Do Not Quarrel On the Way

Genesis 45:24 (ESV) Then he sent his brothers away, and as they departed, he said to them, “Do not quarrel on the way.”

This last command of Joseph concerning his brother's travels back to get their father and come with him to Egypt has a twinge of humor. He knows these guys. He understands they have been liars and deceivers for years. He knows they tend to look out for number one. So before they leave to go get dad one little admonishment is tossed out there: "Don't fight on your way back to dad."

Joseph knows they are going to have to come clean to dad. They are going to have to confess that the robe they dipped in blood out of jealousy was their doing. They are going to have to let him know that his preference for Joseph irritated them to no end. It's going to be tempting for them to go back to dad and start making excuses. Reuben would be able to tell how he wanted to save the boy. Judah will try to tell him how he stopped them from killing him and instead sold him. Judah will also be able to share how he was willing to take Benjamin's place.

These brothers had a lot of temptations to deal with on that long journey home. They don't want their lives to take a sudden wrong turn.

So do many Christians in our generation.

James tells us why we fight:
James 4:1–3 (ESV) What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? 2 You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.

You know what the root of our quarrels are? The idea that we won't get what we need or want. It's really fear. Perhaps the brothers feared what would happen when the told dad. Perhaps they feared suffering at his hands. Perhaps they just feared they would lose out on all the opportunities now suddenly afforded them in Egypt.

But in the Joseph story, the brothers had been confronted with the experience of getting what they did NOT deserve. They got grace. Joseph forgave them. Then Joseph gave them promises and protection. Then Pharaoh himself offered the best of the land.

What would they ever need or want?

The point is: There was no more reason to quarrel. They had plenty. They needed to rely on the promises of Joseph and trust that he would meet all their needs.

Is it any wonder that in Philippians 4, Paul opens by imploring two quarreling women to agree in the Lord and then Paul moves directly to not worrying and not fearing but taking our matters to God. Were these women quarreling over material goods and needs? We might assume that was just it. The point Paul makes is, you don't need to quarrel when the Lord is on your side. You have an advocate before the father. He's got your back.

And when that's the reality of our lives... there's really no need to fight.