In Genesis 37 we are introduced to a young man named Joseph. Joseph lived a charmed life. His father—who was a very rich man—loved Joseph more than any of his other sons. He had everything a teenager could want: a huge allowance, the latest brand name sandals, the fastest camel money could buy. But his most prized possession was a robe given to him by his father. It was no ordinary robe. It was a very expensive and extremely rare robe. Every time Joseph rode through town, people would stare at his “coat of many colors.”
Joseph had ten older brothers, and you can imagine how jealous they were of him. One day their hatred for Joseph reached an all-time high. He told them about a dream he had the night before. He said, “We were out in the field tying up bundles of grain. My bundle stood up, and then your bundles all gathered around and bowed down before it!” Perhaps it was foolish for Joseph to mention his dream. Maybe he should have kept quiet. But he didn’t. His brothers taunted him, “So you are going to be our king, are you?”
Soon after this, Joseph’s brothers went to pasture their father’s flocks at Shechem. When they had been gone for some time, Jacob sent Joseph to check up on his sons. When Joseph’s brothers saw him coming in the distance, one of them said, “Here comes that dreamer! Let’s kill him and throw him into a pit. We can our father that a wild animal has eaten him. Then we’ll see what becomes of his dreams!”
But Reuben, the oldest brother, came to Joseph’s rescue. “Let’s not kill him,” he said. “Why should we shed his blood? Let’s just throw him alive into this pit here. That way he will die without our having to touch him.” Actually, Reuben was secretly planning to help Joseph escape.
So when Joseph arrived, they pulled off his beautiful robe and threw him into the pit. Just as they were sitting down to eat, they noticed a caravan coming their way. It was a group of Ishmaelite traders traveling to Egypt. A brother named Judah said to the others, “What can we gain by killing our brother? Let’s sell Joseph to those traders.” His brothers agreed. So when the traders came by, his brothers pulled Joseph out of the pit and sold him for twenty pieces of silver.
What a difference a day makes! On his way to finding his brothers, he was dreaming about attending Canaan College in the fall. He was going to major in livestock trading. He was hoping to star on football team. Now those dreams were shattered. Joseph was on his way to Egypt to be a slave.
Genesis 39:2 says, “The LORD was with Joseph.” You might be thinking, “If the Lord was with him, why did He allow such a terrible thing to happen to Joseph?” Joseph may have struggled with the same question. Little did he know that God, in His perfect wisdom, would turn this “bad” thing into something great for Joseph.
Definition: God always chooses the best goals and the best means to those goals. In other words, God makes no mistakes.
God’s wisdom is seen:
1. In CREATION
“How many are your works, O LORD! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures” (Psalm 104:24).
Consider the wisdom of God in His creation of the human body:
• The average human heart pumps over one thousand gallons a day, over 55 million gallons in a lifetime. This is enough to fill 13 super tankers. It never sleeps, beating 2.5 billion times in a lifetime.
• The lungs contain one thousand miles of capillaries. The process of exchanging oxygen for carbon dioxide is so complicated that “it is more difficult to exchange O2 for CO2 than for a man shot out of a cannon to carve the Lord’s Prayer on the head of a pin as he passes by.”
• DNA contains about two thousand genes per chromosome—1.8 meters of DNA are folded into each cell nucleus. A nucleus is six microns long. This is like putting 30 miles of fishing line into a cherry pit. And it isn’t simply stuffed in. It is folded in. If folded one way, the cell becomes a skin cell. If another way, a liver cell, and so forth. To write out the information in one cell would take three hundred volumes, each volume five hundred pages thick. The human body contains enough DNA that if it were stretched out, it would circle the sun 260 times.
• The body uses energy efficiently. If an average adult rides a bike for one hour at ten miles an hour, it uses the amount of energy contained in three ounces of carbohydrate. If a car were this efficient, it would get nine hundred miles to the gallon (Source: Perfect Illustrations for Every Topic and Occasion, pp. 135-136).
2. In the plan of SALVATION
“But we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength” (1 Corinthians 1:23-25).
3. In our individual LIVES
The Big Idea: God is infinitely wise and we are not. It pleases Him when we trust His wisdom even when we don’t understand what He is doing.
“Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!” (Romans 11:33).
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5).
Example: Joseph (Genesis 37, 39-41, 50)
When Joseph arrived in Egypt, he was purchased by a man named Potiphar, a member of Pharaoh’s personal staff. The Lord blessed Joseph greatly as he served in the home of his Egyptian master. Joseph soon became a favorite of Potiphar’s. He put Joseph in charge of his entire household and entrusted with him all his business dealings.
Now you might be thinking, “Aha, I see what God’s good purpose for Joseph was in Egypt. He brought him there to have a great position in Potiphar’s house.” Well, not exactly. God certainly did bless Joseph while he was with Potiphar, but He has something far better in mind for Joseph. And Joseph must lose all he has now, before he gets to where God finally wants him.
Joseph was a very handsome and well-built young man. And Potiphar’s wife began to desire him. Day after day, she asked him to sleep with her, but he always refused. He tried to keep out of her way as much as possible. But one day, when no one else was around, she grabbed him by his cloak. Joseph tore away, but as he did, his cloak came off. She was left holding it as he ran away.
She kept the cloak with her, and when her husband arrived home that night, she told him, “That Hebrew slave you’ve had around here tried to make a fool of me. I was saved only by my screams. He ran out, leaving his cloak behind!” After hearing his wife’s story, Potiphar was furious! He threw Joseph in prison. Again, it seems as though Joseph’s life has taken a tragic turn for the worse. But what seems bad at the moment will be used for good.
The Lord was with Joseph in prison too. The jailor quickly recognized Joseph’s ability and put him in charge of all the other prisoners and over everything that happened in the prison. Some time later, Pharaoh’s chief cup-bearer was put in the prison where Joseph was. One night the cup-bearer had a dream, and the next morning Joseph noticed the dejected look on his face. “Why do you look so worried today?” he asked. The cup-bearer replied, “I had a dream last night, but there is no one here to tell me what it means.” “Tell me what you saw,” Joseph said.
“In my dream,” the cup-bearer said, “I saw a vine in front of me. It had three branches that began to bud and blossom, and soon there were clusters of grapes. I was holding Pharaoh’s wine cup in my hand, so I took the grapes and squeezed the juice into it. Then I placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.”
“I know what the dream means,” Joseph said. “The three branches mean three days. Within three days Pharaoh will take you out of prison and return you to your position as his chief cup-bearer. And please do me a favor when you get out of here. Mention me to Pharaoh, and ask him to let me out of here. I was kidnapped from my homeland, and now I’m here in jail, but I did nothing to deserve it.”
Pharaoh’s birthday was three days later, and he gave a banquet for all his officials and household staff. He must have been in a good mood because he decided to restore the chief cup-bearer to his former position, just as Joseph had predicted. But, much to Joseph’s dismay, the cup-bearer quickly forgot all about Joseph, never giving him another thought.
Two years later, Pharaoh had two dreams. The next morning, as he thought about them, he became very concerned as to what the dreams might mean. So he called for all the magicians and wise men of Egypt and told them about his dreams, but not one of them could suggest what they meant. Then the king’s cup-bearer spoke up. “Today I have been reminded of my failure,” he said. “Some time ago, you were angry with me, and you put me in prison. One night I had a dream. I told the dream to a young to a young Hebrew man. He told me what my dream meant, and everything happened just as he said it would.”
So Pharaoh sent for Joseph. After a quick shave and change of clothes, he went in and stood before Pharaoh. “I had a dream last night,” Pharaoh told him, “and none of these men can tell me what it means. But I have heard that you can interpret dreams, and that is why I have called for you.” “It is beyond my power to do this,” Joseph replied. “But God will tell me what it means and will set you at ease.”
So Joseph interpreted Pharaoh’s dream. Joseph said, “The next seven years will be a period of great prosperity throughout the land of Egypt. But afterward there will be seven years of famine so great that all the prosperity will be forgotten and wiped out.” Then Joseph added, “My suggestion is that you find the wisest man in Egypt and put him in charge of a nationwide program. Let Pharaoh appoint officials over the land, and let them collect one-fifth of all the crops during the seven good years. Have them gather all the food and grain of these good years into the royal storehouses, and store it away so there will be food in the cities. That way there will be enough to eat when the seven years of famine come. Otherwise disaster will surely strike the land, and all the people will die.”
Joseph’s suggestions were well-received by Pharaoh and his advisers. As they discussed who should be appointed for the job, Pharaoh said, “Who could do it better than Joseph?” Turning to Joseph, he announced, “Since God has revealed the meaning of the dreams to you, you are the wisest man in the land! I hereby appoint you to direct this project. You will manage my household and organize all my people. Only I will have rank higher than yours.”
Joseph has gone from a pit to a palace. He has gone from being a prisoner to being the prime minister. Looking back we can see how God, in His wisdom, was working behind the scenes to cause this amazing promotion to take place:
• God used Joseph’s brother’s jealousy to get him to Egypt.
• God made sure there was no water in the pit. Had there been water in it, Joseph’s brothers might have immediately drowned him.
• God brought the traders along at just the right time. If the brothers had not spotted them, Joseph probably would have been murdered.
• God caused him to be sold to Potiphar, the captain of the palace guard. As a result, when Potiphar threw Joseph in prison, he put him in the prison where the king’s prisoners were held. And this allowed him to meet Pharaoh’s cup-bearer.
• God placed forgetfulness in the mind of the cup-bearer after Joseph had asked him to mention his case to Pharaoh. If the cup-bearer had remembered, Joseph probably would have been released from prison and may have left Egypt to go back home.
• Instead, God kept Joseph in prison until Pharaoh had two dreams two years later. He then caused the cup-bearer to remember Joseph, and He gave Joseph the interpretation of Pharaoh’s dreams. After all this, Joseph was named second in command in all of Egypt.
Joseph understood that all of the bad things that happened to him were, in the end, actually used for his good: “But Joseph said to them, ‘Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives’” (Genesis 50:19-20).
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).
How can knowing that God is perfectly wise help me today?
1. Trusting God’s wisdom frees me from BITTERNESS.
2. Trusting God’s wisdom gives me a new PERSPECTIVE on my tragedies.
3. Trusting God’s wisdom gives me COURAGE to keep going in hard times.
Remember: God is infinitely wise and we are not. It pleases Him when we trust His wisdom even when we don’t understand what He is doing.
THE WISDOM OF GOD
The Reason for Trusting God When Life Doesn’t Make Sense
Definition: God always chooses the best goals and the best means to those goals. In other words, God makes no mistakes.
God’s wisdom is seen:
1. In _______________
“How many are your works, O Lord! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures” (Psalm 104:24).
2. In the plan of ___________________
“But we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength” (1 Corinthians 1:23-25).
3. In our individual ____________
The Big Idea: God is infinitely wise and we are not. It pleases Him when we trust His wisdom even when we don’t understand what He is doing.
“Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!” (Romans 11:33).
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5).
Example: Joseph (Genesis 37, 39-41, 50)
“But Joseph said to them, ‘Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives’” (Genesis 50:19-20).
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who loved him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).
How can knowing that God is perfectly wise help me today?
1. Trusting God’s wisdom frees us from ______________.
2. Trusting God’s wisdom gives us a new ______________ on our tragedies.
3. Trusting God’s wisdom gives us _____________ to keep going in hard times.
