Genesis 37:12-18 "And his brethren went to feed their father's flock in Shechem. 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."
Israel’s older sons were a rebellious lot and often made unwise decisions. In the forty-ninth chapter of Genesis, we will see Israel declaring that Reuben, the eldest son, was unstable as water. He said of Simeon and Levi that instruments of cruelty were in their houses. The fact that they had taken their father’s flocks to feed in Shechem was further proof of their poor decision making.
In chapter thirty-four, we saw Israel’s sons avenging their sister in a disastrous manner. They had tricked the men of Shechem and killed them all, then took their children, women, and possessions as spoil. Israel declared on that occasion that his sons had made him “to stink among the inhabitants of the land (Genesis 34:30).” Yet, this was where his older sons had decided was a good place to feed Israel’s flocks.
Knowing this group of sons to be untrustworthy, he sent Joseph to check on them. He called for Joseph to come to him. Joseph reply was without hesitation. He gladly went to do his father’s will. Israel sent Joseph unto his brethren even though he had to know that the others hated Joseph.
Even though they had caused him much distress, Israel still loved his other sons. He instructed Joseph to see if it was well with them, and to bring him back a report of how they did. Joseph soon discovered that his brothers were not where he expected to find them. Rather than turning around and going home, he began to search for them.
He encountered a man in his search that was able to tell Jospeh where his brothers had gone. Again, instead of just going home and sharing that information with Israel, he continued on his way after them. He found them and his father’s flocks in Dothan. His brothers immediately began to conspire against him to put him to death.
We need to take heed to ourselves that we do not behave like Israel’s older sons. It behooves us to be careful where we feed our flocks (live our lives). Our Father loves us and cares for us. He sent His obedient Son to see to our welfare. That obedient Son, Jesus, came to do his Father’s will without any hesitation, even though He knew He would be hated (John 15:118-27). He left us with a Comforter to assure us of the Father’s will and His love for us. Let us seek grace to tend to the things of our Father in a manner that is pleasing to Him.