So it came to pass, when Joseph had come to his brothers, that they stripped Joseph of his tunic, the tunic of many colors that was on him. Then 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 a meal. [Genesis 37:23-25a (NKJV)]
Recently, in our nation’s capital, four people were murdered and their home set ablaze. It was DNA left on a pizza crust that quickly led police to the alleged killer. While this was an astounding piece of detective work, what astonishes me most is that, while holding four people hostage, four people likely pleading desperately for their lives, someone could calmly eat a pizza. How could anyone have an appetite while plotting murder? Yet, someone did and he’s not alone; that’s exactly what Joseph’s brothers did.
You remember Joseph, the favored son of Jacob, the handsome one with the coat of many colors. When his jealous brothers conspired to kill him, Reuben (thinking he might rescue his younger brother later) suggested they throw him into a dry cistern and leave him to the mercy of the elements. After tossing Joseph like a piece of garbage into a pit, the brothers all sat down to eat. Boys being boys, perhaps Joseph thought it was just a brotherly prank and his siblings would soon let him out of the well. “Come on guys, I’m hungry and thirsty. Help me up so I can have some lunch. I’ll even share my coat with you!” But, when he heard his brothers discuss selling him into slavery to some Ishmaelite traders, it began to dawn on him that he was in serious trouble and they weren’t joking. Can you imagine the cries of the terrified youth once he realized what was happening and the danger of his situation? While Joseph pled for his life, his brothers ignored his cries and enjoyed their meal. Can you imagine how he must have begged for their mercy, much as the DC family probably begged for their lives? Unlike the pizza eating criminal, Joseph’s brothers didn’t plan an outright murder; they were going to leave that to the slave traders. But, like that killer in DC, they knew their victim’s anguish and refused to hear his cries.
While we’re not likely to invade a home and kill its occupants or throw someone into a pit and sell him into slavery, we’re not all that different from Joseph’s brothers and the suspected murderer in DC. We may not be plotting murder and mayhem, but we do ignore the desperate cries of those in need and, by ignoring their cries, condemn them to lives of misery or death. While calmly enjoying meals in the comfort of our homes, do we turn a deaf ear to the voices of the hungry? Do we turn our backs on our less fortunate brothers and sisters—the poor, homeless, sick, or victimized? This morning I saw a sign on a church that read, “Be the Church—Fight for the Powerless.” We can’t do that if we ignore their cries!
We must never minimize the suffering of another. Scripture’s mandate to us is, “Weep with them that weep.” [Billy Graham]
Devotions of the Heart 