Joseph
Genesis 17:1-11
Mark Herold tells the story of being a guest on the Gerry Ryan radio show to speak on birth order and the way it influences how we grow up. A woman came on the line to complain bitterly that, because she was the youngest in a large family, no one would take her seriously. She protested that her views were always ignored or laughed off. “And how old are you?” inquired Ryan. “I’m 72,” was the reply. And he writes, “We both had trouble keeping a straight face but, on reflection, the woman’s experience is not unusual. Many of us have great difficulty offloading an expectation within the family based on our chronological status (birth order), and this remains over a lifetime.”
Our Scripture today is about the youngest born of his family, Joseph, and who constantly seeks to get the attention of his family and brothers. Joseph was the great-grandson of Abraham and had 11 older brothers. (And speaking as a youngest child) like most youngest children, he was the favorite of his parents. ☺ As a sign of their love, Joseph’s mother Rachel made him a coat of many colors, meaning it was very expensive. And Joseph paraded it around his brothers. You can imagine Joseph’s brother’s feelings of jealousy, envy, and resentfulness. Then one day, when Joseph saw his brothers ignoring their responsibilities of feeding and watching the flock of sheep, Joseph told on them. Like a lot of teenagers, Joseph was often his own worst enemy. His story is one of many twists and turns as we will see but he eventually not only saves his family but his people as well, becoming a hero for the ages. There are several things we from Joseph.
First, heroes are dreamers. “Joseph had a dream…” The first was of stalks of wheat, bowing down to him and another of the sun, moon, and eleven stars (Joseph’s eleven brothers) that would bow down to Joseph as well. They were a premonition of the future. Heroes are dreamers. They see what can and will be, even when others don’t. Dreams were considered to be one of the more common ways God speaks in the Bible. There are 21 dreams recorded in Scripture and several more referred to. Job 33:14-17 (LB) says, “God speaks again and again, in dreams, in visions of the night… as they lie on their beds. He opens their ears...and gives them wisdom and instruction.” What we find is that dreams from God can not only change your life, they can even change the world! Albert Einstein’s Theory of Relativity, which changed the world of physics, came to him in a dream. Dr. James Watson dreamed the double helix of the DNA’s structure, perhaps the greatest scientific discovery of all time. Paul McCartney actually dreamed the entire tune for their hit #1 song, “Yesterday.” Ben Franklin decided to encourage the other founding fathers to push for independence after he had a dream. Larry Page had a dream that led to creating the Google search engine. Emperor Constantine became a follower of Christ after Jesus appeared to him in a dream, paving the way for the dramatic growth of the Christian faith across the Roman Empire and beyond. Heroes and people who change the world are dreamers.
Second, heroes face great challenges. I love the story of one person who responded to his insurance company’s request for additional information on his claim. “In block #3 of the accident reporting form, I put "poor planning" as the cause of my accident…I am a bricklayer by trade. On the day of the accident, I was working alone on the roof of a new six-story building. When I completed my work, I discovered that I had about 500 pounds of bricks left over. Rather than carry the bricks down by hand, I decided to lower them in a barrel by using a pulley, which fortunately was attached to the side of the building at the sixth floor. Securing the rope at the ground level, I went up to the roof, swung the barrel out and loaded the bricks into it. Then I went back to the ground and untied the rope, holding it tightly to insure a slow descent of the 500 pounds of bricks. You will note in block number 11 of the accident report form that I weigh 175 pounds. Due to my surprise at being jerked off the ground so suddenly, I lost my presence of mind and forgot to let go of the rope. Needless to say, I proceeded at a rather rapid rate up the side of the building. In the vicinity of the third floor, I met the barrel coming down. This explains the fractured skull and broken collarbone. Slowed only slightly, I continued my rapid ascent, not stopping until the fingers of my right hand were two knuckles deep into the pulley. Fortunately, by this time I had regained my presence of mind and was able to hold tightly to the rope in spite of my pain. At approximately the same time, however, the barrel of bricks hit the ground - and the bottom fell out of the barrel. Devoid of the weight of the bricks, the barrel now weighed approximately 50 pounds. I refer you again to my weight in block number 11. As you might imagine, I began a rapid descent down the side of the building.
In the vicinity of the third floor, I met the barrel coming up. This accounts for the two fractured ankles and lacerations of my legs and lower body. The encounter with the barrel, slowed me enough to lessen my injuries when I fell onto the pile of bricks and fortunately, only three vertebrae were cracked. I am sorry to report, however, that as I lay there on the bricks in pain, unable to move, and watching the barrel six stories above - I again lost my presence of mind and let go of the rope!” Talk about a bad day! Joseph didn’t have a bad day but bad years!”
When Joseph shared the dreams with his brothers, they became so angry, they sold him to the band of Ishmaelite traders who were passing by and told their father Joseph was dead. He was sold in Egypt to a man named Potiphar who headed up the military wing that guarded the Pharaoh. Joseph became his servant and immediately showed an aptitude for administration. Everything that Joseph did, he did well. As a result, he brought extraordinary prosperity to Potiphar. So Potiphar entrusted the entire management of his house to Joseph. And the text tells us why: God’s presence and blessing is upon him. This is a consistent theme in Joseph’s life but it does not preclude him from great challenges, difficulties and crises in his life.
“Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance.” And when Potiphar went away on a business trip, his wife made advances on Joseph. Joseph’s response to Potiphar’s wife was “how can I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” Seeing that she was not going to get her way with Joseph, Potiphar’s wife screamed and made a false accusation of rape against Joseph. When Potiphar heard the accusations, he felt betrayed and became very angry. Interestingly, this was a crime punishable by death, yet instead he put Joseph in prison. What makes this so hard is that it was so utterly unjust.
“Some time later, the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt offended their master…and put them…in the same prison where Joseph was confined.” Gen. 40:1-3 One day, both men each had a dream and Joseph interpreted it for them. The cupbearer was to be restored to his position and the baker killed by Pharaoh. Both came to pass but the chief cupbearer forgot Joseph. Then two years later Pharaoh had a troubling dream and no one could interpret it for him. The cupbearer tells Pharaoh about Joseph and he is called to interpret the dream. Joseph explains that the dream meant that there will be 7 years of great abundance followed by 7 years of famine. As a result of interpreting Pharaoh’s dream, Joseph is given the position of overseeing all of Egypt during this time to prepare for the famine. He was answerable only to Pharaoh. One of the things we learn is that God does not forget us, even in the midst of our suffering.
Third, heroes give the glory to God. Paul writes, “Whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” 1 Cor. 10:31 Joseph bore testimony to the cupbearer and the baker that the power to interpret dreams came from God. (Gen 40:8) When Joseph interpreted Pharaoh’s dream, he used that opportunity to give God glory. He also claimed more than once to Pharaoh that dreams came from God (Gen 41:25, 28). Even Pharaoh acknowledged Joseph’s faith and that Joseph’s God is in control (Gen 41:38,39). The temptation of heroes is to take credit for the great things they have done and to make such boasts before others. But Joseph didn’t and neither do heroes. Instead they give God all the glory. Worldly wisdom would say that this is the worst time in Joseph’s life while still imprisoned to bring up anything related to God or religion. Instead, Joseph risks his freedom to give God glory for his abilities. Heroes give all the glory to God.
Joe Stowell tells the story of getting ready to go on vacation and being told by his mechanic that his transmission needed to be replaced on his very old car. That was going to cancel their family vacation. When he got back to the office, he was thinking about how he would break the news to his wife and kids when the phone rang. On the other end of the line, one of his church members said, “Hey, Pastor, I hear that you’re going to Florida on vacation. You know, my wife and I are worried about you taking your family to Florida in that little car. Our cars belong to God, and we would like you to take one of them on your vacation. Your choice!” Both of their cars were luxury automobiles—so either one would have been incredible. They accepted. Joe said, “I’ve got to be honest. I loved driving that car. I loved the stares we got at stoplights; and I felt pretty proud as I pulled up to a gas station…and a guy (would come up and say), “Hey, that’s a beautiful car. How do you like your car?” This was a big moment for me. Do you think I wanted to tell him it wasn’t my car? No way! A spiritual battle raged in my heart for what seemed like an hour (but was probably only 10 seconds). Truth finally won out, and I said, “Well, it’s not my car, but I like it a lot!” And then he writes, “Through the course of life, we all have opportunities to take the credit for ourselves when we shouldn’t. In the spotlight of some success, it’s tempting to keep the applause focused on “me.” But when you think about it, we would have no success in our lives at all if God did not see fit to give us the opportunities to succeed, the brainpower, the education, the temperament and gifts to accomplish praiseworthy things.” Heroes give all the glory to God.
Fourth, heroes offer grace and forgiveness. Genesis 42-50 is one of the most beautiful and moving in all of Scripture. Egypt is in the midst of a drought and Jacob’s family is in need of food. Hearing that Egypt has grain, Joseph’s brothers travel to buy grain. They encounter Joseph but do not recognize him. But Joseph does. Their youngest brother is noticeably absent and so Joseph devises a plan to get them to come back and this time bring Benjamin. They return and Joseph surprises the brothers by preparing a dinner and inviting them to eat with him. When they leave with their grain the next day, there are several twists and turns in the story and the brothers are called back to Egypt to be confronted by Joseph. Finally, Joseph could no longer control himself and excuses everyone but his brothers from the room and cried out:
“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…. 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…..14 Then he threw his arms around his brother Benjamin and wept, and Benjamin embraced him, weeping. 15 And he kissed all his brothers and wept over them.”
The Book of Genesis and Joseph’s story concludes with these words to his brothers after their father’s death. “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” Genesis 50:20 What is the secret of Joseph’s ability to forgive. He looked back and saw God’s grace and plan for his life and he passed the grace he had received forward. Paul writes in Ephesians 4:32, “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ, God forgave you. Be imitators of God…” Who do you need to forgive in your life? In a few moments, we are going to receive Holy Communion, the communion service of the former Methodist church drew upon Matthew 5:24 and said if you are not in love or charity with your neighbor, then go first and be reconciled with them and then come back and then receive communion. We forgive because we have first been forgiven. Heroes offer grace and forgiveness. With whom do you need to be reconciled so that you might be reconciled to God? Amen and Amen
