Genesis 37:12 - Meaning and Application

Here we see, first, the kind visit Joseph made to his brothers at his father’s command. They were feeding the flock at Shechem, many miles away. Some think they had gone there on purpose, hoping Joseph would be sent after them, so they could harm him. Yet Joseph and his father both seem to have been more innocent and trusting than cautious. If God had not meant it for good, Joseph would never have fallen into the hands of those who hated him.

Joseph gives us a fine example of obedience to his father. Though he was his father’s favorite, he was willing to serve him like a servant. He answered his father at once, “Here I am” (Genesis 37:13). Children who are most loved by their parents should also be most obedient to them. That is how love is rightly given and rightly returned.

He also shows kindness to his brothers. He knew they hated him and were jealous of him, yet he did not refuse his father’s order. He did not object because the trip was long or dangerous. Instead, he gladly took the chance to show respect to his brothers. It is a hard lesson, and one we rarely practice well, to love those who hate us. Even if our relatives do not do their duty to us, we must still do our duty to them.

Joseph was sent to Shechem to see whether his brothers were safe there, and whether the land had risen against them. That might have happened because of their earlier cruel murder of the Shechemites. When Joseph did not find them at Shechem, he went on to Dothan. This showed that he was not only obeying his father. If obedience alone had been his aim, he could have turned back after missing them. He kept looking because he loved them. In that, brotherly love was clearly at work.

Second, we see the cruel and hateful plot of his brothers, who paid back good with evil. When they saw him from far away, they made a plan against him (Genesis 37:18). This was not a sudden burst of anger. They had thought it through, and their malice was cold and deliberate. Whoever hates his brother is already on the road to murder, because he will do it if the chance comes (1 John 3:15). Evil plans are worse than quick sins, because they show a deeper corruption of heart.

Their purpose was very cruel. Nothing less than Joseph’s blood would satisfy them: “Come, let us kill him” (Genesis 37:20). Old hatred wants the life of the righteous (Proverbs 29:10). The same spirit later appears in the woman pictured in Scripture, drunk with the blood of the saints. They also mocked him for his dreams (Genesis 37:19). “Here comes the dreamer,” they said, and, “We will see what becomes of his dreams” (Genesis 37:20). What angered them most was the thought of having to bow before him. They wanted to stop that by killing him. People who rage against God’s plans are trying to overthrow them, but they are fighting a losing battle (Psalm 2:1-3). God’s purposes will stand.

They also agreed to keep one another’s secret and cover the murder with a lie. They planned to say that some wild animal had eaten him. Yet in plotting to devour him, they proved themselves worse than wild animals. Even beasts do not normally prey on their own kind, but these brothers were tearing apart one of their own family.

Third, Reuben, Joseph’s eldest brother, made a plan to rescue him (Genesis 37:21-22). God can raise up help for his people even among their enemies, because he controls every heart. Reuben had more reason than the others to resent Joseph, since he was the firstborn and had lost the special honor that Jacob was giving to Joseph. Yet he turned out to be Joseph’s best friend among them.

Reuben seems to have had a gentle, weak temper, which had led him into sexual sin. Simeon and Levi, the next two brothers, had a fierce temper, which led them toward murder. Reuben was the one who shuddered at the thought of killing Joseph. We should guard ourselves against the sins we are most drawn toward, and also use our natural dislikes to resist the sins we are least inclined to. Reuben made a proposal that the others thought would still let them carry out their purpose, but he meant it to rescue Joseph and bring him back to his father. He may also have hoped to win back his father’s favor, which he had recently lost. God, however, directed everything to his own plan, making Joseph the means of saving many lives.

Joseph also points us forward to Christ. He was the beloved son of his father, yet he was hated by a wicked world. Still, the Father sent him from his own presence to visit us in deep humility and love. He came from heaven to earth to seek and save us, and even then people plotted against him. He came to his own people, but they did not receive him. Instead, they conspired against him: “This is the heir. Come, let us kill him.” They cried, “Crucify him, crucify him.” He submitted to all this in order to carry out his purpose of redeeming and saving us.