Joseph: Lessons in Adversity
Genesis 37:2-14, 17b-20
This scripture gives us some background and insight into this man named Joseph who is a true hero of the Bible. We cannot read the entire story this morning in detail because it takes up about 14 chapters in the book of Genesis. That is about 1/4 of the entire book. One of the things that I quickly think about here is that God gives us basically two chapters that describe the creation of the world and the creation of man. Yet He gives us 14 chapters describing the life of this man named Joseph. What does this say to us? Why would God spend so much time talking about one individual? (1) God is much more concerned with mankind than He is with creation. Man is the crowning achievement of creation. Jesus did not go to the cross to die for this earth. This earth will one day be consumed. He died for people. You and me. (2) God loves eternal treasures more than earthly treasures. The only thing we will ever take with us into heaven are those we lead to Christ. (3) Joseph is a member of the hall of faith. He is one of many mentioned in Hebrews 11 who are commended for their great faith. Joseph spoke of the fact that God’s people would one day be freed from Egypt.
I believe that the world is made up of two types of people. Dreamers and Detractors. Those who dream and those who attempt to destroy the dream. Those who dream great things for God and those who do what they can to tear those dreams down. Dreamers look at things as they are now and they know in their hearts that things can be better. So they dream of changes and bigger and better things. Detractors look at the same world and believe that there is nothing we can do to change it. Dreamers look at their own lives and imagine what they could become. Detractors count the years and wonder if they can actually manage life for much longer. God uses both groups. The detractors always play it safe and never take a risk, never venture into an unknown area. But dreamers don’t know the meaning of safe and for the dreamer risk is a way of life. I have decided God wants me to personally take more risk. In every church there is a good share of both. Most of you know which category you fall in.
Joseph was a dreamer. He dreamed big ... he dreamed of being a leader and he dreamed of making a difference. But like all dreamers he was surrounded by detractors and one day his dream became too much for them. In fact his dreams offended some because he told his brothers and his parents that they would all bow down to him one day. So his brothers plotted to kill him. Joseph was 17 at the time. His brother Reuben says no let’s throw him into a pit and Reuben is thinking I will come back and rescue him later. Joseph was wearing a coat known as the coat of many colors... it was beautiful and it was one of the reasons his brothers were jealous because theirs was nothing like it. Joseph had designer clothes... his brothers shopped at Egypt Mart. But in the meantime a group of Midianites come along and take Joseph from the pit and sold him into slavery. Reuben comes back and sees that Joseph is gone.
The brothers took his coat and covered it in goat’s blood and then told Jacob, Joseph’s father that Joseph had been killed. Potiphar who is the head of Pharaoh’s army hears of Joseph’s success in interpreting dreams and decides to make Joseph an overseer of his household and the family prospers and so does Joseph. He suddenly becomes wealthy and very popular. So much so that Potiphar’s wife attempts to have relations with him. But he turns her down, she is offended so she lies to Potiphar and says Joseph came after her and so Potiphar throws him into prison. But while he is there he again becomes popular for his ability to interpret dreams. Pharaoh sees that Joseph can help him succeed since he sees things in the future so Pharaoh makes him a leader in Egypt. Joseph predicted famine would come and it did. When it did everyone then came to Egypt to buy grain because it was the only place in the world they could get it. Among those who came were Joseph’s brothers. They had not seen him in about 14 years so they did not recognize him. But he knew who they were. And through a series of events Joseph then tells him who he is. And I will save what he says to them for the end of the story today.
This morning I want you to see some lessons from the life of Joseph that all of us need to learn and these are lessons about adversity. Joseph was a good man. Joseph loved his family. He loved God and he wanted to do the right thing but even in all of this some very difficult things happened to Joseph. We have said before bad things do happen to good people. But Joseph really knows how to handle adversity and because he does we can learn some very important lessons this morning.
(1) When God raises up a dream, He also raises up a dreamer. In other words God’s work will be done by those who have the vision to dream of something great. The size of our vision will determine how much we will be able to accomplish.
(2) When God raises up a dreamer, Satan raises up a detractor. When you are dreaming of doing something great for God, Satan will do everything in His power to destroy that dream. Often he uses the “cold water” committee. You know who they are. You have a great idea and as soon as you present it there is one person or perhaps a group who are ready to pour cold water on the whole thing.
(3) If the dream is from God it will always overcome the opposition but not always in the dreamer’s lifetime. In 1968 I lived 70 miles from Memphis. I remember exactly where I was the moment that the shots rang out that took the life of MLK. King was a young visionary preacher who was known for delivering one of the most powerful sermons ever, titled I have a dream. But where there are dreamers there will always be those who want to take away from the dream. Where there are those who want to build something that is better there are always those who want to tear it down.
(4) God understands our circumstances but he expects us to rise above them. You see when we dream there are 2-3 things that quickly become a problem to us. And all of these can be huge. (1) Other people. Some of us have a tendency to be sensitive and we don’t like criticism so when someone attacks the dream we back down too quickly. (2) Our past. We find ourselves in adverse circumstances and we immediately say well things are this way because of my past. I grew up in poverty, my parents didn’t do this or that ... I grew up with alcoholism in the family or abuse. Listen those are all terrible things but none of them are an excuse to give up. God expects us to rise above the negative influences we face.
(5) God specializes in the impossible. Water changed to wine, lame people walk, the blind see, a man who persecuted Christians for years gives his life to Christ and then writes roughly ½ of the NT. Our God is a God of change. And we must consider this factor in everything we face. If you face an impossible situation, remember we serve a God who does not know the word impossible.
(6) God’s purpose in adversity includes us bit it is always bigger than us. God wants to do much more in our lives and in our church than we can ever imagine.
Do I mean that God can take adversity, trials, tribulations and turn them into something good in our lives? Exactly. Ephesians 3:20
Joseph’s life sounds like a recipe for disaster to me. But Joseph decided that he would not let those things make him bitter. He says I’ll give this problem to God and He will make me into a better person. And that is exactly what he did. Joseph spends 13 years in prison but for Joseph it was 13 years in character development. He is in prison clothes and suddenly he is dressed in beautiful robes and everyone in Egypt and in that part of the world is now coming to buy grain from him. Joseph ends up moving from the pit to the prison to the palace. He is suddenly wealthy, popular and very well respected. Why? Because he would not let adversity overcome him. His brothers realize that they have been caught and that Joseph is now in a position of authority and that he now has the ability to punish them all and that actually should for what they have done to him. Now the very ones who had thrown him into the pit and then sold him into slavery ... they were now coming to buy grain and they had no idea this was their brother Joseph. When Joseph tells them who he is they are so terrified that they cannot even speak. Joseph has become such a powerful person that they were now afraid for their lives. So you would think that now Joseph would say, finally revenge! But here is what he says.... 3 things he tells them.
(1) don’t worry or be distressed or be angry with yourselves for what you did to me. (2) In fact God did this in order to save lives. Joseph had become the ruler of Egypt and now God will free the people. (3) Genesis 50:20. You intended to harm me but God meant it for good. What you meant for evil God meant for good. In life we all have the opportunity to hold onto things that hurt us and will also have the opportunity to let them go. All of us have stories of someone who hurt us through something that was said or something they did. All of us have some kind of pain from the past that has to be eventually settled. Listen there is power and there is peace available to you when you forgive. Don’t let other people stop you from fulfilling the dream God has placed on your heart. In the year 1519, Hernando Cortez sailed into the harbor of Vera Cruz, Mexico. He brought with him only about 600 men but over the next two years his men were able to defeat Montezuma and all the warriors of the Aztec empire making Cortez the conqueror of all Mexico. Most people considered to be an impossible task. Here’s the secret. Cortez knew from the very beginning that he and his men faced great opposition. He knew it would be dangerous and very difficult. He knew that his men would be tempted to give up and go back to Spain. And so, as soon as Cortez and his men had come ashore and unloaded their provisions, he ordered their entire fleet of eleven ships destroyed. His men stood on the shore
and watched as their only possibility of retreat burned and sank. And from that point on, they knew beyond any doubt there was no return, no turning back. Nothing lay behind them but empty ocean. Their only option was to go forward,
to die or to do the impossible. So they did.
