MPC 1st May 2005.May 1 - Genesis 37-50 - "Bad Plans, Good Outcomes"
Phil Campbell MPC 1st May 2005.
Have you ever had one of those days when things have gone totally pear-shaped? Maybe more than a day. Where things just seem to go so badly wrong.
Like the guy who was trying to get his mobile phone out of a garbage bin the other day. And ended up completely stuck. Head and shoulders. And they had to call the rescue squad to get him out.
Or the poor girl trying to sing the National Anthem in front of an audience of two million people before the Ice Hockey final. And forgot the words. Then slipped over on the ice.
Or the guy trying to change lanes on the Riverside expressway on Thursday, when he ended up running his Commodore right up the median barrier. So it was hanging in the air.
But when it comes to one bad thing after another, you can't beat the guy from Florida who was working on his motor bike on the patio. He was revving the engine, when somehow the bike slipped into gear.
And suddenly, he was dragged right though the glass patio doors. And ended up cut and bleeding in the middle of the lounge-room floor. Bad start to the day. But there's more.
His wife calls the ambulance. They take him to hospital. While his wife cleans up the mess. There's petrol spilled everywhere; she wipes up the petrol with paper towels, and drops them down the toilet.
A few hours later, her husband is home from the hospital. Looks at the damage, feels a bit depressed. Takes a toilet break. And while he's sitting on the toilet, decides to have a smoke.
Which is fine until he flicks the butt into the toilet bowl.
I won't go any further. Except to say that the same ambulance crew was called back to attend to the third degree burns on his backside; and when they heard what had happened, they laughed so much they dropped his stretcher. And broke his arm.
Of course, your own bad days might have a darker tone than that. Long hours in a doctor's waiting room. Or beside a loved on in a hospital bed. It might be your job. No matter what you do, you can't please the boss. And you're watching your career go backwards. Or your business fail. Maybe no matter how hard you try, you can't make ends meet.
Or it might be, as in the example we're about to see, it might be about being terribly mistreated. When you've done nothing to deserve it. And you want to say where is God? when that happens.
Today we meet Joseph, whose story takes up nearly all of the rest of Genesis. Last week we stopped at the end of Genesis 36. And today we pick up with the spotlight on Joseph, aged 17, who you meet in the second verse of chapter 37, tending the flocks with his brothers.
And if anyone could ask the question why do bad things happen to good people, it's Joseph. In fact, sometimes it seems the more he does right, the more the trouble.
So let's follow the story. And see where it takes us.
Chapter 37 verse 2, he's seventeen years old. We've seen already, he's the son of Rachel, Jacob's favourite wife. And Joseph and to some extent his younger brother Benjamin, out of all the 12, they're his favourite sons.
But most especially Joseph. Which it says in verse 3. "Now Israel," that's Jacob, "now Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons, because he'd been born to him in his old age, and he made a richly ornamented robe for him."
Which as you'd understand, made his brothers insanely jealous. Which was only made worse by the fact that Joseph kept telling tales about them.
And was made worse still by the fact Joseph had these dreams. Where in verse 7 he says they were binding corn out in the field, and his sheaf stood up. And the others bowed down. And then another dream with stars that did the same. And instead of just shutting up about it, seems like young Joseph was bragging for all he was worth. To the point where his brothers' jealousy was just about at boiling point. And even his dad had just about had with him as well.
Joseph's dressed up in his richly ornamented robe like a prince. But now he's dreaming the whole family's going to come and bow down to him. Which is crossing the line.
And in the second half of chapter 37, when he's sent out into the fields to check on his brothers, they've had enough. And quite bluntly, they want to kill him.
Now Joseph might have been a bit of a pain in the neck, but he didn't deserve this.
First up they're going to kill him and drop him in a hole. Verse 19 in chapter 37, they're out in the fields, they see him coming, they're saying let's kill him and throw him in one of these cisterns. Which were big underground water tanks dug out of rock.
And we'll say that a ferocious animal ate him. Then we'll see what comes of his dreams.
Reuben tries to stop them. The plan changes. Just take his coat. And drop him in the hole.
Which they do.
Until... and somehow, Reuben's gone off somewhere else... until they see a camel train. A caravan of Ishmaelites on their way to Egypt with a load of spices.
At which point Judah in verse 26 has an idea. Don't kill him. Let's sell him instead.
Which they do.
But what are we going to tell dad? They get Joseph's beautiful embroidered robe, the kill a goat, and they dip the robe in goat's blood. And they take the dripping robe back to their dad in verse 32, and they say look at this. I don't know if you've noticed how often dead goats and pieces of clothing come up in the story of this family. But every time, they're the tools of deception. And the brothers pull it off. They've sold their brother, and they've fooled their dad. In what I reckon has to be one of the most cold hearted scenes in the bible. A father inconsolable. While the cold hearted brothers look on.
And how are you feeling by this point if you're Joseph? Apparently next week on ER, they're showing the whole episode through the eyes of a patient. Well, look for a minute through Joseph's eyes. Totally unaware of your brothers plans, a friendly wave as you comes to them in the field with the pack of sandwiches; and they circle around you and they grab you. And they strip off your favourite coat. And before you know it, you're looking up a small patch of sky from inside the rough cut rock cistern. Rubbing the bruises from where you fell. And listening to the harsh laughter up above. And it gets worse. Because the next thing you know, there are other voices. And you're dragged out, and handed over, 17 years old... to slave traders. Tied by a rope to the back of a camel.
This isn't what you'd call a great day!
Chapter 38, the scene switches back to brother Judah; and a story that will make your hair curl.
A story of what seems to be Judah's absolute disinterest in righteousness. And Tamar, his widowed daughter in law, who'll do anything to get pregnant. Add this to your list of stories of deception. Because it's one more story of disguise, and mistaken identity. A story where Judah mistakes Tamar for a prostitute... and says come to bed with me.
They're words with an echo we'll see in the next chapter. Where we'll see the mirror image; exactly the same proposition put to Joseph, with very different results.
So Genesis 39, the spotlight's back on Joseph. Who's been sold as a slave to Potiphar; who, if you look at verse 1, is captain of the Pharaoh's guard.
And Joseph prospers. It's clear, isn't it, that even though his jealous brothers have sold him as a slave, even though his circumstances are in turmoil, God is over-ruling. Somehow bringing blessing from a bad situation.
So as slaves go, Joseph's an impressive example. Faithful, wise. Potiphar can see he's different. Potiphar can see that the LORD's with him, giving him success in whatever he turns his hand to. So Potiphar entrusts to him everything he owns.
And according to verse 6, all Potiphar has to do is play golf. "So he left in Joseph's care everything he had; with Joseph in charge, he didn't concern himself with anything except the food he ate." Life is good.
Until you hear the echo of those fateful words. The words we heard back in chapter 38. Come to bed with me. But in exactly the opposite situation.
You know, when it comes to the wives of the rich and powerful, you can't be too careful. I was reading about an Iranian Shopkeeper who was arrested recently because a judge was in the shop with his wife, and he accused the shopkeeper of winking at her. He called in the police. It turned out the shopkeeper had a squint. And he got off.
Joseph's not so lucky. Potiphar's wife takes A fancy to him. Chapter 39 verse 6, Now Joseph was well built and handsome, and verse 7, after a while his master's wife took notice of Joseph, and said "come to bed with me." Almost exactly the words that came from Joseph's sleazy brother in the chapter before. But now the roles are reversed.
I mean, if Judah had an offer like this, he'd be in bed like a flash. If Judah was here, he'd be the one making the proposition.
But here, like I said earlier, is the one man from this whole family who's a man of integrity. Here's the one man from this whole family who knows the difference between right and wrong. And does the right thing.
Verse 8. "But he refused."
I wonder if you've ever had an offer like that. Maybe it's been flattering. The opportunity to take advantage of the moment.
Let me suggest Joseph offers an excellent model at this point. Look at this words. First of all, he's loyal. He says no. He says, my master - your husband - he trusts me. Everything he owns he's entrusted to my care. He's with-held nothing from me except you... because you are his wife.
Which is exactly how it should be. You can be as generous as you like with your hospitality, you can be as generous as you like with your money, you can be as generous as you like with your car... but the one thing you don't share, the one thing you guard jealously... is your marriage relationship. Joseph says, you're his wife.
Now our culture these days, there's a funny double standard at work. Because on the one hand we're being constantly told not to judge people for their infidelity. We're told that the thing that matters is that you're in love. And if you're sincere about it, and if it feels good, and if it feels right to you at the time, then do it. And yet there's a media double standard at work, isn't there? And so a real distaste for the way Prince Charles so blatantly cheated on his wife. A real distaste for the way a David Beckham or a Shane Warne seem so casual about their marriages. Faithfulness in marriage matters. And deep down we know it. And Joseph knows it. And he gets it absolutely right in the words he says at the end of verse 9. Because it's more than just a matter of loyalty. He says it's not just my boss I'd be sinning against. He says, "How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God."
But verse 11, she's relentless. One day, he's in the house attending to his duties, and none of the other servants are around, and she tries it again. She grabs him by the cloak, and she says come to bed with me! But Joseph tears himself away and he runs. Verse 12, but he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house.
Can I lay it on the line very directly this morning: if you're here today and you're right on that borderline? Or even if you've crossed it? If you're on the brink of an affair, if there's even half the possibility of getting tangled up with someone else's husband or someone else's wife, listen to Joseph when he says it's not just betraying a friend and destroying a family; it's sinning against God. And run away.
Right through the bible, the message is the same; 1 Corinthians 6 verse 18. Flee from sexual immorality. Don't entertain the idea for a minute.
A Christian friend of mine found himself chatting online to a woman overseas; you know, it's one of those internet things where you type messages backwards and forwards with people you don't even know. And he realised after a while that he was enjoying it. He realised after a while that he was maybe telling her stuff in their conversations that maybe he wouldn't even tell his wife. He realised somewhere deep in his heart he was crossing a line.
At which point he did the smart thing, and he fled. Which in the context meant first of all telling his wife exactly what was happening. Which meant absolutely deleting the chat program from his computer. Which meant for him, phoning another Christian friend and explaining what had happened, to make himself accountable. Which meant, step 4, actually thinking through some painful issues in his marriage. And seeing a counsellor.
Which all might sound like radical surgery for a small problem. And yet he could see he was in danger of crossing the line. So he fled. If that's you... run away.
Joseph ran. But his incriminating cloak stayed behind.
And from this point on, he's going to be asking again what he's done to deserve such a hammering. Here's the guy who's been sold off as a slave by his brothers clawing himself back to respectability. Minding his own business. More than that, acting with absolute integrity.
And yet look what happens. Potiphar's scorned wife screams as Joseph runs. She holds onto the cloak til Potiphar comes home, verse 17, and lies to him. She says, "This Hebrew slave you bought us came to me to make sport of me. But as soon as I screamed for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran. Here it is. Look."
And the evidence speaks for itself. Potiphar doesn't stop to ask questions. He's furious. And Joseph is thrown into prison.
Where he stays, forgotten... for two full years. Sure, he rises to the top of the heap again. The Lord's with him in his circumstances. But they're terrible circumstances. He's put in charge of the other prisoners, he rises to the top of whatever heap he's dropped in. But even though in chapter 40 he interprets dreams for the cupbearer of the Pharaoh, and everything he says comes true, and even though he says to the cupbearer, "put in a good word for me when you get out," verse 23 in chapter 40 says, "the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph..."; he forgot him.
And it's not until Pharoah himself has a dream in chapter 41 verse 1, that anyone gives Joseph another thought. Two long years later.
Now I've got to say we're ripping through these chapters at a pretty fast rate. And I hope in your own time you're reading them carefully to fill in the detail. It's one of the most familiar stories in the bible. It's even an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical.
So stay with me as we overview chapter 41. Pharaoh, the great ruler of Egypt; Pharaoh has a dream. In fact, two dreams. They're dreams that are given by God. Seven fat cows, grazing. Followed in verse 3, by seven of the ugliest, scrawniest, gauntest cows you've ever seen. The skinny cows... eat the fat cows. Verse 5, he dreams again. Same dream; but this time, corn stalks instead of cows.
And when the next day he's talking about these weird dreams he had in the night, the Chief Cupbearer finally remembers. He says, that time I was in prison, there was this guy who could figure out dreams. The Hebrew guy. Joseph.
And so Joseph's brought in. He's dragged out of the dungeon, he scrubs himself up and shaves, verse 14, and he comes before Pharaoh. And he's about to go from zero to hero. Because even though Joseph can't interpret dreams, Joseph's God can. And Pharaoh tells him the details. Chapter 41 verse 17 to 24, the dreams are retold. Blow by blow. The fat cows, the skinny cows, the fat ears of corn, the skinny ears of corn.
And Joseph knows exactly what they mean. They mean seven years of prosperity. Followed by seven years of famine. They mean seven years of unprecedented economic growth. Followed by the recession they have to have. And through Joseph, God is giving them a warning of what's to come.
Joseph says, here's what to do. Find someone wise. And put him in charge. Store a fifth of the harvest in the good years. And disperse it in the bad years. Which is a good plan. And Pharaoh knows just the man to put in charge.
And in Genesis chapter 41 verses 27 to 40, Joseph has once again made it to the top of the heap.
Pharaoh says in verse 38, "Can we find anyone like this man, one in whom is the spirit of God?" And the answer is no. Joseph is absolutely distinctive. His wisdom, his discernment... second to none. Because in Joseph, is the spirit of God.
Forget about Charles in charge. In verse 41, Joseph is put in charge of the whole land of Egypt. He gets the signet ring. He gets robes of fine linen that makes his old coat of many colours look lame. He gets a gold chain round his neck. He gets a chariot. And he oversees the Egyptian economy through prosperity. And then through the famine. That comes exactly as he foresaw.
The fact is, God has put Joseph through some bad times... for a good reason. Good for Egypt. But good especially for his brothers. Who are caught up in the same seven year famine as Egypt. And are at the point of death. When they decide to go down to Egypt, where they've heard you can buy grain. And where, as you can see in chapter 42, they bow down in verse 6 to their young brother Joseph who they'd sold as a slave. Exactly as Joseph had dreamed so many years before. Pick it up in verse 6 and you'll see it. "Now Joseph was the governor of the land, the one who sold grain to all its people. So when Joseph's brothers arrived, they bowed down to him with their faces to the ground." And Joseph recognises them; but pretends that he doesn't. Because as we'll see next time, he's going to put them to the test.
But we need to jump ahead as we pull the threads together this morning to one of the key verses in the whole of the book of Genesis. That brings, in a sense, the story of Joseph to a close.
Because the fact is, if Joseph hadn't been in Egypt, and if Joseph hadn't been at the right place at the right time to interpret Pharaoh's dream... and if Joseph hadn't risen through the ranks to the point where he could ultimately save his family from extinction; then the promises of God to Abraham, the promises of God to bless the world through this one family line... would have all come to nothing.
The fact is, Joseph's brothers treated him like dirt.
And to top it off, he spent years in prison, unjustly accused as an adulterer.
And after their dad dies in Genesis 50, Joseph's brothers are worried. They say, What if Joseph holds a grudge against us? Verse 15. What if he pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him?
And so in a twisted sort of conniving way, they make up a story. They say, "Your father left these instructions before he died. 'I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins and the wrongs they committed in treating you so badly. So please forgive the sins of the servants of the God of your father.'"
And Joseph reads it. And he weeps.
And here comes the verse that I think so well sums up so much of what we've seen these past few weeks. As human bad choices are so often turned around. As the deceivers who so desperately want to bless themselves find themselves blessed by God anyway. Joseph says to them in verse 19, "Don't be afraid. Am I in the place of God?" I'm not going to seek vengeance.
And he says this. Which are the words I want to focus on. He says in verse 20, "You intended to harm me. But God... intended it for good, to accomplish what is now being done - the saving of many lives. So don't be afraid."
They're great words, aren't they... for our own dark times.
But before we go to our own situations, I want you to notice a trend. Because what Joseph is saying taps in to something deep about the way God does business. This is the God who sends his people saviours.
This is the God who can bring amazingly good results... out of seemingly bad events.
This is the God who fills Joseph with his Spirit so he can endure the hard times and save his family line. In spite of their appalling track record. In spite of betrayal; in spite of false accusation; God's actually going to use that stuff. And turn it around.
Their bad intentions... God's going to use for good.
I wonder, does that remind you of another situation?
Because I think it's meant to remind us of Jesus. The one on whom God had poured out his Spirit without measure.
And while the Priests and the Teachers of the Law and the powerful ones of Israel plotted against him, and while his friends betrayed him, and while he was arrested and whipped and spat on unjustly... in an incredible way, God uses that for good. Because the perfectly innocent one as he dies is taking our penalty for us. And so he saves us; price paid.
They meant it for evil. But God - in exactly the words Joseph used - but God intended it for good, to accomplish what is now being done - the saving of many lives.
Which is why Jesus can say as he hangs on the cross, "Father, forgive them. Because they don't know what they're doing."
And even bigger - in the same way Joseph is exalted and rules after he's humiliated; the crucifixion is followed by the resurrection. And the ascension of Jesus to rule at god's right hand.
All of which we need to keep in mind as we go through our dark days. Because no matter how dark your days, there's the example of Jesus to look to.
Paul puts it this way in Romans 8:28. A very famous verse. But look at what follows as well.
He says, "And we know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." In another version that so many Christians have memorised, it says "all things work together for good for those who love him and are called according to his purpose."
And yet so often it's hard to see that, isn't it?
And yet Paul goes on to say it's not because of our circumstances that we can be hopeful. But because of Jesus. He says, "If God is for us," still in Romans 8; "If God is for us," verse 31,
who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all - who will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies - who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus who died - more than that, who was raised to life - is at the right hand of God, and is also interceding for us. So he says, if that's the case... who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Trouble? Hardship? Persecution? Famine or nakedness or danger or sword?
Nothing. Which means in the dark days, in the times when nothing seems to go right, there's still every reason to keep going. Because Paul says you can be sure of this. That neither death nor life or the present or the future - nothing - will be able to separate us from the Love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. So keep remembering that. That no matter how dark your circumstances, God is not only in control in the most surprising ways; but he's acting with your ultimate good in mind.