City Life Starter

Written by Calah Jackson

The Word

“As they sat down to eat their meal, they looked up and saw a
caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were loaded with spices, balm, and myrrh, and they were on their way to take them down to Egypt. Judah said to his brothers, “What will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? Come, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him; after all, he is our brother, our
own flesh and blood.” His brothers agreed.

So when the Midianite merchants came by, his brothers pulled Joseph up out of the cistern and sold him for twenty shekels of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt. When Reuben returned to the cistern and saw that Joseph was not there, he tore his clothes. He went back to his brothers and said, “The boy isn’t there! Where can I turn
now?”

Then they got Joseph’s robe, slaughtered a goat, and dipped the robe in the blood. They took the ornate robe back to their father and said, “We found this. Examine it to see whether it is your son’s robe.” He recognized it and said, “It is my son’s robe! Some ferocious animal has devoured
him. Joseph has surely been torn to pieces.” Then Jacob tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and mourned for his son many days. All his sons and daughters came to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. “No,”
he said, “I will continue to mourn until I join my son in the grave.” So his father wept for him.

Meanwhile, the Midianites sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard.

Genesis 37:25-36

“I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in
him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.
As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.”

John 15:5, 8-9

Reflection

The text opens with a picture of brothers, sitting around eating as their youngest brother is in a pit nearby like a criminal awaiting sentencing. I imagine them talking with half full mouths and slightly elevated heartrates about how they will deal with this dreaming brother. This brother they despised was so much more loved by their father than they. They measured in their own hearts what seemed like the “right” thing to do.

“What will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? Come, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him; after all, he is our brother, our own flesh and blood.”

They decided the price of his life and the cost of their own freedom from the chains of jealousy was 20 shekels, about the equivalent of $5. They cloaked themselves in a false sense of mercy and watched their brother carted off with no assurance of his safety.

Then we get a snapshot of Reuben, the eldest. The first born of Leah, the woman Jacob was tricked into marrying. He was the first of the less-loved sons from the less-loved wife. He was envious of Joseph as well. Joseph, the “better” first born. The most loved first born of the most loved wife, Rachel.

But still, Reuben knew Joseph’s protection meant he could keep the shred of love and respect he had from his dad in tact. I can imagine the look of grief and devastation as he peered into that empty pit, realizing the last bit of respect his father had for him was being carted off to Egypt. I can picture him tearing his clothes as he screams to the heavens, Where can I turn now?” Reuben clothes himself with a false sense of responsibility that masks his own insecurity in his relationship with his father.

Then we get a visual of Jacob. From this text, not a great parent. “It is my son’s robe! Some ferocious animal has devoured him. Joseph has surely been torn to pieces.” At face value, we see a grieving father, but as a parent, I see a man blinded by his own perspective. Did Jacob not realize the jealousy of the sons? Did he assume there would be no consequence to him outwardly showing more affection to one of his children to the detriment of the others? I also see a father who didn’t get up and go look for his son himself. He didn’t ask more questions or even press the sons for more information. He concedes easily to the idea that all is lost and the promise is dead.

This Jacob, who met with God at Bethel and received a promise, so quickly laid down and decided that it was over. He sowed seeds of deception in his own life that were reaped in the lives of his children.

Jacob elevated his perspective of the promise of God higher than God himself and when it seemed like that promise was gone, he mourned like a man without hope. Jacob had wrestled with God before, and if I can be so presumptuous, I believe this was a moment where he did again in a different sense.

Application

Humans are clouded by what we think is right, pride. We covet and take for ourselves at the expense of others. We give into our lusts and bow to our insecurities. We even take the good things God graciously has given us and set them up as idols in our hearts and wonder why we suffer through emptiness.

We worship, but the object of our worship is the created things and not the creator (Romans 1).

When God blessed Jacob in ‭‭Genesis‬ ‭35‬:‭11‬ the first thing He said was this:
“I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply” OKAY STOP! There were other things after this, but this was the first and foundational command.

John 15 talks about being fruitful this way: “By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.”

Verse 5 tells us how to bear fruit, “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”

Jacob was ultimately called to abide. The promise wasn’t about any other person other than Christ himself. We see in this text how having a perspective fixed on our own version of fruitfulness instead of the person of Christ only brings about destruction and division.

So what about you? Are you bearing fruit? If we are abiding the promise isn’t IF we will bear fruit, or if we will bear good fruit, but that we will bear much fruit. We do that by abiding in Christ and in Christ alone. In him alone we bear much fruit.

If you are not bearing fruit and your question has been like Reuben, “where can I turn now?” You can turn back to the grace and mercy of God and let him show you how to abide in Him again. His mercy was extended to Jacob, his sons and the rest of sinful humanity and he made us a people for himself. Take a moment of worship to surrender your way for his. To turn from your perspective back to him again and abide in his love.

Prayer

Lord, help me to lay down my own perspectives. Show me that You are better than any effort I make to protect myself, win love for myself, or build my own version of success. Let me rest in knowing that I can do nothing apart from You. Help me to abide in You and not strive for You.

God, You alone are good and holy. I need You. Thank You for redeeming us as a people for yourself. Amen.