A God in Control
Mike Jones
Pit, Prison, Palace: The Journeys of Joseph • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 50:26
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Has life ever been unfair to you? We probably all have had some instances in life that just did not seem fair to us at all. You may have missed out on a promotion at work, not because you didn't deserve it, but because despite the fact that you were the better qualified candidate, someone else was the bosses friend or family member.
Perhaps on you baseball team, you were the best pitcher for that team, but since the coach had a son that wanted to pitch, he took the mound every game and you served only as a backup.
Things in life are certainly not always fair. In fact, I would dare say that most of the time, life is not fair. But I want you to remember as we study the life of a young man and follow him until his death, as we see that so many things that happened to him were unfair, that God is still in control. Back in July of last year, we went through a five week series hitting on some of the major attributes of God. In it we discussed in depth that God is trustworthy. One of the reasons He is trustworthy is because He remains always in control even when we cannot see Him. We will observe this in as we study the life of Joseph.
A couple weeks ago we finished our series called EPIC in which we studied the lives of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. These men are referred to as the Patriarchs of the nation of Israel because from that specific line, we see God form the nation of Israel.
We also saw how Israel as a nation got it's name. Jacob, the son of Isaac and grandson of Abraham, had an encounter with God in which God changed his name from Jacob, meaning supplanter or deceiver, to Israel, one who has power with God or one who is controlled by God. God also gives him a title of "prince with God." So as we continue the study through the book of Genesis, you will notice that Jacob is at times called Jacob, and in other instances he is called Israel.
Today we switch focus away from Jacob as we begin a new series that covers the life of Joseph, Jacob's second youngest son. If you remember, the Bible tells us that Jacob has 2 wives, Leah and Rachel who each have a servant, Zilpah and Bilhah, respectively, and they also become wives of Jacob. If you want to read about this really odd situation Jacob has stepped into, read chapters 29 and 30. Jacob has children with all four women, but his favorite wife is Rachel. Rachel's firstborn son is named Joseph, and Joseph ends up being the second youngest son of all of Jacob's children. After the family settles back down in Canaan, Rachel dies giving birth to Jacob's youngest son, Benjamin. This brings the total of recorded children for Jacob to 12 boys and 1 girl.
Like I said, as we enter chapter 37 of the book of Genesis, focus now shifts away from Jacob and we begin to look at the life of Joseph in this new series Pit, Prison, Palace: The Journeys of Joseph.
We pick up this morning where we left off a couple of weeks ago with Jacob and his family now finally following God's direction, living in the areas of Canaan where God has instructed them to go. Isaac has died, Jacob and his brother Esau bury Isaac, Esau goes back to live in Mt. Seir, where his descendants become known as the Edomites, and Jacob continues dwelling in Canaan, his descendants will become known by his new name, the Israelites.
As you turn to Genesis chapter 37 and we start to read and study about the life of Joseph, there are a couple things that will stand out to you as we progress through the story over the next couple of months.
1. This is a dramatic story! There are issues of jealousy, hatred, and sadness. We will follow the life journey of a boy of about 17 years old from being the favored son of his father, to being enslaved by travelling merchants, taken out of his country and sold to the Egyptians. We will watch Joseph, as he is still a slave, rise to become the head steward of a powerful household, and then watch as a single lie from a covetous woman causes that world to crumble as Joseph is thrown unjustly into prison. The journey does not stop for Joseph there, however. We will be able to see how he gains the trust of the jailers, and his reputation, even in prison, is of someone who has extreme wisdom. This reputation will gain him audience with the king of Egypt, the Pharaoh, and we will see that because of that meeting, Joseph is elevated from lowly prisoner to the highest position of power under the Pharaoh of Egypt. It is a story that keeps you on the edge of your seat. If you will let it, and I hope you do, it will draw you in; your imagination will put you as a third party observer of the events as we unfold them, and you will observe Joseph from your mind's eye each step of the way.
2. But not only is it a dramatic piece of literature, but as we dive deeper into the story itself, find that we can see that the life of Joseph deals with a great many moral dilemmas. We encounter examples of how to overcome a dysfunctional family, dealing with the death of a parent, rising above bitterness, how to deal with sexual temptation, forgiving others who have hurt us deeply, being lonely, integrity and loyalty in the workplace, how to handle failure and how to handle success, and leaving a legacy for your family. And as we read through the life of Joseph, if you will allow it to draw you in, you will begin to look at your life situations from a different perspective.
3. The Bible tells us in Romans 15 that the things that are written in the Old Testament were written "for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope." When we started out in Genesis chapter 1 back in September, we discussed the importance of studying this particular book because it is often referred to as the "seedbed of Bible doctrine." Every doctrine found in the Bible exists in the book of Genesis in its smallest form. The rest of the Bible expounds upon and develops those doctrines and teachings for us. As we study the life of Joseph, we will find that much about the character of God is revealed to us. We will study the sovereignty of God (something that we will discuss today), the mercy and grace of God. We will learn about the omnipresence of God, just like we saw in Jacob's life, God was not a God just of Canaan, but He is God everywhere. So I hope that you will develop a hunger to know Joseph because the more you know the story of Joseph, the more you will come to know the character of our God.
But the most important thing for Christians in the story of Joseph is this next thing we will be able to observe. Pastor and theologian Warren Wiersbe said this about Joseph: "Joseph is one of the richest illustrations of Jesus Christ found in the Old Testament. Joseph is like Jesus in that he was beloved by his father and obedient to his will; hated and rejected by his own brethren and sold as a slave; falsely accused and unjustly punished; finally elevated from the place of suffering to a powerful throne, thus saving his people from death. The major difference, of course, is that Joseph was only reported to be dead, while Jesus Christ did give His life on the cross and was raised from the dead in order to
save us."
So as we enter the account of Joseph's life, I would ask that you enter it with a fresh set of eyes. Don't let familiarity with the story breed contempt for listening to it once more; don't let that familiarity give you a sense of complacency. As we begin to read, put yourself in the story.
So, I will ask you, be the cameraman that is following Joseph along this journey, documenting his life.
Genesis 37:1- 4 And Jacob dwelt in the land wherein his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan. 2 These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren; and the lad was with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives: and Joseph brought unto his father their evil report. 3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colours. 4 And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him.
Right off the bat, as the camera operators and documenters of Joseph's life, we enter into a family setting that is far from ideal. In fact, we can tell very quickly, even as we are introduced to the family, before we even start recording anything, we can tell that we are in a very destructive family setting.
We've seen what favoritism does in the lives of Sarah, Isaac, and even in Jacob in his younger years. But now, we see it again here.
Genesis 37 unfolds the destructive dynamic of a family that knew God but sinned against Him and each other by what they said and did. Surely, these brothers that could not stand the sight of Joseph thought that Joseph was the source of their problems. But Joseph's presence in the family did not create problems, it simply revealed them.
The destructive forces that we observe in this family are readily seen. There is hatred at work. This hatred has been brought about by envy. The envy has set in because of the obvious favoritism that Jacob shows toward Joseph, the oldest son of his favorite wife. Joseph is treated with higher favor than the oldest son, Reuben, who, if there were to be any favored sons, should have been him because he would naturally hold the birthright and the burden of that responsibility.
But Jacob loves Joseph more, and he isn't subtle about it. He makes Joseph a coat of many colors, something that he has not done with the other brothers. In a family of twelve brothers, Joseph being one of the youngest and probably as a result of the favoritism showed to him, brings to his father the "evil reports" of his brothers. Joseph is a tattletale. We don't know what those evil reports were, but we have already seen that Reuben was a rebel who had dishonored his father by sleeping with one of the servant wives of Jacob, Simeon and Levi had slaughtered all the men of an entire region in vengeance, and we will see later just the level of hatred that they had toward Joseph. So likely, these offenses that Joseph was telling his father were not minor like, "Naphtali pushed me, and when I told him to stop he said, 'Shut up.'" They were probably more serious things he was relaying to his father.
To make matters worse for himself, Joseph has some odd dreams. Genesis 37:5 And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and they hated him yet the more.
Joseph dreams a dream that he and his brothers have harvested wheat and tied them in bundles, or sheaves. Joseph dreamed that his sheaf stood upright and that the sheaves that his brothers had tied together were all bowing to his own. He tells this dream to his brothers, and they respond like any older brother would: "Oh, sure! Like you are ever going to be in a position to rule over us where we have to bow down to you!" But this just irritated them more, and their hatred for Joseph increases.
Joseph has another dream, and he decides to tell his whole family again. He dreams that he is a star in the sky along with his brothers. His father is the sun and his mother is the moon. In his dream, he notices that at one point, all the other stars and both the sun and the moon are bowing themselves to him.
Can you imagine being a cameraman around the breakfast table as your filming the next episode of Keeping Up With the Israelites? As soon as Joseph excitedly exclaims, "Hey, guess what I dreamed last night," you would probably be thinking to yourself, "Shut up, shut up, shut up. This is not going to end well for you Joseph. Just keep your mouth shut!"
But he doesn't, and it does not end well for him. This time, Joseph is so audacious in sharing this wild dream that even his dad gets on to him. But privately, Jacob begins to ponder the dream and what it may mean. His brothers, meanwhile, just grow more envious of Joseph.
Their comes a day when the older ten go out to feed sheep, and Jacob sends Joseph to check on them. Joseph goes to where they are supposed to be but doesn't find them there. He begins to wander around and encounters a man who overheard that they had gone somewhere else.
Genesis 37:17-20 And the man said, They are departed hence; for I heard them say, Let us go to Dothan. And Joseph went after his brethren, and found them in Dothan. 18 And when they saw him afar off, even before he came near unto them, they conspired against him to slay him. 19 And they said one to another, Behold, this dreamer cometh. 20 Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into some pit, and we will say, Some evil beast hath devoured him: and we shall see what will become of his dreams.
They start to plan all this out as they see Joseph approach, coat of many colors giving away his identity from a distance.
"This dreamer," they say. "Here comes the dreamer. You know, if we kill him, we won't have to listen to any more of his dreams at breakfast any more. Also, it's kind of hard for a dead brother to tell dad what we are doing." They all agree and let their hatred lead to thoughts of violence as they plan the murder and subsequent cover up.
All except for one.
Genesis 37:21-22 And Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands; and said, Let us not kill him. 22 And Reuben said unto them, Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit that is in the wilderness, and lay no hand upon him; that he might rid him out of their hands, to deliver him to his father again.
Reuben, the oldest, would have been the one responsible for the brother's actions in the absence of their father. So Reuben, who also hates Joseph, approaches the conversation with a little more caution. He suggest that the brothers just cast Joseph into a pit. Secretly, he is starting to plan how he can save his brother's life and get him back home safely.
So the other brothers agree and look what happens next.
Genesis 37:23-25a And it came to pass, when Joseph was come unto his brethren, that they stript Joseph out of his coat, his coat of many colours that was on him; 24 And they took him, and cast him into a pit: and the pit was empty, there was no water in it. 25 And they sat down to eat bread:
When Joseph arrives, his brothers gang up on him, take the coat of many colors off of him, and throw him into a pit that may have at one time served as water storage. Later, in chapter 42, we see that as Joseph is in this pit, he is crying out in anguish. Can you imagine being there? Hearing Joseph crying out, "Why?! What did I do? Let me out! Simeon, Gad, Naphtali, Reuben, someone! Please get me out of here!"
Are the brother's moved by his cries? No. Instead, they sit down and start to eat lunch, all the while, Joseph is crying out and pleading to them from the pit. What cruelty!
Sometime during this time, Reuben leaves the area, presumably to think of a way to help Joseph escape from the hatred of his brothers. And while the oldest brother is gone, the others notice some merchants going by.
Genesis 37:25-28 And they sat down to eat bread: and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and, behold, a company of Ishmeelites came from Gilead with their camels bearing spicery and balm and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt. 26 And Judah said unto his brethren, What profit is it if we slay our brother, and conceal his blood? 27 Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmeelites, and let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother and our flesh. And his brethren were content. 28 Then there passed by Midianites merchantmen; and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmeelites for twenty pieces of silver: and they brought Joseph into Egypt.
Joseph is sold to these merchants. There are a couple of thoughts as to what actually happened here because of the wording. Ishmaelites and Midianites were not of the same bloodline. Ishmaelites came from Abraham and Hagar's son Ishmael, and the Midianites came from Abraham's and his second wife Keturah's son Midian.
Some sources say that traders were referred to as Ishmaelites regardless of their nationality because the descendants of Ishmael were known to be merchants. This would account for the variations in what they are called in this passage.
Others believe that Joseph was first sold to Midianites, and that they, in turn, sold him to the Ishmaelites either acting as middlemen to Joseph's brothers or in a sale of their own.
After this all occurs, Reuben returns to the pit. Genesis 37:29-35 And Reuben returned unto the pit; and, behold, Joseph was not in the pit; and he rent his clothes. 30 And he returned unto his brethren, and said, The child is not; and I, whither shall I go? 31 And they took Joseph's coat, and killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the coat in the blood; 32 And they sent the coat of many colours, and they brought it to their father; and said, This have we found: know now whether it be thy son's coat or no. 33 And he knew it, and said, It is my son's coat; an evil beast hath devoured him; Joseph is without doubt rent in pieces. 34 And Jacob rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days. 35 And all his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted; and he said, For I will go down into the grave unto my son mourning. Thus his father wept for him.
Reuben comes back, worried about what will happen to him when they go back home and Joseph is not with them. The ten brothers then proceed on their original cover-up plan: rip the coat up, dip it in blood, and claim that he must have been killed by wild animals.
When Jacob here's this lie and sees the evidence of of it, he is inconsolable.
What a beginning to a story! As we have read this, this may have stirred up some emotions within you: frustration at Jacob for still not learning that favoritism within the family is destructive; anger at the brothers for the deep hatred they hold against Joseph; disbelief that grown men could treat a teen like this; more anger at the audacity of the brothers to lie to their father and carelessly break his heart, making him believe that his son is dead.
What about Joseph though? What happens to him?
Genesis 37:36 And the Midianites sold him into Egypt unto Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh's, and captain of the guard.
Joseph is taken to Egypt. In Egypt, Potiphar, the captain of the Pharaoh's royal guard, purchases Joseph and he becomes a household slave. This is how our episode ends today. What awaits Joseph in this land of Egypt? What customs and traditions will he have to encounter and adapt to as a stranger in a land that has a bad reputation among his family? How will he be received in Egypt by a people that think that it is a dishonor to even share a table with a Hebrew?
What kind of a future awaits Joseph as a slave in Egypt?
Well, tune in next week to find out. Same bat-time, same bat-channel.
But right now, there is an application for us. We will deal with it more in depth during our Life Group time. I had mentioned earlier that today we would be seeing God's sovereignty, His control over everything. Though God is not mentioned in this chapter, once you know what happens later with Joseph, you see God's hand actively moving.
Their are some things that happen that are too coincidental to be simply coincidences. I've heard it said this way: They are designed coincidences.
Let me put it this way; there are probably tings in your life that you may have at one point chalked up to coincidence at the time, but when you look back now, you can clearly see the hand of God moving so that events would transpire in a certain way for a certain reason. We see this in Joseph's life quite a bit, and this first chapter of his journeys is no different.
1. Jacob sends Joseph to search for his brothers. They are not where they are supposed to be.
2. But it just so happens that as Joseph is walking around in a random field, he runs into a man that just so happens to have overheard the brothers' conversation about where they were going.
3. Once Joseph arrives at the place hi brothers are, it just so happens that Reuben is with the rest of the brothers that want to kill him. And it just happens that Reuben does not agree to the plan and convinces his brothers to not kill Joseph.
4. Instead, the brothers throw Joseph in a pit that they just happen to be near.
5. Reuben, at this point, happens to leave the group for a little while, and it just so happens that while he is gone, merchants that also deal in slaves come by. The brothers decide to sell Joseph. Reuben is there to prevent Joseph from being killed, but not to prevent the others from selling Joseph into slavery.
6. These salvers just so happen to be on their way to Egypt.
7. And it just so happens that Joseph is sold to a very prominent and influential man in Egypt.
You know what you see there? God's hand, God's hand, God's hand.
"God's hand?" you might ask. But yes. These things seem cruel and harsh. How could it possibly be God's hand?
You see, had just one of these things gone any differently, everyone in Jacob's family dies.
Joseph would have never left Jacob's side of his own will, but unless Joseph ends up in Egypt, Jacob's whole family dies. So God uses awful circumstances to get Joseph into Egypt. Did God condone the anger and hatred that Joseph's brothers had toward him? No. Was God in agreement with Jacob in showing favoritism and more love toward one child and disdain toward the others? No. Was God OK with the murderous feelings that nine of Josephs older brothers had toward him? No
Does God condone men selling their own family members into slavery out of envy, spite, hatred, bitterness, and selfishness? Absolutely not!!
But what others meant for evil, God was able to use for good. God is going to save this family that seems to be bent on destroying themselves by wielding His enormous power over circumstances that no one could have ever imagined.
God's love for you and His plan to bless your life is completely compatible with terrible things that may happen in your life.
Just because you are in a pit does not mean that God has abandoned you. It may seem to you that you are in your darkest hour, but God still is in control. He has not lost an iota of power, and He is still trustworthy. God will work out all things together for the good of those that love Him and are called according to His purpose.
Invitation:
Maybe you are here this morning and it seems like you are in the pit of despair. You may have fallen in or you may feel like you have been cast in by those around you. Either way, God is still in control. It may seem difficult right now to think this way, but facts and faith will destroy fear even in awful situations. We have faith in God and in the fact that He remains in control. He has a plan for you to be blessed and to be a blessing to others. Others may mean something for evil, but God can and does work things out for good if we will simply trust Him.
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Life Groups: Genesis 37
Joseph was treated unfairly by his brothers. He did nothing to become the favorite son of Jacob except be born. The hatred and disdain that the other brothers had toward him was a reflection of the contempt in which they held their father for favoring Joseph in the way he did.
When was the last time something unfair happened to you?
When things go unfairly for you, how do you typically respond?
Too many times we try to declare that we are sovereign. We make decisions and try to control situations without ever even thinking about what God would want.
We know that Joseph is a young man that relies upon the Lord and fears God. This is seen shortly after these events. After Jacob's death, in a serious conversation with his brothers, Joseph makes a statement that reveals his ongoing trust in God.
Genesis 50:19-20
1. Joseph realized he was not God and therefore not in control. Despite the continuing unfair situations in his life, he had to learn to rely on the Lord that was in absolute control of all.
2. He understood that what others may mean for our destruction, God can and will use for our good if we will trust Him. Roman 8:28
3. He understood that by following God faithfully, it blessed him and it blessed others.
Throughout the story of Joseph, we will find a characteristic about Joseph. The thing that stands out about him is that he is prosperous. The story definitely doesn't start off this way, but prosperity does come to Joseph, and God makes a point that we know that it is because of the Lord.
Joseph is what I like to call a "Psalm 1" person. Psalm 1:1-3 1 Blessed is the man
that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly,
nor standeth in the way of sinners,
nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD;
and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water,
that bringeth forth his fruit in his season;
his leaf also shall not wither;
and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
What characteristics do we see in the blessed and prosperous person? He is careful with the company he keeps; loves God and God's law; thinks about God's law continually (let's it impact his life)
Throughout Joseph's life, he is blessed and prospered by the Lord. He allowed God to make an impact in his life, and allowed God to continue to do that throughout his life in a pagan culture.
This all started by Joseph understanding that God is in control.
If we hope to be an impact to those around us for the gospel, we have to understand that God is in complete control. We can't be fair-weather-disciples. We must follow and submit to Him in every circumstance.
