THE LIFE OF JOSPEH 1. At the Age of 17 Genesis 37:1-11 Genesis 37:1-2 1 Jacob lived in the land of his father s sojournings, in the land of Canaan. 2 These are the generations of Jacob.Jacob s father was Isaac. Isaac s father was Abraham. God had promised to give to them the very land they were a stranger in. What kept them living like strangers in the land that was theirs by the promise of God? Hebrews 11:10 For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God. Hebrews 11:15-16 15 If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city. Abraham s life was marked by 2 things: A tent and an altar. The TENT marked his relationship to THIS world (transient/passing through). The ALTAR marked his relationship to ANOTHER world - his real home. This is INTERESTING - the next verse begins 2 These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, THEN we will have 14 chapters on this one person. IN CHAPTER 36 we have a list of all of these earthly rulers and that is ALL that we have a list of their names. But then the Holy Spirit locks on to the life of this 17 year old boy and spends the following 13 chapters on him. He is indeed one of the most significant figures in the Bible. Over 25% of the book of Genesis is about this young man. He gets more print than anyone else in Genesis. More print than Abraham, who represents the LIFE of faith; going forth into a land that he had never seen. More print than Isaac who represents SONSHIP; A type of Christ Take now thine son, thine only son whom thou lovest. A type of Christ 1
coming for His bride. More print than Jacob who portrays the conflict between the old nature and the new the training of faith and the discipline of faith. 1. Joseph is given so much place in the Scriptures because he is the LINK between Genesis and Exodus. Joseph represents God is going to use the jealousy and treachery of his brothers to get this young man into Egypt so that there in Egypt after more unjust treatment he will be raised up by God to preserve the nation of Israel in its infancy. Because of Joseph the descendants of Israel will multiply and God will bring them out of Egypt with great riches and bring them into the land God promised to the descendants of Abraham. 2. Joseph is given so much place in the Scriptures because his life is a PICTURE of Romans 8:28 - We see the hand of God at work again and again to WORK ALL THINGS FOR THE GOOD. In his life we see God working ALL THINGS AFTER THE COUNSEL OF THIS WILL. By the way He is perhaps the most stellar character in the Bible even more so than Daniel. Through all of his wrongful suffering there is no flaw recorded about him. BUT ABOVE ALL Joseph is given so much place in the Scriptures because he is such a CLEAR and POWERFUL type of Jesus Christ. He represents to us the life of SUFFERING before GLORY. He went from a PIT to a THRONE - From SUFFERING to GLORY - Just like Jesus! 2. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was pasturing the flock with his brothers. The language suggests that he was the pre-eminent son that he was leading and shepherding the flock he was in charge of it. 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. Joseph IS NOT a gossiping talebearer. He is young man CONCERNED about righteousness 2
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. I WANT YOU TO MAKE A NOTE OF THIS There is a very deliberate and careful use of the names by which the Holy Spirit identifies the father of Joseph. Jacob = heal catcher / supplanter. Israel = governed by God When he is doing his own thing he is tagged as Jacob. Even after he had wrestled with the Lord and the Lord changed his name from Jacob to Israel there would yet be times when the Holy Spirit refers to him as Jacob because at those times he was not actng as a man governed by God. But when he is pleasing God he is referred to as Israel (= governed by God) This is very deliberate. Here we are told that Joseph was raised by Israel. His older brothers were raised by Jacob! Joseph s older brothers had witnessed much of their fathers struggling with God. But Joseph was raised by the man whose life had finally come to be governed by God. THIS IS HUGE Joseph s dad was very old when he finally comes to live as Israel to live as a man governed by God. HERE S THE DEAL If you are in your older years don t think that you are of no use to God don t think you ve been put out to pasture. The only retirement plan in the Kingdom of God is HEAVEN! Even there we will be serving the Lord but it will be in glorified bodies that never grow tired never grow old never get sick never get injured. We ll be serving the Lord in a New Heaven and a New Earth that is free from the bondage of decay and death! Every day will be a PERFECT day. The New Heaven and New earth will be without sin. We will serve from pure and perfect motives. No more gossip or backbiting in the office in the church! No one cutting you off on the freeway! By the way that s why men and women MOVE and CHANGE JOBS; think about the dream place to work at and live; save and dream of the perfect place to retire at where you will only do what you want to do without hassle. We are longing for something we were made for but have never seen! 3
Well I digress but not really. Let this observation change your way of thinking. Perhaps the most stellar man in the Bible was the fruit of a man in his old age the result of a very old man being governed by God. Psalm 71:18 So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might to another generation, your power to all those to come. The Lord gave this passage to my wife while we were dreaming about and beginning to plant Metro. It makes no sense to start from scratch at the age of 52 but I believe that this is why God sent me in my old age to this ministry. The older saint has much to share with those who are young! Israel was able to share with Joseph the heartache and difficulties of life as Jacob the life driven by self. He could share the heartache of halfobedience. He could share the blessing of being governed by God. He could share about the faithfulness of God. So can you and I! NOTE WELL: If you are 25 don t think that this doesn t apply to you. You look like an old man to a 15 year old. 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. He is GIVEN the pre-eminence. NOTE WELL: Simeon and Levi had committed murder. Reuben has had sex with his dad s concubine. But the over-arching reason for Joseph s preeminence is because the Lord saw him as pre-eminent. ROBE OF MANY COLORS It seems that the BEST translation of this phrase would be a coat with sleeves. Such a garment denotes rulership. Sleeveless coats were worn by the guys doing the hard work. The coat was a DEFINITE signal by Jacob/Israel to his other sons. 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. LITERALLY they COULD NOT speak peace unto him. Shalom is the Hebrew word for peace. It is the hello and the good-bye even to this day in Israel. Joseph s brothers couldn t even give the customary greeting of SHALOM. You have to really hate someone to NOT be able to say hello! 4
Joseph HAD to be SUFFERING greatly from the attitude and actions of his 10 older brothers. Can you imagine being 17 years old and having 10 older brothers that HATED you? Matters get even worse between Joseph and his brothers 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. This is NOT the dream to tell your older brothers who already hate your guts. 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. THAT is why they hated him. ENVY is a powerful thing. Proverbs 14:30 KJV A sound heart is the life of the flesh: but envy the rottenness of the bones. Envy will rot out any and every relationship yo have Proverbs 27:4 Wrath is cruel, anger is overwhelming, but who can stand before jealousy? Does anyone remember WHY the religious leaders turned Jesus over to Pilate? Matthew 27:18 For he knew that it was out of envy that they had delivered him up. 5
11 And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the saying in mind. Much like Mary, the mother of Jesus, who kept the amazing things said about her son treasured up in her heart. INTERESTING The FIRST dream hinted at the actual way Joseph would preserve the known world how they would bow before him asking for food. This SECOND dream shows how God s sovereignty was behind all that would transpire in regards to Joseph and his place of authority over his brothers. DON T MISS THIS There was a HEAVENLY PRESSURE placed upon his heart! He was a 17 year old young man with a dream and with a vision! The world is desensitized to such vision for the things of heaven and the Kingdom of God. It is preoccupied with the temporal: Get ahead; do well in college; get married, buy a house, have kids. This attitude has seeped into the Church and as a result we have lost the 17 year olds that have a vision for God and the things of God in their hearts. Sadly - Many Christian parents are letting SECONDARY things get in the way of PRIMARY things! As a result they are quenching rather than fanning the fire in their hearts for the things of Jesus. Quenching it with earthly values and earthly goals. I m praying for God to CRASH IN to the lives of teens and young adults! I said this over 10 years ago! These past few weeks have renewed my desire to see God do this! Jim Gallagher was the first speaker at the Senior Pastors Conference. He sat in our high school group and was one of the first ever interns at CCCM. In his early 20s taught bible in Jr. High school at CCCM. Guy came up after Jim Gallagher spoke I m your grandson You taught 6
Jim Gallagher he taught me now your grandson is planting a church in Berkley! Phil Metzger spoke at Pastor s Conference graduated from High School and went to Russia then Hungary ran the CC Bible College in Vajta, Hungary and is now the pastor CC Budapest John Hwang after High School went to Hungary came back to the states and started a Bible college at CC Corvallis, Oregon moved to Brazil and taught at the Bible College in Campo Mourao and then moved to Curitiba where he planted two churches. FROM DIEGO Words can not express how thankful I am for your life, heart, love for Jesus and for equipping young guys to be His disciples. I am grateful for the time the Lord allowed us to be together in Brazil. As I mentioned earlier, it was very special to have you speaking at Calvary Campo and hear how blessed you were to see the fruits of your life and ministry as well Metro Calvary's fruits.i pray the Lord would allow us to have more opportunities to be/serve together in the future. in His love, Mike Harris he will be speaking here on a Sunday when I m in England. 7
Got saved in High School grew up in our High School ministry. Left THAT life and moved to Yugoslavia and planted a Calvary Chapel in Subotica. DON T MISS THIS The Lord sowed HUGE THINGS into Joseph s heart at THIS time it was in his youth that this vision of God s plan for his life was planted deeply in his heart. THOSE THINGS would sustain him while he was in the pit that his brothers had thrown him into; while he was in carted off to Egypt as a slave; while he was falsely accused of rape by Potiphar s wife; while he was in an Egyptian prison. HERE S THE POINT You can be a 50 year old 17 year old!! I m almost 64 and I am crying out to the Lord to keep vision for Him and His Kingdom burning in my heart. METRO is the result of God filling the heart of a 52 year old man with the vision of a 17 year old!! 8
All people could say was, WHY do YOU want to start a Monday night in Roseville? You re not so young anymore.you CAN T do that!! Where are the 17 year olds - Where are the young adults who want to turn it up for the Lord? Where are the 30 somethings who want to turn it up for the Lord? I m going to stick my neck out here and might sound harsh and critical. But I believe there are a lot of twenty-somethings that are moving from church to church looking for the missing parts of their dream life. Where are they twenty-somethings who want to be trained in the Word so they can spend their lives serving Jesus? Where are the 40-50 year olds who want to turn it up for the Lord? Where are the grandparents, and great grand parents who want to turn it up for the Lord? QUOTE: Gates of Splendor p.17-18; 22 9