God in the Ebb & Flow of Life:
Toying or Feasting?
Scripture Text: Genesis 43.19-34
INTRODUCTION
Have you ever-been “toyed” with?
[INSERT YOUR OWN STORY OF A TIME IN WHICH SOMEONE ‘TOYED’ WITH YOU OR PLAYED A PRANK ON YOU… KEEP IT LIGHT-HEARTED!]
It raises-the-question: Have you ever been “toyed” with?... Someone pulls-your-leg?... …or plays a practical joke, on you?... …or, even-maliciously tries-to-trick you in a sinister-way? Has-that-kinda-thing every-happened to you?
TRANSITION
As I read chapters 42 and 43 of Genesis, …I’m left wondering whether Joseph isn’t ‘toying’ with his brothers!
You remember the story: Joseph had a dream about his brothers bowing-down to him… And because of the dream, …his brothers absolutely-hated him!
And-so, …they betrayed him: …sold-him-into-slavery, …and-then told dear-ole-dad that some wild animals must-have torn him to pieces because all they brought home was his bloody-coat.
But, …as we followed Joseph down-into-Egypt, …through a series of events, …God worked through situations-and-people to eventually-place Joseph in a very powerful-position in Egypt.
Years-go-by; …the rest-of-the-family still lived a long-way-away, in the land of Canaan. And-then, …a terrible-famine struck the entire region; …so-that Joseph’s brothers traveled all-the-way to Egypt to try-to-find-food for their family-and-the-flocks.
When they arrived-in-Egypt, …they came before Joseph, …who was in-charge of food-distribution. They had-to-ask him permission to-buy food ~ ..but, they didn’t-even-recognize that this-was their long-lost-brother!
Joseph pretended not-to-know them; …and he accused them of being foreign-spies! He determined to hold one-of-them captive while the others returned home, …fetched their youngest brother, Benjamin, …and-then, …they were to bring him to Egypt to prove that they were who they said they were!
You might-be-wondering how these guys didn’t-recognize Joseph, …after-all, he was their very-own-brother!
Well, it’s been over 20 years since they last-laid-eyes on-him! The last-time they saw him: he was around 17-to-18 years old; …now, he’s about 40~
The last-time they saw him: he was the son-of-a-shepherd; …now, he is the ruler-of-Egypt.
The last-time they saw him: he was stripped and wearing chains (carried off as-a-slave); …now, he wears the clothes of royalty (complete with ring and staff and a golden necklace).
The last-time they saw him: he had nothing in his possession; …now, he holds the stock-piles of the entire-empire-of-Egypt!
The last-time they saw him: they looked at him through the eyes of hatred-and-anger; …now, they look at him through eyes filled with fear-and-humility!
A lot-has-changed in the last 20 years! It’s no-wonder that they don’t recognize their-own flesh-and-blood – standing right-before-their-very-eyes!
And-to-be-honest with-ya ~ …it seems that Joseph is takin’ advantage of the situation! He keeps his identity a secret. He doesn’t even speak to them in Hebrew.
All-kinds-of-questions start-runnin’-through-my-mind: “What is Joseph doing!?!; Why doesn’t he tell them who he is? What does he hope to accomplish through this charade? Is he priming-the-pump before he unleashes on-them all that he’s dreamed-of-doing (in his darkest dreams)?” ~ These are the questions-that-run through my mind.
Now, a good-number-of-us know the end-of-the-story… But, if you read these-chapters (and-suspend what you know eventually happens), …then you begin to feel a certain uneasiness with what is-taking-place.
And-it’s-here - in-the-midst of this ‘uneasiness’ – …it’s here that we see some very-powerful-connections between Joseph’s life and our-own.
BODY
I. Forgiveness
Joseph had been treated-terribly by his brothers. They hated him. They ignored him. They spoke-badly about him. And-eventually, they beat him and threw him in a hole-in-the-ground and-then, sold him into slavery.
Can you imagine the hurt that Joseph carried in-his-heart? Can you imagine the temptation to hold-onto hard-feelings?
We don’t know how long Joseph entertained-thoughts of harboring ill-will against his brothers; …but, what I’m-convinced-of is that at some point, …Joseph forgave them.
Whether he forgave them upon-his-release from prison ~ …when he said that God was “causing him to forget”; …or-whether he forgave them while he sat in prison ~ …and had plenty of time to reflect on his life; …or-whether he forgave them during the long-caravan-march from Canaan to Egypt ~
Truth-is, …I think that Joseph repeatedly chose forgiveness! After-all, …that’s the nature of forgiveness: …whenever old-thoughts …and old-feelings come creeping-up-to-the-surface, …we must decide-again: …what am I gonna do with this?... Am I going-to hold onto the hardness and the bitterness, …am I going to privately dream-about opportunities to take-revenge, …am I going to decide in my heart that they don’t deserve any mercy, …no forgiveness?
Or, will I choose to let-go, once-more, the impulse to be Judge and Jury?... Will I choose to surrender my perceived-right to hold-onto the hurt and the pain? Will I choose to forgive, even-as I have been shown-mercy by God?
II. The “Upper Hand”
Well, …as I said before, I think that Joseph had already chosen to forgive-them. But, …as-so-often-happens in-life, …new-developments, …new-situations, …new-circumstances often open old-wounds, …or remind us of old-events. And-sometimes, …the Enemy-of-our-soul will use those opportunities to throw-temptations-our-way; …the temptation to-take our forgiveness back!
For Joseph and his brothers, the tables are turned… They were always the big dogs on the farm. They were older, …meaner, …and they out-numbered him. Now, he is the top-dog in the Empire ~ …he has the palace, …the chariot, …and the food! Joseph has the upper-hand.
It would’ve-been one-thing, …if he’d forgiven his brothers while they were a life-time-away ~ …it may-have-been-real and genuine, …but, you-would-argue that it was a whole-lot-easier to forgive when you don’t have to face the people who have messed-up your life and caused you such-pain!
But-now… …Now, he’s lookin’-them in the face! Now he has opportunity… Opportunity to exact revenge. Opportunity to make them pay. Opportunity to even-the-score! ~ Once-upon-a-time, they beat-him and sold him into slavery. How-‘bout-now, …send-them-away hungry-and-empty-handed? Or, sending-them to Potiphar’s-dungeon – never-to-see their precious Canaan, again!?!
You can see how the tables are turned; …that the situation is completely turned-around. And-now, …Joseph has an opportunity to seek justice on-his-own-terms.
III. Forgiveness, Again!
Joseph throws a feast. Is that surprising to you? ~ He still keeps his identity a secret; …but, he throws a feast for his brothers!
And in the course-of-the-time that he spent with his unsuspecting-brothers, …Joseph had moments of melt-down. He had to leave the room. Old-emotions brought-up. Old ties. Old-echoes of love-lost and relationships-interrupted.
Haven’t you found yourself in this room before? ~ We know the temptations that enter-the-room when emotions are raw and strong. And those-temptations sit-down at the table with us, …the temptations to change-our-mind toward the-people that I once forgave; …the temptation to “get them like they got me”; …the temptation to even the score.
Or… Will we again choose forgiveness?
CONCLUSION
If you listened to the Scripture-passage read earlier, …you might’ve wondered why it stopped where-it-did! There’s no-resolution!... …It’s left us hanging!
Truth-be-told, …as this segment of Joseph’s-story unfolds, …we’re left with many-questions. Is he toying with his brothers, …or, is he just-waiting for the perfect-time to reveal-who-he-is? Is he about to serve-up-a-dish of vengeance, …or is he being the perfect host at this unexpected-feast? ~
Questions, questions… lots-of-questions! And that’s-where-we’re-gonna-leave-things!
If you’re uncomfortable ending a sermon with all-these-loose-ends, …I apologize!
But-really, that’s where most-of-our-lives are lived… …in the land-between, …loose-ends hangin’ all-‘round, …questions lingering in the air, …echoes of our past bouncing off the walls.
But-if-that’s-where most-of-life is lived, …then, there are things we need to wrestle with: Will I continue to choose forgiveness ~ …even-when those old feelings are stirred-up?
When circumstances change, …will I still let-go of the temptation to seek my own-vengeance?
When the tables-are-turned, …(and I find-myself with the opportunity to get-even), …will I let-go, once-again, the desire to even-the-score?
I’m convinced that this is where Joseph finds himself ~ …when his brothers show-up, …after all-those-years. And the old-memories re-surface; …and all-those old-feelings come boiling-back-up… He’d forgiven them long-ago, …but, that-was-when they were a long-way-away. Now, they’re here. Now, Joseph has the upper-hand. Now, the tables-are-turned. Will he forgive them, again? Will he offer mercy instead of revenge? What will Joseph do?
What will you do?... Forgiveness is not a one-time-deal! We have to choose to forgive over-and-over again. Whenever those old-thoughts, …old-feelings, …old-desires to get-even ~ …whenever they arise, …we have to choose-again to forgive. You may have forgiven someone, a long-time-ago for what they did to hurt you. But, will you forgive them again… today… and tomorrow… and the days-after-that?
Lots-of-loose-ends. Life is often really-messy. But, we begin to tie-up those-loose-ends whenever we choose to respond in faith, hope and love. When we offer love in the face of hatred. When we seek peace though everyone-else is causing disruption. When we turn-the-other-cheek even-when we’d like to slap-them- upside-the-head. When we forgive them for the umpteenth-time because when-God forgives us, …it’s a done-deal!
So, Maybe we’re finin’-our-answer!... That, …when we find ourselves in the messy-places in life ~ …and there’s lots-of-questions hanging over our heads, …and we’re faced with the old-temptation to take-matters-back-into our-own-hands ~ …maybe our answer is that instead of being preoccupied with the question (of what to do), …and the quandary of why we’re strugglin’ with old feelings that we thought were laid-to-rest, …and the difficulty of living in a messy, mixed-up world ~ …our answer is to turn-our-attention to God ~ …remembering how-it-is that He treats-us: …His love, …His mercy, …His patience, …His faithfulness, …His forgiveness. And when we remember how He treats-us, …we begin-to-see how we should treat-the-people in-our-lives!
So, let’s do-that-together ~ Let’s turn our attention to the Lord. And let’s sing about His love-and-faithfulness. And whatever loose-ends you’re dealing with in your life ~ …by turning-our-attention to the Lord,
…He just-might begin to answer your-questions about how-to-handle the messy-people and the mixed-up situations in your life!
