The Life of Joseph #2

Becoming a Believer of Integrity and Forgiveness
The Life of Joseph #2
August 10, 2008
Pastor Ben Fleming

I kept seeing this sign all around Carson City and noticed the word the politician had at the top of his list – integrity. He obviously believes that he is a person of integrity. I wonder if he really knows what it means? How easy is integrity to loose? How do you know if you have integrity? Webster’s Dictionary says that integrity is “adherence to moral and ethical principles, soundness of moral character and honesty……. I do not even know this city politician and he is calling himself a man of integrity – perhaps he is. Is integrity a character quality that I can say I have or must others think of me and call me a person of integrity. If my actions do not match my values, will I get caught? If I do not get caught then do I still have integrity? To have integrity your actions must be determined by your values. You can say that you believe something but if your actions do not show it you are fooling yourself. Blank

We are studying the life of Joseph in the book of Genesis. Please open your bible to chapter 37. Last week we began by examining briefly Joseph’s family background. We found that Joseph was raised by a father who was a deceiver – his father Jacob was sexually immoral – his father was passive and his father promoted jealousy, anger and resentment in his family and he played favorites in his family. Some of you could see yourself coming from the same family background as Joseph. We read the first four verses of chapter 37 and we found right away that Joseph brought a bad report about his brothers to his father – Jacob was encouraging Joseph to spy on his brothers. I want us to read the rest of chapter 37 so that we might see what Joseph did and how his brothers responded to him. Please stand with me as we read God’s Word.

We read that when Joseph went to his brothers he told them a dream that he had – he said, in his dream, he saw that one day his brothers would bow down to him, they said to him – “do you one day actually intend to rule over us?” and then the text tells us that they hated him all them more because of his dream and what he said.”…. If that was not enough --- Joseph tells them about another dream that he has and he even tells his father the dream. Notice that Jacob rebukes him for telling the dream – why he rebuked him we do not know but his brothers were jealous of him and the bible tells us that his father Jacob took the dream to heart….. perhaps Jacob sensed that God was in his son’s dream. Joseph’s brothers then go off with the herd of animals --- they end up in Dothan ---- after the brothers are gone with the animals his father sends him to his brothers – when his brothers see him coming… all of them want to kill him expect Reuben….. Reuben was the oldest of the brothers -- he talked the other brothers into throwing Joseph into a cistern or dry well. Do you remember Reuben? He was already in trouble with his father – he was the brother who committed incest with his father’s concubine. He knew that he was already in danger of loosing his birthright – so stopping his brothers from killing Joseph was really to protect himself. The brothers took Joseph and took off his ornamented robe that he was wearing and threw him into the well. (blank) They sat down to eat and looked up in the distance…. (photo) they saw a caravan of Ishmalites who were going down to Egypt and they came up with a plan and sold their brother as a slave to the Ishmalites for 20 sheckles of silver or about $13.00. Rueben comes back and finds his brother gone and was upset – what was he going to do now??? But together the brothers decided to deceive dad – (dad had taught them well)---- so they take Joseph’s coat – tear it up – kill a goat and dip the coat in the goat’s blood – they take it back to their father and tell him that an animal had killed their brother and torn him to pieces. Jacob mourns for his son and all the brothers come together to comfort him --- can you imagine that family??? The brothers had to be happy – but maybe they were sorry for their dad and then the text tells us that Joseph was sold to Potiphar – one of Pharaoh’s officials – the captain of the guard. What can we learn from this?? I want you to look with me at the error’s Joseph made and the brother’s responses.

Joseph’s Errors

1. He lacked discernment. He did not really see or understand how troubled his family really was. He did not see how his fathers actions had affected his older brothers. If you remember he was only 17 years old at this time. His father had been treating him with such love and attention since he was the first born son of his beloved wife Rachel who had died… We can conclude that Joseph’s heart was pure… but he lacked experience and wisdom which comes many times from growing older. He had the lessons of the school of hard knocks to go through. He most likely was ahead of his brothers spiritually but that did not prevent him from making some bad judgments….. His dad also set him up by playing favorites with him and giving him the coat which would have been hard for any teenager at that time to turn down. It would have been like giving him a brand new For Mustang to drive……….

God had given Joseph two dreams. We do not know how, but Joseph knew that his dreams were from God. They were prophetic - but Joseph made a serious mistake by telling the dreams to his brothers. He knew God had spoken to him but his youth and lack of discernment got him into trouble with his brothers who were already dealing with feelings of bitterness – hatred and jealousy. Joseph was living in a family that had gasoline poured all over it and now he was going to throw a match on it 2 times. 3 Lessons about discernment

* Youth will cause a person to say things at the wrong time and in the wrong way. Parents – your kids are going to say things to you that just come out of their mouth and later they are going to regret it. Understand that – accept it and teach them where they were wrong and how not to make the same mistake again.

* When you believe that God is speaking to you in some way – ask God to confirm it from the bible. It does not matter if you are youth or an adult. Wait and wait and wait before you say what you think God is telling you to say to someone. God did not tell Joseph to tell anyone his dreams at that time.

* Examine your motives in what you say. Joseph most likely told the two dreams to his brothers because he wanted them to accept him and think well of him – he did not think about what was going on in their hearts. Joseph needed discernment. ---- his second error

2. He lacked sensitivity. He did not consider the impact of his words upon his brothers. His words hurt his brothers and they sent the knife of their father deeper into their hearts. When Joseph told his dream to his father he was just trying to keep his father’s support and approval. But words matter. It matters what we say to one another and it matters how we say it. Pay attention to that teens…. Wives….Disrespect to a husband from a wife comes mostly from her words….. ladies when your husband feels disrespect - it makes it much more difficult for him to love you. Proverbs 10:19 “ When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise.” and I am sure that the apostle James had that in mind when he wrote in James 1:19 “My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.” Young Joseph lacked sensitivity in his youth. Parents understand your kids when it comes to sensitivity with their words but many adults today in the church need to grow up and become sensitive in their words as well. 3rd error

3. He lacked maturity. What God had said to him might have been true and it was…. but he was not ready at that time to take authority over his family. If you remember – his dream said that his entire family would bow down to him. When God spoke to him – God did not see Joseph stepping into that role and authority at the age of 17. God knew that His servant was going to grow and that it was going to take time and it was going to take suffering – temptation and testing in the life of Joseph for him to be ready to fulfill what God had revealed to him.
Joseph lacked maturity – sensitivity and discernment – how did the brothers respond???

The Brother’s Responses

* They took his coat (vs 23) “so when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe – the richly ornamented robe he was wearing.” This was a coat where the sleeves reached to the wrists and all the way to the ankles – it was beautiful and decorated. It was a coat that was worn by royalty. King David’s daughter Tamar wore such a coat. When she was raped by her brother Amnon – she put ashes on her head and tore the coat from top to bottom. This kind of coat was a symbol of purity. (blank) You remember that when Joseph spied on his brothers and gave dad a bad report about them --- it was most likely because his brothers were involved in some sort of immorality. The older brother Ruben who had already committed incest was most likely the teacher for his brothers. But, Joseph was devoted to purity as a teenager and we are going to see next week that his moral convictions as a young man become part of his life later on when sexual temptation comes right in front of him. 2nd response

* They cast him into a pit to remove him from their sight vs 24 “and they took him and threw him into the cistern. Now the cistern was empty; there was no water in it.” Ruben had talked them into not killing him but they wanted to get his robe from him and they wanted their brother out of their sight. These brothers were bitter. Dr Erwin Lutzer says in his book When you have been wronged, ”the impact of bitterness is not merely on the individual harboring it; bitterness also overflows.”……. When you are bitter you will always attempt to build an alliance – you will try to get others to agree with you and affirm your pain. Another way you will see bitterness is in angry living. For example: When a father is bitter – he is kind of passive aggressive in his behavior with his children and wife. One day he is Father of the year and the next day he blows up like Mount Saint Helens. Perhaps you had a father like that or maybe you have a father like that right now?????? There is no such thing as a bitter person who keeps bitterness to him or herself. Let me say that again so that you do not miss it. There is no such thing as a bitter person who keeps bitterness to him or herself. Look on your outline at these words the writer of Hebrews gives to us:

Hebrews 12:5 “See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.” Has that happened in your life in some way? It says that bitterness has a root and then it says that bitterness spreads. Everyone of Joseph’s brothers had been infected by a root of bitterness. Notice what it says is a result of bitterness in your life – you miss the grace of God. You miss joy in God. You look for joy in something else. You think joy will come your way when you get back at the person you are bitter against….. You need to pull that root up in your life. You need to get the person you are bitter against right in front of you and seek their forgiveness ---- you need to get them out of the cistern or well that you have put them in. You need to repent and stop missing the grace of God in your life. 3rd response of the brothers

* With hard hearts, they sat down to enjoy a meal while their baby brother was alone in a dark pit vs 25 “as they sat down to eat their meal, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were loaded with spices, balm and myrrh, and they were on their way to take them down to Egypt.” ……… A hard heart comes when you no longer hear. I once had a clock long ago and almost every hour it would beep on the hour – there was nothing I could do to get to stop except take the batteries out of it. Eventually the batteries died and the beeping stopped. That is what happens to you and me we try to conceal sin and our conscience finally dies and it no longer bothers you. Joseph’s brothers were like that. These brothers enjoyed their food and thought nothing of their brother. They did not give him any food or drink. They did not have to focus on ignoring him – they did not care. The beeping had stopped. Has the beeping stopped in your life??? Is there someone with who you have a hard heart and you just do not care??? Is there someone you have placed in a pit and you want nothing to do with them??? I know someone who thinks they have forgiven someone and yet they say that they will never see that person again – that is a hard arrogant heart. I am glad that biblical forgiveness and the tender heart of Jesus never says that to me. 4th response of the brothers.

* They sold their own brother into slavery, deciding to make a profit on his life vs 26 “Judah said to his brothers, “What will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? Come, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him…” Ruben is not present when the brothers see the caravan so Judah comes up with a plan to sell him to the Ismaelites. They not only get rid of their brother – make some money off him but they try to make themselves feel better by telling themselves it is okay because they are not killing him. And then the 5th response of the brothers

* They made a plan to deceive their father. Deception came back to the father of deception. The boys deceived their father in the same way that their father deceived his own father Issac when he stole his brother Esau’s birth right. You reap what you sow. The boys did only what their dad had done. They took the coat, tore it up, killed a goat and dipped the coat in the goats blood. Jacob examined it and saw that it was Joseph’s and concluded to himself, “it is my son’s robe. Some ferocious animal has devoured him. Joseph has surely been torn to pieces.” Jacob then tore his clothes and mourned for his son and refused to be comforted….. I will go down to the grave.” Jacob most likely knew that he knew he had a made a mistake with his son so he decides he will go to the grave blaming and never forgiving himself.

Application

1. We reap what we sow, but self punishment is not the answer to your problems. You will never find joy in God when you go on living like Jacob said he would. Every person in here has made mistakes – you have sinned against your children – you have sinned against your parents – you have sinned against your spouse. It is not God’s will that you go through life blaming yourself. It does not help – it only keeps the wrong going. There is forgiveness in Christ. Accept and give it to those you need to give it to. Some of you fathers need to seek sincerely forgiveness from your children.

2. All of us have factors, both within us and within our environment, that tend to cloud our thinking and blur our judgments. We are vulnerable to making unwise decisions when we are young. It does not matter how much we think we know there is much that we do not know. A lack of wisdom and experience will lead us to make naïve decisions. Story of the New River when I was 14. We must listen to those who are older and more mature but everyone of can cite instances where older people have made serious judgment errors as well. Growing older does not guarantee maturity that is why age alone is not the deciding factor of an elder in a church family.

3. All of us, not matter what our age, tend to make naïve judgments when we become anxious and insecure. This is especially true when we sense rejection. Everyone of us have felt rejection at one time or another. Every youth battles rejection – that is why peer pressure will cause you to something against God’s will – you listen to others instead of listen to God. I put in your program a memory verse and went to the trouble to have it put on card stock --- if you want to be like Joseph – take this verse and pray it through out the week – if want to rely on your own wisdom – throw it in the trash when you leave.

Let us pray.