Part 4: Learning God's Way
Notes
Transcript
INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
Last week, we saw where Joseph had been betrayed by his brothers and sold to desert traders who took him to Egypt where they sold him to a man named Potiphar who was head of Pharaoh’s security detail.
Joseph is far from home.
Joseph is a slave in Egypt.
Joseph’s brothers have abandoned him.
and
Jacob, Joseph’s father, thinks he is dead.
As Genesis 39 opens, Joseph’s future looks to be pretty dim.
There is one fact—and only one fact—that should give us hope though!
After informing us that he is now a slave in Potiphar’s house, the text adds one all-important detail: “The Lord was with Joseph” (v. 2).
That fact makes all the difference.
Someone greater than Joseph is right here...
Our Lord Jesus Christ is that man who is God Almighty, Immanuel, the incarnate God, one with the Father, full of grace and truth.
Not only was God with him and he with God, the incarnate Christ is God with us.
14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
16 And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.
17 For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
Now, Joseph had dreams of greatness but to keep those dreams from turning into idle daydreams he had to be put in God’s school.
You see, in the hands of Jacob, Joseph would never have matured as he should.
In God’s school though, Joseph became the most Christlike man in the Old Testament.
What were some lessons Joseph learned in God’s school?
IN HUMILIATION, HE LEARNED FORGIVENESS
IN HUMILIATION, HE LEARNED FORGIVENESS
1 And Joseph was brought down to Egypt; and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him of the hands of the Ishmeelites, which had brought him down thither.
Think about this…I know verse 1 is talking about location, but here is an 18 year old young man that was REALLY brought DOWN!
He is stripped of his coat.
He is separated from his beloved father.
He is betrayed by the very people who should have loved him most.
He is sold as a slave and carried off to a strange land to live as a slave.
Imagine the fear that must have filled his heart.
Imagine the hurt that must have shattered him.
Imagine the lies Satan must have told him.
Imagine the disillusionment over the shattered dreams.
What a contrast from being the beloved son in his father’s house to the degradation of slavery in Egypt!
But this was as nothing compared with the voluntary self humiliation of the Lord Jesus.
6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
(1) Jesus emptied Himself, laying aside the independent use of His own attributes as God;
(2) He became a human, in a sinless physical body;
(3) He used that body to be a servant;
(4) He took that body to the cross and willingly died.
What grace! From heaven to earth, from glory to shame, from Master to servant, from life to death, “even the death of the cross!”
In our text today, God was trying to teach Joseph the beautiful grace of forgiveness.
We talk about forgiving others but talk is cheap. True, heartfelt forgiveness is one of the hardest things we will ever do. Most of us think it is easy because we have never really been hurt by someone, especially someone we love. When people truly hurt us, the natural thing is to retaliate or to take on a grudge.
If we are like Christ though, we will offer love and full forgiveness.
Someone once said “Forgiveness is the odor a flower gives off when it has been trampled upon.”
But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
You and I will never amount to anything for God until we learn to love those who hate and hurt us.
IN SUBORDINATION, HE LEARNED HUMILITY AND HARD WORK
IN SUBORDINATION, HE LEARNED HUMILITY AND HARD WORK
Once the caravan arrived in Egypt Joseph went on the trading block.
In the providence of God he escaped the ordeal of becoming a field slave and was purchased by a man named Potiphar who was the equivalent of our chief of police. He was a high ranking official of the Pharaoh or King of Egypt.
When Joseph arrived in Egypt, he could have taken several paths. He could have adopted the ways and customs of his new land. He could have abandoned his God and embraced the polytheistic religion of Egypt. But, Joseph just stayed the course! You see, he may have been purchased by Potiphar, but Joseph belonged to God! He had already made up his mind how things would be in his life.
The fear of the LORD is the instruction of wisdom; and before honour is humility.
It made no difference to Joseph whether he was in his father's house; in a pit; in the possession of slave traders; or in the house of his master, Joseph had purposed in his heart that he was always going to do the right thing. And, that is just what he did! Joseph was a man of integrity regardless of the situation in which he found himself.
Joseph worked hard, the Lord was with him, and in the ten years that he served Potiphar he rose to the highest position of all his servants.
2 And the LORD was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian.
3 And his master saw that the LORD was with him, and that the LORD made all that he did to prosper in his hand.
We are told here in verse 2 that Joseph was "a prosperous man". Verse 3 tells us that "the Lord made all that he did to prosper in his hand."
In what way was Joseph prosperous?
He had no money, no fame, no real position except that of a slave. Yet without all this garbage that the world calls golden he was better off than Potiphar and everyone else. Why? Because he had God. He had character. He had peace. He had faith.
I’m not saying that having money is bad…I’m not saying working a good job is bad, but money ain’t everything!
There’s a lot of people out there that is literally killing themselves, alienating their families, and trusting in the economy because they LOVE money! They can’t have enough of it! They have to buy, buy, buy...
I’d rather be able to leave my job behind me, go home to a family that adores me, and leave all my worries in the hands of a God who takes care of me!
36 For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?
One man asked another, “Is there anything good that money cannot buy?” “I can name four things,” said his friend, “The smile of a baby, a good friend, the love of a good woman and entrance into heaven.”
What was different about Joseph? He had God! He had his priorities in the right place, even as a slave!
Joseph was in a bad situation, but he still lived a life that was blessed by the Lord. I am sure that his life was a life of endless work and service, but he was faithful to his job.
6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:
7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
His character caused him to be faithful to his God and to his human master. As a result, God blessed his life and his work.
By humility and the fear of the LORD are riches, and honour, and life.
IN ELEVATION, HE LEARNED FAITH
IN ELEVATION, HE LEARNED FAITH
3 And his master saw that the LORD was with him, and that the LORD made all that he did to prosper in his hand.
4 And Joseph found grace in his sight, and he served him: and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put into his hand.
Potiphar saw that the hand of God was upon the life of Joseph. He knew there was something special about this Hebrew slave. As he watched Joseph work, and as he saw the results of his work, Potiphar saw that everything Joseph touched turned to gold.
Potiphar promoted Joseph and made him the overseer of his entire household.
Joseph was in control of everything that happened in Potiphar's home and in his business interests. Potiphar learned that he could trust Joseph to do the right thing. He discovered that Joseph was a man of industry and integrity.
He was a worker who did the best job that he could for his master. Joseph served Potiphar like he was serving the Lord!
In all this Joseph no doubt saw the hand of God and the upcoming realization of his early dreams. Thus he was learning the valuable lesson of faith. He was seeing God in his situation.
We need love, we need humility, we need hard work, but we also need faith because faith and faith alone will keep us from discouragement and defection when all hope seems gone.
1. The Silence of His Faith. The thing that impresses me about Joseph is his noble silence. True character is like a river, the deeper it is, the quieter it is. People who have to rattle on about their righteousness usually aren’t very righteous.
2. The Source of His Faith. The Bible describes Joseph as a “fruitful vine near a spring” in Genesis 49:22. Joseph’s faith, his confidence and optimism and hope was fed on the deep springs of a life rooted in God. As the Bible says:
31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
3. The Service of His Faith. Finally, the strong character and faith of Joseph was of incalculable service to the household of Potiphar. God blessed others because of him.
Little do the unsaved know what God’s children do for them.
When Sodom was about to feel the fury of God, Abraham was pleading for them up in the mountains. Ten righteous people and his prayer would have been granted.
When Israel bowed down to the golden calf God decided to blot them out and start over with another people. But Moses stood between them and cried that God would spare them.
The children of God are the salt that keeps this world from rotting.
The children of God are the lights that keep this world from being overwhelmed by total darkness.
Here we see in Joseph another type of Jesus. As he stood between Potiphar and God and was the channel of heaven’s favor, so Jesus stands before us and God and brings us all the blessings of heaven.
We are on trial and we are guilty but, praise God, we have an advocate who pleads for us and an atonement that pays for us.
Our divine defense attorney takes His own blood and offers it in heaven’s court for us. The Bible says,
1 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:
2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
Jesus stands between us and God to offer us His righteousness and to offer God his blood.
CONCLUSION
CONCLUSION
God used the sorrows of Joseph’s life to shape him into the man He desired him to become. The trials Joseph faced, and the trials you and I face, are never easy. They do, however, teach us to depend on God. Our trials help us to maintain a tender and compassionate heart. Our trials teach us the value of tears. Our trials make us useful to the Lord. We should never seek to shun the trials of life. In shunning our trials, we are also shunning the best of God’s blessings in this life. A.W. Tozer once said, “It is doubtful that God ever used anyone greatly without first hurting them deeply.”
No matter how hard the way of life becomes, if you’re saved, the same thing that was said about Joseph is true about you: “And the Lord was with him.”
You don’t face your trials alone. You don’t walk through your valleys alone. Every step you take you are in the path of divine providence and God is in the business of protecting you, prospering you and promoting you for His glory!
Do you have the LORD with you today?