Joseph: Where God’s Story and Your Story Intersect

Soccer game yesterday

Story - God reveals Himself through story. We reveal ourselves through the stories we tell as well.

43% Narrative, 33% Poetry, 24% Prose Discourse

Joseph’s story reveals 2 competing narratives.

Forgetting Zeke

“You meant it to me for evil but God meant it for good.”

This story revolves around the brothers.

Genesis 37:2–4 ESV

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. 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.

Deeply fractured family -competition

Who will inherit the blessing? Esau and Jacob

Genesis 3 - Hide, Cover your nakedness, Blameshifting (someone else is the problem)

These happen in all families. Hiding things from each other, Seeking honor at the expense of one another, Blaming others for problems rather than seeing things clearly

God is going to work quietly behind the scenes to change this. But Joseph’s story is also really the transformation of 2 men, Joseph and Judah, into men who will ultimately unite the family and lead the nation

Genesis 37:5–11 ESV

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.

Who will unity the family? Joseph is claiming that God is predicting he will. At best he’s insensitive to the brothers rivalries. He’s also not using his position to bless his brothers but to demand their submission.

The brothers aren’t willing to listen to Joseph’s dream and story with any compassion or curiosity because it’s all a big competition. Pride and jealousy are stealing in because of the shame of not being wanted, chosen as favorite. They’re creating hatred and that is leading somewhere worse.

Genesis 37:12–17 ESV

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.

The potential to hide something from their father

Genesis 37:18–36 ESV

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. 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 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.

They get what they want - Joseph out of their lives. But they don’t get what they want - their father’s love.

Reuben - attempting his own path of redemption

Judah - willing not simply to murder his brother but to profit from him

This is where all slavery originates from. The willingness to profit from another’s harm.

But notice God’s story in the midst of their story

He provides Joseph’s dreams to point to a more hope-filled united future.

He provides a man in Shechem so that Joseph shows up right before Midianite traders pass by.

He makes sure Reuben is gone so Judah’s plan prevails.

He has Joseph sold to Potiphar, an officer of Pharoah.

We are tempted to question in God’s providential plan in suffering because suffering is often when we can’t see God’s hand. When you can’t see His hand, trust His heart.

God in His mercy is not content to leave us in our hatred, jealousy, and shame. He is working His story of redemption.

Ultimately God’s story tells an even better story of redemption. In contrast to Joseph, who’s more interested right now in his position, or Judah, who’s more interested in his profit, we have a brother who looked out for our need. He left His position of power and comfort and entered into our shame, losing his clothes on the cross, being hidden from and forsaken by His Father, so that He could restore us back to being brothers with Himself and each other. We could not see this on our own. In fact, we viewed Him as despised and rejected just as was prophesied in Isaiah 53.

He clothes us in His righteousness and gives us armor to stand against our enemies. He gives us permanent access to our Father so that at any time we can cry, “Abba Father.” What a great brother He is.

If you are not yet part of His family, all you have to do is ask.

3 application points:

We want to listen to each other’s sharing of themselves with love and care.

Are we not part of the family of God? Will we listen to each other’s stories with care and concern or rivalry and jealousy? We should be known as those who are like our big brother. He listened to the woman at the well when she was ostracized and rejected in Samaria and encouraged her to find God’s worship in the true story of redemption. Can we do the same? Do you make time and to talk and share with others? Do you listen only for the point of sharing your own story?

Shame weaves into our stories through pride and jealousy and destroys our trust in God and love for others, and we must confess this.

When we focus on our own stories and not how God is working in our story, we are like Adam and Eve, Joseph’s brothers and so many others who act out of pride and jealousy and turn to hatred. We will not seek to bless those around us but instead will seek to tear them down. We will see the robes others have given them and seek to rip them off rather than trusting God.

Brothers - Intersectionality is a way of using various forms of suffering in the midst of our stories to decide who should have the most status and honor. There is no substitute for peace without the prince of Peace. There is no substitute for brotherhood without the One who was willing to give up His honor to help those in need.

Stories - Human trafficking. Feeling they deserve it. Confession in this case doesn’t look like confession of guilt. It’s confession of the other side of the story. “You meant it to me for evil but God meant it for good.”

We should delight in God’s story and how He rescues us and adopts us into His family.

Which story do you see in your life? You can see your mistakes or other’s cruelties or you can see God’s hand, comfort and care extended through your Brother and Savior, Jesus.

In my mom’s family, God started to redeem a bootlegger’s family. He used an orphanage, a war, and the Peace Corps to get my mom to Africa to really hear the Gospel for the first time.

In my wife’s family, God used lightning striking the tree a son was climbing to get a father to realize his need of Christ. God took a man who was popular and self-sufficient and changed him to care for and shepherd others.

You are at the beginning of your story just like Joseph regardless of how old you are. Remember He’s sovereign even over twists and turns and seeking to transform you and redeem you. This is the story we are really living in.

Do you know His word? Do you know His prophecy? Over 300 of them predict Jesus coming, birth, death and resurrection.

Zechariah 11:12–13 ESV

12 Then I said to them, “If it seems good to you, give me my wages; but if not, keep them.” And they weighed out as my wages thirty pieces of silver. 13 Then the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—the lordly price at which I was priced by them. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the Lord, to the potter.

2 Corinthians 4:7 ESV

7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.

Where your story and God’s story intersect - We’re going to go looking for him in the story of Joseph

Questions for Community Groups

What’s a story that you enjoy telling about yourself? Tell it to us.

In your family growing up was there a lot of pride or jealousy? Why or why not from your perspective?

How does Christ rescuing us as our brother amaze you? How does it encourage you?

How often do you run into family stories of jealousy and conflict? How is God’s story a better story?

Do you need this week to 1) find someone and listen to their story, 2) explore with a trusted friend how God’s story impacts your story, or 3) share Christ’s brotherhood story with someone else?