A TEENAGER IN TROUBLE
TEXT- GENESIS 37-39
INTRODUCTION.
This morning I would like to go back to our study in the book of Genesis—“ The Book of The Beginnings of Faith”. We have been away from this study for the last 3 weeks, as we have discussed Mother’s Day, Graduates, and Memorial Day. This morning I want to talk about a teenager and experiencing God when you’re young.
THE TEENAGE YEARS ARE DIFFICULT.
The teenage years are very difficult for teenagers and their parents. Even in a normal family, and I emphasis normal family, parents and teenagers just don’t always understand each other. We can have what we call a communication gap!
A teenage boy comes home late at night and his father is waiting up. The boy says, “I have good news and bad news.” and the father says, “Well, let me have the good news first”. The teenager says, “The airbags work!” Now that’s good news.
Sometimes parents have a hard time figuring out where these teenagers are coming from.
One day a teenage boy was walking with his father in a department store, and they went to the weight lifting section. The boy had decided to build his body into pure muscle by weight lifting. His father is skeptical.
The boy says, “ Please dad, I promise I’ll use them every day.”
Dad replies, “Mike, I don’t know, that’s really a big commitment on your part”.
The boy says, “ Please Dad, I’m totally committed!”
Dad looks at the price and says, “They ain’t cheap either, but I guess so.” He pays for them and turns to walk out of the store and when he gets to the door he hears his son say,
“ You mean I have to carry them to the car Myself?”
It’s not always just the boys either! A teenage girl who had been on the phone for a half-hour, and she hung up just as her father walked by the door.
The father said, “Hey, that was a short call. You usually talk for two hours or more—what happened?”
The girl replied, “Oh, it was just a wrong number!”
Now these things happen in a normal family. So, what about a dys-functional family? In our past study in Genesis we talked about Jacob, now re-named Israel, growing up in a dysfunctional family. In Genesis 37 we find Jacob having problems in his own family. Much of that trouble was caused by Jacob himself; and, it goes back to that old problem—favoritism.
Genesis 37:1-3
1 “ Now Jacob lived in the land where his father had sojourned, in the land of Canaan.”
2 “ These are the records of the generations of Jacob.
Joseph, when seventeen years of age, was pasturing the flock with his brothers while he was still a youth, along with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives. And Joseph brought back a bad report about them to his father.”
3 “Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his sons, because he was the son of his old age; and he made him a varicolored tunic.”
THE CHALLENGE OF YOUTH.
The first thing I want you to notice is how young Joseph is. He is only seventeen years old—still a teenager. Every indication is that Joseph had served God faithfully from his youth.
He reminds us of Paul’s co-worker in the New Testament. His name was Timothy and he had been taught about God and the scriptures by his mother and grandmother from the time he was young. ( 2 Timothy 1:5). That did not make him a perfect teenager or probably keep him from doing a few things that might have disappointed his mother and grandmother.
His being taught did point his life in the best direction, and it prepared his heart to receive the Gospel when Paul preached in Lystra. It provided him the opportunity to join Paul’s ministry shortly after his conversion as a young man. (Acts 16:1-5).
Timothy, like Joseph, reminds us of the preacher’s advice in Eccl. 12:1, “ Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come…”
God will accept all those of any age that desire to serve Him, but there is a great advantage of accepting Christ in their youth. They don’t have to look back in their old age at a misspent life and full of regrets. Their faith when they are young can guide them throughout their life, and they can enjoy God’s presence for many years.
The story of Joseph found in the book of Genesis gives a detailed account of a life under God’s care from its earliest years. He was prepared for the Lord in his youth and used powerfully in a unique role as a deliverer of his people.
THE STORY OF JOSEPH.
Genesis 37 begins a new narrative that will continue to the end of the book. Up to this point the Genesis account has concerned primarily those in the messianic line from Father Abraham to Jacob. If the writer had continued this line, he would have been telling us about the life of Judah.
Many think that Joseph was in the messianic line to Jesus Christ himself—but they are mistaken. The messianic line comes from Jacob to his son Judah, not Joseph. I can see how people make that mistake, because we can draw so many parallels between the life of Joseph and that of Jesus Christ. Both were rejected by their own people and both saved their people.
Now we find Judah taking a backseat to the story of Joseph, and how do we account for that?
For one thing, the activity of God focused more on the life of Joseph, because of the importance of the unfolding of God’s plan to save mankind. The Old Testament will be more concerned with establishing the nation of Israel as God’s people—and Joseph was a vital part of that plan.
When we look at the life of Joseph, it begins with him being recognized as the favorite son. Jacob also made this very obvious to his other sons. This ends up with a family that is split—tragedy—and deception. Jacob will be deceived just as he deceived his father.
JOSEPH’S EARLY LIFE STORY.
Now Israel made Joseph a special coat—a full-length coat of many colors—a richly ornamented robe, and it was a sign to his brothers that he was his father’s favorite.
Genesis 37:4, “ And his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers; and so they hated him and could not speak to him on friendly terms.”
They saw that coat as a sign to them, and they could sure see him coming! It’s ironic that they would use that same coat to cover up their sins—they would use it to deceive their father about Joseph’s fate.
THE DREAMS.
Then there was the case of the dreams—not their dreams but Joseph’s dreams.
Genesis 37:5, “ Then Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more.”
He told them of his dream of being in the field gathering sheaves, and all their sheaves bowed down to his sheaf. His brothers said to him in verse 8, “Are you actually going to reign over us?” Or, “Are you really going to rule over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and his words.
Now Joseph had not learned to stop there, because this teenager tells his brothers and his father about another dream. He told them the sun and the moon and eleven stars were bowing down to him. Jacob becomes concerned and rebukes Joseph for his dream that his father and mother and all of his brothers would bow down to him.
Now the question came to me about Joseph’s dreams. I wondered, were these dreams from God or where they just dreams? I couldn’t find anywhere in scripture where it specifically said that God gave Joseph these dreams.
· I do know that these dreams were lived out in Joseph’s life in the presence of God.
· I do know these dreams got him into trouble with his brothers and got him thrown into a pit and sold into slavery.
· I do know that after he was thrown into prison in Egypt, his dreams led to his release and being elevated to the second highest position in Egypt.
I have to assume that these dreams had to do with the providence of God and part of his plan for Joseph and all of Israel.
I do know how mad these dreams made his brothers—and by the way, they were pretty rough guys! Look at what they said when they saw him coming to check upon them as they grazed the flock that day in Dotham. (Verse 19), “ Here comes this Dreamer!”
THE PITS OF LIFE.
The brothers were used to Joseph coming to check up on them. (Verse 2), “And Joseph brought back a bad report about them to their father.”
I would imagine they thought, “Here comes the little Rat!” Or they may have called him “Tattletale”.
Was Joseph just a tattletale? I don’t know if that title is fair. He did report on his brothers, but they evidently did a lot of things that needed reporting. And Joseph did tell the truth.
He told the truth because he saw God in his life. Even when he was young he honored God by telling the truth. This is a good example for all teenagers.
I might suggest that Joseph could best be described as one of the first “WHISTLEBLOWERS”. Now you’ve heard about “whistleblowers” in companies and in government, haven’t you? They report on their bosses or fellow workers for wrongdoing. They are not very popular, but they say they are telling the truth!
So, young Joseph comes to his older brothers that day and something happens that will shape the world and all mankind. As the brothers see this teenager coming toward them, they are full of jealousy and decide to kill him! His older brother, Rueben, saves him by suggesting they put him into a pit. Another brother, Judah, again saves his life sometime later by suggesting they sell Joseph into slavery. Remember, these men are the future heads of the families of Israel—but they are not nice guys!
The brothers then plot a cover-up about his disappearance by putting animal blood on the coat and carrying it back to their father. They probably said something like, “Sorry, Dad! A wild animal ate your favorite son, and we are sure going to miss him!”
Boy! Don’t you know Joseph was really surprised by these events! I probably made my brothers mad sometimes, but I never worried about them selling me into slavery. I bet Joseph was thinking, “Wow! I wish I had kept my mouth shut!”
A TEENAGER IN SLAVERY.
The Midianites took Joseph down to Egypt and sold him to Potiphar.
Genesis 39:1, “ Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt; and Potiphar, as Egyptian officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the bodyguard, bought him from the Ishmaelites, who had taken him down there.”
Don’t you know this young man was doing some heavy thinking and praying on his trip to Egypt! He looks up and finds himself separated from his father and his brothers for the first time in his life. He was heading for an unknown future, and he had to thinking, “Boy, how did I get here?”
If we found ourselves in this situation we would probably ask ourselves, “Who can I trust?” Joseph knew who to trust. Even though he was young, Joseph knew who to trust. Joseph trusted in God—and if we are smart, we will too! Joseph trusted God! And God blessed him—which is a great example for all teenagers—as well as all the rest of us!
Genesis 39:2-4
2 “And the Lord was with Joseph, so he became a successful man. And he was in the house of his master, the Egyptian.
3 “ Now his master saw that the Lord was with him and the Lord caused all that he did to prosper in his hand.
4 “So Joseph found favor in his sight, and became his personal servant; and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he owned he put in his charge.”
Now, let’s stop here and think about all the different ways this teenage kid could have reacted to this journey in his life. He could have thought, “Boy, I got it bad and I give up”, or, “ Hey! No more mister nice guy for me!” He could have just reacted to a bad environment and simply quit—but he didn’t!
· He could have just said, “Hey, I came from a dysfunctional family and I’m a victim and can’t rise up in life because I’m a VICTIM.”
· He could have said, “ I’m a born loser because I didn’t do anything to cause this, so I just quit.”
· He could have said the worst thing, “God, you’ve left me!”
Joseph didn’t say any of these things. He just trusted God—and God took care of him. If we trust God, then God will take care of us too.
A NEW PROBLEM.
Since God has taken care of him, Joseph finds life is great. He might think, “No more crazy family, no more pits, no more being in bondage as a slave.” He has risen to a servant of one of the top officials of Egypt. Life is good. He might think, “NO MORE PROBLEMS!”
I guess he might think, in his young life, he had passed all the tough tests of life. He might say, “How can the Devil test me now?”
Now Joseph will face one of the toughest tests of life—it is called the lust of the flesh! We call it SEX! We are born as sexual creatures, and now Joseph is going to have to pass this test. This is a difficult test for all, and especially TEENAGERS!
POTIPHAR’S WIFE.
Life is pretty good for Joseph, but then comes Potiphar’s wife, and she likes Joseph. He is a fine looking young man!
Genesis 39:6-7, “Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance.”
7 “And it came about after these events that his master’s wife looked with desire at Joseph, and she said,” Lie with me.”
Now Joseph knows the new test in his life—a test of his integrity, his self control—a test of what he wants physically versus what God wants spiritually.
I know the story of Joseph is a woman seducing a young man, but the test would be the same if it was an older man seducing a young woman—a younger woman and an older man—a young man and an older woman or a teenager trying to entice someone into a sexual relationship before marriage.
It’s always the same test! It’s always the same words—“Hey, no one will know.” or, “ Nobody is going to get hurt.” or, “Why shouldn’t we enjoy ourselves?” These are words that test the Christianity of us all!
HOW SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE HANDLE TEMPTATION.
Joseph gives us the prefect way of showing how successful people handle temptation. The first thing is that he never hesitated in giving her an answer. In verse 8 the text simply says, “But he refused.” Joseph then gives two reasons why he rejected her advances.
First of all, Joseph would not betray Potiphar’s trust in him. This was the test of his integrity. The test is this: “Can I be trusted when no one is watching.”
Secondly, Joseph says, “It is a sin against God, and that is enough reason!”
Now, when we analyze all of this, we see that sexual immorality is a sin against the one who trusted you, and that could be your girl friend or your boyfriend, or your wife or husband.
Another thing we should consider concerning sexual immorality is that it is a sin against your own body.
1st CORINTHIANS 6:18, “ Flee immorality. Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body.”
It’s tough enough dealing with this arising occasionally; but, what if this is an ongoing, everyday event? Let’s read verse 10, “And it came about as she spoke to Joseph day after day, that he did not listen to her to lie beside her or be with her.”
Now Joseph remained faithful to God and to himself, and he refused to be around her. It would have of been nice if she had just given up; however, this woman was a selfish, self-absorbed individual. Shakesphere once wrote, “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.” And I think that could stand for a man too!
Potiphar’s wife set him up one day, and grabs his garments, and he runs away, leaving his garments in her hand. She accuses him—and she does it loudly! I bet the news networks would have Joseph convicted before he ever went to trial!
This boy did all the right things but he still got in trouble! The wife lies to husband and he throws Joseph into prison.
HOW DOES A TEENAGER REACT TO THAT?
Joseph must have done some pretty heavy thinking those first few hours in prison. He might have been thinking:
· “Did I do something wrong? No, I don’t think so. But, why am I in prison?”
· “What do I do now? I know—I’ll do the same thing I always do and trust God.”
· “I’m here and I will serve God, and become the model prisoner.”
Joseph resisted temptation and succeeded—so what are some tips about winning out over temptation?
· First –“Be alert to evil” 1 Peter 5:8, “ Be of sober spirit, be on the alert, your adversary, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”
· Second—Pray for victory over temptation—Matt. 6:13, “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”
· Third—Resist temptation with singled-minded determination—James 4:7, “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
· Fourth—Don’t feel to proud to run when you feel cornered. 2 Timothy 2:22, “Now flee youthful lusts, and pursue righteousness…”
Temptation is an inevitable part of human life, and it happens even when you are young. You can be re-assured the temptation will never be more than you can bear, and 1st Cor. 10:13 tells us this is a promise of God.
Joseph is a great example for all teenagers—
· He kept his vision clear and his priorities straight! That is why we call him a Hero!
· That is why he is worth imitating—and that’s how to be successful in what matters most in life.
Now we are going to have to leave Joseph in prison this week. But the question is,
Will God leave him there?
OR,
Is there always a future for those who trust God?
We’ll talk about this next Sunday Morning!
Trust God and he will see you through life, even when you are young.
INVITATION.
