Unwilling Wayfarer.....the Wayfarer 1/24/16

Unwilling Wayfarer

“And Israel said unto Joseph, Do not thy brethren feed the flock in Shechem? Come, and I will send thee unto them. And he said to him, Here am I.

And he said to him, Go, I pray thee, see whether it be well with thy brethren, and well with the flocks; and bring me word again. So he sent him out of the vale of Hebron, and he came to Shechem.

And a certain man found him, and, behold, he was wandering in the field: and the man asked him, saying, What seekest thou?

And he said, I seek my brethren: tell me I pray thee, where they feed their flocks.

And the man said, They are departed hence; for I heard them say, Let us go to Dothan. And Joseph went after his brethren, and found them in Dothan.

And when they saw him afar off, even before he came near unto them, they conspired against him to slay him.

And they said one to another, Behold, this dreamer cometh.

Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into some pit, and we will say, Some evil beast hath devoured him: and we shall see what will become of his dreams.

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, too 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 colors 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 Ismeelites, 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 upJoseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmaeelites 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?

And they took Joseph’s coat, and killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the coat in the blood;

And they sent the coat of many colors, and they brought it to their father; and said, This have we found: know now whether it be thy son’s coat or no.

And he knew it, and said, It is my son’s coat; an evil beast hath devoured him; Joseph is without doubt rent in pieces.

And Jacob rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days.

And all his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted; and he said, For I will go down into the grave unto my son mourning. Thus his father wept for him.

And the Midianites sold him into Egypt unto Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh’s, and captain of the guard.”

(Genesis 37:13-36)

Joseph became an unwilling wayfarer, yet one that would salvage the nation that was being built on the promise made by God to Abraham.

This act of vengeance and evil that was done by his own brothers led to a life that would bless that nation in a mighty way for many years to come.

In the process he would suffer incarceration for crimes not only not committed, but that he in fact refused to commit, and remain loyal always to the One True God of his father, grandfather, and forebears.

As with all wayfarers that are recorded in the scriptures, though not of his own choice to become one, he accepted, honored and followed through with the plans of that One True God.

Those plans included both prosperity and the multiplication of a nation, and the enslavement, suppression, persecution, and poverty that would lead them all to the point of wayfaring once more to find their way back to the promise of God and His blessing.

Joseph’s brothers had no idea of the fact that they were not hindering God’s plans, but advancing that plan.

Again I would remind all that we too are wayfarers only. Some are willing wayfarers working constantly to find a better place, better conditions, better job, better life, more wealth, more of the things of a world that offers no final destination that will ever satisfy the longings and needs to be a wayfarer. Others are wayfarers by the choice of God, working and winding their way through that same world, ever directed toward a known destination, a known reward at the end of the journey, a known reason for that necessity to make that journey and remain on the path to that destination with the guidance given by another willing Wayfarer, who, of His own volition chose to be a mere wayfarer, for a time, to provide the means to achieve that destination for all who would simply listen while He made that journey Himself, none less than the Son of God, Christ Jesus.

“Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.

In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am there ye may be also.

And whither I go, ye know, and the way ye know.

Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.”

(John 14:1-7)

Once more, this sinner saved by grace through faith in the promise given by this only Savior, only Son of the One True God, only means to the Way, Truth and Life, sometime unwilling wayfarer, though constant wayfarer, soldier and warrior in his cause,  closes in the assurance of the knowledge  promised by that Savior.

2 Timothy 1:12 King James Version (KJV)

¹² For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.

Amen, and Amen
the Wayfarer