The Truth About Sin

Genesis 37 NASB95

Now Jacob lived in the land where his father had sojourned, in the land of Canaan. These are the records of the generations of Jacob. Joseph, when seventeen years of age, was pasturing the flock with his brothers while he was still a youth, along with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives. And Joseph brought back a bad report about them to their father. Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his sons, because he was the son of his old age; and he made him a varicolored tunic. His brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers; and so they hated him and could not speak to him on friendly terms. Then Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more. He said to them, “Please listen to this dream which I have had; for behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and lo, my sheaf rose up and also stood erect; and behold, your sheaves gathered around and bowed down to my sheaf.” Then his brothers said to him, “Are you actually going to reign over us? Or are you really going to rule over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words. Now he had still another dream, and related it to his brothers, and said, “Lo, I have had still another dream; and behold, the sun and the moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” He related it to his father and to his brothers; and his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have had? Shall I and your mother and your brothers actually come to bow ourselves down before you to the ground?” His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the saying in mind. Then his brothers went to pasture their father’s flock in Shechem. Israel said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers pasturing the flock in Shechem? Come, and I will send you to them.” And he said to him, “I will go.” Then he said to him, “Go now and see about the welfare of your brothers and the welfare of the flock, and bring word back to me.” So he sent him from the valley of Hebron, and he came to Shechem. A man found him, and behold, he was wandering in the field; and the man asked him, “What are you looking for?” He said, “I am looking for my brothers; please tell me where they are pasturing the flock.” Then the man said, “They have moved from here; for I heard them say, ‘Let us go to Dothan.’ ” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan. When they saw him from a distance and before he came close to them, they plotted against him to put him to death. They said to one another, “Here comes this dreamer! “Now then, come and let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits; and we will say, ‘A wild beast devoured him.’ Then let us see what will become of his dreams!” But Reuben heard this and rescued him out of their hands and said, “Let us not take his life.” Reuben further said to them, “Shed no blood. Throw him into this pit that is in the wilderness, but do not lay hands on him”—that he might rescue him out of their hands, to restore him to his father. So it came about, when Joseph reached his brothers, that they stripped Joseph of his tunic, the varicolored tunic that was on him; and they took him and threw him into the pit. Now the pit was empty, without any water in it. Then they sat down to eat a meal. And as they raised their eyes and looked, behold, a caravan of Ishmaelites was coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing aromatic gum and balm and myrrh, on their way to bring them down to Egypt. Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is it for us to kill our brother and cover up his blood? “Come and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.” And his brothers listened to him. Then some Midianite traders passed by, so they pulled him up and lifted Joseph out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. Thus they brought Joseph into Egypt. Now Reuben returned to the pit, and behold, Joseph was not in the pit; so he tore his garments. He returned to his brothers and said, “The boy is not there; as for me, where am I to go?” So they took Joseph’s tunic, and slaughtered a male goat and dipped the tunic in the blood; and they sent the varicolored tunic and brought it to their father and said, “We found this; please examine it to see whether it is your son’s tunic or not.” Then he examined it and said, “It is my son’s tunic. A wild beast has devoured him; Joseph has surely been torn to pieces!” So Jacob tore his clothes, and put sackcloth on his loins and mourned for his son many days. Then all his sons and all his daughters arose to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. And he said, “Surely I will go down to Sheol in mourning for my son.” So his father wept for him. Meanwhile, the Midianites sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, Pharaoh’s officer, the captain of the bodyguard.

INTRO: SIN. There’s something about that word that makes us cringe… makes us uncomfortable. The very idea of sin- something abhorrently wrong, something deserving of judgment is off-putting. We don’t like to talk about it… unless, of course it’s somebody else’s sin!

We say, well sin isn’t a very encouraging topic; it has a stigma to it and makes people feel bad.

ILL: I remember hearing someone say that pastors ought not to preach on sin because it might offend someone and the pastor will likely be unpopular. He said pastors should stick to warmer subjects like grace, love, and mercy.

The thing is, unless we talk about sin, we cannot possibly grasp the depth of grace, love, and mercy of Jesus. Scripture tells us that he rescues us FROM SIN! Sin brings death, but Jesus gives life!

So, we’re going to talk about SIN this morning. It might be unpopular. It might make you uncomfortable. It might… but that’s never stopped me before!

We are coming to the section in Genesis where we meet Joseph, one of the 12 sons of Israel (formerly Jacob). How many of you are familiar with this passage?

One thing we tend to do when we read narratives is we try to insert ourselves into the story… usually in the place of the protagonist/ hero. So, as we walk through this passage, I want you to try to remember that we are all sinners. Even Joseph was a sinner.

This might be fun- turn to your neighbor and just tell them- say “I am a sinner.” Can you do that? Now, tell them “You are a sinner!” (I know you’ve been wanting to do that!)

Good, now that we are aware of our propensity to sin, I want to invite you to take out your bulletin and open to the sermon guide. You can use that to follow along this morning. As always, I encourage you to use the discussion questions for further growth during the week.

Now, let’s learn together, “The Truth About Sin: 3 dangers of sin made evident in Genesis 37.

The first danger is

Sin Multiplies (1-11)

Another way to say this is that sin begets sin.

In verse 2, Joseph told a bad report on his brothers (v.2)- this was likely not the only occasion. Now, did the brothers do something wrong? Maybe.... maybe not. The text does not say. Why would he do this? Well, probably because, as we see in v. 3-4, Israel loved Joseph more than all his siblings. Joseph was the favorite. He was likely believed over all the other brothers, even if what he said was untrue.

And because Israel loved him so much, he demonstrated his favoritism in the way he treated Joseph. Most notably, Joseph was given a fancy, multi-colored tunic… a coat that isn’t intended to get dirty… like those brand new school outfits- kids, don’t go play in the dirt in those new shoes! This would be contrasted against those drab brown tunics his brothers wore.

In fact, this was incredibly unique and it was obvious to Joseph and his brothers that Israel felt this way. And don’t think that Joseph didn’t play that up. He was likely a bit arrogant towards his brothers… no doubt he agitated them and taunted them with the threat that he would tell on them if they did anything to him.

ILL: There was a time when I was put in charge of my boss’s kid. This kid knew my relationship with his dad, and so he pretty much played the role of tyrant, telling me that his dad was the boss so I couldn’t do anything to him. What made it worse was that his dad knew of his misbehavior and did nothing to discipline him. So, maybe, just maybe Joseph, as a teenager, was not quite as innocent as we like to think.

But Israel’s sin of favoritism and relationship with Joseph along with Joseph’s arrogance bred contempt towards Joseph among his brothers. Verse 4 says they hated him and could not even speak kindly to him. (You ever felt that way about someone?)

Then Joseph has 2 dreams, each one reinforcing the other and both were told to his brothers. These dreams were insinuations that Joseph’s brothers would one day serve him and Joseph would rule over them like a king.

How would you like to hear that from your little brother? And it doesn’t even matter if it would or would not come true.

Joseph’s arrogance here - the very fact that he felt the need to relate this - tells us that this dream was shared in vanity. The reality here is that their hatred towards Joseph was only fueled further. It was like throwing gas on a fire.

Now, let’s take a step back. Joseph did not intentionally have these dreams. But they were likely not meant for public consumption just yet and his interpretations and insinuations were a bit narrow as we’ll find out later.

Think to the intimate moments that Peter, James, and John shared on the mount of transfiguration. They saw Jesus glorified and Moses and Elijah with Him. You can’t tell me they didn’t want to go down and tell all the others what they had seen! But Jesus, said for them not to tell anyone until He had raised from the dead. (Mark 9:9)

The truth is that sin multiplies- it started with favoritism, which led to pride and arrogance of Joseph and the jealousy and hatred of his brothers towards him. It is real easy to get caught up in sin and if we aren’t walking with Jesus, we will likely respond to others just as sinfully as Joseph’s brothers.

Discuss: Where have you witnessed sin multiply in your family? (i.e. how you respond to someone’s attitude or action, etc.)

The second danger we need to see is

Sin Manifests (18-28)

We could say it this way: “Sin of the heart leads to sin of the hands”

James 1:15 NASB95

Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.

We saw this with Israel whose sin of favoritism manifested into favored treatment and gifts for Joseph. This was certainly true in the case of Joseph’s brothers.

Now, let me point out that Joseph’s role was to check on his brothers and the flock and return to tell Israel how they were doing. He went to Shechem, but they weren’t there. They likely moved so they wouldn’t have to deal with Joseph! But Joseph found them anyway.

When they saw Joseph coming in the distance, they were ‘triggered’. I can almost hear them… “Oh look, here comes Lord Dreamer in his royal robe… I say we kill him and rid ourselves of this nuisance once and for all!”

We have moved from a dislike/ hatred mindset to a murderous intent.

The hatred and jealousy had eaten away at these men so much they could no longer stand it. They saw Joseph as a threat to their own success- so long as he was around, their life would be miserable. They saw him as an obstacle and they figured if they could just remove it, if they could just get rid of Joseph, life would be wonderful.

The problem is that is a lie of Satan.

ILL: Have you ever watched that show ‘Forensic Files’? It seems like every time that show comes on, someone has come to the conclusion that the only solution to their problem (lust, money, power, etc.) is to kill someone- a spouse, child, etc. I often ask, “How in the world do these people get here?”

Well, I’ll tell you: the sin in their heart; the resentment, frustration, anger - all of it has become a fixation. It’s all they think about. They have no joy in life and they blame that person for all their problems.

No matter how irrational it may seem to anyone else, sin will manifest as not only possible, but necessary and justifiable.

They didn’t kill Joseph. We see that the plot was changed from murder to selling Joseph to slavery. But look at this:

Reuben, the oldest, evidently wasn’t part of the planning. He talked them out of murder, but he was not bold enough to call out their sin. Reuben knew what was right, but he lacked the courage to stand up and say so. He focused only on the one action that was a manifestation of their sin and failed to hit the heart of the matter. I think perhaps Reuben feared the reaction of his brothers more than God’s judgment.

Judah, convinced himself that selling Joseph as a slave was a morally right and profitable thing to do!!

For you and I, we need to identify and address the sin before it manifests…before that affair, before that act of violence. Friends, sin is dangerous and if there is sin in your heart, it will eventually manifest in your life.

Discuss: Why did the brothers see Joseph as a threat? How could they have approached this differently?

Finally, we can see the danger that

Sin Maims (29-35)

As the brothers return home, life would be different. Reuben in particular felt guilty. The text does not tell us whether or not he knew about Joseph being sold into slavery. But it was obvious that he carried guilt for not having spoken up and doing the right thing when he had the chance.

I imagine that he looked back often, kicking himself. It didn’t have to be this way.

James 4:17 NASB95

Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.

ILL: There are a number of stories of this kind of regret. Soldiers who froze in the midst of battle, Nurses who decided not to question a doctor’s treatment, parents who chose to stay out of their child’s education, citizens who allowed a tyrannical government to continue to rule, etc.

Perhaps sin has maimed your conscience in this way.

It is unclear what feelings of guilt the others felt, but I imagine that their sinful actions weighed on them as time marched on. Clearly, they knew what they had done was wrong- this is evidenced by their cover-up.

Look at this- they dipped Joseph’s robe in goat blood and gave it to Israel. They would not confess their sin. They would not admit to their guilt. Now they were in too deep. They were so entangled by their sin that the only thing they could figure to do was to lie- to sin more.

Nevertheless, the result is the same. Joseph is gone. By all estimations, they would never see him again, so he might as well be dead.

Israel was devastated, as you can imagine any parent would be. Perhaps he felt a sense of responsibility as well. The text tells us he ‘refused to be comforted’ even after many days of mourning. This loss was catastrophic and Israel knew that he would mourn until his death over Joseph.

The action by Joseph’s brothers has now robbed Israel of his son. It’s placed a blot on the relationships of the other brothers. Knowing the betrayal and the truth, could any of them trust another? Would they ever be able to rid this stain on their conscience?

The sin that manifested in selfish deception and betrayal has stolen joy, killed trust, and destroyed lives.

This is the character of sin. Jesus said,

John 10:10 NASB95

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.

Can you relate to these dangers of sin? Can you look and see:

Times where sin has multiplied in your life- your family, friends, workplace

Times where you have experienced or enacted the manifestation of a sinful heart- violence, abuse, infidelity, theft, etc.

Times where lives have been ruined because of sin. That’s exactly where sin leaves us… ruined.

But before we leave this, let me point you quickly to verse 36. (READ)

“MEANWHILE...”

In the midst of Israel’s mourning, though he didn’t know it, God was working.

In the midst of Reuben’s guilt, God was restoring.

In the midst of ruin, God was beginning a NEW work!

Hallelujah! Friends, this may be the most important takeaway for you today:

God is not done with you. Though you may feel like a failure- God is still on His throne and He is working, as Rom 8:28 says, for the glory of God and the good of those who love Him.

Though you may feel like you are too wicked, too far gone- NO! Nothing is too difficult for Him! Scripture tells us that Jesus came for sinners like me and you! He has already taken your guilt and evil and nailed it to that old Roman cross!

Though you may feel tired, ruined, oppressed, God is faithful. He can make dry bones live again and he surely can redeem you from the effects of sin in your life.

Sin is real. Sin has consequences. But Sin has been defeated through Christ’s death, burial and resurrection. That gospel message is as relative to seasoned Christians as it is those who have yet to believe.

This morning, I want to ask you to give God your “meanwhile”. Will you stand and pray with me?

Discuss: Share some effects of sin in your life- guilt, pain, etc. How can you trust God in the meanwhile?