When Life is Not Fair
Gen. 50:15-21
It is such a privilege to be here to talk about our great God in our series in Genesis. Allen and I have walked with you through it. Hope it has been helpful. Today is the final wrap up to the series. Allow me to speak to you - When life is not fair, what do you do?
“It is not fair” is something everyone has experienced, isn’t it? Everywhere you turn you see it, you get picked on, bullied, you get the wrong end of the stick, always getting the blame, experience horrible losses, betrayed, accidents, sickness, depression, death, bad news being laid off, work hard get B, some called Asian fail, but the guy who spends his time on videogames get straight A’s. Life is not fair, it seems the bad guys win all the time.
It is not fair that the gangsters are using their guns out in the streets, that there is a shooting almost every day on our streets. The gangsters say it is not fair that they are being hunted down by rival gangs. The police say it is not fair that they risk their lives to put bad people away only to have the courts release them the next day. Life is not fair!
Let me tell you about a person in the bible who can talk about life not being fair – Joseph. Firstly, he did not ask to be born. Second, he did not ask to be born of the wife whom his father loved. He did not ask to be the favourite of his father. He did not ask to have dreams of his family bowing down to him. He did not ask to have his brothers hate him so much they wanted to kill him. He did not ask to be thrown into Potiphar’s house as a slave for 11 years. Joe did not ask to be handsome that his boss’ wife would want to have him bed her. He did not ask to be forgotten for another 2 years living in Egypt’s prison. It would be justifiable if Joseph was a bitter man. The hardships he went through, would make a great case to hold a grudge. If he can to really give it to those who tormented him, it’d be great. If there is payback time, revenge will be so sweet.
And apparently the opportune time came for such well-deserved justice and the Joseph’s brothers knew it. It was the occasion right after their father died. They believed while their dad was still alive, they were protected. But once he’s gone, Joseph, most powerful man in Egypt, would pick them off one by one smash them like insects on a windscreen that they were. Their evil conscience must have kept them awake at nights. They knew Jacob loved Joseph, and Joe would never do anything to cause his father more heartache. But now he is dead, guess who would be dead next, it’d be them!!!
So we read of that time...
15 When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, "What if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him?" 16 So they sent word to Joseph, saying, "Your father left these instructions before he died: 17 ’This is what you are to say to Joseph: I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins and the wrongs they committed in treating you so badly.’ Now please forgive the sins of the servants of the God of your father."
The brothers made a pre-emptive move, to ensure their survival. I don’t know how they did it, I don’t think it was by e-mail. But they sent word. And the impact that it had on Joseph was recorded...
“When their message came to him, Joseph wept.”
It hurt Joe that the brothers thought he would go the eye for an eye route. The world would be blind, if that’s the way to go. Joseph was not motivated by revenge, or else he’d would not have cried. He’d have arrange for a firing squad or sold them into slavery, eye for an eye, right, get a few more bucks while you’re at it. But the record states...
19 But Joseph said to them, "Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? 20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. 21 So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children." And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.
How did Joe get to this place where he has such a forgiving spirit, such a tender heart and not bitter angry response?
The answer is his faith... the faith in a God who is good, who blesses, who keeps His promises. Am I in place of God? Joe says. No, God is in the place of God and no one should take that away from God. Joe had faith God can turn what people meant for harm into something good.
He has heard from his father about God’s promise to bless Israel the story of Abraham, that God will bless him and through him all nations would be blessed. The story of how God made a covenant in Genesis 15 and that the promised land of Canaan is for him. And he believed.
To the brothers who hated him, could not speak a kind word to him, and plotted to kill him and sold him into slavery. The brothers sights were set on a lower plane. On the immediate, let’s get rid of the irritant now, let’s do harm now, feel better now. But Joe focus on the long range... God’s covenant promises, and along with it the promised land.
Joe hung on to the promise of God, and it is already working out as far as Joseph can see. Already through eyes of faith he could see God put him here at the right place and at the right time to accomplish something greater.
Faith in a higher purpose spurred Joseph to this course of action. He looked beyond himself and his circumstances and stuck to a tenacious belief that God is at work, working out the covenant promises. Whatever the circumstances may be, his life mission is to turn his attention to helping others. So he helped Potiphar, even though he was a slave and God blessed that household through Joe. He did not take advantage of his master’s wife even when he had the chance, he’d rather help. Then while in prison he helped the prison warden, instead of organizing prison riots, God blessed the warden. The promise of Gen.12 whoever blesses Abram’s descendants, God will bless them was working overtime. Then Joe helped Pharaoh with the dream interpretation and which led to more blessing – to be well prepared for the 7 years famine, that would sweep the whole region. So Pharaoh was blessed. God’s covenant promises was true! And as a result, the whole known world, yes the nations were blessed because of the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, the God who keeps his covenant of love in a world that’s determined to run their lives according to their own dictates.
And so, Joe true to his faith in God, continue to help others, and in our story in Genesis 50 to help his brothers who were fearful. “ 21 So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children." And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.” He had to reassure them, that he would help, he had always help and will now help again.
So when life is not fair will you be like Joseph, believe in a higher purpose, that is your life is not an accident. You have been put here to help others to know God’s blessing. That God will is not to damn the world but to save the world. Will you trust this God who initiated his plan to bless the nations, not curse them? This can be traced back to Genesis 12 promise through Abraham, his offspring, will come the greatest blessing, Jesus Christ.
Is your life a model of faithful service with no visible tangible reward? Be encouraged, you will be blessed... maybe not now, but will you see with faith what God is doing something through you, if you would help others, make no mistake, you will be rewarded and perhaps God will grant you the grace to see what He will accomplish, perhaps the saving of many lives!
Be encouraged... God uses many trying difficult experiences foisted on us by evil people, shape us, train us in ways of grace, to follow His longsuffering son who had evil men nail him to the cross, so we take up the cross with courage and tenacious belief and follow Him.
Look long range... trust God see how your current difficult assignment prepares you for future fulfilment of your God-given service.
Some may of you maybe there already, your service bore fruit, rejoice, tell your story to encourage a new generation of young believers who may be tempted to compromise their integrity.
So speak kindly, provide for others, help others, live such good lives among those who don’t know God, yes let your light shine so that, they can praise God on that day he visits them.
