“So Joseph went after his brothers and found them near Dothan.” (Genesis 37:17b NIV)
Joseph’s father had sent him to check on his brothers. The favorite child donned his special coat and made his way all the way to Shechem to do the bidding of his beloved father. Putting Joseph’s task into proper perspective: the Valley of Hebron is a good fifty miles from Shechem. Joseph took a journey out of obedience to a place of particularly shady family history.
Flip back a couple chapters to Genesis 34. Joseph’s half-sister, Dinah had been defiled in Shechem and in wicked response, his half-brothers, Simeon and Levi, had tricked the prince and slaughtered the male population in response to her rape. Shechem was a brick and mortar memorial of family compromise and genocide. This wasn’t ancient history, but a relatively recent smudge in the family ledger.
It’s interesting that Joseph arrived in Shechem but his brothers had long cleared out. Were they in search of better pastures or were they ill-reputed in a war-torn town? We don’t know. It is notable that the brothers had moved on to Dothan. Dothan is a place that would experience the power and protection of God in Elijah’s time. Murderous threats would go unfulfilled in 2 Kings chapter 6. The geographical change in the brother’s location from Shechem to Dothan feels prophetic: the brothers had murder in their heart (Genesis 37:8) but Joseph would experience divine preservation. Perhaps not the level of shielding that Joseph would hope for, but he would live to tell the story.
Joseph was an incredibly obedient son. His brothers weren’t where they said they’d be, their integrity is questionable. When Joseph discovered this, he could have high-tailed it home with the bad report about his siblings. But instead, he was faithful to the assignment. He searched for his brothers until he received more information about their whereabouts: they’d moved on to Dothan. Joseph was determined to fulfill his father’s command. He hiked twelve additional miles trailing his brothers, traipsing about in his bright coat, easily spotted on the horizon.
I love what Matthew Henry has to say about Joseph’s commitment to obedience: “Though he was his father’s darling, yet he was willing to be his father’s servant. How readily does he wait his father’s orders.”
I have long seen Joseph as a type of Christ, his life given for the salvation of many. But today I see Joseph as a type of us, too. Joseph was so secure in his sonship, so confident in his father’s love, that he happily carried out his wishes, even if that made him a target for the jealousies of others. Even when the commands included risk, loss, servitude and surrender, Joseph remained faithful to the task at hand. Joseph gladly went about his father’s business, utterly secure in his dad’s unflinching affection for him. If this is true of Joseph and his earthy father, than how much more confidence can we walk with?
I wonder if Joseph’s right relationship with his physical father laid the foundation for the rock-solid relationship he seemed to have with his Heavenly Father? Because over and over again, when things fell apart in Joseph’s story, he responded to deteriorating circumstances with grace and faith. Joseph seemed to possess a level of divine confidence that is hard to attain for the rest of us.
In short: Joseph knew he was loved and he trusted his father to have his best interest in mind.
How might our worldview change if we learned to walk in the same truths: we are beloved children and our Father in heaven has our best interest in mind. When we rest in these facts, we can serve happily wherever the Lord sends us.
“Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly beloved children and walk in the way of love.” (Ephesians 5:1-2a NIV)
Lord, thank You for moving heaven and earth to call us sons and daughters. To some degree – we realize the cost of our adoption, and we are overwhelmed with gratitude. Thank You for seeing fit to include us in Your family. May we obey gladly: confident in Your sovereignty and sure of Your love. It is a joy to live in service of the Father. We want to honor You will all we say and do, but also even with the posture of our heart as we fulfill Your commands. Amen.