Title: The Silence of Joseph
Jacob's love for Joseph
These patriarchal tales spanning four generations of Israel's representative patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph, dramatically explain Israel's faith in God. Among them, Isaac lost some weight, but the rest of them lived a life similar to that of an epic novel. The lives of Abraham who left Ur of the Chaldeans and settled in Canaan, Jacob who eventually returned to his hometown after 20 years of living abroad, and Joseph who was sold to Egypt and eventually ascended to a position in the world in Egypt each contain many stories. In particular, Joseph is the most outstanding story in terms of the fact that it is in close contact with the historical background of the Israelites' inhabitation in Egypt and the amount of text that actually deals with the story.
The Joseph story begins with favoritism from his father Jacob. The writer of Genesis explains that Jacob loved Joseph more than any other son because he was the son he had at the end of the day (Genesis 37:3). It is said that Jacob used to make and put on Joseph's 'clothes with ornaments'. These clothes are the robes of royalty. Then, in the end, it means that Joseph lived without labor. Although Jacob had many servants, his sons also had to work in order to grow the business. They raise sheep every day, and if Joseph had sat down in a robe, wouldn't there have been brothers who wouldn't climb? If our eldest daughter does the dishes, why don't my younger sister do it? That would be a reasonable complaint.
However, we do not know exactly why Jacob favored Joseph. The Bible writer described it as “a son born in the past,” but that is not so precisely why. Joseph was the eleventh of Jacob's 12 sons. The youngest is ‘Benjamin’. Joseph was already seventeen years old at that time (v. 2). It makes no sense that Jacob favored Joseph over his youngest son, Benjamin, who was much younger. So, is it because Joseph's mother is Rachel? Four women bore Jacob sons. Among them, the woman Jacob loved the most was Rachel. However, this statement is not the answer. Benjamin's mother is also Rachel. Moreover, Rachel died giving birth to Benjamin (Gen. 35:16-20). If the son he gave birth to after dying his most beloved wife was Benjamin, of course, he would have to be more attached to him than any other son, but Jacob doesn't know what's going on, but it is said that he favored Joseph.
Since the Bible is not a detective mystery novel, it does not elaborate on these issues. It only mentions the fact that Jacob treated Joseph specially. This means that the Bible writer's attention is not about why Jacob favored Joseph. Therefore, even those of us who read the Bible can skip over those parts. No, we can only grasp the basics of the Bible only by skipping over it. However, it should not be overlooked that these trivial facts serve as a motive for entering into something more fundamental. This is the mystery woven by the twists and turns of human life and the providence of God penetrating into it. The fact that Jacob favored Joseph has no reasonable justification, but it is the way Bible writers describe the Bible that it eventually leads to a meaningful event.
Joseph in a puddle
Eventually, Joseph came to the place where his brothers were shepherding (verse 17). When the brothers saw Joseph coming, they plotted to kill him (verse 18). From here on, the story of Joseph accelerates. This is what the Bible writer describes as they consulted. “Hey, the dreamer is coming. Let's say that you kill him and throw him into any pit, and a wild beast ate it. And let's see how the dream turns out” (verses 19, 20). Why did these brothers think of killing Joseph? Did they think of killing them because of the fact that they were favored by their father Jacob, or that they told their father about their wrongdoing, or that the brothers and the father had a dream in which they bowed down to Joseph himself? It may or may not be. People feel hostility for even the slightest problem, and in worse cases they even plot to kill. Even if it doesn't reach that far, there are many cases where you want someone to disappear for your own benefit, even for a moment.
On the other hand, the conspiracies of these hyungs today are not so serious, and I don't know if the lightly thrown words went in an unexpected direction. Any of the ten brothers joked and said, "Shouldn't you give this guy named Joseph a hole in his throat? It’s too dark these days.” and can say This means that if a few people are arguing next to each other, a situation they can't control can happen. Just like the stones thrown by local children inadvertently determine the life or death of a frog.
The eldest, Reuben, intervened. “Don’t shed any blood. Throw him into a pit in these bins, and do not touch him” (verse 22). It is said that Reuben later thought that he would rescue Joseph. As a result, Joseph's brothers stripped him of his clothes and threw him into a pit.
However, the interesting part of today's text is the fact that Joseph is silent in this bloody atmosphere. Joseph, who is good at telling stories in front of his father and talking about his dreams, suddenly says nothing. Why are you doing such a bad thing to me? You don't think your father will know this after all? I was wrong, so please save me just once. Of course he would have said this, but the biblical writer doesn't say anything about it. Even in the critical moment behind this, Joseph's silence continues. The arguments, shouts, and strife of those surrounding Joseph are divided, but Joseph does not say anything to the contrary. Why? Is it because Joseph is that careful? Could it have been that he was so shocked that he couldn't even speak?
The biblical writer's interest does not lie in Joseph's words and actions. Now, the biblical writer is not looking at Joseph's fate itself, but a touch beyond it. The Bible is silent on matters that are not directly related to the hand that we consider to be the providence of God. If you are a thoughtful reader, you will begin to feel the hand of God speaking as an 'work' at this very point in which Joseph is silent. Remember what the brothers said when they plotted to kill Joseph. “Let’s see how that dream goes” (after 20). With their mouths, the Bible writer is saying what he wants to say. In other words, through the words of his brothers and the silence of Joseph, the biblical writer is trying to convey the hand of God to his readers. We follow the text a little more to see how the writer of Genesis pushes out this point of view.
Joseph sold to Egypt
What will happen to Joseph when he falls into the pit? Israeli children who hear stories like these from their grandfathers and fathers like fairy tales must have gulped their saliva and wondered what would happen next. Will he starve to death in the pit, or will he be rescued later according to Reuben's plan? The story goes in an unexpected direction.
After today's text, another conspiracy by Joseph's brothers continues. They put blood on Joseph's ornaments and showed it to his father Jacob. After confirming that it was Joseph's clothes, Jacob refused to comfort his sons and daughters-in-law with a desire to live without taking off his mourning clothes for the rest of his life. "no. I will go down to the basement, weeping to my son” (verse 35). We can fully guess what Jacob's heart must be like to believe that the son he loved the most had become food for the beast. It is a scene where Jacob, who deceived his brother, father, and uncle, is eventually deceived by his children and falls into endless deep sorrow.
As we pointed out earlier that Joseph's brothers were silent when they stripped Joseph of clothes and threw him into the pit, they are still silent when they are sold to the Ishmaelites by the Midianite merchants. This is indeed the contradiction and strife of human life that we have a hard time keeping up with. On one side, the brothers' conspiracy to somehow deal with Joseph continued. They go to their father and tell lies. Lies are always the talkative law. Jacob, deceived by his sons, also talks a lot. You are lamenting about your own situation. Those who are overcome with self-pity are also talkative. In the meantime, only one person is silent. This is Joseph.
But the writer of Genesis is not interested in Joseph himself. Occasionally, some people interpret ‘Joseph’s dream’ as important in the Joseph story. Like Joseph, we should have a vision. Nothing distorts the Bible like this. The Bible never glorifies Joseph. If you're a serious reader of Bible texts, you'll find that Joseph also has a lot of problems. As mentioned earlier, the biblical writer is trying to explain to his readers about God's promises and his actions. It tells about how God's promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were fulfilled through Joseph. For this reason, Joseph, who is in the midst of a desperate crisis, has no choice but to remain silent. This silence is the way God speaks. Man is silent, but God acts that way.
Today we talk too much about ourselves. No, we always try to discover something through people's words. There are times when such words are needed, but more ultimately, we must find God's action in human silence. In the stage of realizing God's Word through silence, we will encounter God's wonderful providence.*