The story of Joseph is a story about jealousy which breeds hatred which causes murder. Even though his brothers did not murder him they wanted to. God had a plan to save the nation of Israel. Look at what happened to Abel. He was murdered by his brother Cain. We as the people of God need to take heed. Do not be jealous of other people; do not be jealous of the gifts God gives to others. If Cain had done what God required him to do, his sacrifice would have been accepted but he chose to ignore the warnings of God. He chose to allow his feelings of jealousy to fester and grow so much that he committed murder. We don’t kill people physically but we murder with our tongue, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof” Proverbs 18:21.
Joseph’s brothers hated him, his father loved him more because he was the son of his old age and also because of the dreams God had given him. Genesis 37:4 says, “And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him.” Joseph shared the dreams with his brothers. Did he have an ulterior motive? I don’t know. Maybe he was happy that God was speaking to him and he wanted to share this with his family, maybe he was excited about what God was going to do and he wanted his family to also be happy.
Whatever the motivation, sometimes we need to be careful who we share information that God has revealed to us. The outcome was that his brothers sold him into slavery, but this was all a part of God’s plan. Because of the actions of Joseph’s brothers, selling him into slavery, their father experienced intense grief. The brothers did not think their actions through, they were blinded by their jealousy and intense hatred of Joseph. In trying to hurt Joseph, their actions hurt their father. Evil actions rarely only affect the person it is directed towards. Their actions caused their father to constantly grieve for Joseph and he became even more possessive of their youngest brother Benjamin.
Were the brothers happy over what they had done? Probably in the beginning. They were probably rejoicing because they thought their problem was taken care of. Maybe their father would now look at them differently and care for them more. Maybe he would show them more love. The brothers thought Joseph was the source of their problems just like Cain thought Abel was the source of his problems. Instead of Cain looking at himself as God instructed him to, he projected his issues on Abel.
This is what we do when we become jealous of others; instead of looking inward at ourselves we have a tendency to look at the person who we think is the source of our problem, and hostility and jealousy set in. When this happens we try to hurt the person and we do this either with our words or actions and sometimes both. Let us love each other Galatians 5:14, “For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.”
For us to be blessed by God we must do what is required by God. In Jesus name, Amen.
Prophetess Nadine Richmond
The Church Readiness Ministries
