Listen to today’s devo!

When his brothers saw that their father loved him more . . . they hated him. (Gen. 37:4)

For every famous World War II leader such as General Eisenhower or General Patton, there were thousands of other unknown names who fought. One of those names, Eric Erickson, did not fight on the battlefield but in the boardroom as a spy. His acumen for business allowed him an audience with the top brass of Nazi Germany. It was at these meetings that he was given access to critical locations. Once he passed this information on to the Allies, they knew where to strike Nazi Germany’s war machine. But choosing to live this life meant risking being rejected by friends who found out he was a secret agent for the Allies.

Joseph was hated by his brothers as much as Erickson was hated by his friends. The remainder of Genesis 37:4 says their hate created an inability in them to even greet Joseph with the typical greeting of “shalom.” Even in this “hatred,” God was working, setting the stage to care for his chosen and for redemption of humankind through Jesus, who was also rejected. Isaiah foreshadowed this rejection in Isaiah 53:3, “He was despised and rejected by mankind.” Just as Joseph’s rejection by his brothers led to their survival as a family and later a nation, Jesus’ rejection led to our salvation: “By his wounds we are healed” (Isa. 53:5).

Write a prayer thanking God for his ability to redeem.

T. J. Albertson has been pastoring for seventeen years, the last fifteen as interchurch service. He is a doctoral student at Wesley Seminary and loves teaching the whole Bible and its relevance to life.

© 2021 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.