Good evening, and welcome to EBible Fellowship’s Bible study in the book of Genesis.  Tonight is study #34 in Genesis 37.   We will read Genesis 37: 22-30:

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. And Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands; and said, Let us not kill him. 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. 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; And they took him, and cast him into a pit: and the pit was empty, there was no water in it. 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. And Judah said unto his brethren, What profit is it if we slay our brother, and conceal his blood?  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. 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.  And Reuben returned unto the pit; and, behold, Joseph was not in the pit; and he rent his clothes. And he returned unto his brethren, and said, The child is not; and I, whither shall I go?

I will stop reading there.  From what we read here, we can understand Reuben interceded and pleaded with his brothers not to kill him, shed his blood, or lay hands upon him, in an effort to deliver Joseph to his father again.  Apparently, Reuben then went away.  Where did he go?  We are not told.  He could have gone a mile away to deal with a problem with the flock, or some other matter.  That would all be speculation, but he left his brethren, and he left Joseph.  That was probably not a wise thing to do.  He should have stayed because he knew the mindset of his brethren, and they were not trustworthy. 

But this is all according to the perfect will of God.  Of course in the lives of these children of Israel, it was God’s plan.  This had to happen, historically, because later there would come a famine in the land of Canaan, and God was making preparation for it.  He was fore planning, and when that famine would come, God would have Joseph positioned as the second ruler in Egypt.  Then He would call Jacob to come out of the land of Canaan, and to go into the land of Egypt, which also paints spiritual pictures.

But there was also the necessity to survive the famine, and God is taking care of all that.  At that time, He was “setting the wheels in motion,” and He was orchestrating events in the lives of Reuben, Joseph, and their brothers.  None of them had the slightest clue as to what the future held for them.  In Joseph’s case, there would be much grief and loneliness, and pain and anguish, certainly, but there would also be great glory to God.  There would be an incredible change in circumstances awaiting him as he remained faithful in serving the Lord, even as a slave and a prisoner.  God perfectly designed and orchestrated events to unfold exactly as He intended them to unfold.  It is all a part of the intricate, detailed plan of God that Joseph be thrown into a pit.  And Joseph must be sold to slave traders to be taken to Egypt.  It all had to happen. 

That does not absolve these brothers of their guilt and shame in doing this.  God works through the sins of men.  How can He not?  When He works things out on the earth and all (men) are sinners, He had to use men and their sinful tendencies and desperately wicked hearts that cause them to act wickedly.  Knowing that full well, God would lift His hand of restraint at times, or impress His hand of restraint at times, like He did with Abimelech of the Philistines who said, “…in the integrity of my heart and innocency of my hands have I done this,”  indicating he had no evil intentions toward Sarah.  And God said, “Yea, I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart; for I also withheld thee from sinning against me…”   God basically told him He had restrained his desperately wicked heart.  Through restraining sin in some cases, or through lifting His hand of restraint in other cases, it is almost like a “gas pedal” on a car; you can press down, and it is going to go faster, and you will get to your destination quicker; or you can ease off the gas, or press the break, and slow things down.  God does this in the hearts of men, and He turns the heart of His people, “as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.”  He determines the course of our lives, and that is what He is setting in motion here in Genesis 37.

As far as Reuben’s part in this, we discussed that he was the firstborn son, but he lost the blessing of the firstborn, and it went to Joseph through the two sons of Joseph, or the two tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh.    It was just as Esau lost the right of the firstborn, and it went to Jacob; and just as Adam lost the right of the firstborn, and it went to Christ.  So Reuben is in that kind of position.  Therefore he is representing the Law.  He is a figure of the Law.

But as far as the Lord Jesus Christ is concerned, was Jesus guilty of sin when the Jews held their council and sought to kill Him?  They finally determined to turn him over to the Romans for crucifixion.  Was Jesus guilty?  The answer is, “No.”  They conspired wickedly against Him, but He was not guilty.  They could not find two witnesses to agree together against Him.  There was no sin upon Him. 

Once He was turned over to the Romans, He came before Pilot, a Roman governor.  As a Roman governor, he was the representative of the Law.  He had the power.  Keep in mind that rulers are ordained of God, according to Romans 13, and they possess the “sword,” and they can execute it.  It is God-given authority. Pilot was governor and a ruler under Caesar, and these were men that God had lifted up.  In some cases, God lifts up the “basest” of men.  Nonetheless, they are lifted up to places of authority by God, and as such are His representatives.  It says in Romans 13:1-2:

Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. 

More than that, look at Romans 13:4:

For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.

The governor or the judge has the “sword” that God has placed in his hand, and he can kill with the sword, or deliver with the sword. 

So when Christ was turned over to the Roman authorities, Pilot was the one who made the judgment, sitting under the authority of God.  Yes, he was a secular authority, but that is what God is talking about in Romans 13.  Secular authorities are ordained of God, and they are ministers of God in that sense.  Pilot was representing the ordinance or Law of God.

What did Pilot seek to do when it came to the Lord Jesus Christ?  He saw that the Jews had delivered Christ to him, and we read that he realized they had delivered Him “for envy,” and that is not a right motivation.  That is not correct or legal.  It is not lawful that someone deliver over another man to die because of envy.  That is not the correct motivation, and Pilot realized that.  He saw and understood that, and as he began to judge, we read in John 18:33-36:

Then Pilate entered into the judgment hall again, and called Jesus, and said unto him, Art thou the King of the Jews? Jesus answered him, Sayest thou this thing of thyself, or did others tell it thee of me? Pilate answered, Am I a Jew? Thine own nation and the chief priests have delivered thee unto me: what hast thou done? Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.

Notice the word “delivered.”  And Reuben was trying to deliver Joseph from death.  Christ was delivered up to death.  Then it goes on to say in John 18:37-40:

Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice. Pilate saith unto him, What is truth? And when he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews, and saith unto them, I find in him no fault at all. But ye have a custom, that I should release unto you one at the passover: will ye therefore that I release unto you the King of the Jews? Then cried they all again, saying, Not this man, but Barabbas. Now Barabbas was a robber.

In offering to release Christ, Pilot was attempting to deliver Him out of their hands because he was representing the Law, and the Law concluded, “I find in him no fault at all.”  The word “fault” can also be translated as “cause,” and it is translated that way in Acts 13:27-29:

For they that dwell at Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they knew him not, nor yet the voices of the prophets which are read every sabbath day, they have fulfilled them in condemning him. And though they found no cause of death in him, yet desired they Pilate that he should be slain. And when they had fulfilled all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree, and laid him in a sepulchre.

The Jews were not able to find any cause either, just as Pilot found no fault in Him.  This is emphasized in John 19:4-7:

Pilate therefore went forth again, and saith unto them, Behold, I bring him forth to you, that ye may know that I find no fault in him. Then came Jesus forth, wearing the crown of thorns, and the purple robe. And Pilate saith unto them, Behold the man! When the chief priests therefore and officers saw him, they cried out, saying, Crucify him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Take ye him, and crucify him: for I find no fault in him. The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God.

That “law” was not applicable because it was true that He is the Son of God.  He was God in the flesh.

In Luke 23, the same statement is made in Luke 23:4:

Then said Pilate to the chief priests and to the people, I find no fault in this man.

And Pilate sent Jesus to Herold, and Herod also found nothing.  It says in Luke 23:13-16:

And Pilate, when he had called together the chief priests and the rulers and the people, Said unto them, Ye have brought this man unto me, as one that perverteth the people: and, behold, I, having examined him before you, have found no fault in this man touching those things whereof ye accuse him: No, nor yet Herod: for I sent you to him; and, lo, nothing worthy of death is done unto him. I will therefore chastise him, and release him.

This is a similarity with Reuben who knew that Joseph had done nothing and did not deserve to die in a pit. It was due to the hardheartedness of the children of Israel (Joseph’s brothers), and we also see it worked out here with the leaders of Israel at the time of Christ.  Due to their hardheartedness, Reuben tried to appease his brethren, and Pilot sought to appease them by chastising Christ, and then releasing Him.  And Reuben said, “I will suggest they cast him into a pit, and I will come back later, and he will not die.”

So that is another similarity of Reuben representing the Law and Pilot also representing the Law, and both seeking to deliver the accused.  The only one who sought to deliver the Lord Jesus Christ from going to the cross in 33 A. D. was Pilot.  The only one who sought to deliver Joseph from his brethren was Reuben.  So with that, we know they must have something in common, which is that they represent the Law.

Regarding Reuben, Reuben was the firstborn, and his mother was Leah, and she named him “Reuben” because she said, “God seeth.”  That is, God saw that she was hated by her husband, and He gave her a son, and she thought, “Now my husband will love me.”  It says in Genesis 29:32:

And Leah conceived, and bare a son, and she called his name Reuben: for she said, Surely JEHOVAH hath looked upon my affliction; now therefore my husband will love me.

The name “Reuben” literally means to “see a son.”  I think we can also turn that around and say, “A son of seeing.”  That would be permissible, like a “son who seeth,” and that is exactly what the Law of God does.  The Law of God sees sin.

We are running out of time, so let us go to one place in Genesis 6:5:

And JEHOVAH saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

It says in Genesis 6:12:

And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.

God saw the wickedness of man was great, which reminds us of that verse in Hebrews 4:13:

… but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.

God and His Law “sees” sin.  The Law condemns us all: “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.”

But Pilot, representing the Law, said, “I find no fault in him.”  Christ had no sin of His own.  He has never had sin of His own, nor was He bearing the sins of His people because He had paid for the sins of His elect people at the foundation of the world.  So when He went to the cross, He was sinless.  He had no sin upon Him.  Therefore the Law’s verdict was that it found no fault in Him.

But again, it was according to God’s counsel and foreknowledge that He must go to the cross to demonstrate on the state of history what He had done at the foundation of the world.

And Reuben could “see,” and he was the only one of the brethren who could see that Joseph was not an evil doer.  He did not deserve to die, and Reuben sought to deliver him.  This is an amazing spiritual picture that God is painting for us in this historical parable in Genesis 37.