“Then Reuben returned to the pit, and indeed Joseph was not in the pit; and he tore his clothes. (Reuben’s complete and utter brokenness over his failure to save Joseph’s life [verse 22: “that he might deliver him out of their hands,”] is deeply felt here. I am truly touched to note how consistently his character as a righteous older brother is reinforced within these few Scriptures, for let us not forget how difficult it must have been simply to express – despite his failure to actually execute a different outcome – his utter disdain for the brothers’ evil plot, in direct opposition to the stronghold of hatred that had already taken hold so firmly upon their minds. I can only imagine his deep grief – also in view of his understanding of the authority he wields as the eldest brother – at having failed young Joseph so bitterly. One almost wishes that he was already privy to the whole beautiful story that God is busy writing; able to appreciate its glorious ultimate end in the midst of his current, temporary torment. His pure intentions that oppose evil and hatred, however ineffectively applied, also serves to mirror the Christlike nature of our Ultimate Older Brother.) And he returned to his brothers and said, “The lad is no more; and I, where shall I go?” (Let us not forget that Reuben fully intended to bring Joseph back to his father unharmed [verse 22: “and bring him back to his father”] – this last phrase “where shall I go” is consequently an indication that he is at a loss for where to turn next as he simply cannot return to his father without Joseph, knowing how deeply the father had loved him 😢.) So they took Joseph’s tunic, killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the tunic in the blood. (It’s funny how the enemy is always at the ready to provide one with ample material for the deception inevitably required in an attempt to deter the consequences of sin – i.e. to effectively “get away with it” 😡. But recognise that an animal sacrifice is also unconsciously being made to satisfy God’s spiritual law for the atonement of this, the first grievous sin of “the tribes of Israel”.) Then they sent the tunic of many colours, (the concept of Joseph’s many spiritual gifts symbolised by the coat of many colours, though now cruelly subdued [literally taken from him by force as it were] for a season, is reiterated again and again throughout the Scriptures – a stark manifest reminder that the purposes of God shall be fulfilled through Joseph, whatever small victories the enemy seemingly achieves along the way) and they brought it to their father and said, “We have found this. Do you know whether it is your son’s tunic or not?” (I have to admit that I personally find the calculatedly deceitful feigning of ignorance here particularly deplorable.)     

“²⁹Then Reuben returned to the pit, and indeed Joseph was not in the pit; and he tore his clothes. ³⁰And he returned to his brothers and said, “The lad is no more; and I, where shall I go?”

³¹So they took Joseph’s tunic, killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the tunic in the blood. ³²Then they sent the tunic of many colours, and they brought it to their father and said, “We have found this. Do you know whether it is your son’s tunic or not?”

– Genesis 37:29-32 (NKJV)