Two Josephs Genesis 37:2-50:21
Restorative Justice Series #3
Trinity United Methodist Church, Providence, RI
September 30, 2001
Rev. Anne Grant
The theme today is that God intends to bring good
From the worst human behavior.
As the deadline for deporting Liberians
has once again been extended yet another year,
many Liberians have told me they believe God is bringing good
out of the tragedy in Liberia.
And it’s true, because God intends to bring good
From even the worst human behavior.
I also believe we are going to see the mercy and sovereign purpose
of God worked out even in these horrific deeds of terror
we have witnessed this month, because
always God intends to bring good
From the worst human behavior.
We never will know how many were killed in the Sept. 11 attacks on World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
Reports suggest that more than 6,200 people may have been killed, and not just Americans, but people from over 50 countries
around the globe--
Sometimes two in a single family.
Over 15,000 children have been orphaned.
How can good come from that?
And yet, with assurance, we can say that
Even from this terrible massacre
And senseless loss of life that was
Intended for evil,
God intends to bring good.
Because that’s what redemption means.
That’s what it means to redeem the lost.
There are some people here today
who want to change the world in some way.
You may see many things in your world—in your family,
in your school, in your workplace, in your church—
that need to be changed. And you want to change it. That’s good.
But none of us can change our world
until we let God change us.
This morning we’re going to look at the stories
of two different Josephs—both of them 17 years old—
who changed their world.
The first one lived 3900 years ago in the
area around the Sinai Peninsula,
between Asia and Africa.
He was a very confident young man, and his brothers hated him,
because he was spoiled and self-centered,
He was their father’s favorite child,
born in Jacob’s old age to his favorite wife.
Young Joseph knew he was destined to be a leader,
But God had a lot of work to do in Joseph
Before he would be ready to lead God’s people
Because Joseph came from a troubled culture.
from a family full of deceit and lies,
Full of secrets, intrigue, manipulation and falsehood,
Full of favoritism and jealousies,
Full of anger and violence.
Joseph’s father, Jacob, when he was a young man,
Had tricked his older twin brother, Esau, out of his birthright.
Jacob had schemed with his mother to deceive his father.
He had covered his body with goat skin
To trick his father into believing he was the brother Esau
and giving him the blessing that belonged to Esau,
And Esau was so enraged that he vowed to kill his brother Jacob.
On and on the family story goes
With more deceit and more revenge,
A very troubled family—
there are many families like it today.
Gen. 37:2b-4 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.
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 a richly ornamented robe for him.
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.
Joseph had a symbolic dream of his brothers bowing down to him
and another of the sun, moon, and stars bowing down to him,
and he foolishly told it to his family,
so that his brothers hated him even more
and his father rebuked him.
Once when his brothers are out tending the flocks at quite a distance,
Jacob sends Joseph to search for them
and find out how they’re doing.
So Joseph went after his brothers and found them near Dothan.
Gen. 37:18 But they saw him in the distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him.
Gen. 37:19 "Here comes that dreamer!" they said to each other.
Gen. 37:20 "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."
The oldest brother Reuben knew this was wrong,
But he also knew his younger brothers would not listen to him,
So he secretly planned to rescue his little brother.
"Let’s not take his life!" Reuben said.
"Don’t shed any blood.
Throw him into this dry cistern here in the desert,
But don’t hurt him."
And that’s what they did.
They took off the beautiful robe his father had given to him
And they threw Joseph into the cistern in the desert,
And they sat down to eat,
Probably discussing what to do next with their prisoner.
At that moment, a caravan appeared,
a long line of camels crossing the desert
Full of merchandise, and Judah got an idea.
"Let’s not kill Joseph. Let’s sell him into slavery."
That’s what they did--without telling their oldest brother.
When Reuben returned,
He was beside himself because he could not find Joseph,
And he cried out, "Where can I turn?"
That question is woven through these Old Testament stories
Of so many troubled families—Where can we turn?
These ancient people are learning
there is only one place they can put their trust—
in God, their Redeemer,
Even though family members may have a plan to do evil,
Still God has a plan to do good, and God’s plan will always prevail.
For God intends to bring good
From the worst human behavior.
We need to remember where to turn.
Joseph and his family slowly learn
What many people in our country have now begun to learn:
There’s only one place we can turn.
Prov. 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
Where can we turn but to the Lord?
Isn’t it amazing?
All across our secular country
Everywhere you look today, there are signs that say:
God bless America. For many, this faith will not last.
But for some it is a life-changing moment,
Some are truly turning toward God.
So the sons of Jacob sold Joseph and killed a goat
They put its blood on Joseph’s beautiful robe
and told their father a wild animal had killed him
so no blame could fall on them.
It’s ironic, because their father many years before
Had killed two goats to deceive his own father
into giving him the blessing
that belonged to his brother, Esau.
And now his own sons have killed a goat to deceive him.
And he mourns for his beloved son,
not knowing Joseph has become a slave
to an official of the king of Egypt.
In the midst of a very troubled family
Where everyone practices deceit,
Joseph’s brothers had a plan to do evil,
But God had a plan to do good,
and God’s plan was the plan that prevailed.
Gen. 39:2 The LORD was with Joseph and he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master.
Gen. 39:3 When his master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD gave him success in everything he did,
Gen. 39:4 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.
Gen. 39:5 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. The blessing of the LORD was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field.
Gen. 39:6 So he left in Joseph’s care everything he had;
Now Potiphar’s wife had a plan to do evil.
Maybe she was just attracted to the handsome young Hebrew who had authority over everything in their house.
Maybe she wanted to punish her husband
For having given full authority to this slave.
She tried to seduce Joseph, but he said no.
This young man knew (Gen. 39:9b) that would be
a sin against God--not just a violation of her husband’s trust,
not just that it would hurt her and hurt himself,
but that it would be a sin against God.
Potiphar’s wife retaliated and told her husband
that the young Hebrew slave had tried to seduce her.
So Potipher put Joseph in prison.
Joseph’s life is a history of ups and downs.
Many of you know what that means.
Sometimes life feels like one long scary roller-coaster ride,
Up and down, up and down.
Joseph was up on a pedestal, the favorite son,
who was thrown down into the pit.
He was lifted up out of the pit,
only to be taken down into Egypt
into slavery, he rose up quickly to the highest level
of authority in Potiphar’s house,
only to be falsely accused, and dragged down to prison.
But then while he was way down in prison, it says
Gen. 39:21 the LORD was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden.
Gen. 39:22 So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there.
Gen. 39:23 The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s care, because the LORD was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.
Even though Potiphar’s wife had a plan to do evil,
Still God had a plan to do good,
and God’s plan was the plan that prevailed.
God is using these experiences to change Joseph
so Joseph could change his world.
Joseph knew he was destined to be a leader,
but first he must become a servant to the servants in prison.
Two servants of the king were there, the cupbearer and the baker.
And Joseph was assigned to serve these servants.
One day he came to serve them, and they were looking very sad.
He asked them why. They said they each had a dream,
And they didn’t know what it meant.
Then Joseph said to them (40:8):
"Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell me your dreams."
Wherever he was, no matter whom he was serving,
Joseph always remembered the One
who he was really serving was God.
He never got so high and he never got so low
That he didn’t remember who he belonged to.
The cupbearer and baker told Joseph their dreams:
Good news and bad news.
Joseph tells the cupbearer he’s going to be restored
To his position.
Joseph tells the baker, he will be executed.
Both interpretations come true.
The baker was hung, the cupbearer was set free,
The cupbearer’s job was very important, because he made sure
nobody put any poison into the King’s drink,
just like we suddenly have national guards
protecting our water supply.
The cupbearer could always speak to the Pharaoh,
and he had promised to speak on behalf of Joseph,
And help get Joseph out of prison.
But he forgot his promise.
Two years passed. God’s work of changing us takes time.
The Pharaoh had a dream
And only then did the cupbearer remember,
Oh yes! When I was in prison, there was a Hebrew there
Who interpreted our dreams correctly.
And the Pharaoh sent for Joseph,
And Joseph was brought up out of the dungeon
Way up into the Pharaoh’s palace.
Pharaoh said to Joseph: I hear you can interpret dreams,
And Joseph remembered who he served and said (Genesis 41:16)
"I cannot do it, but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires."
Wherever he was, no matter whom he was serving,
Joseph always remembered the One
who he was really serving.was God.
He never got so high and he never got so low
That he didn’t remember who he belonged to.
And Joseph interpreted the Phaoah’s dream:
There would be seven years of abundance in Egypt,
Followed by seven years of famine.
Gen. 41:33 "And now let Pharaoh look for a discerning and wise man and put him in charge of the land of Egypt.
That person would oversee the collection of food during the plentiful years—enough to carry them through the years of famine.
Gen. 41:37 The plan seemed good to Pharaoh and to all his officials.
Gen. 41:38 So Pharaoh asked them, "Can we find anyone like this man, one in whom is the spirit of God?"
…
Gen. 41:40 You shall be in charge of my palace, and all my people are to submit to your orders. …
Gen. 41:41 So Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I hereby put you in charge of the whole land of Egypt."
Gen. 41:42 Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his finger and put it on Joseph’s finger. He dressed him in robes of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck.
Gen. 41:43 He had him ride in a chariot as his second-in-command, and men shouted before him, "Make way!" Thus he put him in charge of the whole land of Egypt.
Gen. 41:44 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I am Pharaoh, but without your word no one will lift hand or foot in all Egypt."
Wherever he was, no matter whom he was serving,
Joseph always remembered the One
he was really serving.was God.
He never got so high and he never got so low
That he didn’t remember who he belonged to.
Joseph was 30 years old when he was
put in charge of the land of Egypt.
He and God together changed the world.
They stored up food that would eventually save the lives of all Egypt
And all the surrounding countries, including his own family,
Including the brothers who had sold him into slavery.
When the years of famine came, the whole region knew
The only place with food was the land of Egypt,
Joseph’s brothers came begging for food,
They never imagined that the Egyptian ruler in charge of it
was their own brother until he revealed it to them and they wept.
Genesis 45:5 And now do not be distressed, or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life.
And they brought their father Jacob to Egypt along with all their families, and Joseph provided them with food and land
and God said to Jacob
Genesis 46:3-4 Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make of you a great nation there. I myself will go down with you to Egypt,
What an amazing act of mercy this was!
For Jacob, the one who had used hunger as a tactic of terror
Against his own brother—
Remember how he had forced Esau to sell his birthright
For a bowl of lentil stew?
Now he comes to his beloved son, Joseph begging for food.
And he gets it as an act of mercy. Why?
Because even though Jacob once had a plan to do evil,
God has a plan to do good,
And God’s plan is the plan that will prevail.
When their father died in Egypt,
Joseph’s brothers got very frightened.
Gen. 50:15 When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, "What if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him?"
Gen. 50:16 So they sent word to Joseph, saying, "Your father left these instructions before he died:
Gen. 50:17 ‘This is what you are to say to Joseph: I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins and the wrongs they committed in treating you so badly.’ Now please forgive the sins of the servants of the God of your father." When their message came to him, Joseph wept.
Gen. 50:18 His brothers then came and threw themselves down before him. "We are your slaves," they said.
Gen. 50:19 But Joseph said to them, "Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God?
Gen. 50:20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.
Gen. 50:21 So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children." And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.
So Joseph’s whole family bowed down to their brother, Joseph.
He knew they would way back when he was 17 years old,
What he didn’t know then was that he wasn’t ready for it yet.
He didn’t know how long it would take,
How many ups and downs he had to endure.
He could not have known how to rule until he had been a slave.
He could not have known how to be free until he had been a prisoner.
He could not change his world until God had changed him,
and that took time.
There’s another Joseph,
Who was 17 years old when he was killed in a drive-by shooting
last Sunday when he was walking with friends
on the street where he lived not far from here, on Camp Street,
The young men who shot him,
possibly thinking he was someone else
did not know that in God’s eyes they were his brothers.
As we have come to know Joseph Hector, we have seen a family
with a culture of Godliness and love and healing and reconciliation
That has revealed to us how it was that Joseph got to be
The remarkable young leader he was.
His obituary told how he had been an honor roll student,
how he had received awards for perfect school attendance,
how he was a dietary worker at Summit Nursing Home.
We discovered that his parents ran a church in their home.
And now they are pleading with youth
not to retaliate in their son’s name.
At his funeral, friends told how Joseph painted rundown houses,
How he checked his classmates’ homes for lead paint,
how he prayed for the sick,
how he preferred others before himself, even in basketball--
and never took the first shot for baskets.
He was remembered as the tall kid who made people smile.
One summer he took the bus every day to tutor children
Here on the South Side.
He organized camping trips for his school
and mediated classmates’ disputes.
In other words he was already a leader,
and probably never would have made the mistake
the earlier Joseph had in bragging about it.
Joseph Hector’s laugh was infectious.
He made others feel better about themselves.
He was looking forward to college.
I’m sure his life had its ups and downs, but
He never got so high and he never got so low
That he didn’t remember who he belonged to.
The people who killed Joseph Hector had a plan to do evil,
but God has a plan to do good,
And God’s plan is the plan that will prevail.
Today you may be part of a family like the ancient Joseph was
Where some people have a plan to do evil.
You need to decide whether you will participate in their plan
By retaliating, by trying to get even, by punishing them.
Is that really what you want to do?
Or do you want to participate in God’s plan to do good.
Because God’s plan is the only plan that will prevail in the end.
If you today are part of an ethnic group
Where some people have a plan to do evil.
You need to decide whether you will participate in their plan
Or in God’s plan to do good.
Because God’s plan is the only plan that will prevail.
You and I today are part of a nation
Where some people have a plan to do evil.
You and I need to decide whether we will participate in their plan
Or in God’s plan to do good.
Because God’s plan is the only plan that will prevail in the end.
Every day we are deciding by what we do and what we say
And how we do it and how we say it,
Every moment we are deciding which plan we want to be part of.
When your life has ups and downs,
Always remembered who you are serving.
Never get so high or so low
That you forget who you belong to.
Let’s pray:
Thank you that you intend to bring good from the worst human behavior.
Thank you that you have a plan to change us so that we with you can change the world around us.
Amen.
