Genesis 37:23-24, 28 - So it came about, when Joseph reached his brothers, that they stripped Joseph of his tunic, the varicolored tunic that was on him; and they took him and threw him into the pit…. Then some Midianite traders passed by, so they pulled him up and lifted Joseph out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. NASU
In our text today Joseph is about to learn a very important lesson and that is "Life Isn't Fair." He was his father's favorite son, but that wasn't his fault. The fault rested on the shoulders of his father, Jacob, not on Joseph.
God causes Joseph to have a dream where his father, mother, and brothers would one day bow down to him and the hatred from the brothers intensifies. Jacob gives Joseph a special colorful tunic to show his favoritism and Joseph is going to pay the price for all of these special blessings being bestowed upon him.
If only I had learned the lesson "life isn't fair" as an adolescent I really believe some of my troublesome times may have been avoided. I can vividly remember saying, "But that isn't fair."
At that moment, I wish someone would have made me sit in a chair and looked me straight in the eyes and said, "You are correct life isn't fair so quick expecting it to be fair. The sooner you learn this lesson the better off you will be in handling life."
I am of the opinion if you have children or grandchildren you should do them a favor and read this passage of scripture to them and inform them there is a very valuable lesson to be learned in life and that lesson is "Life isn't fair" so do yourself a favor and learn it quickly.
I informed my children about life being unfair this way, the first lesson you want to learn about life: It Isn't Fair. I also said it this way: Life 101 - It Isn't Fair.
In Genesis 39 is the story of Potiphar's wife trying to seduce Joseph. He wants no part of this situation and when he runs away from her she lies to her husband and says Joseph tried to rape her but she screamed and he ran away. Joseph once again learns life isn't fair because Potiphar a very influential man in Egypt has Joseph incarcerated.
There are so many unfair situations in life and I am certainly not going to try and list them. You will know them when you see them.
My advice is to remember what Joseph says to his brothers at the end of Genesis 50:19-20 - But Joseph said to them, "Do not be afraid, for am I in God's place? "As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive."
There are people in life who will do things to you because they want to hurt you. They mean evil against you as Joseph's brothers did against him.
You will also want to remember God can use the injustices of life to work to your benefit as He did with Joseph.
Think About This:
The college of hard knocks is the only one that doesn't let the student drop out when the course gets tough.
Gary A. Serago
Minister of God's Word
Gary A Serago.