The Whispers of Providence

Introduction

When I was ten, I won the Super Bowl. Every day. I was a huge San Francisco 49ers fan, and I can remember playing out the Super Bowl every day with me on the 49ers, miraculously passing the ball as Steve Young and catching it as Jerry Rice. And, I never lost. So, really, the only thing that separates Tom Brady from me is that he’s lost in the Super Bowl. I wrote the script, and I wrote me winning. Then, made sure it played out that way.

That’s a glimpse of what we mean when say the big, churchy word ‘providence’. Providence is God’s directing of God’s script to God’s conclusion. It’s God’s plan carried out by God’s governance. Providence has to do with God’s authority and control over the universe. But, it’s more than control, and it’s more than authority. It’s God’s authority and control activated through the superintending of all things to a particular end. It’s God’s plan accomplished by God’s governance over all things. It’s this providence that we’re going to see on full display as we spend the next two weeks finishing Genesis with one of my favorite Biblical stories, the account of Joseph.

God’s Word

Read Genesis 37:1-11

What to Expect from God’s Providence (headline)

This story is not about Joseph. Even though we won’t even hear him mentioned until Joseph’s in trouble, this story is about God. More specifically, this story is about how God works through all of the tiny, unsuspecting, even excruciating details of our lives to bring his glorious plan to full fruition. That is, this is a story about God’s providence. It’s a story about how God works through the roller coaster of Joseph’s life to take his people down into Egypt as He told Abraham He would do and to transform them into a nation that would bless every other nation, as He promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob He would do. What I want us to see this first week is what you can expect from God’s providence.

Providence “hurts”.

v. 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.” First, realize that providence “hurts”. If anyone in the history of the world should have found himself on a psychiatrist’s couch, it should have been Joseph. Joseph was Jacob’s second youngest of twelve sons and his first son by his favorite wife, Rachel. Jacob really made no bones about that Joseph was his favorite, and he even designated him as so by giving him an ornate coat that distinguished him from the rest. Now, if you have siblings or children, you can imagine how this went over. All of the other sons were driving ten year old Kias and Joseph is driving a new Camaro. It’s interesting that Jacob, who had felt the pain of clearly not being the favorite of his father, would show such clear favoritism with his own sons. Joseph’s brothers actually hate him. Their skin crawls every time they see him. The tone turns angry every time his name comes up. Everything Joseph does just makes his brothers hate him even more. It says that he ‘brought a bad report of them’ to Jacob asked him to do, but still didn’t help. He wore the coat, and he kept having these dreams. We’re told about these two dreams that he has, and they both essentially say the same thing: All of Joseph’s brothers were going to have to bow down to him in submission. Now, here’s a little brother 101 for you: If you have a dream in which you believe God is telling you that all of your family is going to have to bow down to you, just keep it to yourself and don’t tell them. Because it’s going to fly over like a lead balloon. So, right out of the gate, many of you can relate to Joseph. We’re talking some real family issues that are going on here.

Nothing is Out of Control

Why would God show Joseph the dream? Why not just do it? This is one of the primary ways that we know it’s providence that’s in view here. God gave Joseph a dream so that he would know where he was headed even though he didn’t know how he would get there. He gave Joseph a dream so that, one day, Joseph would be able to look back over the course of his life and know that it was God the whole way, even though there were going to be a lot of times in which it would hurt so badly that it wasn’t going to feel like it. He showed Joseph his promise because there were going to be a lot of days ahead when that’s all that he would have. It was going to be a long, hard journey, but none of it was going to be accidental. God is in “control” of everything that appears out of “control”. That’s the point of Joseph’s dream, and that’s the point of God’s word to us, too. In the Scriptures we have a word from God for us that’s even clearer than the word that Joseph received in that dream. And, it plays the same role so that we can know where we’re headed even when, especially when we have no idea how we’re actually going to get there. When you’re lonely or sick or infertile or rejected or betrayed, how can it be that God is there? It’s because God has spoken. God has a plan. God is at work. And, He’s told you about it. God sent you his word so that you would be anchored down as life’s winds blew. God is in control of everything that appears out of control.

A Sadistic Picnic

v. 13b “And he said to him, “Here I am.” And, from there, the situation moves from dysfunctional to nuclear. Jacob tells Joseph that he wants him to go down to Shechem, which was about 50 miles away, and check on his brother for another report. At this point, you have to just wonder if Jacob is oblivious to the situation. Maybe he’s as blind as Isaac was. Joseph goes down to Shechem, goes to great lengths to find his brothers, and he finally tracks them down. His Conway Twitty style coat gleams from a long way off, and they decide that they’re finally going to eliminate this little dreamer and all the trouble he causes for them. The oldest brother, Reuben, intervenes and suggests that they just throw him into the bottom of a cistern rather than killing him, hoping to come back later and retrieve him. The prophet Amos tells us that the brothers sat there, at the top of the cistern, listening to their baby brother scream out for help while they ate their lunches and hardened their hearts. It’s a sadistic picnic if there ever was one.

A Rejected Prophet

v. 20 “we will see what will become of his dreams.” Now, there’s a picture being painted here for us. When Jacob was calling Joseph to go to Shechem to where his brothers were, he was calling Joseph to go to those who hated him and to speak on his father’s behalf. And, we skipped the story, but, in Genesis 34, Jacob’s sons, these very men massacred the people of Shechem for defiling their sister of which they never repented. So, you have the pure son being sent to the place of sin to speak on behalf of the father to his hard-hearted children. And, he says, “Here I am.” It’s the call of a prophet, isn’t it? It’s a glorious, painful call. Isaiah was sawn in two, Jeremiah was stoned, John the Baptist was beheaded, and Joseph is in the bottom of a cistern waiting for the verdict of his brothers. Joseph had been chosen by God as his elect, and he would pay the price. God’s “chosen” are the world’s “rejected”.

Insanity or Purpose?

The natural mind rejects providence, and it’s choices, and refuses God as director. The natural mind is more comfortable with nothingness than with a God who sits upon the throne with control and authority. The natural mind embraces the insanity of randomness over purpose, chaos over control. The natural mind prioritizes individuality, self-interest, and personal autonomy over everything, even the sovereign hope God can offer. So, for those who choose God over secularism, providence over natural selection, purpose over luck, we will find ourselves in the crosshairs of those who hate what we love and resent what we know. And, the cost will be substantial. It will be painful. Providence is packed with pain. So, when in verse 20, they say, “we will see what will become of his dreams”, they are saying, in essence, we’ll see if it’s actually God or not. We’ll see if he’s really Mr. Chosen as he says. And, we’re left wrestling with whether or not evil will win against the promise of God. It’s the very same struggle that’s happening in houses across this community today. Does pain mean providence or randomness? Does pain mean purpose or misfortune?

Providence “surprises”.

v. 2 “The LORD was with Joseph” So, the brothers are sitting there eating ham sandwiches while Joseph is screaming for his life from the bottom of a cistern, and their wits begin to come back to them a bit. They realize that they’re squandering a great business opportunity, and they would come out much better if they sold Joseph into slavery rather than just killing him in cold blood. A group of Midianites happen by, and the brothers fish Joseph out of the cistern and sell him for 20 shekels of silver. They dip his fancy coat into goats blood and convince Jacob that his favorite son had been killed by a beast. Meanwhile, Joseph is purchased by a wealthy and important Egyptian named Potiphar, who was the captain of the guard. And chapter 39 of Genesis must’ve read strange to those early Israelites because it starts and ends with the same words, “The LORD was with Joseph.” You’ll notice that chapter 39 is the first we’ve heard of God here, but notice that LORD is all caps in your Bible. This is YHWH being used. The covenant name of God. He was with Joseph in his slavery in Potiphar’s house, he prospers him. Providence doesn’t just hurt; Providence “surprises”.

One-sided Surprises

Joseph’s riding quite the roller coaster here, isn’t he? He’s a favored son to an imprisoned brother to a slave in a foreign land to being prospered so that, even as a slave, he’s now over the whole household of an important man, all before the age of 20. This is a buckle-your-seatbelt, hang-on-for-dear-life ride. My goodness, that’s how life feels, doesn’t it? But, how could God’s providence include such opposite extremes within the same plan? How could the same plan allow you to know the joy of your father’s love and the bitterness of your brothers’ hatred? How can your life be trending in one direction on Monday only to make a life-shattering discovery that takes it in a completely different direction on Tuesday? How can it be that “the LORD was with Joseph” or that the LORD is with us in such cases? God works through the “surprises” of providence to “exercise” the faith of his people. God’s plan for our lives uses the ups and downs that we face to develop, shape, and tone the muscles of our character and faith today needed to accomplish his will tomorrow and next year and ten years from now. Just like running uphill strengthens different muscles than running downhill, God’s providence enables us to grow through both successes and failures, thrills and hurts. God has a plan for every part of your life and that includes the most seemingly insignificant moments to the apparently life-changing decisions. He works through your most painful defeats and your proudest accomplishments and your daily routine and your smallest mistakes to shape you into who you need to be for what He has for you to do. Providence may very well surprise us, but the surprise is always one-sided because God has planning it from the beginning.

39:9 “How can I do this great wickedness?” And, that’s when this roller coaster plummets down the biggest hill yet. Let’s read Genesis 39:7-15. There’s no way to read this and not think, “Poor Joseph!” is there? Everything is going so well, and even in slavery, he’s managed to carve out a comfortable life for himself thanks to the favor of God on his life. Joseph is trying to do all the right things, all the right ways, and yet sin and temptation pursue him. Potiphar’s wife wants sleep with him. She’s infatuated with him. And, like the seductive adulteress of Proverbs 5, her lips drip with honey as she calls him to her bed. And, it’s an ideal set up for an affair. Nobody would know. Nobody’s there. Potiphar’s away. He can indulge and make a clean get away. Nobody would blame him. He’s lived a hard life and been dealt so many unfair blows. He deserves some pleasure. He deserves an indulgence.

How Can I Do This to God?

And, he responds in the most unlikely way possible. He asks: “How can I do this to God? How could I sin against God like this?” Are you serious? That is not the response of 21st century, American Christianity. Our response: How could God do this to you? He’ll have to understand on this one. You’re life has been too hard. His standards have to been too unreasonable. Do you want to know about the character of your faith? Experience your greatest temptation in one of your lowest moments. Just see how many different angles from which you can justify it. But, Jacob’s apparent misfortune didn’t, in his mind, absolve him from living uprightly before the LORD. Life’s “surprises” don’t justify our “sin”. A bone-jarring divorce doesn’t justify your sexual immorality. A heavy load and an honorable ambition don’t justify your dishonesty on tests. A job loss doesn’t justify your financial infidelity. Your husband’s lack of appreciation doesn’t deserve an affair. The surprises of providence work to “clarify” your source of “hope”. Is your hope for joy found in your income or your experiences or your lifestyle or your marriage? Is your hope for the justification of your sins found in your ability to have a reasonable explanation or a sound excuse? Or, is your hope for joy and your hope for the justification and vindication of your life for in God alone? Is it found in placing your faith in Jesus and his death for your sin so that you can you ask with Joseph “How could I do this to God who is with me?”

Providence “whispers”.

40:4 “The captain of the guard appointed Joseph to be with them, and he attended them.” So, what would you expect to happen next? If you’ve watched enough TV, this is where you expect that the good guy is vindicated and bad guys get what they deserve. Except that providence isn’t a TV script. There’s a greater story in play here. Potiphar comes home to find his wife holding the (under) garments of Joseph and claiming he’d attempted to rape her. And, Potiphar is incensed. He has Joseph thrown into the royal prison. And, you’re thinking, surely, this isn’t providence. Surely, this is just bad luck and misfortune. Oh it must’ve so comforted God’s people in the wilderness as they heard this story recounted! Because Joseph’s in prison, but chapter 39 says this: “But the LORD was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison.” You may be wandering the wilderness or you may be sitting in a prison, but the providence of God is still at work. Providence isn’t always overt and apparent. Usually, providence “whispers”. It speaks through the subtle details of your life that only become clear one day looking back.

Waiting Rooms

You wonder how often Joseph’s mind went to the dreams that God gave him as he languished in that prison. It must’ve seemed ridiculous to him now. But, that prison was a place of grace, and it would, as we’ll see next week, prove to be a place of deliverance. You see, Potiphar had every right within the law to have Joseph, his slave, to death for attempting rape his wife. But, here Joseph lived. Grace. Joseph could have been cast into the heap where he was just another prisoner, but he had favor with the keeper. Grace. In fact, in chapter 40, two more inmates would join him, officials from the household of Pharaoh himself. God would enable to him to be their keepers and to interpret their dreams so that news of Joseph’s favor from God would spread. Grace. That prison was one of the waiting rooms of providence. Providence is filled with “waiting rooms.” And, they are places of grace, no matter how excruciating they are. God works through the tiny, even excruciating details of our lives to accomplish his will. That’s what we mean by the whispers of providence. God will, at times, short-circuit your current assignment to prepare you for a greater one God works through one stage of providence for preparation for the next. So, you may be at the bottom of a cistern or slaving to a master or a sleeping in a dungeon, but you can rejoice there. The waiting room won’t last long from horizon of eternity.

Whispers

Everywhere you look, you can see whispers. Potiphar himself was charged with caring for the cupbearer and baker of the king when they were sent to prison. And, there was nobody Potiphar would trust with them other than Joseph himself. It was a whisper. The dreams that came to the cupbearer and the baker came on the exact same night and the only one who could interpret them was the one that was caring for them every day. It was a whisper. The cupbearer forgot to tell Pharaoh about Joseph, at least for now, until it was just the right moment. It was a whisper. And, by the end of this story next week, the composite of these whispers will be the shout of heaven. Providence whispers in the “moment” but shouts in “hindsight”. And, that’s the reality of a faith that is anchored in a resurrected Christ. Today, there may be a whisper, but tomorrow there will be a trumpet. For this story has already been written, and it’s headed to a certain conclusion.