Though the focus of chapters 37 and 39 are on Joseph there is a dramatic change in the attitude of another son of Israel. Just a few years earlier Reuben had committed adultery with Bilhah, one of Israel’s wives (Gen 35:22). When his brothers plotted to kill Joseph Reuben stopped them. Though he had been stripped of his position of firstborn, because of his sin with Bilhah, he was still able to persuade his brothers. What had changed Reuben from a self-serving young man into a responsible adult? Had he married and had children? Or maybe he realized the pain that he had caused his father by his selfishness, and his remorse led him to change his life. Maybe losing his position before his father helped him to see all that he had been given. And God used that loss to reshape Reuben’s heart from one of selfishness to selflessness.
Stuart
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