WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.520 Phil Foster is going to come and read to us a couple of passages, first of all from Genesis 37, 00:00:06.320 --> 00:00:13.400 and then from the book of Philippians. So we'll be first of all returning to the story of Joseph 00:00:13.400 --> 00:00:21.519 in Genesis 37. We're reading from verses 12 to 36. 00:00:22.960 --> 00:00:29.960 Now his brothers had gone to graze their father's flocks near Shechem, and Israel said to 00:00:29.960 --> 00:00:37.200 Joseph, as you know, your brothers are grazing their flocks near Shechem. Come, I am going to send 00:00:37.200 --> 00:00:46.000 you to them. Very well, he replied. So he said to him, go and see if all is well with your brothers 00:00:46.000 --> 00:00:54.100 and with the flocks, and bring word back to me. So then he sent him off from the valley of Hebron. 00:00:54.100 --> 00:01:01.340 When Joseph arrived at Shechem, a man found him wandering around in the fields and asked 00:01:01.340 --> 00:01:09.219 him, what are you looking for? He replied, I'm looking for my brothers. Can you tell me where 00:01:09.219 --> 00:01:16.599 they are grazing their flocks? They have moved on from here, the man answered. I heard them say, 00:01:16.599 --> 00:01:24.000 let's go to Dothan. So Joseph went after his brothers and found them near Dothan. But they 00:01:24.000 --> 00:01:31.019 saw him in the distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him. Here comes that 00:01:31.019 --> 00:01:38.159 dreamer, they said to each other. Come now, let's kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns 00:01:38.159 --> 00:01:44.079 and say that a ferocious animal devoured him. Then we'll see what comes of his dreams. 00:01:44.079 --> 00:01:50.579 When Reuben heard this, he tried to rescue him from their hands. Let's not take his life, 00:01:50.819 --> 00:01:57.439 he said. Don't shed any blood. Throw him into this cistern here in the desert, but don't lay 00:01:57.439 --> 00:02:03.299 a hand on him. Reuben said this to rescue him from them and take him back to his father. 00:02:04.459 --> 00:02:10.520 So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the richly ornamented robe he 00:02:10.520 --> 00:02:17.140 was wearing. And they took him and threw him into the cistern. Now the cistern was empty. There was no 00:02:17.140 --> 00:02:24.760 water in it. As they sat down to eat their meal, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites 00:02:24.760 --> 00:02:31.820 coming from Gilead. Their camels were loaded with spices, balm, and myrrh, and they were on their way 00:02:31.819 --> 00:02:38.759 to take them down to Egypt. Judah said to his brothers, what will we gain if we kill our brother 00:02:38.759 --> 00:02:46.539 and cover up his blood? Come, let's sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him. 00:02:46.859 --> 00:02:54.900 After all, he is our brother, our own flesh and blood. His brothers agreed. So when the Midianite 00:02:54.900 --> 00:03:02.560 merchants came by, his brothers pulled Joseph up out of the cistern and sold him for 20 shekels of 00:03:02.560 --> 00:03:10.439 silver to the Ishmaelites who took him to Egypt. When Reuben returned to the cistern and saw that 00:03:10.439 --> 00:03:17.480 Joseph was not there, he tore his clothes. He went back to his brothers and said, the boy isn't there. 00:03:17.479 --> 00:03:26.060 Where can I turn now? Then they got Joseph's robe, slaughtered a goat, and dipped the robe in the blood. 00:03:26.560 --> 00:03:33.719 They took the ornamented robe back to their father and said, we found this. Examine it to see whether 00:03:33.719 --> 00:03:41.459 it is your son's robe. He recognized it and said, it is my son's robe. Some ferocious animal has 00:03:41.460 --> 00:03:49.060 devoured him. Joseph has surely been torn to pieces. Then Jacob tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, 00:03:49.260 --> 00:03:56.219 and mourned for his son many days. All his sons and daughters came to comfort him, but he refused to 00:03:56.219 --> 00:04:03.920 be comforted. No, he said, in mourning will I go down to the grave to my son. So his father wept for him. 00:04:04.719 --> 00:04:11.340 Meanwhile, the Midianites sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh's officials, the captain of 00:04:11.340 --> 00:04:21.439 the God. Our next reading is from Philippians 2, which is on page 1179 of the Church Bibles. 00:04:23.319 --> 00:04:26.860 We're reading from verse 1 to 11. 00:04:28.139 --> 00:04:36.120 If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any 00:04:36.120 --> 00:04:43.300 fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being 00:04:43.300 --> 00:04:51.560 like-minded, having the same love, being one in Spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition 00:04:51.560 --> 00:04:59.560 or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not 00:04:59.560 --> 00:05:07.660 only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that 00:05:07.660 --> 00:05:14.720 of Christ Jesus, who being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be 00:05:14.720 --> 00:05:22.060 grasped, but made himself nothing. Taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness, 00:05:22.060 --> 00:05:29.740 and being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death, even death 00:05:29.740 --> 00:05:37.280 on a cross. Therefore, God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above 00:05:37.280 --> 00:05:44.980 every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 00:05:44.980 --> 00:05:51.340 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 00:05:53.140 --> 00:06:01.340 Now, can you turn with me in your Bibles back to Genesis 37 on page 41, if you're using the church 00:06:01.340 --> 00:06:10.080 Bible, and we'll think together about the journey of Joseph, Jesus, and you and me. As we look at this 00:06:10.079 --> 00:06:19.139 section, journeys sometimes can very much define the stories of our lives. In fact, I guess there are 00:06:19.139 --> 00:06:29.719 some stories that we tell where the journey is the point. The prince on the quest to storm the castle, 00:06:29.899 --> 00:06:39.299 slay the dragon, free the princess. Lord of the Rings, a Tolkien story of Frodo and the fellowship of the 00:06:39.300 --> 00:06:47.620 Ring. Sometimes stories that happen to us can, in large part, define our lives as well. I'm reading a 00:06:47.620 --> 00:06:52.699 book called Beneath a Scarlet Sky at the moment, which tells the story of a 17-year-old Italian 00:06:52.699 --> 00:07:01.720 by the name of Pino Leila, who was trained by a Catholic priest to transport Jews who were fleeing 00:07:01.720 --> 00:07:10.740 the Nazis in World War II across the Italian Alps and into Switzerland, gone from the luxury and ease 00:07:10.740 --> 00:07:19.960 of a wealthy life in Milan to become someone who would risk everything to help the Jews. What about 00:07:19.960 --> 00:07:23.920 for you and me? When you think about journeys in your own life, is there a sense in which they 00:07:23.920 --> 00:07:32.460 shape who we are? Perhaps journeying from one nation or one city to another for university or for work. 00:07:33.140 --> 00:07:37.080 Perhaps there have been significant journeys that you've gone on with friends or you've been on a 00:07:37.080 --> 00:07:44.240 journey and you've met a spouse perhaps. I still remember coming to faith on the Island of the Sky a 00:07:44.240 --> 00:07:51.700 good number of years ago. I remember the journey to the church meeting where I was very reluctant to go, 00:07:51.699 --> 00:07:59.800 dragged by my mum, but I remember the journey back. I remember praying to God with thankfulness in the 00:07:59.800 --> 00:08:05.879 back of the car for God sending Jesus to save me, that journey defining in large part the story of my 00:08:05.879 --> 00:08:12.719 life. We sometimes talk about Christianity as the journey of faith. We think about that journey as being 00:08:12.719 --> 00:08:18.159 both with God, we speak about the God who is with us, who walks beside us, who is our shepherd, 00:08:18.160 --> 00:08:24.800 but also it's a journey towards God. Our great hope and the goal of the Christian life is that we will 00:08:24.800 --> 00:08:33.240 be with our God and Savior in a perfect world made new forever. So journeys are really important to the 00:08:33.240 --> 00:08:40.180 story of the Christian faith. And so we're going to look today at this journey that Joseph takes that 00:08:40.180 --> 00:08:45.860 begins to define the direction of his life. We're going to see how it becomes important for the story of 00:08:45.860 --> 00:08:52.740 salvation that the book of Genesis gives to us. I also want us to connect it with the journeys of Jesus 00:08:52.740 --> 00:09:01.700 and help to see how that connects to our own reality as well. So let's begin in verses 12 to 17, 00:09:02.100 --> 00:09:09.899 thinking about the journey of Joseph, an obedient son. So last week we looked at the introduction to the 00:09:09.899 --> 00:09:16.500 story and there in the introduction we discover Joseph is his father's favorite son, which is a 00:09:16.500 --> 00:09:26.039 sinful thing, and it's led to Joseph being hated by his brothers because of it. In chapter 37 in verse 2 00:09:26.039 --> 00:09:31.939 we're told that Joseph and his brothers were all shepherds, but here as our story picks up in verse 12 we 00:09:31.939 --> 00:09:38.659 discover that the brothers are off shepherding in Shechem, but Joseph is kept home. And we wonder, 00:09:38.659 --> 00:09:45.679 is he kept home because he is the favorite son? Is he kept home because his father is concerned that 00:09:45.679 --> 00:09:52.259 these brothers will find themselves in trouble? We don't know. But what we do know, verse 13, 00:09:53.039 --> 00:09:58.620 as you know your brothers are grazing the flocks near Shechem. Come, I am going to send you to them. 00:09:59.019 --> 00:10:07.399 So Joseph is to be sent to Shechem, which is some 50 miles away. So this will be for him a journey of 00:10:07.399 --> 00:10:14.419 a few days, either on foot or perhaps on a donkey. He'll be doing it by himself. He will have to face 00:10:14.419 --> 00:10:21.799 the dangers of wild animals. He will be finding himself in difficult territory. In fact, a few 00:10:21.799 --> 00:10:28.379 chapters earlier in the Bible we discover that Shechem is a place where two of Joseph's brothers, 00:10:28.620 --> 00:10:37.000 Levi and Simeon, they have attacked the city and killed many of the menfolk there because their sister 00:10:37.000 --> 00:10:45.379 was raped by one of the men of the city. And so it's to this place and to this area that Joseph 00:10:45.379 --> 00:10:53.220 is sent. Joseph, remember, is just a teenage boy at this time. He's only 17 years old. This is a big 00:10:53.220 --> 00:10:58.159 job for anybody. This is a tough journey for anybody, but especially you think about teenagers, 00:10:58.159 --> 00:11:04.480 that's a tough sell, 50 miles, hard walking. But how does Joseph respond to his father? 00:11:05.399 --> 00:11:13.539 End of verse 13, very well, he replied. Moses records that response of obedience. 00:11:15.000 --> 00:11:22.500 We could translate it, here I am. Father, I'm ready to go. In the story of Abraham, Isaac, 00:11:22.500 --> 00:11:30.159 Jacob, and now Joseph, eight times, Moses records for us one of those family members saying, 00:11:30.659 --> 00:11:36.299 here I am, either to God or to their father. Here I am. I'm willing to listen. I'm willing to go. 00:11:36.919 --> 00:11:42.759 And so Moses is saying to us that, okay, this family is messed up, mixed up. We see lots of sin, 00:11:43.019 --> 00:11:51.139 but they are a family of faith and obedience. So Joseph begins this journey and he arrives at Shechem. 00:11:51.139 --> 00:11:57.360 We see his dedication to the task in verses 15 and 16, don't we? He's very dedicated. He's wandering 00:11:57.360 --> 00:12:03.199 around. He's doing a diligent search. A man asks him who he's looking for. He's told his brothers 00:12:03.199 --> 00:12:09.059 have gone to Dothan and he moves on again. Another 15 miles he adds to his journey so that he might 00:12:09.059 --> 00:12:17.799 complete the task that his father gave to him. So by the end of verse 17, we find Joseph going after 00:12:17.799 --> 00:12:25.959 his brothers and finding them near Dothan. So again, Moses is very deliberate about how he is telling 00:12:25.959 --> 00:12:31.799 his story. He is zooming in here on the character of Joseph and he is presenting us with Joseph who is 00:12:31.799 --> 00:12:37.679 an obedient and a trustworthy son. And we're going to see in a few moments how that contrasts quite 00:12:37.679 --> 00:12:45.979 strikingly with his older brothers. But let's at this point take some lessons from this stage of the 00:12:45.980 --> 00:12:51.580 journey. Well, at a very basic level, it is good for us as people to be obedient and trustworthy, 00:12:51.580 --> 00:12:58.539 is it not? In our workplace, to be people of integrity who work hard, who work well, 00:12:59.060 --> 00:13:06.500 who are good employers or good employees. In our family, it is good to be obedient and trustworthy, 00:13:06.500 --> 00:13:12.600 whether we are children, whether we are parents, brothers or sisters. We bless others. We are good 00:13:12.600 --> 00:13:19.019 for the people around us when we have this kind of character. And that's part of what Christian faith 00:13:19.019 --> 00:13:25.100 looks like as well, that we are obedient and trustworthy. But I think more significant for us 00:13:25.100 --> 00:13:33.779 to recognize from the story of Joseph is that the path of obedience, for us, a path of obedience to God 00:13:33.779 --> 00:13:44.120 does not equal ease or comfort. And again, this comes through in many places in the book of Genesis 00:13:44.120 --> 00:13:51.100 and then Exodus. We can think about Abraham, who's told to leave behind his place and his people 00:13:51.100 --> 00:13:57.519 to go at the age of 80 to the land that God was showing him. And so he left everything that was 00:13:57.519 --> 00:14:03.379 familiar, to go in obedience. When you think about Moses, who writes the book of Genesis, 00:14:04.379 --> 00:14:10.620 Moses is called in obedience to enter into conflict with Pharaoh, the most powerful man on the planet 00:14:10.620 --> 00:14:17.340 at that time. And Moses, in obedience to God, has to deal with, as the leader of Israel, with their 00:14:17.340 --> 00:14:22.960 unbelief, with their repeated attempts to revolt against God's plan and God's will for them and to go 00:14:22.960 --> 00:14:29.680 back to slavery. Pattern after pattern, story after story of the characters in the Bible is that 00:14:29.680 --> 00:14:35.920 obedience to God does not equal ease and comfort. And we need to recognize that. And we do people a 00:14:35.920 --> 00:14:42.940 disservice if we don't tell people there is a cost to discipleship. Jesus was honest about it. He said to 00:14:42.940 --> 00:14:50.720 his disciples, if anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 00:14:50.720 --> 00:14:55.920 We're called to self-denial for the sake of Jesus, and not just occasionally, but daily. 00:14:56.940 --> 00:15:01.800 Jesus said to his disciples before going to the cross, in this world you will have trouble. 00:15:02.980 --> 00:15:08.779 He said, the world hated me, therefore by extension expect also to be hated. 00:15:10.720 --> 00:15:17.740 The path of obedience to God does not mean our life will be easy. It doesn't lead to health and wealth 00:15:17.740 --> 00:15:27.560 and prosperity like some false teachers would claim. Perhaps as we read the story of Joseph, 00:15:28.399 --> 00:15:34.919 you find yourself in a situation in your own life where saying, here I am to God is bringing you into 00:15:34.919 --> 00:15:44.519 a dark place, a difficult spell in your journey of faith. Well, the Word of God would say, continue to trust 00:15:44.519 --> 00:15:52.299 and continue to obey and to remember the God who is with you. When you face, as John Newton said, the 00:15:52.299 --> 00:15:59.819 dangers and the toils and the snares, we need to keep hold of the reality that the Good Shepherd 00:15:59.819 --> 00:16:07.600 is with us. He is the God who has promised to hold us, to never abandon or forsake us, 00:16:07.600 --> 00:16:15.360 rather that he will guide and protect us. And he will enable us to walk with obedience even as 00:16:15.360 --> 00:16:23.519 we go through hardship. Maybe as we're saying, here I am to God, we find ourselves, as it were, 00:16:23.560 --> 00:16:30.279 at crossroads on our journey and we're asking, what next? What does the future hold for me? 00:16:30.279 --> 00:16:40.819 Where am I to go? What should I do? And again, we are to ask God for wisdom and we are to wait on him 00:16:40.819 --> 00:16:50.919 and to trust that he will provide and that he will lead and guide. And as we think about Joseph here, 00:16:51.120 --> 00:16:58.419 going on this journey as an obedient son, we need to remember the wider story of salvation. We need to 00:16:58.419 --> 00:17:07.659 think about Jesus. Jesus too went on his journey as an obedient son. We read it in Philippians, Jesus 00:17:07.659 --> 00:17:15.299 sent by the Father, Jesus who willingly comes into the world, knowing that that will be for him a place 00:17:15.299 --> 00:17:24.039 of suffering, that he will be the man of sorrows and familiar with grief. But he will live a life of 00:17:24.039 --> 00:17:33.119 suffering, but also a life marked by perfect, sinless obedience at every point. Even as his journey would 00:17:33.119 --> 00:17:39.659 take him to the cross where he would die in the place of sinners to bring forgiveness and give the 00:17:39.659 --> 00:17:49.859 gift of eternal life, he would be obedient to that path laid out for him. In our story, Jacob was 00:17:49.859 --> 00:17:58.319 wondering as the father, if always well with Joseph's brothers. Jesus came on his journey knowing full well, 00:17:58.479 --> 00:18:06.699 all was not well with his brothers and sisters. Because of sin, we are disobedient. Because of sin, 00:18:06.799 --> 00:18:15.179 we are in grave danger left to ourselves. And so Jesus is that brother who loves us and he leaves home in order 00:18:15.180 --> 00:18:25.940 to save us. Jesus knew what it would mean for him to say, here I am to his father. And yet in love, he was willing to come. 00:18:28.299 --> 00:18:30.120 Perhaps there's somebody here who's thinking, 00:18:30.720 --> 00:18:41.360 that sounds good, but the Christian message sounds hard. It sounds hard to know that trials will come. 00:18:41.359 --> 00:18:46.719 It sounds hard to know that obedience will not equal comfort and suffering. Why should I go on that 00:18:46.719 --> 00:18:54.559 journey? Why should I want to obey God if that's the case? Well, the best answer I can give, the best 00:18:54.559 --> 00:19:01.319 answer I think the Bible gives is to consider the love of God. To consider the love of God and the 00:19:01.319 --> 00:19:09.099 forgiveness and the new life that Jesus offers. To think about the love of God and his promise to be 00:19:09.099 --> 00:19:18.459 present with you, to exercise power for you every day of your life. Consider his love in that welcome 00:19:18.459 --> 00:19:28.519 he offers to you. That invitation into the eternal love of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit that we receive 00:19:28.519 --> 00:19:36.059 when we trust in Jesus. Life is hard whether we're Christian or not, but the wonderful thing that a 00:19:36.059 --> 00:19:42.079 Christian has is we have the love of God. We know God with us and God with us always. 00:19:44.379 --> 00:19:53.379 So our story begins with Joseph, the obedient son. He arrives at Dothan, but then his journey 00:19:53.379 --> 00:20:02.980 is halted because there is this plot from the disobedient sons. So verses 18 to 35, 00:20:02.980 --> 00:20:11.500 the focus shifts to Joseph's brothers. Moses, our writer of this salvation history, is drawing a 00:20:11.500 --> 00:20:18.980 sharp contrast. End of verse 17 into verse 18, Joseph in obedience went after his brothers and 00:20:18.980 --> 00:20:25.920 found them near Dothan, but they saw him in the distance and before he reached them, they plotted to 00:20:25.920 --> 00:20:31.099 kill him. Remember, it's always important to remember this is true history. Remember too, 00:20:31.099 --> 00:20:38.500 these are Israel's spiritual fathers. So they're hearing this story of their ancestors for the 00:20:38.500 --> 00:20:42.859 first time and they're discovering they are also people who sinned like us. They were also people 00:20:42.859 --> 00:20:48.579 who needed mercy like us. They're not perfect and different from us. And it's good news for all of 00:20:48.579 --> 00:20:54.500 us that the Bible is an honest book. It's honest about human sin. It's honest about human need. And it's 00:20:54.500 --> 00:21:03.160 also honest in giving the answer of God's mercy and grace. So we see the brothers, verse 20, we see 00:21:03.160 --> 00:21:11.140 their plan to kill Joseph. They intend to kill him, to dispose of the body by throwing him into a cistern, 00:21:11.420 --> 00:21:19.019 to cover it up by claiming a wild animal devoured him. Again, this family that received the promises 00:21:19.019 --> 00:21:25.180 of God, this family is a messed up and broken family. There is sin, there is the need of mercy. 00:21:25.759 --> 00:21:32.379 Now, why do they plot against Joseph? What wrong has he done? What do they focus on? Verse 19, 00:21:32.980 --> 00:21:39.079 it's his dreams, isn't it? Here comes that dreamer. Verse 20, end of verse 20, then we'll see what comes 00:21:39.079 --> 00:21:45.519 of his dreams. So God had given Joseph dreams that at some unidentified time in the future, 00:21:45.519 --> 00:21:52.079 Joseph would be raised up to prominence and his brothers and his family would bow down before him. 00:21:52.240 --> 00:21:58.359 And as much as they hate Joseph because he's the family favourite of his father, they hate him more 00:21:58.359 --> 00:22:09.559 because of those dreams. Those dreams come from God, showing that Joseph will be a deliverer for his 00:22:09.559 --> 00:22:17.480 family. But his brothers, in their hate, in their jealousy, refuse to listen. And so we see them 00:22:17.480 --> 00:22:22.500 refusing to honour their father because they won't show any love to Joseph. We see them refusing to 00:22:22.500 --> 00:22:27.399 honour Joseph because they want to kill him. And in so doing, they refuse to honour God, 00:22:28.720 --> 00:22:35.619 who calls all of us to love our neighbour as ourselves. And they reject God's chosen deliverer 00:22:35.619 --> 00:22:41.179 at this stage. Well, Reuben is introduced to the story. Verse 21, Reuben is the firstborn. 00:22:42.099 --> 00:22:48.000 He intervenes. He comes up with a different solution. Let's not take his life, he said. 00:22:48.219 --> 00:22:53.419 Don't shed any blood. Instead, throw him into the cistern, but don't lay a hand on him. He's basically, 00:22:53.719 --> 00:23:00.659 he says he wants to, in verse 22, he wants to come back and rescue Joseph. But the only way he can 00:23:00.660 --> 00:23:06.279 persuade his brothers not to have Joseph killed instantly is to say, well, let's throw him down a 00:23:06.279 --> 00:23:11.200 well, leave him there, let nature take his course. So the brothers are happy, basically, so long as 00:23:11.200 --> 00:23:20.400 the end result is Joseph dies. But Reuben is hoping to rescue him. When Joseph arrives in verse 23, 00:23:20.540 --> 00:23:27.540 notice the first thing they do. They strip him of his robe, this symbol of the special love he has 00:23:27.539 --> 00:23:34.779 from his father that causes them to hate him. They take it off. They throw him in the well. 00:23:35.599 --> 00:23:42.240 Their brother, who's been sent by their father to see if all is well, and they want him dead. 00:23:43.680 --> 00:23:49.000 So they're sitting down for lunch, verse 25. And then we're introduced to another character who will 00:23:49.000 --> 00:23:54.920 become crucial to the story of Jacob's family, another one of Joseph's brothers. This time it's 00:23:54.920 --> 00:24:01.200 Judah, verse 26. Let's listen to Judah. Let's see what we make of his character at this point. 00:24:02.200 --> 00:24:07.500 Judah said to his brothers, what will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? 00:24:08.279 --> 00:24:14.940 Well, so far so good, we might say. Come, let's sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him. 00:24:14.980 --> 00:24:20.500 After all, he is our brother, our own flesh and blood. 00:24:20.500 --> 00:24:27.980 Not very brotherly. Well, we won't kill him, but let's profit from his destruction. Let's sell him 00:24:27.980 --> 00:24:35.380 as a slave. After all, he's our brother. So we see again, there is real coldness. There is real hate 00:24:35.380 --> 00:24:43.940 from Judah. He wants to profit from this situation. And all the brothers are very quick to agree. 00:24:43.940 --> 00:24:52.519 And so the brother Joseph is sold to the Ishmaelites. Poor Reuben returns later, 00:24:53.340 --> 00:24:57.680 comes to carry out his plan, and he discovers that Joseph isn't there. 00:24:59.220 --> 00:25:04.559 But then instantly know what happens. Not let's go on a rescue mission. He doesn't try and change 00:25:04.559 --> 00:25:10.539 the brothers' minds to win him back. Rather, it's let's devise a different cover-up. So they take, 00:25:10.539 --> 00:25:18.079 verse 31, they take Joseph's robe, they dip it in blood, and they want to deceive their father, 00:25:19.059 --> 00:25:24.559 Jacob, who instantly presumes that Joseph has been killed by wild animals. 00:25:26.200 --> 00:25:35.460 Jacob, who's now devastated by the loss of his son. The brothers have, as they see it, removed a rival 00:25:35.460 --> 00:25:43.259 in getting rid of Joseph. But they haven't claimed the father's love. Verse 35, all his sons and daughters 00:25:43.259 --> 00:25:51.160 came to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. No, he said in mourning, will I go down to the grave 00:25:51.160 --> 00:26:01.759 for my son. A tragic episode in the life of one family. A tragic episode in the life of a family 00:26:01.759 --> 00:26:07.960 that had been chosen to receive the promises of God. A couple of things for us to think about. First 00:26:07.960 --> 00:26:16.960 of all, beware of sin, because sin blinds us to its destructive power. One of the things that's 00:26:16.960 --> 00:26:26.240 striking about this family is how history repeats. So Jacob is the father, and he is guilty of favoritism, 00:26:26.240 --> 00:26:33.259 which causes so much trouble. But Jacob, as a son, also lived in a household where there was 00:26:33.259 --> 00:26:39.759 favoritism, where his father favored his older brother, where the mother favored Jacob, and that 00:26:39.759 --> 00:26:46.740 caused all kinds of problems. God had said that it would be through Jacob that the promise would 00:26:46.740 --> 00:26:54.039 continue to flow. But Isaac, his father, so favored Esau, his brother, that he was going to give the 00:26:54.039 --> 00:26:59.980 blessing to him. And so Jacob responds in sin by deceiving his father. Deception is there. 00:27:00.559 --> 00:27:05.099 Favoritism is there in order to claim the blessing. And then he has to run from his life from a brother 00:27:05.099 --> 00:27:12.859 who wants to murder him. So all of those realities in Jacob's life, he then passes on down the generation. 00:27:14.399 --> 00:27:20.819 Same too for the brothers, as they are blinded by hate and by jealousy. It's remarkable, really, 00:27:20.819 --> 00:27:27.359 that they can in one moment plan the murder of their brother, and then in the next moment it seems 00:27:27.359 --> 00:27:37.399 sit down to enjoy their lunch together, seemingly without a thought for Joseph. They can sell their 00:27:37.399 --> 00:27:46.099 brother into slavery and can break their father's heart rather than try to bring him back. 00:27:46.099 --> 00:27:57.719 sin is ripping this family apart. This family that received God's promises stands in great need of 00:27:57.719 --> 00:28:05.719 God's mercy and restoration and reconciliation. And it will come, but it will be a long road to get there. 00:28:05.720 --> 00:28:31.740 sin is devastating like a wildfire is devastating. Sin destroys lives. Sin leaves us in desperate need of 00:28:31.740 --> 00:28:40.779 a rescue only God can provide. A rescue he has provided through his son. 00:28:43.180 --> 00:28:47.240 Let's think for a moment as families. 00:28:50.240 --> 00:28:57.759 It's important for us when we read stories like this to recognize that sin doesn't just impact individuals. 00:28:57.759 --> 00:29:08.500 your sin and my sin has an impact on those around us, especially can have a grave impact on our families. 00:29:10.500 --> 00:29:18.740 What legacy do we want for our children? What is it that we pray for and long for? 00:29:18.740 --> 00:29:26.940 No doubt we want them to be healthy and to be happy, but do we want them to be following Christ? 00:29:27.740 --> 00:29:34.519 Do we want them to be choosing the path of obedience, to be persevering even through trials? 00:29:35.160 --> 00:29:37.740 And how will we show them that? 00:29:40.019 --> 00:29:46.180 Are we teaching, are we showing our children what the grace of God looks like? 00:29:46.180 --> 00:29:56.620 Are we showing them what repentance and confession of sin looks like by taking the lead in that when we sin against them or sin against others as parents? 00:29:56.620 --> 00:30:01.580 Are we quick to say, I'm sorry to our kids and to others? 00:30:02.500 --> 00:30:09.900 Are we reminding ourselves and our family of God's grace in the face of the destructive power of sin? 00:30:09.900 --> 00:30:17.900 Beware too that sin blinds us to our greatest need. 00:30:19.500 --> 00:30:24.800 Again, those dreams that Joseph received, they came from God and those dreams from God were saying, 00:30:25.200 --> 00:30:27.900 Joseph had been chosen as the family deliverer. 00:30:28.740 --> 00:30:30.140 How do the brothers respond? 00:30:30.240 --> 00:30:32.700 Let's kill him, let's cover it up and let's go eat lunch. 00:30:32.700 --> 00:30:37.640 They reject the Savior who came to them. 00:30:38.519 --> 00:30:42.039 They showed hatred and anger towards him. 00:30:43.080 --> 00:30:46.960 And again, doesn't this remind us of what happened when Jesus came? 00:30:48.000 --> 00:30:50.259 Jesus, the great rescuer. 00:30:51.059 --> 00:30:52.779 The religious leaders hated Jesus. 00:30:54.080 --> 00:30:56.400 They were jealous of his popularity. 00:30:56.400 --> 00:31:00.860 They hated the challenge that he brought to them. 00:31:01.780 --> 00:31:07.420 And so they lived with that settled conviction that what we need to do is to get rid of him. 00:31:09.300 --> 00:31:14.140 As Peter would say in his sermon in Acts 2, you killed the author of life. 00:31:14.259 --> 00:31:18.220 Their creator had entered creation in order to rescue them, rescue him. 00:31:18.300 --> 00:31:23.140 But in their rebellion, in their blindness because of sin, they turned their back on Jesus. 00:31:23.800 --> 00:31:25.420 They shouted, crucify Jesus. 00:31:25.420 --> 00:31:27.500 They said, give us Barabbas, a murderer. 00:31:27.600 --> 00:31:28.759 We don't want Jesus. 00:31:32.759 --> 00:31:37.720 What's your greatest needs and mine as human beings? 00:31:38.779 --> 00:31:40.940 It's to be right with our creator. 00:31:41.880 --> 00:31:43.940 There is nothing more important than that. 00:31:44.640 --> 00:31:50.380 To know that we can stand before our maker on the judgment day and to know we can enjoy his acceptance. 00:31:51.440 --> 00:31:53.600 We need to know the way back to God. 00:31:53.599 --> 00:31:56.199 We need to know where peace with God comes from. 00:31:56.259 --> 00:31:58.980 How can we be reconciled to this God? 00:31:59.019 --> 00:32:00.259 And the answer is Jesus. 00:32:01.219 --> 00:32:04.480 Jesus is the only way back to God. 00:32:05.240 --> 00:32:08.039 He has made a way back by his death on the cross. 00:32:08.159 --> 00:32:10.439 He has dealt with sin, so the barrier is gone. 00:32:10.779 --> 00:32:15.899 So we can now be welcomed into the presence of God through faith in Jesus. 00:32:15.900 --> 00:32:19.620 Through turning from sin and trusting in Jesus. 00:32:21.560 --> 00:32:24.780 The Savior comes near to you and to me today. 00:32:25.280 --> 00:32:31.640 In his word, in the gospel, as we meet here together, how do we respond to him? 00:32:31.640 --> 00:32:39.400 Let me encourage all of us to welcome him and to enjoy him. 00:32:39.440 --> 00:32:45.780 Don't turn your back or reject the one who is the answer to your greatest need. 00:32:45.779 --> 00:32:54.339 Finally, verse 36, we see the end of the journey for Joseph at this stage. 00:32:54.440 --> 00:32:57.639 The journey to slavery in Egypt. 00:32:57.799 --> 00:33:06.299 Meanwhile, the Midianites sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh's officials, the captain of the guard. 00:33:06.399 --> 00:33:10.259 This story, as we leave it, we leave it on a cliffhanger. 00:33:10.259 --> 00:33:13.039 Here is Moses, the storyteller. 00:33:13.960 --> 00:33:20.039 So at one and the same time, we have Jacob, who's mourning, imagining his son is dead. 00:33:20.900 --> 00:33:23.619 But we're told Joseph is alive, but where is he? 00:33:23.680 --> 00:33:26.339 He's a slave in Egypt, that symbol of oppression. 00:33:26.839 --> 00:33:29.259 That nation that's known for being anti-God. 00:33:29.960 --> 00:33:31.299 And so we're left with tension. 00:33:32.140 --> 00:33:39.079 How can the promises of God come true when Joseph, the chosen one, is a slave in Egypt? 00:33:39.079 --> 00:33:47.720 How can the people of God take possession of the land that he's promised when the chosen one is now away from the land and he's in the place of slavery? 00:33:48.299 --> 00:33:51.339 How will these dreams come true? 00:33:51.720 --> 00:33:55.399 How will the story of salvation work out for the people of God? 00:33:56.179 --> 00:33:57.779 We don't get an answer just yet. 00:33:57.859 --> 00:34:00.119 We need to read on to find out. 00:34:00.119 --> 00:34:12.299 But one last lesson, really a reminder to remind us again of Jesus, that God's chosen rescuer walks a hard road to save others. 00:34:14.139 --> 00:34:16.059 Joseph didn't choose this path. 00:34:17.079 --> 00:34:23.339 He didn't set out on his journey with the end goal, his great desire to be a slave in Egypt. 00:34:23.340 --> 00:34:28.180 But God would use it so that one day he might deliver that nation. 00:34:28.519 --> 00:34:34.340 But more importantly, for our story, he might deliver his own family from death. 00:34:34.600 --> 00:34:38.940 Joseph has a high price to pay for his place in the salvation story. 00:34:40.420 --> 00:34:47.180 And that very much prepares us for the coming of Jesus, who came to be a savior for his brothers and paid the ultimate price. 00:34:47.179 --> 00:34:52.779 Jesus, like Joseph, would be hated and rejected and sold. 00:34:55.000 --> 00:35:00.659 Jacob, Jesus, like Joseph, will journey from his father's side. 00:35:01.419 --> 00:35:04.500 A journey that will take him to the cross where we hear him cry, 00:35:04.679 --> 00:35:09.960 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? 00:35:10.899 --> 00:35:16.139 The path of Jesus' earthly life is one of suffering first with glory to follow. 00:35:17.179 --> 00:35:20.519 And that's the pattern for the lives of his followers. 00:35:22.099 --> 00:35:27.960 But our great hope is that because of his journey, because of that journey that he took to save us, 00:35:28.399 --> 00:35:34.179 by trusting in him, yes, the path is hard, but we can enjoy life with God now. 00:35:34.219 --> 00:35:35.319 And that's good news. 00:35:36.219 --> 00:35:40.799 We have the promised certain hope of eternity in the presence of God. 00:35:41.099 --> 00:35:44.940 That's our goal, the end of our journey that keeps us going. 00:35:44.940 --> 00:35:52.619 And we know his goodness and his mercy will follow us all the days of our lives. 00:35:52.780 --> 00:36:02.079 So our road, our journey may be hard, but the destination is always worth the effort.