From Setback To Setup; Genesis 37

Pray

Psalm 46…

We pray for the variety of needs represented in this room by each person… You know what is on every heart… The trials, the troubles, the joy, and the sadness. Lord, minister to every heart in this room this morning and to those tuning in online. We need Your work in us.

Lord, we also pray for Pastor Roger who is taking some time off for study, and rest. Lord, refresh his soul, keep him safe, and bless his time away.

Lord, we confess our need for You. I need You to speak to me and through me… We, as Your people, need Your Spirit to slow us down from the fast-pace of life, we need Your Spirit to open our ears and minds to hear Your voice, soften our hearts to receive Your Word and to be shaped and molded by You, and we need You to open our hands — that we would be obedient to respond to Your Word and live accordingly to how You call us to live… and give us grace… grace to rest in the work of Christ…

Thank You for your grace, Lord Jesus, Amen.

Introduction

Well, we have a fun passage today and it marks the beginning of the last section of Genesis.

It’s a popular story. I think many of us know of — at least vaguely — of Joseph and the “coat of many colors”, even non-Christ-followers. If you’re a parent and read your children Christian story books, the Joseph story has got to be in there for sure! It’s a story that we might be familiar with broadly, but there are fascinating details for us in this when we take a closer look.

The book of Genesis is full of prominent figures. Yet none of them are highlighted more than Joseph. Why? Joseph serves as a bridge between the books of Genesis and Exodus. In addition, Joseph’s life carries a key theme for Genesis: God uses the people of God to advance the purposes of God as the plan of God assures the promises of God. 

God is at work in every season and He can redeem every situation. 

Working through our passage today seems to beg the question…

Is God really in control of the chaos in the world?

Does God really use chaos and sin for His plan, or does He have to constantly adjust His plan according to the sinful actions of people?

Is your current suffering really in God’s “good” plan for you?

These are the questions arise when we read a passage like this, and it is a relevant question in the wild world we live in.

I believe this passage has answers for those questions when we take a deeper dive. God has certainly comforted and ministered to me in my study of this passage… 

Dreams

We are in Genesis chapter 37 and we will cover the whole chapter today. As we read, remember that the names “Israel” and “Jacob” are interchangeable names. God changed Jacob’s name to Israel earlier in Genesis…

Genesis 37:1–11 ESV

1 Jacob lived in the land of his father’s sojournings, in the land of Canaan. 2 These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was pasturing the flock with his brothers. He was a boy with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father’s wives. And Joseph brought a bad report of them to their father. 3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his sons, because he was the son of his old age. And he made him a robe of many colors. 4 But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peacefully to him. 5 Now Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers they hated him even more. 6 He said to them, “Hear this dream that I have dreamed: 7 Behold, we were binding sheaves in the field (a sheaf is a bundle of grain stalk), and behold, my sheaf arose and stood upright. And behold, your sheaves gathered around it and bowed down to my sheaf.” 8 His brothers said to him, “Are you indeed to reign over us? Or are you indeed to rule over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words. 9 Then he dreamed another dream and told it to his brothers and said, “Behold, I have dreamed another dream. Behold, the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” 10 But when he told it to his father and to his brothers, his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall I and your mother and your brothers indeed come to bow ourselves to the ground before you?” 11 And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the saying in mind.

Here, we are introduced to Joseph for the first time. This is the first impression we get of Joseph… We get this picture of Joseph as being this arrogant and entitled tattletale. He’s his dad’s favorite, so you know he probably gets whatever he wants, including a sick jacket.

Now, we all have our own experience family dynamics from childhood growing up, and some of that can carry into adulthood too, of course.

For me, I have one sibling — an older sister named Bethany — and earlier this week, as I was thinking what I thought my sibling dynamics were when I was growing up, I reached out to Bethany to get her take!

As her younger brother, she often felt that maybe mom and dad were easier on me and gave me what I wanted in certain circumstances… she even felt like I would try to do things purposely to annoy her at times… Unbelievable, right?! I don’t believe it… :)

Well, my perspective growing up was that she was able to do more than me because she was older and maybe more responsible and able… she could drive first, she could go on rollercoasters first, she could go on the cool big waterslides at Wisconsin Dells before I could… I looked up to her (and maybe I would annoy her intentionally or unintentionally at times)… Usually, I thought she was cool, and I wanted to hang out with her.

Really, it’s just typical sibling stuff. The older sibling thinks the younger is immature (often true), and the younger sibling may have a completely opposite perspective toward the older sibling.

In my brief conversation with her about this earlier this week, she did assure me that she always loved me, and I certainly always loved her too… it was a sweet moment that warmed my heart…

But, you know how that goes — you don’t always “like” each other, but you still “love” each other.

Well, on the opposite side of the spectrum is the picture we’re given of Jacob’s family right now is not a good one. However, I realize this might be comforting to you because family dynamics are not always picture perfect — they often aren’t.

Jacob’s family is toxic, it’s dysfunctional, and it starts with the leadership. Jacob, as the leader of the family, continued a bad parenting trait from his dad… one of favoritism. Jacob’s father, Isaac, favored his older brother, Esau. We might think that Jacob would have learned from his bad sibling experience growing up that he shouldn’t favor one of his children of the others, but he didn’t. Remember that Jacob also had a favorite wife (also, yes, he had more than one wife — that’s not recommended either), but his favorite wife was Rachel.

This continuation of favoritism is an example of how patterns of sin can be passed down through generations if left unchecked… bad patterns can be learned.

Also, we see how important the leadership of the family unit really is. The sins of Jacob effect his family tremendously…

Jacob’s favoritism of Joseph not only made Joseph a spoiled brat, who tattles on his brothers, and seemingly would get what ever he wanted, but it also enabled and encouraged the other brothers to sin by envy and jealously.

We can takeaway here that a wise, godly father will make sure that his affection is equally distributed to all of his sons and daughters.

Now, to be sure, Jacob’s favoring of Joseph does not excuse the unfavored brothers from their sin of treating Joseph so poorly… they are fully responsible for their actions and (not “but”), and Jacob’s actions certainly encouraged his sons to sin…and he’s fully responsible for that.

So, it’s easy to see that sin causes sin. It has a compounding effect. Sin doesn’t only hurt God and you, but it hurts others around you too…even those closest to you.

We’ll see how this progresses and loop back to this topic later…

Now, Joseph has a couple dreams. It’s fascinating to think about this because Joseph had to be aware that his brothers hated him. We’re told in Genesis 37:4 that “…they hated him and could not speak peacefully to him.”

They “could not”… They were unable. That’s how much sin can harden your heart. This ought to be a stark warning to us.

So, when Joseph has these dreams that do not favor the brothers in any way — but actually only put this magnificent spotlight on Joseph — we don’t get any sense from the Biblical text here that Joseph hesitates to tell his brothers. We actually observe just the opposite. He says boldly and confidently — as if everyone wants to hear what he has to say — “hear this dream that I have dreamed”! And, of course, he doesn’t do this once, but twice!

For Joseph to do this is either bold, arrogant, youthfully naive, or incredibly socially unaware!

These dreams are actually so offensive that his dad, Jacob, rebukes him for it! Jacob rebukes his favorite son!

BUT — and this is so intriguing — Jacob “kept the saying in mind” (verse 11)…

So, yes, he rebuked his son for this borderline blasphemy — the interpretation of these dreams is pretty obvious: everyone is bowing down and submitting to Joseph — but, it sparked interest in Jacob’s mind.

A similar thing happens in Luke chapter 2 when Jesus is born, and the shepherds come to worship Jesus, and the shepherds tell everyone who’s there on the scene about what the angels had told them about Jesus.

Luke 2:18–19 ESV

18 And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.

So, there’s something more here to these dreams that Joseph receives.

Side note — there’s also a confirmation of the message of these dreams because they occured twice.

With these dreams, there’s something to hang on to here…

Let’s see how the story continues…

Disaster

Genesis 37:12–36 ESV

12 Now his brothers went to pasture their father’s flock near Shechem. 13 And Israel said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers pasturing the flock at Shechem? Come, I will send you to them.” And he said to him, “Here I am.” 14 So he said to him, “Go now, see if it is well with your brothers and with the flock, and bring me word.” So he sent him from the Valley of Hebron, and he came to Shechem. 15 And a man found him wandering in the fields. And the man asked him, “What are you seeking?” 16 “I am seeking my brothers,” he said. “Tell me, please, where they are pasturing the flock.” 17 And the man said, “They have gone away, for I heard them say, ‘Let us go to Dothan.’ ” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan. 18 They saw him from afar, and before he came near to them they conspired against him to kill him. 19 They said to one another, “Here comes this dreamer. 20 Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits. Then we will say that a fierce animal has devoured him, and we will see what will become of his dreams.” 21 But when Reuben heard it, he rescued him out of their hands, saying, “Let us not take his life.” 22 And Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but do not lay a hand on him”—that he might rescue him out of their hand to restore him to his father. 23 So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the robe of many colors that he wore. 24 And they took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it. 25 Then they sat down to eat. And looking up they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing gum, balm, and myrrh, on their way to carry it down to Egypt. 26 Then Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? 27 Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.” And his brothers listened to him. 28 Then Midianite traders passed by. And they drew Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. They took Joseph to Egypt. 29 When Reuben returned to the pit and saw that Joseph was not in the pit, he tore his clothes 30 and returned to his brothers and said, “The boy is gone, and I, where shall I go?” 31 Then they took Joseph’s robe and slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood. 32 And they sent the robe of many colors and brought it to their father and said, “This we have found; please identify whether it is your son’s robe or not.” 33 And he identified it and said, “It is my son’s robe. A fierce animal has devoured him. Joseph is without doubt torn to pieces.” 34 Then Jacob tore his garments and put sackcloth on his loins and mourned for his son many days. 35 All his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted and said, “No, I shall go down to Sheol to my son, mourning.” Thus his father wept for him. 36 Meanwhile the Midianites had sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard.

Just an FYI in case you are wondering: “Ishmaelites” and “Midianites” in this text is referring to the same group of people. Ishmaelites is more general, Midianites is more specific.

Nicole and I recently watched a documentary about a bank robber in Seattle during the early to mid 1990s. By the end of his 5 year bank robbing career, he stole over 2 million dollars across 19 confirmed banks. This documentary obviously taught us about his life and interviewed people who knew him, were close to him, some family, and even his accomplices. He always had a knack for seeking an adrenaline rush. He was super smart, sharp, and a highly educated guy. He lived in a treehouse that he built 40 some feet in the air in the forest near Mount Rainier, and he was chasing the next best thrill. After producing and selling meth for a while he realized it was a dangerous career that could escalate badly, so he pursued the next best thing: bank robbery… This guy probably isn’t what you might imagine him to be. He was totally unsuspecting. None of his friends or family would have ever guessed that he “earned” his income from robbing banks at gunpoint. His personality didn’t seem to give that impression to anyone, and he was able to keep this a secret for all 5 years of his bank robbing.

As his bank robbing career progressed, so did his intensity. Maybe he was a nice guy for the first few banks (maybe he said please, had good manners), but his intensity and aggression increased as the risks he was taking went higher and higher. He needed to get more and more money from these bank robberies to make the risk worth it. The documentary described how he and his accomplice watched a movie about bank robbery that depicted a shootout with police at the end, and it actually really scared them. They didn’t want that to happen to them…

For this man, robbing one bank and stealing money once wasn’t enough. Getting $5,000 or $10,000 per robbery wasn’t enough. It had to be more and more money in order for him to feel satisfied.

He was turning into someone he never thought he would turn into. Someone close to him recalled a moment where he told her that he no longer recognized the man he saw in his mirror. His sin turned him into a man he no longer knew, or wanted to know, and things escalated. The outcome is heartbreaking. The police shootout he was afraid of ended up happening, and he ultimately ended up taking his own life in the midst of it.

The compounding sin of Joseph’s brothers toward him only grew as it went unchecked.

Not only selling him off, but then coming up with a cover-up story to tell their dad, Jacob… then, living with that lie for years. Imagine their father grieving unconsolably for years while knowing he was grieving because of their sinful actions and Joseph could still be alive, for all they knew…

Maybe the brothers were being eaten alive by guilt for years afterwards…?

This cover-up story at the end is a way of hinting back at a learned pattern of sin — Jacob, in a sense, in reaping what he sowed. He deceived his father, Isaac, to take the blessing from his brother Esau. Now, Jacob is being deceived by his sons.

So, what’s going on here? This is chaos?

Isn’t this supposed to be God’s chosen family? What in the world is God doing here?!

If God is really in control of all things, this can’t possibly be what He intended to happen, right?! Surely, He must have to change course and counter the brothers’ move to ruin things… right? Is that what’s happening here?!

As we answer that question, there are three takeaways we have from this passage…

1. A call for repentance,

2. Comfort in our suffering,

3. A change of perspective in our circumstances.

1. Sober-Up: A Call For Repentance

This story should be sobering for us. We are shown what can happen when sin goes unchecked…when sin compounds and grows…sin gives birth to sin…it affects those around us, it’s ultimately deadly.

Look at the growth of this sin with me…

The brothers compare themselves with Joseph,

This comparison leads to envy,

The envy grew into anger,

The anger grew into hatred,

That hatred grew into a murder plot that thankfully, for Joseph’s sake, get’s put aside, but instead feeds the lust for money and reputation with their father (to take any blame off of them).

Richard Phillips writes that “Jacob’s sons show the danger of allowing envy to brew in our hearts, since envious hatred is a form of murder and often leads to violence, as Jesus taught”…

Matthew 5:21–22 ESV

21 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ 22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.

Unchecked sin leads to a hardness of heart… See the callousness of the brothers in verse 25… They calmly “sat down to eat” — and while they ate, the cries of their desperate brother echoed up from the pit…

We’re actually told this a few chapters later in Genesis 42:21…

Genesis 42:21 ESV

21 Then they (the brothers) said to one another, “In truth we are guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the distress of his soul, when he begged us and we did not listen…”

Genesis, Volumes 1 & 2 95. For Twenty Shekels: Genesis 37:12–28

Donald Grey Barnhouse writes: “A physicist could compute the exact time required for his cries to go twenty-five yards to the eardrums of the brothers. But it took

Don’t let your sin go unchecked…

Consider for yourself today…

Where is your anger taking a hold of you? Your underlying frustration that is turning into resentment and it’s building into anger… outbursts happen here and there where you take it out on your spouse, your kids, the people closest to you… then, you maybe apologize for it and convince yourself that it was just a one-off thing…it’s not possibly from something deeper growing in your heart…

How have you been feeding lust in your heart? Your mind wanders, you excuse yourself: “just a little” or “just one more time”… You think you’re in control…

My high school youth pastor told our youth group “you need to starve the Sumo”! When you feed sin, you’re feeding the Sumo wrestler… The Sumo wrestler grows bigger and bigger… You need to starve the Sumo!

How has gossip gone unchecked in your life? You dismiss yourself as just “venting” saying “oh, but it’s healthy! I’m just venting!” or… you say “I would tell them this to their face if they were here!” But, they aren’t, so you just tell other people negative things about someone else…

I’ve always appreciated that at Edgewood, as we value church membership and think it’s important to be accountable to each other and to God… one of the agreements that Edgewood members make is this…

“I will neither criticize nor listen to criticism concerning any member of this body. Instead, if necessary, when I am personally offended, I will speak directly and lovingly with those involved.

“If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother.” Matthew 18:15 (NASB)”

Joseph’s brothers compared themselves with Joseph who had the cool jacket and seemingly had everything else better in his life… how are you feeding the Sumo of comparison, envy, and discontentment in your life with social media? Or, its being fed from the conversations you have with friends? The clothes you wear, the car you drive, the places you shop?

I already need to repent of this because Logan on our Worship Team just got a new guitar and I might’ve had some envy when I first saw it.

1 John 1:9 ESV

9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Praise God that we have a gracious, forgiving, loving God. He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins… and He has blessed us with the Church, Christ-centered community, to surround ourselves with real support from Brothers and Sisters in the Lord… free of judgement, full of grace.

2. Suffer Well: Comfort In Our Suffering

Joseph was, no doubt, suffering in this experience.

Psalm 105 speaks of Joseph…

Psalm 105:18 ESV

18 His feet were hurt with fetters; his neck was put in a collar of iron;

I can’t help but think of what Joseph’s experience was like when I read Psalm 41:5-7

Psalm 41:5–7 ESV

5 My enemies say of me in malice, “When will he die, and his name perish?” 6 And when one comes to see me, he utters empty words, while his heart gathers iniquity; when he goes out, he tells it abroad. 7 All who hate me whisper together about me; they imagine the worst for me.

How could Joseph “suffer well” in the midst of his pain?

Well, he could remember the dreams he had and count it as a Word from the Lord… knowing that somehow and in someway God would redeem the situation… This couldn’t possibly be the end…

Acts 7:9 gives us the answer to how Joseph could suffer well…

Acts 7:9 ESV

9 “And the patriarchs, jealous of Joseph, sold him into Egypt; but God was with him

What’s the key here? “God was with him”!

Look at Psalm 23:4

Psalm 23:4 ESV

4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me…

We will not fear… why? Because God is with us.

We can suffer well when we know that God is with us!

God was with Joseph in the midst of His trials and pain, and God is with you in the midst of yours…

Whether it’s cancer or ongoing health concerns…

Infertility… The pain worsens as you continue to see people around have children, and you want so much to be happy for them, but it tears you up inside… you ask “God, why is this happening me?”

Work-stress is making you increasingly anxious. You know you shouldn’t worry, but why doesn’t your heart feel it yet?

Your marriage is falling a part either obviously or subtly…arguments and frustration with no sense of improvement or the quiet resentment and distance is growing…things just don’t feel the way they used to…

You're dealing with the loss of a loved one and feel like you're the only one still grieving; you feel like something is wrong with you (I can tell you — nothing is wrong with you).

You can’t seem to get on your feet, financially… It’s frustrating and feels like you’re running in circles…

Rebellious children are making you question everything you’ve ever said and done. The Enemy is telling you it’s your fault.

You can’t seem to get a break or get a way out of your addiction.

You can face your suffering today because God is with you.

Now… what about those hard questions I asked earlier?

Is God really in control of the chaos in the world? We’re comforted that He is with us in it, but is He in control of it?

Does God really use chaos and sin for His plan, or does He have to constantly adjust His plan according to the sinful actions of people?

Is your current suffering really in God’s “good” plan for you?

3. From Setback To Setup: A Change Of Perspective In Our Circumstances

This chapter of Genesis alone is a real bummer. It has a sad ending where we’re just told the Joseph is sold off and shipped to Egypt, maybe to never be seen again.

However, in order to understand this part of Joseph’s story properly, we must know the ending… We must have a change in perspective…

Knowing how the story ends is key to understanding the role of this part of the story…

Genesis 50:20 ESV

20 (Joseph says) As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.

Remember the verse in Psalm 105 I referenced earlier about Joseph’s suffering? Let me read the context around that…

Psalm 105:16–22 ESV

16 When he (God) summoned a famine on the land and broke all supply of bread, 17 he had sent a man ahead of them, Joseph, who was sold as a slave. 18 His feet were hurt with fetters; his neck was put in a collar of iron; 19 until what he had said came to pass, the word of the Lord tested him. 20 The king sent and released him; the ruler of the peoples set him free; 21 he made him lord of his house and ruler of all his possessions, 22 to bind his princes at his pleasure and to teach his elders wisdom.

So, do you think God’s plan was thrown off when Jacob favored Joseph? Do you think God’s plan was ruined when the brothers ripped off Joseph’s coat, threw him into a pit, and then sold him into slavery?

The answer is: no, absolutely not.

Do you think that Vladimir Putin is derailing God’s plan? No, he’s not. Is Hamas derailing God’s plan? Do you think the “woke” culture is derailing God’s plan? Are any of these people derailing God’s sovereign plan? No, not at all…

Kevin DeYoung says it this way: “Now disease may have one set of plans. Dictators have their plans. The demons have their plans. Evil people of this world have their plans. But all along the way, at the same time, God has His plans, and those plans don’t change God’s plans. Those plans must, and always do, work according to God’s plans.”

This is the glorious mystery of God’s providence…

When we know the end of the story, we realize that Joseph’s setback was really his setup for God to rescue His people out of Egypt.

(The Parallels)

The ultimate example we have where the setback was the setup is, of course, Jesus.

Look at the parallels of Joseph and Jesus in this story…

Joseph seems to be “chosen” in some way, at least in regard to the dreams he received… REMEMBER — the line to Jesus is actually through Judah, not Joseph, but that’s to come later…

Jesus, obviously chosen… more than chosen — He is literally God in the flesh.

Joseph and Jesus are both hated for this…

Joseph’s brothers hate him out of envy and jealously.

Jesus is hated by the religious leaders of His day out of envy and jealously…their insecurity.

Joseph, out of obedience to his father’s order, goes on a mission towards danger (he goes to his brothers in Shechem…remember the mass murder that happened in Shechem a few chapters earlier? The author might’ve been trying to draw our attention to that by repeating “Shechem” three times from verses 12-14…reminding us that Shechem is associated with danger).

Jesus, out of perfect obedience to His Heavenly Father, goes on a mission towards inevitable danger leading to His brutal death on the cross…

A scheme is made by the brothers against Joseph…

Genesis 37:18 ESV

18 They saw him from afar, and before he came near to them they conspired against him to kill him.

A scheme is made against Jesus…

Matthew 26:3–4 ESV

3 Then the chief priests and the elders of the people gathered in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas, 4 and plotted together in order to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him.

Joseph was given a mocking title of “the dreamer”… you can hear his brothers’ mockery when reading verses 19-20…

Genesis 37:19–20 ESV

19 They said to one another, “Here comes this dreamer. 20 Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits. Then we will say that a fierce animal has devoured him, and we will see what will become of his dreams.”

Joseph, then, had his coat torn off of him, he was sold for 20 shekels of silver… Joseph was mocked, humiliated, and sold for money… treated worse than an animal.

Judas, one of Jesus’ very own disciples…his personal, inner circle, betrayed him…selling him off for 30 shekels of silver… Oh, and Jesus was denied by another one of His disciples, Peter… Jesus was actually deserted by all of His disciples…

Matthew 26:56 ESV

56 …Then all the disciples left him and fled.

Then, what happened to Jesus?

Matthew 27:27–31 ESV

27 Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor’s headquarters, and they gathered the whole battalion before him. 28 And they stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, 29 and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” 30 And they spit on him and took the reed and struck him on the head. 31 And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him and led him away to crucify him.

In the midst of suffering, there is a greater story...far beyond what we can imagine. The brutal suffering of Jesus was necessary so that He would pay the penalty for our sin for us…by paying the debt that He didn’t owe because we had a debt that we couldn’t pay… He conquered sin and death by rising to life again!

So, now our sin is paid for (that we needed to repent of) AND the Holy Spirit lives in us (so He is always with us, comforting us in our suffering!) - see how that all loops together?!

In light of Genesis 50:20, we know that this setback for Joseph is really the setup for something greater…

**Imagine Joseph riding in a wagon, tied up, bruised, hurting — emotionally and physically… heading to who-knows-where… while the splinters from the wagon are piercing him, and the bumps from the road are making things more painful moment-by-moment…

Do you think he was remembering the dreams he had? Thinking… “Lord, I know you have good plans for me! What is going on?!”

Could Joseph imagine the throne he would eventually sit on ruling over Egypt under Pharoah? Could Joseph realize that his present suffering was necessary for his survival and his family’s survival?

There was also some refining, pruning work that God had to do on Joseph to prepare him… there was some good sanctifying work being done in Joseph during his trials.

**Now, think of Jesus… after He had been betrayed, rejected, sold-off, mocked, stripped of His clothing, beaten, and is hanging on the cross… experiencing unimaginable pain in every way…

Was He imagining the Throne He would return to in Heaven? The victory over sin and death He was about to have three days later?

Likewise, for you in your life today… in your current suffering… Are you able to stay the course, and keep your mind set on your future inheritance — of spending eternity in Heaven, with Jesus, in perfection?

This is not a pep talk, this is not preaching prosperity!

There WILL be suffering and hardship in this life — and we won’t always know, in this life, what the exact purpose of all of our trials are…

But HERE IS WHAT WE KNOW!

James 1:12 ESV

12 Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.

Your current suffering is not the end of the story.

Sure, we don’t know what tomorrow holds, or even what the rest of this day holds… We don’t know what the next chapter is or the next season…

But, we know the only thing we need to know… We know how the story ends.

Revelation 21:4 ESV

4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

If you are a follower of Jesus, you - know - how - the - story - ends - !

If you are not yet a follower of Jesus, you can be! You can be right now… Repent of your sin, confess your need for Jesus as your Savior and Lord of your life… give your life to Him! Let’s chat after the service — I, or any Christian here would love to talk with you…

About a month ago, right after I learned of the passing of my last living grandparent, my sweet Grandma Weidenaar… The Heidelberg Catechism's Lord's Day One popped into my head… Some of you might know what that is, and some of you may not… the catechism is a document summarizing theology and this one is arranged in "Questions" and "Answers".

Heidelberg Catechism Lord’s Day 1:

Q: What is your only comfort in life and in death?

A: That I am not my own, but belong—body and soul, in life and in death—to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ.

I've heard that before, I've read that before, I believe that wholeheartedly… but, it had not struck me the way it did in this moment after learning of my grandma's passing.

No matter the extremity of the suffering you face today — as followers of Jesus, we know the end of the story… and it’s a good ending.

Pray

Heavenly Father,

Thank You for your Word and the hope, joy, and assurance it gives us.

We can repent of our sin because we know You are faithful to forgive.

We can suffer well because we know our present circumstance is not the end of the story.

We can face our setbacks with confidence — knowing that in our suffering, You are working things for our good and for Your glory.

Fill our hearts with the assurance of that Truth.

In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Closing

So, we know that God is working all things for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose… so, there’s purpose in the midst of suffering… there’s a great good… But, who are you now? Right now?

In Christ, here is your identity and your purpose: 1 Peter 2:9

1 Peter 2:9 ESV

9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

In Christ that is who you are and what you are called to do…

You are chosen, royal, holy, God’s own possession…

Your purpose? To proclaim Jesus — who called you out of darkness and into His marvelous light.

Brothers and Sisters — you are loved.