Message 01-28-07
Series: Developing Character
Scripture: [Genesis 41 – 45]
Title: Teach Me
At different times in my life, as I read the Bible, different things stand out. As I’ve been studying the story of Joseph this time the loudest words of the story were “After two years”. Last week we looked at how Joseph had done the right stuff. He acted in a loyal and God honoring way and he was falsely accused and thrown into prison. Then he responds to help those in need and he again gives the honor and thanks to God and he’s forgotten and left in prison.
The next words in the story are “After two years…”
Think about that. Joseph is left in prison for two years after asking the man he helped to remember him and to help him get out. He is forgotten completely.
What would that be like? Can you imagine what Joseph may have thought about? A day goes by and he’s anticipating that something’s going to happen. At any moment the guard is going to come to the door and take him out. He hears every step that comes toward his dungeon. He anticipates the words that will be said to him, coming out of the doors of the prison, coming into the presence of Pharaoh. A few days go by and he’s not jumping at every sound now but he is still thinking about when it is going to happen. A week goes by and he’s thinking that there has to be some process. It had to take a little time for the man to tell the king. Maybe he had to wait for the right moment. Then two weeks goes by and now he’s beginning to wonder “what’s the hold up”, but he’s still laying it off on the process idea. Kings don’t just do what their servants ask. Maybe he’s had to ask a couple of times, maybe the king has brought in Potiphar, his former master. Maybe they’ve had a little discussion over the charges on Joseph. Maybe they have to think about it.
A month goes by, two months, six months… when does despair start to seep into Joseph’s soul? When does he begin to think that all men are liars? When does he start to ache with a broken heart, knowing that he is forgotten? When does he start to think that there is no hope? When does he begin to consider that nothing is going to change and that he will live out his days in a prison? When does he give up on God and figure that he is all alone in the world? When does he start to grow cold inside knowing he can’t trust other people – his family has kicked him out, his original owners already cast him out, he has been falsely accused, falsely imprisoned, misused and forgotten? When does he give up? When does he stop serving, stop helping? He’s been in prison for years and he has been given responsibility over other prisoners, when does he stop just because he’s lost heart?
After two years… what is Joseph’s heart like after two years? Shouldn’t it have been a cold and angry?
Why do we suffer?
Why do good people suffer? Why does a bus load of Christian workers – going to do disaster relief, going to help others, slide off a road and kill everyone? Why do we have cancer? Why do we lose mothers to car accidents, small children to cross-fire in some poor neighborhood, innocent victims to car bombs and suicide bombers? Why do bad things happen to good people?
Do you know what Jesus said about good people? No one is good but God. Suppose we agree with Jesus. Suppose we accept that, like it says in the book of Isaiah – We all like sheep have gone astray. We’ve turned everyone to his own way. That suggests that we all live in a world where good people try to cross roads where they’re not supposed to. That means that when people pull triggers bullets don’t stop until they hit something. That means that some angry person can set off a bomb in a crowded market. That means that we live in a world where there are just people and unjust people and that there are ways to build levees so they don’t break down and there are ways to build houses so they can survive hurricanes and there are choices that we all make that save money and cost lives. It means we live in the real world.
Some people will tell you that bad things happen because it’s God has a plan. Some people will say that it is because God has something to teach you. I’ve had parents come to talk with me about the death of their children and tell me that God took their child so that they could be sympathetic with parents who lose children. What a cruel and heartless God that would be. Would you follow that God? Is that the God that Jesus reveals? That sounds like a father who smacks you and says, “Now pay attention.” That doesn’t sound like the father who came running to gather in the prodigal son.
Why would God allow Joseph to go through this kind of heartache – slavery, prison, loneliness, being forgotten? Did Joseph see it as God’s plan? Let’s continue looking at Joseph.
After two full years, Pharaoh has a dream.
In his dream he sees seven fat, healthy cows come up out of the Nile and then seven sickly, thin cows follow them and the thin cows eat the fat cows, but it doesn’t change them. Pharaoh wakes up and then after a bit he falls asleep again and this time he sees seven stalks of grain and they are full and healthy. Then seven thin and paltry stalks of grain grow up and they eat the healthy ones but it doesn’t change them.
Pharaoh goes to all his magicians and wise men but they can’t interpret the dreams. And then, after two years, the cupbearer of the Pharaoh remembers his time in prison and remembers there was a man there who interpreted dreams – a slave, a Hebrew slave.
Pharaoh has Joseph sent for and after a change of clothes and a shave it says Joseph is presented. Pharaoh says to him, “I am told that you can interpret dreams.” And Joseph says, “No.” No? Here’s his chance. He is finally in the place where he can call in some attention to himself, gain respect, get a little something for himself. He says I cannot do it, but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires.”
Do you hear that? How does a person’s heart get to that place? Where he does not claim power for himself, but gives the honor to God? Joseph has moved from being a self-centered, self-seeking, obnoxious young man to a 30 year old who gives the credit to God. If nothing else it suggests that Joseph has spent some serious time with God. God has said something in Joseph’s heart and he has done it so that it is remembered, trusted.
As we’ve been talking about the story of Joseph, we’ve also been considering a “formula” that appears in Paul’s letter to the Romans. Paul says that suffering can be dealt with [even rejoiced in] and that it will produce perseverance. This perseverance will produce character and character will produce hope and this hope will not disappoint us. But what Paul holds up is that the catalyst that allows for this formula to succeed is the love of God poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit. It is God’s love that allows our suffering to become purposeful. But the purpose is changes within us. We develop character as we persevere in suffering.
You may have read the story in yesterday’s paper about the husband who turned down punitive damages in the death of his wife. He lost his wife in a freak accident, through negligence of carwash employees and the carwash owners. The jury awarded him money to help with the care of his children and to deal with his own suffering, to take care of the bills that came from the accident, but then they moved to awarding punitive damages in what jury members suggested was going to be tens of millions of dollars. The man who lost his wife stopped the proceedings, saying that it was never about the money. He just didn’t want anyone else to go through the loss he had. He was ready to forgive. He attributed that choice to Jesus. The people around him, quoted in the article spoke of his character.
Suffering produces perseverance and perseverance produces character. Is that what we see in Joseph?
Joseph credits God with the power and then interprets Pharaoh’s dream. He tells Pharaoh that there will be seven plentiful years – like the seven fat cows and seven healthy stalks of wheat. Then there will be seven years of famine. Everything that was produced will be destroyed. And Joseph suggests to Pharaoh that he should select a leader to can administrate the gathering of produce over the plentiful years so that the people can be taken care of during the lean years. Pharaoh decides that Joseph will be that administrator. In a moment, Joseph moves from slave and forgotten prisoner to Prime Minister of Egypt, second only to the king. He is thirty years old. We have record of foreigners becoming prime ministers of Egypt in other cases so this is in no way impossible.
The plentiful years come and Joseph administrates the gathering-in. The famine years come and Joseph administrates the distribution of the stored food. We learn that the famine extends to the land of Canaan, to Jacob’s family, to Joseph’s brothers. The brothers are sent by their father to Egypt to buy food and there they bow down to him just as in his childhood dream. Joseph recognizes them but they don’t recognize him. Everyone but Benjamin, the brother from Joseph’s own mother is there. Joseph gets them talking about their lives and who they are. He tests them. He tells them that he doesn’t believe their story and that they’re lying. He imprisons one of the brothers – Simeon – and tells the rest to go back home and bring back this youngest brother they claim to have.
The brothers go back to their father, tell him the whole story and their father won’t let Benjamin go. This is the only son he has left that came from the woman he passionately loved. This is his only living connection to her. He still plays favorites. After all the food is gone though he relents and allows Benjamin to go to Egypt, but only after both Reuben and Judah offer up their lives, the lives of the children and even their own dignity.
All the brothers show back up now and Joseph challenges them again. He has his servants hide his silver cup in Benjamin’s food sack and then accuses him of stealing, saying he will enslave the young man. But the other brothers offer up themselves and their lives, offering to be slaves themselves instead of Benjamin. The brothers have changed as well.
Joseph sends all the servants from the room and reveals himself to his brothers. They are scared and disturbed. Joseph then tells them the words we read – “God sent me ahead of you. God did this to save lives.” So, did God have a plan?
Now some people will immediately go to, “Yes, God put Joseph through all this in order to save lives.” But I have to ask, did God need to do it that way? I really don’t think so. I don’t think that’s the only way God could pull this off. I don’t think it works that way. I don’t think it was so Joseph could learn a lesson that God made him a slave. I believe that God used Joseph’s obnoxious ways, his self-centered heart, his loneliness and slavery and imprisonment to make things work best. I don’t think God did these things to Joseph to make a way. I believe God used these things to make a way.
Remember that we’re told that “All things work together for good for those who love the Lord, who are called according to his purpose.” It doesn’t say that all things are good, but that God uses all things for good.
I don’t challenge the idea that we can learn from suffering and bad circumstances. I just don’t believe the Bible tells us that God is doing them to us. You may have heard that God won’t give you more than you can handle. The Bible doesn’t say that – not anywhere. There is no reason why you won’t get overwhelmed by all that you’re given by life. You can definitely be given more than you can handle. What God promises is that “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
We can definitely learn from our suffering. If we bow our heads and say, teach me. If we say show me how to walk with you. If we give our hearts over to God and say I can’t do this. It’s too big. I need help. I need you. The love of God has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit and we don’t have to fear the things we face. We also don’t have to find a reason for them. All we have to do is ask God to deal with them with us and to show us the way through.
