Week 2 Genesis 37
Joseph’s brothers hated him. They schemed killing him but ended up selling him into slavery. The brothers later admitted: we saw Joseph’s terror and anguish and heard his pleadings, but we wouldn’t listen.
So then the brothers took Joseph’s blood-spattered coat back home and showed Jacob. His reaction? Jacob tore his clothes and put on sackcloth. He mourned deeply for his son for many days. His family all tried to comfort him, but it was no use.
I think the reason the story registered with me today was because a couple of days ago I read James: whenever trouble comes your way, let it be an opportunity for joy. For when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. There’s no getting around the fact that big trouble came the way of Joseph and his dad. But neither of them showed joy. So where does that leave James?
For one thing I think James was totally aware that violence and adversity produced anguish terror & deep distress. But in his short-hand version of trouble’s outcomes he jumped straight to endurance and eventual joy (maybe James figured that the anguish that trouble always brought was too obvious to mention).
In the real-life & full-length versions of the stories of Joseph & Jacob it took time before they developed the endurance that James talked about. And over time joy came too. But it took quite a while.
Note: quotes from Genesis 42:21 37:34-35 & James 1:2-3 (NLT)