On the way to the Palace 17 :Before the Pit

“ Now when Joseph reached his brothers, they stripped him of his tunic ,the {distinctive } multicoloured tunic which he was wearing ; 24 then they took him and threw him into the pit. Now the pit was empty,there was no water in it”- Genesis 37:23-24 AMP Amplified Bible .

“When Joseph reached his brothers ,they ripped off the fancy coat he was wearing ,grabbed him and threw into a cistern.The cistern was dry ;there wasn’t any water in it”.- Genesis 37:23-24 MSG The Message 

;”And we have known and believed the love that God hath for us. God is love, and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him”.-  1 John 4:16 KJ21 21^st Century King James Version

"So we know that God loves us. We depend on it. God is love. Anyone who leads a life of love is joined to God. And God is joined to them”.- 1 John 4:16  NIV R New International Revised Version

“And we know (understand, recognize, are conscious of, by observation and by experience) and believe (adhere to and put faith in and rely on) the love God cherishes for us. God is love, and he who dwells and continues in love dwells and continues in God, and God dwells and continues in him”.- 1 John 4:16  AMPC Amplified Version Classic Edition
“So we know the love that God has for us, and we trust that love. God is love. Everyone who lives in love lives in God, and God lives in them”.- 1 John 4:16  ERV English Revised Version

“We have experienced and we have entrusted our lives to the love of God in us. God is love. Anyone who lives faithfully in love also lives faithfully in God, and God lives in him”.- 1 John 4:16 The Voice 

Joseph eventually found his brothers and got close enough to give a scream of joy and excitement at seeing them. Perhaps a hug from one of his brothers would have completed his joy. Instead it appears they gave him a rude welcome and dragged off his coat from him. If Joseph thought this was a joke initially, the reality of the situation hit him when he got thrown into the pit.

It is interesting to note that ­­­­­ one of the first things his brothers did before throwing him into the pit as they planned was to take away his coat of many colours. Let’s imagine the situation a little bit here. Did the brothers ask for the coat nicely or just drag it off him ?I am tempted to believe the latter was the case.Was there a fight as they were doing this or did he willingly give it to them.It must have all seemed strange to Joseph,perhaps he was yet in another dream.

 I must admit that it was only when I began to teach this series that the Holy Spirit pointed my attention to that tiny bit of detail the writer of Genesis had put(Genesis 37: 23).Before Joseph was thrown into the pit, his brothers took away his coat of many colours. That was a coat that may have infuriated them so many times in the house as Joseph wore it about as it showed that he was the preferred son, the  beloved and chosen one.I am so glad that   we are also chosen( 1 Peter 2:9) &beloved(1 John 3:1) . God in his infinite mercy has chosen to make us his children and this makes the devil mad. 

Severally I had glossed over the passage and listened to several sermons on from the "Pit to the prison to the Palace" but did not fully realize that before he got thrown into the pit, he was stripped of the symbol of his father’s love .This is still a tactic used by the enemy, an age long tactic that causes us somehow to begin to doubt the love of God because we sometimes tie his love to the things that surround us..

It is this doubting of the love of God or an absence of the knowledge of the great love the Father has for us( 1 John 4:16) that makes us begin to look for alternatives on the way to the Palace.Surely the enemy suggests to us that God cannot love us that much and perhaps he is too busy running the universe to care about us but how far from the truth this is (Psalms 37:23 New Living Translation NLT).And perhaps even if he does care for others , we are not good enough to demand his complete attention to detail and if only we were better at praying, giving, soul winning etc,God would love us more.

 But the truth is we cannot be loved more by God than we already are presently.And  this love is not based on works because  the Scriptures  tell us that ever before Jesus did anything, as he was baptized, God’s voice from heaven affirmed him saying “This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased(Matthew 3:17;17:5) and the great news is that God loves us as much as he loves Jesus(John 17;23). Period.

 On the way to the palace, we need to realize that the pit or pit situations are inevitable but one of the secrets of successfully coming out of the pit to the palace is to remember that the truth that God’s love for us is eternal (Ephesians 1:5;Jeremiah 31:5; Psalms 103:11).Nothing we can ever do or have done can change his decision to love us(1 John 4:10;Romans 8:35-39).

Yours in His Love ,

Grace Tom-Lawyer