Reading: Acts chapter 8 verses 8-18.
• Thanks to Andrew Lloyd Webber and a variety of catchy tunes;
• The story of Joseph is very well known.
(1). Joseph and his coat.
• Joseph and his ‘multi-coloured coat’,
• N.I.V. “Richly ornamented robe” (Genesis chapter 37 verse 3).
ill:
Many scholars believe it was probably a long sleeved garment:
• One boy was given the job of foreman over the others,
• While the others had to roll up their sleeves, or wear short sleeves for work,
• The foreman had a long sleeved coat.
• Because he gave the orders and was overseer of the project.
• Joseph was the foreman, put in charge of his brothers,
• Even though he wasn’t the eldest.
• That meant he was exempted from the menial tasks of farming.
• And as you can imagine, his brothers were not happy about this.
(2). Joseph The favourite:
(a).
• Joseph was born to Jacob and Rachel in their old age, and became Jacob’s favourite son.
• He is the great grandson of Abraham, the fourth generation.
Ill:
• And Joseph will continue an unusual pattern found in Genesis.
• That is, that the younger, NOT the oldest will receive the blessing,
The blessing meant:
• Financially you received double, a greater inheritance.
• Secondly you were regarded as the head of the family (took control).
• The natural heir, Reuben who was the first born (Genesis chapter 49 verse 3),
• Will once again be overlooked,
• And it will be the younger son (Joseph),
• Who will get the father’s blessing and also the greater inheritance and prominence.
Ill:
• Joseph not Rubin.
• Jacob not Esau;
• The Israelites trace their ancestry back to Jacob not Esau.
• Isaac not Ishmael.
• A pattern is evolving that the younger son, NOT the oldest will receive the blessing.
(3). Joseph The distinct.
• Joseph is different in many ways from the three generations before him,
• God dealt with Joseph differently than he did with Abraham, Isaac & Jacob.
(1).
• God is often called; “The God of Abraham, Isaac & Jacob”.
• God is never called; “The God of Joseph”.
(b).
• Angels appeared to Abraham, Isaac & Jacob.
• But they never appear to Joseph.
(C).
• God spoke directly to Abraham, Isaac & Jacob,
• But he never speaks directly to Joseph.
• He did speak through dreams and enabled him to interpret dreams,
• But God never spoke directly to Joseph.
(5).
• We never read of Joseph talking or praying to God.
• So there is a difference when it comes to Joseph.
Joseph’s story is a key narrative because it gives us an explanation, a link:
• Between Genesis and Exodus,
• Telling us why & how this Israeli family ended up in Egypt.
• Genesis Chapter 47 verse 13:
• A famine arose and their was a shortage of food.
• So they go down into Egypt and stay for 400 years,
• And this family grow into and become a great nation.
• Without the story of Joseph,
• The book of Exodus would not make sense.
4 Levels or 4 ways to read this story:
(1), On a human level.
• On a human level, it is a very vivid story:
• With very real & strong characters, it is a great adventure;
• And in many ways it is stranger than fiction,
• That’s why it makes a good musical or film.
You could summarise Josephs life-story into 2 chapters:
• Chapter 1: Down.
• Chapter 2: Up.
• Chapter 1 Down: Joseph the man who went all the way down;
• From his fathers favourite son to being a household slave.
• Chapter 2 Up: and he went all the way up:
• From being a forgotten prisoner to being Prime Minister.
So on a human level:
• It is a cracking story;
• Which is why it is a very popular musical,
• With adults in the West End,
• Or with school children who perform their own school concerts.
An over view of Josephs life:
(a).
• His birth to age seventeen.
• Is told in Genesis chapter 30 verse 24 to chapter 37 verse 2:
• During this time; Joseph’s family is in transition, unsettled and on the move.
• We read that his family are involved in jealousies, lust and hatred.
(b).
• Seventeen to age thirty;
• Genesis chapter 37 verse 2 to chapter 41 verse 46:
• During this time Joseph enters into young manhood, and his story takes off,
• He is rejected by his brothers, sold into slavery and he ends up in prison.
(C).
• Age thirty to his death;
• Genesis chapter 41 verse 46 to chapter 50 verse 26:
• During this time; 80 years of Joseph’ s life are covered,
• It is a time of prosperity,
• It is also a time when instead of extracting revenge on his brothers,
• Joseph forgives them and greatly helps them.
(2nd level). Read the story from Gods angle.
Although God doesn’t talk direct to Joseph:
• He is very much in this story,
• He is very much behind the scenes.
• He is the invisible God,
• Who is arranging circumstances for his purposes & plans.
• That way of working is not as spectacular as Abraham, Isaac & Jacob experienced:
• But it is just as real, and just as valid.
Three Examples that show God at work:
First Example: Genesis chapter 50 verse 20.
“You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good
to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives “.
ill
• R.T. Kendall’s book: “God meant it for good”.
• When you look at this story from God’s level:
• It shows him as being in control,
• It is the opposite of believing in ‘Luck’.
ill:
• Hebrew word for ‘Luck’ is ‘Gad’.
• So you can either live by ‘Gad’, or by ‘God’ (I know what I prefer).
According to Genesis chapter 50 verse 20:
• Joseph certainly believed that God was in control,
• Not fate, not destiny, not chance but God!
As he experienced his darkest times;
• I.e. Sold as a slave, accused of rape, a forgotten prisoner, left to rot in a cell.
• He might not have understood or appreciated that God was in control.
• But with hindsight,
• He could look back and see God’s leading and purpose in his life.
Ill:
Jigsaw pieces and jigsaw puzzle.
Second example: in the life of Joseph is Genesis chapter 45 verse 7:
• Context Joseph is speaking to his brothers;
• And has just made himself known to them by revealing his true identity.
• He informs them that he is their brother,
• The one they assumed was dead or at best still a slave somewhere,
“Joseph said………But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth
and to save your lives by a great deliverance.
And that is exactly what happened:
• Joseph said you thought you were in control of my future,
• But you were wrong God was and is!
Joseph explains to them God’s plan of deliverance:
• He would use their mistreatment of their brother,
• To the blessing of many.
• God’s plan involved Joseph coming into contact with Pharaoh.
• While in prison, you could not get further away from the palace than that!
• But God would bring the prisoner Joseph and the powerful monarch face to face.
• Joseph was brought to Pharaoh to interpret his dreams.
That gift that had so annoyed the brothers years ago:
• When Joseph told them how they would one day bow down to him,
• Was now the means of their salvation!
Ill:
Joseph interpreted Pharaoh’s dream:
• He told him that their would be 7 fat years of good harvest,
• Followed by 7 lean and very poor years.
• He also gave him advice concerning the storing up food,
• So that he and his people would survive the hard times that were coming.
• Joseph’s foresight saved the whole nation of Egypt,
• And also his own family.
Third Example: Is found in a phrase found three times in Genesis chapter 39:
• Genesis chapter 39 verses 2.
• Joseph is thrown into prison and we read “The Lord was with Joseph”.
• Genesis chapter 39 verses 21 & 23.
• The warden puts Joseph in charge of the other prisoners.
• And twice we read the expression; “The Lord was with Joseph”.
Joseph learnt to cultivate the presence of God:
• Both in the good times,
• But also in the bad.
Quote Charles West:
“We turn to God for help when our foundations are shaking,
only to learn that it is God who is shaking them”.
Ill:
• Before a diamond becomes a thing of beauty,
• It has to be cut and polished and honed!
(3rd level). A study of Josephs character.
• Joseph’s character is see in two different situations,
• We see him when circumstances are difficult and favourable.
(1). Character: when Things go wrong!
Quote:
“Character is like the foundations of a house, unseen yet essential!”
ill:
Sholing Baptist Church ladies meeting.
Now unlike Abraham, Isaac & Jacob:
• There is nothing said in the Bible,
• That shows us the sinful side of Joseph.
Ill:
Lord Litchfield being interviewed on radio this week.
• He has taken pictures for a charity calendar.
• Trying to raise money for a children’s charity.
• Now the pictures are immaculate, stunning!
• But he has cheated.
e.g. Based on the song 12 days of Christmas - 10 maids a dancing he said:
“It’s impossible to get 10 dancers all dancing perfectly, someone will always be out of sink,
So I photographed them all individually and using digital film, edited them together,
to create the perfect picture!”
The Bible never does that:
• We see both a persons good points, as well as their bad points, (strengths and weaknesses!)
• The Bible is always honest, concerning individuals.
• Ill: Abraham, Isaac & Jacob; alongside side their good points; we see their failings & sins
• But not with Joseph, we have no word of criticism.
As you examine Joseph’s life:
• His big failing seems to be one of inexperience, or being tactless,
• As he tells his brothers about his dream,
• But their is no trace anywhere,
• Of a wrong action or attitude in Joseph’s character.
Even when he goes all the way down:
• Into the pit, into slavery, into prison,
• He doesn’t’ t seem full of resentment and hate.
• He doesn’t’ t even seem to complain,
• Or blame God for allowing this to happen.
Ill:
• When he faced a big test to his character,
• When Mrs Potipher tried to seduce him and have sex with him(Genesis chapter 39).
• A temptation that humanly speaking he could have got away with:
• He could have easily Justified his actions to himself,
• He was in a foreign country, no one knew him.
• This was his masters wife, how could he refuse?
• Yet Joseph stood firm, for his convictions and ran!
• Because he said in verse 9: “How could I do such a thing and sin against God?”
• Don’t miss that: “Against God”.
• Many a man doesn’t’ have an affair,
• Because he is worried about other people finding out,
• Not so Joseph - his concern was God?
And as a result of standing true to God:
• Joseph will from now on carry the stigma of being a rapist,
• And also spend the next few years in prison.
• And still he does not complain or blame God,
• He simply accepts his situation.
Note:
• A witnesses to his character:
• Potipher & the sentence given.
• He didn’t kill Joseph but imprisoned him.
• By doing that he publicly shamed his wife, everyone knew he did not believe her.
(2). Character: Things go up!
Quote:
“For every man who can handle success,
there are a hundred who can handle affliction”.
• When Joseph experiences the other side of the coin:
• Going up: his circumstances changing dramatically.
• Again his character is admirable,
• And worth contemplating.
Admire the way he deals with his brothers, those who sold him into slavery:
• He gives them food, and he doesn’t’ t even charge them for it,
• But he puts the money back in their sacks.
• He forgave them, and his forgiveness is with tears!
• He interceded for them with Pharaoh.
• He purchased for them the best land in the Nile Delta.
• A land called Goshan, and provided for all their needs.
Joseph is unspoilt by humiliation or by honour:
• He is a man of integrity,
• He and Daniel are the only such men, presented in the Old Testament.
When you read the story of Joseph:
• Sandwiched in the life of Joseph as recorded in chapters 37-50.
• Is chapter 38 and it concerns Joseph’ s brother Judah.
• In this lovely narrative of Joseph,
• We have the sordid story of Judah & Tamar (rapes his daughter in law)
• As you read it you have to wonder why it is there,
• In many ways it just doesn’t fit.
My opinion:
• I think the story is there to again highlight the character of Joseph
• His brothers were bad people, in contrast Joseph was good.
ill:
As with Abraham, Isaac & Jacob there are contrasts:
• Abraham and Lot (City of Sodom)
• Jacob & Esau (Pot a stew over his birthright)
• So too we have Joseph and Judah contrasted.
• Joseph who resists sexual temptation and Judah who does not!
Note:
• A final witnesses to his character:
• Pharaoh – Genesis chapter 41 verse 38:
38So Pharaoh asked them,
“Can we find anyone like this man, one in whom is the spirit of God?”
(4th Level): Joseph a type / picture of Christ.
Think of what we have spoken about Joseph already:
(a).
• Story of a man who went right down to the bottom,
• Only to be raised right back to the ton.
(b).
• He was a man who suffered and was punished,
• For a crime he had not done,
(C). A man willing to forgive the wrongs of others.
(d).
• He was a man who became and is called;
• “The saviour of his people and the Lord of Egypt”.
(e).
• God’s over ruling in his life, allowing things to happen to him,
• So that ultimately he might save his people.
(f).
• We’ve looked at a man of total integrity,
• Who all the way down & all the way up remained a man of truth!
Joseph is very much a type / picture of Christ:
(a).
• Jesus was rejected by his brethren,
• Jesus went down and was raised up again.
(b). Jesus was a man of total integrity.
(C). Jesus.... suffered and was punished although he was innocent.
(d). Jesus became the saviour of his people,
(e). Jesus was raised to a high position.
Final application:
• Time with God.
• Cultivating his presence.
• Character.
• What we are determines the effectiveness of what we do!
• Handling problems,
• Ill: A wedge or a vice.
• Handling success,
• Coast along in the Christian life? Or do we draw closer to God?
• Joseph was a type of Christ;
• Are we?
