“But Reuben heard it and he delivered him out of their hands and said, let us not kill him.”
“So, Judah said to his brothers, what profit is there if we kill our brother and then conceal his blood.”
Most people are familiar with the story of Joseph being sold into slavery by his brothers. Although Joseph was sold into slavery, the Bible records that the initial plot was to kill him. Joseph’s brothers had become jealous and upset with him over his relationship with his father. At this point in the story, jealousy makes them want to get rid of him. The plan to kill Joseph was prevented once by Reuben, the eldest son of Jacob and Leah, and then secondly by Judah, the fourth son of Jacob and Leah. The Bible records Reuben “heard, and he delivered him out of their hands.” On the second occasion, in Reuben’s absence, the brothers decide to go on with their plan to kill Joseph. Still, Judah spoke up and asked his brothers what benefit it would be to them to kill Joseph.
Intercession is pictured in this story in the prevention of Joseph’s death. While most of the brothers wanted to take Joseph’s life, it was the intercession of Reuben and Judah that saved it. When Reuben heard of the plan, he knew it was unrighteous to go along. Knowing how terrible this would have been, Judah understood that it would not benefit either of them. Both brothers interceded in that they stopped a more severe plan of evil against Joseph, which was death. While Joseph still endured much hardship in that he was sold into slavery and was separated from his family, his life was still spared, and he did not face death. He went on to do more incredible things. He was even positioned later in life to help his family, including his betraying brothers, when they needed help the most.
We can take the same stance Reuben and Judah took many years ago. When you learn or hear of a severe plan of evil against someone, stop and pray against it. Do not ignore it by turning the other way; respond with prayer. In intercessory prayer, we can prevent a severe plan of evil from occurring in someone’s life. We know that physical death is just one of the threats we face that we can pray against. Other deathly threats we face include the death of marriages, relationships, destiny, callings, and hope, to name a few. The next time you “hear” of evil, take the time to stop and intercede that the plan of evil is averted and that God’s will of life will prevail over death.