King James Version, with Nii Okai's journal notes · 15 notes
1And Jacob dwelt in the land wherein his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan.
2These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren; and the lad was with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives: and Joseph brought unto his father their evil report.
3Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colours.
4And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him.
5And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and they hated him yet the more.
6And he said unto them, Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed:
7For, behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf.
8And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words.
9And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me.
This boy Joseph. Hmm. Dreamed a dream more.
SAD NEWS. I HAVE JUST BEEN INFORMED THAT KOMLA DUMOR IS DEAD. IT IS ALL OVER THE NEWS — OF CARDIAC ARREST — 19:23:54
The thought that comes to mind is that why is it that when we hear of someone’s death, the deception of the living is that we fail to realise that the dead were once alive. And that it could be any of us. In very real terms it could be us.
Did Joseph not know his brothers hated him and his dreams... Or did they conceal their hatred well from him?
These brothers were the same who killed an entire township.
They were young and wild.
10And he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth?
11And his brethren envied him; but his father observed the saying.
12And his brethren went to feed their father’s flock in Shechem.
13And Israel said unto Joseph, Do not thy brethren feed the flock in Shechem? come, and I will send thee unto them. And he said to him, Here am I.
14And he said to him, Go, I pray thee, see whether it be well with thy brethren, and well with the flocks; and bring me word again. So he sent him out of the vale of Hebron, and he came to Shechem.
15And a certain man found him, and, behold, he was wandering in the field: and the man asked him, saying, What seekest thou?
16And he said, I seek my brethren: tell me, I pray thee, where they feed their flocks.
17And the man said, They are departed hence; for I heard them say, Let us go to Dothan. And Joseph went after his brethren, and found them in Dothan.
18And when they saw him afar off, even before he came near unto them, they conspired against him to slay him.
19And they said one to another, Behold, this dreamer cometh.
20Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into some pit, and we will say, Some evil beast hath devoured him: and we shall see what will become of his dreams.
Young and reckless
These had killed before an entire city and were ready to do so again, even of their own brother.
21And Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands; and said, Let us not kill him.
22And Reuben said unto them, Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit that is in the wilderness, and lay no hand upon him; that he might rid him out of their hands, to deliver him to his father again.
These young lads were very wicked.
How did they become so hardened and heartless? And it was not just a handful of them but quite a number.
For they conspired together to do this thing. To kill their own brother.
23And it came to pass, when Joseph was come unto his brethren, that they stript Joseph out of his coat, his coat of many colours that was on him;
24And they took him, and cast him into a pit: and the pit was empty, there was no water in it.
25And they sat down to eat bread: and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and, behold, a company of Ishmeelites came from Gilead with their camels bearing spicery and balm and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt.
As Joseph lay in the pit, providence started speaking. The Arabians came in at just the right time; the thoughts of Judah that making money was better gain than killing their brother and getting nothing.
This all fell perfectly into God’s plan.
Oh this God
26And Judah said unto his brethren, What profit is it if we slay our brother, and conceal his blood?
27Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmeelites, and let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother and our flesh. And his brethren were content.
These brothers were a gang not to be messed with.
Young rowdy men who killed communities for defiling their sister, and sold their own brother into slavery for not being like them and not hanging out with them in their wicked escapades.
How did the sons of Jacob the blessed turn out so bad?
But the Almighty God uses their wickedness and youthful callousness to advance his cause and programme.
Nothing takes God by surprise. He is God.
28Then there passed by Midianites merchantmen; and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmeelites for twenty pieces of silver: and they brought Joseph into Egypt.
Did Joseph fight? Did he struggle and explain, or was he too tired and weary?
29And Reuben returned unto the pit; and, behold, Joseph was not in the pit; and he rent his clothes.
Reuben was the first born, so naturally he felt the responsibility of taking care of everyone.
30And he returned unto his brethren, and said, The child is not; and I, whither shall I go?
31And they took Joseph’s coat, and killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the coat in the blood;
These 11 brothers. Such wickedness in their hearts 💕.
Lord help me not to make decisions that in my much older 🧓 years I’ll look back and regret.
Help me Lord, help me.
32And they sent the coat of many colours, and they brought it to their father; and said, This have we found: know now whether it be thy son’s coat or no.
They were men who had no innocence. Cruel and without heart ♥.
33And he knew it, and said, It is my son’s coat; an evil beast hath devoured him; Joseph is without doubt rent in pieces.
34And Jacob rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days.
Leadership is not easy... he had to bear the weight of many losses on his heart.
35And all his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted; and he said, For I will go down into the grave unto my son mourning. Thus his father wept for him.
They knew the truth yet watched their father daily as he wept, and they could not care less.
36And the Midianites sold him into Egypt unto Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh’s, and captain of the guard.
Despite Joseph being like a spoilt brat, he was diligent in all his ways. The Lord was with him.
Now let the game begin.
God was now at liberty to continue his agenda.
The game was only just beginning — though for Joe that seemed to be the end of his life.