The Sovereignty of a Straight Line to Dothan Text: Genesis 37:12-17
Introduction: No Random Encounters
We live in a world that worships at the altar of chance. Modern man, in his rebellion against the throne of God, insists that history is a series of fortunate or unfortunate accidents, a chaotic jumble of random events signifying nothing. He wants a universe where he is the master, where his choices are ultimate, and where no one is pulling the strings behind the curtain. But the Scriptures present us with a radically different reality. In God's world, there are no coincidences. There are no stray molecules, no maverick moments, no random encounters in a field. Every event, from the falling of a sparrow to the rising of an empire, is meticulously woven into the grand tapestry of His sovereign purpose.
This is a hard truth for many, because it means that God is sovereign not just over the good things, the sunny days and the unexpected blessings, but also over the dark things, the betrayals, the injustices, and the sins of men. Our text today is a master class in this very doctrine. On the surface, it is a simple, almost mundane story. A father sends his favorite son on an errand to check on his brothers. The boy gets a little lost, asks for directions, and gets back on track. It is the kind of thing that could happen to anyone. But underneath this placid surface of ordinary events, the tectonic plates of redemptive history are shifting. God is moving His pieces on the board, and He is using envy, paternal foolishness, youthful obedience, and a chance meeting with a stranger to do it.
The story of Joseph is the story of God writing straight with crooked lines. It is the story of how God takes the most wicked intentions of men and bends them to accomplish the most glorious outcomes. As we will see, Joseph's journey to Dothan was not a detour or an accident. It was the divinely ordained path that led directly to the pit, to the prison, and ultimately to the palace, all for the salvation of God's covenant people. And if God is this meticulous in the details of Joseph's life, we can be confident that He is no less meticulous in ours.
The Text
Then his brothers went to pasture their father’s flock in Shechem. And Israel said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers pasturing the flock in Shechem? Come, and I will send you to them.” And he said to him, “I will go.” Then he said to him, “Go now and see about the welfare of your brothers and the welfare of the flock, and bring word back to me.” So he sent him from the valley of Hebron, and he came to Shechem. And a man found him, and behold, he was wandering in the field; and the man asked him, “What are you seeking?” And he said, “I am seeking my brothers; please tell me where they are pasturing the flock.” Then the man said, “They have journeyed from here; for I heard them saying, ‘Let us go to Dothan.’ ” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan.
(Genesis 37:12-17 LSB)
The Father's Sending (v. 12-14)
The scene opens with a deceptive calm, a simple domestic assignment.
"Then his brothers went to pasture their father’s flock in Shechem. And Israel said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers pasturing the flock in Shechem? Come, and I will send you to them.” And he said to him, “I will go.” Then he said to him, “Go now and see about the welfare of your brothers and the welfare of the flock, and bring word back to me.” So he sent him from the valley of Hebron, and he came to Shechem." (Genesis 37:12-14)
First, notice the location. The brothers are in Shechem. This is not a neutral place. Shechem was the place where their sister Dinah was defiled, and where Simeon and Levi enacted their bloody, deceitful vengeance (Genesis 34). It is a place stained with the family's sin and violence. Sending the beloved son, the one they already hate for his dreams and his coat, into this particular environment is, at best, tone-deaf and, at worst, breathtakingly foolish on Jacob's part. The patriarch's favoritism, which lit the fuse of this conflict, now provides the very means for the explosion.
Jacob, here called Israel, sends Joseph on a mission of peace. "See about the welfare of your brothers." The Hebrew word is shalom. Jacob wants a report on their peace, their well-being. The irony is thick enough to cut with a knife. He sends the son of his love to check on the shalom of those who have no shalom for him in their hearts. Their minds are filled with envy and murder, and Jacob sends Joseph to them as a lamb to the slaughter.
And what is Joseph's response? "I will go." The Hebrew is one word: Hineni. "Here I am." It is the same word of readiness and submission used by Abraham when God called him to sacrifice Isaac (Gen. 22:1) and by Isaiah when the Lord called for a prophet (Is. 6:8). Joseph's simple obedience stands in stark contrast to the simmering rebellion of his brothers. In this, he is a magnificent type of Christ. The Father sends the beloved Son to seek the welfare of His brethren, and the Son, in perfect obedience, says, "Lo, I have come to do Your will, O God" (Hebrews 10:7). He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.
The Divine Appointment (v. 15-16)
Joseph arrives at Shechem, but his brothers are not there. He is now off-course, wandering. From a human perspective, the plan has hit a snag. But from the divine perspective, the plan is perfectly on schedule.
"And a man found him, and behold, he was wandering in the field; and the man asked him, “What are you seeking?” And he said, “I am seeking my brothers; please tell me where they are pasturing the flock.”" (Genesis 37:15-16 LSB)
Here we have one of the most significant anonymous characters in all of Scripture. "A man found him." Who was this man? Was he an angel? The text doesn't say, and it doesn't matter. What matters is that he was exactly where God needed him to be, at exactly the right time, to ask exactly the right question. This is the engine room of divine providence. God governs the world not primarily through thunderbolts and parting seas, but through ordinary people and mundane conversations that redirect the course of history. This man was a secondary cause, freely doing what he chose to do, and yet he was an instrument in the hands of the primary cause, the sovereign God, who had ordained this meeting from eternity.
The man's question is the central question of the narrative: "What are you seeking?" Joseph's answer is heartbreaking in its sincerity and naivete: "I am seeking my brothers." He seeks fellowship, reconciliation, and shalom. He is the seeker. They, on the other hand, are the conspirators. He is looking for them in order to bless them with a good report, while they are looking for him in order to destroy him. This is the antithesis, the great divide between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent, played out in one family. It is the story of Cain and Abel all over again. And it is the story of Christ and Israel. Jesus came seeking His brothers, the lost sheep of Israel, and they are the ones who cried out, "Crucify Him!"
The Final Leg of the Journey (v. 17)
The anonymous man provides the final, crucial piece of information that seals Joseph's fate.
"Then the man said, “They have journeyed from here; for I heard them saying, ‘Let us go to Dothan.’ ” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan." (Genesis 37:17 LSB)
The man gives a simple, helpful answer. He overheard something, and he passes it along. He has no idea that his words are the final push that sends the beloved son into the hands of his betrayers. He doesn't know he is an agent of God's vast, intricate plan. He just knows they went to Dothan. And so Joseph, diligent and obedient to the end, goes after them and finds them there. Dothan. The name means "two wells" or "double cistern." It is here, at the place of the pit, that the brothers' hatred will finally boil over.
God wanted this confrontation to happen. And He wanted it to happen at Dothan. He moved the brothers from Shechem to Dothan. He moved Joseph from Hebron to Shechem. And when Joseph was wandering, threatening to miss his divine appointment, God placed a man in the field to give him a course correction. Every step was guided. The sinful choices of the brothers to hate, the foolish choice of the father to send, the obedient choice of the son to go, and the helpful choice of the stranger to direct, all of it was orchestrated by the unseen hand of God to bring Joseph to Dothan. God did not approve of the brothers' sin, but He absolutely ordained that it would be the instrument He would use for His glory. As Joseph would later say to them, "You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good" (Genesis 50:20).
Conclusion: Our Dothan Road
This little story is far more than a historical account of a dysfunctional family. It is a paradigm for understanding how God works in the world and in our lives. We are all on a road, and sometimes we find ourselves, like Joseph, wandering in a field. We are confused, we have lost the path, and we do not know where to go. We are seeking something, but we are not sure where to find it.
In those moments, we must remember the man in the field. We must remember that God's providence is not absent when we feel lost. In fact, it is often most active. He places people and circumstances in our path, seemingly at random, to ask us what we are seeking and to point us in the right direction. And sometimes, that direction is Dothan. Sometimes the path of obedience leads directly into a pit of suffering, betrayal, and injustice.
But Dothan is never the end of the story for the child of God. The pit is not the final destination. For Joseph, the road from Dothan led to the right hand of Pharaoh and the salvation of nations. For the greater Joseph, Jesus Christ, the road led to a cross at Golgotha and a tomb outside the city. His brothers, whom He came to seek, betrayed Him for pieces of silver. They cast Him into the ultimate pit of death. But God meant it for good. He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His own right hand, making Him the savior of the world.
Your life is not a series of random events. Your sufferings are not meaningless. The betrayals you endure are not outside of God's control. He is the one who directs your steps. He is the one who places men in your field. And even when the road He sends you on leads to Dothan, you can trust that it is the right road. For it is the road of the beloved Son, and it is the only road that leads, ultimately, to resurrection, glory, and a throne.