INTRODUCTION
• SLIDE #1
• Today we are going to look at the life of a man who was loved by his father, almost too much. This love from his father was so strong that his other brothers were terribly jealous and maybe rightfully so.
• Joseph has a lot go wrong in his early life, from a lower story perspective at times it appeared that God had no use for Joseph, but from God’s upper story perspective that was the furthest thing from the truth.
• The upper story is God’s story where God fulfills his purpose and the lower story is the human characters’ story with all the complexities and details of life. God calls us to capture the upper story and its effects on our lives. The story of Joseph is a crystal clear example of the intertwining of the two story lines in the Bible.
• When we can allow our lower story to be dominated and focused on God’s upper story, we will reach our maximum potential in Jesus.
• Let’s follow a narrative approach today as we look at the life of Joseph to see how God’s hand was with him even though from our lower story perspective it did not look that way.
• If you want to get all of the details of the life of Joseph you will find those details in Genesis 37-50.
• SLIDE #2
• On the map in the front inside cover of The Story, draw a triangle with a J inside it to represent Joseph at Jerusalem where his family lived, and draw an arrow over to Egypt where he is enslaved.
• As we begin our journey through the life of Joseph we will begin with a very tragic event in his life, one that could have negatively changed the course of his life.
• SLIDE #3
SERMON
I. Joseph is sold into slavery by his jealous brothers.
• The story of Joseph is one where at times it is hard to feel too sorry for Joseph, but on the other hand he could not control the love his father had for him.
• Many of Joseph’s problem could really be laid at the feet of his father Jacob for the way he showed overt favoritism to Joseph.
• Genesis 37:3 gives us some insight to what was happening.
• SLIDE #4
• Genesis 37:3–4 (NIV) 3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons, because he had been born to him in his old age; and he made an ornate robe for him. 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.
• Maybe some of you here today have felt the sting of this, maybe you can relate to how his other brothers felt. Many people today even as older adults suffer from the sting of this very issue.
• Now as we enter the story of Joseph, he is 17 years old, the youngest. He really could not be held at fault for how his father felt about him, but he COULD help what he did just before he received the coat, he ratted out his brothers.
• SLIDE #5
• Genesis 37:2 (NIV) Joseph, a young man of seventeen, was tending the flocks with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives, and he brought their father a bad report about them.
• So at age 17, Joseph was the favorite of his father. He probably had dropped the dime on his brothers more than this one time.
• The brothers hated this young man. And it gets worse!
• Joseph starts having dreams and in these dreams he would tell his brothers that one day they would bow down to him!
• In this culture the youngest son did not get much of anything, the oldest would never bow down to the youngest!
• SLIDE #6
• Genesis 37:5 (NIV) Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more.
• Joseph is on a roll, his brothers hate him even more! But Joseph just does not know when to keep his mouth shut because after this first dream he just had to share another one with the same theme.
• At this even his father told him to knock it off.
• Now let us paint the picture that leads up to the first potential faith destroying event in Joseph’s life.
• Favorite son without a doubt, rats out his brothers and gets them in trouble, has dreams he SHARES about how those older brothers would one day bow down to HIM! OUCH!
• Well one day the brothers are out tending the sheep and Jacob sends Joseph out to “CHECK UP” on them.
• As they see him approach their anger burns even more.
• At his point they hatch a plan to kill Joseph. They were going to throw him in a cistern and tell dad a wild animal had him for dinner.
• One of the brothers Reuben had his own plan.
• SLIDE #7
• Genesis 37:21–22 (NIV) When Reuben heard this, he tried to rescue him from their hands. “Let’s not take his life,” he said. “Don’t shed any blood. Throw him into this cistern here in the wilderness, but don’t lay a hand on him.” Reuben said this to rescue him from them and take him back to his father.
• Reuben left, Joseph approaches, and the other brothers grab Joseph and strip him of his coat of many colors, the coat that rubbed it into their faces that Jacob loved Joseph the most, they threw him in the cistern and sat down to eat.
• Then something happened, an act of fate for the brother’s maybe?
• A group of Ishmaelite traders come by and Joseph’s brothers sell Joseph into slavery for 20 pieces of silver.
• They then slaughter a young goat dipped the robe in the blood and took this along with Joseph’s ring to Jacob who surmised Joseph was eaten by a wild animal.
• Jacob is beyond consolable as Joseph is being taken to Egypt to be sold as a slave.
• As if being sold as a slave is bad enough, next we see…
• SLIDE #8
II. Joseph is put into prison while in Egypt.
• Joseph, the favorite son, presumed dead by his father is on the auction block.
• Can you imagine a more humiliating experience? From a lower story perspective it looks like God has abandoned Joseph.
• Joseph is sold to an Egyptian, an officer of Pharaoh and Captain of the guard named Potiphar.
• This does not sound great, it looks like god has left Joseph.
• Have you had times where you feel God has forsaken you? In the narrative we do not read anything of what Joseph was thinking. All we know is he seemed to stay faithful.
• SLIDE #9
• Genesis 39:2–3 (NIV) The LORD was with Joseph so that he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. When his master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD gave him success in everything he did,
• Now it did not take long for Potiphar to realize Joseph was being blessed so Potiphar turn over ALL his affairs to Joseph everything except the food Potiphar ate! (Genesis 39:6)
• Things were going well, Joseph who was a slave was in the best possible position one in his spot could be in.
• Potiphar was happy because he was the recipient of God’s blessing through Joseph.
• But over time a problem developed.
• The Bible tells us Joseph had a problem, well that I can really relate to.
• Joseph was well-built and handsome!
• Potiphar’s wife took notice and she started asking him to sleep with her, she tries like crazy to seduce Joseph.
• Think about this one for a minute. Joseph is being pursued by a woman who is looking for a friend with benefits. It would have been easy to rationalize taking the bait.
• Joseph refuses her advances and he explained to her why he was rejecting her offer.
• Then one day she gets rather aggressive with him and Joseph flees leaving his cloak. Then she falsely accuses Joseph of attempted rape.
• Potiphar has Joseph tossed into prison, I wonder why he did not have Joseph put to death?
• The prisons of that time could be worse than death! So now for Joseph it seems to go from bad to worse.
• But in a theme that reoccurs in the life of Joseph happens.
• SLIDE #10
• Genesis 39:21 (NIV) the LORD was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden.
• While Joseph is in prison what did he do? Curse God? NO! He maintained his faith and God continues to bless him to the point Joseph is put in charge of the prison!
• While in prison Joseph gains a reputation for being able to interpret dreams!
• A couple years after correctly interpreting a dream, Joseph is getting ready to head to the next phase of his life. A rough journey that began for Joseph at 17 is going to take a new turn for him at age 30! (Genesis 41:46)
• SLIDE #11
III. Joseph is promoted to Deputy Pharaoh in Egypt.
• Pharaoh is having troubling dreams, none of his wise men or magicians can interpret for him.
• The cupbearer whom Joseph interpreted the dream for two years before this remembers Joseph and tells Pharaoh about him.
• Joseph is removed from the prison and cleaned up and taken to Pharaoh himself.
• Pharaoh asks Joseph to interpret his dream, Joseph said he could not do it, but that God could give Pharaoh a favorable answer.
• Joseph interprets the dream.
• Dream one, the fat cows represent 7 years of bountiful harvests.
• Dream two, the 7 skinny cows represent 7 years of severe famine.
• Joseph suggests to Pharaoh he put someone in charge of building a lot of storage and basically tax everyone 1/5 of their crops.
• Then store the excess crops and when the famine hits the country will be safe and they can sell to the other countries!
• Pharaoh decides Joseph’s idea is a great one and then he decides to make Joseph second in authority in Egypt to only Pharaoh himself!
• Joseph’s 13 year run of difficulty was coming to an end!
• Joseph stayed connected to God’s upper story instead of being bogged down with difficult lower story issues the last 13 years had dealt to him!
• Now nine years later we see the next phase of Joseph’s life. An old dream is about to be fulfilled!
• SLIDE #12
IV. Joseph is reunited with and forgives his brothers.
• After the 7 years of plenty, the famine hits. Two years into the famine it had reached into Canaan where Joseph’s family lived.
• Jacob sends all his sons except the youngest, Benjamin to Egypt to purchase food.
• Joseph now 39 years old is going to see from 22 years ago come to pass!
• SLIDE #13
• Genesis 42:5–6 (NIV) So Israel’s sons were among those who went to buy grain, for there was famine in the land of Canaan also. Now Joseph was the governor of the land, the person who sold grain to all its people. So when Joseph’s brothers arrived, they bowed down to him with their faces to the ground.
• I am not going to cover the whole exchange you read it in the Story, but how easy would have it had been for Joseph to toss these guys into jail or put them to death?
• Joseph does not take revenge and our question is simply, “Why?”
• Joseph is captured by the upper story where God is working his purpose within the ups and downs in Joseph’s story. (Genesis 45:3-8)
• SLIDE #14
• Genesis 45:3–8 (NIV) 3 Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still living?” But his brothers were not able to answer him, because they were terrified at his presence. 4 Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come close to me.” When they had done so, he said, “I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! 5 And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. 6 For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will be no plowing and reaping. 7 But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance. 8 “So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt.
• Joseph knew that had a plan the whole time! God was at work in the new nation and God will reveal Himself through it!
• God made provision through Joseph to sustain the new nation during the famine!
• When Jacob died the brothers figured Joseph would get them then. They hatch a plan to tell Joseph that dad said not to kill us!
• Here is Joseph’s response!
• SLIDE #15
• Genesis 50:19–20 (NIV) 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.
• God used Joseph to save the new nation from certain death by bringing the new nation to Egypt!
• The Israelites in Egypt were shepherds. The Egyptians considered shepherding an abomination. In Egypt there was no intermarriage to dilute the new nation. Intermarriage was a threat in Canaan: Genesis 38
• Within Egypt the Israelites grew to a great nation of over a million people. Joseph had 21 years of a hard life, but 71 years of a blessed life!
• LAST SLIDE
CONCLUSION
• God is at work in the midst of the details of our lives accomplishing his good purposes (Romans 8:28).
• Knowing that God’s story line is unfolding even in bleak and confusing times allows us to live freely, being able to forgive those who sin against us.
• God tests us in order to build our faith in him and strong character in us.
• We need to cling to God’s upper story perspective when it seems as though God is not with us!
