Faith When It's All Good

We are continuing our series, / / Ancient Faith for Modern Times, and we are going to take a second week in the life of Joseph from Genesis 37-50. Last week we looked at having faith when things are just not going your way. The story of Joseph is a fascinating story. He starts out with these incredible dreams. If you don’t remember the dreams. The first one he dreams that him and his brothers are out bundling up the grain harvest, and suddenly all of his brother’s bundles of grain come over to his bundle of grain and bow down to it.

They aren’t so happy with how that story turns out. “What, you think you’ll be our king?” they asked. Then he has another dream, and instead of keeping it to himself, he tells them all that one too. And it’s super short. / / “The sun, moon, and eleven stars bowed low before me!” That’s it. That’s all he gives them from that dream. You almost got to think he’s crazy, right?

Well of course they don’t like that one either, and this time his father even scolds him and says, / / “Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow to the ground before you?”

So, everyone else is upset, but these are pretty amazing dreams that both show he’s going to be in some sort of position of power or influence at some point and even his whole family will come to bow down before him. Well if you know the story, you know this is exactly what happens, but not for quite some time! In his immediate future is some pretty tough stuff. His brothers hate him so much they decide they are going to kill him. Thankfully one of the brother’s steps up and says, “Guys, maybe let’s just throw him in this pit over here!”

Thing is, he had every intention of going back and helping him out of the pit later, once his brothers were gone. So he leaves. Except, the rest of the brothers decide that throwing him in a pit is just a waste. So they pull him out and sell him to a caravan of slave traders that are on their way to Egypt.

In Egypt, everything seems to be going well. The guy that buys him actually likes him, recognizes that he has something special on his life. Which would be the faithfulness of God, right? So he puts him in charge of everything. His entire house and property. Problem is, this guys wife likes Joseph a little too much, and tries to get him to sleep with her. When he says no, she falsely accuses him of rape and has him thrown in prison.

But you can’t keep a good man down, right? Even in the prison, God’s faithfulness to Joseph, and the way that Joseph handles himself, shines through. He gets put in charge of the entire prison and all the other inmates. The warden of the prison likes him that much, and trusts him that much.

I said last week, we don’t get too much of an explanation of how Joseph reacted to things, but the story itself says everything we need to know. I don’t think a prison warden is going to give that kind of influence and power to someone who isn’t proving to be a really honorable person. He’s not doing this with a mobster, but I don’t know if the mob was a thing back then. So we’re going to go with the thought that Joseph was faithful to God, showed integrity, good work ethic, and good character.

And we have to think about it this way. / / He was 17 years old when he had those initial dreams. And scripture says that his brothers hated him, not just for the dreams themselves, but for the way he talked about them. Why? Because he’s 17 years old. Have you met any 17 year olds? Especially ones with 11 brothers and their father visibly loves him more than any of them. Gives him extravagant gifts in front of them.

But how many know that a rough road can soften a rough heart?

I think the almost being killed, thrown into a pit, sold into slavery, wrongfully accused, thrown into prison road that he’s had to walk has maybe humbled him just a little bit, right? I’ve met some 17 year olds that could use some of that. Humbling, not all of the things Joseph got. Most of those are pretty illegal, we don’t need to do those things to people. But sometimes life sends us some pretty intense and heavy things that sort of work out the rough edges?

There’s something to be said about enduring the hard times with as much of a smile as we can. Paul writes in Romans 5:3-4, / / We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation.

Endurance builds character!

When we can walk this road of life with our faith intact, and continue to be faithful with God then something really great happens. He can use what the enemy meant for evil, and turn it around for good.

One of the most well known verses in the bible is Romans 8:28, And let me paraphrase it how most people know it. / / “God works all things together for my good.” In fact, there’s a really popular worship song that had that as it’s main chorus line, / / “You make, all things, work together for my good.”

The problem with that is that it’s not the whole verse, and the whole verse has a couple caveats to it. Let’s read the whole verse in it’s context, ok. Starting in vs 27:

/ / And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will. And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.

OK, two things here. First, vs 27 says that / / God knows all hearts. It is calling God the searcher of hearts. N.T. Wright, in his commentary, wrote this as an explanation, “The word ‘searcher’ comes from a root which suggests someone lighting a torch and going slowly around a large, dark room full of all sorts of things, looking for something in particular. Or perhaps he is searching in the dark, by listening. What is he wanting to find, and what happens when he finds it?”

This is the searching of hearts that God is doing. And as he does that, then Paul says, “God is going to search our hearts, which is great, because we know that he works all things that we go through for our good when we love him and when we live our lives according to his purpose. So when he searches us and finds that we’re following his ways, then whatever we’re going through is going to work out just fine. Don’t worry.” That’s a little bit different than just a blanket statement, “You make everything work out good for me.”

We need to check our understanding of scripture.

But this is what Joseph’s life is showing us. Yes, he went through some terrible times, but the promises of God inspired faithfulness in his life. So as he is faithful to God, showing humility, integrity, character and resolve, things work out pretty decent.

One of my professors and I were talking after class yesterday morning just about the law and the instructions of God, and how God doesn’t give us rules to follow because that’s the way to salvation, like we can be saved through good works. He gives us rules to experience the best life possible on this earth. When we choose to follow God’s ways, they lead to life. When we choose to follow our own flesh, it produces death. It’s actually pretty plain and simple.

So, in the case of Joseph, you can look at it from “From favored son to a sold slave. From master of the house to the prison dungeon. And we aren’t sure why he deserves any of that”

OR, you can look at it as: “from the pit of slavery to second in Potiphar’s house. From the depths of the prison, to the warden’s right hand man. Why? Because he was faithful.”

That changes things, doesn’t it?

And the favor or increase, whatever or however you want to call it, continues in Joseph’s life.

Last week we went through Genesis 37-39, and that covered the beginning of Joseph’s life with his family, through the betrayal, the accusation and wrongful imprisonment. And that’s where we left the story, Joseph in prison, but at least he is the warden’s top guy in prison. If you’re going to be in prison, I guess that’s the better place to be.

Today we’ll go through the rest of the story of Joseph, which is essentially chapters 40-50, but actually the bulk of the story is 40-42. Obviously for times sake we won’t be reading it all this morning, but that’s your homework for this week. Read Genesis 37-50.

So, as the story goes, Joseph is in prison, but at least he’s in charge, so he’s got a good pulse on what’s going on with the other inmates. Well if you know the story, then you know there's these two guys, the Cupbearer and the Baker of Pharaoh. And all we know is that scripture tells us they offended Pharoah and got thrown in prison. And while they are in prison, they both have dreams, and they are troubled enough by these dreams that they are asking around to see if anyone can interpret them. No one can.

But Joseph, seeing that they are obviously troubled asks them, / / “Why do you look so worried today?” They say, “We’ve both had dreams and no one can interpret them.” And I love Joseph’s response. Now, this isn’t a sermon on dreams, but it very well could be. Have you ever noticed the value and importance of dreams in the bible? Honestly, we should probably be paying a whole lot of attention to the dreams we have. I would venture a very serious guess that God is speaking through dreams far more than we are giving thought to.

Listen to Joseph’s response, Genesis 40:8, / / “Interpreting dreams is God’s business…go ahead and tell me your dreams.”

There’s just something about that statement. Not, “Well, sometimes dreams mean something, sometimes they don’t.” or “Did you have pizza before you went to bed last night?” or “What were you thinking about before you went to bed, because you know, sometimes dreams are just a way for your brain to cleanse out what you went through in the day.”

None of that what so ever..just, “Interpreting dreams is God’s business....go ahead and tell me your dreams.” So they do.

The dreams aren’t important this morning, again, go and read the story through this week.

But the cup-bearer shares his dream first, and Joseph interprets it as a good thing. Basically in three days time Pharaoh is going to pull him out of the prison and restore him to his original position. And he adds at the end. When this happens, please remember me. I’m in prison because I was kidnapped from my homeland and wrongfully accused. I don’t deserve to be in here.

Baker thinks, “Whoa, he’s going to be restored to his position, that’s awesome.” Tells Joseph his dream. Unfortunately, not the same result. Joseph tells him that in three days Pharaoh is going to impale his body on a pole and birds are going to come and peck at his dead body. Horrible dream interpretation. I would ask for my money back.

Sure enough, three days later it’s Pharaoh’s birthday and he pulls these two guys out of prison, along with all his other officials, and restores the cup-bearer to his position and impales the baker on a pole.

But, the cup-bearer forgot about Joseph.

Now, this is kind of a carry over from what we were talking about last week, because this is the last bit of being kicked while he’s down. Have you ever had a moment where you think something really good is going to happen, and then it doesn’t? That disappointment is crushing. Especially when we actually think, “God is doing this. God is going to use this to pull me out of my current situation.”

Anybody remember Integrity, Hosanna music? In the 80’s and 90’s these guys were the biggest thing in Christian music as far as I know. I mean, every tape that my parents bought had the Integrity music logo on it. Well, shortly after Kelley and I were married, Integrity music approached us. No kidding. The head of a new division of music publishing had heard us lead worship in Toronto and they wanted to take 5 or 6 of our albums at the time and manufacture them in their facilities, sell them and pay us. The music industry is an interesting thing. The way these deals work, we weren’t getting the bulk of the money, they were, I think we were supposed to get something like 17%, which we were told was pretty good. But all I knew of Integrity was what I just told you. Every tape my parents ever bought had that logo on it.

I imagine this is how Joseph felt. In a different way, but looking at his life, he must have thought, “This MUST be how God wants to pull me out of the pit.” We were dealing with owing the IRS a significant amount at the time and that was exactly my thought. “This MUST be how God wants to pull us out of this pit.” You know those cartoons where they just see dollar signs dancing in front of their eyes. Well, not quite like that, but I would be lying if I didn’t say I felt very some sorta way about this opportunity.

Genesis 40:23, / / Pharaoh’s chief cup-bearer, however, forgot all about Joseph, never giving him another thought.

That deal, although it’s kind of cool to have a couple copies of our CDs with the integrity music logo on them. Honestly, that’s pretty cool. But financially it amounted to, well, I don’t know if we ever even got anything from it. The division they created didn’t take off like they wanted, eventually closed, and years later we got an email asking if we wanted to buy the CDs they had made.

Joseph gets it. His hopes were up. He had this opportunity. And it came to nothing.

Want to know what the next verse says? Genesis 41:1, / / Two full years later...

Joseph sat in that prison for two years. This is why we’re taking two weeks to look at the life of Joseph, because in everything we go through we must maintain the attitude that Joseph had through this time. Don’t get disgruntled at God. Yes, you might feel disheartened. Joseph was honest with the cup-bearer and baker, he said, “I was kidnapped and wrongfully accused.” He’s not denying this is a terrible situation, but he’s not letting the situation change who he is and what he knows to be true about God and how he is going to live his life for him.

/ / Do not let the circumstances of your life determine how you will live for God or not.

I know sometimes it feels like you’re getting kicked while you’re already down.

I know some days it feels like you have no clue what God is doing. Is he just sitting back and watching you struggle?

I know the health diagnosis you don’t want is breaking your heart.

The financial struggle and worry is breaking your spirit.

I know the distance you feel between where you are and where you think you’re supposed to be seems further than it’s ever been.

Maybe it felt like God was about to do something, and maybe like Joseph you’ve been waiting for two years and you don’t feel like anything has changed.

Don’t let it change what the word of God says about Him. Don’t let it change the way you live.

Keep your integrity. Keep your humility. Keep your honor. Keep your worship.

How do I know this was how Joseph acted?

As the story continues Pharaoh has two dreams in the same night, and both of them are troubling. He is really disturbed by these dreams. So, he calls his wise men and magicians and tells them the dreams and they can’t interpret them. But, the cup-bearer happens to overhear what’s going on and suddenly remembers. Oh man, I promised Joseph I would tell Pharaoh about him. Ok, well, here goes, “Pharaoh, sir, remember when you put me in prison a couple years ago? Well, I had a dream while I was in there, and there was a young Hebrew man in there and he told me the interpretation of my dream and it happened exactly as he said.”

Joseph gets brought to Pharaoh and he tells him his dream and asks him if he can interpret it, and Joseph gives him the same response he had given the baker and cup-bearer, / / “It is beyond my power to do this.” “But God can tell you what it means and set you at ease.”

Well the dreams are indicating that the next 14 years are going to be pretty crazy. First, seven years of super abundance in the land. Then, seven years of extreme famine. Both dreams interpreted to mean the same thing. And Joseph adds at the end the instructions on how to handle the situation. First, set an intelligent and wise man in charge of the entire land, then set up supervisors over the land, collect one-fifth of all the crops for seven years, store it away, and that will get you through the seven bad years of famine.

Pharaoh responds, “Wow, umm… counsel, anyone see anyone smarter than this kid? No? Yeah, me either, so, alright kid, you’re it. Second in command over all Egypt. There will be no one more powerful in the entire nation except me.”

Gives him a new name, gives him a wife, and gives him the biggest job in the world at the time.

Genesis 41:45-46, / / So Joseph took charge of the entire land of Egypt. He was thirty years old when he began serving in the court of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt.

Did you catch that. 30 years old.

How old was he when we were introduced to him in Genesis 37? Do you remember.

Seventeen! For thirteen years he suffered this rollercoaster of craziness from betrayal and slavery to temptation and accusation to wrongful imprisonment and letdown. 13 years!

Ok, I asked, how do I know Joseph had a good attitude and continued to trust God even in the midst of all he went through in those 13 years?

Listen to Genesis 41:50-52, / / During this time, before the first of the famine years, two sons were born to Joseph and his wife, Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, the priest of On. Joseph named his older son Manassah, for he said, “God has made me forget all my troubles and everyone in my father’s family.” Joseph named his second son Ephraim, for he said, “God has made me fruitful in this land of my grief.”

Ok, three things in this short little passage of scripture that show me how Joseph handled himself through the trial and struggle.

/ / 1. He did not fear

Joseph didn’t fear. How do I know that. Because he had two sons in a world and time where the infant mortality rate was about 50% to begin with and he knows there’s about to be a 7 year famine where times are going to get so hard that people will be dying for lack of food and water.

Yet he has two sons that will be less than 6 years old when that time starts.

You could say this differently. Not just that he did not have fear, but he had faith. He trusted in God. Not having fear is one thing, but knowing where your hope is, that’s another thing entirely. Look at every turn and question. Joseph does not point to his own ability. “I’m not afraid” or “I can interpret that dream.” No, every time it’s “God can do it”. “I don’t have that power, but God can give Pharaoh the interpretation.”

He is living out of absolute humility and trust.

/ / 2. Forgiveness

Now I’m reading in to this a bit because I know that the bible can sometimes be written in a way that we have to read past just the words on the page. Joseph names his first son Manassah, which means “causing to forget”. I know, forgetting isn’t forgiving, but this is where we read past the words on the page. Read the story, we know that Joseph didn’t actually forget anything.

As I said, the story of Joseph goes from Genesis 37-50, the first three chapters deal with his life up to being put in prison, and the next two chapters deal with being pulled out of prison and coming to the place of power. Then the next six chapters deal with his reunion with his family. Six chapters!

Because as the story goes. The seven years of good and plenty pass by, and the famine comes, and it’s worse than anyone could have imagined. And it wasn’t just Egypt dealing with the famine. The last verse of Genesis 41 says, / / And people from all around came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph because the famine was severe throughout the world.

So, two years into this famine, guess who shows up for grain? Ya, Joseph’s brothers. Jacob, Joseph’s father, sends his sons to Egypt to buy grain, because where they are has been hit by this famine as well. Chapters 42, 43 and 44 are all Joseph dealing with his brothers, blessing them, but also causing a bit of a situation where he’s able to be around them, see them, inquire about their father, and he’s kind of setting them up, but not in a bad way. Nothing bad happens to them. Joseph isn’t punishing them. And the whole time they have no clue who he is. Probably because he just looks like an Egyptian royal.

So, no, he didn’t forget anything. But, clearly he was able to forgive because he wasn’t carrying the pain or anger that would most assuredly meant dealing with his brothers harshly. Last week we read this little verse where Joseph says that it was God who had send him to Egypt, right? Well let’s read the whole thing because this shows how Joseph handled his brothers.

And remember, this is all in connection to faith. We’re talking Ancient Faith for Modern Times. And part of having faith is living a life of forgiveness because Jesus was very clear when he said if we don’t learn how to forgive, how is God supposed to forgive us? Not getting into a discussion about God’s forgiveness or not, but simply the importance that Jesus placed on it.

So Joseph has sent his brothers away with grain a couple times, asked about their dad, and messed with them a bit, and then it all comes to this point where he’s going to reveal who he really is. Genesis 45:3-16, / / “I am Joseph!” he said to his brothers. “Is my father still alive?” But his brothers were speechless! They were stunned to realize that Joseph was standing there in front of them. “Please, come closer,” he said to them. So they came closer. And he said again, “I am Joseph, your brother, whom you sold into slavery in Egypt. But don’t be upset, and don’t be angry with yourselves for selling me to this place. It was God who sent me here ahead of you to preserve your lives. This famine that has ravaged the land for two years will last five more years, and there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. God has sent me ahead of you to keep you and your families alive and to preserve many survivors. So it was God who sent me here, not you! And he is the one who made me an adviser to Pharaoh - the manager of his entire palace and the governor of all Egypt.

“Now hurry back to my father and tell him, ‘This is what your son Joseph says: God has made me master over all the land of Egypt. So come down to me immediately! You can live in the region of Goshen, where you can be near me with all your children and grandchildren, your flocks and herds, and everything you own. I will take care of you there, for there are still five years of famine ahead of us. Otherwise you, your household, and all your animals will starve.’”

Then Joseph added, “Look! You can see for yourselves, and so can my brother Benjamin, that I really am Joseph! Go tell my father of my honored position here in Egypt. Describe for him everything you have seen, and then bring my father here quickly.” Weeping with joy, he embraced Benjamin, and Benjamin did the same. Then Joseph kissed each of his brothers and wept over them, and after that they began talking freely with him.

The news soon reached Pharaoh’s palace: “Joseph’s brothers have arrived!” Pharaoh and his officials were all delighted to hear this.

Some super key words in here that I want to add what is not being said.

/ / “come closer”… don’t be afraid.

/ / “don’t be upset”… I’m not.

/ / “don’t be angry with yourselves”… I’m not angry...

/ / “God sent me here to preserve YOUR lives”… I would go through all I’ve gone through just for you!

/ / “God send me here. Not you!” … So release yourselves from any burden you’ve been carrying

/ / Weeping with joy, he embraced Benjamin, he kissed each of his brothers and wept over them, and after that they began talking freely with him… love and relationship have been restored.

/ / Pharaoh and his officials were all delighted… Because we’ve been waiting for you!

None of that happens if Joseph is bitter.

None of that is possible if Joseph doesn’t forgive and let go of the hurt and pain from his past.

I want to say this very clearly. If you are holding on to the hurt and pain of your past, and the anger and resentment toward other people, you will not be able to be faithful to God, because being faithful to God includes forgiving and releasing those who have hurt us.

/ / If you want to move forward in the things of God you must let go of the things in your past.

Letting go does not mean you didn’t get hurt.

Forgiveness doesn’t mean what happened to you wasn’t wrong, or bad, or evil.

Following God by forgiving those who have hurt you allows God to heal the hurt and pain that you are feeling. But as long as you are holding on to the anger and bitterness, the wound will fester.

Joseph would have never climbed out of any of the pits he was in if he didn’t know how to forgive. Even if somehow physically he was out of those pits, mentally and spiritually he would still be at the bottom of the pit. I’ve met people who love God, are as faithful as they possibly can be to church and community and all of it, but there is a bitterness that is visible in them because they don’t know how to release resentment.

Being cynical and always seeing the negative is an indication that you’re holding on to hurt and pain. The bible agrees, the psychology reports agree, holding on to hurt, pain, anger and bitterness will only hold you back.

So, Joseph named his first son, Manassah, for he said, “God has made me forget all my troubles and everyone in my father’s family.” Did he forget his family? No, he released his family from their deeds and released himself from holding on to all that was connected to what he had gone through.

/ / 3. Credit where Credit is due

/ / Joseph named his second son Ephraim, for he said, “God has made me fruitful in this land of my grief.”

Ephraim means double fruit. And we could go into a whole teaching on the “double portion” or “double blessing” of the Hebrew culture and how that relates to the oldest child. But for sake of time we won’t go down that road because that’s a long road to go down. But when we just simply look at the way that Joseph names both of his children, first, pointing to the road of forgiveness he had to walk so that he could be in a position to actually see his family again! And then with his second son, naming him to honor God for what He had done.

Again, huge lesson to learn here. Look at how he says it. God has made me fruitful in this land of my grief.

Joseph does not deny what he’s gone through.

I honestly think some people don’t ever move on from what they’ve been through, not because they aren’t willing to forgive, not even because they are holding a grudge, but because on the surface they have convinced themselves there’s nothing to deal with. But deep down… there’s grief, or sadness, or hurt, pain, anger. Whatever the issue may be. You actually have to be willing to admit you are human for God to meet you in your grief and pain.

Jesus said in his famous sermon on the mount, in Matthew 5:4, / / God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

So, what’s the key to being comforted? Being willing to mourn. But if you want to be the big man, the strong man, the girl that’s not willing to cry or show emotion. If you can’t connect with your pain how will you ever overcome it?

As long as you think you don’t need comfort, you won’t connect with your pain that actually needs the comfort. I’m not saying sit in your pain, I’m saying connect with it. Identify it. Be willing to be humble, vulnerable and broken before a God who wants to heal you.

Jesus, speaking of himself quoted from Isaiah 61:1-3, which says, / / The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me, for the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed. He has sent me to tell those who mourn that the time of the Lord’s favor has come, and with it, the day of God’s anger against their enemies. To all who mourn in Israel, he will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair. In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks that the Lord has planted for his own glory.

Luke 4:20 says after quoting from that passage everyones eyes were fixed on him. If you’ve seen the episode of the Chosen where they depict this, the scene is super intense. And then Jesus says, / / “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” (vs 21)

What did Jesus come to do? He came to bind up the brokenhearted, but if you never let yourself feel or recognize that you are broken, you can’t be bound up in His love.

Joseph recognized this. He saw it for what it is. Yes, life is hard. But God is good. So he names his son Ephraim, which means, God has made me fruitful in the land of my grief.

/ / 4. Faithful in Bad and Good

The last thing I want to look at from the life of Joseph is that he remained faithful regardless of what his situation is. And this is actually a really big point.

I’ve heard it said both ways. That it is:

It’s easy to follow God when life is good.

It’s easier to rely on God when there’s something to rely on Him for.

So, the question is: / / Is it easier to follow God when life is good, or easier to go to God when you’re in the midst of something you need Him for?

There is a drawing for both in life. That we only go to God when we need Him to do something for us. Like he’s some sort of Genie in a bottle we pray to for solutions. And then when things are going our way, well, we don’t need the genie, so back in the bottle he goes.

OR, and I’ve seen this as well, because we all react to situations differently, but sometimes people isolate themselves when things go wrong. When they feel like they can’t turn to God in those times because they feel they have done something wrong, or that he’s not been faithful, but it must be their fault. And so in that case it’s only when things are going well that they go to God. Honestly, I think I see that more often with church than anything else, and I’ve said this before, but it’s one of my biggest frustrations with the body of Christ, that when people are going through something tough, there is a natural, or human desire to isolate. It’s the worst possible move you can make.

I’m sad, I’d rather be alone. Wrong choice.

I’m mad, I’d rather deal with it myself. Wrong choice.

I’m hurt, I need time to heal, on my own. Wrong again.

It’s not the best solution. The best solution is being with those who can lift you up, pray with you, love you and lead you to the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ that can heal you in your difficult times.

See, this is one of the greatest lessons we can learn from the life of Joseph, is that not just when he’s going through hard times is he faithful, but when his life is amazing, he’s faithful still. Or vice versa. Not only in the good times, but in the bad times as well.

When he needs God and even when he doesn’t need God, he’s faithful.

How do I know this?

He is thirty years old when he comes into the service of Pharaoh, and the dreams Pharaoh had were going to shape the next 14 years of the nation of Egypt, and really, scripture says the entire world was in a famine. Entire known world, or entire ancient near east. However you look at that, Joseph is providing for more than just Egypt.

His brothers don’t come until two years into the famine years. That means Joseph has been second in command over all of the palace and all of Egypt for 9 years. Nine years is a pretty long time. That would make him 39, and he’s got two sons. I am 41 and I haven’t actually lived in the same place for 9 years since I left my parents house when I was 19 years old. Close, next year will be 9 years for us here. But to be faithful to one job and for life to be going well and for people to like you and still think you are doing a good job and be praising your efforts means you’re doing something right. Joseph is being faithful.

Here’s proof. Genesis 45:16, we read this a bit ago, let’s read it again. / / The news soon reached Pharaoh’s palace: “Joseph’s brothers have arrived!” Pharaoh and his officials were all delighted to hear this.

The next part says that Pharaoh tells Joseph to tell his brothers to go and get his father and all of their belongings and hurry back as fast as they can because he wants to give them the best land in Egypt, and they will eat the best food in the entire land. / / “Don’t worry about your personal belongings, for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours.” says Pharaoh.

Nine years in and they are still praising Joseph. He’s their favorite person.

And we see his faithfulness to God continue. His recognition of God. The time comes when Jacob, their father, dies. Scripture tells us Jacob lived another 17 years after arriving in the land of Egypt, so he was 147. That means all of his family have been living in Egypt for that long as well. But what happens when Jacob dies?

Genesis 50:14-15 says, / / After burying Jacob, Joseph returned to Egypt with his brothers and all who had accompanied him to his father’s burial. But now that their father was dead, Joseph’s brothers became fearful.

They try to make up a story that their father had asked him to forgive them for their wrong doing and now they are willing to be his slaves. But listen to Joseph’s response.

/ / “Don’t be afraid of me. Am I God, that I can punish you? You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people. No, don’t be afraid. I will continue to take care of you and your children.” So he reassured them by speaking kindly to them. (vs 19-21)

There’s almost this, “Guys, why are we still dealing with this 17 years later? I’m over it! I have forgiven you!”

Maybe his brothers think that it’s all been a show, for their father’s sake, and now that their father is gone Joseph is going to wipe them out or something. But Joseph is actually reformed. He’s forgiven them completely. He’s not looking for revenge. Imagine that, after 17 years you’re still wondering, “What happens when dad dies? Is Joseph going to come after us?”

Think of this. This is the word of the Lord for someone this morning. / / Joseph is living in more freedom than the brothers who sold him into slavery!

He’s forgiven them. He’s released them. He’s not holding onto it anymore.

So, after the death of Jacob and for another 54 years Joseph lives in the land of Egypt, along with all of his brothers and their families. And at that point we come back to the scripture that Hebrews references when it talks about the faith of Joseph.

Genesis 50:24-26, / / “Soon I will die,” Joseph told his brothers, “but God will surely come to help you and lead you out of this land of Egypt. He will bring you back to the land he solemnly promised to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.”

Then Joseph made the sons of Israel swear an oath, and he said, “When God comes to help you and lead you back, you must take my bones with you.” So Joseph died at the age of 110. The Egyptians embalmed him, and his body was placed in a coffin in Egypt.

Interesting that even at that point 110 years old, 66 years after the end of the famine, Egypt is still honoring him. And to the point of death Joseph believed the promise of God. But not only did he have faith, or belief, but through his whole life, the good and bad, he remained faithful.

So, in closing this morning, if we can take this encouragement from the life of Joseph.

/ / Trust in God. Joseph did not fear. He heard the word of God and believed it to be true, so he lived his life like it was true. Having children leading up to a 7 year famine, but knew they would be safe. When you read the word of God, and you believe it to be true, let it remove the fear from your life, and live like it’s true!

/ / Forgive. You don’t need to forget what you’ve been through and act like it never happened. You get to forgive those who have hurt you, wounded you, treated you poorly. So that bitterness, anger and holding grudges will no longer have a hold on you. Let it go!

/ / Let God Heal You. Joseph didn’t deny that his life had been hard. Naming his second son Ephraim, God has blessed me in the land of my grief. You can recognize that you have grief in your heart, so that God can heal you.

/ / Remain Faithful. Regardless of what you’ve been through or are going through currently, remain faithful. There’s probably going to be one scenario that is easier, and one that is more difficult, depending on who you are. Whether you find it easier to go to God when you are going through hard times, or easier to worship when you’re not. I think I said this last week, but you can choose before hand what you are going to be and do. Whether hard or easy, choose to be faithful.