Life's Lemons

Genesis 45:7–8 ESV

7 And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. 8 So it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt.

How many of us have lived a perfect life - not sinless, but one in which everything has gone perfectly right? We wish! Life can bring many unforeseen obstacles. Life seems to give us various surprises, whether it be physical, relational, financial, health, it sometimes amazes me that life does not follow our plans... and yes that was sarcasm.

Now, none of us could ever be considered the “favorite” of our parents…but we find a picture of this in Genesis. A young boy turned out to be the favorite of his father, even receiving a coat of many colors. We might call him spoiled today. The brothers saw this favoritism and could not stand him for it. This wasn’t something that just upset them when they saw favoritism. It wasn’t something that made them mad and they held it in. They were furious to the point the bible says they hated him and could not speak peacefully to him. I mean, he did intentionally try to make his brothers mad by continually throwing his favoritism in their face. He kept taunting them, and their anger was growing. They weren’t about to take it any longer. It was so bad they plotted to kill Joseph.

Many times in life we find ourselves in places we may not even recognize we are in. We may have been placed in a position that others envy. We may show favoritism even when we may not know we are doing it, but many times we find ourselves not knowing how we wound up in the predicament we find ourselves in. Too often, then we want to blame others or blame God on where we are in life. In many cases we look at those closest to us and ask why they didn’t stop us, we ask God how he could allow us to get in these pickles.

How many of us have heard the old saying, when life gives you lemons…make lemonade! Joseph finds himself holding a bag of lemons, with brothers who despise him, sell him into slavery, winding up a slave of the Egyptian Pharoah, and wondering what it the world happened to his life! But in the end, God had a purpose and a plan for every part of Joseph’s life - that he understood, but most importantly what he did not understand. Yes, his brothers betrayed him but God had a much bigger purpose and plan for Joseph.

Betrayal

Genesis 37:19–28 (ESV)

19 They said to one another, “Here comes this dreamer.

20 Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits. Then we will say that a fierce animal has devoured him, and we will see what will become of his dreams.”

21 But when Reuben heard it, he rescued him out of their hands, saying, “Let us not take his life.”

22 And Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but do not lay a hand on him”—that he might rescue him out of their hand to restore him to his father.

23 So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the robe of many colors that he wore.

24 And they took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it.

25 Then they sat down to eat. And looking up they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing gum, balm, and myrrh, on their way to carry it down to Egypt.

26 Then Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood?

27 Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.” And his brothers listened to him.

28 Then Midianite traders passed by. And they drew Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. They took Joseph to Egypt.

Joseph had been full of himself, especially around his brothers. He had even gotten arrogant enough to share a dream with them where he would be over them. How dare he think he would be in a position to tel his older brothers what to do. No doubt, his brothers were cruel, uncaring, and ungodly. No doubt, when they looked out and saw Joseph in his brightly colored coat coming from the distance, they immediately started talking of what they could do against him. They mocked him among themselves - that dreamer…he only thinks he is going to rule over us. Then one of them brought up the suggestion…let’s kill him. If they killed him, they could throw him into one of the abandoned wells and tell their father a wild animal had killed him. They were plotting his demise, for goodness sake.

They had allowed their own pride swell to they despised and rejected Joseph. Yet one brother spoke some sense into them. Don’t kill him, throw him into the empty well pit instead. They seized him, stripped him of his coat, threw him into the well, and as they ate Joseph pleaded with them to let him go…while they laughed at him. At some point, they saw traders coming down the road towards Egypt. Then Judah had a bright idea…let’s sell Joseph as a slave and we can make a little profit off him and not have the guilt of murder on them. For 20 pieces of silver, their brother was sold into slavery. Doesn’t this give some picture of what would come of Christ? He would be stripped of his clothes, mocked, betrayed for 30 pieces of silver, and even took on the slavery of sin for us.

They would have to lie to their father, develop a horrible lie to cover their sin. The deception that took place…first fooling themselves and then their father. How many churches today have members that fooled themselves into thinking they didn’t have to be in church today, or something else was more important?

Too often we allow ourselves to get upset and angry over things that have no eternal significance or value. Even more disturbing is that among families, we allow things to draw us apart. Husbands and wives grow bitter towards each other. Children grow bitter against their parents, and parents against their children. We hear stories of children wanting to divorce their parents. We hear of brothers and sisters who will get mad and not speak to each other over what they perceive is an inequality in an inheritance.

Temptation and Further Betrayal

Genesis 39:2–7 (ESV)

2 The Lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful man, and he was in the house of his Egyptian master.

3 His master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord caused all that he did to succeed in his hands.

4 So Joseph found favor in his sight and attended him, and he made him overseer of his house and put him in charge of all that he had.

5 From the time that he made him overseer in his house and over all that he had, the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; the blessing of the Lord was on all that he had, in house and field.

6 So he left all that he had in Joseph’s charge, and because of him he had no concern about anything but the food he ate. Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance.

7 And after a time his master’s wife cast her eyes on Joseph and said, “Lie with me.”

Joseph remained true to God, he did not blame God for what had happened, or grow angry towards God or his brothers for the place he found himself in. Because of his faithfulness to God, the Lord was with Joseph, he was a prosperous man, and he was in the house of his master. God had a purpose and a plan for Joseph being in the house of his Egyptian master, Potiphar. He had grown him and was blessing him through his leadership and hard work.

Instead of throwing up his hands and blaming anyone or anything for his predicament, Joseph set out to work his best and glorify God even in circumstances that were out of his control. However his hard work had been noticed by his “m”aster…and it was recognized the the “M”aster was with him and caused everything Joseph did to prosper. The Pharoah placed him as overseer of his house and all the belongings he gave to him. But notice what happens; even in bondage, even under the rule of another person, Joseph served God and God blessed him in return. But a Christian should never be fooled into thinking that they will have a life without trials and tribulations. In Joseph’s case, he was handsome and had caught the eye of the master's wife. She tried her best to seduce him, and finally - when she found out he would not betray the trust of Potiphar, she would fabricate a lie.

Genesis 39:12–15 ESV

12 she caught him by his garment, saying, “Lie with me.” But he left his garment in her hand and fled and got out of the house. 13 And as soon as she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and had fled out of the house, 14 she called to the men of her household and said to them, “See, he has brought among us a Hebrew to laugh at us. He came in to me to lie with me, and I cried out with a loud voice. 15 And as soon as he heard that I lifted up my voice and cried out, he left his garment beside me and fled and got out of the house.”

Joseph was tempted by Potiphar’s wife, but he remained self-controlled and disciplined. She tried harder, he resisted harder. She finally figured out she was getting nowhere hinting and flirting with Joseph, but she was willing to do anything. She found a time where no one was around, where no one could hear, and asked Joseph to sleep with her. No doubt, she held power and importance. He was young and in his prime. This sin could have brought tremendous advantage to Joseph, but he chose to not sin. His master trusted him, and he could not violate his master’s trust. Choosing to do the right thing cost Joseph dearly.

Joseph was asked to go against God’s commands. Too often we like to sugar coat sin. We like to call it “white lies”, “mistakes”, an “oops”, “slip-up”, we even try to cover up bigger sins by calling it “alternate”, “experimenting”, or “self-expression”…but no matter what man calls it, God calls it simply SIN. Here is the catch though…by NOT sinning, it led to the breaking of a relationship with Joseph’s master. BUT by sinning, he would have broken his relationship with God.

Psalm 51:4 ESV

4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment.

We will be tempted like Joseph, and like Joseph, what we do will have consequences. Joseph lost his position, his power, and his place in Potiphar’s service. There were worldly consequences for Godly behavior. We will not escape “worldly consequences” when we follow Jesus either. We may be tempted, but if we resist sin and follow Christ we will one day see His divine plan.

Divine Plan

Genesis 39:20–23 ESV

20 And Joseph’s master took him and put him into the prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined, and he was there in prison. 21 But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. 22 And the keeper of the prison put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners who were in the prison. Whatever was done there, he was the one who did it. 23 The keeper of the prison paid no attention to anything that was in Joseph’s charge, because the Lord was with him. And whatever he did, the Lord made it succeed.

Following God led to Joseph being placed in prison. Even in prison, Joseph remained faithful to God, and God was faithful to him, showing him love, and giving him favor in the sight of his new master - the prison keeper. I have often wondered, why would Potiphar not believe Joseph? Why would God not show Potiphar the truth? Why was something not done to keep Joseph from prison? Maybe it was to show a spoiled brat what it was like to rely on God. Maybe it was to refine and sharpen Joseph’s faith. While we do not know why Joseph was placed in prison, we know God was there with him all the way. One thing we know, when we go through trials and tribulations in life we have one of two choices, we can either grow bitter and question God, or we can be positive and allow God to deepen our trust in Him.

Because of Joseph’s hard work, the prison keeper (warden) noticed him. He recognized his faith and testimony to God, and the keeper noticed that everything Joseph did, God blessed. God allowed Joseph to be placed in another leadership position, overseeing all the other prisoners. Even when Joseph could have questioned God, God was preparing Joseph for another task.

Genesis 41:39–41 ESV

39 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has shown you all this, there is none so discerning and wise as you are. 40 You shall be over my house, and all my people shall order themselves as you command. Only as regards the throne will I be greater than you.” 41 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.”

God used Joseph’s faith to influence others. If you remember, his brothers said “Here comes that dreamer”…in this case Pharoah said, “whoa here comes that DREAMER”! God allowed Pharaoh to see the understanding and insight Joseph had through the interpretation of a dream. There would be seven good years, then seven years of severe famine. Pharoah placed Joseph in a place of greater importance than where he had ever been. He thought being the servant of Pharaoh's servant Potiphar was a big deal. Now the Pharoah himself places him in the highest place of command…he would be second only to the king. In the wisdom that came from following God, Joseph would oversee the crops production, would oversee building of storage facilities for the crops, and would see that his family and ultimately Israel…to be sustained through his obedience. Joseph had literally gone from prisoner to the right hand man of the Pharoah. We see Christ, being placed in bondage, undergoing severe persecution, but now seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

How much suffering had to take place before he was given this title? How many times had Joseph said, Lord I give up, I can’t take it, I can’t handle this any more? But here is the thing we tend to forget. God will not force us to serve Him. We have to be available for God to use us, and if we continue to follow Him, He will use us for great and mighty things.

Comes Full Circle

Genesis 45:1–8 ESV

1 Then Joseph could not control himself before all those who stood by him. He cried, “Make everyone go out from me.” So no one stayed with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers. 2 And he wept aloud, so that the Egyptians heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard it. 3 And Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still alive?” But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed at his presence. 4 So Joseph said to his brothers, “Come near to me, please.” And they came near. And he said, “I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. 5 And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life. 6 For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are yet five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. 7 And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. 8 So it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt.

During the famine, the same brothers that sold him into bondage came to Egypt to buy enough food to sustain them. Not knowing, that what they did to get rid of a personal pain, God would turn into a blessing to sustain His people. This would not have happened if Joseph would have still been angry with his brothers. What if he still had a grudge? Though Joseph would test and try his big brothers, he would eventually stand before those who hurt him deeply and did so much wrong against him and reveal his true identity.

His brothers had not seen him in about 23 years. Now, here he was standing face to face with them as the supreme ruler of Egypt second only to Pharaoh. He had the power of life and death over them. They were afraid of him, yet Joseph forgave them, called them close to him, and provided their needs.

Praise God, today we have a Savior that stands before us, looking at those who hurt him deeply, who continue to do wrong against Him, and simply wants to reveal His true identity to them!

Conclusion

The story of Joseph is a story that struggles at the intersection of real life and real faith.  It tells us that life must be lived at great risk, in the face of deceit, temptation, and seduction.  Life must be lived in the midst of power and injustice.  We are both children of God and children of the world and it is often tempting to choose one at the expense of the other.

Life can be unfair, but through it all God is there – with us, with those who are treated unfairly – reminding us that it doesn’t have to be this way – and promising that it won’t always be this way.

Don’t be discouraged by the unfairness you see in the world. Know that God is with you and that with God a different way is possible – a way where there is more fairness for all people.

May we be the kind of people who fully rely on God and fully engage the human experience. And as people of faith, followers of Jesus who trust that through death comes resurrection, may we experience a hope like the hope Joseph had . . . a hope that will carry us through any suffering and injustice that we must confront in our world.

When we find ourselves holding lemons, lets never forget…God may just be waiting to turn them into lemonade.