Reuben further said to them, "Shed no blood. Throw him into this pit that is in the wilderness, but do not lay hands on him" - that he might rescue him out of their hands, to restore him to his father.My pastor has spent the last two weeks preaching on this chapter, so I'm trying to be careful to not mix my thoughts with his. However, this verse stood out to me, probably because of my comments on chapter 34.
Here, we see Reuben the big brother step up. He may have been MIA during Dinah's rape, but now, even though he hates Joseph like all the others, he knows that he cannot be a party to the murder of his own brother. His brothers lied to kill the town that raped their sister, he lies to his brothers to save a life.
Whether Reuben learned from Dinah's rape about protecting family, or if he didn't participate because he would not kill others, there is a telling trait here. As the oldest, he would be Jacob's rightful heir. But that has been given to Joseph, the oldest son of his "junior" wife. If Joseph's gone, Reuben again would likely become the heir. However, even with that temptation, he will not stain his hands with Joseph's blood. God uses him to preserve Joseph's life, and in doing so he will preserve them all.
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