Joseph

Joseph

Question of the day: What keeps you up at night?

My answer tonight is teenagers.  It is almost 1 AM and I am just starting the process of writing this.  I have had a woman who has been tormented by demands ask me to pray for her today.  Then a long conversation with a young girl who walked into the chapel where we were having the anointing service. She was not Adventist but was just seeking God and walked around the lake and into the chapel.  I cleaned the chapel and then when I was ready to leave I went to tell her, and noticed she was crying. I asked if she would like to talk to a complete stranger and she said yes.  We talked for over an hour.  She was just a young woman looking for God.  What a blessing it was.   Then after getting home I had some very serious conversations with the students staying with me.  Until minutes ago.  I'm sick, exhausted... and now for the lesson.   

Today we get to start the story of Joseph.  We will be reading and studying Genesis 37.  

Joseph's Dreams

37 Jacob lived in the land of his father's so journings, in the land of Canaan.

2 These are the generations of Jacob.

Joseph, being seventeen years old, was pasturing the flock with his brothers. He was a boy with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father's wives. And Joseph brought a bad report of them to their father. 3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his sons, because he was the son of his old age. And he made him a robe of many colors.[a] 4 But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peacefully to him.

What do we notice here in these first few verses?

1. Jacob/Israel is home.  In His land.

2. Joseph was 17 years old.

3. He told on his brothers.

4. Jacob loved him the most and made him the famous coat.

5. "When his brothers saw..." that their brother loved Joseph more... It was not just assumed but seen.

6.  The brothers hated him. 

5 Now Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers they hated him even more. 6 He said to them, “Hear this dream that I have dreamed: 7 Behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and behold, my sheaf arose and stood upright. And behold, your sheaves gathered around it and bowed down to my sheaf.” 8 His brothers said to him, “Are you indeed to reign over us? Or are you indeed to rule over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.

9 Then he dreamed another dream and told it to his brothers and said, “Behold, I have dreamed another dream. Behold, the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” 10 But when he told it to his father and to his brothers, his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall I and your mother and your brothers indeed come to bow ourselves to the ground before you?” 11 And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the saying in mind.

Joseph Sold by His Brothers

12 Now his brothers went to pasture their father's flock near Shechem.13 And Israel said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers pasturing the flock at Shechem? Come, I will send you to them.” And he said to him, “Here I am.” 14 So he said to him, “Go now, see if it is well with your brothers and with the flock, and bring me word.” So he sent him from the Valley of Hebron, and he came to Shechem. 15 And a man found him wandering in the fields. And the man asked him, “What are you seeking?” 16 “I am seeking my brothers,” he said. “Tell me, please, where they are pasturing the flock.” 17 And the man said, “They have gone away, for I heard them say, ‘Let us go to Dothan.’” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan.

18 They saw him from afar, and before he came near to them they conspired against him to kill him. 19 They said to one another, “Here comes this dreamer. 20 Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits.[b] Then we will say that a fierce animal has devoured him, and we will see what will become of his dreams.” 21 But when Reuben heard it, he rescued him out of their hands, saying, “Let us not take his life.” 22 And Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but do not lay a hand on him”—that he might rescue him out of their hand to restore him to his father. 23 So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the robe of many colors that he wore. 24 And they took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it.

25 Then they sat down to eat. And looking up they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing gum, balm, and myrrh, on their way to carry it down to Egypt. 26 Then Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? 27 Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.” And his brothers listened to him. 28 Then Midianite traders passed by. And they drew Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels[c] of silver. They took Joseph to Egypt.

29 When Reuben returned to the pit and saw that Joseph was not in the pit, he tore his clothes 30 and returned to his brothers and said, “The boy is gone, and I, where shall I go?” 31 Then they took Joseph's robe and slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood. 32 And they sent the robe of many colors and brought it to their father and said, “This we have found; please identify whether it is your son's robe or not.” 33 And he identified it and said, “It is my son's robe. A fierce animal has devoured him. Joseph is without doubt torn to pieces.” 34 Then Jacob tore his garments and put sackcloth on his loins and mourned for his son many days. 35 All his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted and said, “No, I shall go down to Sheol to my son, mourning.” Thus his father wept for him. 36 Meanwhile the Midianites had sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard.

A speaker here at camp meeting was speaking about how Jesus correctly lived out many of the situations in the lives of the bible greats.  

Are there any parallels here with the story of Jesus? 

Is that important?

What stands out to you about this part of the story?

What was the driving force behind the brothers behavior?

I want us to think deeper than the obvious jealousy.

Was there anything wrong with what they were needing from their father?

Should their father have given that to them?

What are some of the mistakes that Jacob made in parenting?

What about the brothers, what are some mistakes they made?

How many times do we take our needs, even good needs and when they are not met as we think they should be we then start acting out in some ungodly way?

What about Joseph?

What must this time have been like for him?

In this story we know the big picture, but Joseph does not, how many times do we find ourselves headed down a path that we didn't want to go, without a choice in the matter.  What should our response be?

We know that in spite of being sold into slavery that this is far from the end for Joseph, but he didn't know that at the time.  

If you find yourself sold into slavery there is hope.  

My conversation in the stone chapel earlier tonight with a young woman was about loneliness.  She is desperately seeking a mentor or friendship.  She felt alone, completely alone.  I affirmed her desire to have a companion by expressing to her that God created in her the need for companionship. 

In this story there are lots of justified needs...

Jacob.  He favored Joseph, but really all he ever wanted was to take Rachel as his wife, but he was tricked into having kids from other women.  Is it so awful that he loved the ones connected to the woman he had chosen as his wife?   My point is that the desire to have one wife, and a happy family with just her is not a bad desire, correct.  Then the brothers... they desired to be loved by their father, to find favor in his eyes.  Anything wrong with that?  Joseph, desired to be with his family, and must have been hurt and lonely.  Is there anything wrong with that desire?

Justified needs don't give us permission to act out!

The issue here is how and what was done as a result of those needs.  

Jacob didn't love those he should have, the brothers sold their brother, lied to their father and then Joseph...

We will get into what Joseph did next week, but you know the story.

I want to challenge us to look at what our desires and wants are.  What our hurts are and how we are dealing with both.  

Are we remaining honorable? Are we looking to Christ and letting him fill our holes, repair our hearts, or are we finding other means and ways?

This week as I have had the opportunity to pray with people, there is a common theme.  People are broken, and when we are broken we often seek to fill our brokenness in ways that creates more brokenness. 

We are all broken in someway, the issue is how do we go through life?  Are we going to take our brokenness to Christ and let him heal and restore us or are we going to do ridiculous things that end up causing more harm to ourselves and others. 

Will you this morning choose Jesus and His way to mend your brokenness and to heal?  Or will you choose your way?

KNOW LOVE.

LIVE LOVE.

SHARE LOVE.