18 And when they saw him from a distance, even before he came close to them, they plotted to kill him. 19 They said to one another, “Look, here comes this dreamer. 20 Now then, come and let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits (cisterns, underground water storage); then we will say [to our father], ‘A wild animal killed and devoured him’; and we shall see what will become of his dreams!”

21 Now Reuben [the eldest] heard this and rescued him from their hands and said, “Let us not take his life.” 22 Reuben said to them, “Do not shed his blood, but [instead] throw him [alive] into the pit that is here in the wilderness, and do not lay a hand on him [to kill him]”—[he said this so] that he could rescue him from them and return him [safely] to his father. 23 Now when Joseph reached his brothers, they stripped him of his tunic, the [distinctive] multicolored tunic which he was wearing; 24 then they took him and threw him into the pit. Now the pit was empty; there was no water in it.

Genesis 37:18-24 (AMP)

Trouble comes

Jacob has sent Joseph, his favored son, to check up on the older brothers. Little does he know the trouble that’s about to befall him (come). When the brothers see him, they see trouble coming – for he will likely rat on them again. Before he arrives, they quickly plot together how to kill him – kill him then dump him in a water cistern too deep to escape from. Then, they’ll lie to Jacob that a wild animal killed him.

“For practical reasons, they decided to sell him, and to deceive Jacob into thinking that a wild beast had killed him. In spite of their plan, however, God kept Joseph alive and safe in Egypt. Ironically, by selling Joseph into Egypt, his brothers actualized the dreams they sought to subvert.” (planobiblechapel.org)

Heart of Reuben

The main theme is the plot to kill Joseph which leads to the rest of the story of Joseph, the institution of Passover, and so many other wonderful things for the Jews…and us. But what caught my attention this time is the heart of Reuben which is revealed here in a wonderful way. He rapidly develops his own plan to save Joseph. He suggests not killing him, lest they be guilty of his blood. Just just put him in the pit and let nature take its course. But he intended to return and rescue him somehow.

Could he have gone further and, as the oldest, directly opposed the idea? Maybe he thought the other brothers, so full of anger at Joseph, would turn it toward him if he defended Joseph.

Dirty deed done

These sons are at it again. Earlier, we saw their dastardly deed done regarding the people of Shechem. As soon as Joseph arrives, they grab him, possibly tie him up, and throw him into the well. It was probably pretty deep which likely caused him some injury. What a warm welcome!

RЯeflection

• In their attempt to kill Joseph’s dream, little did they know their greater sin was opposing God’s dream. God will not have His will thwarted. We’ll see this play out. How has it played out in your life? Have you resisted or outright rejected God’s will for you?