The Lord Was with Joseph  (Genesis 39:1-23)

WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.520 --> 00:00:06.440 Reading of God's word comes from Genesis thirty nine versus one through twenty three. 2 00:00:09.509 --> 00:00:14.429 Now Joseph had been brought down to Egypt and potipher and officer of Pharaoh, 3 00:00:14.509 --> 00:00:18.309 the captain of the guard and Egyptian, had brought and bought him from the 4 00:00:18.390 --> 00:00:22.820 Ishmaelite who had brought him down there. The Lord was with Joseph and he 5 00:00:22.940 --> 00:00:26.980 became a successful man and he was in the house of his Egyptian master. 6 00:00:27.660 --> 00:00:31.859 His master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord costs all 7 00:00:31.940 --> 00:00:36.689 he did to succeed in his hands. So Joseph found favor in his sight 8 00:00:36.929 --> 00:00:41.289 and attended him and he made him overseer of his house and put him in 9 00:00:41.369 --> 00:00:45.369 charge of all that he had. From the time that he made him overseer 10 00:00:45.450 --> 00:00:48.929 in his house and all that over all that he had, the Lord blessed 11 00:00:48.929 --> 00:00:53.399 the Egyptian's House for Joseph's sake. The blessing of the Lord was on all 12 00:00:53.600 --> 00:00:57.840 that he had in house and field. So he left all that he had 13 00:00:58.079 --> 00:01:02.240 in Joseph Charge and because of him he had no concern about anything but the 14 00:01:02.359 --> 00:01:07.590 food that he ate. Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance and after 15 00:01:07.629 --> 00:01:12.030 a time his master's wife cast her eyes on Joseph and Said lie with me, 16 00:01:12.670 --> 00:01:17.629 but he refused and said to his master's wife behold because of me. 17 00:01:17.829 --> 00:01:22.219 My master has no concern about anything in the house and he has put everything 18 00:01:22.379 --> 00:01:26.099 that he has in my charge. He is not greater in this house than 19 00:01:26.140 --> 00:01:29.260 I am, nor is he kept back anything from me, except you, 20 00:01:29.420 --> 00:01:33.250 because you are his wife. How, then, can I do this great 21 00:01:33.250 --> 00:01:38.689 wickedness and Sin Against God? And as she spoke to Joseph Day after day, 22 00:01:38.370 --> 00:01:42.090 he would not listen to her, to lie beside her or to be 23 00:01:42.250 --> 00:01:47.239 with her. But one day, when he went into the house to do 24 00:01:47.480 --> 00:01:49.480 his work and none of the men of the house were there in the house, 25 00:01:51.000 --> 00:01:53.439 she caught him by his garment saying lie with me, but he left 26 00:01:53.480 --> 00:01:57.319 his garment in her hands and fled and got out of the House. And 27 00:01:57.480 --> 00:02:00.430 as soon as she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and 28 00:02:00.590 --> 00:02:05.109 had fled out of the house, she called to the men of her household 29 00:02:05.150 --> 00:02:07.349 and said to them, see, he has brought among us a Hebrew to 30 00:02:07.469 --> 00:02:10.550 laugh at us. He came into me to lie with me, and I 31 00:02:10.750 --> 00:02:15.629 crowd cried out with a loud voice and as soon as he heard that I 32 00:02:15.780 --> 00:02:19.860 lifted up my voice and cried out, he left his garment beside me and 33 00:02:20.099 --> 00:02:23.060 fled and got out of the House. Then she laid up his garment by 34 00:02:23.139 --> 00:02:27.939 her and tell his master. Came home and she told him the same story, 35 00:02:27.979 --> 00:02:32.090 saying the Hebrew Servant whom you have brought among us came in to me 36 00:02:32.289 --> 00:02:36.289 to laugh at me, but as soon as I lifted up my voice and 37 00:02:36.449 --> 00:02:40.810 cried he left his garment beside me and fled out of the House as soon 38 00:02:40.849 --> 00:02:46.280 as his master heard the words that his wife had spoken to him. This 39 00:02:46.439 --> 00:02:51.599 is the way your servant treated me. His anger was kindled and Joseph's master 40 00:02:51.759 --> 00:02:54.960 took him and put him in the prison, the place where the king's prisoners 41 00:02:55.000 --> 00:03:00.909 were confined, and he was there in prison. But the Lord was with 42 00:03:00.310 --> 00:03:06.430 Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the 43 00:03:06.469 --> 00:03:09.590 keeper of the prison, and the keeper of the prison put Joseph in charge 44 00:03:09.629 --> 00:03:14.460 of all the prisoners who were there in prison. Whatever was done there, 45 00:03:14.580 --> 00:03:16.740 he was the one who did it. The keeper of the prison paid no 46 00:03:16.780 --> 00:03:22.939 attention to anything that was in Joseph's charge because the Lord was with him and 47 00:03:23.180 --> 00:03:27.689 whatever he did, the Lord made succeed sends the Reading of God's word. 48 00:03:27.770 --> 00:03:49.719 You may be seated. Well, Joseph is one of those Bible characters in 49 00:03:49.840 --> 00:03:53.240 this story is one of those stories in the scriptures that we are generally pretty 50 00:03:53.280 --> 00:03:58.310 familiar with if you've been in church for any amount of time or grew up 51 00:03:58.389 --> 00:04:03.310 going Sunday school. And Joseph is one of those characters in the Bible where 52 00:04:03.310 --> 00:04:08.629 we kind of think of him as a second tier character. Now you have 53 00:04:08.789 --> 00:04:12.860 your first tier characters in the Bible, right, your David's, your Paul's, 54 00:04:13.099 --> 00:04:15.459 your Mary's, your Peters, these are the characters where, if you've 55 00:04:15.500 --> 00:04:20.339 ever taken one of those online Bible quizzes where you fill out your personal information 56 00:04:20.459 --> 00:04:25.850 and tells you which Bible character you are, if you get Joseph, you're 57 00:04:25.889 --> 00:04:29.449 pretty excited. He's kind of like Barnabas right, he's you know, nothing 58 00:04:29.490 --> 00:04:32.649 really bad is written about Joseph. So much you feel pretty good about yourself. 59 00:04:33.410 --> 00:04:38.410 But then if your spouse or your roommate or your friend takes the same 60 00:04:38.449 --> 00:04:41.680 quiz and they get someone like Paul, your little jealous of them. You 61 00:04:41.800 --> 00:04:45.160 like Paul, you know Paul. Paul would do the dishes more often, 62 00:04:45.879 --> 00:04:49.360 Paul would change the diapers more often, right, and so Joseph is one 63 00:04:49.399 --> 00:04:51.910 of those characters, right. We kind of think of him in that way, 64 00:04:53.670 --> 00:04:58.189 and this story is a common story in which we hear about his resistance 65 00:04:58.269 --> 00:05:03.310 to temptation and we primarily take this text as an exhortation to flee sin. 66 00:05:03.389 --> 00:05:09.980 And while that is there, while we should flee sin, what we should 67 00:05:09.980 --> 00:05:14.740 see in this story, as with all stories of the Bible, all accounts 68 00:05:14.819 --> 00:05:19.740 in the scriptures, is they are not first and foremost about the morals that 69 00:05:19.860 --> 00:05:24.569 we should live by, though that is there, but they are first and 70 00:05:24.810 --> 00:05:30.250 foremost about the story of God's faithfulness to his people the salvation that he brings, 71 00:05:30.889 --> 00:05:34.290 and the story of Joseph is no difference. So what I would like 72 00:05:34.449 --> 00:05:38.600 us to see here, the main thing for us to see this morning, 73 00:05:38.639 --> 00:05:42.959 is that because God is with his people to the darkest of times, they 74 00:05:43.000 --> 00:05:47.680 can trust in his love and vindication through the darkest of times. And so 75 00:05:47.839 --> 00:05:54.149 in this account we first see the rise of Joseph, that happens, that 76 00:05:54.269 --> 00:05:59.350 occurs with him. The background information of Joseph, if you're not from familiar, 77 00:05:59.589 --> 00:06:02.990 is that he is the eleven of the twelve sons that are born to 78 00:06:03.069 --> 00:06:08.699 Jacob. He is the first of the last two that are born to Jacobs 79 00:06:08.980 --> 00:06:14.060 favorite wife, Rachel. And if there's something that's more problematic than having multiple 80 00:06:14.060 --> 00:06:17.180 wives, and if there's something that's more problematic than playing favorites with your wives, 81 00:06:17.850 --> 00:06:24.009 is also to play favorites with your children, right, and so Jacob 82 00:06:24.089 --> 00:06:28.370 does this. He makes it clear that Joseph is his favorite son. He 83 00:06:28.449 --> 00:06:33.680 gives them this coat of many colors, because Joseph is the first wife to 84 00:06:33.759 --> 00:06:38.079 jake or to rate or them, sorry, the first son to Rachel. 85 00:06:38.839 --> 00:06:45.839 Right. And Joseph also has a gift. Joseph sees dreams. He is 86 00:06:45.839 --> 00:06:47.430 a dreamer, but he's not a dreamer in the way that John Lennon is 87 00:06:47.470 --> 00:06:50.550 a dreamer. He is a dreamer in the sense that he has dreams that 88 00:06:50.589 --> 00:06:57.509 are actual revelation from God. And so he has these dreams and in verse 89 00:06:57.589 --> 00:07:01.860 Chapter Thirty Seven, he tells how he will one day be ruler over his 90 00:07:02.060 --> 00:07:05.779 brothers and, as you can imagine, they don't really like these dreams too 91 00:07:05.860 --> 00:07:10.660 much, and so from that point on they hate him. And he comes 92 00:07:10.699 --> 00:07:14.100 to a point in thirty seven, where he, Joseph, is going out 93 00:07:14.339 --> 00:07:17.850 into the fields to see how his brothers are doing and they see him coming 94 00:07:18.250 --> 00:07:23.410 and they plot to kill him and eventually they get to this point where Ruben, 95 00:07:23.490 --> 00:07:26.490 one of the brothers, says, because he's the only one who loved 96 00:07:26.529 --> 00:07:28.970 Joseph, he says let's not kill him, let's throw them in a pit 97 00:07:29.170 --> 00:07:31.279 so that he can come back and rescue him later. And so they throw 98 00:07:31.360 --> 00:07:35.959 Joseph in the pit and they see some ishmaelite traders coming along and they say, 99 00:07:36.000 --> 00:07:39.480 you know what, we don't want his blood on our hands and you 100 00:07:39.560 --> 00:07:42.959 know what, who can make a quick profit here? So let's sell him 101 00:07:43.120 --> 00:07:46.470 to the ishmaelite traders. And that's what they do. And the mishmaelite traders 102 00:07:46.550 --> 00:07:50.589 come down to Egypt, they take Joseph and they sell him to Potifer, 103 00:07:50.870 --> 00:07:56.750 this high ranking official under the Pharaoh, and that is the background, as 104 00:07:56.829 --> 00:08:01.740 well as the story of Judah and Tamar, Judah's daughter in law, who 105 00:08:01.819 --> 00:08:05.060 he also wrongs and ends up sleeping with because he believes that she is a 106 00:08:05.139 --> 00:08:11.100 prostitute. So we see these complicated, these sinful relationships. All this stuff 107 00:08:11.139 --> 00:08:16.290 is the background to the story of Joseph. These things that the Bible is 108 00:08:16.370 --> 00:08:20.250 very honest about when it comes to the sinfulness of human beings and even God's 109 00:08:20.250 --> 00:08:26.290 own people, his beloved and so we see this happening. And so the 110 00:08:26.410 --> 00:08:28.160 first thing that I want us to see here, this is the first point, 111 00:08:28.319 --> 00:08:33.000 is that the Lord was with Joseph, and I made a mistake when 112 00:08:33.039 --> 00:08:35.399 I pick the title. I said God was with Joseph. I should have 113 00:08:35.440 --> 00:08:37.240 said the Lord, and they are the same, don't get me wrong, 114 00:08:37.759 --> 00:08:41.990 but the Lord here. When it says the Lord, that is intentional on 115 00:08:41.070 --> 00:08:46.190 the part of the author, because the Lord is the Covenant Name of God's 116 00:08:46.269 --> 00:08:52.230 People. In Hebrew, this is Yahway. This is the name that God 117 00:08:52.309 --> 00:08:54.429 didn't just have as a general name for all the nations of the earth, 118 00:08:54.470 --> 00:08:58.860 but this is the name that he gave Israel and this is the name that 119 00:08:58.980 --> 00:09:01.779 he said when you were in trouble, when your enemies are around you, 120 00:09:01.220 --> 00:09:05.740 this is the name that you will call upon for your deliverance. This is 121 00:09:05.860 --> 00:09:09.820 my covenant name, and that's important, and we'll see why later, because 122 00:09:09.049 --> 00:09:13.409 the though God, the general term, is used more in Joseph's life, 123 00:09:13.889 --> 00:09:18.210 this name, Yahway, is prominent in this text. Though it is behind 124 00:09:18.250 --> 00:09:24.720 the scenes. And so Joseph is in the house. He's in a privileged 125 00:09:24.759 --> 00:09:28.759 position. He's a slave in the house, and we see in three through 126 00:09:28.879 --> 00:09:31.759 six that the Lord blesses him so much so that all things are put under 127 00:09:31.759 --> 00:09:37.440 his feet and everything that he does succeeds. And so we get a glimpse 128 00:09:37.480 --> 00:09:43.110 right into Joseph's administrative ability. His ability to rule well is already present. 129 00:09:45.429 --> 00:09:50.149 And so Josh and Joseph is in charge of everything but the food that potiphor 130 00:09:50.230 --> 00:09:56.139 eight. Now this could be potentially a euphemism for potipher's wife, but more 131 00:09:56.259 --> 00:10:00.100 generally it just means potipher's private affairs. So that is how much he is 132 00:10:00.179 --> 00:10:03.500 entrusted to Joseph, and so this is a pretty good Gig, right. 133 00:10:05.419 --> 00:10:09.610 You See, it is at this point where the Lord being with Joseph makes 134 00:10:09.649 --> 00:10:11.929 a lot of sense, right. I mean the text says that he is, 135 00:10:13.889 --> 00:10:16.970 but we often think, our natural way of thinking is that God is 136 00:10:18.049 --> 00:10:22.480 with us and if I just act right, God will give me good outcomes, 137 00:10:22.120 --> 00:10:24.720 right, and so we have this kind of partnership with God. That's 138 00:10:24.720 --> 00:10:31.080 our natural, sinful way of relating to God, and so this all makes 139 00:10:31.120 --> 00:10:35.789 sense to us. Right here and furthermore, it fits with Joseph's dreams. 140 00:10:35.830 --> 00:10:39.470 Right, he's second in command, he has dreams of one day ruling, 141 00:10:39.629 --> 00:10:43.909 and so this is all making a lot of sense. But then we have 142 00:10:43.269 --> 00:10:52.299 the transition in six B right, Joseph was handsome inform and appearance. Why 143 00:10:52.340 --> 00:10:54.299 is this here? Well, for one, it connects him back to his 144 00:10:54.419 --> 00:11:00.580 mother Rachel and to his Great Grandmother Sarah, who this is also said about 145 00:11:00.580 --> 00:11:03.940 them, but also is the calm for the storm. It sets up what 146 00:11:03.059 --> 00:11:07.649 happens next, and this is the second thing that I want to see. 147 00:11:07.649 --> 00:11:13.850 The temptation and accusation of Josephs, or the temptation and accusation of the righteous. 148 00:11:13.929 --> 00:11:20.759 Put another way, we see this attempted seduction occur in seven through nine 149 00:11:20.919 --> 00:11:24.879 when we read this. I'll just read it again as a refresher. And 150 00:11:24.960 --> 00:11:28.840 after time his master's wife cast her eyes on Joseph and Said lie with me, 151 00:11:28.519 --> 00:11:35.190 but he refused and said to his master's wife behold, because of me, 152 00:11:35.429 --> 00:11:39.590 my master has no concern about anything in the house and he's put everything 153 00:11:39.669 --> 00:11:41.389 that he has in my charge. He has no greater in the house than 154 00:11:41.470 --> 00:11:45.549 I am, nor is he kept back anything from me, except you, 155 00:11:45.669 --> 00:11:48.820 because you are his wife. How, then, can I do this great 156 00:11:48.820 --> 00:11:56.379 wickedness and Sin Against God? We see here an attempted seduction or even more 157 00:11:56.460 --> 00:12:01.809 blown only sexual harassment, you see, because the words that she uses here 158 00:12:01.929 --> 00:12:05.929 is not the wordage of wooing or coercing, but it's a very blunt imperative 159 00:12:05.929 --> 00:12:09.929 right lie with me. And furthermore, it's not as if he has rights, 160 00:12:11.409 --> 00:12:13.210 you know, it's not as if he can just say, you know, 161 00:12:13.809 --> 00:12:16.679 well, no thanks. I mean, you're really nice, but I'd 162 00:12:16.679 --> 00:12:20.320 like to keep this relationship professional. This is a situation there is no excuse 163 00:12:20.399 --> 00:12:28.679 escape out of. And furthermore, we see contrasted here the folly of Potipher's 164 00:12:28.759 --> 00:12:33.669 wife with the wisdom of Joseph. Thing of this incident in light of what 165 00:12:33.830 --> 00:12:41.269 proverbs twenty through twenty three says, saying this about adultery. Why should you 166 00:12:41.350 --> 00:12:46.700 be intoxicated, my son, with a forbidden woman and embrace the Bosdom of 167 00:12:46.779 --> 00:12:50.860 an adultress for man's ways or before the eyes of the Lord? And he 168 00:12:50.980 --> 00:12:54.899 ponders all his paths, the iniquities of the wicked and snare him and he 169 00:12:54.940 --> 00:12:58.539 has held fast in the chords of his sin. He dies for lack of 170 00:12:58.649 --> 00:13:03.330 discipline and because of his great father folly. He's led astray. You See, 171 00:13:03.409 --> 00:13:07.610 Joseph knows that his ways are always before the eyes of the Lord. 172 00:13:07.970 --> 00:13:13.759 Therefore, how can he do this great wickedness and Sin Against God? So 173 00:13:13.919 --> 00:13:16.919 we see a man here who's not only shrewd and business dealings, but he 174 00:13:18.200 --> 00:13:22.960 is also displaying great character. And we see a form of sinfulness, of 175 00:13:24.080 --> 00:13:31.309 temptation that occurs day after day, day after day, this sinful temptation, 176 00:13:31.909 --> 00:13:35.789 this weight is bearing down on Joseph. There is nowhere for him to go 177 00:13:35.389 --> 00:13:41.070 to escape this temptation. The darkness closed in on him. Day After Day. 178 00:13:41.149 --> 00:13:45.940 He has to go to this environment in which he faces constant temptation and 179 00:13:46.179 --> 00:13:52.860 harassment from both Potifer's wife and the enemy. And so we have to think 180 00:13:52.860 --> 00:13:58.289 about this. What aspects of our Lives Mirror such attack? What ways are 181 00:13:58.370 --> 00:14:01.450 we also walking through the Valley of the shadow of death, as the PSALMIST 182 00:14:01.490 --> 00:14:05.970 put it? We all have these ways in which we are constantly going through 183 00:14:07.210 --> 00:14:13.519 temptation. And so we see this temptation happening, we see this harassment happening, 184 00:14:13.600 --> 00:14:18.360 we see this darkness, but in verses, eleven through eighteen. It 185 00:14:18.519 --> 00:14:24.789 is magnified even more when we have this accusation. But one day when he 186 00:14:24.909 --> 00:14:28.909 went into the house to do his work and none of the men of the 187 00:14:28.029 --> 00:14:31.350 house was there in the house, she caught him by the garment, saying 188 00:14:31.429 --> 00:14:35.230 lie with me, but he left his garment in her hand and fled and 189 00:14:35.350 --> 00:14:39.379 got out of the House. And as soon as she saw that he had 190 00:14:39.379 --> 00:14:41.860 left his garment in her hand and had fled out of the house, she 191 00:14:43.059 --> 00:14:45.940 called to the men of her household and said to them, see, he 192 00:14:46.019 --> 00:14:48.299 has brought among us a Hebrew to laugh at us. He came in to 193 00:14:48.419 --> 00:14:52.049 me to lie with me and I cried out with a loud voice, and 194 00:14:52.210 --> 00:14:56.850 as soon as he heard that I lifted up my voice and cried out he 195 00:14:56.409 --> 00:15:01.210 he left his garment beside me and fled and got out of the House. 196 00:15:01.809 --> 00:15:03.730 Then she laid up the garment by her and tell his master. Came home 197 00:15:05.250 --> 00:15:07.279 and she told him the same story, saying the Hebrew Servant whom you have 198 00:15:07.440 --> 00:15:11.159 brought among us, came into me to laugh at me, but as soon 199 00:15:11.200 --> 00:15:16.559 as I lifted up my voice and cried out, he left his garment beside 200 00:15:16.600 --> 00:15:20.789 me and fled out of the house, and so we see the full weight 201 00:15:20.870 --> 00:15:26.590 of injustice occurring here. The victim of temptation and harassment is now accused of 202 00:15:26.830 --> 00:15:33.070 rape. He escapes one form of temptation and darkness, only to be plunged 203 00:15:33.149 --> 00:15:37.019 deeper into it, only to be plunged deeper in too and justice. And 204 00:15:37.139 --> 00:15:41.259 so this leads us to ask this question. This is the question we all 205 00:15:41.379 --> 00:15:48.340 need to ask. Does the judged, does injustice thought or stop the plans 206 00:15:48.500 --> 00:15:56.529 of God? You See, we have to ask ourselves what hope do we 207 00:15:56.649 --> 00:16:00.250 have? What for the ways that we are sinned against? What hope do 208 00:16:00.370 --> 00:16:03.480 we have in the midst of injustice? And what hope can we offer those 209 00:16:03.679 --> 00:16:11.559 offer those who have suffered sin, manipulation and abuse? To the scriptures really 210 00:16:11.679 --> 00:16:18.669 speak to such things. See, the reality is that the historical accounts of 211 00:16:18.830 --> 00:16:25.350 God's people are filled with these type of stories. They are filled the psalms 212 00:16:25.389 --> 00:16:30.070 are filled with the people of God odd crying out in the midst of injustice, 213 00:16:30.110 --> 00:16:34.100 crying out as they are being persecuted, looking for someone who will defend 214 00:16:34.139 --> 00:16:40.500 them in the midst of such suffering and injustice. And the Israelites would no 215 00:16:40.700 --> 00:16:45.299 doubt see in this story of Joseph and his slavery in Egypt a connection to 216 00:16:45.340 --> 00:16:49.850 their own slavery in Egypt, right. And so that's what's going on. 217 00:16:51.929 --> 00:16:55.769 And, furthermore, these stories of injustice, these stories of false accusation, 218 00:16:55.850 --> 00:17:00.970 are prominent in our own history as a nation. The story is remarkably similar 219 00:17:00.129 --> 00:17:04.519 to the story of Emmett till, who is a fourteen year old African American 220 00:17:04.559 --> 00:17:12.000 boy was kidnapped and then lynched because of an accusation that he whistled at a 221 00:17:12.119 --> 00:17:18.430 white shop owner, an accusation that wipe show that white shop owner later said 222 00:17:18.470 --> 00:17:22.869 she made up. These are things in our own history and just like this 223 00:17:22.029 --> 00:17:26.869 story, there's a racial element. You see in verses fourteen and seventeen, 224 00:17:26.630 --> 00:17:33.380 potifer's wife points out that he is a Hebrew and she does this in order 225 00:17:33.420 --> 00:17:38.299 to gain sympathy from the Egyptian slaves. So this is very much integrated here, 226 00:17:38.339 --> 00:17:42.180 right, these type of ways in which injustice and sin go back and 227 00:17:42.299 --> 00:17:47.730 forth and relationships also can have a racial element, there's no question about it. 228 00:17:48.769 --> 00:17:51.849 But for all of us, even if that's not our story, we 229 00:17:52.049 --> 00:17:56.650 no doubt have to ask when we are on the receiving end of injustice or 230 00:17:56.849 --> 00:18:00.200 when we see the people of God on the receiving end of injustice or we 231 00:18:00.319 --> 00:18:04.359 see injustice in our broader world, we have to ask, does this thwart, 232 00:18:04.599 --> 00:18:10.039 does this stop, the plans that God has, the plans that God 233 00:18:10.160 --> 00:18:15.109 has for salvation? So we keep that in mind. And then Verse Nineteen 234 00:18:15.150 --> 00:18:21.269 and Twenty we see the sentencing that happens. And as soon as his master 235 00:18:21.349 --> 00:18:23.630 heard the words that his wife spoke to him. This is the way your 236 00:18:23.670 --> 00:18:29.900 servant treated me, his anger was kindled and Joseph's master took him and put 237 00:18:29.940 --> 00:18:33.339 him into the prison place where the king's prisoners were confined, and he was 238 00:18:33.460 --> 00:18:41.569 there in the prison. It's interesting that Joseph is not put to death right 239 00:18:41.690 --> 00:18:45.410 on the spot. Again, remember, he doesn't have any rights. He 240 00:18:45.490 --> 00:18:51.130 doesn't have any right to a fair trial, he doesn't have any type of 241 00:18:51.289 --> 00:18:56.960 judicial protection. He is a Hebrew slave in a high ranking official household in 242 00:18:56.079 --> 00:19:00.559 Egypt. They could have easily done away with him and that would have been 243 00:19:00.599 --> 00:19:04.160 that. But some commentators believe the reason he wasn't put to death is because 244 00:19:04.160 --> 00:19:08.359 potipher kind of you know, knows the character of Joseph, for one, 245 00:19:10.069 --> 00:19:14.390 but he also has an idea of the character of his wife, and so 246 00:19:14.549 --> 00:19:18.150 as a way to kind of, you know, save face or make sure 247 00:19:18.150 --> 00:19:22.150 that Joseph has punished and yet, realizing this might not be the truth, 248 00:19:22.269 --> 00:19:26.779 he puts him into prison. And so Joseph has kept a lot, I've 249 00:19:26.460 --> 00:19:30.500 but he is in deep darkness. And this leads to the second question that 250 00:19:30.619 --> 00:19:36.539 we should consider is, where is God and does he still love me in 251 00:19:36.619 --> 00:19:41.609 the midst of injustice? Is God still with me? Is God still with 252 00:19:41.730 --> 00:19:48.130 Joseph? You See, Joseph had the promise that he would eventually rule his 253 00:19:48.289 --> 00:19:52.130 brothers, that he would eventually be on a throne, and yet here he 254 00:19:52.410 --> 00:20:00.039 is at the bottom of a jail cell. Where is God ruling? What 255 00:20:00.240 --> 00:20:06.839 a joke. He goes from bad to worse. And so there are these 256 00:20:06.880 --> 00:20:11.390 moments where we know this type of darkness, where we feel the weight of 257 00:20:11.470 --> 00:20:15.509 our own sinfulness, where we feel the weight of sin that is all around 258 00:20:15.509 --> 00:20:19.109 us, and we, like Joseph, like the PSALMISTS, can cry out, 259 00:20:19.150 --> 00:20:25.420 as the Psalm eighteen or eighty eight thirteen th eighteen says this, but 260 00:20:25.539 --> 00:20:30.099 I cry to you for help, Lord, in the morning my prayer comes 261 00:20:30.180 --> 00:20:33.700 before you. Why, Lord, do you reject me and hide your face 262 00:20:33.779 --> 00:20:36.970 from me, from my youth, I have suffered him, been close to 263 00:20:37.089 --> 00:20:41.890 death. I have borne your tears and am in despair. Your wrath sweep 264 00:20:41.089 --> 00:20:47.210 swept over me. Your terror has destroyed me all day long. They surround 265 00:20:47.289 --> 00:20:52.119 me like a flood. They have completely engulfed me. You have taken from 266 00:20:52.160 --> 00:20:59.359 me friend and neighbor. Darkness is my close us, this friend. Is 267 00:20:59.480 --> 00:21:03.990 that not the prayer of Joseph in this midst? That not often our prayer 268 00:21:04.869 --> 00:21:11.109 that we feel in the midst of our sinfulness, in the midst of injustice? 269 00:21:11.190 --> 00:21:15.470 Joseph is our rock bottom. And again we have to ask these two 270 00:21:15.470 --> 00:21:19.940 questions. Does injustice thwart the plans of God? And, as God still 271 00:21:21.059 --> 00:21:23.900 with us, does he still love us in the midst of sin and injustice? 272 00:21:26.180 --> 00:21:30.940 You See, these are the questions not only of victims, as we 273 00:21:30.059 --> 00:21:36.930 see in this text. These are the questions of victimizers, that is, 274 00:21:37.130 --> 00:21:42.170 those who not only receive the sin of others or experience the sin of others 275 00:21:42.210 --> 00:21:45.849 done to them, wrong done them, but they are also the questions of 276 00:21:45.930 --> 00:21:49.960 those who do sin against others, because this is all of us, friends. 277 00:21:51.720 --> 00:21:55.720 We are all both in the category of victim and victimizer. To some 278 00:21:55.839 --> 00:22:02.829 extent right now. Primarily, we are victimizers, we are sinners, right, 279 00:22:02.990 --> 00:22:07.869 and that is how we are held accountable for God. And yet we 280 00:22:07.910 --> 00:22:11.990 are, how an accountable for that because of what it does to other people. 281 00:22:11.990 --> 00:22:15.460 Right. And secondarily, I would also like us to consider that the 282 00:22:15.579 --> 00:22:21.460 ways in which we are victims of sin is often connected to ways that we 283 00:22:21.660 --> 00:22:30.130 sin against others. Okay, so, if you are a kid, you 284 00:22:30.210 --> 00:22:33.369 might have been bullied in school. Or maybe you are kid and you are 285 00:22:33.450 --> 00:22:37.170 bullied in school, right, and that is not unconnected to how you relate 286 00:22:37.289 --> 00:22:41.410 to others. You may be bullied in school and because that, you have 287 00:22:41.529 --> 00:22:48.440 a hard time having close relationships with others. You're distant, right. Or 288 00:22:48.519 --> 00:22:53.640 maybe you were abused and because of that abuse, you are prone to lash 289 00:22:53.680 --> 00:22:56.880 out. Or maybe you had a parents when you were a kid who was 290 00:22:56.880 --> 00:23:02.950 an alcoholic, and maybe you swore you would never touch the stuff, but 291 00:23:03.069 --> 00:23:06.269 you're addicted to other things. You're addicted to food because you are looking for 292 00:23:06.430 --> 00:23:10.950 some kind of form of comfort, right. And so if we all kind 293 00:23:10.990 --> 00:23:14.380 of look down deep, if we all examine ourselves, will see that the 294 00:23:14.500 --> 00:23:18.220 ways that we sin against others are not unrelated to the ways that we have 295 00:23:18.380 --> 00:23:23.819 sinned against, as those sins connect on to our sinful nature. And so 296 00:23:25.420 --> 00:23:29.930 because that, we need a positive answer to these two questions of where is 297 00:23:30.049 --> 00:23:33.450 God? Does he love me, and does in justice thwart his plans? 298 00:23:34.529 --> 00:23:38.650 And so we see this in verses twenty one through twenty three, when it 299 00:23:38.730 --> 00:23:44.160 says this in the midst of all this, but the Lord was with Joseph 300 00:23:44.200 --> 00:23:48.160 and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the side of the keeper 301 00:23:48.200 --> 00:23:51.799 of the prison. And the keeper of the prison put Joseph in charge of 302 00:23:51.880 --> 00:23:55.359 all the prisoners who were in the prison. Whatever was done there, he 303 00:23:55.519 --> 00:23:57.789 was the one who did it. The keeper of the prison paid no attention 304 00:23:57.990 --> 00:24:03.109 to anything that was in Joseph's charge because the Lord was with him, and 305 00:24:03.269 --> 00:24:08.269 whatever D did, the Lord made succeed. You see, you see again 306 00:24:10.740 --> 00:24:15.539 where it says that the Lord was with Joseph. This is the second part 307 00:24:15.619 --> 00:24:19.740 where you see this said and you see all that has happened in between those 308 00:24:19.819 --> 00:24:22.819 two points where the Lord is with Joseph. A lot of sin, a 309 00:24:22.859 --> 00:24:27.009 lot of darkness has passed, and yet we are book ended by the promise 310 00:24:27.170 --> 00:24:33.289 that God is with Joseph. Right and so we have to ask, though, 311 00:24:33.609 --> 00:24:37.009 because all this darkness has passed, because of all this sin, because 312 00:24:37.170 --> 00:24:41.759 God seemed to be conveniently absent from the story. We have to ask ourselves, 313 00:24:42.200 --> 00:24:47.359 how does Joseph Know The Lord is with them? Therefore, how do 314 00:24:47.480 --> 00:24:53.670 we know that the Lord is with us? Joseph has the promises. You 315 00:24:53.750 --> 00:25:00.109 See, Joseph is the great grandson of Abraham, and these promises that were 316 00:25:00.109 --> 00:25:02.710 originally made to Abraham, that I will bless you, that I will make 317 00:25:02.750 --> 00:25:07.740 you a great nation, these are passed down to Joseph. These are the 318 00:25:07.859 --> 00:25:11.259 Abrahamic promises that come down to him. And furthermore, he had these dreams 319 00:25:11.299 --> 00:25:15.940 that God promised to him that he would one day rule and reign. And 320 00:25:15.099 --> 00:25:18.339 so Joseph, in the midst of his darkness, in the midst of his 321 00:25:18.460 --> 00:25:22.490 darkest hour, when there is no hope, all he has the promises of 322 00:25:22.609 --> 00:25:26.730 God to know that God is with them. And therefore we need to know 323 00:25:26.890 --> 00:25:32.210 that God is with us. We need promises that we can hope before. 324 00:25:33.930 --> 00:25:40.960 How do we have those promises? We see, there are a number of 325 00:25:41.279 --> 00:25:48.720 parallels between Joseph and Jesus. Scholars have noted this. When you think about 326 00:25:48.720 --> 00:25:53.990 Joseph and wisdom and leadership. Jesus is called in Hebrews three, the builder 327 00:25:55.470 --> 00:26:00.190 of the House of God. We think about faithfulness and temptation, like Joseph 328 00:26:00.430 --> 00:26:03.190 was in a way that we never could. Be It for honest Jesus withstood 329 00:26:03.230 --> 00:26:07.579 the Devil and the Wilderness in Matthew for one through eleven. And when you 330 00:26:07.700 --> 00:26:12.700 think about suffering for injustice, Jesus was delivered according to the definite plan of 331 00:26:12.779 --> 00:26:17.859 God and Knowledge of God and crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. 332 00:26:18.299 --> 00:26:22.849 Acts to twenty three. You See, in this story we find ourselves 333 00:26:22.930 --> 00:26:27.529 in a lot of places. Sometimes where Jacob, where we have disordered loves, 334 00:26:29.650 --> 00:26:32.009 we do not love people as we should, we do not give them 335 00:26:32.049 --> 00:26:37.519 the love they are due. Sometimes where potipher's wife, and we coerce other 336 00:26:37.559 --> 00:26:41.720 people, through minor or maybe big ways, to not obey the Lord's commandments 337 00:26:41.759 --> 00:26:48.829 right and sometimes we are the afflicted, like Joseph. And yet there's only 338 00:26:48.910 --> 00:26:53.670 one who we can say rightly took all this affliction the way Joseph did, 339 00:26:53.829 --> 00:27:00.950 and that is Christ. And therefore, because Jesus has suffered, he can 340 00:27:00.029 --> 00:27:04.819 empathize, he can support, he can be the rock for those who suffer 341 00:27:06.019 --> 00:27:11.220 injustice. If you aren't sure that Jesus can be your rock for sin, 342 00:27:12.380 --> 00:27:17.049 if you're not sure that he is the one who delivers you, that he 343 00:27:17.410 --> 00:27:21.690 is the one who is with you in your darkest hour, in your darkest 344 00:27:21.809 --> 00:27:26.490 sin, in all of the misery that comes with it, just consider the 345 00:27:26.650 --> 00:27:30.759 words of Psalm twenty two, these words which, by the way, he 346 00:27:30.359 --> 00:27:34.720 repeated at the cross. Now he only repeated the first line, but, 347 00:27:34.839 --> 00:27:38.519 as you may or may not know, when Jesus repeats the first line of 348 00:27:38.640 --> 00:27:44.119 this text, he implies, or he means for all his hearers to hear 349 00:27:44.240 --> 00:27:48.630 the whole Psalm. Only read a part, but listen to this. My 350 00:27:48.829 --> 00:27:52.269 God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so 351 00:27:52.470 --> 00:27:56.950 far from saving me from the words of my groaning? Oh my God, 352 00:27:56.990 --> 00:28:00.660 I cry by day, but you do not answer, and by nights, 353 00:28:00.819 --> 00:28:03.859 but I find no rest. You are holy, enthroned on the praises of 354 00:28:03.980 --> 00:28:10.059 Israel, and you are father's trusted. They trusted and you delivered them to 355 00:28:10.180 --> 00:28:14.250 you. They cried and were rescued and you, they trusted and were not 356 00:28:14.369 --> 00:28:19.049 put to shame. But I am a worm and not a man, scorned 357 00:28:19.089 --> 00:28:23.450 by mankind and despised by the people. All who see me mock me, 358 00:28:25.170 --> 00:28:27.680 they make mouths and me, they wag their heads. He trusted in the 359 00:28:27.799 --> 00:28:33.079 Lord. Let him deliver him, let him rescue him, for he delights 360 00:28:33.279 --> 00:28:41.789 in him. You see, we need to know that Jesus is with us, 361 00:28:41.829 --> 00:28:45.869 and this psalm, this text, the story of Joseph, is a 362 00:28:45.029 --> 00:28:52.230 foreshadowing of the way that Jesus is with us even now. Even now, 363 00:28:52.390 --> 00:28:57.220 his presence is with us for our salvation. And secondly, we see in 364 00:28:57.259 --> 00:29:03.099 the story of Joseph that he is restored to some extent. We see that 365 00:29:03.220 --> 00:29:08.900 there is vindication for Joseph and we see that Joseph's ultimate vindication is going to 366 00:29:08.940 --> 00:29:12.769 come later in the in the book, in Chapter Fifty, verse twenty. 367 00:29:14.730 --> 00:29:18.930 You see Joseph is eventually restored. Fully, if you know the rest of 368 00:29:18.970 --> 00:29:22.450 the story, he is in the prison and, long story short, he 369 00:29:22.529 --> 00:29:26.680 drew. He interprets a couple dreams for the Pharaoh and because that, he 370 00:29:26.799 --> 00:29:32.480 rises to power and he goes from the pit in one day on to second 371 00:29:32.559 --> 00:29:36.759 in command over all of Egypt. And God uses him in the midst of 372 00:29:36.839 --> 00:29:41.309 a famine. He uses his leadership ability, he uses these skills for administration 373 00:29:41.910 --> 00:29:45.509 to save all the people in the land, and how he rules over the 374 00:29:45.630 --> 00:29:51.470 country. And so we see this path in which God brought him here. 375 00:29:51.950 --> 00:29:53.980 And after all this good has happened, after all these things, things to 376 00:29:53.980 --> 00:30:00.980 have worked out for Joseph's ultimate vindication. His brothers confess their sin to him 377 00:30:00.980 --> 00:30:04.819 and he says this in fifty verse twenty. As for you, you meant 378 00:30:04.940 --> 00:30:10.490 evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring about that 379 00:30:10.650 --> 00:30:15.849 many people should be kept alive as they are today. You see, there 380 00:30:15.930 --> 00:30:21.089 is an ultimate vindication for Joseph and, brothers and sisters, there will be 381 00:30:21.170 --> 00:30:26.400 an ultimate vindication for you. We are not promised in this life that all 382 00:30:26.559 --> 00:30:29.920 injustice will be done away with. We are not promised that we will be 383 00:30:30.039 --> 00:30:33.279 fully relieved of all the sin that we carry, though the Lord is present 384 00:30:33.319 --> 00:30:37.269 and all of it and giving US grace. But we are promised that one 385 00:30:37.309 --> 00:30:41.789 day Jesus will come again, and we confess that he will come again. 386 00:30:42.069 --> 00:30:47.910 And when he comes again, because your faith is in him, it will 387 00:30:47.990 --> 00:30:53.900 not be for your condemnation, it will be for your salvation. You will 388 00:30:53.940 --> 00:31:00.619 not be afraid on that day you will be openly vindicated you will be openly 389 00:31:00.779 --> 00:31:03.769 declared that you are righteous and that you have the kingdom, just as it 390 00:31:03.930 --> 00:31:08.410 was your father's good pleasure to give to you, and in that day all 391 00:31:08.529 --> 00:31:15.369 evil will be destroyed, all will be set right and we will know perfectly 392 00:31:15.289 --> 00:31:19.440 that the Lord is with us, like he was with Joseph, and that 393 00:31:19.599 --> 00:31:23.119 his plans cannot be stopped. Let's pray