OUR FATHER WHOSE GREAT PLAN FOR THE REDEMPTION OF MANKIND PROGRESSED TO EGYPT ON THE SHOULDERS OF A YOUNG SLAVE

Genesis chapter 37 verses 2 - 3 reads thusly;

This is the account of Jacob’s family line.

Joseph, a young man of seventeen, was tending the flocks with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives, and he brought their father a bad report about them.

Now Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons, because he had been born to him in his old age; and he made an ornate robe for him.

This was when the trouble started. Joseph, the second to last born in Israel's family, was out with the rest of his brothers tending the flock.

The older boys probably began speaking and acting leacherously while they were away from their father's homestead and upon returning home, Joseph reported to Israel what his older brothers were doing.

Israel, a seasoned manager of men, probably lined up his sons and excoriated them for displaying conduct unbecoming of the family name.

The brothers deduced that it was Joseph who had ratted them out and from that time on, they found every excuse to hate him more and more.

Their father plainly loved Joseph more than he did his other sons even going so far as to make an ornate robe exclusively for him which added fuel to the burning hatred his brothers had for him.

After Joseph announced to his family that he dreamt that they would all bow down to him, a murderous rage settled in the minds of his brothers.

Later, Israel sent his son Joseph out to the fields to see how his brothers were doing. He was probably interested in whether the older sons were behaving better after being disciplined.

When Joseph's brothers saw him coming, they plotted to kill him as described in Genesis 37 verse 14;

“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.”

They debated among themselves on what to do with Joseph and ultimately decided to sell him as a slave to some passing traders who were on their way to Egypt.

The brothers took a story of Joseph's death back to their father and produced his ornate coat dipped in the blood of a sheep as evidence of his demise.

Israel was heart-broken. He likely blamed himself for the death of his son Joseph because it was he who had sent him out to keep an eye on his brothers. He refused to be comforted and the family absorbed a very heavy psychological blow because of the disappearance of Joseph and the deception that surrounded it. 

Grief settled over their household and became the prevailing tone for most of the rest of Israel's life.

Unbeknownst to any of them, the young slave Joseph was in the hands of the Lord and he was set on a course that would change the fate of nations.

Amen.