The Patriarchs
For how many shekels of silver did Joseph's brothers sell him?
Select an answer first
The Answer
Joseph's jealous brothers sold him to a passing caravan for twenty shekels of silver, and he was carried off to Egypt as a slave. Years later, after rising to power and saving countless lives from famine, Joseph told his brothers that what they intended for harm, God intended for good.
"So when the Midianite merchants came by, his brothers pulled Joseph up out of the cistern and sold him for twenty shekels of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt."
— Genesis 37:28
Today's Devotion
✦Twenty shekels. That was the price his own family put on Joseph's life. If anyone had a right to bitterness, it was the boy in the cistern listening to his brothers negotiate.
Yet the astonishing arc of Joseph's story is that God was writing a bigger sentence than any single chapter suggested. The pit led to Potiphar's house, the prison led to the palace, and the betrayal led — decades later — to rescue for the very brothers who sold him.
You cannot judge God's faithfulness by your worst chapter. If you are in a cistern season, hold on. The story is not over, and the Author is good.
Pause & Reflect
✦Take a quiet moment before you go. Your reflection is saved to your profile so you can look back on your journey.
Lord, help me with…
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