Providence: The hidden hand of God (Gen 37:18-36)

A week after I agreed to take on the job lecturing in Auckland, I discovered a job opening in the UK that I missed out on. For years afterwards, as I was struggling with the adjustment to New Zealand, I was wondering what would have happened if I had applied and got the UK job. Looking back now I am happy the way things turned out, but at the time that near-miss was disconcerting. I am sure that we all have those what-if moments in some area when a door opened or another one closed whether in education, relationships, or jobs. On the one hand, if we believe that God is actively involved in our lives, we must believe that some things are meant to be, but on the other hand we are responsible for what we do and cannot blame God for missed opportunities.

Human actions and God’s plans

Reading Joseph’s story, I marvel at how human responsibility and God’s guiding hand are intertwined. The initial reaction of the brothers when they see the approaching Joseph is the plain intent to kill (Gen 37:20). What motivates Reuben to intervene is unclear (Gen 37:21-22); perhaps as firstborn son, he feels responsible, or he is hoping to redeem his black record with his father (Gen 35:22). Either way, Joseph’s life is spared, but ultimately Reuben cannot save him. Why he is absent later is uncertain – perhaps he went off to guard the flock while the others had their meal. The brothers’ attitude is callous, probably arising out of deep anger and bitterness, so that Joseph is thrown into the pit (dry cistern) without mercy (Gen 37:24). A living corpse, condemned to a slow death by starvation, while the brothers eat (Gen 37:25), Joseph pleads with them in his distress as we later discover, but they refuse to listen (Gen 42:21). Yet, the chance appearance of traders triggers thoughts of profiting (Gen 37:26-27).[1] A shepherd’s yearly wage was about eight shekels at this time, so twenty shekels, an appropriate amount for a male between 5-20 years old (Lev 27:5), represents a considerable sum.[2] What the brothers think would achieve their aims, will actually further God’s plans.

Responsibility and grief

For Jacob, the past is prologue. As he was passed over in favour and in turn deceived his father, so now his sons felt passed over and deceived him. Just as he used a garment and a goat in the deception, so did his sons (Gen 27:9, 15-16; 37:31-32). Jacob’s favouritism is partly to blame for the present strife, but we cannot help feeling sorry him. Yet, Joseph had to be removed from this environment; his father’s unhealthy attachment was toxic for all concerned. At the same time, if the brothers hoped that their father would notice them now, they could not have been more wrong. Jacob is inconsolable and vows to mourn his favourite son till his dying days (Gen 37:34-35).[3] The ghost of Joseph continues to haunt the brothers and now added to it is guilt for what they have done.

God’s hidden purposes in suffering

From a human perspective and without the benefit of knowing what will come later, we might look at this scene and wonder what God is doing. Where is He in all this? Everyone is in pain, the neglected and guilty brothers, the distraught and deceived father, the enslaved younger brother thrown into a foreign culture. Does the Lord not care? Yet all the while the terrible consequences of the characters’ actions are being worked out, God’s purposes are moving forward. As Jacob weeps for his dead son, that son is moving towards greatness and the tremendous opportunity to bring reconciliation and salvation for the whole family. In our own lives, we may experience pain and suffering and from our limited perspective wonder what God is doing. Yet Joseph’s story is a testimony that He is very much there working His good purposes in hidden ways even in our darkest moments. We are called to trust Him, to live by faith when our sight is limited.

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[1] It may be confusing to read that Joseph was sold to the Ishmaelites in Gen 37:25, but the last verse (Gen 37:36) says that they were Midianites. In Judg 8:22-24, the two are used interchangeably. Victor P. Hamilton argues that Ishmaelite was likely a general term for nomadic tribes, while Midianite is the ethnic designation here. Genesis 18-50, NICOT (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1995), 423.

[2] Gordon Wenham, Genesis 16-50, WBC 2 (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1994), 356.

[3] The Old Testament to a large part is unaware of an afterlife, or heaven and hell, as we think about them. Rather people go to Sheol when they die, a term that describes the underworld.

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