Lessons Learned from Joseph's Life

This morning we close out the final chapters of Genesis and with it, we conclude our study of Joseph's life. This marks sermon number 27, just over half a year has been spent studying the book of Genesis.

We have learned some foundational truths during this time.

In the series titled The Beginning, covering Genesis 1-11, we studied the truth of the creation of the universe, and with that, identified many of the characteristics of God. We studied how sin entered into the world, corrupting everything, destroying the fellowship that man was created to have with God.

From there, we observed the characteristics of those who live their life for God compared with those that live life for themselves as we studied about the sons of God and the sons of Cain.

We moved into the study of the events surrounding and including the Great Flood, noting once again God's intolerance of sin and yet his love and grace toward people. We saw through the life of Noah that it is possible to live a life dedicated to the Lord when everyone around you is living wickedly and mocks you for your stand.

We looked at God's active stance against pride as we moved past the flood and studied Noah's son Ham and then Nimrod, who built the tower of Babel in defiance to what God had said to do.

Then we moved into Genesis 12-36 in a series called Epic, and the lives of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were marked by epic occurrences. We see these three men suffer epic fails and yet be shown epic grace and mercy by God. We looked once again at the issue of pride, sin, and arrogance and how God stands against it with all his power in the story of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Progressing through the life of Abraham, we saw the willingness of this father to go through and epic sacrifice, only to be stopped at the last minute to reveal that there was a substitute caught in a thicket. This event, of course, foreshadowed Jesus' substitutionary sacrifice for our sin on the cross nearly 1,800 years later.

God's epic promise to make of Abraham's descendants is repeated to Isaac. To Isaac are born two children that have an epic rivalry from before they are born. This escalates and causes Jacob, the younger brother, to flee from Canaan where he has an Epic encounter with God who repeats to him the promise given to his father, Isaac, and his grandfather, Abraham. Jacob falls in love and we saw some epic baby mama drama unfold as Jacob was tricked into marrying his beloved's sister Leah, then marries Rachel, then because of the spirit of competition and favoritism in the home, Jacob marries the two servants that these women have as well.

When Jacob finally returns back to Canaan, the land promised by God to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, he has an epic encounter with his estranged brother, but before that, he has an even more epic wrestling match with the angel of the Lord. Jacob's name is changed from Jacob to Israel. And we see Jacob growing slowly in faith, encountering epic dilemmas every time he acts through fear instead of faith.

Eight weeks ago we embarked on a then new series called Pit, Prison, and Palace: The Journeys of Joseph, where we find ourselves now in this study from Genesis 37- the final chapter, chapter 50.

We have watched Jacob's second to youngest son and his favorite grow from being a spoiled brat to being a responsible, bold, humble, and godly man. We have seen how God used Joseph to change his brothers lives. We have looked at the aspects of patience, forgiveness, resentment, faith, steadfastness, sadness, and God's faithfulness through it all as we have studied Joseph's life. Last week we looked at the death of Jacob and talked about dying well. We mentioned, though we did not read about, Jacob giving blessings to all his sons right before he died. Today, we will begin by looking at the blessings he bestowed upon Joseph, as it gives us a nice panorama of Joseph's past, his present, and his future. We will then move into chapter 50 and revisit the issues of forgiveness and God's faithfulness through difficult and trying times.

But before we do, let me tell you of one of my passions. I really enjoy studying history, especially if it has to do with warfare. I love watching documentaries of battles and wars. When my 9th grade history teacher gave us an assignment to write a research paper on the causes of the Revolutionary War, and later in 10th grade when he assigned us each a battle of the Second World War to write about, i became hooked on researching battles and wars and their causes. That was at age fourteen and fifteen and my love for researching these things has not dwindled a bit.

One of the topics that I became deeply interested in for a long period of time was the English use of the Longbow. These bows tended to be the height of the men using them or taller. Bows of 6'2" were about average, but bows that measured 6'11" have also been recovered.

Does anyone here own a bow, or go hunting deer or other game with a bow?

What is the draw weight of your bow?

The typical draw weight of a modern compound bow is between 45 and 70 lbs. The medieval English longbows had a draw weight between 100 and 160 lbs.! Longbowmen were of supreme importance to the English army during the medieval periods, so much so that in a time during the 100 Years War between France and England, Edward III enacted a law that made it mandatory for all men from age 15 - 60 to be trained in archery and practice every Sunday and holiday.

These longbowmen would have to be strong enough to fire volley after volley of arrows for hours at a time. Their incessant training with these heavy bows led them to develop thicker left arms, a distorted spine, and thickening of the joints in the left wrist, left shoulder, and right hand.

If you have started to wonder what English longbowmen have to do with the story of Joseph, then you have arrived at exactly the place I want you to be right now. Turn with me to Genesis 49.

We will start off by reading the first two verses and then skip down to verses 22-26.

Genesis 49:1-2, 22-26 And Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days.

2 Gather yourselves together, and hear, ye sons of Jacob;

and hearken unto Israel your father.

Now skip down to verse 22

22 Joseph is a fruitful bough,

even a fruitful bough by a well;

whose branches run over the wall:

23 The archers have sorely grieved him,

and shot at him, and hated him:

24 But his bow abode in strength,

and the arms of his hands were made strong

by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob;

(from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel:)

25 Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee;

and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee

with blessings of heaven above,

blessings of the deep that lieth under,

blessings of the breasts, and of the womb:

26 The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors

unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills:

they shall be on the head of Joseph,

and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren.

So Jacob brings his children as he is about to die to his bed side, and one by one he gives them blessings and speaks prophesies that have been revealed to him by God over them. In verse 22 we see Jacob arrive at Joseph, and we just read the blessing and the prophesy. Let's take a look at what it means.

V. 22 - Joseph is a fruitful bough. As he stand there with his brothers surrounding his father, is there any doubt in anyone's mind that Joseph has been and is fruitful? Look at the ways he has been fruitful. He has helped Egypt be fruitful, literally, even through a famine. He is second in command over the mightiest nation in the world at the time. He has two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, and Ephraim means "fruitful."

Ephraim would be the head of one of the tribes of Israel and it would be a tribe that would greatly expand its territories, living up to their name's meaning, but also to this statement proffered by Jacob.

But notice that it doesn't just say that Joseph is a fruitful branch. It says he is a fruitful branch that is "by a well." If anyone knows about wells it is Jacob. If you will remember, Abraham went about the land of Canaan digging wells wherever they stopped. There was a series of wells that Abraham dug and that provided water to him and those that lived in the area.

Wells meant life. In the wilderness, you had to have water, and the only way to get it was by digging these wells. No well, no water; no water, no life. It was next to one of these wells in Beersheba that Abraham planted a grove of trees. Later, people would fill in these wells, and as a boy, Jacob would go with his father Isaac and re-dig the wells that Abraham had dug.

And now Jacob is comparing Joseph to a fruitful branch, and he makes note that he is fruitful because he is by a well. Wells are deep places. Wells are dark places, far away from the glaring light of the public world. The secret to Joseph's fruitfulness is that he had a well-watered soul. In the Bible, wells and waters typically symbolize two things, and this will be particularly important as we enter the Life Group time and work on applying these verses further to our lives. A well always speaks of the Holy Spirit. In the book of John we see Jesus waiting at a well in Samaria. In fact, it isn't any old well, it is a well that had been purchased by Jacob, and called Jacob's well. As he sits there, a Samaritan woman comes. You may be familiar with the story, but the short of it is this:

Jesus looks at the waterpot in her arms and says, "Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life."

Jesus was offering the water of eternal life and stating that it would bring forth the Holy Spirit within those that accept it. Later in John chapter 7, Jesus was attending the feast of the Tabernacles. On the last day of that feast, those in attendance would offer a type of sacrifice where you would pour out water. This pouring out of water was a symbol that someday, God would pour out His Spirit on His people, and this was a symbol that they were waiting for that day. As they poured out that offering of water, the Bible records that "Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)"

Joseph's life was a fruitful life because he was concerned with staying in the presence of God. We have seen it three times already through this series, and I will mention it again. Joseph was a Psalm 1 kind of man.

Psalm 1:1-3 1 Blessed is the man

that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly,

nor standeth in the way of sinners,

nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD;

and in his law doth he meditate day and night.

3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water,

that bringeth forth his fruit in his season;

his leaf also shall not wither;

and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

The blessed man, the happy man, is the one that is planted by rivers of water. If wells in the Bible are a picture of the Holy Spirit, Water in the Bible is a picture of God's Word.

Joseph was planted next to God, in His presence constantly. He listened to God, cherished God's direction in his life, and has the characteristics of one who meditated on the person and the will of God. And true to what the psalm says, he was like a tree that was fruitful, everything he did prospered, and he did not wither away into oblivion, but his fruitfulness impacted beyond his lifespan.

A pastor friend of mine had this to say about Psalm 1, "Fruit grows where the water flows." -T. Gillet

The next thing that Jacob says about Joseph is that his "branches run over the wall." Joseph was not keeping this fruit to himself. Everywhere Joseph went or was carried off to, he blessed others. Potiphar and his house enjoyed the fruitfulness of Joseph, the prisoners and the jailers enjoyed the fruitfulness of Joseph, and Pharaoh, Egypt, and the world benefited from the fruitfulness of Joseph. Jacob and Joseph's brothers benefited from Joseph's fruitfulness.

But then, Jacob makes another observation in Joseph's past.

V. 23 - The archers have sorely grieved him: and shot at him, and hated him. Joseph is a wounded man. Just like there is no doubt that Joseph was fruitful, there is no denying that Joseph was a wounded individual. He suffered the hatred of his brothers, the solitude of the pit, the bonds of slavery, the injustice of prison, and being ignored by a friend. Jacob envisions these occasions as archers taking aim at Joseph, releasing their arrows, and wounding his son. If you are going to live a fruitful life, you're going to get shot at.

In a sermon on these exact verses, Charles Spurgeon said, "The ripest fruit is most pecked by the birds."

Joseph was shot at, but Joseph was strengthened.

V. 24 But his bow abode in strength,

and the arms of his hands were made strong

by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob;

(from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel:)

Look at this amazing display of strength that Jacob points out. Joseph was shot at by archers, but "his bow abode in strength." That means that it stayed still. Joseph had a bow with which to shoot back at all those archers that had at some point taken aim at him, but it was a mark of STRENGTH that Joseph did not shoot back. He didn't take revenge, he didn't get even, he didn't get back at those that had treated him unfairly or wrong or even those that had purely evil intents for his life. Joseph's own bow remained unused, and it was a mark of strength.

How was Joseph able to muster up this kind of strength? The arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob. This was the secret strength of Joseph. God's hands were on Joseph's hands. Think of a child who grew up in the era of the English longbowmen. Think of the child that grew up in this time period, holding his daddy's bow. Just a child, unable to draw the bowstring, let alone aim and send an arrow flying toward a target.

The picture the scripture gives is this: One of a strong father coming behind his son, placing his hands upon his son's hands. And now, with the strength of the father's arms, the son's hands are able to pull back the string and let the arrow fly true.

This is what the verse means by Joseph's hands were made strong by the mighty hands of God.

He found his strength in the only place you can go for unfailing, continuing strength- the Lord. His fruit was derived from God, and his strength was derived from God. Joseph was not strong in himself, it was the strength of the Lord that manifested itself in Joseph. But notice, even though Joseph had a bow, his strength was found in the fact that it remained still. It took more strength, godly strength, to not shoot back than it ever would have to shoot back.

It was only in being wounded and being weak that Joseph was able to experience fully God's strength in his life.

Joseph's bow could have been bent toward revenge, but it never was. In God's strength, Joseph forgave, and the war bow remained still.

The brothers all knew they deserved revenge. In fact, after Jacob died, they worried that now there was nothing holding Joseph back from raising his bow, taking aim, and paying back 22 years of abandonment.

Genesis 50:14-21 And Joseph returned into Egypt, he, and his brethren, and all that went up with him to bury his father, after he had buried his father.

15 And when Joseph's brethren saw that their father was dead, they said, Joseph will peradventure hate us, and will certainly requite us all the evil which we did unto him. 16 And they sent a messenger unto Joseph, saying, Thy father did command before he died, saying, 17 So shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy brethren, and their sin; for they did unto thee evil: and now, we pray thee, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of thy father. And Joseph wept when they spake unto him.

18 And his brethren also went and fell down before his face; and they said, Behold, we be thy servants. 19 And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God? 20 But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive. 21 Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them.

Lessons learned from Joseph's life can be summed up this way:

- God want us to be fruitful.

- Fruit comes only when we are planted, rooted near the water of God's word.

- When we become fruitful, we will become targets

- And when we are weak, when we are wounded, when we no longer can go on, THEN and only then is God's strength able to be made perfect in us.

INVITATION:

Are you fruitful today? Is there fruit in your life? Can others see it? Are your branches reaching over the walls, into other peoples lives, so that they can also benefit from the fruit that God is cultivating in you life?

Are you planted and rooted in God's word? Over the course of Sunday and Monday, I had the pleasure of speaking with 3 different men, members of our church. Each one at a different stage in their walk with God, each one desiring to be planted and rooted in God's Word, and each one making decisions that would enable them to be nourished daily and regularly through the study of the Bible.

Does that reflect you this morning?

Maybe you have been faithful and fruitful, but lately you have been suffering the targeting of Satan that comes with that. Let me encourage you to not give up. Let me encourage you that even though you may not have the strength to carry on, you were never meant to have the strength to carry on. You were created to and purposed to rest on God's strength. Whatever God has called you to do, do it. Even though you think you may not have the strength or the ability, just begin to do it.

It is in the faithful obedience of God's will that you will find His strength flowing through you to be able to accomplish it.

Are you weak and wounded? Then you are where every single one of God's spiritual giants have been before. Hudson Taylor said this about strong, godly men. "All God’s giants have been weak men who did great things for God because they reckoned on [they counted on] His power and presence with them."

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Life Group

John 14:1-8 I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. 2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. 3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. 5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. 6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. 8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.

What are thoughts that we can pull out of this text?

If there is one thought that probably stands out the most it is that Christians ought to be fruitful.

What does a Christian need to be fruitful?

To be fruitful, Christians need to dwell by the Well. He needs the presence of God. Just like Joseph was supremely interested in living in the presence of God, we need to be supremely interested in being affected by the presence of God in our lives.

If you are saved, you have the Holy Spirit of God within you. You can stifle Him, or you can let Him control you. It is up to you.

How?

Ephesians 5:15-21 See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, 16 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

17 Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. 18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; 19 Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; 20 Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; 21 Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.

- Walk circumspectly- look around you. Be aware of your surroundings. Be vigilant (Be sober, be vigilant, for your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour. 1 Peter 5:8) Circumspectly also means accurately, the right way. We are commanded to walk in truth.

- Be wise, understanding what the will of God is - How will you ever begin to understand it if you never read it or listen to it?

- Be not drunk with wine/be fill with the Spirit- Don't let anything else control you: not wine, not drugs, not personal ambition, not accolades, not pride. Don't be controlled by anything other that God's Spirit within you (that is what being filled means). It doesn't mean you get "more" of the Holy Spirit, it just means that you are completely controlled by Him.

- How can we do that? Well, praising God with your words but also in your spirit is a great way to tune into God.

- So is giving thanks and actively looking for what God has done and is doing in your life.

- And so is looking for godly council and submitting to it.

So, get in God's word and actively seek the Holy Spirit's guidance day to day.

Why?

Because that is how we will bear much fruit. and ultimately, it is what will bring the most joy.

John 15:11 These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.

What does God's word do for us according to Ephesians 5:25-26 and Psalm 119:9-10?

It purifies us and cleans us; it keeps us from wandering away from God.

Ephesians 5:25-26 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; 26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word.

Psalm 119:9-10 Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way?

by taking heed thereto according to thy word.

10 With my whole heart have I sought thee:

O let me not wander from thy commandments.

Our branches and fruit need to be hanging over the walls in our life. We need to be fruitful, not for our benefit, but for the benefit of others. The obstacles and the trials, and the hardships that are allowed into our lives are not for destruction, they are so that we can one day share fruit with others. They aren't meant to dry you up, but to accelerate your growth. Without these trials in Joseph's life, how long would it have taken him to naturally grow into the bold, humble, wise, and godly man he was by chapter 41?

We will suffer persecution and tribulation when we decide to live for the Lord. (2 Tim. 3:10).

Don't be surprised when you're wounded. Jesus lived the most grace filled and gentle life and they wounded Him. If they wounded Him, they will wound you and me. Don't be surprised when Satan sets his sights on you.

Joseph was shot at, but Joseph was strengthened.

Let your bows, my brethren, abide. Do not be in a hurry to set yourselves right. God will take care of you. Leave yourselves alone; only be very valiant for the Lord God of Israel; be steadfast in the truth of Jesus and your bow shall abide. -C.H. Spurgeon

When we are weak, then we are made strong by the power of God in us. 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.

The moment that David decided not to throw the spear back at Saul was the moment David showed himself stronger than Saul.

- (A Tale of Three Kings)

If we want God's power in our life, we must reach the condition where we realize that we are utterly powerless and weak without Him. The only way to experience God's power in your life, in your family, in your job, is to admit that you are weak.

The church in America is not as effective as i once was, not because it is too weak and to persecuted. We know nothing of persecution here, compared to what churches around the world are suffering. No, the church in America is not as effective as it once was because we are too strong and too self-reliant. Note this, it will take God bringing us to a place of weakness to truly see God's strength.

"What will that look like?" you might ask. I don't know. It is one of those prayers that are hard to pray. But it is when we are weak that He shows Himself strong.

What would it look like for Good News Baptist Church to admit weakness? Would it take us not having a building? Would it take us not having the different programs? Would it take us losing half of our membership? Would those that remain finally say, "We can't do this; we need God's strength."

Or can we look beyond those things now. and see that it is not

- having a building that is paid off

- having teen and children's programs

- having technology

- or people that can play instruments

- or livestreaming capabilities

- or anything else like that

that makes us strong. Without the power of God we are weak!! None of the things that we have now, none of the programs that we have now make us strong. No program that we may add in the future will make us strong. We are weak, and until we see that, until we really understand that, we will never experience the fulness of God's strength.

And if personally you are at a weak point in your life, you are wounded, then it is because God wants to come up behind you and put His hands on yours, His arms over yours, and accomplish through you what you never could do on your own. He is waiting for you to stop trying to be strong, so that you can say like Paul did, "His strength is made perfect in my weakness, in my infirmity."

Don't Overvalue your strength and don't undervalue God's strength.

What are things for the Lord that we may think we are too weak or lack the knowledge/ability to do?

The weakest of God's servants can do great things.

Think about this quote from F.B. Meyer as he wrote about the life of Joseph:

Do not assume that you cannot bend the bow of difficulty lying at your feet. You cannot do it alone; but God and you can do it together. Only do not try to feel able to do it before you take it up. You will never feel strong enough; but when you take it in hand and try to bend it, you will discover that as your day so is your strength. In the act of getting up, the paralyzed man received strength to stand. Act as if you had omnipotent power; and you will discover that you have it allied with you, and working through you, to the accomplishment of purposes of which you had not dared to dream in the wildest flights of fancy.

If God has told you to do something and you don't think you can do it, do it anyway. It is in the doing of the thing that you will find his power.