JOSEPH
Genesis 37:23-27; 39:19-20; 40:14-15, 23
1. When I was a child often heard people say, “Life isn’t fair”…didn’t
really understand that statement at the time, but think have a little better
grasp of it now that I’ve lived nearly 70 years…
--the good guys don’t always win…
--everyone doesn’t live happily ever after…
--the prince doesn’t always end up with the princess…
--right does not always prevail over wrong…
--truth does not always win over falsehood…
--good does not always overcome evil…
2. Harsh reality is that we live in a world in which things happen
which seem patently unfair…for example it is unfair when--
--a baby dies before it has chance to really live…
--a child is killed in freak accident…
--a young adult’s life is suddenly snuffed
out in a moment of carelessness…
--an evil, dishonest person steals large
sums of money from an honest person…
--a family is devastated by the brutal acts
of lawless people…
--a good person suffers horribly from a
debilitating illness…
3. What do you do when life deals you an unfair blow?…in the Bible
there’s a story of a person who had more than his share of unfair experiences
in life…referring to Joseph, the favored son of Jacob…and from his experience
want to point out some things about overcoming unfair treatment…story of Joseph
encompasses 14 chapters in Bible…told in chapters 37 – 50 of Genesis…it’s an
incredible story from which there are many life lessons to be learned…want to
focus on just three little pieces of Joseph’s story this morning…
--Genesis 37:23-27 – Joseph had been sent by father to
check on his brothers…brothers didn’t think very highly of Joseph… like two
young teenage girls talking about new girl at school…”What do you think
about her?”… “I think she’s sweet and smart and cute.”…”You’re
right. I can’t stand her, either.”…probably
how Joseph’s brothers thought of him…was obviously his father’s favorite
son…Joseph delighted in telling brothers of his dreams which seemed to indicate
one day he would rule over them…finally they had enough of him and here’s what
happened…(text)
--Genesis 39:19-20 – Ended up being sold in Egypt to
man named Potiphar, the captain of Pharaoh’s body guard…worked hard, won the
trust of Potiphar and was given charge of the entire household…then another
unfair thing happened to Jospeh…Potiphar’s wife began to pursue Joseph…though
he resisted her advances, she made a false accusation about him…(text)
--Genesis 40:14-15, 23 – In prison Joseph correctly
interpreted a dream for the chief cupbearer of Pharaoh…made only one request of
the cupbearer…(text)
T.S. – At least three times
in his life Joseph was the victim of unfair treatment …want share with you two
things can learn from his example about overcoming such times in our lives…
I. To overcome unfair treatment must resist
temptation to become cynical toward people
1. If anyone ever had reason to be suspicious, cynical,
angry, and vengeful toward people it was Joseph…
--betrayed by his own brothers…
--lied about by the wife of a man he faithfully
served…
--spending two additional years in prison
because a man whom he had helped immensely simply forgot about him…
And all that happened to him before he was thirty
years old…those experiences would have been enough to make any person bitter,
cynical, suspicious, resentful, and desiring to lash out at others…
2. But I think it’s significant Joseph didn’t respond
that way…he didn’t sit around sulking and plotting at how he could get back at
those people who had treated him so badly…instead, he seemed to do just the
opposite…he used the unfair treatment he received from others as a springboard
to bigger, better things in his life…
--if when brothers sold him into slavery
he had been consumed with anger and bitterness toward them and with plotting
how to get even with them, would never have reason to head steward in the
household of Potiphar…
--if when Potiphar’s wife falsely accused
him he would have sat in prison feeling sorry for himself and consumed with
hate for her, he would never have become the jailer’s chief assistant…
--if when Pharoah’s cupbearer broke his
promise to Joseph and forgot about him for two years he had spent those two
years brooding about that, he would not have been ready to interpret the dreams
of Pharaoh when that opportunity came…
3. What want you to see is that Joseph refused to
let the mistreatment he received at the hands of some people to make him bitter
and cynical toward all people…
1.
A bright, gifted young man who first name was Phillips
was on verge of fulfilling life-long dream of being a teacher…having just
finished his formal education, was appointed to teach at the Boston Latin
School…to say the experience was a total disaster would be an
understatement…the students treated this sensitive young man horribly …locked
him in closet….spread explosive matches on classroom floor …even threw handful
of buckshot in face…before year was over Phillips resigned in disgrace an utter
failure at teaching…
2. But not end
of the story…did not let the actions of those students make him cynical about
people…went on to become a minister…his last name was Brooks and Phillips
Brooks was one of the most famous and effective preachers in American
history…he also penned the words to one of our most loved Christmas carols, “O Little Town of Bethlehem” [Brian’s Lines, March/April, 1998, pp.13-14]
1. All of us, at some time or another, will feel that we
have been mistreated by another person…when that time comes, as surely it will,
we can respond in one of two ways…
--from that bad experience can make
general assumption that all people are untrustworthy, that everyone will let
you down, that you can depend on no-one…and that path leads to a lonely,
bitter, unproductive life…
--or can recognize that actions of one
person not necessarily representative of all people …because one person lies/steals/cheats
does not mean that all people lie/steal/cheat…
2. If you want ability Joseph had to overcome unfair
treatment must resist the temptation to let the actions of a few people make
you cynical and bitter toward all people…
II. To overcome unfair treatment must resist
temptation to become cynical toward God
1. Joseph had amazing ability to see God’s hand in the
difficulties of his life…no matter what happened to him, he never lost faith in
God and in his belief that God was at work in his life…
2. Joseph had long time to think about what his brothers
did to him and all that followed in his life because of what they did…and years
later, when his brothers came to Egypt to buy grain he revealed his identity to
them…their natural response was to be frightened because they assumed that
Joseph would punish them for what they did…but look at what Joseph told them in
Genesis 45:7-8…he said, in effect, “You did not send me here, God did it!”
3. One of my favorite passages
in the entire Bible is Joseph’s statement to his brothers recorded in Genesis
50:20 – “And as for you, you meant
evil against me, but God meant it for good…”
4. And at every step of the way along Joseph’s difficult
journey we see evidence of his dependence on God…for example—
--When Potiphar’s wife tried to seduce him he said, “How
then could I do this great evil, and sin against God?” (Gen.39:9)
--To the baker and cupbearer in prison who were
downcast about the dreams they couldn’t understand he said, “Do not
interpretations belong to God?…” (Gen. 40:8)
--To Pharaoh who called Joseph before him to interpret
his dreams he said, “It is not me; God will give Pharaoh a favorable
answer.” (Gen. 41:16)
5. What want you see in that is Joseph, even when didn’t
understand what was going on around him, never lost faith it, confidence in,
became cynical toward God…
1. In midst of experience that we see as grossly unfair,
it is important to remember God is at work in our lives in such times…when we
grapple with trying to make sense of something which seems from our point of
view utterly tragic and totally senseless, we are much better off reaching out
to God rather than lashing out at God…
3. One person put it this way: “We have a tendency to type-cast God,
to decide for ourselves how He should work in our lives. We determine what we want to do, how we want
to live, with whom we want to relate.
Then we take our plan to God for His approval. And when our plans don’t work out, we cry out
in despair, ‘Where is God?’” [Brian’s Lines, March/April, 1998, pp.13]
2. And from Joseph we can learn God is right along side
us…He is constantly at work in our lives…He is ever walking beside us…and to
overcome unfair treatment we must not lose sight of that and become cynical
toward God…
1.
Perhaps you’ve heard the incredible story of Samuel
Mudd…he was a medical doctor in the Washington, D.C. area who received a knock
on is door late one night…there was man with a broken leg which needed
treating…unknown to Dr. Mudd the man was John Wilkes Booth, the assassin of
President Abraham Lincoln…Dr. Mudd was later arrested and unjustly convicted of
harboring an assassin…he was sentenced to life in prison…sent to Fort Jefferson
Florida…but apparently God had a reason for Dr. Mudd to be in that prison at
that time…an epidemic of yellow fever swept through the prison…270 of 300
prisoners caught the disease…Dr. Mudd began to treat the prisoners and as a
result of his tireless effort only 38 of them died…the surviving prisoners
petitioned President Andrew Johnson for Mudd’s release…on March 11, 1869 he
received a full presidential pardon…
2. When unfair treatment comes our way it helps to look
for how God can work in our lives in such times…
Conclusion
1. The name Joseph
means “increaser”…if you want your life to increase in meaning and
quality, especially in the face of unfair treatment, do what Joseph did…don’t
become cynical toward people and don’t become cynical toward God…
