Text: Genesis
37:1-4: And Jacob dwelt in the land wherein his father was a stranger, in the
land of Canaan. These are the
generations of Jacob. Joseph, being
seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren; and the lad was
with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives: and Joseph brought unto his father their evil
report. Now Israel loved Joseph more
than all his children, because he was the son of his old age; and he made him a
coat of many colors. And when his
brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated
him, and could not speak peaceably unto him
Genesis is
derived from the Hebrew word Geneseos and the Greek
bereshift, meaning, “in the
beginning”; “by periods”; “coming into being”; “source or origin”; “birth”. It’s from another Hebrew root word reshiyth
(ray-sheeth’) meaning, the first,
in place, time, order or rank (specifically a first-fruit); chief.
It’s the first book in the Old Testament. The Old Testament books are designed to show
us the many ways and various means of how God was preparing the way for the
coming of His Son Jesus the Christ. The
central purpose in the Divine Incarnation, were prefigured before-hand.
St. John 4:24:
God
is a Spirit. He
is Spirit Mind! That tells
me, He is invisible or not seen. He
doesn’t have a physical body. In order
to be seen He need a representative,
agent, ambassador, or He need a person to act on or in His behalf. What God did was manifest the character and
life of Jesus prior to His physical manifestation through seven prominent persons
in the Old Testament that I’ll make mention of.
- When He showed forth “leadership” – He sent Adam.
- To show forth the “death of His Son” – He used Abel.
- When He wanted a “refuge for His people” – He used Noah.
- When He needed a “Priest” – He pointed to Melchizedek.
- When He needed a “Prophet” – He sent Moses.
- When He needed a “King” – He appointed David.
But the fullest and most striking of all these personages was Joseph.
- He showed forth His “Heirship”.
The “heir” is legally
entitled to the estate upon the death of another. Joseph’s history and Christ’s can be traced
fully for a hundred similarities.
In the last thirteen chapters of
the book of Genesis, the focus is on Jacob’s large dysfunctional family, and it
particularly focuses on one of his sons, Joseph.
The text opens with the
generations of Jacob who married two sisters, and had two mistresses on the
side. They had a total of twelve sons,
two of which were murderers, one a sex offender, and a daughter who was
raped. Can you imagine the constant
conflict and competition between mothers and children? This is why polygamy was never part of God’s
plan in the New Testament. It was
forbidden because it led to one big unhappy, messed up family.
Things are no different
today. Chaos is still reaping havoc in
many families today. Why? We live in a time of unprecedented
self-centeredness, a time of envy, strife, divisions, immorality and broken
relationships. Living in such a family,
can be very difficult to live for God.
But it is not impossible, as we will see.
Joseph was sent here on “divine assignment”. He
lived through difficult circumstances in the midst of a troubled family. He is now seventeen and feeding the flock
with his brethren.
Circumstances are facts or conditions connected with or
relevant to an event or action.
Someone said that life is ten
percent of what happens to you and ninety percent of how you respond to what
happens to you. Life circumstances can
control our lives if we allow them too.
Have you ever told someone that
you are doing alright “under the
circumstances”? Well, “Get
out from under the circumstances”! Don’t
allow them to control you. I know some
dreamers: “Oh if this or if that was
different, I would do such and such a thing”.
But nothing changed and the end result, nothing accomplished.
What about us today? Every person is different. We all have particular circumstances in our
lives. All of us have a choice to make
as well. We can choose to remain “under
the circumstances” and be controlled by our circumstances, or we
can choose to “overcome or rise above them” by relying on God who is
greater than any or all our circumstances.
Our text today is the story about
a seventeen year old teenager, Joseph, who is dealing with some circumstances
of life regarding his family. Joseph is
Jacob’s second youngest son out of thirteen children.
From about thirteen years from the
time he was seventeen to thirty, things/circumstances did little else than go
wrong for him, humanly speaking.
Yet in these early life circumstances God was shaping Joseph in
preparation for what was to come.
Look at Joseph’s family
background. Where did Joseph come
from? What were his family ties? All of us have them and they mean something. No other teenager can boast that his great
grandfather is Abraham; his grandfather is Isaac; and his father is Jacob, the
forefathers of the Israelites.
One thing I do know is this, “trouble
has no respect of person”. No
matter who you are, the office you hold, no matter the amount of money you
have, no matter how gifted or anointed you may be, somewhere along life’s
journey, you will meet up with the thing called “trouble”!
This family who became the nation
of Israel was no stranger to trouble.
Jacob was father over a troubled dysfunctional family. Meaning, the family was not operating
properly or normally. They were flawed,
broken, defective, unfit, sick, unstable, maladjusted, distressed, disordered,
etc. The root cause of dysfunctionality
is the entrance of sin into the human race.
Sin means to miss the mark or step
beyond boundaries of the divine law.
As long as sin is present, even the best relationship will be less than
perfect.
Galatians 5:19-21 describes these imperfections as works of the flesh that works
internally and externally through emotions in the manifestation of hate, wrath,
etc. The flesh being the corrupt nature,
with its wants being contrary to the spiritual nature wants.
Once sin sets in, it will distort
everything we do and say. It will color
life so that no marriage, no family, no parent-child relationship is truly
perfect.
One of the strange dynamics in
family life is when children grow up they often repeat the mistakes of their
families. It’s been said that we are
products of our environment. When it
comes to marriage and parenting (good or bad) we learn in the home. The end result is, dysfunctional families can
create dysfunctional families for generations.
Joseph was born at the end of
Jacob’s carnal life, while the older siblings saw him at his worst. Joseph escaped all the bad experiences of
life in Haran, the others didn’t. Joseph
was companion only to the changed Jacob.
Let’s examine the family struggles: Deceit
– deceiving someone by concealing the truth, lying, and backstabbing. Joseph’s father, Jacob was a cheat, a con-man. His character was revealed at birth when he
grasped his brother, Esau’s heel while in the womb. He was given the name or his name means deceiver, trickster, supplanter. He lived true to that name. He deceived his father into placing the
blessing of the birthright on him that belonged to Esau. When the truth came to light, Esau vowed to
kill him. But Rebekah, Jacob’s mother
sent him to live with his uncle Laban.
He was a schemer himself who cheated Jacob and treated him like a
slave. But you know something, “You
reap what you sow”! Laban gave
Jacob the same dose of medicine he had given to Esau. Laban tricked him out of something that
rightfully belonged to him, Rachel. So Joseph’s
parental history was not ideal by any standards.
We see deceit and division. Have you ever heard parents or grandparents
talk about their family? For some, you
would think they dropped right out of heaven.
They are so perfect. But to
understand the animosity toward Joseph, I have to show the relationship between
Jacob and his wives.
The first eleven children born to
Jacob were ten sons and one daughter.
There were four mothers: Leah and
her handmaid Zilpah; then Rachel whom Jacob loved and slaved for fourteen years
to have and she couldn’t conceive so she gave her maidservant Bilhah to
Jacob. Here you have eleven
children. Then finally scripture said, “God
remembered Rachel and she conceived and bare a son and called his name Joseph”
Genesis 30:22, and later came
Benjamin. What a family, one father,
four mothers: two were wives, two
concubines, twelve sons and one daughter, and at the end of a mixed up,
complicated family, Joseph arrives. Can
you imagine the constant conflict, competition, and jealousy among the mothers
and the children? That’s why polygamy never was a part of God’s plan in the New
Testament. It was forbidden.
Death’s in the family:
Joseph growing up, Rebekah his grandmother died; then his grandfather
Isaac died. The one that broke his heart
was the death of his mother Rachel. The
threads of pain, sorrow, and bereavement were woven into his life. This family had many twists and turns that
could have turned Joseph bitter toward God and others, but he rose
above the circumstances to be the incredible man of God he was.
What about your background? Are you living amongst a crowd of conniving,
selfish, miserable people? Do you have
family members more interested in money and material gain than in spiritual
gain? They’d rather gain the whole world
and lose their soul. It had to be a
tough and lonely road for Joseph. But in
the rough and tough tumble of a less than perfect family, God was preparing him
for the role he had planned for him.
There are people all over the
world who are bitter about their background or position in life. “If only this”, “if only that”,
moaning and groaning. “If
only I was taller”; “if only I was thinner”; “if only I drove a Mercedes”; “if
only my family was normal”. Not
once did Joseph cry “If only my”!
Look, I don’t care what your
background is, how dark your circumstances, how thin your wallet, how lacking
your opportunity for advancement maybe, God said, “Them that honor me, I will
honor” (1
Samuel 2:30).
The favorite son:
Have you got favorites in your family?
Do you know families that do?
Parenthood is no easy task, whatever its definition. And one of the deadliest traps is when a parent
shows favor to one child above another. Favoritism
is a monster! Was it right? No! It
can be devastating! Jacob was the
classic passive parent. Joseph was his
baby boy, born in his old age to the only woman he ever loved, Rachel. She was a stunningly beautiful woman and
surely Joseph inherited her good looks.
Now she’s dead and Joseph is a constant reminder of the woman he labored
fourteen years to have. Oh no, he didn’t
have a problem letting the others know where his heart was.
Here’s the thing, when he gave
Joseph that coat of many colors that really pushed the brothers over the
edge! Nobody else had one like it. They knew that coat wasn’t for a working man!
Jacob was clearly marking Joseph
for leadership! Meaning, the wearer was
an overseer, a master. It was a robe of nobility! Can you imagine his brothers looking at that
coat as a constant reminder of Joseph’s favored status? They hated him!!
The “coat” was a symbol of “TRUTH”
given by our Heavenly Father!!! It was one
piece and it was “seamless”! Jesus’ robe was of one
piece and “seamless”,
meaning – “truth must be whole”.
When Joseph was accused of being a
tale-bearer, I think not, because he embodied the very character of Christ
– “THE
TRUTH TELLER” Himself!!! So Joseph was bound to the “truth”
and nothing but the “truth”!
Joseph’s coat was multi-colored,
symbolizing infinite perfection, priesthood,
denoting royalty, high honor, and rank. It was worn only by the “chief” and the “chief
heir”! It also represented “righteousness”
which is the color “white”or “the light of God” out of which comes all the
other colors. With every color there is
a spirit of God, a name of God, and a gift
that goes with it. Although the truth is
whole, it can be separated into division or parts because Christ’s Body is many
membered, but yet one body:
- 1 Corinthians 12:12-13: For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews of Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.
His brothers caught on that Joseph
was replacing Reuben as “heir” to the birthright and they felt inferior to him.
To add insult to injury, Joseph is
a dreamer and interpreter of dreams. He shared the meaning of two dreams
indicating they (the family) would bow to him.
That was the last straw!
The one they hate, after years of watching their father pamper him as if
he was a prince, they felt he should have been doing the same share of the
work, and they weren’t having it!
- Genesis 37:4: They hated him and could not speak peaceably to him. Vs 5: And they hated him yet the more! Vs 8: And his brethren said to him, “Shalt thou indeed reign over us”? “Or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us”? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words.
Hebrews took dreams seriously,
believing it was a message from God and a sign of the future. Joseph’s brothers from that point plotted to
kill him.
Jesus’ brethren (the Jews)
according to the flesh (four gospels) hated Him for the same reasons and sought
to kill Him! Jesus said, “If
the world hate you, understand that it hated ME first” (John 15:18).
Can you see what favoritism
does? It fuels jealousy so deadly, it
can kill. It breeds division and brings
discord to families.
Hate is a strong emotion. It’s an intention and passionate dislike for
someone. Envy is worse! It’s a personal emotion. The danger is if you live in it, it leads to
jealousy, the most violent of all emotions.
- Proverbs 14:30: A tranquil heart is life to the body, but (envy) passion is rottenness to the bones. It will consume you!
- Proverbs 27:4: Wrath is fierce and anger is a flood, but who can stand before jealousy?Jealousy says, “I’m jealous because I don’t have what you have”. Or “because you’re in that position and I’m not”.
Envy and jealousy
fit together. It will lead to murder. These brothers were walking, not in the fear of
God, not even in respect for their earthly father, but in full fledge flesh
desire, the things mentioned in Galatians
5:19-21. You can take it to the bank
the kingdom of God does not belong to people who live in envy, factions,
division, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, etc. “I’m
not talking about you all, I’m talking in relation to Joseph’s brothers!!!
Faithful Teenager:
This seventeen year old teenager is marching to the beat of a different
drum. Study the meaning of Joseph’s name
and you will see why.
He had two names. Joseph was his human name; Zaphenath-paneah,
was his spiritual name, meaning, revealer
of secrets. It also means the savior speaks and lives; savior of the universe;
salvation of the age; sustainer of the life of the world.
Pharaoh gave him that name because
of the divine wisdom in him, Genesis
41:45. The one Joseph foreshadowed
had two names: “Jesus” (human) - “Christ” signifying His Anointing: “His humanity
as “Son of Man”: “Son of God”,
His Deity!!!
This was significant because
Joseph was anointed from birth. His name
also means “ADDER”. The first
Adam was the great “Subtractor” and the last
Adam is the great “ADDER”!
Through the one, “the Subtractor”,
men lost and by the other, “the Adder”, all who believed are
saved! How many know Christ is the one
who “adds”
to the Kingdom, through the ultimate results of His death?
- John 12:24: Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abides alone; but if it dies, it brings forth much fruit!
Joseph had no say in his
position or status: Ephesians 1:4: For
he chose us in him before the foundation of the world!
My sister and my brother, you
don’t have a choice in your status either: John
15:16: “You did not choose me, but I chose you”! God is
saying, “I appointed you”! Hear me, “If God chose you, no devil in hell
can touch that”! He might kick up some dust
and he might knock you down at times, as long as he doesn’t knock you out!
Joseph was thrown into a pit. You might fall into a pit (discouragement; struggles of life), a
place where you feel all alone and have to ask, “God is you still here”? But hear me, “If God is for us, who can be
against us” Romans 8:31?
Joseph was separated from his
brothers. He stood apart in so many
ways, especially in conduct. Our text
states, “He brought unto his father their evil report” Genesis
37:2. Did that make him a
tale-bearer or a snitch? I don’t think
so! He was concerned about his father’s
reputation and God’s honor. Here he was
living in the midst of a dysfunctional family where rape, cruelty, murder, and
incest stained the lives of his brothers and sister, as they lived for
themselves and the devil. Don’t think
the older brothers didn’t try to sway him to their way of life, but Joseph was
different!
Have you ever been solicited to be
a part of the “in-crowd” - those that tried to get you to attend wild parties,
drink their alcohol, and use their drugs?
Will you dare to be different?
Will you dare to obey the Word of God which says, “And be not conformed to this
world” Romans 12:2? Don’t let the world around you squeeze you
into its mold! Take a stand openly and
defiantly! Your walk with Christ can’t
be the same as the world.
God offers hope! How?
- God’s training program is through waiting, suffering, and sin. You don’t have to sign up for them because God is going to use them for your good.His training route for you may take you along a path you’d never have chosen yourself. He will take you down a path that will wind through the valley of deep shadows and take you into battles from which you will emerge with wounds whose depth only you and God know. But I declare unto you, He will be with you every step of the way, as He promised, shaping you for greatness, for glory, for holiness, in His sight, through each of your difficult and painful experiences.
- Romans 8:28: And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
- Hebrews 13:5: He hath said, “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee”.
- What man designed for “Evil”, God designed for “Good”!Genesis 45:4-5: And Joseph said unto his brethren, “Come near to me, I pray you”. And they came near. And he said, “I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt”. “Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that you sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life”. Vs 7: “And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance”.Joseph was saying to them, “It was not you who sent me here, but God”! He said, “Your intention was to harm me, but God intended it for good, to accomplish what’s now being done, the saving of lives”!
- Our salvation comes through a Righteous One, through sin and suffering, and through the Lion of the tribe of Judah, who is the Lamb who was slain from the beginning, Revelation 13:8.
In this story, we find a righteous person who is sinned against and suffers greatly,
especially at the hands of his own family.
Yet God uses sin and suffering to bring physical salvation to the whole
world.
- 2 Corinthians 5:21: For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
Jacob’s blessing upon his son, Judah, was that Messiah
would come through his family, Genesis
49:8-12, and He did. All these
things came to fulfillment in Jesus being born from the tribe of Judah!
Be a Joseph and know that you can “rise
above your circumstances”!!!
Despite his circumstances and it wasn’t his choosing, but
nevertheless, his faith was in his God!
He was able to rise above his circumstances!!! So can we rise above ours!!!
Evangelist Brenda Hansley