Reuben

Genesis 37:14b-36 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

(Joseph) came to Shechem, and a man found him wandering in the fields; the man asked him, “What are you seeking?” “I am seeking my brothers,” he said; “tell me, please, where they are pasturing the flock.” The man said, “They have gone away, for I heard them say, ‘Let us go to Dothan.’” So Joseph went after his brothers, and found them at Dothan. They saw him from a distance, and before he came near to them, they conspired to kill him. They said to one another, “Here comes this dreamer. Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits; then we shall say that a wild animal has devoured him, and we shall see what will become of his dreams.” But when Reuben heard it, he delivered him out of their hands, saying, “Let us not take his life.” Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but lay no hand on him”—that he might rescue him out of their hand and restore him to his father. So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the long robe with sleeves that he wore; and they took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it.

Then they sat down to eat; and looking up they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, with their camels carrying gum, balm, and resin, on their way to carry it down to Egypt. Then Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and not lay our hands on him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.” And his brothers agreed. When some Midianite traders passed by, they drew Joseph up, lifting him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt.

When Reuben returned to the pit and saw that Joseph was not in the pit, he tore his clothes. He returned to his brothers, and said, “The boy is gone; and I, where can I turn?” Then they took Joseph’s robe, slaughtered a goat, and dipped the robe in the blood. They had the long robe with sleeves taken to their father, and they said, “This we have found; see now whether it is your son’s robe or not.” He recognized it, and said, “It is my son’s robe! A wild animal has devoured him; Joseph is without doubt torn to pieces.” Then Jacob tore his garments, and put sackcloth on his loins, and mourned for his son many days. All his sons and all his daughters sought to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted, and said, “No, I shall go down to Sheol to my son, mourning.” Thus his father bewailed him. Meanwhile the Midianites had sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard.

Reuben was the oldest.  I imagine that being the oldest of twelve brothers must have come with some natural stress.  I was the oldest of two, and I admit that sometimes as a kid really I really thought I got the short end of the stick. I always had to be the responsible one!

There's a streak of responsibility running though Reuben.  He plans to save Joseph out of the pit - secretly - after his brothers have left. I can empathize with him: facing off with ten angry brothers to try to bargain for Joseph's life probably was more than a little intimidating.

And then that moment came when he realized Joseph was taken.  He was deep in the lie already at this point and so his culpability grew.

There are moments in our life when we know what the right thing is, and maybe we even plan on doing the right thing.  And then there are moments when we know that the right thing isn't going to be easy to do, and yet to do the right thing, we can't be quiet about it.

From Reuben we see that knowing what the right thing to do isn't usually enough. Reuben gets caught up in a lie and compounds that lie, letting his father believe his brother is dead.

Have you had any Reuben moments in your life? Times where you wanted to do a thing you knew was right, but couldn't find the courage? Or times when you found it so difficult to admit your guilt in something?

Reuben's story doesn't end here, and ours doesn't either.  There will always be those times where were need the courage to stand loudly and with integrity for what we are called to do, and we have a God who will stand with us when those times come.

Lord of mercy, forgive me when I know what you would have me do and yet do not act on it, and help me to live in truth and integrity always.  Amen.