2024.09.29.Sermon Notes. Joseph’s Dreams, GOD’s Plan.
William Akehurst, HSWC
BIG IDEA: Joseph was the good son. But to his brothers, he took it too far. So they plotted to end it all, but GOD… But GOD had other plans as the story of Joseph unfolds.
Scripture: Genesis 37:1-36, 2 Corinthians 10:3-5, James 1:14-15, Acts 7:9, 1 Peter 4:12-19, 2 Chronicles 7:14, Romans 8:28, Ephesians 4:31-32, Hebrews 12:1-2
GOD’S CALL ON JOSEPH’S LIFE
JACOB’S FAVOR OF JOSEPH – THE BELOVED SON OF THE FATHER
Genesis 37
1 Now Jacob dwelt in the land where his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan. 2 This is the history of Jacob.
Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brothers. And the lad was with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives; and Joseph brought a bad report of them to his father.
3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age. Also he made him a tunic of many colors. 4 But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peaceably to him.
Vs. 2. Joseph brings a bad report to his father Jacob about his brothers’ behavior
Vs. 3. Israel (Jacob) loved Joseph above all his children. It says because he was the son of his old age, but let’s REMEMBER, Joseph was the first born of Jacob’s first love, Rachel. Jacob showed his favor by giving Joseph a coat of many colors. Jacob was treating Joseph as his “first born” with favor, and even the possible recipient of “the birthright”.
Vs. 4. The brothers hated him and spoke harshly towards him.
JOSEPH’S FIRST DREAM
5 Now Joseph had a dream, and he told it to his brothers; and they hated him even more. 6 So he said to them, “Please hear this dream which I have dreamed: 7 There we were, binding sheaves in the field. Then behold, my sheaf arose and also stood upright; and indeed your sheaves stood all around and bowed down to my sheaf.”
8 And his brothers said to him, “Shall you indeed reign over us? Or shall you indeed have dominion over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.
Vs. 5. Joseph had a dream, told it to his brothers, and they hated him even more.
Was this Joseph being naive or a prideful boast?
Vs. 6-7. The dream. My sheaf rose upright, your sheaves bowed to me. I will be exhalted above you, and you will bow down to me. You are below me. I am higher than you.
Vs. 8. His brothers’ reactions-they hated him even more for what Joseph said.
JOSEPH’S SECOND DREAM
9 Then he dreamed still another dream and told it to his brothers, and said, “Look, I have dreamed another dream. And this time, the sun, the moon, and the eleven stars bowed down to me.”
10 So he told it to his father and his brothers; and his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall your mother and I and your brothers indeed come to bow down to the earth before you?” 11 And his brothers envied him, but his father kept the matter in mind.
Vs. 9. A second dream. Sun = father, moon = mother, and 11 stars=brothers would bow down.
Vs. 10. Jacob rebukes Joseph for his words
JOSEPH SOLD BY HIS BROTHERS
12 Then his brothers went to feed their father’s flock in Shechem. 13 And Israel said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers feeding the flock in Shechem? Come, I will send you to them.”
So he said to him, “Here I am.”
14 Then he said to him, “Please go and see if it is well with your brothers and well with the flocks, and bring back word to me.” So he sent him out of the Valley of Hebron, and he went to Shechem.
15 Now a certain man found him, and there he was, wandering in the field. And the man asked him, saying, “What are you seeking?”
16 So he said, “I am seeking my brothers. Please tell me where they are feeding their flocks.”
17 And the man said, “They have departed from here, for I heard them say, ‘Let us go to Dothan.’ ” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them in Dothan.
Vs. 12. The brothers were feeding the flocks in Shechem, the place where they had killed and looted the men of the land.
Vs. 13-17. Jacob sends Joseph to check on them. Joseph travels about 15 miles on foot to find his brothers in Dothan.
CONSPIRACY TO KILL JOSEPH
18 Now when they saw him afar off, even before he came near them, they conspired against him to kill him. 19 Then they said to one another, “Look, this dreamer is coming! 20 Come therefore, let us now kill him and cast him into some pit; and we shall say, ‘Some wild beast has devoured him.’ We shall see what will become of his dreams!”
Vs. 18-20 The brothers saw Joseph coming at a distance, and they conspired to kill him.
Sin was in their hearts even before they acted on it.
POINT: Our sin problem begins in our heart and must be dealt with on the heart level.
TAKE EVERY THOUGHT CAPTIVE
2 Corinthians 10:3-5 3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.
WRONGFUL THOUGHTS LEAD TO SIN AND DEATH
James 1:14-15 14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. 15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.
Vs. 19. “Look this dreamer is coming!”. His brothers mocked Joseph as his dreams were still on their minds. Joseph brought this upon himself by the way he spoke of his God-given dreams before his brothers. Boastful, Proud, or Naïve?
Vs. 20. They plotted an excuse for Joseph’s murder, knowing full well it would devastate their father Jacob.
“We shall see what becomes of his dreams.” They didn’t know if or how those dreams would pan out.
They didn’t know what Joseph would go through to get there.
POINT: Living a life focused on dreams can be dangerous, especially when we make it the most important thing in our life, as an idol.
The brothers were determined to defeat the dream…GOD’s revealed word, but GOD’s WORD never fails.
REUBEN’S PLAN TO RESCUE JOSEPH
21 But Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands, and said, “Let us not kill him.” 22 And Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit which is in the wilderness, and do not lay a hand on him”—that he might deliver him out of their hands, and bring him back to his father.
Vs. 21. Reuben suggested they not kill him, but rather throw Joseph into a pit. Remember, Reuben did a terrible thing a few chapters back in Genesis 35 where he slept with one of his father’s wives/concubines. But here Reuben would be found to be more honorable than his brothers.
Vs. 22. “that he might deliver him out of their hands, and bring him back to his father.”
Reuben didn’t try to stop his brothers, he tried to out-smart them. He could have stood up and told them to stop thinking these wrongful thoughts. But instead, he kept the peace with his brothers and went along with them.
Reuben wanted to do what was right, to bring Joseph back to his father, but because he didn’t stand up and stop his brothers, his rescue would never happen.
POINT. How many times do we see something going the wrong way, but do not stand our ground, and speak up and do what is right?
THROWN INTO THE PIT
23 So it came to pass, when Joseph had come to his brothers, that they stripped Joseph of his tunic, the tunic of many colors that was on him. 24 Then they took him and cast him into a pit. And the pit was empty; there was no water in it.
Vs. 23. They stripped him of his coat, the sign of their father’s favor for Joseph. Not only were they bitter towards Joseph and his pride, but their father, for his pride in Joseph.
COMPARE: thinking of JESUS, it’s HIS Righteousness that clothes every believer. The enemy, satan, wants to devour, kill and destroy…he wants us to feel naked and afraid, cursed and helpless. But IN CHRIST, GOD covers us, clothes us in HIS Righteousness.
Joseph would not be devoured, killed or destroyed, he would be sold, redeemed, and restored to an even higher position than before.
A sinner, who accepts GOD’s Plan of Salvation, and repents, from being stripped of everything, now clothed in GOD’s RIGHTEOUSNESS, and sealed with the HOLY SPIRIT in CHRIST JESUS.
JOSEPH SOLD!
25 And they sat down to eat a meal. Then they lifted their eyes and looked, and there was a company of Ishmaelites, coming from Gilead with their camels, bearing spices, balm, and myrrh, on their way to carry them down to Egypt. 26 So Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is there if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? 27 Come and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother and our flesh.” And his brothers listened. 28 Then Midianite traders passed by; so the brothers pulled Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt.
Vs. 25. Ishmaelites. Arab Traders from their great uncle, Abraham’s other son.
Vs. 26. Judah speaks. “What benefit is there to kill and conceal a murder when we could sell him for money?” “And his brothers listened.”
This cruel, heartless plan to kill their brother, turns to a financial transaction for 20 shekels of silver.
FORESHADOWING: We will watch Judah, the one from whom would come the Messiah. Who will change in heart and character in the upcoming chapters.
Vs. 28. They pulled him from the pit. No words are recorded of Joseph’s reaction. Perhaps his brothers had played a cruel joke on him. But when he saw the transaction for money, imagine his heart.
REMEMBER. No matter what we experience, GOD is still in control, watching and directing our lives to accomplish HIS purpose. Easy to say, difficult to experience.
GOD’s WORD would be proved true, no matter what Joseph’s brothers did to him.
GOD’s WORD would be proved true about JESUS, no matter what others did to him.
GOD’s WORD will be proved true about you, not matter what others do or have done to you.
THE COVERUP
29 Then Reuben returned to the pit, and indeed Joseph was not in the pit; and he tore his clothes. 30 And he returned to his brothers and said, “The lad is no more; and I, where shall I go?”
31 So they took Joseph’s tunic, killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the tunic in the blood. 32 Then they sent the tunic of many colors, and they brought it to their father and said, “We have found this. Do you know whether it is your son’s tunic or not?”
Vs. 29. Reuben is distraught, his weak stand for righteousness accomplished nothing.
Vs. 30. “Where shall I go?” I can’t make things right. I can’t hide. It’s too late.
Joseph might as well be dead because his father who loved him wouldn’t see him again.
Vs. 31-32. They dip the coat in blood and take it to Jacob. “We found this…” They lied.
The brothers’ hearts were not only hard with hatred of their brother Joseph, but also with their father Jacob for his love of Joseph.
POINT: Favoritism can cause problems in family. ‘Nuf said.’
JACOB’S GRIEF
33 And he recognized it and said, “It is my son’s tunic. A wild beast has devoured him. Without doubt Joseph is torn to pieces.” 34 Then Jacob tore his clothes, put sackcloth on his waist, and mourned for his son many days. 35 And all his sons and all his daughters arose to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted, and he said, “For I shall go down into the grave to my son in mourning.” Thus his father wept for him.
Vs. 33. “It’s my son’s tunic.” Imagine the pain of a father losing his beloved son. The cruelty of the brothers who decided to live their lives with this secret.
Vs. 34. Jacob tore his clothes, and mourned, refusing to be comforted. This is deep distraught, for Jacob believed what he had been told.
PRINCIPLE: What we believe must be based on truth, not lies. As a believer, we have been set free from sin. That’s GOD’s WORD. But Satan, the accuser wants to persuade us, tempt us to believe that we can’t be set free, and if we choose to believe that way, that’s how we will live our lives day to day.
SO CHOOSE. Will you live your life in the TRUTH of GOD’s WORD, or succumb to the lies and negativity of the accuser?
GOD’S PLAN
36 Now the Midianites had sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and captain of the guard.
Vs. 36. GOD’s PLAN begins to unfold. But Joseph will have to go through more humility to get to the final destiny of GOD’s Plan. We will continue with the account of Joseph to the end of Genesis, Chapter 50 and see GOD’s Hand at work in the lives of the Nation of Israel.
To be continued…!
BUT GOD…
Acts 7:9 “And the patriarchs, becoming envious, sold Joseph into Egypt. But God was with him.
TRIALS AND TRIBULATION FOR GOD’S GLORY
GOING THRU DIFFICULTIES, SUBMIT YOURSELF TO GOD AND LET HIM ORDER YOUR STEPS.
1 Peter 4:12-19 12 Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; 13 but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy. 14 If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified. 15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a busybody in other people’s matters. 16 Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter.
17 For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God? 18 Now “If the righteous one is scarcely saved, Where will the ungodly and the sinner appear?”
19 Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator.
REPENTANCE STARTS WITH THE CHURCH
2 Chronicles 7:14
14 if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
DIFFICULT TIMES WILL WORK FOR GOOD AS GOD CAN USE THOSE DIFFICULTIES TO REDIRECT US.
Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
DO WHAT IS RIGHT, EVEN WHEN THINGS ARE WRONG.
FORGIVE AS YOU HAVE BEEN FORGIVEN.
Ephesians 4:31-32 31 Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. 32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.
Scholars have stated that Joseph’s life is a reflection of CHRIST.
JESUS was despised and rejected of men. HE took upon HIMSELF the abuse, mocking and mistreatment, and yet without sin.
Joseph will endure many trials, temptations, abuse and false accusations and yet remain pure.
In the end, both are exalted,
Joseph to save his people from rags to riches. From the beloved son, to slavery, to second in command next to Pharoah over all Egypt.
JESUS bringing salvation to the world, from heavens riches to earthly rags for sinful man. To redeem us and exchange his RIGHTEOUSNESS for our filthiness, our sin, upon a cruel cross. But GOD doesn’t leave HIM there, HIS-story continues with LIFE in the Resurrection, and RESTORATION in the Ascension to the RIGHT HAND of GOD, where the BELOVED SON rules over all of Creation, given Power over Life and Death.
Therefore, just as Joseph did, let us lay aside the sin that would hold us back, and run the race of life with integrity and purity before the LORD. For HIS Glory, Honor and Praise.
Hebrews 12:1-2
1 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
We will see the meaning of these verses come to light as we continue on this path with Joseph to JESUS.
FATHER, thank YOU for showing us that no matter what we are facing in our lives, YOU have a plan for us. Help us to remember that YOU use the experiences of our lives to shape us and direct us to accomplish that plan. Guide us in YOUR WAYS, and lead us in all TRUTH for LIFE, by the PRESENCE of HOLY SPIRIT, we ask In JESUS Name, Amen.
Be blessed and be a blessing
Bill
