Genesis 37:21-28: a reflection

21Reuben heard it, and delivered him out of their hand, and said, “Let’s not take his life.” 22Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood. Throw him into this pit that is in the wilderness, but lay no hand on him”—that he might deliver him out of their hand, to restore him to his father. 23When Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped Joseph of his tunic, the tunic of many colors that was on him; 24and they took him, and threw him into the pit. The pit was empty. There was no water in it. 25They sat down to eat bread, and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing spices and balm and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt. 26Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? 27Come, and let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites, and not let our hand be on him; for he is our brother, our flesh.” His brothers listened to him. 28Midianites who were merchants passed by, and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. The merchants brought Joseph into Egypt.

Joseph's brothers, consumed with jealousy, seize him, strip him of his robe, and throw him into a pit; and then, seeing a passing caravan, they sell him into slavery for twenty pieces of silver. Reuben and Judah each hold back the worst, so that Joseph is not killed; but even so, envy has driven brothers to treat their own brother with terrible cruelty, selling him away to be rid of him. It is a sobering picture of how far jealousy can drive the human heart.

Notice what envy did in these brothers. Their jealousy of Joseph, of their father's love for him, of his dreams, festered until it drove them to cruelty against their own flesh and blood, throwing him into a pit and selling him into slavery. Envy is not a harmless feeling; left to grow, it hardens the heart and drives it toward real harm against the one envied. These were brothers, and yet envy made them capable of this.

That is a warning about the destructive power of envy, which we are not above. Envy of another's gifts, favor, or blessing can take root in our own hearts, and if we let it grow, it hardens us against them, driving us toward resentment and harm, even toward those closest to us. Do not let envy take root and grow in you; it does not stay a harmless feeling, but hardens the heart and drives it toward cruelty, as it did these brothers. When you feel envy of another rising, name it and resist it, before it festers into resentment and harm. And take comfort that even here, God was at work; the very act driven by envy became the way Joseph came to Egypt, where God would use him to save many. God can overrule even the harm envy does; but do not for that reason excuse the envy, which is a destroyer of the heart. Guard against it.

Lord, Joseph's brothers, consumed with jealousy, threw him into a pit and sold him into slavery for twenty pieces of silver; envy drove brothers to terrible cruelty against their own flesh and blood. Warn me by that about the destructive power of envy, which I am not above. Envy of another's gifts, favor, or blessing can take root in my own heart, and if I let it grow, it hardens me against them, driving me toward resentment and harm, even toward those closest to me. Keep envy from taking root and growing in me; it does not stay a harmless feeling, but hardens the heart and drives it toward cruelty, as it did these brothers. When I feel envy of another rising, help me name it and resist it, before it festers into resentment and harm. And let me take comfort that even here you were at work; the very act driven by envy became the way Joseph came to Egypt, where you would use him to save many. You can overrule even the harm envy does; but let me not for that reason excuse the envy, which is a destroyer of the heart. Guard my heart against envy, Lord.