Here’s something great about reading the Bible. We can read the same set of scriptures hundreds of times, and God can still reveal something new to us through them. Truly, how inspiring is that? This happened recently to me when studying the story of Joseph and his brothers. In a way, it was like I was watching a movie for a second time. The first time around I had only noticed the lead actors, but, on a second viewing, the supporting actors are brought to light. While Joseph is the star of this story, it is his brother Reuben that God drew my attention to.
For most people, the story of Joseph and his brothers is a familiar one, but it is worth looking at from a different perspective. Click here to read it for yourself beginning in Genesis 37. Allow me to attempt to summarize this truly interesting passage of scripture just a bit in my own words.
Joseph was special from the moment he was born. He was the first child born to Jacob and Rachel (after years of trying to conceive). He came into a family with many older brothers from other marriages. However, there was a special bond between Jacob and Joseph. Jacob appeared to have no filter in treating Joseph as more special than all the other brothers. He even made Joseph a coat of many colors while the others brothers were apparently left out of this gift giving moment.
This did not exactly set Joseph up for success in his brotherly relationships. Over the years, the brothers grew to hate Joseph as their jealousy overwhelmed them. To make matters worse, Joseph began to share with them the dreams he was having. These dreams included the brothers bowing down to him. This was probably not the brightest idea that a sibling could do, but God used it nonetheless. Needless to say, the dreams were the final straw in this disaster. The brothers began devising a plan to kill him.
While they were out in the fields with their father’s sheep, they saw Joseph coming in the distance, which is when their plan began to develop. They had decided to kill him and throw him into a well and say that an animal attacked him. However, this is the point in the story when our supporting player, Reuben, steps in.
Reuben was the oldest brother and apparently had more of a conscience than the others. In his heart, he knew that regardless of how jealous they might have been of Joseph, this course of action was just wrong. I am sure he struggled with what to do or say to prevent this from happening. Did he talk to his brothers about how their jealousy had spun out of control? Did he assure them that although they were not feeling the love and attention from their earthly father, they had a Heavenly Father that loved them more than they could ever imagine? Did Reuben take a stand for his faith? Not exactly. He did what most of us sometimes do, he rode the fence.
Rather than getting off the fence and truly taking a stand for his faith, he offered up a revised plan that might save Joseph while still keeping Reuben in the good graces of his other brothers. He proposed that they just leave Joseph in the well rather than kill him. Reuben even thought he might be able to rescue him later when the brothers were out of sight. Did this plan of riding the fence actually work out the way Reuben envisioned? Not really, the brothers ended up selling Joseph into slavery when Reuben wasn’t around.
Reuben was devastated when he realized Joseph was gone. Of course the brothers lied to everyone and told them Joseph was killed by an animal. But I am certain in his heart Reuben knew there was no animal involved. And I am sure he wrestled with this decision to ride the fence for years.
We recently watched the movie “God’s Not Dead” where a student was placed in an uncomfortable position of choosing to ride the fence and just go along with everyone else or take a stand for Christ (you can watch the movie trailer by clicking here). After much prayer and deliberation, the young man took a stand and what God was able to accomplish through that young man’s faith was truly astounding. And although that was just a movie (a really good one by the way), the results of getting off the fence can be true in our lives as well.
We live in a society where too many people ride the fence and don’t follow their convictions. For any number of reasons, we make a decision not to get involved. Maybe it is because we don’t want to mettle in anyone’s affairs other than our own. Even when we see injustice or unfairness, we too often have a desire to keep our heads down. But as followers of Christ, we are called to be salt and light in this world and many times that means we need to get off the fence and take a stand. It isn’t enough that we know it in our hearts, we need to share it. We need to look out for others. We need to extend the same love, grace, and forgiveness that we have received from our Heavenly Father.
Being salt and light in our world isn’t easy. As much as my teenagers desperately want to fit in, as an adult, I want that too. But blending in and riding the fence is probably not going to lead others to Christ. Our confidence and acceptance should be found in our relationship with Christ. And because of the love, joy, and peace we have experienced, it should be impossible for us not to want to share Him with others. When we look back at Reuben, we can see that he missed an opportunity. By staying on the fence, he missed an amazing opportunity to allow God to work through him and to experience the joy of being obedient to the convictions that God laid on him.
My prayer is that each of us get off the fence, that we become salt and light to a world in need, that we find our acceptance in Christ, and that we follow our convictions and step into each opportunity that God brings our way.
