Observations of broken brother-keeping in the lives of Joseph and his brothers:
►Joseph carried a bad report of his brothers to their father (Gen. 37:2). Had this been a misguided attempt to honor the father by disparaging them? Or had Jacob’s intent been merely to learn how they fared (Gen. 37:14)?
►The brothers hated Joseph because of their father’s obvious favoritism; they could not speak with him on friendly terms (Gen. 37:4).
►The relating of Joseph’s first dream caused them to hate him even more. The second dream provoked them to jealousy. Is that because they began to believe there was something in it? (Gen. 37:5-11)
►The brothers plotted to kill Joseph in an attempt to alter the outcome of his God-given dreams/ prophecies (Gen. 37:18-20).
►One brother—Reuben—argued against shedding Joseph's innocent blood (Gen. 37:21-22). He recognized that, although their brother angered them, they had no legal right to take his life; he advocated leaving Joseph in a pit, with a plan to surreptitiously rescue him. Years later in Egypt, a sense of foreboding led him to say, "Now comes the reckoning for his blood" (Gen. 42:22).
►Another brother—Judah—also argued against incurring blood-guilt (Gen. 37:26-28), but he still hoped to banish Joseph from their lives. He recognized their brotherly obligation: “He is our brother, our own flesh.” His attempt to at least partially obey the brother-keeping principle was, however, insufficient. Yes, selling Joseph into slavery kept him alive, but it would become a capital offence punishable by death in the eyes of God (Exodus 21:16). The payment they received from the slave traders was blood money.
Observations of successful brother-keeping:
►Once he found Joseph gone, Reuben keenly felt his failure as Joseph’s brother-keeper (Gen. 37:29-30). “Where am I to go?”
►Even though he was a slave, Joseph treated his master as a brother, resisting the temptations of Potiphar’s wife (39:7-12). Paul, in 1 Thessalonians 4:3-6, says sexual immorality defrauds a brother.
►Joseph had worked alongside his brothers in tending their father’s flocks (Gen. 37:2) He later worked to preserve their lives, as well as those of every Egyptian and all the people of the world (Gen. 41:46-57). Brother-keeping need not be limited to family, tribe, or nation but can extend to the larger “brotherhood of man.”
►Joseph watched and waited for his brothers to come to Egypt for help and did not allow them to pay for food (Gen. 42-44). He also closely observed how they treated each other, particularly his full-brother Benjamin: were they jealous and contemptuous of him too?
►In order to test them, he implemented an ordeal for his brothers involving harsh accusations, a 3-day imprisonment, and the incarceration of Simeon for ransom. This forced the brothers to acknowledge to each other in Joseph’s hearing that they were guilty of his blood (Gen. 42:21-24). Note that, “now comes the reckoning for his blood” is similar to the language of Genesis 9:5-6, “his blood also is required.”
►The brothers, including Benjamin, offered themselves as Joseph’s slaves, but Joseph insisted punishment (vengeance) should be limited to the guilty party and not the entire clan (Gen. 44:14-17).
►Judah then offered himself in place of Benjamin (Gen. 44:30-31). He tied concern for his father’s well-being to the well-being of his brother. This was a true act of sacrificial loyalty to a brother.
“Please forgive, I beg you, the offense of your brothers and their sin, for they did you wrong.” –Genesis 50:17
►Gen. 45:5 - Joseph said, “Do not be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here for God sent me ahead of you to save lives.” In the likelihood they would not believe it was God and not they themselves who had sent him to Egypt, he repeated the idea two more times in verses 7 and 8. Note that God saves people all over the world as He’s saving His chosen people.
►Gen. 45:15 - Joseph could comfort his brothers because he did not feel grieved or angry with them. He kissed all of them. They wept on him and talked with him. Their restoration exceeded the relationship they'd had as younger men.
►Gen. 45:24 - As proof of his good feelings, he offered to provide for their well-being. In this he seemed to take on the role as elder brother, as though having the birthright. As second-in-command in Egypt, he was in a position to care for all their needs.
►Gen. 50:15-21 - After their father died, the brothers feared retribution. Their unease broke Joseph's heart. While he acknowledged the reality of the pain they’d caused—they had meant it for evil—he also saw God’s goodness in the outcome. He promised to continue in the role of elder-brother: “I will provide for you and your little ones.”
_________________________
We’ve skipped over Genesis 38, which records Judah’s sons reluctance to perpetuate their dead brother’s inheritance or care for his widow. This was a failure of brother-keeping as well. Eventually, this aspect of brother-keeping would be encoded in levirate law.
You might notice other things related to brother-keeping in these chapters that I have missed. My point is to say that all these examples build a premise that brother-keeping is integral to the biblical pro-life ethic. Brothers are charged with not only caring for each other's widows and property, but also with avenging their deaths and doing their best to keep each other alive. (For the origins of brother-keeping, see What Cain did not know.)
Next up—Exodus: The ongoing story of man's inhumanity
__________________________
Image credit: Owen Jones, from The History of Joseph and His Brethren, 1869 - Joseph Cast Into the Pit, Joseph Sold into Slavery, Benjamin Returns to Egypt
Comments
Post a Comment
Thank you for visiting my blog and going to the trouble of commenting. Once your comment is approved, you should receive notification of its publication.