Tracing the Invisible Hand

Introduction

How many of you know the story of Joseph? It’s a fairly well-known story, especially because it shows us how God’s plan at work in the background of tragic circumstances can work everything out for good. That’s what I want to direct your attention to today. We’re going to dive into the story of Joseph, and I will have the passages up on the screen if you want to explore them more later, and look for God’s hand at work in Joseph’s life.

Often times, we look at terrible and tragic experiences and we cannot imagine where God might be. God, where were you when I lost my parent? Where were you when I suffered this terrible trauma? Where were you when I lost everything? Sometimes, the answer is hard to find. Sometimes God is holding you close and giving you the strength to get through it. Sometimes He is protecting you from something worse that you cannot even imagine. Sometimes He is working in your heart preparing you for the “next” that He has for you. Because we cannot physically see Him, it is hard to imagine that His hand is always working, especially when it feels like you’re up the creek without a paddle. His hand is always at work! But sometimes, His hand and His work is invisible to us until farther down the road. So let’s trace the invisible hand in Joseph’s life, and maybe it will give us some hope for where God might be working in us.

As I tell you the story, keep this in mind: God’s hand is always working, even when we can’t see it.

Background (Gen. 37:1-11)

Let’s set the stage a bit, there’s a lot of story to cover since it covers much of Joseph’s life, but before we dive in, we need to understand the family dynamics that will be so important. Have you ever been grouchy with your sibling? Maybe it was over an unfairness - perceived or real - in how your parents treated you. I know that I was especially grouchy when my siblings were allowed to get a phone at a much younger age than I was - although I knew that it was because they were walking alone home from school. But it still rankled, I had to pay for my own phone and phone plan, and it took so much work to convince my parents that it was an ok idea, etc. etc. Well, let’s take that jealousy and grouchiness and mupltiply it by 10… and then double it just to be on the safe side. Joseph was the second last son out of 12 sons - his sister usually doesn’t make the number cut. These siblings were from four different wives or concubines, which of course added to the tension and rivalries that naturally exist between siblings. Let’s take a looka t this chart just to get an idea of how complicated this family is...

Family Tree

Then, add on top of that, Joseph is his dad’s favorite. No one questions this, it’s just a fact. He’s the golden boy, and to demonstrate this to everyone, Jacob, the father, has a very special robe made for Joseph. Now, sources don’t agree on exactly what type of robe this was - was it the kind of robe that only a firstborn should wear, the kind of robe that only royalty or nobility would wear, or simply made of very rich fabrics and very expensive colors. Either way, this marked Joseph as the favored son, and of course, the 10 sons in line before him were angry about this. So angry, in fact, that they grew to hate him. And then, just to twist the dagger, not only is Joseph favored by their father, but he is also favored by God. In this time dreams were seen as revealing the future, and they will have an important role to play in our story, and Joseph had two dreams that indicated that his family would bow before him. His brothers, and even his dad, weren’t too thrilled about that. So, with the brothers, tension is brewing… hatred is growing, anger is rising… and they go out into the fields to graze their sheep. This is where everything starts to go down.

Sold Into Slavery (Gen. 37:18-36)

While Joseph’s brothers are in the fields, Jacob sends Joseph out to check up on them… and considering at the beginning of this account it says that Joseph had given a bad report on his brothers, this may not go over so well. We can see that, but it seems that Joseph is oblivious to it, and obediently goes to look for his brothers. When he does not find them where they were expected to be, a man directs him to their location. Joseph is wearing his fancy robe, and so they see him coming from a ways away, and their anger reaches a boiling point. They begin to plot how they should go about murdering him, not only because he is the source of their hatred at this point, but also because if they kill “the dreamer” as they call him, then his dreams cannot become reality. The idea of bowing to Joseph one day must have been an absolutely bitter pill to swallow, and it seems to tip them to the point of being willing to kill their brother.

Thankfully, Reuben maintains a somewhat level head. The Bible doesn’t say what his motivations were, but he discourages them from killing him and instead suggests an empty cistern, a hole for collecting water in the wilderness, as a good holding cell. The Bible says that he planned to come back and rescue Joseph and return him to their father. Maybe he had compassion on him, the guy was only 17 after all, or maybe he wanted to work himself into Jacob’s good graces. Either way, his authority as the eldest ends up saving Joseph’s life. Instead of killing him, they grabbed him, ripped off the coat, and chucked him into the pit.

Well… now what? They’ve got their teenage brother in a well, if they let him go then he’ll tell Dad, and Reuben already advocated against killing him… what is the logical solution to the problem they now face? Reuben has gone off somewhere, so it is Judah, the fourth eldest, who comes up with the solution. They see a caravan of traders coming - why not make a quick buck and sell him as a slave?

20 pieces of silver later, Joseph is no longer a problem, and their hands are clean of his blood. Nice and tidy.

Except… what do they tell their father? And Reuben comes back just then, likely intending to rescue Joseph, and finds out what they’ve done. He is absolutely distraught - his plan failed and his brothers did a crazy thing! What is he supposed to do? Well… apparently the answer is to dip that facy coat in goat’s blood and claim Joseph was eaten by an animal, deceiving Jacob, the deceiver, and sending him into deep mourning.

Life in Potiphar’s House (Gen. 39:1-8)

After this, we don’t really care about what’s going on with Joseph’s brothers for a while, except for an account of Judah’s sons and daughter-in-law and the very interesting way in which all that goes down… if you want to feel uncomfortable with ancient culture and ways, read Genesis 38 in your spare time…

Joseph however, goes to Egypt to be sold as a slave. He is sold into the hosuehold of a man named Potiphar, the captain of the Pharaoh’s bodyguard, so this guy is important. Joseph worked hard, doing his best, serving God, and eventually he caught Potiphar’s attention. He gained more responsibility until he became Potiphar’s personal servant, second only to Potiphar and overseeing the entire household. If someone had a problem, they came to Joseph and he would probably have a solution. He made Potiphar’s home a safe haven, where the captain could return to from a long day and have nothing to worry about. Everything was going great, or as great as it could be for someone who has been stolen from their home and betrayed by their family. There was just one sticky point… Potiphar’s wife thought Joseph was fine [make ok symbol and draw out word]. The Bible says that Joseph was “handsome in form and appearance”, and when the Bible says that so matter-of-factly, we’ve got to believe that everyone around him thought so too. Even his master’s wife, the one person who should have been totally off limits.

She kept approaching him, pressing him to sleep with her, to betray his master’s trust and indulge in sin. Joseph, being the God fearing man that he was, refused outright. I’d guess he probably started trying to avoid her as soon as she made her intentions clear, but since he served her husband and ran the household, there weren’t many places to go to get away.

One day there was no one else in the house, I’m willing to bet Potiphar’s wife sent everyone away on some errand or another. If she could just get Joseph alone then surely he would give in, right? Wrong. She approached him again and he refused, backing away, so she grabbed his clothes and he pulled so hard they came off in her hands - he escaped, but now he was stuck in a compromising position. In her anger at being slighted, Potiphar’s wife cried out for the servants, accusing Joseph of trying to take advantage of her. When Potiphar came home, he found his wife utterly distraught, lying on her bed with Joseph’s clothes beside her. She again accused Joseph of attacking her… we don’t know for sure whether Potiphar believed her or not. Maybe her tears did a number on him and he was filled with such rage he didn’t consider Joseph’s character. Or maybe he didn’t buy it, but had to do something to act on his wife’s word anyway or risk his reputation in Pharaoh’s court being shredded. Either way, Joseph went from being second only to Potiphar, his trusted personal servant, to being thrown in jail for a crime he had run from and was innocent of. Now, this is interesting, because the normal punishment for this crime back then would have been death! So that leads us to conclude that Potiphar probably wasn’t convinced, or he was emotionally attached to Joseph. Joseph’s life has been saved, but he is once more thrown into a dark place that he doesn’t deserve to be.

Imprisoned (Gen. 39:9-40:23)

Can you imagine? You’ve devoted your service to someone, but because you’ve been falsely accused you are at rock bottom again. It seems a little familiar, probably because this is not so different from what landed Joseph in slavery to begin with. From the little records we have about Egyptian prisons, it doesn’t seem like people served a certain number of years and then were set free, it’s possible that all sentences were life sentences. That’s daunting!

Joseph continues to serve God, however, and distinguishes himself even in the prison, however, and rises to the position of overseer, responsible for all the prisoners and whatever happened in the jail.

One day two new prisoners arrive, important officials who had worked in the palace. The Chief Baker and the Pharoah’s Cupbearer. They are awaiting the verdict of what their punishments will be, and as you can imagine, they were a bit on edge as they waited.

One night they both had dreams that messed with their moods, and Joseph noticed when he saw them the next morning. So he asked what was going on, and they bemoaned not having anyone around to interpret their dreams. As we see later, in Pharoah’s court there are tons of people to interpret dreams, they just aren’t always right. Joseph, however, knew that God knows all things and that He alone could truly give someone the interpretation. So they told Joseph their dreams and God gave Joseph the interpretations.

The Cupbearer dreamt of a vine in front of him, with 3 branches, and he squeezed the grapes and served Pharoah the cup. Joseph explained that this meant in 3 days the Cupbearer would be restored to his position in Pharoah’s palace. “Please,” he said, “when you are there, remember me and mention me to Pharoah, for I am innocent and do not deserve to be here.” The Chief Baker jumped in, hoping that the interpretation of his dream would also be good.

He had dreamt of carrying 3 baskets on his head and birds came and ate the bread out of the baskets. Once again, the baskets were 3 days, but unlike the Cupbearer, Joseph explained, in 3 days the Chief Baker was going to be executed.

3 days later, these interpretations came true. The Baker was executed for treason and the Cupbearer was restored to his position. Once there, however, the Cupbearer forgot about Joseph and did not think of him again.

Pause

It seems pretty hopeless, hey? How can God’s hand possibly be at work in this? Sure, Joseph keeps getting elevated wherever he goes, but he’s still stucck in the prison and had no way of getting out! He’ll die there! Or will he? Maybe we should pause here and do as the sermon title said: trace the invisible hand thus far.

We saw God at work in Joseph’s life even before he was taken away from his family. Joseph had dreams that, although they angered his family, did point to what God will eventually do with his life. God works through Reuben to make sure Joseph stays alive, and although it was a terrible experience, He worked through Judah to have Joseph sent to Egypt as a slave. Once there, Joseph wasn’t relegated to working in the fields or serving in a temple. He was purchased by a wealthy and high ranking family where he could gain experience in stewardship and running many moving parts. This will come in handy down the road. Although he ended up in prison, God saved his life again from the standard punishment for adultery - death. Once in prison he rose to a position of authority and the jailer trusted him so much that he didn’t even feel the need to supervise Joseph. God’s hand worked in so many ways to steer Joseph’s life and preserve him, and Joseph continued to serve Him faithfully despite the hardships he faced. But I am willing to bet that there were times when Joseph really struggled to understand and to trust God’s plan.

Vizier (Gen. 41:1-49)

Maybe one of those times hits when the Cupbearer returns, and Joseph waits expectantly for his situation to change. And nothing happens. Slowly, Joseph realizes he’s been forgotten, and time passes… each day much like the day before. God, where are you? What happened to those dreams you gave me? How am I ever to be in a position like that if I am stuck here?

The messenger came in the morning one day, harried and frantic. Joseph was summoned to appear before Pharoah, but first he had to be made presentable and they really didn’t have much time! So Joseph shaves and washes and is given new clothes and is rushed before the ruler of the most powerful nation of that time. Pharoah. Believed to be the son of a god, the go-between for men to the gods… with the power over Joseph’s life or death. No pressure…

Yet Joseph does not quiver, he faces the Pharoah knowing that he is just a powerful man, and trusting God to see him through.

Pharoah explains that he had 2 dreams the night before, and no one else could give him an interpretation… His Cupbearer had mentioend Joseph and how he had interpreted the dreams in prison. So Joseph has been brought to interpret the Pharoah’s dreams. Joseph humbly - and correctly - insists that God alone can give the interpretation of a dream, but God will give Pharoah a favourable answer.

The first dream was of 7 cows that came up from the Nile, fat, sleek, and beautiful. They were grazing in the grass alongside the river. 7 more cows emerged from the river, these were emaciated, ugly, and looked like they had been starved. These starved cows devoured the beautiful cows, but despite their feast they remained just as withered.

The second dream was similar, it was of 7 ears of wheat which sprouted on a single stalk, plump and perfect. After this 7 more sprouted, looking as if they had been devasted by the wind and withered. These 7 withered ears swallowed up the 7 good ears.

Joseph took a deep breath, listened for the interpretation in his spirit, and began to explain. These dreams were the same message, there were coming 7 years of plenty where every harvest would produce abundantly and with great prosperity. But after that would come 7 years of famine where there would be no food. Because Pharoah dreamed it twice, it meant that God had determined that this would happen and cause it to happen quickly.

But God had given Joseph more than just the interpretation, He had also given him the wisdom to see a solution to the problem that was going to face the nation in 7 years. He explained his idea to the Pharaoh.

“Look for a man who is discerning and wise, and set him over the land of Egypt. Let Pharaoh take action to appoint overseers in charge of the land, and let him exact a fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt in the seven years of abundance. Then let them gather all the food of these good years that are coming, and store up the grain for food in the cities under Pharaoh’s authority, and let them guard it. Let the food become as a reserve for the land for the seven years of famine which will occur in the land of Egypt, so that the land will not perish during the famine.”

Seeing that this was a wise suggestion, and believing that there was a “divine spirit” in Joseph, Pharoah appointed Joseph as that man. Second only to Pharoah and charged with overseeing the collection, storage, and recording of the excess crops in preparation for the famine years. He gave Joseph his signet ring, gave him new clothes of the finest materials, put a gold necklace around his neck, and gave him a new name. Zaphenath-Paneah, which means God speaks, he lives. Joseph was given Asenath, the daughter of the priest of On as his wife, and a command was sent out that everyone was to bow before Joseph’s chariots whenever he went out and about. No one had more power or standing in all of Egypt other than Pharoah himself.

How far Joseph had risen from slave to Vizier. It is at this point, that we learn that Joseph is now a 30 year old man, so we know that this journey of ups and downs has taken 13 years to happen. But it’s not over yet.

Retribution or Restitution (Gen. 42:1-46:7)

Joseph successfully did his job, preparing for the years of famine and storing food so Egypt would not suffer. There was so much food, in fact, that they stopped recording it, for the Bible says it was “without measure”. That’s a lot of food! And then came the famine. And it didn’t just hit Egypt, it hit the nations around Egypt too, including Canaan, Joseph’s homeland. People from these other nations made their way to Egypt to buy food to survice the famine, and one day, Joseph’s brothers (minus Benjamin) came before Joseph and bowed, seeking to buy food for their families. They didn’t recognise him. I mean, he had been only 17 when they sold him, they assumed he was dead and certainly wouldn’t have looked for him to be the Vizier of Egypt! To ensure they didn’t recognise him, Joseph spoke to them harshly through a translator, accusing them of being spies. They protested, saying that they were 12 brothers of one man who had come to buy food.

Here Joseph pounced on them. There were only 10 of them, evidently they were lying! And so they had to explain that one brother had stayed behind - because Jacob couldn’t bear to lose the only other son of Joseph’s mother - and one was dead. But Joseph persisted, insisting that they were spies. So he gave them an option, to send one brother back to bring Benjamin while the others waited in prison. But before he let them go, he placed them all in prison for 3 days. I wonder if maybe he was letting them get a tiny taste of what he had experienced in the past 13 years…

After 3 days he summoned them and decided that only one brother should stay behind while the others returned to fetch Benjamin. They were distressed and talked amongst themselves, unaware that Joseph could understand them, saying that this was happening because of what they had done to Joseph and their guilt in not showing mercy. Reuben piped up and had an “I told you so” moment, recalling how he had told them not to kill Joseph, and this was the price they paid for their actions.

Joseph overheard all this and was so moved, he left the room and wept. He did not know Reuben had argued for him, that someone had compassion on him. And I am sure that hearing them brought up many emotions. When he had composed himself, he returned and took Simeon, binding him, and sent the others off with sacks of grain and their money returned in the tops of the sacks. That night the brothers opened their bags to feed their donkeys and found their money and panicked! God must be out to get them, because they had been accused of being spies and now they would look like thieves too!

Joseph would have a long time to wait for his brothers to return as they had a hard job convincing their father to risk Benjamin and send him to a far away land. Eventually, however, starvation threatened Joseph’s family in Caanan, and Jacob was forced to send the brothers, including Benjamin, back to Egypt. Judah has agreed that if Benjamin does not return safely, that the blame will be on him entirely, he will bear full responsibility for his brother’s safety. Talk about a change in heart compared to the Judah so willing to sell their brother for a profit!

When they reach Egypt, instead of being taken to where they had met Joseph before, he had them taken to his house and a meal prepared for them. They thought they were in trouble for stealing the money, and entirely on edge during the whole meal, especially when Joseph sat them according to their birth order. Looking at Benjamin, his only full blooded brother, Joseph was overcome and left the room to weep again. He returned and the meal was served, and he had Benjamin given five times as much food as anyone else, which no doubt caused some confusion.

I wonder if Joseph almost enjoyed the subterfuge. He knew the brothers but they did not recognize him at all, clearly, which gave him the upper hand over those who had betrayed him. And yet, his heart is soft towards them, he seems to be testing them instead of seeking retribution. And he has one more test for them, he orders their grain sacks to be filled, their money placed in the top again, and Joseph’s silver cup placed in the top of Benjamin’s sack. The brothers go on their way the next morning, none the wiser, believing that they’ve gotten lucky and escaped the unprovoked wrath of this crazy Egyptian lord. A little while later, Joseph’s steward caught up to them and demanded to know why they had stolen from the Vizier. The brothers were confused, insisiting on their innocence, and saying that if someone had stolen that person’s life would be forfeit and the rest would be the master’s slaves. The steward insisted that only the man who had stolen would be kept as a slave. They opened their sacks starting with Reuben to show they hadn’t stolen.

Imagine the suspense… had one of them stolen something? Not Reuben, not Simeon, not Judah, and on down the line it goes… until they reach the very last one. Benjamin, the one brother whose loss would absolutely shatter their father, and he has the cup in the top of his sack. So, back they go to see Joseph again… absolutely dreading the discussion and the outcome.

Much like when he led the decision to sell Joseph, Judah takes the lead in pleading for Benjamin’s life. He recounts the story of their conversations with Joseph and then with their father, convincing him to allow them to bring Benjamin. Judah eventually pleads that Joseph take him in Benjamin’s place, a complete 180 from his heart in selling Joseph.

And Joseph breaks down into tears in front of them all. He sends everyone out of the room, while his brothers watch him in utter confusion. This Egyptian must be a madman! It is now, finally, that Joseph reveals himself to his brothers and he says something that shows he was also aware of God’s invisible hand at work in his life.

“Now do not be grieved or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life. For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant in the earth, and to keep you alive by a great deliverance. Now, therefore, it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh and lord of all his household and ruler over all the land of Egypt.” And then he tells them to bring his father and the whole household to Egypt to live and to be near him and to flourish even during the famine.

It must have been quite the conversation with Jacob, “Hey dad, that brother that you’ve been grieving for 20 years… he’s alive. We sold him into slavery but now he’s the Vizier of Egypt and wants us to move there.” What a shock to the system, Jacob may not have fully believed them until he finally held Joseph in his arms again after 20 long years.

Tracing the Invisible Hand

Now that we know the end of that part of the story, where do we see an invisible hand directing lives? God sent dreams to Pharaoh, warning him of a famine that was coming. Only Joseph could interpret that dream, because he served God faithfully. This gets Joseph out of prison and into a role where his own dream would come true. He gathers food for all of Egypt but has so much that once the famine hits, even his own family is drawn to where he is seeking food. God draws Joseph’s family to Egypt where not only are they reunited and reconciled with Joseph, but Jacob’s descendents, the people of Israel, become an entire nation over the course of the next 400 years. They become slaves, which leads to God revealing His power over all other gods and leading a new people out of Egypt and back to Caanan, the Promised Land. This creates an entirely distinct and unique nation from a group of twelve sons… and all because Joseph was betrayed by his family and sold into slavery. His tragedy became a nation’s greatest victory, and even Judah gets redemption as his line becomes the line of the Messiah.

So… where can you see the invisible hand at work in your life and family history? What had to happen in order for you to be born and come to Christ and be here right now? What will God use your suffering to do for your descendents and those around you? How will it turn out even for your good, as Romans 8:28 promises, “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”

For those here who may not know Jesus… what’s keeping you from saying yes? Is it the experiences you’ve had? If so, know that God can use them for good. Not that bad experiences are good, but He is a master at taking something bad and bringing something good from the midst of it. You just have to open your heart and let Him.

Communion

The grand result of the story of the Bible, and the story of Joseph, is that Jesus came to die for us. We’re going to partake of Communion together. If you didn’t get a cup beforehand, they are just at the back.

“For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for[b] you. Do this in remembrance of me.”[c] 25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.”

Thank you Lord for coming for us, for giving yourself up for us, and for working in our lives even when we can’t see it. Help us to trust you with the process, to lean on you for strength as we live in this troubled world, and to wait eagerly for the day when we will see the full picture that you were working out in our lives. We thank you and praise you, for you are worthy of all praise and honor and glory and power, forever. Amen