Genesis 37:12-17

"And his brothers went to feed their father's flock in Shechem. And Israel said unto Joseph, Are not thy brethren feeding the flock in Shechem? come, and I will send thee unto them. And he said unto him, Here am I. And he said to him, Go now, see whether it is well with thy brethren, and well with the flock; and bring me word again. So he sent him out of the vale of Hebron, and he came to Shechem. And a certain man found him, and, behold, he was wandering in the field: and the man asked him, saying, What seekest thou? And he said, I am seeking my brethren: tell me, I pray thee, where they are feeding the flock. And the man said, They have departed hence; for I heard them say, Let us go to Dothan. And Joseph went after his brethren, and found them in Dothan."

"So he sent him out to the vale of Hebron," Neither Jacob nor Joseph could have realized that this would be "forever" as far as Joseph's ever living in Hebron again was concerned. Such a simple thing it was, and yet what permanent and far-reaching results came of it.

Shechem was about two days' journey from Hebron, and Dothan was some fifteen miles farther north. Thus it was probably on the third day, or possibly, even the fourth morning that Joseph actually came to his brothers.

With the appearance of Joseph, the long germinating seeds of hatred in Joseph's brothers, would spring forth bearing fruit. As James said, "Sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death" (James 1:15). Thus, our Lord equated hatred with murder, and thus it has ever been. All sinful thoughts and emotions are freighted with terrible and devastating potential, ever waiting for the right opportunity to reach the natural climax of evil.