So a few years ago, I faced the same dilemma
that Adam has faced in preaching through Ecclesiastes.
What do you do when you really want to teach
through something, but you only get two or three
chances a year to do it? I really wanted to teach
through the life of Joseph in the book of Genesis,
but I realized it would take seven or eight sermons.
So I decided to do what Adam's been doing, simply
preach the story as I had opportunity. It worked
pretty well, and over two or three years, I was
able to cover the life of Joseph. And I've always
loved the story of Joseph, and there is so much
there for us to learn. And so what I want to
do today is draw out a significant lesson in
the story of Joseph that might be an encouragement
to all of us. So let me begin by asking you a
question. How good are you at multitasking? How
good are you at juggling? Several balls in the
air at the same time and keeping everything on
track. I have to confess, I am not very good
at multitasking. Put me on a track, tell me where
you want me to go, I'm fine. Make me handle a
bunch of different things at the same time and
I will crash and burn. Multitasking is not in
my skill set. But I am pleased to announce today
that multitasking is something that our God excels
at. Somehow he manages to keep the entire universe
on track and under his sovereign rule without
ever losing track of anything or anyone. And
when it comes to people, God is able to work
simultaneously in the lives of different people
to achieve his unique purposes in each one. It's
really quite amazing. And never was that skill
more clearly seen than in the account of God
working in the lives of Joseph, his family, and
the Egyptians. to do his work and achieve his
will. God took the particular sins and issues
in each of their lives and worked through the
story of Joseph to bring about needed changes
in their lives. And so that should be a great
encouragement to all of us. And what I want to
do this morning is look at the unique ways God
worked in the lives of Joseph, his brothers,
Jacob, and the Egyptians. to see how God was
multitasking in each of them to achieve his unique
will in the book of Genesis. So let's turn to
Genesis 37, and we'll begin our look at our multitasking
God with how he worked to bring Joseph to a point
of maturity and usefulness. And as we look at
the life of Joseph, I must confess up front that
my view of Joseph has changed over time. I used
to believe that Joseph was this practically perfect
kid that his brothers hated for no reason at
all. But as I spent more time studying the text,
I came to realize that while Joseph was definitely
more godly than any of his brothers, he was far
from the man God needed him to be to do the work
that God needed him to do. Remember, when we
look at the lives of Joseph, far more is at stake
than simply Jacob and his family. At stake are
not only their survival in the future, but all
of God's promises to Abraham, Isaac, and their
descendants, and ultimately, our salvation. That's
why God needed to do a powerful work in Joseph's
heart so that when the time was right, he would
not only be in the right place at the right time,
a position of power in Egypt to help his family
through the famine, but he would also be the
right man in the right place at the right time.
That would make all the difference in the world.
So look at Genesis 37, verses 1 and 2. Now Jacob
lived in the land where his father had sojourned,
in the land of Canaan. And these are the records
of the generations of Jacob. Joseph, when he
was 17 years of age, was pastoring the flock
with his brothers while he was still a youth,
along with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of
Zilpah, his father's wives. And Joseph brought
back a bad report about them to their father.
And there's a lot of history here we won't go
into, so I encourage you to read the entire book
of Genesis to learn more. But after Jacob and
his family returned from his uncle Laban's, he
settled in Canaan near where his father Isaac
had lived. And when the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah,
two of Jacob's wives, were out tending sheep,
Joseph was there on behalf of Jacob. But understand
this. All these brothers are older than Joseph.
but the wording in the Hebrew implies that he
is in charge. Not something that would make him
popular in a culture where birthright mattered.
They were working, he's supervising. And we were
told that Joseph brought back a bad report about
his brothers to his father. Now that word for
bad report is almost always translated slander
in other Old Testament texts. In other words,
Joseph slanted his report to put them in a worse
light. Doesn't mean they were innocent. It simply
means he made them look a little worse than they
were. Tattletales are rarely popular. All right,
now look at verses three and four. Now Israel
loved Joseph more than all his sons because he
was the son of his old age and he made him a
very colored tunic. And his brothers saw that
their father loved him more than all his brothers.
And so they hated him and could not speak to
him on friendly terms. The second reason Joseph's
brothers hated him was he was their daddy's favorite.
Joseph was the oldest son of Jacob's favorite
wife, Rachel. And even though he was the second
youngest, dad loved him more and favored him
over his brothers. And needless to say, the older
brothers hated him for being daddy's favorite,
and especially for this multicolored long -sleeved
coat that Jacob gave him. That coat meant that
not only was Joseph's daddy's favorite, but dad
intended to put him in charge and intended to
give him the family birthright. Again, don't
expect the 10 older brothers to be thrilled with
this whole coat thing. Every time Joseph wore
that coat around them, it rubbed their noses
in the fact that they were not favored by dad.
It was like waving a red flag in front of a bull.
Look at verses five to 11. Then Joseph had a
dream. And when he told it to his brothers, they
hated him even more. And he said to them, please
listen to this dream which I had. For behold,
we were binding sheaves in the field and lo,
my sheaf rose up. And also stood erect and behold,
your sheaves gathered around and bowed down to
my sheaf. And when his brothers and his brothers
said to him, are you actually going to reign
over us? Are you really going to rule over us?
And so they hated him even more for his dreams
and for his words. Now he had still another dream
and related it to his brothers and said, lo.
I have had still another dream. And behold, the
sun, moon, and 11 stars were bowing down to me.
And he related it to his father and brothers.
And his father rebuked him when he said to him,
what is this dream you have had? Shall I and
your mother and brothers actually come and bow
ourselves down before you to the ground? And
his brothers were jealous of him, but his father
kept this saying in mind. All right, so the last
reason Joseph's brothers hated him was his dreams.
At the heart of each dream was the fact that
Joseph was going to rule over them, and they
were going to bow down to him. And every time
he had a dream, he kept telling it to his brothers.
He told them in verse 6, he told them in verse
9, and he told them and their father again in
verse 10. He couldn't stop talking about these
really cool dreams he had and how he was going
to be in charge, and they were all going to bow
down to him. It's great. All right? And they
hated him for it. All right? And their hatred
reached this boiling point. So when they had
a chance, they decided to sell Joseph into slavery
and out of their lives forever, or so they thought.
So what does this tell us about Joseph then at
age 17 when he sold into slavery? It tells us
that he was despoiled, pampered. an entitled
son of his father, and that he let his older
brothers know it. And while he had more of a
heart for God than any of his brothers, he was
not yet the kind of man God needed him to be
to do the work that God needed him to do. So
God worked to bring about some needed humbling
and maturity in Joseph's life. How? First, God
sold him into slavery in Egypt. He became a slave
of Potiphar, Pharaoh's executioner. Nothing helps
purge pride and self -centeredness out of our
lives like being sold into slavery. And overnight,
Joseph was stripped of everything familiar and
everything he loved and forced to work as a slave
in Potiphar's fields. How did he respond? He
submitted to Potiphar, and he worked hard as
a slave. And his hard work led to promotion,
first to a house slave, and finally to chief
steward for Potiphar in charge of everything
that Potiphar owned. Joseph became as successful
as a slave could be. And then hardship hit again.
Look at chapter 39, verses 7 to 10. And it came
about after these events that his master's wife
looked with desire at Joseph, and she said, Lie
with me. But he refused and said to his master's
wife, Behold, with me here, my master doesn't
concern himself with anything in the house, and
he has put all he owns in my charge. And 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? And as she spoke to
Joseph day after day, he didn't listen to her
to lie beside her or be with her. All right.
Just when Joseph had earned the full trust of
his master, disaster struck. Potiphar's wife
decided she wanted to sleep with Joseph, something
that was not unusual for upper -class Egyptians.
And now Joseph faced a great challenge to his
integrity. And his answer to her makes it clear
that he wasn't going to betray Potiphar, but
even more, he wasn't willing to betray his God.
he kept his integrity refused to sleep with her
but ultimately she accused him of attempting
to rape her so that joseph was sent to a maximum
security prison run by potiphar despite doing
everything right he's back to square one but
again Joseph kept his integrity even in prison.
And he rose to a position of head trustee, working
for the warden. And in chapter 40, what appears
to be to Joseph, a timely event occurs that might
help him get out of prison so he can go home.
Or so he thought. Look at chapter 40, verses
5 to 8. And then the cupbearer and the baker
for the king, who were confined in jail, both
had a dream the same night. Each one... with
his own dream and each dream with his own interpretation.
And when Joseph came to them in the morning,
he observed them and behold, they were dejected.
And he asked Pharaoh's officials who were with
him in confinement in his master's house, why
are your faces so sad today? And they said, we
have had a dream and there's no one to interpret
it. Then Joseph said to them, do not interpretations
belong to God? Tell it to me, please. Both the
cupbearer and the baker of Pharaoh were arrested
and confined in prison with Joseph while their
cases were being investigated. And one night
they both had dreams, something incredibly significant
to Egyptians. They put great stock in dreams
and they even had dream schools. They had dream
books to help you interpret your dreams. But
since they are both in prison, they have access
to no help at all. So Joseph, who had some experience
with dreams, decided to help them. And he's careful
to let them know that interpreting dreams comes
from God, not him. And so he interpreted their
dreams, stating that the cupbearer was going
to be restored to his position and the baker
was going to be executed. All Joseph asked the
cupbearer to do was to remember him when he came
before Pharaoh and to help him get released,
something the cupbearer was more than willing
to do. And three days later, both men were brought
before Pharaoh and the cupbearer was restored
to his position and the baker was executed. But
sadly, the cupbearer forgot his promise to Joseph
and failed to help him get released. Why? The
simple answer is that God's plan for Joseph involved
more than him simply getting out of jail and
going home. And the time for that plan to be
fulfilled was still in the future. And I'm not
sure how many days or weeks or months Joseph
waited to see the cupbearer return with his pardon,
but finally it had to dawn on him that the cavalry
was not coming. He had been in slavery and prison
for 11 years when the cupbearer left, and he
would be there another two years before the time
was right. But when the time came, He was not
only in the right place at the right time to
fulfill God's will, he will also be the right
man in the right place at the right time. In
Genesis 41, Pharaoh had some dreams that none
of his wise men could interpret. And this frustrated
Pharaoh who felt the dreams were important but
could not find any answers. And finally, the
cupbearer remembered Joseph and he told Pharaoh
about his encounter with this Hebrew slave. And
Joseph was able to, and he told Pharaoh that
he had interpreted his dream. And so Pharaoh
brought Joseph up and Joseph was able to interpret
Pharaoh's dreams and give wise counsel. And the
next thing he knew, he was appointed ruler over
all Egypt, second only to Pharaoh. So what happened
in Joseph that made the difference? Well, first,
there's a humility in Joseph now that we did
not see when he was younger. When he's brought
before Pharaoh, he gives God all the credit.
Look at Genesis 41. We're going to look at verses
15 and 16 and then 25 and 32. Verse 15, Pharaoh
said to Joseph, I have had a dream and no one
can interpret it. And I've heard it said about
you that when you hear a dream, you can interpret
it. And Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, It is
not me. God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer.
Verse 25. Now Joseph said to Pharaoh, Pharaoh's
dreams are one and the same. God has told Pharaoh
what he is about to do. And in verse 32. Now
as for the repeating of the dream to Pharaoh
twice, it means the matter is determined by God,
and God will bring it about. When Pharaoh starts
to praise Joseph, Joseph immediately points him
to God as the only one who can help him. In verse
16, it's God who will give Pharaoh an answer.
In verse 25, it is God who has told Pharaoh what
is about to happen. And in verse 32, it is God
who has determined the matter. Nothing about
Joseph, everything about God. It took 13 years
of slavery and prison to get him to this place
of humility. But Joseph was now the right man
in the right place at the right time to help
his family. And the second area God did a work
in Joseph was in regard to his brothers. Let's
be honest, our natural tendency would be to be
angry and to hold a grudge and to try and get
even. How many of us would have spent those 13
years plotting what we would do to our brothers
one day if we ever got the chance, especially
if we rose to a position of great power? But
not Joseph. And I wish we had time to develop
the whole story more fully, but suffice to say
that instead of getting even with his brothers,
he lavished them with grace. Yes, he tested them
to see where their hearts were in regard to what
they did to him and whether they would protect
Jacob's new favorite, Benjamin. But still, it's
all grace. And look at chapter 45, verses 1 to
3. And Joseph could not control himself before
those who stood by him. And he cried, Have everyone
go out from me. So there was no man with him
when Joseph made himself known to his brothers.
And he wept so loud the Egyptians heard it, and
the house of Pharaoh heard of it. And then Joseph
said to his brothers, I am Joseph. Is my father
still alive? But his brothers could not answer
him, for they were dismayed at his presence.
It is a very emotional scene for Joseph when
he finally reveals himself to his brothers. Joseph
is weeping loudly, but his brothers are dumbstruck.
At this moment, they're not sure whether this
is good news or bad news, that this is their
brother Joseph. But look at verses 5 to 8. Now,
do not be grieved or angry with yourselves because
you sold me here, for God sent me before you
to preserve life. For the famine has been in
the land two years, and there are still five
years in which there will be neither plowing
or harvesting. God sent me before you to preserve
for you a remnant in the earth and to keep you
alive by great deliverance. Now, therefore, it
was not you who sent me here, but God. And he
made me a father to Pharaoh and Lord of all his
household and ruler over the land of Egypt. Notice,
Joseph does not rail against his brothers for
the evil and the injustice they did to him. Now,
more than 20 years later, he sees the big picture
of God sovereignly working out his plan to preserve
Jacob's family through the famine that still
has five more years to run. In verse five, he
says, God sent me here. In verse seven, God sent
me before you. In verse eight, it was not you,
but God who sent me here. Joseph is at peace
because he saw the bigger picture of the sovereignty
of God at work. And look at verses 14 and 15.
And then he fell on his brother Benjamin's neck
and wept and Benjamin wept on his neck. And he
kissed all his brothers and wept on them and
afterwards the brothers talked with him. You
would expect Joseph to embrace his full brother
Benjamin and weep with him. He hasn't seen him
in over 20 years. But don't miss the fact that
he embraced all his brothers and wept on them.
Joseph was able to set aside his anger and the
betrayal and embrace his brothers because he
realized God had superintended all that happened
to save his family. Joseph was now the right
man in the right place at the right time. And
like Joseph, we need to learn to rest in the
sovereignty of God. even in the midst of hard
times, heartaches, disappointments, and betrayal.
Joseph's humility and his refusal to take vengeance
on his brother shows the fruit of 13 years of
slavery and prison and nine years of a rise to
a great position of power. Joseph knew God better
at the end of all that, and he was willing to
submit to God's sovereignty. And that's a lesson
for all of us. Now, let's talk about Joseph's
brothers. God set himself to the task of dealing
with the evil and godlessness of Joseph's older
brothers. And this won't be easy. They have lived
for years in their sin and making them face it
will be a hard task. And let's recount what we
know about Jacob's older boys. And for sake of
time, I'm just going to give you a quick recap.
In Genesis 34, a man named Shechem forced himself
on Jacob's daughter Dinah, and there's a lot
of story in here, but it ends in treachery when
Jacob's sons trick the men of the village into
being circumcised, and then while they are recovering,
Simeon and Levi come into the village and murder
all the men, and the brothers take everything
as spoil. This kind of violence put the whole
family in danger since they are only a small
clan in a pagan land and it forced the family
to move out of that area. In chapter 35, Reuben
slept with Bilhah, one of his stepmothers, a
move which would ultimately cost him the birthright
as the oldest son. In chapter 38, Judah married
a Canaanite woman. and had three sons with her.
This was something Abraham would not allow Isaac
to do, and Isaac wouldn't allow Jacob to do.
And eventually, through a wild series of circumstances,
Judah ended up impregnating his own daughter
-in -law and fathering twins with her. Again,
not a shining moral example. And finally, we
have the whole issue with Joseph and their hatred
of him. Hatred enough that when the first opportunity
to get rid of him came along, they sold him into
slavery, but not after first considering murder.
all in all this is a godless bunch headed downhill
fast they were in danger of one of two outcomes
one was becoming as godless and immoral as the
Canaanites had lived among and being absorbed
by them that would bring them under the curse
that the Canaanites faced Or another incident
like the one with Simeon and Levi murdering a
village might lead to their extermination by
the people around them. Either one would destroy
the line of the Messiah and ruin an opportunity
for salvation for the world. So God chose to
act. Look at chapter 42, verses 1 to 5. Now Jacob
saw that there was grain in Egypt and Jacob said
to his son, why are you staring at one another?
And he said, behold, I've heard there's grain
in Egypt. Go down there, buy some for us from
that place so that we may live and not die. And
then 10 brothers of Joseph went down to buy grain
in Egypt. But Jacob did not send Joseph's brother
Benjamin with his brothers. For he said, I am
afraid that harm may befall him. So the sons
of Israel came to buy grain among those who were
coming, for the famine was in the land of Canaan
also. So as the first year of famine grew worse,
Jacob heard there was grain in Egypt. So he decides
to send his 10 older sons to buy food, but he
won't send his youngest son, Benjamin. With Joseph
dead, Benjamin is Jacob's last link to Rachel,
and he's going to hold on to him for all that
he's worth. So the sons of Jacob joined this
long procession of hungry people traveling to
Egypt to buy food. And look at verses 6 and 7.
Now Joseph was ruler over the land, and he was
the one who sold to all the people of the land.
And Joseph's brothers came and bowed down to
him with their faces to the ground. And when
Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them,
but he disguised himself to them and spoke harshly
to them. And he said to them, where have you
come from? And they said, we have come from the
land of Canaan to buy food. Joseph recognized
his brothers, but they didn't recognize him.
And he spoke harshly to them to test them. He's
putting pressure on them to see how they feel
about what they did to him. And there's more
back and forth that I'd encourage you to read.
But after putting them in prison for three days,
he brings them out and he offers to help. All
they have to do is leave one brother as a hostage
and bring their other brother back with them
when they return and they can buy food in Egypt.
Now look at verses 21 and 22. This is the key.
And they said to one another. Truly we are guilty
concerning our brother because we saw his distress
of his soul when he pleaded with us and yet we
would not listen. Therefore this distress has
come on us. And Reuben answered them saying,
did I not tell you do not sin against the boy
and you would not listen? Now comes a reckoning
for his blood. Unable to understand the harsh
treatment they've received that apparently the
others there to buy food didn't, the brothers
begin discussing amongst themselves, why is this
happening to us? And their conclusion, this is
the reckoning for the blood of Joseph coming
down upon their heads. 22 years later, they are
still haunted by the guilt of their actions.
They didn't listen to Joseph when he cried out
for help. And now this man wasn't listening to
them and their cry for help. And Reuben, who
had been out in the field when Joseph was sold,
blames their actions for bringing all this upon
them. And look at verses 23 and 24. And he turned
away from them and wept. And when he had returned
to them, he spoke to them. And he took Simeon
from them and bound him before their eyes. And
then Joseph gave orders for their bags to be
filled with grain and restore every man's money
in his sack and to give them provisions for the
journey. And thus it was done for them. Because
Joseph had been speaking Egyptian to them, they
didn't realize that he understood everything.
that they had been saying to each other. And
hearing their sorrow and guilt, Joseph was overwhelmed
with emotions and he wept. He had to leave for
a time. Joseph's brothers are not the same angry,
bitter men they were when they sold him into
slavery. Watching their father struggle with
years of grief at the loss of Joseph and now
having their own pleas for mercy ignored have
brought them face to face with their guilt and
they reveal a change of heart in them. There's
one more issue Joseph wants to test them on before
he's ready to receive them completely. They sold
Joseph into slavery because they were jealous
that he was dad's favorite. It's clear now that
Benjamin is Jacob's new favorite. Would they
protect Benjamin or would they be willing to
sacrifice him to save themselves? So Joseph set
up a way to test his brothers. After bringing
Benjamin back with them, they secured more food
and they got Simeon released and they left for
home thinking everything is fine. But Joseph
had his servant hide his special cup in Benjamin's
sack. And when the men had gone several miles
from the city, Joseph sent his men to apprehend
them and accused them of stealing his special
cup. We pick up the story in chapter 44, verses
6 to 10. And he overtook them, and he spoke to
them. And they said to him, Why does my Lord
speak such words as these? Far be it from your
servants to do such a thing. Behold, the money
which we found in the mouths of our sacks we
have brought back to you from the land of Canaan.
How then could we steal silver or gold from your
Lord's house? With whomever your servants it
is found, let him die, and we will also be my
Lord's slaves. And so he said, now let it also
be according to your words. He with whom it is
found shall be my slave, and the rest of you
shall be innocent. When confronted with the accusation
they stole Joseph's cups, Jacob's sons are shocked.
Hadn't they been honest in the past? They wouldn't
do such a thing. And they are so sure they are
innocent that they offer that the one who the
cup is found with should be put to death, and
they will all become Joseph's slaves. And Joseph's
servants counters, no, just the one with whom
the cup is found will be a slave. The rest of
you will be free to go. So the trap was set.
Look at verses 11 and 12. And then they hurried
and each man lowered his sack to the ground and
each man opened his sack and he searched beginning
with the oldest and ending with the youngest
and the cup was found in Benjamin's sack. When
the search is made, the cup is found in Benjamin's
sack. But remember, The older boys are free to
go. They can leave Benjamin, dad's new favorite,
behind and not worry about him. So how will they
respond? Look at verse 13. And they tore their
clothes, and when each man loaded his donkey,
they returned to the city. Rather than leave
Benjamin behind and save themselves, they react
with mourning, tearing their clothes, and returning
to the city with the servant and with Benjamin.
Look at verses 16 and 17. So Judas said, what
can we say to my Lord? What can we speak? How
can we justify ourselves? God has found out the
iniquity of your servants. Behold, we are my
Lord's servants, both we and the one in whose
possession the cup is found. But he said, far
be it for me to do this. The man in whose possession
the cup has been found, he shall be my slave.
But as for you, go in peace to your father. Judah
is shocked by what has happened. He admits their
guilt and states that they will all be Joseph's
slaves then. But again, Joseph offers him a way
out, stating that only the one in whose possession
the couple was found shall be his slave. The
rest are free to go. Will the brothers abandon
Benjamin or will they choose to stand as a family?
And it's now Judah who steps forward in this
situation. He was the one who had convinced his
brothers to sell Joseph rather than kill him.
And this is the longest speech in the book of
Genesis. And in it, we see Joseph's brothers
stepping up to protect Benjamin. Judah had promised
to bring Jacob, bring Benjamin back to Jacob
safely. And now faced with the prospect of returning
home to Jacob without him, Judah can't do it.
Look at 27 to 31. He says, your servant, my father
said to us, you know that my wife bore me two
sons and one went out for me. And I said, surely
he was torn in pieces and I have not seen him
since. And if you take this one from me and harm
befalls him, you will bring my gray hair down
to shield and sorrow. Now, therefore, when I
come to your servant, my father, and the lad
is not with us since his life is bound up with
the lad's life. When he sees that the lad is
not with us, he will die. And thus your servants
will bring the gray hair of your servant, our
father, down to Sheol in sorrow. Again, there's
more here and I encourage you to read through
all of it. But Judah tells Joseph that Benjamin
is the only son left of his mother and his father's
life is bound up in Benjamin. And if the brothers
return home and Benjamin is not with them, Jacob
will die from grief and sorrow. Look at verses
33 and 34. Now, therefore, please let your servant
remain instead of the lad as a slave to my Lord
and let the lad go with his brothers. For how
shall I go to my father if the lad is not with
me? For I fear to see the evil that would overtake
my father. Judah offers a solution. Joseph should
let Benjamin go. And Judah will remain as Joseph's
slaves since he had offered himself as the guarantee
for his brother's safe return. And he begs Joseph
to spare his father the grief and the sorrow
that losing his youngest son would bring. Judah
and his brothers have passed the test. Given
an opportunity to save themselves at the expense
of dad's new favorite, Benjamin, they refuse.
They can't put their father through that again.
They would stand as a family. and protect their
brother. And it is at this point that Joseph
finally reveals himself to his brothers. We're
tempted to think that we can hide our sin and
that we can get away with it and that somehow
it will never come out. But God is never pleased
with hidden sin in his people and he always works
to expose it for the sake of bringing freedom
and forgiveness and healing in our lives. In
the end, Joseph's brothers confronted their sin
and faced it and became better men because of
it. And they also learned to stand as a family
and protect each other. And God used Joseph to
do it. But all this had to be dealt with before
God could bring true healing and wholeness to
Jacob's family. There was no other way. All right,
let's talk about Jacob. See, our impression of
Jacob Usually colored by the fact that he's one
of the three great patriarchs of Israel, right?
I mean, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But we often
forget two truths about him. The first one is
that for much of his early life, Jacob was a
liar and deceiver, and he would lie, cheat, or
steal to get ahead and get what he wanted. It
was something the older sons had watched for
years, this tug -of -war between Jacob and his
equally corrupt Uncle Laban. But second, even
after God had done much work in Jacob's life,
Jacob still had a glaring sin issue. You see,
Jacob was an idolater. And I don't mean he worshiped
the pagan gods of Canaan. His idolatry was much
more subtle. He worshiped the idol of his sons,
first Joseph and then Benjamin. And he had convinced
himself that the entire future of his family
depended on these two, and he did everything
he could do. to protect them. He favored them
over their brothers, and that brought anger and
strife and jealousy into his family, but either
Jacob didn't notice or Jacob didn't care. They
were Rachel's boys, and they, as the only sons
of his favorite wife, he held on to them and
protected them with everything he had. So let's
go back and see how he did that. Go back to Genesis
37, verse 2. It says, these are the records of
the generation of Jacob. And Joseph, when 17
years of age, was pastoring the flock with his
brothers while he was still a youth, along with
the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his
father's wives. And Joseph brought back a bad
report about them to his father. Joseph was caring
for sheep with his older brothers near home.
And as we saw earlier, the wording here implies
that Joseph was in charge, even though all these
brothers are older. Even more, they're all out
in the field working. And Joseph is supervising
for dad, watching them. Jacob kept Joseph close.
And look at verses 12 and 13 of chapter 37. And
the brothers went to pasture their father's flocks
in Shechem. And Israel said to Joseph, are not
your brothers pasturing the flock in Shechem?
Come and I will send you to them. So he said
to them, said to him, I will go. Now, all 10
of Joseph's older brothers are out caring for
the flock several days from home. Where was Joseph?
Ah, he's home with dad. All right. Jacob had
no qualms about keeping Joseph out of harm's
way. Why? Because he loved him more than his
other sons and he held on to him tightly. Joseph
was his future. And it wasn't just Joseph. Look
at Genesis 42, one to four. Now Jacob saw there
was grain in Egypt, and Jacob said to his sons,
why are you staring at one another? He said,
behold, I've heard there is grain in Egypt. Go
down there and buy some for us from that place
so that we may live and not die. And then the
ten brothers of Joseph went down to buy grain
from Egypt. But Jacob did not send Joseph's brother
Benjamin with his brothers, for he said, I'm
afraid that harm may befall him. Why is this
significant? The famine is severe. The family
faced starvation. They needed everyone who could
go to Egypt to buy food to go and bring back
as much food as they could. But even in these
dire circumstances, Jacob won't let Benjamin
go. With Joseph gone, Benjamin is Jacob's last
link to Rachel, and he's willing to cling tightly
to them, to him even at the risk of starvation
for his family. Rachel's sons have become Jacob's
idols. So what happened? Well, God began to slowly
pry loose the death grip Jacob had on his sons.
First, he used the hatred of his brothers to
have Joseph sold into slavery in Egypt, where
God would need him later. And Jacob was forced
to let go of Joseph. And now God is going to
force Jacob to release his death grip on Benjamin.
The older sons had returned from Egypt with food
for their family, but without their brother Simeon,
who's being held hostage until the brothers return
with Benjamin. What Joseph knows that his father
and brothers don't know at this point is that
the famine has six more years to run. Joseph
knows they will have to return to Egypt for food,
and Joseph is willing to buy this time. So how
does Jacob respond to all this? with great stubbornness.
Look at chapter 42, verses 36 to 38. And their
father Jacob said to them, you have bereaved
me of my children. Joseph is no more, Simeon
is no more, and you would take Benjamin. All
these things are against me. And Reuben spoke
to his father saying, you may put my two sons
to death. If I do not bring him back to you,
Put him in my care and I will return him to you.
But Jacob said, my son shall not go down with
you for his brother is dead and he alone is left.
And if harm should befall him on the journey
you are taking, then you will bring my gray hair
down to Sheol in sorrow. When the brothers arrived
back in Canaan with the food and they informed
Jacob of all that happened in Egypt and how the
ruler there kept Simeon as a hostage and warned
them not to return without Benjamin, their youngest
brother, this caused Jacob to explode at his
sons. They've cost him Joseph, they've cost him
Simeon, and now they want to take Benjamin away.
Even Reuben's offer to let Jacob put to death
his own sons if he doesn't bring Benjamin back
fails to move him, although I don't know how
killing his own grandsons would have made him
feel better. Jacob is adamant. Benjamin is not
going to Egypt ever, period, end of discussion.
Jacob is willing to even sacrifice Simeon to
protect Benjamin. But understand, This is a statement
made on a full stomach. When the sons have brought
back enough food to last for some time and the
family has eaten. But as the famine drags on
and he begins to hear the cries of hungry children
at night, God is slowly wearing down Jacob's
idolatry of Benjamin. Look at chapter 43, verses
1 to 5. Now the famine was severe in the land.
And when it came about that they had finished
eating the grain which they had bought in Egypt,
their father said to them, Go back and buy us
a little food. But Judah said to him, saying,
The man solemnly warned us, You shall not see
my face unless your brother is with you. If you
send our brother with us, we'll go down and buy
you food. But if you do not send him, we will
not go down. For the man said to us, You will
not see my face unless your brother is with you.
When the food they brought from Egypt is finally
gone, the crisis hit. And Jacob's orders his
sons to go back to Egypt and buy more. But Judah
reminds him that the man in charge has warned
them they must bring their younger brother with
them or they won't be able to buy any food. And
after some whining about his sons telling the
man in Egypt about their brother, Jacob finally
surrenders. He realizes the circumstances are
so dire, he must either send Benjamin to Egypt
or watch his family starve to death. God is prying
his fingers off his last idol. And Jacob finally
surrenders to the sovereignty of God. God has
brought Jacob to the place he wants him. Look
at verses 13 and 14. Jacob says, take your brother
also, arise and return to the man. And may God
Almighty grant you compassion in the sight of
the man so that he will release you, release
to you your other brother and Benjamin. But as
for me, if I am bereaved of my children, I am
bereaved. Jacob releases Benjamin to return to
Egypt with his brothers. But notice Jacob's prayer.
He calls out to God Almighty, El Shaddai, to
watch over his sons and return them all safely
to him. He must entrust everything about his
future to the one true God who holds his future
in his hands. God is sovereign. And even more,
when Jacob cries out to El Shaddai, to God Almighty,
he is not lifting up some casual prayer. This
cry to El Shaddai goes to the very heart of God's
covenant with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. Look
at Genesis 17, verses 1 and 2. It says this.
Now when Abram was 99 years old, the Lord appeared
to Abram and said to him, I am God Almighty.
Walk before me and be blameless, and I will establish
my covenant between me and you, and I will multiply
you exceedingly. When Abraham was 99 years old,
God appeared to him and reconfirmed his covenant
with Abraham, and he promised to multiply Abraham's
descendants greatly. And because he is El Shaddai,
God Almighty, He can take one elderly man and
woman and multiply their descendants till they
are as the stars of heaven in the sand on the
seashore. And Jacob has begun to see that fulfilled.
His family now stands at 70 people, and he calls
on God Almighty not to remove his blessing, but
to continue it and to bring his sons back to
him safely. Look at Genesis 28, verses 1 to 4.
So Isaac called Jacob and blessed him and charged
him and said to him, You shall not take a wife
from the daughters of Canaan. Arise, go to Paddan
Aram, to the house of Bethuel, your mother's
father. And from there you shall take a wife
from the daughters of Laban, your mother's brother.
And may God Almighty bless you. and make you
fruitful, and multiply you, and may you become
a company of peoples. And may he also give you
the blessing of Abraham to you and your descendants
with you, that you may possess the land of your
sojournings, which God gave to Abraham. After
Jacob had stolen Esau's blessing, Isaac and Rebekah
sent him away to Patamaram to find a wife. But
don't miss what Isaac prayed for Jacob. He asked
God Almighty, El Shaddai, to bless Jacob's time
there and make him fruitful and gratefully multiply
his descendants. And may Jacob and his descendants
inherit the blessings of their grandfather, Abraham.
It was God Almighty that Isaac asked to go with
his son and bless him. Now look at Genesis 35.
verses 9 to 12. Then God appeared to Jacob again
when he came from Padom Aram, and he blessed
him. And God said to him, your name is Jacob.
You shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel
shall be your name. And then he called him Israel.
And God said to him, I am God Almighty. Be fruitful
and multiply, and a nation and a company of nations
shall come from you, and kings shall come from
you. And the land which I gave to Abraham and
Isaac I will give to you, and I will give the
land to your descendants. After you. When Jacob
returned to Canaan years later, God appeared
to him again and reconfirmed the covenant he
had made with Abraham and Isaac. And God promised
to greatly bless and multiply Jacob's descendants
and to make a mighty nation out of them. And
God calls himself El Shaddai, God Almighty, to
remind Jacob that no matter how things look at
any given moment, God has the power to do what
he has promised. His descendants will multiply.
and the covenant of Abraham and Isaac will be
fulfilled. And it is not an accident at this
moment when the sovereignty of circumstances
have pushed Jacob to the brink, when the future
of his entire family is threatened by famine
on the one hand and the ruler in Egypt on the
other, that Jacob cries out to El Shaddai, God
Almighty, to remember his covenant with him and
to save his family through all this and to keep
his word. Jacob's only hope was that God Almighty
would hear him and answer him. And that is exactly
where God wanted Jacob, placing all his hope
and trust in the covenant -keeping God. Jacob's
idolatry of his sons has ended. The future of
Jacob's family didn't depend on Joseph or Benjamin.
His family depended on El Shaddai, God Almighty,
his only true hope. We need to be diligent as
well. We live in an age where subtle idolatry
can steal our devotion from God Almighty. And
we need to do a constant heart check to guard
our hearts from being seduced away from the one
true God. But we can take comfort here as well.
We too are in a covenant relationship with El
Shaddai, God Almighty. And no matter what our
circumstances, what challenges we may face, El
Shaddai is our all -powerful covenant -keeping
God who will do what he has promised to do for
us through his son, Jesus Christ. That is why
Paul can assert with confidence that he who begun
a good work in us We'll perfect it until the
day of Christ Jesus. The same El Shaddai who
was working in Jacob's life is working in our
lives. Finally, let's talk about the Egyptians.
I want to briefly mention the Egyptians and how
God was sovereignly working with them during
this time. It's no surprise that the Egyptians
thought they were the big dog on the block. I
mean, their military and agricultural might allowed
them to dominate and intimidate all the nations
around them. And Pharaoh was considered a god.
And the idea that there was a god greater than
Pharaoh was ridiculous. But God is about to humble
this would -be god. And in Genesis 41, Pharaoh
has two dreams. And feeling they're important,
Pharaoh did what Pharaohs always did. He consulted
his magicians and wise men and dream interpreters
to give him insight into the meaning of his dreams.
But a strange thing happened this time, maybe
for the first time. His advisors are lost to
know what his dreams meant or to give Pharaoh
any insight. They are stumped. Now what? Pharaoh
was desperate to know what the dreams meant.
Enter Pharaoh's cupbearer, who just remembered
he might have an answer. Look at chapter 41,
verses 9 to 13. Then the chief cupbearer spoke
to Pharaoh, saying, I would make mention today
of my own offenses. Pharaoh was furious with
his servants, and he put me in confinement in
the house of the captain of the bodyguard, both
me and the chief baker. And we had a dream on
the same night, he and I, each of us dreamed
according to their interpretation of his own
dream. Now a Hebrew youth was with us there,
a servant of the captain of the bodyguard. And
we related them to him and he interpreted our
dreams to us. And to each one he interpreted
according to his dream. And just as he interpreted
us, so it happened. He restored me in my office
and he hanged him. Seeing Pharaoh's concern,
the cupbearer suddenly remembers his encounter
in prison with this Hebrew youth who was able
to interpret both his and the baker's dreams.
And the interpretation was completely accurate.
With nowhere else to turn, perhaps this young
man could help Pharaoh. Don't miss the irony
here. The most powerful king in that part of
the world is forced to seek the help of a Hebrew
slave and prisoner to try and understand his
dreams. God is confronting Pharaoh with his own
powerlessness and God's own sovereignty over
human affairs. It is only through the servant
of Almighty God that Pharaoh can understand what
his dreams mean and what he needs to do. And
Joseph, after he's cleaned up and brought before
Pharaoh, continues. to point this out. As we
saw earlier, in verse 25, God has told Pharaoh
what he's going to do. In verse 28, God has shown
Pharaoh what he's about to do. In verse 32, God
has determined what's going to happen and will
bring it about soon. Pharaoh isn't the one driving
this bus. God is. And Pharaoh is merely a passenger.
Pharaoh is so impressed with Joseph, he decides
that no one is better to put in charge of preparing
for the famine than Joseph. Again, the most powerful
king around is going to entrust great power and
the complete future of his kingdom to a man who
hour before was the head trustee at a political
prison. Why this matters is that it might have
saved Egypt from great hardship and loss in the
future had future pharaohs remember who was ultimately
in charge, God Almighty and not them. Instead,
we read in Exodus 1 .8. that a new Pharaoh arose
who did not know Joseph. Nothing about what had
happened hundreds of years before was remembered,
so that when the new Pharaoh arose who thought
he was God, he would go on to confront Moses
and be taught anew that there is a sovereign
God over the affairs of men, and it wasn't Pharaoh.
And the Israelites weren't a slave people. They
were servants of Almighty God. It is a dangerous
thing. to forget the sovereignty of God over
human affairs, no matter how powerful people
may think they are. The Egyptians forgot this
lesson and paid a steep price for their arrogance
400 years later. Well, that's it. In this one
narrative... We see our God at work in different
ways and different people to achieve his sovereign
purposes in each one. He was multitasking in
Joseph, in his brothers, in Jacob, and the Egyptians
to teach each of them crucial lessons they needed
to learn. Now let's talk about us. We need to
recognize that God is constantly at work in our
lives to achieve his sovereign purposes in our
good. As you look around this room, God is right
now working through the one story of Oak Hill
Bible Church to do an individual work in each
one of us. God works to bring humility and maturity
in our lives. He works to confront hidden sin
in our lives. God works to demolish the idols
of our heart. And God works to remind people
that he is sovereign over all. He is working
in all these ways and in a hundred more right
now so that he might conform each of us to the
image of his son, Jesus Christ. Our task is to
humble ourselves under God's sovereign grace
and let him do his work. But if we're going to
do that, we have to become convinced of two things.
First, that God is sovereign and working to achieve
his good purposes. in our lives. He is in control
and we can trust in his sovereignty. And second,
we have to be convinced that God is good, working
for our welfare and not our hurt. We can trust
in the goodness of God as he works in each of
our lives. That's why Paul can write that God
works all things together for good to those who
love him and are called according to his purpose.
Our infinite God is an infinite multitasker,
and he's able to do far more beyond all that
we can ask or think. Our job is to humble ourselves,
submit to under his mighty hand, and trust that
he will bring forth our faith as gold when he
is done. Take heart this morning because the
same God who was working in Joseph and his brothers
and Jacob and the Egyptians is now working in
our lives today. And we can trust El Shaddai,
God Almighty, to do his work exceedingly well.
Let's pray. Father, we stand back today and we
marvel. at your great sovereignty, your infinite
wisdom and knowledge, and your great power, Lord.
I thank you, Lord, that even as you looked at
Joseph and worked uniquely in his life and uniquely
in his brother's lives and uniquely in Jacob's
lives and in the lives of the Egyptians, even
now, as you look around this room, you see exactly
what you need to do in each of our lives to conform
us more to the image of your son, Jesus Christ.
And I ask today, God, that you would help each
of us willingly and gladly submit to your sovereign
will that we would allow you to do the work you
need to do in our lives so that we can be the
right people in the right place at the right
time, even as you worked it out in Joseph's life.
Lord, help each one of us to become convinced
that your sovereignty can be trusted, that you
are working for our good. And God, remind us
and convince us again that you are a good God
who cares for us more than we can ever understand
and who has only good intention for our lives.
God, may we bow to your sovereignty because there
is great joy and great mercy in that. And we
thank you for all you're doing and all you will
do, Lord. And we ask it in Jesus' name. Amen.