Presentation 55

Presentation 55

A piece of computer software has been designed for the motorist. Before setting off on a journey the departure point and destination are entered. A route is then provided, the journey time, distance and how much it will cost on petrol! Alternative routes are offered for those interested in spots of scenic or historical interest.

The Christian journey is not like that! God does not choose the easiest route or the shortest distance. His detours and diversions make no sense to us. We have no idea what the cost of our Christian pilgrimage will be. If we did we might never start. There is an element of mystery in God’s plans.

Despite his sore experiences - Joseph, at the end of his life was still convinced that God’s ways are good! And his story is designed to strengthen our faith.

Introduction

Presentation 55

Joseph lived under the constant shadow of family tension. His brothers made no secret of their jealousy and hatred. So, when Jacob asked his younger son to go and enquire after his brothers’ welfare, his willingness to do so [v13] is all the more remarkable. He did not seek to excuse himself from the task. Nor did he undertake it in a half-hearted manner.

And when he found that his brothers and their flocks were not, where his father said they would be, he did not go home and say, ‘I tried to find them but they weren't there!’ His brothers’ hatred never dulled Joseph’s great love for them. What commitment!

Joseph’s Commitment

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When Joseph’s brothers saw him coming they began to plan his murder. It is clear from v18 that the momentum of sin had travelled far into the depth of their hearts. Not only were they jealous of Joseph their hatred has now galvanised into a murder plot. Twenty two years later the brothers would still vividly recall Joseph’s distress as he pled for his life and they would also remember their own indifferent hard-heartedness as they rejected his cries.

On that future day they said,

"Surely we are being punished because of our brother. We saw how distressed he was when he pleaded with us for his life, but we would not listen; that's why this distress has come upon us”. Gen 42.21

The Brother’s Revenge

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This hard-heartedness comes into sharper focus, when we see them sitting down to eat a hearty meal, while Joseph called out to them for mercy. Can you in some measure identify with Joseph? Have you ever thought, 'No one seems to care that I am suffering.' Are others indifferent to the harm that has been done to you? Are they blind to your bruised emotions? Perhaps the worst part about being down in the well of suffering is the conviction that no one cares.

Oh, if we were people of influence, or power, or could be of help to others then they might care. But the loss of influence, power, and usefulness can result in our phone calls being ignored. Others are too busy to sympathise with us.

The Brother’s Revenge

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This indifference is not only the product of the unbelieving world but sadly can be found within the Christian church. Paul admonished the Philippians : “Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others”. Phil. 2v4

Christians are not immune to indifference. Christian husbands can be insensitive to the frustration and bruised feelings of their wives? Christian parents can be too busy to hear the hurt cries of their children. Christian neighbours can turn a blind eye to the desperate, longing glances of those next door. We are all capable of sitting down to eat our hearty meals and stopping our ears to those crying in the well of suffering.

The Brother’s Revenge

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The most regrettable moments in our lives are not necessarily our experience of great injustices but our failure to heed the despairing cry of another. Think of the indifference of the rich man to the cries of Lazarus begging daily at his gate…Lk.16v19-31.

The scene at the well and Joseph’s lamentable cry was not something the brothers would easily obliterate from their memories in the years to come. Despite trying to lock away this particular skeleton in their most inaccessible cupboard it would jump at them in their unguarded hours. The sound of Joseph’s piteous voice and the sight of his agonised face would haunt their dreams.

The Brother’s Revenge

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During a family visit to Alton Towers theme park our children queued up for what was then the most talked of ride in the U.K- called the Nemesis - the name Nemesis was borrowed from the Greek goddess of retribution. As we watched people’s body being contorted and gyrated at great speed their feet dangling wildly in the air, the ride on this mechanical rollercoaster seemed well named!

There is however a more terrifying Nemesis, an awakened conscience! Our sin carries within it the seeds of its own retribution as Joseph's brothers would discover.

Can we learn from their bad example and determine to respond to those who are crying in the well of suffering within our hearing?

The Brother’s Revenge

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Joseph's brothers did have a change of plan cf v26. Judah, probably the worst of the bunch, suggested that they might spare Joseph’s life and sell him into slavery instead. And his reason for doing so? He says, 'after all he is our brother, our own flesh and blood'. What appalling hypocrisy! It was the profit factor that produced this suggestion and it had nothing at all to do with any residue of brotherly affection. By suggesting selling their brother Judah had simply added insult to injury.

The Brother’s Revenge

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Not all the brothers were insensitive. Reuben planned to save his brother. But his plan fell into the ‘too little too late’ category. Reuben cared for Joseph and had counselled against taking his life in v21-22. He planned to go away and then come back secretly to rescue him. Did he hope this would rehabilitate him with his father and right the wrong he had done him years earlier? Reuben meant well but his plan was flawed. When he came back his brother had gone! What Joseph needed was not a secret ally but someone prepared to stand up for him at his side and support his cause.

Reuben: Too Little, Too Late

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Failure to act decisively can implicate us in great injustices. Have you ever taken a stand at work, perhaps you have stood up for some moral principle only to be rebuffed. Afterwards, others have come to you and said. 'We want you to know we were behind you one hundred per cent. We admire the stand you took.' But they did not stand beside you when you needed their support. Their voices remained silent, when they might have made all the difference. This is but one of many examples of “too little too late”.

Reuben: Too Little, Too Late

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Now as if selling their brother into slavery was not bad enough the brothers compound their sin by deceiving their father. And what perverse pleasure they must have taken - smearing animal blood all over the despised coat of their father’s favourite. They allowed Jacob to think that his son had been torn to shreds by wild beasts. The news had a devastating effect. Something inside Jacob died!

These callous sons watched as grief debilitated their father but withheld from him the very piece of news that could have quickened hope in his heart.

How could they be such callous deceivers? They had learned deception in the home of an expert - Jacob. How often the sins of our former life come back to haunt us.

Jacob Deceived

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How did Joseph cope with the trauma of affliction and suffering? Abandoned by his bothers, the heir of the family fortune found himself sold as a menial slave in a foreign land.

The answer to how Joseph coped is found in 5 words that appear again and again in the narrative. We find them first in 39.2 ‘The Lord was with Joseph’. He was separated from family and all that was familiar. He had been treated despicably by his own brothers, sold into slavery, and brought into a land with a highly developed form of idolatry.

His was an uncertain future. Even then, he kept faith with God.

Joseph in Egypt

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Joseph had an unshakeable belief in the wise control and tender care of God in the midst of what the Puritan's describe as ‘the dark night of the soul’, and what Calvin describes as ‘the king of terrors’. Seeing no light at the end of the tunnel does not matter, if we are persuaded that God is with us in the tunnel. The Palmist writes:“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff they comfort me”. Ps 23.4

The sheep is not able to see the shepherd in the dark valley but feels the prodding staff, a reminder of God’s presence. God has his own ways of meeting with and comforting his people in dark valleys.

Joseph in Egypt

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God was with Joseph not only to comfort but also to deliver. Reuben’s rescue package failed to deliver. Why? His timing was deficient. But God’s timing in Joseph’s life was impeccable: the arrival of the merchant traders, his purchase by Potiphar in Egypt, his spell in prison, where he met the king’s cup-bearer… Pharaoh's dreams and Joseph’s interpretation. And at ‘the right time’ Joseph was raised to be prime-minister of Egypt. We do not know what plans God has for our lives. But one thing we need to be absolutely convinced of is that God’s timing is never too early and it is never too late.

Joseph in Egypt

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Do you feel than in life you have been presented with one set-back after another? You may think, whatever could go wrong has gone wrong. You may feel badly treated by family or friends to the point of utter abandonment. You do not understand what God is doing with you or to you. There seems no rhyme, nor reason to your setbacks, discouragements and difficulties. But if God is with you in all of this, even if you are not keenly aware of his presence, then you can be confident about the future.

Learn with Joseph to trust yourself to the mystery of God's providence in the darkest hour. To the God who has promised his people, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you’. Heb. 13.5

Conclusion

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