JOSEPH: FAITHFUL IN ADVERSITY
GENESIS 37:12-36
03/14/96
There was once a golfer who was having a perfectly horrible day on the gold course. When he didn’t hook the ball he sliced it, and when he didn’t slice the ball he hooked it. On each hole things got worst and worst.
Finally on the 11th hole after missing his third putt, he failed to hole the ball from eight inches. That was it!
He took all his balls and threw them in the water. he broke three of his best clubs over his knee. There he sat on the edge of the 11th green crying like a baby, a perfect picture of frustration.
I’ve got to give it up! I’ve got to give it up! he muttered over and over again.
"Golf?" his caddie asked. "No, the ministry".
The point of that little story is to show that adversity comes into our lives in many forms. It comes to us at work, at play, at home, wherever we are. Adversity can come in the form of little things in our lives, it can come in the form of major things. But whatever form adversity come to us we must remain faithful to God.
Last week we began to look at the life of Joseph, the son of Jacob. We saw how Joseph was a model of faithfulness even though he came from a very dysfunctional family. Today I want to look at how Joseph remained faithful even when things got worst.
We saw how messed up Joseph family life was, yet Joseph seemed to be doing ok. He kind of rose above his family situation. But at the young age of 17 Joseph’s world changed drastically. His world fell apart.
I want us to look at three things as we consider our passage today. 1. adversities that he faced, 2. the traits he exhibited and 3. The lessons that he learned.
I also would like this sermon to encourage you as you face adversity, encourage you to remain faithful despite adversity. We need to remain faithful whether it is something minor such as a car problem, or maybe a bad test score in school or major such as a death in the family.
Let’s turn to our passage today, Genesis 37:12-36. It is a rather long passage but stick with me.
Then his brothers went to feed their father’s flock in Shechem. And Israel said to Joseph, "Are not your brothers feeding the flock in Shechem? Come, I will send you to them." So he said to him, "Here I am." Then he said to him, "Please go and see if it is well with your brothers and well with the flocks, and bring back word to me." So he sent him out of the Valley of Hebron, and he went to Shechem.
Now a certain man found him, and there he was, wandering in the field. And the man asked him, saying, "What are you seeking?" So he said, "I am seeking my brothers. Please tell me where they are feeding their flocks. And the man said, "They have departed from here, for I heard them say, ’Let us go to Dothan.’ " So Joseph went after his brothers and found them in Dothan.
Now when they saw him afar off, even before he came near them, they conspired against him to kill him. Then they said to one another, "Look, this dreamer is coming! Come therefore, let us now kill him and cast him into some pit; and we shall say, ’Some wild beast has devoured him.’ We shall see what will become of his dreams!"
But Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands, and said, "Let us not kill him." And Reuben said to them, "Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit which is in the wilderness, and do not lay a hand on him"; that he might deliver him out of their hands, and bring him back to his father.
So it came to pass, when Joseph had come to his brothers, that they stripped Joseph of his tunic, the tunic of many colors that was on him. Then they took him and cast him into a pit. And the pit was empty; there was no water in it.
And they sat down to eat a meal. Then they lifted their eyes and looked, and there was a company of Ishmaelites, coming from Gilead with their camels, bearing spices, balm, and myrrh, on their way to carry them down to Egypt.
So Judah said to his brothers, "What profit is there if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? "Come and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother and our flesh." And his brothers listened.
Then Midianite traders passed by; so the brothers pulled Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt. Then Reuben returned to the pit, and indeed Joseph was not in the pit; and he tore his clothes. And he returned to his brothers and said, "The lad is no more; and I, where shall I go? So they took Joseph’s tunic, killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the tunic in the blood. Then they sent the tunic of many colors, and they brought it to their father and said, "We have found this. Do you know whether it is your son’s tunic or not?" And he recognized it and said, "It is my son’s tunic. A wild beast has devoured him. Without doubt Joseph is torn to pieces."
Then Jacob tore his clothes, put sackcloth on his waist, and mourned for his son many days. And all his sons and all his daughters arose to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted, and he said, "For I shall go down into the grave to my son in mourning." Thus his father wept for him. Now the Midianites had sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and captain of the guard."
As we look at this verse we can note three adversities or problems that Joseph had to deal with. Now keep in mind that Joseph is but seventeen years old when all these things happen to him.
The first adversity Joseph faced was an uninvolved father. To put it bluntly Jacob was a lousy father. Last week we detailed some of the ways in which Jacob failed his family. The family was plagued by immorality, hatred, violence, jealousy, distrust, and deception. Jacob not only allowed this to continue in his family but in some cases was guilty of it himself.
In today’s text we once again see Jacob’s poor skills as a father. Because of his lack of involvement in his family’s life he place Joseph in a very dangerous situation. Joseph son’s had left no doubt in any ones mind that they hated their brother viciously. Joseph brothers had also shown they were capable of murder. Jacob must have been aware of the hatred the existed between Joseph and his brothers, yet he goes and send him to them any way.
I think we can apply this to our own times in that we can see how blind many parent are when it comes to what’s going on in there family. We often send our own children into dangerous situations without preparing them to face adversity. Don’t sent your children into dangerous situations without preparing them first.
How do you prepare them. Talk to them about the situations that they will face. Help them to learn from your experience Help them to learn for your mistakes. To many times we see the children of parents make the same mistake that the parents made. Well break the chain, help your children learn from you mistakes.
Spent time with your children. Teach then Biblical values, set Godly examples, make service to God and church a priority. Begin to prepare them know for what the will face in the future.
It is a shame but in our society we need to begin to talk to kids at a very young age about the dangers of drugs, drinking, premarital sex, and other things that they will face. Be involved with your kids.
Joseph ended up in an adverse situation because he had a father who didn’t care enough to see hatred in his own family, a father who did not know what was going on in his own family, a father who did not prepare his son.
The second adversity we can see from this passage which Joseph had to deal with is rejection.
It is quite clear that Joseph’s brother flat out reject him. When they first saw him coming they plotted to kill him. This is how deep their jealousy ran. They despised Joseph so much that as soon as the opportunity afforded itself they plotted on how to kill him.
We see that one of the brothers, Rueben has some compassion and talks the others into sparing Joseph’s life. Instead they sell him into slavery to some Midianites, who in turn sell Joseph to an Egyptian named Potiphar.
I am certain that every person here knows what it is like to be rejected. I am sure that at some point in your life you have felt rejection, be it from your parents, siblings, friends, whatever.
I know that many times I have felt rejection. I was one of those guys who would always get picked last from any sports team. Hey I admit that I am not all that athletic. Terrible at baseball. Run up then run back trying to catch the ball.
Rejection is an adversity that we all face. And for most of us it is an adversity that we will face again. Yet as Joseph was faithful in his rejection, so must we be faithful to God when we feel rejection.
The third adversity which Joseph faced was desertion. His brother’s threw him in a cistern well and would have deserted him had not they come up with the great idea of selling him as a slave.
Now a dry cistern well is not the most pleasant place to be thrown into. It would have been bug infested and dirty. And there would be now way out unless someone helped you out.
Know right after they threw him in what do they do. They sit down and eat. How callous do have to be to do that to your own brother and then sit down for a meal like nothing happened.
They finally desert their brother by selling him into slavery. Now slavery was certainly not a pleasant existence. You became nothing more then an animal. Imagine how deserted Joseph felt as he was taken away, knowing that he would most likely never see his father or family again. Not knowing where he was going, or what was to become of him.
No doubt that some of you have dealt with desertion. Maybe a parent, a spouse, or some family member. Sometimes we are deserted by those who call themselves friends. Desertion in any form is a painful experience, and at times very difficult to understand.
But again as we see in Joseph, we must remain faithful to God. Not blaming God, but praising Him. Continue in His Word.
So we can see that Joseph had his share of adversity both physical and emotional, yet his faith in God remains unshaken.
The second thing I want to point out from this passage is The traits which Joseph exhibited.
The first is that he was undeveloped. Though Joseph was faithful and later became a great man of God, at this point of his life he does display his immaturity.
It is quite clear from the Scripture that Joseph’s biggest flaw was that he was prideful and arrogant. He needed learn humility before he was ready to be used of God. Last week we read of the two dreams which he had where his brothers would bow down to him. Joseph displayed pride and arrogance when he told his brothers and father about those dreams.
Joseph was to become one of God’s greatest leaders. Yet he had to go through those adversities that we mentioned so that God could shape him into the man he wanted him to be. Joseph certainly learned humility through his adversities.
We are all under construction. No one here is where God wants them to be. But know that you do not have to be perfect for God to us you. As you serve Him He will continue to mold you into the person He wants you to be.
The second trait we see in Joseph is that he was eager to serve. Jacob decided to sent Joseph to check on his brothers who were grazing the sheep some 40 miles away, that would be about two days journey.
You would expect Joseph give the standard answer of a seventeen year old, "Oh Dad, I don’t want to go. That’s a long way to go. And my brothers don’t like me. I have things I want to do around here. Please don’t sent me".
But Joseph is willing to go. He is willing to be obedient to his father despite the consequences of what could happen.
Joseph proved himself to be reliable, conscientious, and dependable. This was a trait that Joseph showed throughout his adult life as well. It was through that trait the God blessed Joseph.
It is a trait we all should have. A willingness to serve. Many times we say we are willing to serve but when it comes down to doing it be back out. We say yes God I will serve you, but my own way. We want to do what we want to do for God, but God wants us to do what He wants us to do for Him. Service our way is not service to God it is service to self, I think many of us fall into that situation.
We need to be willing to serve with the realization that service could cost us something.
The third trait we see in Joseph is that he was willing to go the extra mile. In verse 17 we see that Joseph’s brother had moved on to Dothan, which was about another 20 miles, another day’s journey.
Joseph could have said, "Forget this, I’ve already walked two days looking for these guys, and who knows if they will be at Dothan, I’m going home."
But Joseph went the extra mile. He was willing to do what it took to be obedient to his father. This trait of going the extra mile which Joseph showed as a teenager would carry him along way as an adult. It was another trait which the Lord God blessed Joseph through.
We too need to display this trait. We need to go the extra mile in our obedience to God. Jesus taught, "If someone wants your shirt, give to him, and your coat also. If someone forces you to go a mile with them, go two miles with Him." Putting forth the extra effort is not only a good trait to have it is a command to be obeyed.
The last thing I want us to look at concerning this verse is the lessons which Joseph learned, and these are lessons that we all should learn from this passage.
First prosperity is temporary. It is amazing how quickly life can change. All can be going so well and then the bottom can fall out of your world. Or all can be going terribly and then in a short time all things are going great.
In a span of a little over 3 years I went from a maintenance/electrical mechanic working on printing presses, to a assistant pastor, to a full time pastor in Milford Center New York, 4 hours away from my home town.
Live can change so quickly. Both for the good and for the bad. Everything of this world is temporary.
Joseph went from being a favorite son, to slave in a foreign land in about three days. What a change for him.
If life is going smoothly for you now, praise God and be thankful. And if your are struggling, don’t despair, but remain faithful because God can and does change things.
The next lesson Joseph learned was that adversity is inevitable. Problems and adversity and to be expected they are part of life. We are called to suffer for Christ sake. The Bible tells us that just as we share in eternal life with Christ, we will share in His sufferings.
So be prepared for adversity, know that it will come into your life a some point, prepare for by remaining true to God, building faith in Him when things are going well, that way when adversity does come the anchor of faith will be firmly planted, and we can remain faithful during times of trouble.
The third lesson we learn is the effort is essential. Joseph was faithful under adversity, but it took effort. He but forth an effort to remain moral, to remain righteous, to remain faithful to God through it all.
Some people will buckle under adversity. The become bitter with God. Because they put forth no effort, expecting God just to take it all away. Some turn to alcohol, drugs, and other immoral behavior to try to escape adversity.
We need to realize that facing adversity is hard work. Sometime we have to push ourselves to keep coming to church, to read our Bibles, to pray to God, to praise Him. These things which take effort. Sometimes we may not feel like it, but we must put forth an effort to be faithful.
The last lesson we learn from this passage is that God is faithful. Life may seem unfair at times. Sometimes we think we are getting the short end of the stick. Sometimes we wonder if God is paying attention to us.
But through all this we must learn and believe that God promises us that all things work together for the good of those who love Him. Realize that God see the whole picture, while we see but a small part.
Isa. 43:2 tells us, "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you: and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you, When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze".
Know that God is faithful through all things. Robert Hamilton wrote these words;
I walked a mile with pleasure and she chattered all the way
But left me none the wiser For all she had to say
I walked a mile with sorrow And ne’er a word said she
But oh the things I learned for her What sorrow walked with me
There is no victory without a battle, no crown with out a cross. No resurrection without a death. No rainbow without storm. No sunrise without night, No solution without a problem.
Throughout all your adversity, whether the be at home, work, school, even the golf course, we must remain faithful to God, because He is forever faithful to us.
He shows that faithfulness in that while we were yet sinner Christ died for us. Will place your trust in Christ as Lord and Saviour? Will you trust in His blood today for the forgiveness of your sins?
SHALL WE PRAY
