If you read Genesis 37 you will be aware of the start of the journey of Joseph. Jacobs favored son born from his favored wife.
This message is a wee bit different as it is a topical message, from the position of Joseph. I have tried to represent him from Genesis 37. When the hat goes on I am speaking for him, acting the part, well sort of, when it comes off it’s back to me. I wanted to tell you that, so you don’t think I’ve lost the plot.
The story of Joseph is an interesting one as you will see as you journey through it or may already be aware of it, I know most will be well aware of his story. You see Joesph is a type of Christ figure, not the Christ, there is only one true Messiah, Redeemer, Christ and he is Jesus. In my opinion all the best stories have a Christ type figure, be it Superman, or Bilbo Baggins, Bilbo is a very good one, he travels with a trope, combats evil… in all its Middle Earth forms ultimately destroys the Ring that would rule everyone, ultimately defeating all the bad guys who evaporate into the dark abyss. For those if you who aren’t into J. R. R. Tolken, J. K. Rowling came up with this character Bilbo like character Harry Potter who ultimately defeated evil, or did he? Neville Longbottom cut the head off the snake Nagini. If those don’t float your boat Flash Gordon, Spiderman, The Famous Five they all sort of fit the bill.
But back to reality, back to Joseph, he is raised to be a shepherd looking after his father’s flocks, Jesus is the Good Shepherd, looking after The Father’s flocks. He is of good character; Jesus is of perfect character. Joseph is betrayed and sold for 20 pieces of silver, Jesus’ price was higher, 30 pieces of silver. Joseph was taken to Egypt, after Jesus was born where did his parents escape to avoid his being killed? There will be another couple of points I will touch on when the hat comes off again.
Put the hat on!
I have something to tell you, my name, well my name is Joseph. I am one of the sons of Israel.
This is an account of something that has happened within the family, my family, my father who now goes by the name Israel, had four women in his life, two of them wives and two of them concubines, from them he had twelve sons and one daughter. Thirteen well that is a good number of children, however we did have our challenges.
I will tell you now an account of my life from when I was seventeen, I was attending the flocks with my brothers from another mother, Dan and Naphtali, and my brothers' from yet another mother, Gad and Asher, yes it gets a bit confusing, you should try living it. All four of these brothers were born to maidservants, yes, their mothers were servants in our group. My mother was Rachel, my father's favorite wife. My mother has now gone to be with her our God and our ancestors, this occurred while she was giving birth to Benjamin our little brother, really fully only my little brother. We were travelling to a place called Ephrath, you might know it as Bethlehem. There is a pillar there, Father set up as a memorial to my mother. May God bless memory, I miss her she was very kind to me.
My father also favored me above all my brothers, why you may ask? Well, I was born to him in his old age, as a result he treated me differently, I was even attired in a splendid robe by him, I looked quite the man, spiffing in fact. This could one day be the stuff of dramas or musicals. However my brothers were jealous, they came to hate me and could not speak to me in any fit way, jealous of my looks and my splendid robe.
Well, I had this dream, I have these dreams, insights you might say, I also understand dreams that others have, it is a gift from God, but at times it has got me into trouble, however looking back I can see that trouble was part of God’s plan to save many. You see I had this dream, and I told my brothers; they hated me for it even more than they had before.
I told them about my first dream that went like this, I told them to listen and said, “We were binding sheeves 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.” (Genesis 37:7).
Well, my brothers they got very angry and spat out, “do you intend to rule us? Will you actually rule us?” (Genesis 37:8) They hated me I could tell because of what I had said about the dream, and how our father treated me.
Then a while later I told them and our father about another dream, I told them, "This time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” Father launched into me; “What is this dream? Will your mother, (who was still alive at the time) and I and your brothers actually come and bow down to the ground before you?” My brothers were so jealous, oh how they hated me. Maybe it would have been better to have said nothing.
Then it happened. I had no idea how much my brothers despised me, they loathed me. Was it my fault I was the favored child? My father had seen to that, not my doing. Well, this day father had told me to head out to find the rest of my brothers who had his flocks and were grazing them near Shechem. I was happy to go, but I was to find out how they were and how the flocks were, then report back to Father about the state of things.
Well, I got to where everyone was supposed to be, but after wandering around looking for them, I was approached by a man who asked what I was looking for. After telling him about the flocks and my brothers, he told me that they had moved on from there, and that he had heard them say they would go to Dothan. So, I went and found them there.
As I approached them something didn’t seem quite right, they grabbed me and I thought it was just joking around but one of them knocked me down, I didn't see who. And then there was talk among them of killing me, I was frightened, terrified. Then Reuben the oldest took control of the situation; he called out to stop “don’t shed his blood. Throw him into this cistern here in the wilderness, but don’t lay a hand on him.” I was not sure if he said that to rescue me or so I would die a slow death. I found out later he intended to rescue me and get me home. They then robbed my cloak from me the special one my father had given me. And then threw me in the cistern thought at least I would have water until I died but it was dry.
They sat around the cistern having their meal, laughing at me, giving me nothing and there was no water. At that time, some Ishmaelite travelers were passing, my grandfather’s brothers relatives, second cousins, descendants of Ismal and Haggar.. My brother Judah said to the rest, “What will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? I was pleased to hear that; but then he said “Come, lets sell the bighead to the Ishmaelites and not kill him, remember he is our flesh and blood.” My brothers called out to the travelers, “we have a slave for sale, strong and healthy, a handsome lad, he might fetch you a very good price in the markets, along with your spices, balms and myrrh in Egypt. If you don’t want to sell him, he would be a good labourer, not the brightest but strong enough. My brothers dragged me to them, once the travelers had checked my teeth and felt my arms and back they gave my brothers 20 shekels of silver for me, so I was sold by those closest to me to distant relatives, I was now a slave something to be bought and sold, a commodity, livestock, once my father's favorite son and now worth only what someone would pay for me, once robed in splendor now near naked, once free now bound and awaiting my fate.
I understand that Reuben had not been there at the time, but he returned, and I understand now that I have caught up with events he was distressed at my having been sold.
How would my father take the news? They deceived him, taking my fine robe they tore it and spilt the blood of a goat on it and told him I was the victim of a wild beast.
Father was apparently greatly distressed and cried out “It’s my son's robe! He's been eaten surely by the state of this, torn to pieces.” He then tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and mourned me many days, the brothers kept up their deception and Father refused to be comforted.
My story: the smell of the slave market was a mix of sweat and fear, if you have never been a slave, you will not know the smell of that fear, maybe you know it there are many who are slaves to various masters, master's human, perhaps slaves to sin or addiction. I was sold, the man my new master was good to me, however I worked hard in his household from dawn to dusk daily, his name you ask? Potiphar an official in Pharaoh’s court., the captain of Pharaoh’s guard, I found that hard work had its reward I was very successful, but Potiphar's wife had other plans for me...strangely twisted plans that would lead to the salvation of my family, I can see that trouble was part of God’s plan to save many, but that’s another story, another story for another day.
Take off the hat. That’s better, me again.
I mentioned earlier that Joseph was a Christ type character.
I want now to focus on two things about Joseph.
The symbol of his spender, his beautiful cloak, his very expensive garment became a symbol of his death and destruction as it is presented to his Father covered in blood the sight of it the cause of his Fathers grief. This imagery is mirrored with Jesus, the symbols of his death, his torture and punishment was for our salvation, so that we might be right with God, the stripes of his beating were and are for our healing; “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5). The cross, as the song says, “the emblem of suffering and shame,” this instrument of torture became through Jesus death on it the most celebrated symbol in the history of humanity. How many of you have that torture device worn by you as a piece of jewelry, or displayed in your home in some prominent place as a reminder of what Jesus did for you? Cling to it you might until, you exchange it in his presence for a crown that is due to and a gift of his grace alone.
The second. Joseph forgave and redeemed those who had betrayed him in fact it was God’s plan to save many through the events that saw him sold into slavery, Jesus on the cross said it all when he stated, “Father forgive them for they don’t know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34) The death of Jesus made a way for us all where there was no way. His death is for all of mankind, this fallen race of Adam, the plan that God had for Joesph is ultimately part of the plan for the blessing the descendants of Abraham’s line that was to be a blessing for the whole world through Jesus. This blessing is now ours, do we, do you take hold of it?
Alter call.
