Joseph : Introduction

Intro : Rehearsal Dinner Story

Genesis

On the night before our wedding. Beth and I had a rehearsal dinner. We didn’t really rehearse dinner be we had a rehearsal (of the wedding) & dinner afterward.

The wedding coordinator was a very imposing figure. She was a family friend, of my wife’s family, but I had never met her. Susan Russo entered the room that night and it was very clear that she was in charge. She stands at nearly 6’ tall.

I’ll never forget the very first instruction she gave at that rehearsal. I later went on staff at that church and did a performed a few weddings with her. She says this at the beginning of every wedding rehearsal, and I’ve adopted the phrase as well. She said: “No matter what happens in the next 24 hrs., our job (talking to the family, the bridesmaids, and groomsmen) is to make sure that by tomorrow evening these two are married.

She painted a picture of what was to come...

No matter what!

So in those next 24 hrs here’s what happened:

Found ants in our apartment.

The toilet clogged

Beth’s family ended up stalling the wedding b/c her grandmother was late

I and my groomsmen were stalling the wedding b/c one of the singers was in a car accident on the way to the church.

Some “friends” thought it would be funny to let the air out of my truck tires

However, what Susan Russo spoke over us came to pass: No matter what happened, at the end of the day on Nov. 20, 2004, Beth and I were married.

What was foretold from the beginning came to pass, it was a wild a crazy journey, a roller coaster of a day. No one told of us the crazy… but we did know how this thing would end.

This brings us to

We’re starting a series of the life of Joseph and here in Genesis we’re introduced to our main character. And in this brief passaged we’re told the end at the beginning. Joseph tells his brothers how this thing ends even though we are at the beginning of the major events in the life of Joseph. Let’s read:

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, 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.

Pray

God to reveal himself through his word

The Holy Spirit to be our teacher

Genesis 37:1 ESV

1 Jacob lived in the land of his father’s sojournings, in the land of Canaan.

Genesis 27:1

Jacob (Patriarch)

Abraham, Isaac, & Jacob

Jacob means liar/deciever

He deceived his father and stole his brother Esau’s birthright

He fled into exile - Worked 7 years for Rachel and married Leah, worked another 7 and married Rachel. Along the way there was a child bearing competition between Rachel and Leah and their maid servants who also became Jacob’s wives… in all Jacob had 12 sons. these sons would become the leaders (or at least roots) of the 12 tribes of Israel.

Jacob, it would seem has fulfilled the promise given to Abraham

He’s living in the land of Canaan. Land promised to Abraham

He has many children (well on the path of establishing a nation)

The story could simply go… “ and the were fruitful and multiplied… and eventually ruled the land.”

But that was never God’s plan...

Genesis 15:13–16 ESV

13 Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years. 14 But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions. 15 As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age. 16 And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”

Genesis 15:

The story of Joseph is the fulfillment of God’s word given to Abram.

tells the entire story of Joseph in 4 verse. It even gives us God’s purposes behind all he does!!!

get’s into the details of those 4 verses get’s into the lives of the men and women living out God’s purposes and plans.

The fulfillment of these words about sojourning in a foreign land, being servants for 400 years, and leaving with great possessions all begins with a 17 year old boy.

In God is revealing how he will accomplish/fulfill his promise as he is making the promise

Genesis 37:2–4 ESV

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.

Joseph was a boy. The text says 17 and that is meant to make us think of a boy, not a man.

This is a time in Human history when men were living in their parents/families homes until their 30’s or 40’s. Even Jacob stayed w/ Laban his father-in-law until he was in his 80’s

I’m barely nearing 40 and I look at 20 somethings getting married, and I think to myself, “kids!”

vs. 2

Is Joseph being a tattletale or is he simply doing what is expected of him as a shepherd?

I dont’ think it really matters in the narrative, other than to realize this behavior does seem somewhat childish.

One thing to note is, and we’ll see this in the next section, this portion of scripture is narrative literature, but it is by no means neutral.

What do I mean by that. The writer of Genesis is not simply reporting the facts. This is not journalistic writings. It is narrative. The author, Moses, throughout Genesis and Exodus, provides plenty of commentary on the motives of the people he writes about: Pharaoh, Cain, Even his brothers in this passage.

Notice the passage doesn’t say they were mad, because of the bad report. They might have expected him to give report if that was his job/responsibility. They hated him because their father’s love for him.

Genesis 37:5–8 ESV

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, 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.

Genesis 38:5–8 ESV

5 Yet again she bore a son, and she called his name Shelah. Judah was in Chezib when she bore him. 6 And Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, and her name was Tamar. 7 But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord put him to death. 8 Then Judah said to Onan, “Go in to your brother’s wife and perform the duty of a brother-in-law to her, and raise up offspring for your brother.”

Genesis 38:5-7

Genesis

Dreams in the ancient near east are not as simple as dreams you and I have about flying through the air, or falling and waking your self up with a jolt. Dreams, especially reoccurring dreams were though to be extremely telling.

Interesting fact: In Egyptian hieroglyphics the left eye of Horus is translated as “dream.” But Egyptians would never say I had a dream. In stead they would say, “I witnessed a vision”

With that in mind you can see why Joseph’s brothers reacted the way they did!

They immediately understood what this “dream/Vision” meant. They didn’t need to interpret it. Their hatred of him grows because he’s favored by his father, and it seems even by God (if this dream is real).

Genesis 37:9–11 ESV

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.

Genesis 37:9-

The second dream. It get’s even more specific. here we have not only 11 stars (sheaves) bowing before Joseph, but also the moon and the stars, his father and (by now deceased) mother.

This time we don’t hear about his brother’s reaction. We are given Jacob’s reaction. He rebukes his son. Never in this culture would a father ever bow to a son. What Joseph is talking about is scadalous...

Is it any more scandalous than ? is it any more scandalous than Jacob stealing the birthright from Esau? Is it more scandalous than Isaac being the child of the promise over Ishmael?

God’s ways are not man’s ways. Men’s traditions have no bearing on the ways God moves in this world.

Through Joseph’s dream God is telling his people, at this time it’s just Jacob and his sons, what the end of the day will look like.

Like a wedding coordinator at the start of the rehearsal, telling the wedding party, “this is our mission. No matter what, this is the outcome we’re all working toward.”

God is revealing the end of the story at the beginning.

We’re going to spend this summer in our Sunday gathering getting witnessing Jacob go from a 17 year old boy watching flocks to becoming the right hand of the king of Egypt.

This is God’s way. This is what He does. He graciously reveals the end of the story at the beginning.

We’re in . The end of this story is revealed in the first few verses… but really this story was also already revealed in … but the story of God and his people doesn’t end in … the person of Joseph really isn’t an end, but simply revelation of end of God’s redemption story. The life of Joseph reveals to us the type of person Jesus is. We call this typology. Joseph isn’t the messiah, he’s a preview, a sneak peak, of Jesus the true and better Joseph. The story of Joseph’s entire life points to Jesus. It points us to the gospels. Mathew, Mark, Luke, and John aren’t even the first tellings of the gospel story

God reveals the end of the story at the beginning

Genesis 3:15 ESV

15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”

This is the protoevangelion. The very first telling of the gospel message. It reveals the end of the story and it’s in !

(Hold up the bible)

Here’s where God reveals the end… at the very begining

Everything in the middle, everything we experience in our lives, serves to get us to the end

If you know Joseph’s story, at the end he’s at the right hand of the King

When history ends, we know that Jesus wins he is exalted to the right hand of the father, seated on the throne.

Right now we live in the in between

Things got dark for Joseph.

Things may be dark for you right now.

John Piper calls the struggles Joseph faces painful providence. You may be experiencing painful providence, You may have experienced them in the past. We’ll jump into more of how to live in the midst of these painful providences as we walk through the life of Joseph.

For now I want to encourage you that

Philippians 1:6 ESV

6 And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

Every tear you’ve cried, every fear you’ve known. Jesus has known it too. You’re not alone.

philipians 1:6

God has revealed the end at the very beginning, we get to walk through how this worked in in Joseph’s life and how it is working in our life.

Let’s pray.