GENESIS 37:2 – Joseph, a young man of seventeen, was tending the flocks with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives, and he brought their father [Jacob] a bad report about them. Now Israel [Jacob] loved Joseph more than any of his other sons, because he had been born to him in his old age; and he made a richly ornamented robe for him. When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him. Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more. He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had: We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it.” His brothers said to him, “Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us?” And they hated him all the more because of his dream and what he had said. Then he had another dream, and he told it to his brothers, “Listen,” he said, “I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” When he told his father as well as his brothers, his father rebuked him and said, “What is this dream you had? Will your mothers and I and your brothers actually come and bow down to the ground before you?” His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind.
This is the Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
Have you ever been in a small group setting where the leader posed the following question as sort of a group-building discussion-starter? Once he had everyone seated he said something like this: “If you were stranded on a desert island and could have only one thing with you other than a fully-charged satellite phone that is, if you were stranded, Lost as a Castaway, on a desert island what would that one thing be?”
When this kind of question is posed you hear all kinds of interesting replies. Some people say, “The thing I would want is a box of water-proof matches.” Others might reply, “I’d want a year’s supply of energy bars.” One person might say, “I’d want a medical book that tells how to treat any kind of illness.” Insightful individuals might say, “I’d like a copy of Ship-building for Dummies.” This morning I want to ask a similar question namely, “When the storms of life strand you on the ‘Isle of Despair’ what do you turn to? What one thing do you rely on to get through the tough times of life?”
There are lots of answers people give to this question. When storms come, some cling to family or friends, and this can be good but let’s face it, relationships are not always completely trustworthy. Some cling to their careers. When disease hits, when tough times hit, they try to keep working no matter what but it doesn’t really help. Work doesn’t stop the ravages of disease. It keeps us busy but it doesn’t really help us deal with the fearful times of life. Some put their hopes in material things. When difficulties arise they try to comfort themselves with the size of their homes or bank accounts and that may bring pride or physical comfort, but it’s an empty kind of help isn’t it? Possessions are ineffective in dealing with heartbreak and despair. The sad fact is none of these things is completely reliable when it comes to dealing with the nightmare storms of life. Relationships, careers, possessions, none of them are completely adequate. You can’t trust in them to enable you to survive.
Fortunately, in God’s Word we find the only completely reliable answer to this question. The Bible, this Handbook for Life that our Creator has given us, tells us that there is something we can cling to no matter what life brings, something that is completely adequate, completely reliable 100% of the time. And this morning I want us to the story of a man in God’s book whose life illustrates this principle. His experiences are chronicled in the book of Genesis and his name is Joseph.
Joseph shows us that when the storms of life come, the one thing you need in order to get through it all is faith in God. This Old Testament character shows us that the way to keep walking through the difficulties of living on this fallen world is to do so by clinging to your faith in God. Studying his life proves that if faith is all you have, you can get through anything. Faith in God is literally all you need. When the storms of life rage around us we may doubt that something like faith is adequate to sustain us but Joseph would strongly disagree. He would tell us that no matter what you face, your faith in God will enable you to get through. We can indeed walk through life by faith. If we put our trust in Him, God will empower us to survive and even thrive no matter what happens to us. Even if we go through crisis after crisis so that all we have left is our faith, Joseph would say, “Don’t worry, that is okay, I have discovered that faith is enough!” This morning as we examine the record of Joseph’s life in scripture I think we will see this principle lived out in three specific ways to which we can all relate. And the first is this.
(1) Joseph learned that his FAITH was adequate when he endured PAINFUL EXPERIENCES.
Joseph was 17 years old here in Genesis 37 and all of his life he had been the apple of his daddy’s eye! Scripture says this was because he was born in Jacob’s old age, but another factor in Joseph’s favored status was the fact that his mother was Rachel. Do you remember the “Rachel chapter” of Jacob’s life story? When Jacob was a young man he fell in love with Rachel and he made a deal with her father Laban. He would work for him 7 years, after which he would be given Rachel’s hand in marriage, but Laban tricked him. When Jacob got drunk at the pre-wedding bash, Laban successfully substituted Leah, Rachel’s older and less-attractive sister as his bride, which means Jacob was very drunk and the lights in the honeymoon suite were very dim! Since he fell for this trickery, Jacob was forced to work an additional 7 years to marry Rachel and he was willing to do this. He was willing to pay this high price because Rachel was literally the love of his life.
Jacob had ten sons from Leah and his other wives but Rachel gave him only two: First came Joseph and then a few years later Rachel died giving birth to Benjamin. In any case, as the firstborn of Jacob’s favorite wife, Joseph was favored above all his siblings. I don’t want to sound too romantic but, you see, he and his brother Benjamin were all that Jacob had left of his beloved Rachel.
All this helps us to understand why, as it says in verse 3, Jacob, “…loved Joseph more than any of his other sons.” John Ortberg says that when Joseph’s elder brothers walked into the tent, Jacob might ask them how the flocks were doing or if they had completed their chores. But when Joseph lifted the tent flap and stood before his aging dad, Jacob’s eyes would light up and his face would beam. It was obvious to everyone in the family that Joseph was the favorite! Joseph was the one Jacob bragged about. Joseph got to stay up later, play longer, work less, and get away with more, than any of the other older sons.
Jacob knew how Joseph was doing in school. He never missed one of Joseph’s soccer games. Jacob knew all about Joseph’s friends, but he was a little fuzzy about these kinds of details when it came to his other children. You may remember that to show his special love for Joseph, one day Jacob gave him a special gift, a coat of many colors. The NIV refers to it as “a richly ornamented robe.”
The Hebrew indicates that this garment was sleeved and extended down to the ankles. In other words this colorful, bejeweled robe was not something you would work in. In Joseph’s day when a man went to work he wore a short, sleeveless tunic, something that would keep his arms and legs free. So by giving Joseph this elaborate full-length coat, his father was boldly implying, “You can wear this beautiful garment because you don’t have to work like those brothers of yours.” Ortberg puts it this way: “Joseph received a hand-tailored coat from Nordstroms while the rest of the boys got their clothes off the rack at K-Mart-when the blue light was flashing.” Needless to say this gift intensified his brothers jealous hatred of Joseph. And their loathing reached even greater heights when Joseph told them of a dream he had which suggested that he would one day be Lord over all of them!
Imagine how that made them feel! It got to the point that His brothers could not stand him! Remember, verse 4 says they couldn’t even speak to him on friendly terms! One day Jacob sent his well-favored, dream interpreting, many-colored robe wearing, teenaged son to check up on his brothers when they were tending his sheep. Understand this would be like sending a welder to a construction site wearing a $3,000 suit. And when they saw him coming the brothers decided to get rid of this pain in their necks once and for all. For seventeen years they had put up with his being pampered, and coddled, and doted on by their father! And they had had enough! They decided to kill him. But Ruben, the oldest brother, talked them out of that, and instead they did something almost as bad. They sold him as a slave to a caravan of Midianites who passed by on their way to Egypt.
When Joseph arrived in Egypt, he was bought by Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s chief officers. Scripture says Potiphar was the captain of the guard, the chairman of the joint chiefs. Imagine the painful contrast this was to the way things had been in Joseph’s life up until then! For 17 years he had been waited on, hand and foot, and had heard nothing but loving words from his father! Here he is, in Egypt, not only a stranger in a strange land, but a slave!
For the first time Joseph was experiencing the pain of being away from home, separated from his adoring father, and cut off from all that was familiar and friendly. With devastating suddenness, he had gone from being one who was waited upon, to one who waited on others! He’d gone from first place in his father’s home to last place in a strange home.
Imagine how that must have made him feel! Imagine the culture shock…think of the loneliness! Think of the anxiety he endured each night as he tried to sleep! He had nothing, no father to protect him, no home, no possessions. Everything he had relied on before was gone. In fact, all he had to fall back on was his faith! But in the midst of this nightmare Joseph discovered a very important thing. He discovered that faith was enough!!! Instead of being bitter, he faced these God-allowed difficulties in faith. He didn’t indulge himself in self-pity, and he didn’t blame God. He faced all this in the faith that his Heavenly Father was allowing this for a purpose. In the midst of an unbelievably bad time he held onto his faith in God’s goodness. Instead of complaining, the Bible tells us that Joseph gave himself to serving his new master so wholeheartedly that he soon became the most trusted servant in Potiphar’s house.
Genesis 39:2-3 says, “The Lord was with Joseph and he prospered.the Lord gave him success in everything he did. the Lord blessed the household of the Egyptian, because of Joseph.”
Do you see what happened? In this time of pain, Joseph’s faith lifted him above it all such that he became more aware of God’s involvement in his life than he had ever been when he was the spoiled child of his father. When pain came to Joseph’s life, he learned that his faith was not just adequate. It was more than adequate! God blessed him because of his faith! And, Potiphar saw the evidence of that faith in Joseph’s life and labor. He saw that Joseph was a hard-working, diligent young man and this prompted him to increase Joseph’s responsibilities and authority. Ultimately Potiphar put all that he possessed under Joseph’s jurisdiction. The Bible says Potiphar “…did not concern himself with anything except the food which he ate.” Joseph went from being a common slave to running the household of the top military man in Egypt which proves that faith in God is more than enough to deal with painful times. This is true because our faith is not just a belief in words or philosophies, it is a belief in a person.
Hebrews 12:2 says that Jesus is, “…the Author and Perfecter of our faith.” Faith shows us that when things in life go bad and we lose everything, we are not alone because our faith is in God. He is with us. It’s like the words to one of my favorite songs. When crisis comes and, “…answers aren’t enough there is Jesus…when answers aren’t enough He is there!” Those who walk by faith as Joseph did discover that when they face harsh experiences in life Jesus’ presence is all they need.
I’m sure most of you know that Tony Snow is President Bush’s press secretary. You’ve seen him on TV numerous times fielding questions from reporters. You may also know that prior to his joining the Bush administration Snow was diagnosed with colon cancer and after surgery and chemo he had thought he was cancer free, but in March of this year he announced the terrifying news that his cancer had come back. After further surgery and chemo he wrote an article in the latest issue of Christianity Today in which he talks about the lessons he learned as part of that painful ordeal. In the story he talks candidly about how his faith in God enabled him to not only deal with cancer, but be victorious over the giant-sized kind of fear that little “C” word can bring. He said, “The moment you enter the Valley of the Shadow of Death, things change. You discover that Christianity is not something doughy, passive, pious, and soft. Faith may be the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen, but it also draws you into a world that is freed of fearful caution. The life of belief teems with thrills, boldness, danger, shock, reversal, triumphs and epiphanies. But we learn that no matter how bleak or frightening our prospects, we lie in the same safe and impregnable place, the hollow of God’s almighty hand.”
Tony Snow has learned, like Joseph, that you can walk by faith. His experience proves that no matter how agonizing life becomes a faith relationship with God will see you through. In the painful experiences of life, it is enough. Faith is literally all you need! Let me ask you, are you going through some kind of painful time right now? It could be physical or relational or career oriented. It could be a family problem of some sort. But it’s the kind of pain that threatens to drown you in despair. If so, then learn from Joseph and cling to your faith in our all-wise, completely sovereign, all-loving, all-powerful God. If you do, you’ll find that faith is enough, it’s more than adequate. God’s presence can empower you to walk through anything, no matter how painful!
(2) But Joseph’s life story shows us more. It proves that FAITH is also adequate when we are tempted by PASSION.
Look at Genesis 39:6 where it says, “Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance.” The NIV translates it, “Joseph was well-built.” Please understand. There is nothing wrong with being physically well-built or handsome. But with these unique attributes come unique temptations.
At this point in his life Joseph had just about everything: power, authority, respect. He was a house servant who had it made: his own private quarters, access to very confidential information, and the complete trust of his employer. On top of that he was a good-looking man who, without intending to do so, caught the eye of women. We see proof of this in verse 7 where it says this about Potiphar’s wife: “And it came about after these events that his master’s wife looked with desire at Joseph and she said, ‘Lie with me.'” She definitely took the direct approach didn’t she! She boldly, brazenly, shamelessly came right out and said: “Come to bed with me Joseph. Let’s have make woopie!”
Many other men both then and now would have been caught off guard and at least momentarily would have felt flattered by such a seductive statement, flattered enough to succumb. But not Joseph, not even for a moment. Without hesitation, absolutely secure in himself and his God he responded with equal boldness.
Look at verses 8-9: “He refused and said to his master’s wife, ‘Behold, with me here, my master does not concern himself with anything in the house, and he has put all that he owns in my charge. There is no one greater in this house than I, and he has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do this great evil, and sin against God?”
Did you notice Joseph’s tactic? He simply refused. He said “No!” How could he do that? What gave him the power to resist that kind of temptation? Our answer is in the last sentence of verse 9 where Joseph says to Mrs. Potiphar, “How then could I do this great evil with you-and sin against God?” Do you see? Joseph’s faith relationship with God-was the “lever” that gave him the strength to pry himself away from this woman’s seductive grasp! His walk of faith with God was too important, to valuable to him, to do this kind of thing.
Potophar’s wife didn’t take “No” for an answer. Look at verse 10: “And it came about as she spoke to Joseph day after day that he did not listen to her to lie beside her or be with her.”
Clarence Macartney says, “This was no ordinary temptation. Joseph was not a stone, a mummy, but rather a red-blooded young man in his late 20’s. It was not one temptation on one day, but a repeated temptation. An old story tells how when Joseph began to talk about God to the temptress, she flung her skirt over the bust of the stone idol that stood in the chamber and said, ‘Now god will not see.’ But Joseph answered, ‘My God always sees.'”
And friends, He does and Joseph knew this. He said no to this woman because he had faith in a God Who always watches and because Joseph walked in faith with God through life. Joseph cared that He watched! By now, thanks to a painful set of circumstances, God had become more real to Joseph than anything or anyone else on earth. And Joseph was able to resist Potiphar’s wife’s repeated advances because of this reality. Now if you are confronted with temptation like this and resist and then think that this temptation will somehow vanish think again.
In fact, thinking we are invulnerable to temptation makes us an even greater target for the tempter. That kind of pride is like painting a target on chest. We should keep in mind that Satan wants the respected person. He wants to trap the person who is quoted by others, the successful individual, the trusted partner, the godly soul. Satan wants people like this to yield to temptation for when they do, everyone notices and this is why it is no surprise that Potiphar’s wife went after Joseph with such relentless persistence. Joseph was a catch! If she got him, she would have conquered something! But the same faith that helped him to endure the pain of being sold into slavery helped him here.
Have you ever seen one of those blue-light bug zappers? If you’ve ever sat on a porch and watched you know that all night long you hear the zaps the sounds of individual bugs responding to the temptation of that attractive light and getting fried. I think we have some footage of an actual bug zapper in action. You would think that after a while the bugs would wise up. You’d think they would notice the tray underneath the light littered with the fried bodies of foolish bugs who went before them.
You would think some thoughtful bug would say, “Woah-wait a minute! I’m not going to just blindly follow my desires. No-I notice all my friends get drawn into this, but they never come back. I don’t think a look at that big beautiful blue light is worth it!” But no bug ever does this. Apparently they say to themselves, “I know what I’m doing. I’m strong enough, smart enough, to handle this attraction without getting burned. I’m not going to pause for reflection. I’m a buzzzzzy guy and I can handle a closer look!” And a few seconds later…ZAP! Dumb bug! You know, sometimes I think we are just as dumb. I mean, this world is full of people who were “fried” because instead of trusting in and living by God’s loving laws, they yield to temptation, they cross His boundaries and suffered the inevitable consequences, but we keep on making the same kind of foolish mistake.
I’ve never known someone who yielded to sexual temptation who came to me and said, “It was great! I’m so glad I broke my true love waits pledge!” or, “I’m so glad I betrayed my wife’s trust!” , or, “I’m so glad my kids now think of me when they hear the word, ‘adultery.'” No. Every individual I know who ignored God’s guidance when He lovingly tried to lead them not into temptation is sorry they took that course. But, like brainless bugs, people still do these kinds of things. Joseph’s experience shows us we don’t have to be so dim-witted. Wise believers can rely on their faith relationship with God and find the power to resist this kind of enticement.
Thomas Brooks writes, “Saving grace makes a man as willing to leave his lusts as a slave is willing to leave his galley, or a prisoner his dungeon, or a thief his bolts, or a beggar his rags.” Charles Swindoll gives some good advice when it comes to this subject.
1. First of all he warns us not to be DECEIVED by the persuasion.
Your temptress or tempter will use just the right words and will be very persuasive. They’ll say things like, “My husband doesn’t meet my needs like you would.” or, “By doing this you will show that you really do care for me.” Or, “Who will ever find out? We are completely alone, absolutely safe.” Or, “Look, we are going to be married soon anyway. Why wait? What does it matter?” or, “I’m so terribly lonely. God understands-this is why He brought you into my life.” Or, “Just this once. We’ll never do this again.” or “What’s grace all about if it won’t cover something as natural as this?” Don’t be deceived by that kind of persuasion. Remember, the greatest gift you can give your marriage partner is your purity, your fidelity. So stand firm and refuse to yield. Joseph did and so can you.
2. Secondly, don’t be GENTLE with your response.
Remember how rugged Joseph was with his? Verse 8 says, “He Refused!” In verse 9 instead of saying, “Well, you flatter me ma’am…” Joseph boldly told her that her invitation was a “great evil…and a sin against God.” Verse 10 says that he didn’t even listen to her or linger in her presence. Verse 12 says he fled from her. So if you need to, press it to the extreme, get downright rude about it if necessary.
3. Finally, Swindoll advises, don’t be CONFUSED with the immediate results.
Joseph was thrown into prison for his faithfulness to God. And if you resist as he did, you may suffer at first. You may lose your job. You may lose the acceptance of your “blue-light loving peer group.” You may be ridiculed. You may be bumped out of the “club” if you name the name of Jesus Christ and say, “I’m not going to do that.” But, even if it means demotion or loss of stature or loss of a job say, “No.” Run! Get out! You owe it to your character and to your family. Most of all you owe it to your God! Claim the supernatural strength that comes from faith in Jesus Christ. Determine to be a Joseph. His life teaches us that faith can empower us to deal with the tempting passions of life.
To summarize: Joseph’s life shows that faith in God is adequate, it is enough, it is all you need when painful times come, when you are tempted by passion, and then it also shows us one more thing. Faith in God is enough…
(3) …in times of POWER and PROSPERITY.
You remember what happened when he refused the invitation of Potiphar’s wife and fled, she lied and accused him of raping her. As I said a moment ago, because of these false charges Joseph was thrown into prison, but while he was there his gift of interpreting dreams became very useful. Two of the prisoners had dreams and with God’s guidance Joseph interpreted them. One of those prisoners was the cup bearer to the Pharaoh. Soon the cup bearer was freed and two years after that Pharaoh had a dream and he needed someone to interpret it and the cup bearer recommended Joseph. Again, with God’s help, Joseph interpreted the dream to mean that seven years of abundant harvests were coming throughout the land of Egypt, but seven years of famine would follow. Joseph suggested storing the surplus of food during the abundant years so they would have food for the years of famine.
In his interpretation of Pharaoh’s dream Joseph repeatedly referred to God as the source of the interpretation. In other words, Joseph didn’t call attention to himself, he gave all the glory to God. And this apparently impressed Pharaoh. In Genesis 41:39-40 he said, “Since God has informed you of all this, there is no one so discerning and wise as you are. You shall be over my house, and according to your command all my people shall do homage; only in the throne will I be greater than you.” Do you see what happened? Pharaoh made Joseph in charge of the whole land of Egypt. In 13 years Joseph went from a slave in a foreign land to being a ruler in that land!
He was second only to Pharaoh himself. Genesis 41 says that Pharaoh took off his signet ring and put it on Joseph’s finger. Think of this ring as the platinum charge card of the day. It was the way the king stamped the invoices, the laws, or anything else he wanted to verify or validate with his seal. With this ring Joseph wore the authority of the Pharaoh’s imprint. Along with this, Pharaoh gave him fine garments made of linen and placed a gold necklace around his neck. He was even given a royal chariot. Now think about it! Only a few hours before, Joseph was a scruffy, ragged, and forgotten prisoner in the dungeon. I guess you could call him, “Cinder-fella” because he instantly went from prisoner to prince!
Suddenly, Joseph had everything the world had to offer. And he was only 30 years old! But this can be a problem! Often it is easier to be faithful to God when things are tough, than when things are going good, especially at this young age!
Clarence Macartney says: “The person who has fallen heir to a fortune is in greater peril than the person who has lost one.” And Oswald Chambers writes, “Not every man can carry a full cup. Sudden elevation frequently leads to pride and a fall. The most exacting test of all is to survive prosperity.” The fact is prosperity sometimes makes people overlook God. When we have all we need physically we often forget that we need God.
Do you know the hardest part of our county to try and start a church? It’s the Potomac area. Several church starts have failed there because it is hard to convince the people who live in those palatial homes that they need a church. The fact is, it is hard to handle prosperity and still have a strong faith. But hear this, it is hard, but it is not impossible! God can gift someone with the ability to handle wealth in a Godly way. A faith relationship with God can enable someone to use their prosperity for the glory of God.
The Apostle Paul wrote that God had taught him the secret of “…being filled and having abundance.” And I don’t know about you but I am so thankful for people who have learned this secret that Paul talks about, these individuals who have learned like Paul and Joseph to be faithful to God in the midst of prosperity. Indeed where would churches and seminaries and para-church ministries and mission agencies be without these unselfish men and women who give abundantly out of their prosperity.
Someone has said that if you want to know what a person is made of, look at him when he is on top! And Joseph’s reaction to his prosperity and power showed that he was a man of Faith, loyal to God. In fact he became more and more trustworthy, more and more faithful to God’s truth. He did not fall into the trap of polygamy as did other powerful men of his day. He remained married to one wife. He had two sons and named the first “Manasseh” with means “God has made me forget my troubles” and the second, “Ephriam” with means “God has made me fruitful.” He was re-united with his family and brought them to the fertile lands of Egypt to live. And in the midst of his prosperity he gave. He didn’t hoard the storehouses of plenty for himself and his family or for the royal household or even for the land of Egypt. He opened those great vaults of grain for anyone who needed food. Here was a man who found that his faith in God was adequate even when he had great wealth and power.
Joseph’s life does indeed show us the adequacy of faith. His life record proves that faith in God is enough, it is sufficient, it is all we need when we go through painful times, when we are tempted by passion, and when we enjoy prosperity and power. Looking at Joseph’s life shows us how precious faith in God is! Our Heavenly Father gives us so much in return for our simple faith in Him. We trust Him and in return He gives us all we need. That is a good deal!
This morning, could it be that God is offering this deal to you in some way? Perhaps you are sitting out there and you have never given your life to God before. As you have worshiped with us today you have felt an inner yearning, a desire to know God personally. We know about Joseph by reading of his life but you can more than know about God. You can know Him, personally, intimately. All you have to do is in faith, invite Him into your life. Ask Him to forgive you of your sin through His Son’s death on the cross. And then commit to following Him throughout your life as Master just like Joseph did. That amazingly blessed relationship begins with faith. Or perhaps God is inviting you to trust Him in some other way. Maybe He is asking you to have enough faith to join this church and serve Him here. Perhaps you are going through a tough time. You feel like Joseph did when he was alone on that caravan moving farther and farther away from his home. You just don’t think you are going to be able to make it! If so I invite you to reach out to God and ask Him to give you the faith to endure. He will! All this power and blessing is available to us through simple faith.