Text: Hebrews 11:22 By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions concerning the burial of his bones. -NIV
Title: Joseph: A Tried, Tested, Triumphant Faith! - Part 1
Intro: The tenth chapter of Hebrews introduces us to the idea that PERSEVERANCE is the key world to “ Live by Faith!”
Hebrews 10 (Berean Literal Bible)
36You need to persevere, so that after you have done the will of God, (living BY FAITH MEANS YOU DON’T JUST BELIEVE God – but you DO the will of God) you will receive what He has promised. 37For, “In just a little while, He who is coming will come and will not delay. (A lot of end time talk due to Covid-19)
38 But My righteous one will live by faith; and if he shrinks back, (Does not persevere) I will take no pleasure in him. (Is that a problem? Sure is!) ”39 But we are not of those drawing back to destruction, (Drawing back leads to destruction) but of faith to the preserving of the soul. (KJV - to the saving of the soul.)
Jesus affirms this in his end time discourse:
Mark 13:13You will be hated by everyone because of My name, but the one who perseveres to the end will be saved.
And in his last word to the Churches in the book of Revelation
Revelation 3: 10 Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. 11A Behold, I am coming quickly! - NKJV
POINT? PERSEVERANCE IS NOT SUGGESTED – IT IS LITERALLY COMMANDED!
If there is a person who best displays that characteristic through a series of incredible test and trail in the “Hall of Faith” of Hebrews 11 it is our person of interest in this week’s passage: Joseph!
That is why, I’ve entitled today’s message: Joseph: A Tried, Tested, Triumphant Faith!
Proposition: As we consider the life of Joseph, a man whose life takes up more chapters in the book of Genesis, than any other hero of the faith we have considered thus far, God by His Holy Spirit, and through His Divinely Written and Inspired Word will grant us a clearer, crystalized, unmistakably, understandable picture, of what a tried, tested, yet triumphant, commendable, and approved faith in the sight of God looks like!
Or … what kind of faith it takes to get inducted into the Hall of Faith!
Let’s begin by first looking at:
I . A Profile of this man named Joseph,
A) Parents?
Genesis 37:2a This is the account of Jacob’s family line. Joseph, a young man of seventeen
1. His father’s name is Jacob
2. His mother’s name is Racheal
Genesis 30: 22 Then God remembered Rachel; he listened to her and enabled her to conceive. 23 She became pregnant and gave birth to a son and said, “God has taken away my disgrace.” 24 She named him Joseph, and said, “May the Lord add to me another son.”
B) Point?
1. Although Joseph was the 1st born of Jacob and Racheal, has not his 1st born!
2. Leah actually gave Jacob his first born son– Rueben
Genesis 29: 31 When the Lord saw that Leah was not loved, he enabled her to conceive, but Rachel remained childless. 32 Leah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben, for she said, “It is because the Lord has seen my misery. Surely my husband will love me now.”
3. JOSEPH DID NOT COME FROM AND IDEAL FAMILY! HE WAS THE SON OF A POLYGAMIST!
Genesis 35:22 Jacob had twelve sons:
23 The sons of Leah:
Reuben the firstborn of Jacob,
Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar and Zebulun.
24 The sons of Rachel:
Joseph and Benjamin.
25 The sons of Rachel’s servant Bilhah:
Dan and Naphtali.
26 The sons of Leah’s servant Zilpah:
Gad and Asher.
These were the sons of Jacob, who were born to him in Paddan Aram.
4. JOSEPH HAD 11 BROTHERS 10 FROM 3 OTHER MOTHERS!
5. NOT NECESSARILY THE IDEAL PICTURE OF A STABLE FAMILY?
6. YET THIS DID NOT DETER HIM FROM GREATNESS, AS IT SHOULD NOT DETER US!
7. NEVER ALLOW YOUR UPBRINGING TO BE AN EXCUSE FOR YOUR BAD!
8. ULTIMATELY THE DECISION IS OURS AS TO WHAT WE DO WITH IT!
YET THERE IS NOT DENYING THAT IT CREATED A PROBLEM!
C) Problem?
1. His father showed an obvious favoritism him toward him!
Genesis 37:3 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.
a) And he even gave him something to were that would signal it!
b) It would be like your dad, getting you a t-shirt printed saying, “this is my favorite son!”
c) Not a good idea!
Genesis 37:4 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.
D) Provocation?
1. Regarding His Brothers?
a) His father’s favoritism provoked a profound jealously toward Joseph that evolved into an utter hatred, a murderous hatred in fact toward him!
2. Regarding Joseph?
a) He brought a bad report to his father about his brothers!
Genesis 37:2b 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.
b) Why?
John Gill- Joseph, not being able to bear with their evil deeds, and yet not having authority enough, being a junior, to reprove, correct, and check them, he reported them to his father: what the things were reported is not said, perhaps their quarrels among themselves, their contempt of Joseph, their neglect of their flocks, &c. Some of the Jewish writers make them to be abominable acts of uncleannessF4, others eating of the member of a creature alive, particularly the flesh of the tails of lambs while living.
c) We don’t know what it was – but it was bad enough to report to dad!
d) He appears to be a “Good kid,” a moral one, obedient to his father, concerned about his affairs.
Genesis 37:13 and Israel said to Joseph, “As you know, your brothers are grazing the flocks near Shechem. Come, I am going to send you to them.” “Very well,” he replied.
E) Perspective needed:
1. He not only a “good kid,” he was also “God’s kid!”
a) He had a God given dream revealing his incredible future destiny!
Genesis 37: 5 Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more. 6 He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had: 7 We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it.”
8 His brothers said to him, “Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us?” And they hated him all the more because of his dream and what he had said.
9 Then he had another dream, and he told it to his brothers. “Listen,” he said, “I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.”
10 When he told his father as well as his brothers, his father rebuked him and said, “What is this dream you had? Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow down to the ground before you?” 11 His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind.
Geneva Study Bible - And his brethren envied him; but his father observed the saying. He knew that God was the author of the dream, but he did not understand the meaning
John Gill -he laid it up in his mind and kept it there, often thought of it, and waited to see its accomplishment
Now let’s consider...
II. THE PROBLEM –[From this point on- that defines and set’s the narrative] of Joseph’s life!!
Genesis 37:17b So Joseph went after his brothers and found them near Dothan. 18 But they saw him in the distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him.
19 “Here comes that dreamer!” they said to each other. 20 “Come now, let’s kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns and say that a ferocious animal devoured him. Then we’ll see what comes of his dreams.”
A) Plot?
1. To murder Joseph!
a) They must have discussed and considered it for some time!
b) Yet at this point – Jacobs oldest son – speaks up and is the voice or reason!
Genesis 37:21 When Reuben heard this, he tried to rescue him from their hands. “Let’s not take his life,” he said. 22 “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.
Genesis 37:23 So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe—the ornate robe he was wearing— 24 and they took him and threw him into the cistern. The cistern was empty; there was no water in it.
c) Joseph knew that their intent was to kill him, because later on in that narrative it says…
Gen 42:21b We saw how distressed he was when he pleaded with us for his life
Genesis 37:5 As they sat down to eat their meal, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were loaded with spices, balm and myrrh, and they were on their way to take them down to Egypt.
Genesis 37:26 Judah said to his brothers, “What will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? 27 Come, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him; after all, he is our brother, our own flesh and blood.” His brothers agreed.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary - Having no wish to commit a greater degree of crime than was necessary for the accomplishment of their end, they readily approved of Judah's suggestion to dispose of their obnoxious brother as a slave!
Genesis 37:28 So when the Midianite merchants came by, his brothers pulled Joseph up out of the cistern and sold him for twenty shekels of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt.
Genesis 37:29 When Reuben returned to the cistern and saw that Joseph was not there, he tore his clothes. 30 He went back to his brothers and said, “The boy isn’t there! Where can I turn now?”
2. Plot- To cover up the crime!
Genesis 37:31 Then they got Joseph’s robe, slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood. 32 They took the ornate robe back to their father and said, “We found this. Examine it to see whether it is your son’s robe.” 33 He recognized it and said, “It is my son’s robe! Some ferocious animal has devoured him. Joseph has surely been torn to pieces.”
Genesis 37:34 Then Jacob tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and mourned for his son many days. 35 All his sons and daughters came to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. “No,” he said, “I will continue to mourn until I join my son in the grave.” So his father wept for him.
B) Point?
1. This appears to be one of the saddest stories in the scriptures up to that point!
2. How could God give over a young man that he had given a dream to into the hands of these jealous brothers?
III. THE PLAN
A) Plan?
1. It was all a part of God’s plan for Joseph’s life!!
2. No matter how painful life gets remember:
Psalm 33:11 But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations.
Eph 1:11 In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will,
B) Plot thickens!
Genesis 37: 36 Meanwhile, the Midianites sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard.
C) Point?
1. Who sold, or sent Joseph to Egypt the Midianites, or God?
Psalm 105 (NIV)
15 “Do not touch my anointed ones;
do my prophets no harm.”
16 He called down famine on the land
and destroyed all their supplies of food;
17a and he (God) sent a man (Joseph) before them— (How?)
17b (As a slave!) Joseph, sold as a slave.
18 They bruised his feet with shackles,
his neck was put in irons,
19 till what he foretold came to pass,
till the word of the Lord proved
D Pain!
1. What kept Joseph? What sustained him?
IV. The PRESERVATIVE of Joseph’s life?
Q: What kept him thru this difficult and painful plan?
A) Preservative?
1. Seven times in this chapter something is said of Joseph
Genesis 39: 2 The Lord was with Joseph [1] [result?] so that he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. 3 When his master saw that the Lord was with him [2] and that the Lord gave him success in everything he did, 4 Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned. 5 From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the Lord blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph.[3) because the Lord was with him] The blessing of the Lord was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field. 6 So Potiphar left everything he had in Joseph’s care; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate.
2. The Lord was WITH Joseph!
B) Point?
1. We are promised the same thing!
Hebrews 13:5b God has said,
“Never will I leave you;
never will I forsake you.”
6 So we say with confidence,
“The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.
What can mere mortals do to me?”
7 Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
2. What is the meaning of - THE LORD WAS WITH JOSEPH?
Matthew Poole – His gracious presence and blessing were with him
Benson Commentary – Though there are those that can separate us from all our friends, BUT they cannot deprive us of the gracious presence of our God. When Joseph had none of his relations with him, he had his God with him, even in the house of the Egyptian!
Matthew Henry- Our enemies may strip us of outward distinctions and ornaments; but wisdom and grace cannot be taken from us. They may separate us from friends, relatives, and country; but they cannot take from us the presence of the Lord. They may shut us from outward blessings, rob us of liberty, and confine us in dungeons; but they cannot shut us out from communion with God, from the throne of grace, or take from us the blessings of salvation. Joseph was blessed, wonderfully blessed, even in the house where he was a slave:
C) Perspective -needed!
1. The Lord was with Joseph means – God was with Him through the adversity of his life!
2. The Lord was with Joseph means – God was in fact orchestrating the events of his life!
3. The Lord was with Joseph means – God was working out His Divine purposes in and thru his life!
