Pain and Providence / Genesis 37-50 Joseph Open your bibles with me to Genesis 37. We are going to be looking at an awesome story this morning. It s a familiar story but I trust that God has truth in store for us that will be encouraging and challenging. I also wanted to mention as we begin, that a portion of this teaching comes from other pastors and theologians. I especially want to give credit to David Platt and his work on these passages. With that being said, Let s read Genesis 37:1-11 together. Jacob lived in the land of his father's sojournings, in the land of Canaan. 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. 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. 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. Now Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers they hated him even more. He said to them, Hear this dream that I have dreamed: 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. 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. 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. 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? And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the saying in mind. This begins the story and as we walk through these passages, we see different images of Joseph. The first image is one of being the (1) Favorite Son. We see that Jacob loved Joseph more than his other sons. Being the favorite son, along with his dreams, reveals the second image of Joseph, he is the (2) despised brother. Joseph is so despised that his brothers grab him and through him into an empty pit. The plan was to kill him but after thinking it through, one of the brothers, Judah, has the idea to sell Joseph into slavery. After selling their brother, they dip his robe in blood and bring it back to their father with a story of how Joseph was attacked and killed. And for the next 20-plus years, Jacob mourns the supposed loss of his favorite son. Joseph is brought to Egypt and we see the third image; Joseph as (3) a slave in a foreign land.
Turn with me to Genesis 39:1-4. Now Joseph had been brought down to Egypt, and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard, an Egyptian, had bought him from the Ishmaelites who had brought him down there. The Lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful man, and he was in the house of his Egyptian master. His master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord caused all that he did to succeed in his hands. So Joseph found favor in his sight and attended him, and he made him overseer of his house and put him in charge of all that he had. In the midst of slavery, a painful time in Joseph s life, God shows His providence. Potiphar recognizes this and puts Joseph in control of all that he has. Scripture says that with Joseph in charge, the only concern Potiphar did have, was deciding what to eat. However, other concerns were around the corner. Lets continue reading chapter 39:6-12. Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance. And after a time his master's wife cast her eyes on Joseph and said, Lie with me. But he refused and said to his master's wife, Behold, because of me my master has no concern about anything in the house, and he has put everything that he has in my charge. He is not greater in this house than I am, nor has he kept back anything from me except you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God? And as she spoke to Joseph day after day, he would not listen to her, to lie beside her or to be with her. But one day, when he went into the house to do his work and none of the men of the house was there in the house, she caught him by his garment, saying, Lie with me. But he left his garment in her hand and fled and got out of the house. Potiphar s wife attempts to seduce Joseph a number of times but Joseph does not succumb to temptation. If ever there was an example of how to respond in the midst of temptation, this is it. We first need to view sexual temptation and impurity as Joseph did. Look at verse 9 again. Joseph says, You are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God? Not only would Joseph be sinning against Potiphar and his wife, but sexual immorality is wickedness and its sin against God. And then, as Joseph is literally in the grip of seduction, he runs. When we are faced with sexual temptation, we need to run. No matter what the situation, just run. Joseph, in the midst of slavery, flees from temptation and we see an image of him as (4) a pure servant. He is a pure servant. Another image is that Joseph is (5) a slandered prisoner.
Potiphar s wife accuses him, and Joseph is thrown into prison. He spends 13 years in jail where he actually rises to leadership. He is given charge over all the prisoners, including a former cupbearer and baker of Pharaoh. Joseph, by the Spirit of God in him, interprets dreams for these two men. For the cupbearer, You will live. For the baker, You will die. And that s exactly what happens. Joseph says to the cupbearer, You re going to live, and when you get out of prison, don t forget me. Remember me. Tell Pharaoh about me. The cupbearer lives, gets out of prison, and forgets Joseph. For the next couple of years, Joseph remains in prison until one day, Pharaoh has a dream that no one can seem to interpret. Finally, the cupbearer remembers Joseph and tells Pharaoh that he knows someone who can help. Joseph is summoned from prison and finds himself standing before Pharaoh. By the Spirit of God in him, he interprets Pharaoh s dreams, that there will be seven years of plenty in the land, followed by seven years of famine in the land. He tells Pharaoh to prepare for the famine by storing up food during the years of plenty. Upon hearing this, Pharaoh responds in Genesis 41:37-43 This proposal pleased Pharaoh and all his servants. And Pharaoh said to his servants, Can we find a man like this, in whom is the Spirit of God? Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, Since God has shown you all this, there is none so discerning and wise as you are. You shall be over my house, and all my people shall order themselves as you command. Only as regards the throne will I be greater than you. And Pharaoh said to Joseph, See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt. Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his hand and put it on Joseph's hand, and clothed him in garments of fine linen and put a gold chain about his neck. And he made him ride in his second chariot. And they called out before him, Bow the knee! Thus he set him over all the land of Egypt. What an amazing contrast and turn of events. In an instance, Joseph goes from being a prisoner to the second in command for the whole of Egypt. Famine becomes a reality and people from all the land, even beyond Egypt, came bowing the knee at Joseph s feet. The slave in a foreign land has now become the leader over all the land. Another image we find. Joseph is the (6) leader over all the land. We come to Genesis 42 and see that the famine has spread to Canaan and its effects have impacted Jacob and his sons. Genesis 42:1-3.
When Jacob learned that there was grain for sale in Egypt, he said to his sons, Why do you look at one another? And he said, Behold, I have heard that there is grain for sale in Egypt. Go down and buy grain for us there, that we may live and not die. So ten of Joseph's brothers went down to buy grain in Egypt. These brothers of Joseph come to him and they bow before him with their faces to the ground. They did not recognize Joseph but he recognized them and soon becomes the restorative brother. Another image of Joseph, (7) the restorative brother. One thing we need to notice here is the very interesting role that Judah plays in this story. We know that it was Judah s idea to sell Joseph into slavery, displaying his leadership over his brothers. This position continues for Judah. When his brothers come before Joseph, and Joseph sends them back home with grain, Jacob is trying to decide whether or not to send them back, especially because Benjamin has been requested to go with them. He s not sure, and it s Judah who says, Jacob, father, we must go back. It s Judah who steps up and gives a guarantee saying, I will guarantee that Benjamin will be kept safe. When they get back to Joseph, it s Judah who speaks as the representative for his brothers. It s Judah who basically offers himself, at one point, as a substitute for Benjamin. And then, after Joseph reveals himself to his brothers and says, Go back and bring our father and your families here, it s Judah that leads the sons of Israel, the sons of Jacob, into the land. Just keep Judah in mind as we continue. Through this all, Joseph is the restorative brother, who preserves the family, all of that leading to the last image, (8) the reunited son. In Genesis 46:28, Jacob sent Judah ahead of him to Joseph to show the way before him in Goshen, and they came into the land of Goshen. And in the next verse it says, Joseph prepared his chariot and went up to meet Israel, his father, in Goshen. He presented himself to him and fell on his neck, and wept on his neck a good while, and Israel said to Joseph, after 20-plus years of mourning the loss of his son, Now let me die, since I have seen your face and know that you are still alive. The reunited son, with his father. At the end of Chapter 49, Jacob passes away, and chapter 50:1 says, Joseph fell on his father s face and wept over him and kissed him. The reunited son. So, there s the story of Joseph. We ve looked at a number of images of Joseph. As we look at them again, consider how you relate to them? Which image, or images, do you relate to?
The favorite son and despised brother. Have you ever been a part of family conflict? Have you ever been the favorite son or daughter, or not been the favorite son or daughter? Have you ever had conflict with a brother or sister? A slave in a foreign land. Have you ever found yourself in a place that s unfamiliar? Have you ever found yourself in a place of hurt and pain? Maybe even hurt from those whom you love? The pure servant becomes a slandered prisoner. Have you ever taken a stand for truth and for what is right, only to be punished for it? Confused by why you are penalized for doing the right thing? The leader over all the land, restorative brother, reunited son. Have you ever longed for a resolution like that in your life, in your family, in your relationships? We can see ourselves in these stages, and think about how Joseph walked through them. One pastor has summarized the story of Joseph into a single question. The Joseph question is; God, what in the world are you doing in my life? Have you ever thought that? Have you ever been at one of these stages, whatever stage it might be, where you thought, Why is this happening? How did this happen? God, what are you doing here? I want you to begin to understand what providence actually means. After going through this entire story, the pain and struggle of Joseph, God s providence is defined. Genesis 50:20, Joseph is talking to his brothers and says; As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive as they are today. I want you to see the providence of God here. We ve talked about the images of Joseph and now let s talk about God. First of all, we know that God is (1) The Ever-Present Lord. This is what God s providence means. He is the ever-present Lord. Remember Joseph in Potiphar s house in Genesis 39. In the midst of such pain in Joseph s life, look at what it says. There s a phrase that s mentioned four times in the chapter, twice at the beginning and twice at the end. Look at Genesis 39:1-3. It talks about how Joseph had been brought down to Egypt and sold to Potiphar. And there is our phrase in verse 2. It says; The Lord was with Joseph. That s the first time. That s the phrase. Remember that this was right after he was sold into slavery. It says; The Lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful man, and he was in the house of his Egyptian master. His master saw, here it comes again, that the Lord was with him, and the Lord caused all that he did to succeed in his hands. Why was Joseph successful in Potiphar s house? Because of his intelligence? Because of his great skill, or leadership or personality? No. He was successful because the Lord was with him.
You get to the end of the chapter, Joseph is now in jail and in verse 21 it says; But the Lord was with Joseph. The Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. Go down to Verse 23, the last verse, The keeper of the prison paid no attention to anything that was in Joseph s charge, because the Lord was with him. These are low points in Joseph s life, as a slave and a prisoner. What we find is that in these low points, God is with him. He is the ever-present Lord. The deepest, darkest times of Joseph s life, the Lord was with him. He s the ever-present Lord. Second, God is the (2) Ever-Subtle King. He is King, and yet He is subtle. When you look at this entire story, from Genesis 37 to Genesis 50, you really don t see any overwhelming displays of supernatural power from God. Instead, you see subtle indicators all along the way that point us to the invisible hand of God that is at work in every detail of this story. Look at Chapter 45. This is when Joseph reveals his identity to his brothers, and I want you to hear what he says. When Joseph confronts them in verse 4, Joseph said to his brothers, Come near to me, please. What an incredible picture. These are brothers who deserve judgment, and he says, No, come near to me, and they came near and he said, I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt, and now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me. God sent me before you to preserve life, for the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are yet five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors, so it was not you who sent me but God. God is the one who sent me. He has made me a father to Pharaoh and Lord of all his house, and ruler over the land of Egypt. Hurry, and go up to my father and say to him, Thus says your son, Joseph, God has made me Lord of all Egypt. Joseph is saying to his brothers, You sold me, but God sent me. God did this. When I was sold into slavery, that was God at work. When I was thrown into prison, that was God at work. When I was summoned before Pharaoh, that was God at work. God has been doing this whole thing. See what it says in Psalm 105:16-17. When He (God) summoned a famine on the land and broke all supply of bread, he had sent a man ahead of them, Joseph, who was sold as a slave. God did it all. So how does this make sense? How can the brothers sell him yet God send him? One thing we need to understand is that, although God is sovereign, He is in total control, we cannot ignore human responsibility. Just because God is sovereign doesn t mean that the brothers had nothing to do with it. They did sell him into slavery, they made a decision, a choice.
We must be careful when we think about God s control not to begin to think that we are just puppets in a play. We are not simply pawns that get moved around without our involvement. We are all responsible for the actions and decisions we make and we are held accountable for them. Human responsibility cannot be ignored. At the same time, the will of God cannot be altered. God will carry out what He intends, guaranteed. Even in the worst of circumstances slavery and imprisonment Joseph says, God sent me here. Divine sovereignty, human responsibility; the will of God cannot be changed. This story supports the truth we know that (3) God keeps his promises. This is our third image of God. In His providence and sovereignty, God keeps His promises. Think about it. These dreams that Joseph had in Chapter 37, the dreams of his brothers bowing down to him. Did they come true? Absolutely they did. Just think about how it happened. The brothers efforts to destroy the dreamer ended up fulfilling the dreams. It was not in their plans, Let s sell him into slavery, and his dreams will come true. No, of course not, but the will of God cannot be changed. God keeps His promises. God is the Ever-Present Lord and Ever-Subtle King who keeps His promises. So, what does that mean and what does it mean for us? This is where I want to share three truths about God that you need to understand, especially if you are walking right now through pain or difficulty. Even if your not, these truths will help prepare you for difficulty and hurt that may lie ahead. The first truth is that (1) We Have A Lord Who Is With Us. Think of it. The same God who was with Joseph when he was sold into slavery is the same God who was with him in the darkness of prison and is the same God who was with him when he was summoned before Pharaoh to become a leader over all the land. That same God is with you. Just let that soak in for a second. He is with you. He is with you when things are going great, when your life and family are prospering, He is with you and you re prospering because He is with you. And He is with you when things are at their worst and when nothing is going right. When you think you are alone, you are not alone. When you feel that you have been abandoned and no one understands, feeling like no one is with you. God is with you. Look at 2 Timothy 4:16-17 when Paul says; No one stood by me at one point. Everyone deserted me, but the Lord stood by me and the Lord strengthened me. God is with you. Know this, no matter what you are walking through or will walk through, you will never, ever, be alone. He will be with you. We have the Lord, who is with us. Second truth that we need to understand is; (2) We Have A King Who Is Guiding Us. We have a king who is guiding us. This story shows us a picture of God as an ever-subtle King. This means that God is not overlooking the details in your life. Do you ever wonder if He is? Do you ever wonder and ask, God, do you see what is happening? Don t you know I can t handle this? Do you care about what is happening?
Know this: God is not overlooking the details in your life. God is working behind the scenes throughout the story to bring Joseph to the right place at the right time, and He is doing the same thing in our lives. If we would separate this story into isolated situations, it would be easy to label everything as tragedy. But when we see the entire picture, we see this amazing work of God s grace woven through Joseph s life to bring about good. Think about these circumstances coming together. Being sold into slavery to an Egyptian leader named Potiphar. Being thrown into prison and meeting a cupbearer and baker. And it just so happens that they have dreams, similar to how Joseph has dreams. And it just so happens that he interprets these dreams and says to the cupbearer, Don t forget me. And it just so happens that the cupbearer totally forgets him, until the day when Pharaoh has a dream that needs to be interpreted, and cupbearer just so happens to overhear it, and the cupbearer says, I know exactly where a guy is who can help you with this, and he goes to Joseph. And it just so happens Joseph is brought before Pharaoh to become leader of the land. You don t plan that, like you don t sit down and make out a to-do list and put that on your schedule. It s not the way it works. That is the picture we see here. God is orchestrating in every instance a variety of circumstances in a variety of people. Think about it. Do we realize that your life and my life are not the only lives God is working in? You ve heard me share stories about our time in Minneapolis, going to the Mall of America to connect with people and share Jesus with them. One thing that has really stayed with me from that experience was how God was using multiple people to connect with the one person. For example, a person would be approached by one of our group members and they would hear that person say, You know, you are not the first person to ask if they can pray for me today. We all shared our stories and experiences with the larger group. And there were times when someone would be sharing and another group member would say, That s the same person whom I talked to. God is working on a much larger scale. God is using so many people and so many factors to bring His children into His Kingdom. I realized how powerful it is when God sends others to nurture seeds that have been planted. It also reminded me that, at times, when we ask the question of, God, what are you doing in my life? the answer may be about what He is doing in someone else s life. Think about Joseph. God was using each step and each person to bring about the fulfillment of His people. Weaving the details together and revealing His providence.
Genesis 50:20 sums this up as it says, For God s people, he s always bringing it all together for good. The same truth we see in Romans 8:28. We know that in all things God works together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. That s the picture, and based on that, I want you to understand something. I want you to know that God s providence is the only foundation for embracing life s pain. Let this be a truth that remains in your heart: God s providence, the only foundation for embracing life s pain. It s the picture we see in Joseph. Think about the pain he experienced. Through it all, Joseph knew the providence of God. He understood the presence and control of the Lord. When he gets out of prison, he doesn t go lashing out at Potiphar s wife. He doesn t go off on the cupbearer, who has no memory, and he doesn t stand before his brothers and condemn them or knock them down. Instead, he says, Come near to me. God did this. What freedom that is. What freedom. He knows that God takes evil and turns it into good. When you know that, that frees you up. Think about it. Think about this: The evil words and actions of sinful people against you, people who want to harm you, God takes their evil actions against you and uses them for good. That frees you up from bitterness and revenge and hatred toward them because you can rejoice, He takes evil and turns it into good. He takes suffering and turns it into satisfaction. Praise the Lord! Listen to this, Genesis 41:51-52, is when Joseph names his sons. Listen to what he names them. Joseph called the name of his firstborn Manasseh, for he said, God has made me forget all my hardship. The second he called Ephraim. Listen to verse 52, God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction. What a good word. God takes the land of affliction in your life and He bears fruit. God does indeed bring about fruit in His people in the middle of affliction. How do we know that? I mean how do we really know? Maybe you re sitting in the middle of some dark or difficult time in your life. How do you know? How do you know that the evil around you is going to be used for good? How do you know that suffering is going to bring about satisfaction? We know because (3) We Have A Savior Who Has Redeemed Us. Our third truth is that we have a Savior who has redeemed us. Don t miss the parallels in this story. Think about it. God uses a dreadful sin to preserve His people in Genesis, a dreadful sin; brothers selling their own brother into slavery. What shame and dishonor, lying to cover it up, dreadful sin, and God uses dreadful sin to preserve His people in Genesis, setting the stage for one day when God will use a dreadful sin to save His people for all of eternity; when God will take those who will falsely accuse, try and murder Christ on a cross, and He will use that dreadful sin to bring about salvation for His people for all of eternity.
Listen to this: In both stories, God takes the sins of the destroyers and makes them the means of their deliverance. Brothers, wanting nothing but harm toward their brother, selling him into slavery, and God takes their sins against him to provide for their deliverance one day. Their sin provides for their deliverance. Picture the cross. They re nailing Christ to the cross, but do they realize as they crucify Him that in their murderous sin they are actually making it possible for the forgiveness of their sins? That makes no sense, but it s the Gospel. Think about Joseph, when he reveals his identity to his brothers, instead of judging them and condemning them and their sin, he says, Come near to me. Because of your sin against me, I now provide for you. And then, see yourself before Christ, the one whom we have sinned against in His holiness and His righteousness, and instead of hearing curses and condemnation hear Christ saying to you as His people, Come near to me. Because of your sin against me, I will now provide for you. He has redeemed us. Don t miss those parallels, and don t miss the promise here. Earlier I mentioned the important role of Judah is in this story and the leadership he displays over his brothers. Look at Genesis 49. In this chapter, Jacob blesses his sons and look at how he blesses Judah. Verses 8-10; Judah, your brothers shall praise you; your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; your father's sons shall bow down before you. Judah is a lion's cub; from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He stooped down; he crouched as a lion and as a lioness; who dares rouse him? The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples. There is a promise here that points us forward, God will take the lion of Judah and make him the lamb who was slain. That s the promise of Christ, who would come through, from the line of Judah. And what we see in this story is not just about Joseph; it s God using Joseph to preserve His people, and, more specifically, it s to preserve a Lion that would come from Judah that would bring about the Lamb who is slain. This is the picture in Revelations 5, Weep no more, for the Lion of the tribe of Judah has conquered, and a crowd surrounding the throne singing, Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, for you have purchased men from every people, language, tribe and nation. It s the fulfillment of Genesis 49, Revelations 5, the Lion of Judah is the lamb who was slain. This is Christ. This is the point here. Don t miss the point of the story. Ultimately, Joseph is in Scripture not so that we walk away saying, Wow, what a great story. We really like Joseph. No. Joseph is in Scripture to point us to Jesus. That s why he s here. I want you to look with me again at the images we see in Joseph and I want you to think about Jesus. Now, I admit that it s a bit of a stretch but picture with me the favorite son of the father, who came to the earth despised by his brothers, his fellow men. He humbled himself and became a slave in a
foreign land, pure and righteous in every way. He was slandered and sentenced to death on a cross. They crucified him but God sent him. He did this so that Jesus might be raised as Lord over all the land, that it might be said in every corner of the earth, Bow the knee before Him, and He made a way for His brothers, you and I, to be restored. He ascended to the right hand the Father, where He became the reunited son, and where He promises you and me full and final redemption with Him. This is how we can know that no matter how deep and dark it gets in this world, that evil will be turned into good and suffering into satisfaction. We can know that, because in this grand story of redemption, the one who has saved us from our sins will one day glorify us with Him. Guaranteed. Amen.