Message of the Week

The Little White Community

Scripture: Gen. 37:12-36 May 24, 2026

Message: “Sold as a Slave!”

By Pastor George Gnade

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9:28

Introduction:

1. Last week we began a series of messages about Joseph, the son of Jacob. As we learned last week, he was next to the youngest, one of 12 sons, but the favorite of his father. This was especially true after his mother Rachel died, giving birth to Benjamin. 

2. God was also at work in Joseph’s life and gave him the ability to interpret dreams and predict future events.

a. Through this gift, God revealed to Joseph that someday he was going to rule over his brothers, but this made them angry at him.

b. His brothers could also tell that his father loved him more than them, and this also turned them against him. It was like a dam ready to break. 

3. That brings us to the passage we just read in which Joseph was sent by his father to help his brothers. But when they saw him coming, they immediately began to plot his downfall (Gen. 37: 12 -20). 

a. Every group has its trouble makers and in this case it was probably the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah who were most determined. They suggested killing him and throwing him into a pit (vs.17-1 9). 

b. Then they would lie about his death by dipping his clothes in the blood of a goat and then tell his father that a wild animal had killed him. “Then we will see what becomes of his dreams” (vs. 20).

4. Now Reuben was the oldest. He had already disap-pointed his father by having sex with Bilhah, his father’s concubine. Because of this he lost his birthright to receive the greatest inheritance. In God’s time, Joseph received it instead (Gen. 35:22).

a. Rueben, therefore, had good reasons for despising Joseph like the rest of his brothers. But his conscience bothered him when it came to murder. Besides that, he loved his father and was afraid of what this would do to him (vs. 21-24).

b. But instead of speaking up and stopping the whole matter in its tracks, he said: “Let’s just throw him into a pit and let him die there.” But his plan was to rescue him and return him to his father. That is what his brothers did; but Reuben never got a chance to save him.

5. Now Judah was the fourth son of Jacob. He also lacked spiritual qualities, at least at this point in his life, but he didn’t like the idea of letting Joseph die in the pit. He also had the gift of leadership and they tended to listen to him. 

a. The pit was a cistern but there was no water in it.

While they heard Joseph’s cries for help, they simply ignored him. 

b. While they ate a meal, a caravan of Ishmaelites came on the scene on their way to Egypt. This gave Judah an idea. “Let’s not kill our brother, let’s just sell him to them instead.” That is what actually happened. All that remained was to kill a goat and fake Joseph’s death.

6. If there is one obvious lesson here for all of us, it is how one sin leads to another. When James wrote: “He who has broken one law is guilty of them all”, he must have had a good knowledge of human nature (James 2:10).

a. In just a few hours, the brothers had thoughts of murder, conceived of many lies, planned to disobey and dishonor their father, had been jealous and covetous of their brother, and obviously disobeyed God Himself.

b. Before you sin against the Lord, stop and think. Beware for one sin leads to another. No one knows where it will go or how it will end.

7. But again this morning, rather than dwell on the problems within the family, let us consider how Joseph once again was used by God to be a picture of Christ.

A. To begin with, Joseph was sent by his father to help his brothers (vs. 13).

1. We have every reason to believe his father only had their good in mind.

2. Likewise Jesus was sent by God the Father to help us (John 3:16, Gal. 4:4-5). He also had our good in mind as Jesus went everywhere helping people. (Acts 10:36-40).

3. And that is certainly why the Lord Jesus has sent us as well (John 20:21). He wants us to be like Him bringing life and hope into this dark world.

B. Secondly, Joseph was sold by his brothers as a slave.

1. As far as they were concerned, he was worth only 20 pieces of silver. When we remember that Bilhah and Zilpah were slaves themselves, they were simply returning the favor. Joseph said he would reign over them. They would let him learn what it was like to be a slave.

a. Jesus once said: “The Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister and give His life a ransom for many” (Matt. 20:28).

b. This is also pointed out in Phil. 2:7 where it says Jesus willingly exchanged His rights and privileges as our God by emptying Himself and taking the form of a servant.

2. In the end, like Joseph, Jesus was sold for the price of a slave by Judas Iscariot for 30 pieces of silver. One commentary said they got 20 pieces if you were 20 years old or younger, but 30 pieces if you were a grown man.

a. By allowing Himself to become a slave, Jesus showed the evils of being treated as a slave. By voluntarily living like a servant, He taught us to be like servants.

b. It also reminds us of Matt. 20:26-27 where Jesus said: “He who would be greatest in the kingdom of heaven was to live as a servant of all.”

c. Using that as a measure of our own way of living, where will we fit into the new kingdom He is preparing for us? After all, Jesus tells us “to lay up treasures in heaven”, not on earth, so we may receive our best reward.

C. Thirdly, Joseph was thrown into the pit of death, but by God’s grace was raised up (Gen. 37:19-24).

1. If the caravan had not come at the right moment, Joseph would probably have died in the pit. That is why he pleaded for his life. In Gen. 42:21-22, they admitted to each other how cruel they had been, ignoring his cries for help. Only by the grace of God was he saved. 

2. In the O.T., the pit was often used as a symbol of suffering and death. So what happened to Joseph was meant to be a picture of what Jesus’ own brethren did to Him. Although they knew He was innocent, they still cried: “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!” (Ps. 69:9-15; Matt. 26:15-26).

a. Of course there was one big difference. Jesus voluntarily chose to die for us, giving His life to save us, before God raised Him from the dead (John 10:11-18).

b. In Lk. 9:24, Jesus taught us: “He who saves his life will lose it, but he who loses his life for my sake shall save it.” Jesus practiced what He preached. In the process, He gave eternal life to all who will believe in Him.

D. Finally, Joseph’s brothers created a lie that couldn’t be hidden.

1. In fact, the longer they lived with that lie, the worse everything got. When they returned home, their father’s heart was broken and would never be the same again. No matter how hard they tried to comfort him, he could not be comforted (Gen. 37: 29-35). Sadness filled their home.

2. Even after they found Joseph and he realized who they were, he had to be very careful that they were telling him the truth. Thank God, his brother Benjamin was still alive.

He was afraid they might have tried to kill him too.

3. Finally, Jacob found out the truth and things improved. But over a period of years, their children’s children would all become slaves in Egypt, all because of a lie that couldn’t be hidden. 

4. When Jesus was tried by the Sanhedrin, the Jews also told lies in order to convict Him. And after His death and resurrection, they started another lie about His body being stolen (Matt. 26: 59; 28: 11-15). All this happened because they did not want Jesus to rule over them.

a. Since that day, thousands of Gentiles have been saved while many Jews have refused to believe the truth and so be saved.

b. Thank God for the promise that someday “they shall look on Him whom they have pierced” and come to believe in Him themselves (Zech. 12:10). 

5. Luke 6:3 says what we try to hide from others will someday be shouted from the house tops. That is especially true of unconfessed sin. It always comes out in the end (Matt. 6:22-23, Eph. 5:6-13).

In conclusion: Remember! Jesus is greater than Joseph. He gave His life for us. Sent as a servant to help us, He taught us to be like servants so that in the process we may lead others to a saving knowledge of Him. I pray all of us have straightened out our own lives and have come to know Him and to love Him. Amen!