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If you’ve got a Bible, I want to encourage you to turn to Genesis chapter 37. Um, we’re going through big pictures of the Old Testament, and the reason that we’re doing that is, uh, there’s several to know. God’s word is significant because God wrote his word, that we may know him better and understand him more deeply in our personal lives. God has revealed himself to us that we may know him. And one of the great ways in which the platform and God chose to reveal himself is through his written word, so that we as people, as we identify who God is in his nature and we know him in a more personal way through his word can can come to one another and communicate what we’re learning together to make sure one of us hadn’t gotten a little crazy, right? And so God wrote His Word in a in a timeless manner for all people to grab a hold of and understand him corporately, that God, that we may know him and worship him truthfully as he desires to be made known in our in our lives. And when we read God’s Word, we like to generally start in the New Testament. If you’ve not ever read God’s Word, you’re looking for a great place to start. My encouragement to you would be to start in the book of John, or maybe in the book of Hebrews, to get a better understanding of the way God communicates himself to us.
And Paul’s epistles are wonderful places as well. Colossians, Ephesians, Philippians, any of those smaller books? I like them. They make me feel like I read a lot more, you know, get a book done. There’s only 66. You read a five. Chapter one. You’re like, yeah, right. I got that done. And so it’s good to knock it off the list. But God’s Word is a great place for us just to grab timeless truths that that are going to be important to us for the rest of our lives. And the reason we started this in in January, first, for us as a church family, is because we like to make New Year’s resolutions when the year starts, and by the second week of January, we like to pretend like we never made those resolutions that we are no longer good at keeping and and but when it comes to God’s Word, if you make the resolution of reading God’s Word, maybe even for the first time of your life, the wonderful thing about God’s Word is that God’s Word is relevant to you for the rest of your life. And so as you invest time in it, it becomes significant for your life. I love reading the Bible, and the more I understand it, the better I appreciate it. Uh, meaning when when God’s Word looks like a mystery to me and it looks challenging to me sometimes I balk it at better at looking at it, but when I understand it, the more it means to me.
And and you know, the the funny thing about God’s Word is God’s Word is is intended for you to read it. But what you find out as you read God’s Word that God’s Word is better at reading you than you are at reading it, you open up its pages and you start to read what God says. And you’re thinking, how does he know this? You know, oh, oh Lord, I need you right? And and it’s just a wonderful place for God to transform you as as God speaks His Word. The Bible says in in Genesis one, we saw this together, that God said, and it existed. And God said, and it existed, it came to life. And and when you get to Second Timothy chapter three and verse 16, when Paul is describing God’s Word, he says, All Scripture is inspired, or all Scripture is God breathed. And and Paul is drawing for Timothy the implications of of what God was saying way back in Genesis, that when God speaks, life happens, life begins. He is the source of life. And when you look at God’s Word, God’s God’s Word being his words, breathes life into us as people. The very breath of God, as we open up, the pages are being expressed to us and it transforms our life, which is why God’s Word reads us better than we can read it.
We started in the book of Genesis and we’ve quickly jumped from this. We went from creation to a nation. The Bible begins and explains human history in thousands of years of time in just 11 chapters. And then it gets to the idea of Abraham being the father of many nations and starting the Jewish nation. And and from Abraham comes this lineage through which the Messiah would be born. Genesis chapter three gives us the promise of a messiah who would come to redeem all of mankind through the seed of a woman, apart from the seed of man, born of a virgin. Jesus was. And he goes on to identify for us in the book of in the book of Genesis, that Abraham would carry out that lineage through which the Messiah would come. And we saw last week the illustration of Abraham offering Isaac in the very place where Jesus would come to offer himself for us. From the name of Abraham came Isaac and Jacob. Through Jacob came the 12 tribes of Israel. Out of the 12 tribes of Israel, there was born a man named Joseph. Well, today we’re going to look at the concluding story of the life of the man named Joseph as it ends, the Book of Genesis. Joseph is important for us to learn about. Could you imagine when Moses was writing this story to the nation of Israel, there, there in slavery? Moses is being used of God to set them free out of bondage of Egypt.
As slaves. They’ve lost their identity. We don’t feel worth anything. We don’t know who we are or why we exist. We we don’t feel like we’re worth anything to the eyes of people. We’re just slaves. Moses is using the book of beginnings, the Book of Genesis, to build up the identity of the nation of Israel as it relates to God. To see who they are in the eyes of who God is. To see that God has given his incredible worth upon them, because he made them in his image and called them in this world to represent him in his image, to glorify his name. He gets to the end of the life of Joseph, and he’s really answering this question for the nation of Israel. How did we even get into slavery to begin with? I mean, you’re telling us that we’re important. We’re created in God’s image, that God’s hand is with us. But how would God even lead us to this place of Egypt and bondage of where we find ourselves? In Genesis beginning in chapter 30. Really, the life of Joseph is explained to the nation of Israel, but it picks up in about chapter 37 and 39 as it begins to talk more elaborately about who Joseph is and his identity. You look at the nation of Israel reading this, and it’s very important for them to understand why. Why is this guy so, so significant for our lives? And the reason is, is because their line, their genealogy, their identity as a nation can be traced back not just to peoples, but to a person.
To Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and the things that they did and the stands that they made for the Lord affected what would be their lineage and their relationship with God. I don’t know about you, but I take delight in in keeping up with the people that I know had a spiritual impact for Christ in my life. Most of them are still living and being able to talk to them and their relationship with the Lord to see what God’s still doing in their lives. It brings me delight. How God’s working in my world and God’s working in their world. And to see his name proclaimed. You know, the nation of Israel as they read the life of Joseph. Their their interest in the life of Joseph is no different than our interest in the life of Joseph. Through one man. The promise of the Messiah is coming, and God’s tracing his story in history that they may understand how our story relates to his story, which is really God’s story. And it’s saying to us as people this morning, God is communicating for all of us the way that he has chosen to work in his story. For you and for me. And people like Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and Joseph. God, how did this story begin? What type of history does it bring for me to be able to understand how I get to this point in my life, where we’re assembling together in this church in Lehi, Utah, to worship your name? Where was it that people began to take a stand to follow after you and and worship you? And the answer is in Genesis.
And even back to the life of Joseph. Bible sets a background of our understanding for who this man is. I’m just going to give you a description, a little bit of his life, and it says in Genesis chapter 37 and verse 20, verse 2 to 5, it says, these are the records of the generations of Jacob. Joseph, when 17 years of age was pastoring 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 to their father to say, Joseph, you want to understand he’s going to be in a place in the near future where he is second in command in in the largest ruling nation in the world, and the people of Egypt under Pharaoh. And the beginnings of this individual is a 17 year old boy working as a shepherd. Not necessarily the way that we would equate how you get to such a position. But here he is, 17 years old, and he’s coming to his father to to tattletale.
You read the story about the life of Joseph when you began to understand who he is in his relationship with the Lord, it becomes very crystal clear early on in his life. The boy is immature. He’s got some growing up to do. He’s that brother and sister that you never did anything wrong around, because you know, he was going to mom and dad to get you in trouble and make himself look better, right? He probably got a few noogies in his day. Tells us in in verse three. Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his sons. Jacob was named Israel, I should say, when Abraham was promised by by God that he would bring the seed through which the Messiah would come, and by him all nations would be blessed. Abraham wasn’t technically the beginning of of the Jewish people or the nation of Israel that came later with with Israel or excuse me, Abraham’s grandchild, which was Jacob. Jacob wrestled with God in a particular passage in the book of Genesis, and so received the name Israel, which means wrestles with God. And so now Israel has the son Joseph. He had 12 sons, from which the 12 tribes of Israel came. Israel loved Joseph more than all his sons, because he was the son of his old age, and he made him a very colored tunic. And so apparently, when you were popular back then, you wore rainbow coats is about how that happened.
And then everyone knew that he was Mr. Popular. And in verse four his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, and so they hated him, could not speak to him on their friendly terms. Then Joseph had a dream and he told it to his brothers. They hated him even more. Story goes like this. Joseph knew that he was going to get the the blessing from his father. Joseph knew that he was the favorite of his father. Joseph knew that their family history was to pass the lineage from which the Messiah would come, and based on Abraham, that all nations would be blessed with this nation. And Joseph, being the favorite of the family, knew what was coming his way. And what happened in the life of Joseph. Joseph became very arrogant. And the brothers hated him for it. The Bible tells us, as the story goes on, that Joseph’s brothers decided in chapter 37 they were going to kill his brother first. And so all the brothers went out into the wilderness to take care of the sheep. And Joseph went with them, and they gathered this plan. They first think that they’re going to just get rid of the brother. That way they can just stop hearing the the constant tattle telling and and the arrogant attitude. He even said Joseph at one point said, hey guys, I just want you to know God keeps giving me these dreams and and I am the biggest in the dream and all of you are bowing down to me.
Okay? And then he went to his dad and told the same dream. And everyone’s thinking, who do you think you are, Buster? Right? And so the the, the, the brothers finally say to to each other, let’s, let’s just get rid of our brother. We don’t have to worry about this pain anymore. And finally, one of the brothers speaks up and says, you know what? I can’t I cannot kill my own brother. Um, let’s just let’s just hide him in a pit. Unless they’re hiding them and throwing them in a pit. A band of of slaves come and they say, you know, let’s just sell them to this, this band of rulers, I should say, come along. And they’re like, listen, let’s just sell them as as a slave. It turns out these individuals in which Joseph is sold to goes to Egypt. When they get into Egypt, they sell Joseph as a slave. Joseph when he sold as a slave his purchased into Pharaoh’s household, and Joseph rises to a position of prominence in Genesis chapter 39 and verse seven, where he’s in charge of all of Pharaoh’s household. 17 years old, ripped from his home, taken as a slave from being a shepherd boy, now in charge of Pharaoh’s household. And the Bible shares this interesting story that all the things they could told us about Joseph and his life and the things that happened in Pharaoh’s household.
The Bible chooses this one story, and it says in verse 11, now it happened one day that he went into the house to do his work. And when none of the men of the household were there inside, she caught him talking about Pharaoh’s wife. She caught him by his garment, saying, lie with me. And he left his garment in her hand and fled and went outside. This is what you would call the first cougar of the Bible, right? Why is this story in Scripture? Well, I think the back end of this is going to explain to us in the following verses. In beginning in verse 13. It goes on to describe that as soon as this happened, this young man ran away from Pharaoh’s wife. Pharaoh’s wife went and tattled on on Joseph and tried to claim she had his tunic now. And she tries to claim that this slave tried to rape her, and choosing to stand for what was right in this moment. The cost for Joseph was the accusation of attempting to rape Pharaoh’s wife. And the result of that is Joseph goes to jail. You think for a moment. Standing for the Lord in our culture today, as of today, is a fairly easy thing. We live in a Judeo-Christian society where following after God doesn’t really cost us as much as it could in other countries. I think about this instance.
What if you knew what was morally right? And you chose to stand for that. And the result of that was immediate jail time or maybe even cost you your life. In the midst of that temptation, knowing the repercussions that could happen by your stand for God, what would you choose to do? Seems easy in this moment to justify the circumstance. Do this or jail. Do this or lose my life. Joseph chooses to take a stand for God. I think one of the secondary reasons I would say this is found in Scripture, because when you read the book of Genesis, this is the first time that a a guy has had sexual temptation in a wrong way brought before him, and he does the right thing. Knowing even on the back end of that, that when you read about the temptations of the Old Testament coming up to this, there were no negative repercussions in the sense that it was going to cost an individual’s life. But Joseph and his integrity still stands for the Lord. I don’t know about you guys. But me being a guy coming to this and thinking, Thank God someone finally did what was right. I just want to take a personal victory in that, knowing that it might cost him, yet he still stands for God. You look at the life of Abraham, who in in Hebrews chapter 11 has eight verses on being faithful more than any other verse of a faithful individual described in in the book of Faith, the Hall of Fame of Faith in Hebrews chapter 11 still had a relationship with Hagar which brought Ishmael, which brought the the nations, the Arabic nations that would persecute the Jewish people.
I mean, Jacob had just told us, had several wives. And here Joseph chooses to stand. In the time of Noah, society had become so perverse that even after the flood, the Bible tells us that Noah was violated in some way. It doesn’t give us the particulars. Joseph. And these moments. Chooses to stand. In doing so, Josephs demonstrates that he himself is a man of integrity, more interested in pleasing the Lord than he is in pleasing other people. I had a professor once come to me and proposed that I study the demonic activity of Satan in the New Testament and just write down my remarks on what I saw expressed. He was driving me to a particular place in the study. But I would say this one way that we know Satan has a powerful control over a culture is that the culture will oftentimes be severely perverted in sex and sexuality. It’s lost its identity and significance of God creating us in his image and the purpose for which he created sexual unity. The way you can see the dominance of Satan in culture is through its perversion of sexuality. We make it about self and just pleasing self.
Take advantage of one another for self. Matter of fact, when you read the New Testament, when you look at demonic possession of people. Interesting thing I found out about this, that when I would write and record about the observations of demonic possession in the New Testament, every time a demon was demonically possessing someone when it described, when it described the individual who was demonically possessed every time it described that individual, that individual was naked. Tells us in Luke chapter eight and verse 27, when he came out of the land, he was met by a man from the city who was possessed with demons, and who had had not put on any clothing for a long time. Acts 1916 says in the man in whom he was evil, spirit leaped out on them and subdued all of them and overpowered them. Look this! And so they fled out, and the house out of that house, naked and wounded, saying, not only is the demonic power interested in and just un clothing the person who’s possessed, but the first thing that the individual does is he seeks to unclothed those around him. One of the quickest ways to measure Satan’s dominance over culture is the perversion of sex and sexuality. When I read about in this passage of Scripture, and I see that men, men are often described when you look at being naked and unclothed within the demonic possessions of Scripture. And so you don’t really have much about the way of women being described as nearly as much as you do have men.
And so it leads me just to the thought, and this is just a speculation. I wonder what it would be like if it were to include women. Every time you read about demonic possession within Scripture, it seems like the men who are naked oftentimes and physically violent in their nudity. I would just speculate that in the same situation provided a woman be in that circumstance, that that the same thing would occur, that that’s given to, to nudity. But but on the back end of that, probably not as much violence. When? When you study about our culture today and the pornographic industry, there’s a lot of statistics that are out there done by people of of moral standing and Christian background. I know the triple X churches as one particular ministry that focuses on on just the pornography and the effects it’s having on America, but the typical things that they oftentimes come out with, with their studies is that women who are given to to nudity, who are provocative in their behavior, typically come from a background where they’re oftentimes abused. Many of those ladies who were heavily involved in the pornographic industry often subdue their conscience and the things that are involved in by heavily being heavily involved in drugs. Can escape the way that it makes me feel as an individual, so as to escape reality. I indulge in overmedicating myself or drugging myself.
I look at verses like this and understand that if Satan is dominating control through through this particular arena, and that’s the one of the evidence of him doing so, it means that in reality that women who partake of, of certain, um, risky lifestyles in the pornographic area of the world are victims. Their victims to weep over, and not people to be used for our personal pleasure. You know the quickest way when you study religions, the quickest way to know that a religion is false is that their immediate discussion when it talks about eternity deals with some sex at some point. It’s like it’s a surefire way of saying some guy had to have invented this. When you think about Islam, hey, guys, go, go destroy yourself. And the promise is 10,000 virgins, right? A dude invented that. There’s no way around looking at that and figuring out what did the women get on the end of that? Right. And it is a man made eternity. It’s like a guys is looking at it and saying, what’s what’s the best experience I’ve ever had in my life? Because I’m not denying that when God gives us sex, there’s particular pleasures in that for us to enjoy because he desires for unity between the husband and wife. But a guy’s looking at that and thinking, okay, the best thing I’ve ever had in this world that I can relate to in heaven, okay, it’s it’s the sexual interaction.
Right? So that’s got to be what eternity is about. Huh? You know, I think within in culture today, the reason that we have the tendency to embrace, um. Anything sexually outside of what God designs for us. I don’t think it’s because this is going to sound weird at first. I don’t think it’s because we’re deliberately ignoring God. Meaning, I don’t think any of us wake up every day and be like, God, I’m up and I’m ignoring you today, you know? And just walking around here I am God, still ignoring you. You know, I’m doing exactly what you tell me not to. We don’t. We don’t think like that. Rather, what we do is unintentionally ignore him. We are deliberately disobeying him. But unintentionally ignoring him. And we’ll say things to ourselves like this. You know, um, what God desires for us was good for them, but we’re more advanced, right? What God says in his word was, I think, pretty good for everybody but me. I know what’s going to make me happy. Joseph in this moment is saying to those around him, rather than choosing what I may feel is right for me, I am choosing what I feel or I know is right before the Lord. And Joseph. Takes a stand for God. Now look at passages like this. Joseph taking a stand in the Lord. And I just ask myself, how is it we as men? Can better stand for God.
To deny these temptations and and to take a stand the way that Joseph was to even understand. On the back side of this, it may it may cost us one day I’d say to to married men. Joseph’s determining this in his heart. He’s saying, um. If you’re married, gotta understand that you give us an attraction to to females. We gotta also understand that you’re asking me to take that attraction of females and to direct it towards one female. My wife. Because your desire in that passion that I carry is to utilize that passion to draw us closer to one another, that we may be one together. God uses all sorts of ways within the marriage relationship to draw us together. When you when you’re talking about the relationship of the husband and wife, we desire to be close emotionally. We desire to be close to racially, relationally. We desire to be close to close physically. And guys, can I can I tell you this morning that if your desire is to be closer to your wife physically, one of the best things to do in your relationship is to be more concerned about her heart than you are her body. Girls connect different than we do, right? I mean, that’s why when we’re talking about this, we’re talking about a guy rather than a girl. It’s the it’s the guy’s temptation that we’re drawn to physically. It’s typically our pitfall. God calls you to reach your heart.
If you’re a young guy and you’re not married and you’re thinking about this, can I tell you the way that Joseph would view this? Because in this passage, he’s he’s not married yet. The opportunity of temptation comes his way. And rather than indulging in that, he’s saying to not only God and worship of him, but also to his future wife. Wife, I love you enough to understand that one day when God brings that person to me, I’m saving myself to use that passion to unite us in him. Timothy says this in First Timothy chapter five. Paul writes this treat the older women as mothers and the younger women as sisters in all purity. Meaning, if you’re struggling with temptation, start looking at everybody like they’re your mom, right? I mean, I wouldn’t say this in West Virginia, but don’t lust after your sister, right? That’s like, what’s up, sister? You treat everybody like that. The temptation tends to go away. And rather than look at people like they’re a tool to be used for your pleasure, you see the dignity and worth in which God has instilled upon them. I just tagged this on Facebook. So here’s my plug. Get on the church Facebook and watch this document documentary that I just. It’s not a documentary. It’s a speech by a young lady. She’s tracing the history of the bikini. I put it on her Facebook page this morning. So after church you can go check it out.
But one of one of the things this lady says is, you know, they’ve done studies on men and lust and men, especially when they’re around women who are loosely clothed. And the interesting thing about the study was when when they’re studying the brain of the man, when when a man gets around a woman who is barely wearing any clothing, the part of his brain that’s being active is the same part of his brain that he would utilize when he’s swinging a hammer or working with a tool. Meaning this. When a guy sees a lady like that and temptation enters his mind. The part that he’s struggling with is to look at this young lady like she’s a tool to be used, rather than an image bearer of God. Ladies that exploit that in the world. You may get interest from guys, but it’s not an interest that cares a lick about you. It’s an interest that wants to use you and lose you. They’re not thinking about you. They’re thinking about their pleasure. Look at that later on Facebook, right? Treat the older women as mothers and the younger women as sisters in all purity. Bible says this in first Corinthians seven stop depriving one another. This is great. This is acknowledging for married couples. Hey, listen, God gave you this and love it, right? Stop. Stop depriving one another, okay? Except by agreement. For a time, it’s talking about fasting from intimacy as a couple, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer and come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self control.
And God knows he’s given us the desire to want to be close to one another. And God is saying in this passage, listen, don’t deprive one another, but understand the giftedness that God has given you within this to bring unity in your relationship. It’s about unity within your marriage. And when it goes outside of the bonds of marriage, you’re robbing one another of the pleasure that God desires to unite you together. God’s goal for your marriage is that you become one. And all facets and forms. Relationally. Emotionally. Physically. Spiritually. God’s desire is to be one. Joseph, in this moment of temptation, recognized his need to stand for the Lord. For us as men, it becomes a personal victory. But I would just share this, this final verse with us together. Your world is sick. Your world is sinful. Your world’s going to demonstrate things that don’t look like Jesus, and it’s going to tempt you to justify it as if you’re more advanced than our culture is not more advanced society. Relationally we’re declining. Or nowhere. What we used to be as a nation. We’re not getting better. We’re getting worse. The temptation is to justify it. And culture will feed you constant propaganda to think this way. I mean, just turn on your TV for five minutes, right? Watch a Carl’s Jr.
No, don’t watch a Carl’s Jr commercial. Don’t do that. Right. I mean, we like to watch we like to watch the Super Bowl commercial or the Super Bowl at the church. But it’s like every time we do it, we got to we got to hire someone to be the pastor or the fast forward or the event. It’s like, I don’t care how good your burger is. I mean, you’re not going to look like that after you eat it, right? So get it out of here. It’s a lie. I had a I knew a pastor used to. He would pay his kids every time that they saw a commercial on TV to ask what type of temptation it was. The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life. What what what area of our sinfulness is it trying to indulge into? You notice when you watch commercials, it’s one of those things. The lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, the pride of life. I mean, sex sells in our culture. You put any model next to anything without hardly any clothes. And it just it’s just the best product ever. Right out of a middle school that had to close down for a day because young men wore so much axe body spray, no one could stand to be in the building. I mean, you know where they got that from, right? You put this on and girls, you’re like a magnet.
You’re a chick magnet. I would tell our young men, listen, young guys, if you’re thinking about marriage and your future with someone knowing what God desires for you and the intimacy that he wants, whatever God wants is best, and to fool yourself into thinking that there’s a better way. It’s only a trap. But I would say this there was a I heard a young guy say once, you know, I don’t feel like I’m going to, I’m going to get a great girl. I feel like, you know, I’m just like this nerd. And he was all worried about. And so the guy, the advice he got was, listen, all of you are going to go to college. It’s some guys get married in college. Most people most guys get married right out of college. And and here’s what you should do. Go to school, get a career, get an income. Get ready to buy a house. Save up for a ring, get your car paid off, and then any girl you go to when you say, hey lady, I got, I got my career, I got this house, I got this car, I got this ring. There is not a girl in the world that’s going to turn you down. All right. You get ready to show her that you can provide and take care of her, and she’s going to come to you, right? That’s great advice.
Because what God desires to build within you is that oneness. And I know this text. I’m elaborating well beyond what this text says, but I think it’s important for our culture to recognize that in Joseph’s day, it’s no different from our day. And sometimes to be obedient to the Lord and those things. It’s going to cost you to be faithful to him. It cost Joseph. Romans 12 two reminds us, as this is believers, do not be conformed to this world. Listen, this world is trying to put you in a box. This world is trying to tell you how to think. This world is pleading to the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life, your sinful nature to get you to buy into the product they want to sell. They don’t really care about you. They just want the green. Right? But they’re giving. They’re giving this to you. Don’t be conformed. Don’t fit in this box. But here it is. Be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is a good and acceptable and perfect. It tells us that Joseph fled in this moment. I don’t know what he did after this. He probably did this. Oh my gosh, what am I thinking? What did I do? I don’t we’re not going to renew my mind. Renew my mind. Holy thought, holy thoughts.
Right. That’s what it’s saying in this verse is, is think purity towards God. Look rather at the temptation of pleasing your own life, but look towards the things that please the Lord and and walking in. Bible tells us that Joseph goes to this experience in chapter 39 and verse 17. It costs him time in in jail. Bible tells us in chapter 41 that as he sits in jail, he gets this opportunity of restoration. Pharaoh has a dream. Joseph is given the ability by God to interpret the dream, and. And Joseph is called up before Pharaoh. He interprets the dream and he says it like this. The God is giving you a dream that says there’s going to be a famine in the land of Egypt. He’s telling us we got seven years of plentiful, seven years of famine, for seven years of plentiful. We need to save up our our goods for the seven years of famine. So save all the products when things are going well, because we’ve got hardships ahead. And Pharaoh heard Joseph, realized God’s favor was upon him, restored him not just to the position of Pharaoh’s household, but to the position of all over Egypt. He’s sitting right under Pharaoh in authority. And the Bible tells us in chapter 41, as that happens, right after that happens and Pharaoh goes or Joseph goes to this hardship, that then Pharaoh gives Joseph a wife to marry and his life is set.
In verse 46. It tells us by this point now Joseph is 30 years old. When you read the accounts of the life of Joseph, it’s described as an up and down roller coaster, the things that he experienced. Even doing right for the Lord became difficult. Bible tells us in chapter 45 that in the years of the famine, people began to journey to Egypt to buy the products from from Egypt because their lands were starving. Egypt became so wealthy during this time period because people were selling all of their possessions just so they could get something to eat. And so the dominance of the nation of Egypt is just exploding because of the famine that’s happening. And in this story, as as people are journeying to Egypt, one of the peoples that has to come to the land of Egypt is Joseph’s brothers. Chapter 45 begins the description of the arrival of his brothers. Excuse me. It concludes it actually. The story tells us that Joseph’s brothers turned go to Egypt, and they thought long since their brother had been sold into slavery. They had no idea what had happened to him. They didn’t even know if he was alive, but he had been forgotten. Remember that guy? Yeah, but who knows where he is, right? They go into Egypt and they ask Joseph of all people, for food to provide for their family, but they didn’t recognize them. Bible tells us that Joseph chose to hold one of the brothers because not all of the brothers came.
The youngest brother didn’t come, and to send all of the brothers back and go get the youngest brother, and so he held one of the brothers captive while the brothers went back to Israel, and they come back to the land of Egypt with the other brother again, or the all the brothers. And as as Joseph’s sitting there looking at all his brothers for the first time, the Bible tells us that he can no longer contain himself. He wants to reveal to his brothers that not only is he alive, but things are going well, right? So it tells us in Genesis 45 and verse one. Then Joseph could not control himself before all those who stood by him. And he cried, have everyone go out from me. So there was no man with him. When Joseph made himself known to his brothers, he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard it. Then Joseph said to his brothers, I am Joseph. Is my father still alive? But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed at his presence. Then Joseph said to his brothers, please come closer to me. And they came closer. And he said, I am your brother Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. Could you imagine? For just a moment. Being on the flip side of that, not Joseph’s situation, but the brother’s situation, the thoughts that would be going through your mind.
Now on the side of Joseph, I would think, gosh, how can how can Joseph go through what he went through? How how can he stand for God when he knows it’s going to cost him so much? Why would someone even choose to do that? On the side of his brothers, you would think, Holy cow, right. I actually wrote this down the Ebonics, the Ebonics version of it says Joseph responds to him in a minute. It’s going to be cool. Your jets don’t be tripping. I ain’t going to treat you dirty, right? That’s great. But it’s saying to them like they’re thinking to themselves, man, this guy’s going to kill us. And at the same time, oh my gosh, he’s still alive and he’s in charge and he’s ruling over the nation of Israel. Is this good for us or is it bad for us? Why aren’t we dead already? Imagine these moments, that emotional experience that they’re going through. Maybe they’re thinking of their brother. Brother? How did you even get to this point? We sent you out with nothing. Joseph’s response, he says in verse four, he draws him in closer and says, listen to me. I’m going to share the secret with you. Why is it that I can stand for this, for God in this moment? He says, now do not be grieved or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here. For God sent me before you to preserve life.
For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. God sent me before you to preserve you as a remnant in the earth, and to keep you alive by a great deliverance. Now therefore, it was not you who sent me here, but God. Joseph. How do you handle difficult circumstances? Joseph tells his brothers. Lean in. I’m going to tell you. And the summation of Joseph’s life is explained here when he says, this guy’s listen, God’s sovereign rule goes beyond the hands of man’s sin. Guys, listen to this. God’s sovereignty is not subject to man’s sin. You’re looking at my circumstance, focusing on my circumstance. But the God who reigns over everything is not subject to the circumstances that you dictate in this world. Joseph within the story of his life has continued to and reminded that even in the moments that he is in jail, that God’s favor continues to shine upon him, and Joseph reminds himself in the midst of those circumstances that God’s sovereign hand is not subject to man’s sinful moves. Meaning Joseph was always looking at the bigger picture. Knowing that God was able to move in the mess. The brothers do what many of us do in the midst of difficult circumstances. We immobilize ourselves in the circumstances we fixate on, on the difficulty and and we don’t move forward.
And Joseph reminds the people that when you get to the circumstance in verse five, guys that that do not be grieved anymore, he says, do not even be angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life. God is sovereign over all circumstances. Rather than tell my, my God how big my problems are, I’m telling my problems how big my God is. Because my God is much bigger than the hands of man’s sin. No problem is bigger than the power of his plan. And Joseph concludes with this thought in the book of Genesis, when you read, when you read the book of Genesis, the Bible has a tagline at the end on the life of Joseph. But the last theological thought that’s expressed comes in Genesis chapter 50 and verse 20. As for you talking to his brothers, you meant evil against me. But God has meant it for good. You know, Joseph is saying in this passage of Scripture. Moses is using what Joseph is saying to communicate to the nation of Israel, who left the nation as slaves, to not look at the slavery from which they left, but look to the God who is transforming them through his power. Because God’s sovereignty is not subject to man’s sin. It’s as if God’s getting there. Moses is getting to the end of the book of Genesis and the nation of Israel saying, listen, Moses, I know.
I know that God’s given us the promise in Genesis three, and I know that he gave us the promise in the life of Abraham. But God made us slaves. Or God allowed us to be slaves. And now we don’t feel like we’re capable of anything. God, what makes you think that what God is going to do in our lives is, is going to lead us to a place through which he’s promised to give? Because right now, the situation is not looking great. And Moses concludes with this thought, it’s like this nation of Israel, if you can just see the bigger picture of what God wants to do in your life. If you just looked at the life of Joseph and what God did in the moments of despair. God’s sovereignty rules over the hands of man’s sin. You. You meant it for evil against me, but God meant it for good. God is the only God that is taught about in any religious history. That can take a difficult moment, that can take a dark moment, that can take a sinful moment and turn it for his glory. You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good. Knowing this. The next thought would be this Because God’s sovereign hand reigns over and above the sinfulness of man. God can use you and call you to accomplish great things through the midst of your trials. We look at the way that Joseph says it. Don’t be grieved or angry with yourselves because, God, because you sold me here for God sent me.
God’s a sending God to preserve life. God is a redeeming God, for the famine has been in the land these two years, and there will still there was still five years, and there will be another plowing, another time of plowing, nor harvest. God sent me. He is a sending God before you to preserve for you a remnant. God is redeeming God in the earth and to keep you alive by a great deliverance. Now therefore, it is not you who sent me, but God. He is ascending. God. Meaning Joseph understood that not only was God’s hand sovereign beyond man’s sin, but that God had called him and equipped him in this world to be in demonstration of God’s sovereign hand. God is a sending God, and God is a redeeming God. Joseph’s picture was always on the prize of what God had called them to. Joseph lived in the promise. Listen. I am the preferred of my father. I know what God has promised to Abraham, and I know how God has fulfilled it. And so I’m living looking towards that Redeemer who both sends and saves. How do we do it? In the midst of temptation that may cost us. To remember in those trials that God’s hand of sovereignty is not subject to the sinful hands of man. That whether it be in this life or the one to come, that the sovereignty of God will oversee the injustice that’s been done as his righteous hand is made known.
And to understand in the midst of that, as we look to that God and that salvation and the greater things that are to come, that God is both a sending God and a redeeming God. And as we stand for that God, we can rest in those promises. The reason the nation of Israel knows that the Messiah is going to fulfill the promises to them, is that the hand of what God is doing can be traced from the beginning to the time that Joseph even leads the nation into Israel. God’s hand is still there. New Testament verse for you. How do we apply this to our lives? James writes the same thing in the New Testament to the Jewish people. Jewish people have been dispersed for various reasons. A lot of it had to do with the persecution. But he says this to the people that are dispersed. Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance, and let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously without reproach, and it will be given to him. Bible says it in the NIV. Count it all joy when you when you fall into various trials.
The following means this you didn’t expect it and into trials means this you’re not happy because of your trials, right? That’s morbid. God, thank you so much. I’m in jail. This is great, right? That’s not. That’s. You’re not happy because of your trials, but you’re finding the joy in your trials. And the reason is this regardless of what is happening, you know, God’s sovereign hand is reigning above you, and God’s sovereign hand is a believer in him, is with you. And consider it all joy to know that you are not alone in the midst of your trials, but in your trials. God is with you and the result of your trials. It tells us in verse four, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. It’s not until you have to give for Jesus that you know you’re really committed to Jesus. I look at the life of Joseph and his stand against against Pharaoh’s wife. And in that moment, I could say Joseph is a man who wants to stand for the Lord. He’s willing to stand for the Lord because he’s proven it by standing in the midst of trials to you in your life. When trials happen and you choose to stand to God, it’s saying to you as a believer that what matters most to you is the Lord. And the great thing about that circumstance is that as you trust in him, in that trials, you get to see his hand move in your life.
I can tell you, in my life, there are places that I would have never thought that God would have moved until I was put in that position to watch God move. There are places in my life where I would never even want God to move, but because I was put in that position, was able to see God move. And you consider it all joy because you know the result of that end that in the midst of the trial, God’s sovereignty is there. And through that sovereignty, as you trust in him, you see his hand move in the most difficult of circumstances all the way to the cross. Consider it joy. Not because of the trial. But in the trial, you know that God is there. And through that trial you learn about your faith in him. And by that trial you see the hand of God. And he says this I like in verse five, he knows it’s still hard. And he knows it’s not easy. And so he says to us as believers, if any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. I’ve heard this verse interpreted wrong, saying, if you don’t know what truth is, then ask God for truth. And that’s not what this verse is saying at all. This verse is talking to a body of believers who already know what the truth is.
The temptation for them is coming and living for that truth when it’s difficult. They’re looking at what’s right and they’re trying to figure out how to live right. In that circumstance, that seems hard. And they’re asking God and understanding his truth for the wisdom to apply that truth accurately. Meaning in the midst of your trial, God hasn’t left you alone as you understand the Lord and walk with the Lord in that temptation. When you feel lacking, when you feel insecure, when you feel like the walls are pressing down on all sides, when you feel like Potiphar’s wife is after you and you could lose your head right? In those moments, you know you need wisdom from God, and God uses that to draw you to him. And it’s proving and testing your faith, and it’s giving you endurance in him. And the result of calling upon the name of the Lord in that wisdom is that God, as you seek his face, is directing your life. Moses. How do we know that God is faithful? How do we know we’re not more than slaves? How do we know that we can trust them? And the evidence that God gives is the result of what’s happened in human history. Because God’s done it all along. He’s taken his people. And the most difficult circumstance moved his hand. That his great name could be proclaimed. People may mean it for good or bad. Excuse me, but God means it for good. His sovereign hand rules over man’s sin. And for that this morning, we take comfort in. Let’s pray.