All things together for good

Our old housemate Grahame taught us a really fun game. It’s called Wikipedia Race. Each of us have a device, and all start with one completely random page, like Chinese Bao Buns. We each have to race each other, only using the links provided from the starting page, to a final page, such as basketballer Michael Jordan. First one there wins.

A few weeks ago Richard talked about how scripture does this too and this is what we’ll see today in the life of Joseph. Around you today you should see some Jesus radar cards. So every time you hear something that reminds you of Jesus in Joseph’s story today, I want you to raise your sneaky Jesus radar card and I’ll get my sweetie helper to give you a reward.

So… we left off last week Joseph held indefinitely in the royal prison on the spurious claim of having assaulted Potiphar’s wife. It’s here in what he calls ‘the pit’ that his fortunes are about to turn.

Also in prison are two royal officials. Translated literally they are the ‘Captain of Baking’ and the ‘Captain of Drinking’. They’re integral parts of Pharoah’s royal household. Think of the Groom of the Stool: someone intimately connected with the king’s habits and secrets.

And each of these men has a dream. In Egyptian culture, people put huge store by their dreams as signs of the future and dream interpreters were popular Egyptian jobs. So the two men were terrified that they couldn’t get their dreams interpreted. Thankfully Joseph is there to help. Let’s read those dreams now. The Captain of Drinking goes first.

[SLIDE]

9 So the chief cupbearer told Joseph his dream. He said to him, “In my dream I saw a vine in front of me, 10 and on the vine were three branches. As soon as it budded, it blossomed, and its clusters ripened into grapes. 11 Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand, and I took the grapes, squeezed them into Pharaoh’s cup and put the cup in his hand.”

12 “This is what it means,” Joseph said to him. “The three branches are three days.[Jesus radar] 13 Within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your position, and you will put Pharaoh’s cup in his hand, just as you used to do when you were his cupbearer. 14 But when all goes well with you, remember me and show me kindness; mention me to Pharaoh and get me out of this prison. 15 I was forcibly carried off from the land of the Hebrews, and even here I have done nothing to deserve being put in a dungeon.”

And here’s the Captain of Baking. If you’re squeamish, cover your ears.

[SLIDE]

16 When the chief baker saw that Joseph had given a favourable interpretation, he said to Joseph, “I too had a dream: On my head were three baskets of bread.[a] 17 In the top basket were all kinds of baked goods for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating them out of the basket on my head.”

18 “This is what it means,” Joseph said. “The three baskets are three days. 19 Within three days Pharaoh will lift off your head and impale your body on a pole. And the birds will eat away your flesh.”

And so it came to pass, just as Joseph said. Sadly, being in charge of pastries is not where you want to be. And the surviving Captain of Drinking conveniently forgot all about him. Poor Joseph. After the first week he probably still felt hopeful. Maybe the first month. But two years pass.

Until…it’s Pharoah who’s troubled by dreams. And Pharoah and his interpreters can’t make them out. Pharoah’s dreams are kind of wild: we have 7 fat cannibal cows eating their ugly skinny field mates; and 7 fat cannibal heads of grain doing the same.

And the Captain of Drinking finally remembers: I know this guy!

The next bit is a little bit like a moment in a movie where the hero undergoes a transformation for the next stage of his life. And again the theme of image and appearance is important: Joseph has a shave, and a change of clothes. He has to be a smooth Egyptian before he can meet Pharoah.

Joseph’s explanation of the dreams seems kind of obvious with the benefit of our hindsight: 7 years of plenty, followed by 7 years of famine. And, unbidden, Joseph gives Pharoah some advice: find a wise guy to coordinate a mass harvest and store it up in reserve. And it’s really interesting what Pharoah says next:

[SLIDE]

37 The plan seemed good to Pharaoh and to all his officials. 38 So Pharaoh asked them, “Can we find anyone like this man, one in whom is the spirit of God[a]?”

39 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one so discerning and wise as you. 40 You shall be in charge of my palace, and all my people are to submit to your orders. Only with respect to the throne will I be greater than you.”

Pharoah uses a phrase which hasn’t been seen since the very beginning of Genesis, where the spirit of God, the ruakh Elohim, hovers over the waters. Here is Joseph, described as having the spirit of God, who is about to be made ruler second in command over to Pharoah. A human, exalted to rule over creation by someone who was considered a God; a human guided by the spirit of God? [Jesus radar]

And here we see the fulfilment of Joseph’s dreams; and it’s clothing that speaks to us again: signet ring – a sign ring. Clothing. Chariot. Passing through crowds who are commanded to “Bow the knee.” Those dreams of being exulted over others - family, son moon and stars – here it is.

And so Joseph becomes the Head of Emergency Management for the whole of Egypt; ruling with wisdom and authority, second only to Pharoah. And he does so at the age of 30. [Jesus radar]

And so, here’s a nice place to end, as the gospel of Andrew Lloyd Webber noticed.

Joseph now looks like an Egyptian, with a new Egyptian name, with an Egyptian wife, with children of his own. He even calls his children names which indicate that he just wants to put his past behind him:

Joseph named his firstborn Manasseh[e] and said, “It is because God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father’s household.” 52 The second son he named Ephraim[f] and said, “It is because God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering.”

But God is not done with this story yet. God isn’t going to let Joseph not deal with the family he once had. God has a plan both for the life of Joseph and for the survival of his chosen people who ultimately will lead to Jesus.

And so we meet our old friend Jacob again, who is forced to send his sons ‘down’ to Egypt because the famine has come to them too and they’ve heard food is available there. The new favourite, Benjamin (because Jacob still hasn’t learnt his lesson) has to stay behind with Dad. And who do they meet? It’s old brother Joseph, completely unrecognizable.

And presented with this opportunity, Joseph crafts four long chapters of a double test: scenarios in which he recreates what the brothers did to him while maintaining the persona of the smooth and successful Egyptian. He’s not ready to forgive. You can understand why. Seeing them would bring back so many unwelcome memories and confusing emotions. Seeing those who have hurt us does that. And the brothers claim to be ‘honest men’ right in front of the one person who knows exactly otherwise.

The first test: At first Joseph imprisons all the brothers, accusing them of being spies, while he works out what to do. Joseph says: “Yes, you travellers from a foreign land. You can have food, you can even have your cash back, but you have to leave your brother Simeon behind. If you want him back, you need to bring your youngest brother Benjamin back again. Never mind that you say it will kill your father.”

Does this scenario sound familiar? Being paid off, getting what you want, but at the expense of a brother? The band of brothers have to prove themselves: they could easily take the food, pocket the cash, and tell their father, as they once did, that they lost a brother on the way.

But…on their return they tell the truth to Jacob. But Jacob won’t let them take Benjamin back. Eventually they have run out of food again, and the brothers try again – and this time it’s Judah who takes the lead. Judah – the one who suggested that Joseph be killed in the first place – is prepared to sacrifice himself for the sake of his brothers.

I myself will guarantee his safety; you can hold me personally responsible for him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him here before you, I will bear the blame before you all my life.

And so Jacob agrees to send all the brothers, loading up the camels with extra treats and treasure to pay off the still unrecognisable Joseph. And Joseph is softening. He sees Benjamin and secretly weeps. Simeon is released.

But the test is not over: he puts on a huge banquet for all the brothers. Joseph prods the brothers’ jealousy again by feeding the favourite of these famine-struck brothers five times what the others get. Lucky Benjamin. And he lets them go, but he’s planted a silver cup in Benjamin’s sack and sends officials out to arrest them. Will the brothers jealousy kick in again with this opportunity to dob him in and sacrifice him once he’s found out? Will they throw Benjamin under the bus? Joseph, once again, is re-creating his own betrayal.

But here is Judah. From whom King David will come. And ultimately, the lineage of Jesus. [Jesus radar As promised, knowing how much it will affect his father Jacob, Judah offers himself in Benjamin’s place. As a slave. The one who first sold Joseph as a slave offers to be a slave himself. And Joseph knows now – it’s time.

It’s me. Can you imagine being a brother right now? Joseph brings the focus to what he now understand God’s been doing all along:

[slide]

Then Joseph could no longer control himself before all his attendants, and he cried out, “Have everyone leave my presence!” So there was no one with Joseph when he made himself known to his brothers. 2 And he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard him, and Pharaoh’s household heard about it.

3 Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still living?” But his brothers were not able to answer him, because they were terrified at his presence.

4 Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come close to me.” When they had done so, he said, “I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! 5 And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. 6 For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will be no plowing and reaping. 7 But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.[a]

Joseph’s emotional state is important to the narrator, who emphasizes that Joseph weeps so loudly during his self-revelation that the Egyptians hear it. More than 20 years of pent-up emotions are being released. Joseph’s earlier decision to “forget his past life” has failed, and his loud weeping is a sign that he is now ready for reconciliation.

In the gospel reading we will hear at Eucharist, we’ll hear a very challenging passage from Jesus which I’ve been wrestling with all week when it was one of the morning prayer readings. In it Jesus is challenging religious leaders who have accused him of being in league with the devil. And here’s the line that stood out to me: “A constantly squabbling family disintegrates.”

It’s a hard one to hear, particularly when we think of our own families which are often broken and in which we often wound each other. And when we look at the life of Joseph, Jacob, his family all the way back and all the way forward through to us.

But through it all, we see that God turns the evil acts that humans do to Joseph and weaves a story of restoration and redemption. Joseph saves his family’s life, but also so many lives beyond his own family. [Jesus radar].

We see so clearly over the arc of Joseph’s life the foreshadowing of Jesus, the suffering servant that God appoints to rule but his suffering requires him to descend into death on behalf of others so in suffering and death can be exalted and be a source of life for others.

All of this shows us that life with all its hurdles and troubles is not without purpose, and while God’s presence is not always obvious, God nevertheless is still working things out. And God’s plan will continue out of the book of Genesis which we’ll finish up next week, and beyond.

He knows us far better than we know ourselves...and keeps us present before God. That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good. Romans 8:28

Thank God that God is God and we are not. Thank God that God has the long game in mind. Thank God that God knows the bigger picture. Thank God that God doesn’t leave us to work out our conflicts or lick our wounds alone but in his mercy works out all things for good. And in his mercy he does this at an individual level – just like in the life of Joseph – but then ripples out far beyond what we could ever ask or imagine. Thanks be to God for a love like that.

[1]James McKeown, Genesis, The Two Horizons Old Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2008), 178.