Genesis 37:22

Genesis 37:22 says, And Reuben said unto them, Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit that is in the wilderness, and lay no hand upon him; that he might rid him out of their hands, to deliver him to his father again.  Rueben had a plan to save Joseph.  He told his brothers to not kill Joseph, but to throw him into a pit instead.  Rueben then planned to take Joseph out and return him to his father.  We cannot successfully rescue anyone spiritually by compromising with the sinful actions of others, but must simply stand firm against the sin to begin with, just as Rueben should have done.  Verse twenty-three declares, And it came to pass, when Joseph was come unto his brethren, that they stript Joseph out of his coat, his coat of many colours that was on him;  Joseph's coat had to be a source of anger for his brothers, since it showed their father's favoritism for him.  Also, it was easily identifiable as Joseph's, so they first stripped the coat off him when he reached them.  Verse twenty-four adds, And they took him, and cast him into a pit: and the pit was empty, there was no water in it.  They threw Joseph into a dry pit.  The brothers were beginning to have their revenge against Joseph.  Showing favoritism in a family can cause many problems, even if it is in the family of God as followers of Christ.  Hopefully, if we feel such favoritism is being shown, we will not allow anger at the favoritism to rule our actions.  Verse twenty-five states, And they sat down to eat bread: and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and, behold, a company of Ishmeelites came from Gilead with their camels bearing spicery and balm and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt.  While Joseph was in the pit without even water, his brothers sat down to eat.  They had no concern for Joseph at all.  While they were eating, a band of Ishmaelites came along on their way to Egypt.  These were really some of Joseph's relatives, but they really didn't know or care about him either.  We can never rely on earthly relationships, no matter how close or how distant, to save us spiritually.  Verse twenty-six adds, And Judah said unto his brethren, What profit is it if we slay our brother, and conceal his blood?  Judah asked how would they profit from just killing Joseph.  We should not be surprised if people of the world want to not just kill us but to profit from our suffering as well.  Verse twenty-seven adds, Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmeelites, and let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother and our flesh. And his brethren were content.  Judah proposed selling Joseph to the Ishaelmites.  He now remembered that Joseph was their brother and didn't want his death on their hands.  This was not done out of concern for Joseph, but to profit from his situation and to feel somewhat better about it.  Once more, we cannot compromise with sin so that we can profit from it and hope to not feel as guilty about it.  Verse twenty-eight declares, Then there passed by Midianites merchantmen; and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmeelites for twenty pieces of silver: and they brought Joseph into Egypt.  Joseph was sold into slavery and on his way to Egypt.  I would imagine that by now Joseph was questioning his dreams of being in power over his brothers.  We are not told that Joseph thought these dreams to be a revolution from God, but if we know that God has spoken to use about anything, no matter how bad things get, we can never doubt Him.