Bitter or Better: The Overlooked Gratitude of Joseph (Gen 49:5-7, 22-26)

Bitter or Better: The Overlooked Gratitude of Joseph (, )

I. Bitter Endings

illustration: Jesus on the cross (not embittered)

A. Last Words of Jacob to Simeon and Levi

To Simeon and Levi:

I. Bitter Endings

(ESV) — 5 “Simeon and Levi are brothers; weapons of violence are their swords. 6 Let my soul come not into their council; O my glory, be not joined to their company. For in their anger they killed men, and in their willfulness they hamstrung oxen. 7 Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce, and their wrath, for it is cruel! I will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel.

B. Last Words of Jacob to Joseph

C.

II. Bitterness Always Has It's Reasons

B. The Reasons For The Complaints Joseph Never Made

C. How These Complaints Might Have Affected His Destiny As A Deliverer

III. The Rewarding Convergence of Gratitude and Faith