THEY SOLD JOSEPH FOR 20 PIECES OF SILVER.
"Israel loved Joseph best of all his sons, for he was the child of his old age; and he had made him a long tunic. When his brothers saw that their father loved him best of all his sons, they hated him so much that they would not even greet him.
"One day, when his brothers had gone to pasture their father’s flocks at Shechem, Israel said to Joseph, “Your brothers, you know, are tending our flocks at Shechem. Get ready; I will send you to them.”
"So Joseph went after his brothers and caught up with them in Dothan. They noticed him from a distance, and before he came up to them, they plotted to kill him. They said to one another: “Here comes that master dreamer! Come on, let us kill him and throw him into one of the cisterns here; we could say that a wild beast devoured him. We shall then see what comes of his dreams.”
"When Reuben heard this, he tried to save him from their hands, saying, “We must not take his life. Instead of shedding blood,” he continued, “just throw him into that cistern there in the desert; but do not kill him outright.”
"His purpose was to rescue him from their hands and return him to his father. So when Joseph came up to them, they stripped him of the long tunic he had on; then they took him and threw him into the cistern, which was empty and dry.
"They then sat down to their meal. Looking up, they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, their camels laden with gum, balm and resin to be taken down to Egypt. Judah said to his brothers: “What is to be gained by killing our brother and concealing his blood?
"Rather, let us sell him to these Ishmaelites, instead of doing away with him ourselves. After all, he is our brother, our own flesh.” His brothers agreed. They sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver." (Genesis37:3-4, 12-13a, 17b-28a).
Friday March 1, 2024 in the 2nd Week of Lent.
The first Reading from Genesis is the stuff of a big Hollywood movie. Ten of Jacob's children conspired and sold their younger brother for twenty silver coins.
The story of Joseph is one of the best examples of the operations of Divine Providence in the Bible. It is said that Divine Providence is the sweetest and most mysterious doctrines in the entire Bible and also in Church teaching. Here is a sample from today's Responsorial Psalm 105:
R/ Remember the marvels the Lord has done.
"When the Lord called down a famine on the land
and ruined the crop that sustained them,
He sent a man before them,
Joseph, sold as a slave. R/
"They had weighed him down with fetters,
and he was bound with chains,
Till his prediction came to pass
and the word of the Lord proved him true. R/
"The king sent and released him,
the ruler of the peoples set him free.
He made him lord of his house
and ruler of all his possessions. R/
Joseph will become the type
and figure of Jesus in the Scriptures. Watch out for the similarities.
St Joseph is the man chosen by God to be the foster father and guardian of Jesus.
Joseph is a man of high purity and chastity. God chose him to be the husband of Mary because God had fitted him with the appropriate graces to protect the perpetual virginity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
The Church considers St Joseph the greatest Saint after the Blessed Virgin Mary. Joseph is so fittingly named the Patron of the Universal Church. Remember that he was the Guardian of Jesus and in his intercessory role, you can believe that Jesus will deny nothing to Joseph.
For Prayers and Prayer intentions click the link:
Daily Bible Verse @ SeekFirstcommunity.com
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