Joseph

Intro

Last week we talked about Isaac who was later known as Israel and the fascinating walk of faith he had, from tricking his brother out of his birthright, to wrestling with God, to becoming the father of all the sons of Israel. And today I want to specifically talk about his second youngest son Joseph.

Now Joseph as you may know was the favorite of Jacobs children because he had him at an old age, and because of his favoritism towards Joseph, his other sons hated Joseph. and to make things worse Joseph was known to as a tattle tale, he would go and tell his father when the other brothers did something bad. Jacob also gave Joseph a gift, a coat of many colors a gift that he did not give his other sons.

Before I continue who here has a younger sibling?

Who here is the youngest sibling?

I’m the oldest and I have one sister who is 2 years younger than me, and growing up I remember her telling on me, and getting things at an earlier age than I did, and I remember getting pretty upset about these things. It was no wonder the other brothers hated Joseph when you look at how much favoritism their was.

And then Joseph had two dreams, the first one foretold that his brothers would bow down before him and serve him, as you may have guessed that made his brothers hate him more. and the second dream again spoke of his brothers bowing before him but also his parents.

At this point the brothers want nothing to do with their little brother Joseph they just want to get rid of him and so one day Jacob told Joseph to go to the fields where his brothers were shepherding their flocks. and so Joseph goes to find them and eventually he makes his way to them however they see him first and they say to eachother, Genesis 37:19-20

Genesis 37:19–20 ESV

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.”

So they remember the dream that Joseph had, which told him that his brothers would bow before him, and they said there’s no way this dream can come true, if he’s dead then it certainly can’t come true. But Reuben who was the oldest brother said he let’s just throw him in the pit, Reuben wanted to save Joseph and return him to Jacob, however I doubt that his desires were for Josephs sake but rather that he would find favor in his fathers eyes.

However Judah saw a chance to make some money and get rid of Joseph at the same time and so he convinced his brothers to sell Joseph to a slaver for 20 pieces of silver.

and so they returned to Jacob with the coat of many colors dipped in goats blood to convince Jacob that his favorite son Joseph was dead. and His heart was broken.

Joseph however was taken to Egypt and sold to a man named Potiphar who was an officer of Pharaoh and we read in Genesis 39:2-6

Genesis 39:2–6 (ESV)

2 The Lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful man, and he was in the house of his Egyptian master. 3 His master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord caused all that he did to succeed in his hands. 4 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. 5 From the time that he made him overseer in his house and over all that he had, the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; the blessing of the Lord was on all that he had, in house and field. 6 So he left all that he had in Joseph’s charge, and because of him he had no concern about anything but the food he ate.

Already we see that Josephs brother’s wanted him to die but rather they sold him into slavery to get rid of him, but God used what was meant for evil and brought about good and blessed all that he did, so he was put into a powerful position in Egypt.

However that’s when disaster struck, Potiphar’s wife saw how handsome Joseph was and she kept insisting that he sleep with her, but he kept refusing and he resisted her temptations, however at one point she grabbed his clothes and tried to undress him but he ran away, and that’s when she decided to accuse Joseph of trying to sleep with her, and told her husband who of course became angry and sent Joseph to Prison.

But let’s read what happens when he’s put in prison...

Genesis 39:20-23

Genesis 39:20–23 ESV

20 And Joseph’s master took him and put him into the prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined, and he was there in prison. 21 But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. 22 And the keeper of the prison put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners who were in the prison. Whatever was done there, he was the one who did it. 23 The keeper of the prison paid no attention to anything that was in Joseph’s charge, because the Lord was with him. And whatever he did, the Lord made it succeed.

So now Joseph was blessed again and put as the right hand man of the person he was put under, in this case it was the prison warden who decided to put everything under Joseph’s authority. That’s when Joseph met two prisoners who worked directly under Pharaoh, it was his cupbearer and his baker, and they both had troubling dreams and needed someone to interpret them. let’s read Genesis 40:7-8

Genesis 40:7–8 ESV

7 So he asked Pharaoh’s officers who were with him in custody in his master’s house, “Why are your faces downcast today?” 8 They said to him, “We have had dreams, and there is no one to interpret them.” And Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Please tell them to me.”

So Joseph shares God’s prophecy with the two prisoners, ones prophecy said that in three days you would be restored to your position with Pharoah and the other’s dream told him that in three days he would be put to death. and of course both of these interpretations were true and came to pass. However the cupbearer forgot about Joseph and didn’t ask the Pharoah to free him.

2 years later Pharoah had troubling dreams and needed them interpreted, and so he summoned all the magicians of Egypt and all the wise men, but none of them could interpret his dream. That’s when the cupbearer remembered Joseph and told Pharoah of this man who interpreted his dreams in prison, so Pharoah summoned Joseph to interpret his dream Let’s read Genesis 41:14-16

Genesis 41:14–16 ESV

14 Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they quickly brought him out of the pit. And when he had shaved himself and changed his clothes, he came in before Pharaoh. 15 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I have had a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it. I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.” 16 Joseph answered Pharaoh, “It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer.”

And that’s exactly what Joseph did he gave Pharoah instruction on how to prepare for the coming famine that was said to come.

And Pharoah responded to Joseph the best way he could’ve Genesis 41:37-46

Genesis 41:37–46 ESV

37 This proposal pleased Pharaoh and all his servants. 38 And Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find a man like this, in whom is the Spirit of God?” 39 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has shown you all this, there is none so discerning and wise as you are. 40 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.” 41 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.” 42 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. 43 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. 44 Moreover, Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh, and without your consent no one shall lift up hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.” 45 And Pharaoh called Joseph’s name Zaphenath-paneah. And he gave him in marriage Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of On. So Joseph went out over the land of Egypt. 46 Joseph was thirty years old when he entered the service of Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh and went through all the land of Egypt.

Now I’d like to take the time to discuss what we just talked about however I encourage you to consider reading it on your own time because Josephs brothers return to Egypt and Joseph decides to mess with them a bit.

But as you know Ron and I want us to realize that these were just people who faced the same things that we face. And at first when reading the story of Joseph you may say, well I don’t get put at the second hand position everywhere that I go.

But that’s not what Josephs story is about. It’s easy to see Joseph as the favorite of his father, the second hand to Potiphar, the second hand of the Warden, the man under Pharoah who rules Egypt. But we fail to see that Joseph was sold into slavery by his dear brothers whom he probably loved, the man who was bought as property, the man who was falsely accused of assaulting Potiphar’s wife, the man who was thrown in prison for years, the man who was forgotten.

Joseph was faced with both the good and the bad, but in every situation we see that the bad was needed in order to bring about the good. Every bad thing that happened to Joseph was needed in order for him to carry out the will of God. We read in Romans 8:28

Romans 8:28 ESV

28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

Is this not what we see in the life of Joseph, a man who was called according to God’s purpose, There was nothing special about him he wasn’t the firstborn, he didn’t have anything special about him, but God saw a leader in him someone who was capable to lead the great city of Egypt.

And we see throughout these trials that Joseph, regardless of what happens keeps his eyes focused on God, and when he is blessed he gives him the credit for all his good work. That is a wise thing to do, you know how I know it’s a wise thing to do, because we read about this is Proverbs. Proverbs 3:5-6

Proverbs 3:5–6 ESV

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

It’s when we keep our eye’s focused on God and trust in his plans and his understanding that we will overcome our trials and tribulation! and it is when we acknowledge him and give him the credit for our work that he is going to put us in situations that allow us to glorify him.

Why did god bless Joseph in all the work he did, why did God put him into such prestigious positions? It’s because all the work Joseph did he gave all the credit to God.

God knows what all of our gifts are and he knows precisely the best way that our gifts can be used, and he wants to use our gifts and allow our gifts to be a blessing to those around us. But too often we decide to ignore our gifts.

You may have the gift of hospitality but you’re too afraid to open the door to a stranger. You may make a great teacher but you’re scared that you may mix your words, You may make a great leader but your afraid no one will follow you. We are scared to use our gifts but I’m here to encourage you today, and remind you that there is only one thing we should fear and that is the Lord almighty and he has given us a gift that is meant to be used.

God has a specific rule for you to play in his kingdom, and that role just like Josephs is going to require that you face trials and tribulations, It means that you need to use your gifts that God gave you, It means you need to acknowledge him in all things.

I’m so excited to see how God can use this church if all of it’s members are making themselves wholly available to him, truly allowing ourselves to be a light to the world.

So I want to challenge you, what is one way that you can start using your gift for God’s glory today?3=`4