Envy is one of the seven deadly sins. It is seen as early as Genesis chapter 4 in the story of Cain and Abel. We see it in the lives of Rachel and Leah as they compete with each other for the affection of Jacob and how they compete with each other over their children. In Genesis 37 it raises its ugly head again. We see again how deep this sin goes as it is once again expressed by brothers against a brother. Joseph’s brothers did not share the favored place Joseph held in the heart of their father, Jacob. Their envy led to hatred. Genesis 37:8 tells us that the 10 brothers hated Joseph. They hated him even more because of the favor the father showed him in the coat of many colors – the symbol of God’s favor on his life. Verse 23 tells us the first thing the brothers did was “strip the coat off of him.” Hatred leads to overt evil acts. They plotted to kill him and threw him in a pit. Then, what’s even worse, the heartless nature of envy and hatred is seen in this phrase in Genesis 37:25-28, “then they sat down to eat.”  Guzik observes, “The heartless character of these brothers was clear—they could eat a meal with Joseph nearby in the pit. They could sit down and enjoy food while their hearts were bent on murdering their brother.”1 It’s even worse when we remember that they sat down to eat the very meal that Joseph had been sent to bring them from their father. Where was their sense of decency? Where was their conscience?

Joseph pleaded with his brothers for mercy, but they couldn’t hear him. But they would hear his cries later. Guzik quotes from Barnhouse in his commentary concerning this. He writes, “Later, Genesis 42:21 described the conviction of sin they ignored at that moment. In that passage the brothers said: We are truly guilty concerning our brother, for we saw the anguish of his soul when he pleaded with us, and we would not hear; therefore this distress has come upon us. When Joseph was cast into the pit, he pled with his brothers, and they ignored his cries as they ate their meal.” Then he recounts the Barnhouse quote. “A physicist could compute the exact time required for his cries to go twenty-five yards to the eardrums of the brothers. But it took twenty-two years for that cry to go from the eardrums to their hearts.”1

It’s only through the intervention of Judah’s greed, which is another one of those seven deadly sins, that they choose to sell him rather than murder him. Envy leads to bitterness, which leads to hatred, which if left unchecked, leads to evil deeds of various kinds. Evil deeds always go someplace also. They do not hurt that target but the shooter. Envy, jealousy along with a variety of other ungodly emotions are all boomerangs! They always come back to the one throwing them.  Someone once said, “Envy shoots at others but only wounds herself.” Envy creates Grinches. Dr. Seuss’ children’s book “The Grinch” illustrates a creature who can’t bear the sight of anyone enjoying himself without getting so mad it bites itself. Don’t bite yourself!

1 David Guzik, Genesis, David Guzik’s Commentaries on the Bible (Santa Barbara, CA: David Guzik, 2013), Ge 37:23–28