Till Shiloh Comes (9 page)

“There's something there all right,” Judah said with a frown. “But I can't make it out.”

“It's not a man. It's only a boy.”

Asher exploded with indignation. “Why, it's that dreamer coming,” he shouted bitterly, “and he's wearing that accursed coat!”

Perhaps if Reuben had been there, things would have gone differently. The brothers were all afraid of his prodigious strength, and none of them would have stood up to him. But Reuben was not there, and the angry talk ran through the brothers like lightning.

“Look at him in that stinking coat!” Simeon raved.

Levi was quick to put in his angry remark. “I'd like to break his fool neck! That's what I'd like to do!”

A murmur of assent went around, and it was Dan, perhaps the quickest thinker of them all, who said, “You know why he's come, don't you?”

“What do you mean?” Judah demanded.

“He's come to lord it over us by wearing that coat. It's as if our father has said right out that Joseph has the blessing and the birthright.”

The angry murmuring and cursing rose louder until the rage that had been festering among them for years spewed over. They had come here to get away from Joseph and his nonsense about their bowing down to him—and here he came wearing that coat, the very symbol of their father's favoritism!

By the time Joseph had gotten close, the nine brothers were in a murderous rage. Like flood waters that have built up behind a dam over time, finally causing it to burst, so had the brothers' anger so built up over the years that nothing could have held it back.

Joseph was totally unprepared for the ambush that awaited him. He had come ready to do his father's bidding, to be humble, to give his brothers the food, and try to mend the breach between them. His spirits were high as he rode into camp and slipped off his donkey. “Greetings, brothers! I bring you greetings from Father, and I bring you—”

But Joseph never finished his speech. With a roar of rage Levi stepped forward and struck him in the face with his powerful fist. The blow cut off Joseph's words and drove him backward.

Dan cried out, “Beat him!”

And another cried out, “Kill him! That's what he deserves!”

Seven of the nine rushed forward—only Judah and Issachar held back—but the others fought each other to get at Joseph. Their shrieking voices rent the air with their suddenly released hatred.

A pack of hungry wolves could not have fallen on an innocent lamb with any more vicious action. The fact that there were so many of them saved Joseph some blows because they got in each other's way. Nevertheless, their fists struck out at Joseph and their hands ripped like claws at his beautiful coat. He cried out, “Brothers—” But his words were strangled by the blood filling his mouth and throat.

Though he could not understand it, Joseph knew he was doomed to die at the hands of this maddened pack when Reuben suddenly appeared, knocking the brothers aside and screaming, “Let him alone! What's wrong with you?” He struck them on either side, like a ship slicing through stormy waves, until he came to stand over Joseph, who lay bloodied and broken on the ground. “Have you lost your minds?” Reuben bellowed.

“Lost our minds! Have you lost
yours
?” Levi yelled back. “You're not going to save him this time, Reuben.”

“Yes, I am.”

“You can't whip all of us,” Dan screamed. “Come on, brothers, this is one time that little rat's going to get what he deserves!”

Operating on pack instinct, the brothers, who had been resentful of Reuben for some time, saw here a chance to overcome him. Reuben had ruled them all by his physical strength, but together they were stronger, and they began screaming, “Get out of the way, Reuben!”

Reuben was not quick of mind, but there was little to think about here. He glanced down at the beaten form of Joseph, blood running down his face, his beautiful coat and tunic torn to shreds, revealing the bruises swelling on his naked side where he had taken fearful blows and kicks. Reuben shifted his gaze to the brothers, who now circled him exactly like a pack of wolves would circle a dying animal. He knew he could defeat any one or two or even three of them, but they were all grown men, strong and hearty, and he stood no chance against all of them together.

If Reuben had possessed the persuasive ability of Dan or the quickness of Judah, he might have talked them out of their rage, but he had no such gift. He could only stand there and beg—something he had never done in his life. “Please, my brothers, you must not—”

“Shut up, Reuben,” Simeon yelled. “We're going to kill him!”

The brothers had not begun with murder in their hearts, but their humiliation and resentment had festered over the years, finally driving them to this frenzied state of rage. Reuben then had the only imaginative thought in his life. He saw that Joseph was a doomed man. The brothers had gone too far. Even if Joseph went back home now, bruised and bleeding, the wrath of Jacob would fall upon them all.

“We must not kill him,” Reuben said. “We can't have our brother's blood on our hands.” And then the idea came as if from someone else. “We can throw him into the pit,” he shouted, “and leave him to die. That way his blood won't be on our hands.”

“Yes!” Levi shouted. “Throw him into the pit!”

The pit was an ancient well that had long ago dried up and had partially filled in with the drifting desert sands. It was still some twenty feet deep, however, and the brothers knew there was nothing at the bottom but stones and sand that had caved in from the top. Nobody could climb out of it.

The brothers were relieved at Reuben's plan. None of them really wanted to bear the burden of actually killing their brother with their own hands, but in their minds leaving him to die would be different.

“Yes!” they shouted together. “Throw him into the pit.”

All of them knew they had gone too far, but they could not back down now. Even Judah agreed. A plan had formed in his mind, and he carried the day by saying, “Look, we'll throw him into the pit, and when we come back to our father and he asks for him, we'll say he is no more. He was lost along the way. Who will know the difference?”

“Yes,” Levi shouted. “That's what we'll do.”

Simeon reached down and jerked Joseph to his feet.

“Have pity on me, brothers. Do not harm me!” Joseph cried.

Reuben knew there was no way he could save his brother from his fate. He did not protest as his brothers dragged Joseph to the pit, ignoring his wailing pleas for mercy.

When they reached the ancient well, it was Dan who grabbed Joseph, saying, “Now dream your dreams in that pit!” and shoved Joseph in.

As Joseph disappeared into the black abyss, a silence fell on all the brothers. They stood staring at the ominous hole in the ground, then quickly looked up, each searching the face of the other and seeing guilt, anger, and fear all reflecting from their eyes and in the twists of their mouths.

The feeble voice of Joseph came up out of the darkness with a pitiful quality that tore at Reuben's heart. “Oh, please, my brothers, do not do this thing! I am bleeding and will die if you leave me in this pit. Please hear me and pull me from this terrible place! Reuben—Judah! Oh, my brothers Levi and Simeon, I am sorry for all the pride that was in my heart. Forgive me and take me out of the pit so that I may not die here. I am your brother!”

The cries struck Reuben like a blow. He straightened up to his full height, then growled, “Come away from this place.” He whirled, and the others could not follow quickly enough. As they left, the voice of Joseph came floating to them, and they broke into a run as if to get away from some fearful monster.

When they had stumbled and run for at least a mile, Reuben glanced at the others and said, “We cannot run away and leave our flocks.”

“The servants will tend to them,” Judah said. His face was pale, and his lips trembled. He was about to say more, but Simeon broke in. “What's done is done. We must leave him in the pit.”

“It would have been kinder to kill him,” Judah said, slumping to the ground as if his legs had no strength to support him.

Gad stared at him. “What's wrong, Judah?”

“You know what's wrong. We will never be able to face our father again.”

The words echoed in the heart and mind of every one of the ten brothers, for they knew Judah had spoken the truth. They began making excuses, one blaming the other, until finally Reuben said, “You gather the sheep. I'm going to that village and see if we can hire more men.”

“Why do you want to do that?” Asher demanded.

“We have to go to our father and tell him what has happened.”

“No,” Gad exclaimed, “we can't! Just let the boy be missing.”

Reuben shook his head. “We'll have to go back home, but in the meantime I'll hire more servants to take care of our flocks.” He turned and walked rapidly away.

Reuben had formulated a plan in his mind to help Joseph. He would find a long length of rope and return after dark to pull him out of the pit and get him far from this place, where his brothers could not find him. He quickly made his way to the closest village and located a farmer who sold him a long rope. He started back toward the pit, taking a roundabout way so his brothers would not see him. He was surprised at how easily the plan had come to his slow mind. He hurried on, thinking of nothing but how terrible it would be to tell Jacob that his beloved Joseph was gone.

****

Meanwhile, the other brothers were not sure what to do with themselves. They were talking and arguing together as to what they would say to their father when Simeon cried out, “Look, a caravan.” They all stood up to see a long line of camels plodding in their direction.

“I think they're Midianites,” Levi said. “Traders, by the look of them.”

Dan spoke up. “Brothers, I know what we must do.” They all looked at him, and his eyes were wide. “We must sell Joseph to these traders as a slave. That way we have not killed him—yet it will be as if he were dead.”

“Yes,” Levi agreed eagerly. “We can take that coat of his and put animal blood on it and have someone take it back to our father. That way he will think a wild animal has slain him.”

The idea seized them all like fire, and they immediately turned and headed back for the pit. Naphtali thought of finding a rope to pull Joseph up. “We'll have to throw it down to him. He can tie it around himself and we'll pull him up. Dan, you go talk to the traders about buying him.”

“I'll do that, and I'll get a good price too.” Dan grinned wolfishly and set off at a run while Naphtali went the other direction to locate a rope.

“Be quick,” Levi called after him. “We need to get him out before Reuben comes back.”

****

Joseph lay in the fearful darkness of the pit, aching and bruised and bleeding, and his thoughts raced wildly in his mind. His own brothers! Why had they done such a thing to him? He whispered to himself, “I know I have not been too kind to them, but who would have thought they would throw me in a pit to die? How their eyes glowed like coals and their teeth were like fangs as they struck me!”

Joseph's mouth was parched. He felt beetles and crawling things beneath him, and his teeth chattered as he huddled in the blackness, rolled into a tight ball.

As time passed, young Joseph lay there like a stunned beast. The beatings he had received had at first dulled his feelings, but then the pain began to flood through his poor, tortured limbs like waves. He cried in agony as he thought back over his life, remembering now the many times he had carried evil reports of his brothers to his father. He thought of how he had laughed at the stupidity of Zebulun and Naphtali and how he had made fun of Reuben, who had shown such concern for him. He thought about how often he had deceived his father, lying to him and taking advantage of the old man's love for him.

He had led such a pampered life that he'd always been able to brush things off, not ever carefully examining his behavior. But now that death lay waiting for him, Joseph became honest with himself for the first time in his life. He wept with the realization that he had been filled with pride and had no real love for his brothers, other than Benjamin.

He even found himself weeping over his father, knowing that with his death the old man would, in a sense, die too. In the darkness of the pit these thoughts overwhelmed him with grief, and he could do nothing but cry out to the God of his fathers. But his cries were feeble, and he had little faith that they would be answered.

Then he heard the voices of his brothers returning….

****

Reuben was gasping for breath by the time he got back to the pit with the rope. His circuitous route had enabled him to avoid any of his brothers. He dropped the rope and fell to his hands and knees, calling down into the darkness, “Joseph … ? Joseph!” He waited and listened hard, but not a single sound. He cried again louder, “Joseph, are you all right? Speak to me, my brother.”

But there was only silence. The awful thought came to him that Joseph had already died, although it had been but a few hours. Reuben continued to call down, but there was no answer. Only silence.

He had to climb down into the pit himself. Tying one end of the rope around his waist, he secured the other end to a nearby rock outcropping, then lowered himself into the pit. His feet scrambled against the wall of the well, sending stones and sand downward. Fearing that he was further injuring his brother, he kept calling into the darkness. When he reached the dry dirt and rocks at the bottom, he felt all around and found no one. Joseph was not there!

“He's gone! Where could he be?” Reuben moaned. As quickly as he could, he grabbed the rope and pulled his huge bulk back up the top, then scrambled out and looked around frantically. “Joseph,” he called out. “Where are you?”