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Sermon Notes of Rev.Dr.I.J.W.Oakley (19-7-1998 Guisborough Evangelical Church)
Like all stories in the Bible, there is an intensely human side to the story of Joseph, and as we read it we find it holds a mirror up to ourselves, for we can see ourselves there. At the same time, the unseen hand of God is to be discerned ordering events, shaping character, overruling adversity and human sin. As we introduce the story today, there shall be some general remarks about the significance of this story in the wider context of the Bible. We shall consider the very human circumstances in which the purposes of God are worked out, and the divine overruling of the plans of men to achieve His own ends.
The events in the story of Joseph are an important part
of the jigsaw of the story of God’s people. Many times later in the Old
Testament reference is made to how God delivered His people from Egypt – and
the story we have before us tells us how they got to Egypt in the first place.
After all, Abraham and his family were from the valley of the River Euphrates
(modern day Iraq). The story of Joseph explains how first Joseph went to Egypt,
and then his whole family.
About Joseph himself we know
more than we know about his great-grandfather Abraham, grandfather Isaac or
father Jacob. He was a very noble and exemplary person from whom we can learn
much. He faced adversity and difficulty, and later he took on the responsible
position of Prime Minister. Remember as we read it that Joseph’s God is our
God too.
Then it is worth noting the
remarkable parallels in the life of Joseph and the life of Christ. Both were
loved by their father, and sent on a mission by him. Both were rejected by their
brethren. Both were sold for money – Joseph for 20 pieces of silver, and Jesus
for 30. Both were humiliated, servants, sorely tempted but overcame, falsely
accused, respected by their jailer, the means of blessing to those who suffered
with them, they both suffered to advance God’s purposes, and both were exalted
after suffering – Joseph next to Pharaoh, and Jesus to the Right hand of God
the Father. Both were a source of blessing to the world. So we would say that
Joseph is a “type”, illustration or picture symbol of Christ.
Many instructive sermons and evangelistic messages have been written comparing the two. We are not going to emphasise this in this short series, but merely note the parallels and similarity. Our emphasis will be on the great theme of God’s sovereignty in the life of Joseph. His hand is controlling and governing all that happens. And we will observe the beauty and greatness of Joseph’s character in all that happens.
Joseph was God’s instrument and servant in his family circumstances. Here was this family through whom all families of the earth were going to be blessed because from them the Saviour would come. But what a family they were, and so typical of so many families in which people and men of God have grown up. There was jealousy, favouritism, bitterness, squabbling, plotting and scheming. Yet from this muckheap that wonderful character of Joseph emerged. Little things and small sins had enormous repercussions in the years that followed. Things that were said and done led to terrible ends and results.
It all began with the practice of polygamy – one man with several wives. The twelve sons of Jacob came from four different mothers – Leah, Bilhah, Zilpah and Rachael. The bickering and petty jealousies of the mothers were passed on to the brothers. The home resembled a bear garden at times – no wonder Joseph was glad to get out on his own sometimes. We do not have polygamy today, but we all know squabbling in large families, especially when they are all living nearby.
Then there was the issue of favouritism. Joseph was the favourite son of Jacob, because he was the son of his favourite wife, Rachael. He was probably all the more dear to Jacob because Rachael was now dead, having died giving birth to Benjamin. He was probably a very spoilt child. The gift of the richly ornamented robe (Genesis 37:3 NIV), or coat of many colours (AV) was an outright demonstration of this favouritism, for all to see. In actual fact, it probably was not a patchwork quilt of colour, as many envisage. The word literally means “coat of long sleeves”, or “coat reaching to extremities”, and was probably a linen white garment that went all the way to the wrists and ankles, with a narrow strip of colour round the edge of the skirt and sleeves – the kind of robe worn only by wealthy, kings’ sons, and those not having to work for a living. Working people wore short sleeved, coloured garments, which would not show stains or hinder them in their work.
The coat suggested a life of
ease and superiority. No wonder when his brothers saw that their father loved
him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him
(Genesis 37:4). What folly to make more of one child in the family than the
others. At the very least, resentment was inevitable.
Then there was the evil report
that Joseph brought to Jacob concerning his brothers. Was he a telltale, a spy
in the camp? And the dreams he had that suggested his authority and superiority
over them. It was one thing after another in this family, and a continuous
circle of envy, hatred, resentment and jealousy. Soon his brothers were sick of
the sight of Joseph, and it was a short step to making plans to get rid of him.
The chance came when Joseph was
sent by Jacob to visit his brothers and see how they were doing. At first they
plotted murder, but Reuben intervened and persuaded them to leave him in a pit
(so that he could rescue him later). Judah’s plan was to sell him into
slavery, have him taken off to Egypt, and dip his precious coat in kid’s blood
so that it looked as if he had been killed by an animal – end of story. But
this led to heartbreak of Jacob, and a bad conscience that troubled the brothers
for ever after (Genesis 42:21).
How typical of many families and
relationships – envy, spite, jealousy, backbiting, speaking first and thinking
after, deceit, storing incidents up in the memory and going over them – little
things, but when multiplied up, may not lead to slavery and murder but can lead
to very awful and miserable situations. There is no such thing as little or
unimportant sin, or isolated sin. They link in a chain leading to something evil
and ugly. When they are harboured or dwelt on, or gloated about, they can end
good relationships and bring an end to peace. Instead, they should be faced,
repented of, clear the air, and the way opened to restore the relationships.
Yet from such a family and
poisonous atmosphere one of God’s great men came. The situation not only shows
the sin of man, but also the grace of God. We must never give up, and say our
situation and background makes us a hopeless case – there is no limit to the
grace of God in people’s lives, despite their family background. Martin
Luther’s father was so brutal that Martin used to tremble at the very word
“father”. Lord Shaftsbury’s aristocratic mother and father took no
interest in him at all. George Muller, at the age of 14, while his mother lay
dying, was playing cards and drinking with his friends. Paster Hoi was once an
opium addict. Mary Slessor came from extreme poverty, had an alcoholic father,
and knew hunger and deprivation, the whole family living in one room with no
water, light or toilet. At 14 she worked 58 hours a week in the mills. She was
always conscious of her working class background, and was tongue-tied when in
the company of “better class people”. Yet she was one of the most
outstanding missionaries in West Africa. Because of her work and evangelism, a
whole society was transformed, schools were founded, twins saved from death,
regular killings ended, stealing slaves ceased, and hundreds won for Christ.
The lives of these people show the gospel is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes (Romans 1:16), and He is able to save completely those who come to God through him (Hebrews 7:25). Never despair of yourself or of your background. He is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us (Ephesians 3:20).
The Bible does not idealize its characters. A perfect
mirror is held up, and we are allowed to see the ugly side of the tapestry. In
doing so, it magnifies the grace of God, which forgives and transforms, and also
the providence of God, which works through circumstances and overrules the
actions of sinful man.
From Joseph’s standpoint,
things looked awful. His brothers hated him, and always spoke unkindly to him,
and then they seized him and sold him. Ahead lay false accusations, lies and
prison before the situation improved. For a long time, things went in a downward
direction. And yet at the end of the day, when the picture was complete, he
summed up his experiences before his brothers: do not be distressed and do
not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives
that God sent me ahead of you (Genesis 45:5). You intended to harm me,
but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of
many lives (Genesis 50:20).
God’s hand was in every event,
working out His purposes, e.g. Reuben’s advice not to kill Joseph, the
merchants turning up in the nick of time. Sin is not necessary, but it can be
used by God to advance His purposes. The hatred, envy and evil actions of the
brothers were used by God to get Joseph into Egypt, and his presence in Egypt
was used to preserve his family from starvation.
Men are fully responsible for
their actions. But God is always able to work through their sins and wickedness.
Two wheels in complicated machinery appear to work in opposite directions, yet
they interlock. The one is the means of carrying out the other. Nowhere can this
bee seen more obviously than in the Crucifixion. It was the means of the
world’s redemption.
The story of Joseph proves your wrath against men brings you praise (Psalm 76:10). One day this will be true of the whole of world history. It is very comforting, as life passes, to be able to look back on dark and mysterious events in life and trace God’s hand where we once saw only adversity, cruelty and malice. This is how to face the adversities of life, its discomforts and difficulties. This is the rock on which the Christian faith can build. It saves us from cynicism and pessimism and despair. It allows us to face life’s events with courage and confidence. We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28).
