Twisting God's Design: Genesis 37:25-36

The ultimate result of our sinful nature is our attempt to contort God’s design to serve our needs, not His.  We focus on ourselves; it is our nature.  It is why we do what is wrong, even when knowing it is wrong!  It is why Jesus had to die for our sake.  It is why God will remake this world in a new age.

A caravan of Ishmaelites inspires an idea in Judah. Joseph can’t make it back to their father without Joseph to tell their actions to Jacob.  They’ve also decided they aren’t going to kill Joseph.  Something must happen to Joseph, and Judah develops a plan.  They can sell Joseph, make some money, and let the Ishmaelites take their problem away.  Judah uncovers the perfect solution.

When Reuben discovers that Joseph is gone, he knows Joseph cannot be brought back to Jacob.  As the oldest, he understands the situation has gone irrevocably wrong.  Jacob has lost half the sons of his favorite wife.

To cover their tracks, the sons of Jacob kill a goat.  They dip Joseph’s coat into the blood of the goat and bring the coat to their father.  Jacob identifies the coat and assumes the worst.  He believes Joseph to have been torn apart by some wild predator and gone forever.  The sons of Jacob successfully cover their tracks.

The lies continue to spiral out of control.  What started as favoritism – misguided application of a father’s love – results in Joseph being sold into slavery and Jacob believing his son is dead.  The family God plans on using to bring forth His Redeemer descends into a life of bitterness, jealousy, and lies.  This is human nature at its worst.  The sons of Jacob take family – a structure God created for our own benefit – and twist it into something that brings pain to those involved.

That’s the subtle context of this story.  While this story is often told to children as a great story of God’s greatness, this story contains a dark undertone about human nature.  Our nature, when left unchecked, corrupts the good things from God and turns them into self-serving tools.  If we back up just a bit, look at how Jacob’s sons cover their tracks.  To escape sin, a goat dies.  Joseph’s garments are dipped in the blood of the goat.  Their sin is covered.

We know sacrifice is needed for genuine forgiveness of sin.  As Christians, we believe the one true sacrifice is Jesus and His blood has dealt with our sin once-for-all.  That sacrifice happened openly for all to see and experience.

The sons of Jacob twist this concept by their own sinfulness.  Instead of dealing with sin through forgiveness, they use the sacrifice to cover up their sin.  The blood doesn’t bring forgiveness; the blood is misappropriated to make their lies more believable.  The ultimate result of our sinful nature is our attempt to contort God design to serve our needs, not His.