Genesis-People Relating To God- Part 7-- Ripped Off Series

Part 7 of the People relating to God series from Genesis. Joseph part 1 of 2

Please use any or all of this material to further God's kingdom

All scripture is from the NLT bible

Ripped off !

Genesis – People relating to God

Part 7

Joseph

Genesis 37:1-36

Last week as we continued our study of people relating to God

I talked to you a lot about trading

We talked about good trades

We talked about bad trades

We took a hard look at Esau and his boneheaded trade

I want to continue on that line this morning

Have you ever made a trade where you felt like you got ripped off?

I mean

Someone really skinned you

Even to the point of outright thievery

I have had that happen a few times in my life

We would be here all day if I tried to tell you about every one of them

And

If I was to open the floor up to all the times in your life

We could be here for weeks

So

Just

Let me tell you about one particular time in my life

Where I got ripped off- royally

I was about 20 years old

Fairly newly married

And

Completely full of pride

I mean

There was nothing that I did not think I knew

Nothing that I did not think I could do

So

I found a pickup truck that I thought I really needed

It was not really anything special

Just an old Chevy ½ ton

Long bed

Not pretty but a seemingly solid truck

And

The price was right

So

I went and made a trade with the guy at the car lot for it

I should have swallowed my pride and took my Dad with me

I could have taken one of the older guys I worked with

To check out the truck

But

Remember said I was full of pride – all puffed up

So I figured I could do this on my own

So

I went to the bank

Got cash

Went back and paid the guy for the truck

Got the title

Started out the door

It was then that I

Noticed the sign on the door that said

ALL SALES FINAL-NO REFUNDS- NO EXCEPTIONS

I wish I had seen that sign before I paid the guy for the truck

Because

I paid the guy for the truck—in cash

Went back home and got Patti

Went back and got the truck

When we pulled out on hwy 19 headed home

We had only gone a couple of miles

Stopped at a couple of lights

And

Patti started flashing her lights at me

And honking the horn

I pulled over

And

She said something

That I can still hear today

“You don’t have any lights on that truck”

I felt like I had been kicked in the Guts

We checked it out and sure enough

No taillights

No brake lights

No blinkers

No Nothing

I laid down in the floorboard to check the fuses

And

What I found was a melted together mess of wires

The entire light wiring harness was fried

I knew that this had not just happened

I knew that the guy that sold me the truck knew also

So

I went back to the car lot to get my money back

Remember the sign

Well it turns out this guy really meant it

No Refunds

He told me “you checked out the truck”

You paid me it is yours

The lights turned out to be just one of many problems with the truck

Unless my Aunt sold it

It is still sitting in a pasture out on fm753 in Athens where is needed its life as a pasture ornament

I will tell you

I did not deserve to be ripped off

I worked hard for my money

Patti and I had very little at that time in our lives

But

I also will tell you

Had I

Choked back my pride just a bit

Had I checked out the truck better

or

Taken someone with experience

And a discerning eye with me

That guy never would have gotten the best of me

So Yeah , I was ripped off

But, I had to take some responsibility

Today

We pick up our study in Genesis

With Joseph

The 11th Son

Of Jacob also known as Israel

Son of Isaac

Son of Abraham

He is his father Jacobs’s favorite son

He is the eldest son of Jacob’s wife Rachael- the love of his life

And

As a result he has received special treatment

And

As a result of that treatment

He developed a bit of pride

Let me read for you about a time when Joseph got something he did not deserve

In the eyes of the world