Genesis 45:3-11, 15

The Story of the life of Joseph, the son of Israel and Rachel is one of those Old Testament epics. It is a tale that spans a whole lifetime. It is a tale of deceit and sin, but also a tale of grace and forgiveness. It begins in Judea but ends in Egypt. And the scene I have just read is one of the pivotal incidents in this epic story.

To understand it better you have to know what went before. The Story began in Canaan where Israel and his wives and children lived. Joseph was the 11th son of Israel but the first born of Rachel, his favorite wife. Joseph was favored by God, who gave him a special gift of having and interpreting dreams. Israel also favored Joseph by giving him a colorful coat with long sleeves.

Needless to say Joseph's brothers were jealous of him. One day when Joseph was about 17 his brothers turned on him. At first they plotted to kill him, but then they decided to sell him into slavery. Some Ishmaelites were passing by so they sold their brother Joseph to them. Then they dipped his colorful coat in goat's blood and sent it to their father. Israel immediately recognized the coat and came to the conclusion that a wild animal had devoured his favorite Son Joseph.

By sparing their brother's life and instead selling him into slavery, the sons of Israel set into place a series of events that could not be stopped. Israel assumed that Joseph was dead and after mourning he went on with the business of being a busy patriarch. The brothers, however, probably wondered about Joseph. Where was he? How was he? Was he suffering, or had he died? They probably felt like they had killed their brother. And the ten of them had an ugly secret that they shared.

In the mean time Joseph's life was moving quickly. He was sold to an Egyptian who eventually had Joseph thrown in jail. While in jail Joseph met Pharaoh's cupbearer and interpreted a dream for him. After that the cupbearer was released and was serving Pharaoh again. Then Pharaoh had a strange dream that he did not understand and he called for anyone who could interpret it.

Pharaoh's cupbearer told him about Joseph. So Pharaoh sent for Joseph and told him the dreams. Joseph told him that the dreams were a warning from God that there would be seven fat years of plenty and seven thin years of famine. Joseph also said that Pharaoh should buy all the grain he could during the fat years and sell it during the lean ones. In gratitude for interpreting the dream Pharaoh made Joseph Chief of State over Egypt. Pharaoh also put him in charge of buying and selling the grain. So for seven years Joseph bought grain for Pharaoh and when the lean years of famine came everyone came to Joseph to buy grain.

This brings us back to Joseph's brothers. When the famine hit Egypt, it hit Canaan too. Israel and his eleven sons held out for two years. Then they began to wonder if they would starve to death. So Israel sent his ten oldest sons to Egypt to buy grain. He decided that his youngest, Benjamin, would stay at home.

They had no idea that Joseph was the one in charge of selling grain. When they were brought before him, they didn't recognize Joseph, but he recognized them. He didn't reveal himself to them at first, he didn't know if he could trust them. They had sold him into slavery before, what would they do to him now. So he tested them; he tested their loyalty. Joseph kept one of their brothers in prison to see if they would risk their own lives to come back for their brother.

Only when they came back did he reveal himself. Imagine how Joseph's brothers felt. They were afraid that they would throw them in prison. They even thought they were being punished for selling their brother into slavery. They didn't know if they would live or die. Then all of a sudden, there was their brother, the one they had betrayed, offering them life and riches.

Joseph's story is an epic that is as large as life itself. It's the story of a real person's life, so it reveals to us something about life in general. Life is unpredictable. We never know what will happen next. One moment Joseph was about to be killed then he was on his way to Egypt. One day Joseph was rotting in prison as a slave, then he was the Chief of State for all of Egypt. As we look at our lives none of us knows from one day to the next where we will be tomorrow. Like the sons of Israel we could be on the brink of starving to death or being killed as spies and then be living in Pharaoh's palace the next. Look at your lives. Consider your life now. Could you have predicted all the things that have happened to you until now? And what makes you think you can predict what will happen to you later.

Joseph's life shows us that life is unpredictable, but it also reveals to us that God is always faithful. God promised to make Abraham's seed as many as the stars in the sky. When Abraham's grandchildren and great-grandchildren were about to starve to death, God made a way for them. God had prepared Joseph and put him in place so that he was waiting for them when they came seeking help. God's hand was behind Joseph meeting Pharaoh's cupbearer and Pharaoh's dream and all those events.

Joseph's life not only shows us that God is faithful, but it shows us that God can bring good ends out of bad situations. I don't believe God wanted Joseph's brothers to sell him into slavery, but they did. What they did was a sin and they paid for it. But God used what they had done for God's own purpose. They had sent Joseph to Egypt so God used Joseph there to bring salvation to Israel's children. The Almighty took the situation as it stood and used it to its fullest advantage.

This is a true story. Not just in the events that it tells about but also in the things it reveals about life. None of us knows where we are going in life or how we will get there. Like Joseph all we can do is follow God's directions and seek to be faithful. Like Joseph's brothers all we can do is admit our mistakes and seek forgiveness.

We don't know where we are going, but we know who has been there before us. When we face starvation, God is arranging a way out. If we are headed to Egypt, then God is already there getting things ready for us. God has promised to preserve us. The story of Joseph and his brothers proves that.

In the mean time we may find ourselves in a pit. You may be in one now. Your sisters and brothers may have thrown you there, or it may be a pit of sin that you have thrown yourself in. Don't worry, God will use it to your advantage if you will let Christ take over your life. God used slavery as a means of saving the children of Israel. And God used a prison to bring Joseph to Pharaoh's court. Finally God used a famine to bring together brothers that had been separated and alienated by sin and years of guilt.

What is happening in your life? God can use it. We can't know how, but all things, even slavery, deceit, treachery, famine and sin can be tools in God's hands. It doesn't matter what you or others have done to your life in the past; God can use it now to bring you a blessing. Just turn it over to him.

Genesis 45:1-15

Once upon a time there was a boy named Joseph. He was loved by his parents and he was favored by God. But his brothers hated him. They hated him because God had given him gifts they didn't have. They hated him because he was the baby and Father had given him a fancy colorful coat.

Even though Joseph was favored by God his life was not easy. His mother died in childbirth while his baby brother was being born. God had favored him with a gift of having and interpreting dreams. But his visions of the future just alienated him from his brothers more.

Finally his brother's anger against him boiled over. They decided to kill their brother. But cooler heads prevailed and they merely sold Joseph into slavery.

So, the one who had been his father's pet was now a slave in strange land. But God was with Joseph even in slavery. God blessed his work. Everything he did prospered. Soon he rose to be in charge of all the affairs of his master's house.

And Joseph remained faithful to God. Once his master's wife tried to seduce him, but he resisted. She made it look like he had tried to take advantage of her. And Joseph's master had him thrown in jail.

But God was there even in jail. In jail he won the trust of the jailkeeper and soon he was in a position of authority within the jail. While in jail he met Pharaoh's cup bearer and baker. They had some strange dreams and Joseph used his God given ability to interpret them. According to Joseph's interpretations one was set free and the other was executed.

Meanwhile back at the palace, Pharaoh was having some disturbing dreams himself. In these dreams seven fat cows came out of the Nile and then seven thin cows. Then the thin cows ate the fat cows. These dreams so disturbed Pharaoh that he called all his magicians to interpret the dreams. Of course they could not interpret it. Then Pharaoh's cupbearer remembered Joseph and told Pharaoh about him.

When Joseph was brought to Pharaoh, Joseph interpreted the dream. God was warning Pharaoh that there would be seven fat years of plenty and seven lean years of famine. So for the next seven years of plenty the Pharaoh should buy grain and then sell it during the years of famine. Pharaoh was so happy that he put Joseph in charge of this buying and selling.

It just so happened that when the famine hit Egypt, it also hit Canaan where Joseph's family was living. So Israel sent his 10 oldest sons, the very ones who had sold Joseph into slavery, to Egypt to buy grain. Now they had no way of knowing that Joseph was in charge of the grain they wanted to buy. In fact when they appeared before him they didn't recognize him. Joseph played a game of cat and mouse with them for a while.

Finally, when he could stand it no longer he revealed himself to them. And what did he say to his long lost brothers who had sold him into slavery? Did he chastise them for their crimes against him? He was the Pharaoh's right hand man he could have ordered them beheaded of tortured. Instead he threw his arms around their necks and wept for joy at seeing them again. And what did he say about his situation? Did he blame his brothers for his slavery and imprisonment? Did he say, "If it weren't for my brains and good looks I would still be a slave?" No, he said, "Do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life."(Gen. 45:5)

Joseph had looked back and seen that this was God's plan to place him in Pharaoh's court so that his family and many others would be spared in that time of famine. God didn't sell Joseph into slavery and God didn't have Joseph thrown in jail. Those were the acts of sinful people. God despised those evil acts. God despises all acts of evil. But God was there with Joseph in the pit, in slavery, and in jail. And God manipulated all those circumstances to put Joseph where the Almighty's plan said he should be.

I began telling Joseph's story by saying "Once upon a time..." That is how one begins Fairy tales. The story of Joseph's life is no fairy tale. It is a story that is true to life. But its most important truth is in it's message. "God cares for those who place their trust on high."

It doesn't matter who you are or where you are, God will be faithful to you. No matter what the situation is in your life, God is at work in it. If you have placed your trust in Jesus, then you shall be saved. Not just from the fires of hell, but from everything that is not a part of God's plan for you.

You will still have troubles. You may find yourself in a pit, or in bondage, or imprisoned, just as Joseph did. But know this: God is there with you using those circumstances for your best good. Just remember that once upon a time there was a man named Joseph who placed his trust in God, and that God saved him. And God will preserve you as well.

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