Men of Character
Genesis 50:1-26
We live in a time now where integrity means nothing. It is hard to tell the good guys from the bad guys. Growing up in Brooklyn and Long Island in the 60’s and 70’s heroes were easily pointed out. They wore white Stetsons, they always did what was right, and they never compromised the truth, even when the truth hurt. Webster’s Dictionary defines integrity as “a firm adherence to a code of especially moral values” INCORRUPTIBILITY. A person like that seems hard to come by these days. Presidents, leaders of the military, teachers, evangelists, they are all falling down around us, and we say, “Well they are only human.” Integrity does not mean perfect, but it does imply the type of character that would admit wrongdoing and repent of it. Where are the heroes, where are they who show integrity?
Continuing with what Matt started last week about character and that we are still working on it, we will look at several people who had character tested, and who passed the test. Not perfectly, but still held on to truth, integrity and godly character.
Today’s message provides a summary and reflection on the life of Joseph.
There are three senior public servants from the Bible: Nehemiah, Daniel and Joseph.
All three are Hebrews who attained the most senior public service post in a foreign country. All three demonstrated you could be successful without compromising your faith and integrity.
Nehemiah – we learn from his achievement in building the walls of Jerusalem and more importantly rebuilding the community of God’s people after the exile.
Daniel – we learn from his ability to serve ably four kings (Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, Darius, Cyrus) in three different empires (Babylon, Median, Persia).
Joseph – if OT has a perfect character, Joseph would be the obvious candidate, not coincidence that many scholars use Joseph as a type of Jesus, foreshadowing the perfection of our Lord Jesus.
The one we will identify with today is Joseph.
Joseph was the first son of Jacob and Rachel. Jacob loved Rachel; he favored Joseph over all his sons. This made the others jealous, and it did not help matters any when Jacob gave Joseph a very special coat. The decisive factor probably came with the interpretation of Joseph’s dreams. He dreamed that his father, mother (probably meaning Leah) and his brothers would all bow down before him. Because of jealousy, Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers to a band of Midianites, who then sold him to Potiphar.
It is in the house of Potiphar that Joseph’s unique talent for administration and integrity are seen.
Integrity means no compromise.
In Genesis 39, we see that Joseph is put in charge of Potiphar’s household. Because of his godly character and integrity, he has found favor with Potiphar.
4 Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned. 5 From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the LORD blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of the LORD was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field. 6 So he left in Joseph’s care everything he had; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate.
Joseph’s character was such that Potiphar did not concern himself with anything but the food he ate. True character and integrity put us in position to be trusted to the point we do not need constant supervision.
It is difficult to maintain personal integrity in a different culture with a different value system. Clearest example of Joseph’s ability to maintain a highest degree of integrity was when he was tempted by Potiphar’s wife (Gen 39:6-20).
Now Joseph was well-built and handsome, 7 and after a while his master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, "Come to bed with me!" 8 But he refused. "With me in charge," he told her, "my master does not concern himself with anything in the house; everything he owns he has entrusted to my care. 9 No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?"
Consider Joseph’s situation: bought as a slave by Potiphar, elevated to the top of the household. He is seduced by the master’s wife, not once, twice but continuously. Any lesser character would have succumbed. Joseph would rather go to jail than to betray his master and his integrity. Note his response to Potiphar’s wife: “how can I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” He considered if he succumbed to the temptation of his mistress, he would betray not only his master but also God. God held a position in the eyes of Joseph, and because Joseph honored God, he would honor Potiphar. Yet, even with this strenuous temptation, he would not give in, even when the situation was such that no one else would know.
I remember a MASH episode where Colonel Potter’s son in law came to visit. During the visit, Colonel Potter learned that his son in law had been unfaithful. While confronting his son in law, he spoke a profoundly wise statement. “No matter how hard you try to hide it, there is one person who will always know, YOU.” No matter what we do to hide our sin, it will always find us out, but more importantly there are two that will always know, God and us. Joseph knew that even if Potiphar or anyone else never found out, God knew and he would not commit such a horrible sin before God.
In the middle of an interview for acceptance to a prestigious Ivy League school back east, the interviewer asked his “sure of himself” candidate, “If no one would ever find out, and no one got hurt, would you lie for $1M?” The young man thought for a moment and said, “If no one found out, and no one was hurt? Sure, I think I would!” The interviewer then asked, “Would you lie for a dime?” The young man shot back, “No way, what kind of man do you think I am?” The interviewer responded, “I have already determined that, I am just trying to determine your price.”
We could go on and talk about Joseph’s integrity even in prison. When he told the good news as well as the bad news to the baker and the cupbearer. More importantly, Joseph never lost his faith even wallowing in prison. He held his trust in God even in dire situations. In this way he shows us a type of Christ, a foreshadow of Jesus, innocent of crime yet taking the punishment due another. Even as important as this is, Joseph’s integrity is shown in a later time.
Integrity does what is right even when everyone else is doing wrong.
Later in life, Joseph is taken from prison; he interprets the dream for Pharaoh. Because of the interpretation of the dream Joseph is made second in command of all Egypt. However, that is not where the story of Joseph’s integrity ends. I take you to a later time; Joseph has been in charge now for a time. Famine has struck the entire civilized world, Jacob sends his sons down to Egypt to buy food and grain. Joseph recognizes his brothers as they approach.
This is Joseph’s character, he is able to forgive. That takes integrity. To forgive someone who has sinned against us, who has harmed us, whether that harm is intentional or not does not matter. We forgive, for that is one of the highest virtues of the Christian life. Forgiving spirit, this is probably the most obvious of Joseph’s virtue and integrity.
Here now is the secret of Joseph’s ability to forgive. He looked back and he understood that God allowed him to be sold into slavery was because he had a plan for him – a plan for him to rescue Jacob’s household from famine. When he looked back, he understood God allowed the injustice for him to be wrongly accused by Potiphar’s wife was because he had a plan for him – a plan to allow him to meet with the cupbearer in prison. When he looked back, he understood why God allowed the cupbearer to forget about him and left him in prison when the cupbearer was restored to his former position, it was because God had a plan for him – a plan for the cupbearer to finally introduce him to Pharaoh.
Back in 1994, I too was falsely accused of stealing money from the Post Office. My mentor and friend Don Kennedy encouraged me to read and study the life of Joseph. Sure I knew the story, wrongly sold out, wrongly accused, forgotten, so what. But I learned another lesson. I saw in Joseph the strongest part of his character, the ability to forgive. Two years later, as we were getting ready to leave NY for Knoxville, TN, I was able to go up to the person who wronged me through all this and tell her I forgave her, not in any type of showmanship or anything like that, but because of the profound affect Joseph’s story had on me. Now, almost ten years later, I can see God’s purpose, and I am glad.
You see, there are who people do not believe in God, and therefore do not believe God has a plan for each of us; they will look at these incidents as isolated events. For Joseph, he can look back and can clearly see the perfect will of God in his life. Then all these incidents are no longer incidents just happened by chance, but they are all related and interconnected due to the perfect will of God. More importantly, it allows Joseph to forgive others in times of difficulties. In prison or in slavery, he did not bear any grudge against those who had wronged him because he knew these injustices and misfortunes can only happen under the will of God, he may not understand right now but he will understand one day.
However, Joseph’s forgiveness is not just for his brothers but it is extended to outside the family, we do not hear Joseph pay back Potiphar’s wife for trying to seduce him and lie about him. Nor do we see Joseph getting back at Potiphar for putting him in prison unjustly, or even the cupbearer for forgetting him in prison. The argument from silence may not be convincing but it is consistent with Joseph’s character.
Character counts, integrity is important, our testimony is not just by our words, but by our actions. We need more people like Joseph. But his story does not end here
We should not simply read Joseph’s life story as a recipe for success in the corporate and bureaucratic world. He had his focus to the future, through Jacob, Joseph understood and accept God’s promise to His people lies not in the green pastures of Egypt but in the promised land of Canaan, the land of milk and honey that God promised Abraham, Isaacs and Jacob. Jacob’s as the last instruction he gave to Joseph, was to ask Joseph to bury him in the cave of Ephron the Hittite, that is the ancestral land in Canaan. Likewise, Joseph on his dead bed asked his brothers to bring his bones out of Egypt (Gen 50:25).
When the author of Hebrews in the NT commended the heroes of faith in the Old Testament, when he came to Joseph, he did not praise him for his achievements, nor his ability to discern dream, nor his administrative skills, not even his ability to forgive his brothers. In the entire life of Joseph, the single incident that he singled out is the last act of Joseph, his instruction to the sons of Israel that they should bring his bones out of Egypt and the prophesy that God will bring His people out of Egypt.
In the end, the greatest success story of Joseph is not so much his secular achievements, no matter how impressive they are, but his greatest achievement is his single-mindedness to follow, to trust and to obey God, no matter what consequences and under what situation. Joseph has been an inspiration me and I pray and trust through studying his life story also be an inspiration to you
