Genesis 37:33 And he knew it, and said, It is my son’s coat; an evil beast hath devoured him; Joseph is without doubt rent in pieces.
Dishonesty Sees Dishonesty
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None of us have perfect homes. Now I am not saying that you can’t have a godly home and family. I am simply saying that all of us have a horse thief somewhere back in our ancestry. None of us have a perfect lineage because we are sinners. That is certainly true as you read the story of Abraham and his family. You have incident after incident of people who did things wrong and suffered the consequences.
One example is the story of Joseph and his brothers. Joseph’s brothers hated him because they were upset with their dad who showed Joseph favoritism. In Genesis 37 they threw Joseph in a pit, sold him to a bunch of slave traders, and basically wiped their hands of any guilt or responsibility for their brother Joseph.
Then, they dipped Joseph’s coat in the blood of a goat, brought it straight to their father, and asked him if he recognized it. Verse 33 says that Jacob said, “It is my son’s coat; an evil beast hath devoured him; Joseph is without doubt rent in pieces.” Jacob’s sons lied to their father by implication. They didn’t state anything. They basically raised a question, and caused Jacob to have no doubt about what had happened.
The problem is that what he knew wasn’t so. The best liars don’t need to state anything. They simply ask a question or leave unsaid something that leads to a falsehood.
Why did Jacob’s sons lie to their father? Jacob was deceived at least as much as he practiced deceit. If you go back to Genesis 31, we find that Laban was dishonest with Jacob by changing his wages ten times. In chapter 29, Laban deceived Jacob by marrying him to Leah instead of Rachel. Laban lied and deceived Jacob. Why would Laban deceive Jacob?
A person who is not honest cannot trust anyone. Jacob reaped what he had sown. It is very easy to project our motives onto other people. A person who lies and deceives cannot trust anyone because he knows that he cannot be trusted.
Secondly, and more importantly, a person who deceives cannot trust anyone because what goes around comes around. We live in a world in which we will reap what we sow. May God help us to plant honesty, integrity, decency, and graciousness to those around us because we will reap what we sow.