Sermon Tone Analysis
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God’s Providence Provides Courage for Tomorrow
Opening:
Smoke Signal
The only survivor of a shipwreck washed up on a small uninhabited island.
He cried out to God to save him, and every day he scanned the horizon for help, but none seemed forthcoming.
Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a rough hut and put his few possessions in it.
But then one day, after hunting for food, he arrived home to find his little hut in flames, the smoke rolling up to the sky.
The worst had happened; he was stung with grief.
Early the next day, though, a ship drew near the island and rescued him.
“How did you know I was here?” he asked the crew.
“We saw your smoke signal,” they replied.
Though it may not seem so now, your present difficulty may be instrumental to your future happiness.
John Yates, Falls Church, Virginia, quoted in Leadership, Winter Quarter, 1992, p. 57
When we are in the midst of tribulation, it is easy to despair over our circumstances.
However, if we commit our way to God, we find He always has a plan.
He is always working for our benefit and preparing us to benefit others.
He is always present.
He is always working for our better good.
If only we could trust that, then we can feel peace and comfort in the midst of anything life throws at us.
Joseph’s story is evidence of exactly that.
As we read about his life, it gives us encouragement for anything we could possibly face.
Stand as I read from today’s text, Genesis 39:1-5
The Word of God for the people of God.
Thanks be to God!
Pray
Sermon Intro:
The account of Joseph’s life is great drama.
The evidence is seen in the many plays, videos and television movies written about it.
It contains violence, sexual drama, and ends with a sense of, “and they lived happily ever after.”
Of course, the “happily ever after part” doesn’t really happen until Christ’s return.
But it feels like it is there in this account.
When we left off last week, we had this great cliff hangar ending.
Jacob is mourning the son he thinks has been killed.
He declares he will mourn until he dies.
Even as the chapter shares of Jacob’s despair we find Joseph being bought by Potiphar in Egypt.
We can kind of relate.
There have been stories in our time of children who have disappeared and presumed possibly dead, only to be found years later.
It always makes us heart sick for the years that the family lost being together and the horrendous experiences of the children.
Joseph lost everything he knew.
A father who loved him dearly.
Brothers, even though they did not get along so well, it still was a sense of protection for Joseph until the day they betrayed him.
He had wealth and authority, but now he is the dregs of society.
A slave in a land and culture far different from what he knew.
These people do not serve God.
They have many gods of their own.
Joseph doesn’t even speak their language.
Everything around him and happening to him is foreign.
I doubt that any of us can even begin to imagine the fear he must have felt.
Yet, even though we are not told as much.
Somewhere, Joseph must have placed his trust in God.
I am not talking a little trust, but all out submission and trust in God.
This becomes evident as his life’s story progresses.
The first thing we notice is...
A. God Blesses His Faithful Servants Genesis 39:1-6a
Throughout these events, we are consistently told that “God was with Joseph.”
This part becomes obvious, but not so obvious to us is the name of God used in this account.
“The Lord” used here is Yahweh.
This is the personal covenant name of God.
No character within this story uses this personal name of God, not even Joseph.
The narrator, Moses is given this name to use to signify that there is a special personal relationship happening here.
Joseph has a personal relationship with God sealing God’s covenant promises in his life.
We are told that everything that Joseph put his hand to was successful because of God’s blessing.
Now Potiphar knows a good thing when he sees it.
So he promotes Joseph to be over the entire household and fields.
All except what he eats.
Now, remember that Joseph was only 17 years old when he was sold.
He would have had a bit of a learning curve.
You know, learning the language and the culture within which he is working.
Learning what is expected of him and so forth.
It is hard to know how long he worked for Potiphar before Potiphar promoted him.
I would think it would be long enough for Joseph to understand things around both the house and field.
If you are curious about his being in charge of everything except what Potiphar ate, well it has to do with the fact that he is still a Jew.
The eating habits of the Egyptian were tied in with their gods.
The food had to be prepared a certain way for this reason.
So this detail was left to another Egyptian who understood these fine cultural details.
In time, things would begin to fall into a routine for Joseph.
He would begin to settle in.
I am sure he still really grieved the loss of his family and all he knew, but he was able to move on and begin to find some normalcy again.
However, life never goes on smoothly forever.
We know that don’t we?
Just about the time things begin feeling really good we face...
B. Trials that Test Our Faith Genesis 39:6b-18
Genesis 39:6b-7
Genesis 39:6b (NIV)
... Now Joseph was well-built and handsome,
Joseph was perhaps young enough when he began in his duties, that he did not attract the wife’s notice, but now he has matured and his physique has filled in.
They lady has lots of servants taking care of things, the husband is busy with Pharaoh’s affairs (pun not intended!)
:-).
So the mistress of the house has too much time on her hands.
She is probably spoiled and used to getting what she wants.
Now she has decided she wants Joseph!
I want to pause her a moment and step back a second.
I previously skipped chapter 38 of Genesis.
I may include it at the end of this series, but it is worth mentioning here, as it shows the difference between Joseph and his brothers.
You see, in chapter 38, Judah, sometime after informing his father of Joseph’s disappearance (alleged death, if you will), heads out of town.
He takes a Canaanite wife who then gives birth to 3 obnoxious sons.
Two of which are so wicked God kills them.
Judah finds his firstborn son, Er, a wife named Tamar, but Tamar becomes an early widow due to Er’s sinful demise.
By custom, Tamar is given to Er’s brother Onan, to provide children for his brother Er since they had not had any before he died.
This provided for the mother in the future and kept the family name going.
However, Onan was no better than his brother Er and God killed him also.
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