Thomas D. Sauline - Empty Nest, Time for Letting Go

Begin by asking God to assist you in your prayer and study. Then read through Genesis 37:27-36, a small but important portion of the story of Joseph and his family.

Genesis 37:27-36

27Come, let us sell him to these Ishmaelites, instead of doing away with him ourselves. After all, he is our brother, our own flesh. His brothers agreed. 28Midianite traders passed by, and they pulled Joseph up out of the cistern. They sold Joseph for twenty pieces of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt. 29When Reuben went back to the cistern and saw that Joseph was not in it, he tore his garments, 30and returning to his brothers, he exclaimed: The boy is gone! And Iwhere can I turn? 31They took Josephs tunic, and after slaughtering a goat, dipped the tunic in its blood. 32Then they sent someone to bring the long ornamented tunic to their father, with the message: We found this. See whether it is your sons tunic or not. 33He recognized it and exclaimed: My sons tunic! A wild beast has devoured him! Joseph has been torn to pieces! 34Then Jacob tore his garments, put sackcloth on his loins, and mourned his son many days. 35Though his sons and daughters tried to console him, he refused all consolation, saying, No, I will go down mourning to my son in Sheol. Thus did his father weep for him. 36The Midianites, meanwhile, sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, an official of Pharaoh and his chief steward.

After a few moments of quiet reflection on the passage, consider the following background information provided in Setting the Scene.

The book of Genesis tells an empty nest story. The Joseph saga relates how the Israelites leave their home in the Promised Land to settle in Egypt. It all begins when the sons of Jacob plot to get rid of their brother, Joseph. His ten older brothers of another mother are jealous of him. Jacob has lavished Joseph with favors, like the gift of a fine tunic of many colors. In his musical version of this story, Andrew Lloyd Weber calls the tunic an Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Joseph is a dreamer too.

One day, shepherding with his brothers, Joseph tells them about two of his dreams (Gen 37:5-11). In one, he dreamt that ten sheaves of wheat bowed down to his sheaf of wheat. In another, the sun and moon and stars do him homage. Recognizing themselves as the ten sheaves and the stars paying homage to their younger brother, they have had enough. So they decide to kill him.

Genesis 37:27-36 will be explored a few verses at a time. Questions that appear in the margins are for your personal reflection or for discussion with others.

27Come, let us sell him to these Ishmaelites, instead of doing away with him ourselves. After all, he is our brother, our own flesh. His brothers agreed. 28Midianite traders passed by, and they pulled Joseph up out of the cistern. They sold Joseph for twenty pieces of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt. 29When Reuben went back to the cistern and saw that Joseph was not in it, he tore his garments, 30and returning to his brothers, he exclaimed: The boy is gone! And Iwhere can I turn?

Reuben convinces his brothers to dump Joseph into an empty well. They take his cloak for resale. Then they plan to sell him as a slave to their regular trading partners, the Ishmaelites. In the meantime, another group of nomads, the Midianites, rescues Joseph from the well, takes him to Egypt, and sells him as a house servant to a wealthy Egyptian, Potiphar.

31They took Josephs tunic, and after slaughtering a goat, dipped the tunic in its blood. 32Then they sent someone to bring the long ornamented tunic to their father, with the message: We found this. See whether it is your sons tunic or not. 33He recognized it and exclaimed: My sons tunic! A wild beast has devoured him! Joseph has been torn to pieces! 34Then Jacob tore his garments, put sackcloth on his loins, and mourned his son many days. 35Though his sons and daughters tried to console him, he refused all consolation, saying, No, I will go down mourning to my son in Sheol. Thus did his father weep for him.