she can't. Now, many of us simply don't understand this. It doesn't make sense to us, but she chokes and she can't breathe because of this. And there are others among us. More and more are springing up, we're finding out, with the same problem, only in a milder form. But for her, it is life-threatening. Beloved, she desires to be a part of this body. She desires to participate here, but this problem keeps her from participating in many things in the life of this church, including worship. And I know that some here have told her to her face, it's your problem, not mine. I won't change for you. Because I don't believe you. I don't think it's that bad. It's all in your head. Beloved, it is our problem. We are one body in Christ. We are the communion of saints. You see, we are quick to rejoice with each other when there is a reason to rejoice and to mourn with each other when there is a reason to mourn and praise God for that. Galatians 6 verse 2 says, Carry each other's burdens and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. Now notice, Paul didn't say carry only certain burdens. Burdens of your choice or the burdens that make sense to you and me or the burdens that don't infringe upon our liberties. But love your neighbor as yourself. Do for each other what you would like them to do for you if you were in that situation. Beloved, it only takes a small change. like not eating a peanut butter sandwich in the presence of that little girl we dearly love. Beloved, we are called to be different from the world, which includes caring for each other in a way that the world does not care for its own. While Joseph pleads for his life, his brothers selfishly feed their stomachs, numb to the sinful fruit they were harvesting. One writer says a physicist could compute the exact time required for Joseph's cries to go 25 yards to the eardrums of the brothers, but it took 22 years for that cry to go from their eardrums to their hearts. The brothers' plans changed again as they saw the caravan of Ishmaelite Midianites traveling providentially. God planned it. Traveling on the main trade route headed for Egypt. Now Judah's words seem pious enough. Verses 26 and 27. He said to his brothers, What will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? Come, let's sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him. After all, he is our brother. Our own flesh and blood. His brothers agreed. Well, we hear the hypocrisy all over those words. But you see, they knew that the shedding of innocent blood of a stranger or an enemy was bad. And in a sense, to do this to a family member was worse. And if they sell Joseph, you see, there would be less guilt and more gain. At least, they thought, 20 shekels of silver was indeed a good amount of money. However, they didn't realize, beloved, that by selling him, their guilt was the same. Because they had already committed murder in their hearts. Our Lord Jesus Christ, we know, was betrayed for 30 pieces of silver. Rejected and sold for 30 pieces of silver. And we know the hypocrisy of the Jewish leaders who were careful not to violate the Sabbath. And they wanted to pin His death on the Roman law because their law would not allow them to put anyone to death. And even as Joseph was stripped of his richly ornamented robe, our Lord Jesus Christ was dressed in a purple robe and a crown of thorns and mocked and beaten by those who plotted to destroy him. And later he was stripped of his clothes as he was crucified, and those who rejected his word in effect said, we'll see what comes of his dreams. As they shouted, he saved others. Let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One. Come down from the cross and then we'll believe in You. As the Lord of glory was being crucified, those who hated Him were having their evil appetites satisfied as they thought their troubles were over, not realizing, beloved, that as the Lord of glory hung on the cross, He was giving them a sign. He was demonstrating the power of the Savior. Power to do for them, for you, for me, what no one else could do. But with regard to the brothers, there was more sinful fruit to be harvested in their case, and that fruit was to deceive their father. Now notice how sin depends on more sin as the sinful thought becomes the sinful desire, which results in the sinful act, which then results in lies and deception. Boys and girls, when you lie, you have to tell a second lie to cover up the first one, and then a third lie to cover up number one and number two, and it goes on and on and on. See, the brothers have what you might call a good cover-up plan. Their father would never suspect them. They never had to say a word. But simply let Jacob look at the facts, let the facts speak for themselves, and let him come to the only logical conclusion. The blood-stained robe, now the symbol of the brother's hatred, was now also the means by which his father recognized what he assumed happened to his beloved son. And notice how Jacob came to the conclusion the brothers wanted him to come to. It doesn't get any easier than that, does it? Of course, as we think about our technology today, we say if only they had had DNA testing, the truth would have come out a whole lot sooner. But you see, this also was a part of God's plan. The Jewish leaders also had no choice but to deceive. to tell the guards of the tomb, just say his disciples came and stole his body. And that deception continues today. Ironically, Jacob the deceiver who deceived his father Isaac with Esau's clothes and the meat of a goat is now deceived with Joseph's robe and the blood of a goat. But even as Jacob mourns and as his sons hypocritically try to comfort him, the divine plan is being protected. You see, for all of their deception and for all of their evil deeds, Joseph's brothers do not prevent Joseph's dreams from eventually coming true. As his brothers actually become agents of God in God's fulfillment of those dreams. You see, on the one hand, life should now have been good for the brothers. The one they hated, the one who was a threat to rule over them when he was gone. However, God saw to it through Jacob to keep the memory of their evil deeds alive. Beloved, there is no peace for unrepented sin. That's what David makes clear in Psalm 32. My bones were crushed. Day and night, my anguish was heavy upon me until I confessed my sins. There is no peace for unrepented sin, but for those who repent in true faith, God says, I remember your sins no more. Jacob said that he would mourn for Joseph until the day he died, which meant that every single day the brothers would be reminded of Jacob's favorite. And they would also be reminded of the lie that they kept from Jacob. But at the same time, as we will see in the chapters to come, the Lord willing, God was molding and shaping Joseph for a great work. Joseph became as one dead to his family, yet God was doing a great work of preparing for their future and the future of his church by carrying out his plan for her redemption through Joseph and ultimately through Jesus Christ. The brothers thought they were successful, but Joseph was alive and well in Egypt. He was no ordinary field slave, But God had placed him in the care of one of Pharaoh's officials, Potiphar, the captain of the guard. Beloved, as hard as it may be for us to understand, God does use evil, the evil of mankind, to carry out His plan and to bring what is good for His people. And this is to be comforting for us as believers, as those who are evil, those who reject God, are all around us. As we face the temptations and the trials of Satan through evil men, God works it for good. But He also gives this warning in Galatians 6, verse 7, Do not be deceived. God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Joseph's brothers clearly deceived themselves into thinking that if Joseph was all the way down in Egypt, he would be out of sight and out of mind and all their problems would be gone. And we know that they indeed reaped what they sowed. Many of us have reaped what we sowed as some sin resulted in a difficulty for us in some way, shape, or form. And indeed, the same is true about those who rejected Jesus and had Him crucified. They thought their problem would be over because their problem, Jesus, would be gone. They didn't know, they didn't understand that they couldn't derail God's plan of redemption and instead they became tools in the hand of God to indeed save many people, all those who believe on Him. Think about it, beloved. Joseph's death would have meant the death of his brothers. But Jesus' death means our life. Jesus Christ is risen from the dead. He lives and reigns today and those who trust in Him alone for salvation will also live forever. But those who reject Him, and since He is out of sight, they treat Him as out of mind, they will be lost forever. He will come again on the clouds of heaven in all of His glory, and then He will put all of His enemies away forever and ever, as they will suffer in the cistern, in the pit, in the well called hell. But all of His ransomed, those for whom He died, He will take them to their glorious heavenly home forever. Joseph was rejected by his brothers, those whom he thought he could trust. But Joseph points us to Jesus Christ, who is that friend who sticks closer than a brother. Again, we must confess that often we find that our actions from day to day closely resemble the actions of the brothers. Envy, hatred, lies, and deception. But our only comfort is indeed in the One who was rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. Isaiah says, but He was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. The punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed completely. God in His providence has rescued us from the cistern, the pit of eternal death and hell through His Son. And therefore, beloved, may our song of praise ever be as we have already sung. Alleluia. What a Savior. Amen. Shall we pray? Father, again, as we have heard Your Word, we come before You. to confess that indeed oftentimes we do and we have acted like the brothers. For we come to You in confidence. Confidence in our Lord Jesus Christ. That all of our sins are forgiven in Jesus Christ the Lord. Father, we praise You for Your plan. Your plan which cannot be thwarted. Your plan which cannot be changed. Your plan which is firm forever. Which gives us comfort both for this life and especially for the next. May we look forward to that day, O Lord, when we will no longer be able to sin against You, but instead we'll give You the eternal glory and the honor and the praise and the worship which You alone deserve. In Jesus' name we pray these things. Amen.