Pit To The Palace Series

Life of Joseph Series; Trials

Genesis chapter 37

Introduction-

This morning we start a series called the life of Joseph.

Most people know little about Joseph, they don’t know how many different things happened to him, both good and bad and how and why he became the person who saves a nation from starvation.

There are life lessons that we can learn from Joseph.

God takes over 13 chapters in the book of Genesis to talk about Joseph life and his trials. You think that he wants us to know about Joseph?

So we don’t attempt to read chapters of Scripture this morning, let me set this up and get to the text.

There are two main Josephs talked about in the Bible.

Joseph the son of Jacob, the young shepherd boy who was abused and became Egypt’s palace leader.

Joseph the man pledged to be married to the Virgin Mary who bore Jesus Christ. The one who had the awesome responsibility o f raising the Son of God.

Talk about parenting skills being tested.

This goes to show you that you think you have it hard, there is always someone that has it worse.

How many have heard of the school of hard knocks? How many feel they have graduated from school of hard knocks?

1. The school of hard knocks can be summed up by saying that you learn everything the hard way. Easy way and hard way- you learned everything the hard way by your choice.

2. If we were smart, we would learn lessons by learning from other people’s mistakes and not doing them ourselves. It is less painful that way.

3. God’s Word is full of good and bad experiences that people have gone through. Wisdom comes by avoiding the bad ones if we can and applying the good ones to our lives.

Both Jesus and Joseph teach us godly character and integrity. We can learn something this morning. Amen.

There is a lot of symbolism and reference back to Jesus in the life of Joseph because of his humiliation to exaltation.

Both Jesus and Joseph were tried and tested by events that could have left them bitter or angry. Instead both had a close relationship with God in which they stayed steadfast, regardless of undeserved trials they were forced to endure.

Shepherd Joseph the 17 year old teenager was the 11th son of Jacob. Ten older brothers- Anyone relate to that? I cannot image.

Large family where if you missed supper, I bet there was nothing left. Snooze you lose.

Ten older brothers, he never owned a new pair of pants, everything was hand me downs.

We will see in a minute why Joseph was so excited to get a new coat from his father.

The story starts in Genesis chapter 37

Joseph is in the field with all his brothers tending sheep and he goes back to his father to tell him how mean his brothers are being to him.

He is being a tattle tale- he is trying to get his brothers in trouble for wronging him.

We see in Scripture that Jacob had a soft spot for Joseph because he was the son with Rachel who he had at an old age and from a woman who had been barren and bore him a child.

He makes him a coat of many colors- his own coat, not a hand me down but something special that his father made just for him.

His brothers had already hated him for tattling- already mad to see that their father showed favoritism to the youngest son.

Chapter 37:4- “when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him.”

Then Joseph receives two dreams from the Lord and he is excited to share it with his family.

I don’t think that Joseph wanted to show off or belittle his family. I believe he was genuinely excited that he had heard from God and wanted to tell them what was said. MAYBE- pride was sneaking in- that is the way pride works. That is why is always best to include all people involved in a project that you are doing for God. It keeps us humble and will lift up other workers involved.

He shares the first one with his brothers and tells them that he dreamt that they were all in field binding sheaves of grain when his sheaf arose and stood upright, while their sheaves gathered around him and bowed down. They hated him for that. MAYBE PRIDE SNUCK IN.

He shares the second dream with his father and brothers and the father rebukes him and says do you think that your mother and I and your brothers will bow down to you- The brothers hated him the more and the father dismissed it. MAYBE PRIDE SNUCK IN- each time he tells it , more people are worshipping him instead of God.