They saw him from afar, and before he came near to them they conspired against him to kill him. They said to one another, "Here comes this dreamer. Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits. Then we will say that a fierce animal has devoured him, and we will see what will become of his dreams." But when Reuben heard it, he rescued him out of their hands, saying, "Let us not take his life." And Reuben said to them, "Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but do not lay a hand on him"—that he might rescue him out of their hand to restore him to his father. So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the robe of many colors that he wore. And they took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it. Then they sat down to eat. And looking up they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing gum, balm, and myrrh, on their way to carry it down to Egypt.
Genesis 37:18-25 (ESV)These brothers were in tough shape. First, they took Joseph and tossed him into a pit to die, then they sat down to eat. How can anyone enjoy a meal while murdering a relative? Rueben was bothered, but the other boys seemed fine with murder.
Throughout history, the most brutal people preyed on the most innocent and helpless among them. Those who sacrificed babies on altars to false gods did so easily, since babies cannot fight back. In this case, Joseph was the youngest and could not fight back. Today people legally kill their babies before they see them; they cannot fight back.
Anyone who commits murder will stand accountable to God. Anyone who even leads someone else to disobey God will be held responsible to God. "Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea." Matthew 18:6 (ESV)
It is obvious that Reuben was not totally with this plan, and I would guess that some of the other brothers were also on the fence. Yet, as is often the case, those with power persuaded the crowd to follow their idea. I am not God, and none of these boys will ever stand accountable to me, but they will give an account to God, and I pity those who made a wrong decision here and, even more, those who persuaded those on the fence to join in.
One day, God will make everything right and hold everyone accountable for their actions. It is that day for which we should be preparing.
No comments:
Post a Comment