An Unknown Meaning

Scripture: When Reuben returned to the cistern and saw that Joseph was not there, he tore his clothes. He went back to his brothers and said, “The boy isn’t there! Where can I turn now?” Genesis 37:29-30

Observation: Reuben had something different in mind from his brothers. He had talked them out of killing Joseph, and instead throwing him into a well - prior verses say that he had a plan to come back and retrieve Joseph from the well later. When he discovers Joseph is no longer in the well, he is distraught.

There is something hidden to me about this passage and reaction. Reuben's original intentions are unknown - he was going to spare Joseph's life, but it is not all that clear about if he intended to actually spare Joseph or to save him for his own nefarious purpose. His reaction is even more confusing ... his expression is one as if using Joseph was some form of protection or salvation for himself, and losing that leverage will cause him harm. The fact he expressed this to his brothers - who knew the truth of Joseph's whereabouts - is also strange, as that seems to indicate that his plan was not some way of separating himself from their plot.

Application: At the 'high level' I get the story of Joseph - the plot against Joseph is ultimately God's process to save all of Israel ... God can even use the worst evil that man can conceive and use it toward his purposes. However, some of the details I don't get. I don't understand any of this section that relates to Reuben, yet it is part of the bible and forever memorialized as the word and instruction of God.

So what am I to learn from Reuben? I don't know. As I read through the bible, though, these are the things I wish to discover - those deeper elements and truths about God that go way beyond the 'Technicolor dream coat' Sunday school lesson. There MUST be something deeper here. Perhaps I will learn it later regarding some quality of the tribe of Reuben. Maybe there is some quality of Christian life that an apostle covers later that I can't align to Reuben's fears yet. We'll see.

Prayer: Lord, I long to know you better!! I am in your word not to simply relax with you, but to also learn, grow, meditate, receive correction, and mature as a believer in Jesus. My I even meditate on those elements I don't understand, so at your time and by your will you can use them to teach me a new lesson. Amen.