1031. Joseph: A Servant Chosen and Equipped

Welcome to The Daily Platform. Today's speaker is Dr. Jim Berg, Seminary Professor at Bob Jones University. The book of Genesis covers four great patriarchs and the last fourteen chapters are devoted to Joseph. Joseph has become my favorite character in the Old Testament and God has used his life and his responses and his confidence in God to model to me how to handle trials and I want to share some of those things with you this morning. And you'll see on the screen 2 Corinthians 4, 16 to 18 and I'm going to use that passage to kind of use as a structure for what we're going to look at today briefly. And in 2 Corinthians 4, the Apostle Paul says therefore we do not lose heart even though our outward man is perishing.

Have you ever felt like that? Our outward man is perishing yet the inward man is being renewed day by day for our light affliction which is but for a moment is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. While we do not look at the things which are seen but at the things which are not seen for the things which are seen are temporary but the things which are not seen are eternal. And I want us to look at Joseph's life from these two perspectives today. What is his seen world, what was his seen world like and what was his unseen world like? And so I want us to look at his seen world and the first point is that though Joseph was chosen by God to be a patriarch, his story was riddled with adversity.

This is the seen world, the temporary world that he had to live in. Here's a young man who is 17 years old when the drama really begins to pick up in chapter 37 about the time when most young people would like to be able to make all their own decisions and Joseph's brothers make one decision that makes all the rest of the decisions for Joseph's life. And there's an important lesson in that and I'll just comment on this and go on and that is that you will not ever be ruined by other people's decisions. They can make life hard for you and they can be very hurtful but you can be ruined only by your own decisions, by your responses to those decisions.

You and I have the freedom to make decisions about other people's decisions and Joseph made the right decisions in all of this but I want to just quickly look through that. He's raised in a dysfunctional home in today's terminology. He's got four moms that are bickering and fighting for supremacy in the family, 10 brothers who hate his guts, a spoiled sister and a doting father.

This is dysfunctional if there ever was a dysfunctional family. He was bereaved of his mother at seven or eight years old. His main protector up to that point was his mother and of course she passes away bearing Benjamin and of course Jacob favored him but he was bereaved of his mother at an early age. He was favored by his father and of all the people who should understand the destructiveness of partiality it should have been Jacob. I mean the partiality of his parents, Isaac and Rebecca just dividing that family in the partiality between Isaac and Jacob and yet Jacob repeats it in his own family with his own children.

He shows partiality. Hated and trafficked by his brothers. They couldn't speak peaceably with him. Labored in the fields of Potiphar and that's conjecture on my part but Potiphar did have fields. Actually Joseph was made the steward over the house and over his fields it said. I don't think that Potiphar picked him out of a slave block and said I want you to run my house. He had to prove himself somehow before that and he's laboring in the fields and by the way that wasn't his major that he chose. He was training to be the prince heir of his clan and that's why he's at home and able to go check on his brothers and probably in somewhat of a managerial role. So he's dreaming of a condo on the Sea of Galilee and management and all this kind of thing and somebody makes one decision that changes all of that for him and he's laboring in the fields probably and stood out as somebody who had commitment and creativity perhaps in what he did and is elevated through whatever ranks there were. Eventually he became the servant or we would call it today perhaps the valet to Potiphar himself and then he was advanced to look over his whole household. He was first of all Potiphar's servant, his personal servant and then he became over the whole household and that says a lot because a lot of times we get in a job we don't like and we say well I didn't pick this job and we just kind of get by. Joseph didn't do that. He represented the one true God and God was working out a plan in his life and he wasn't gonna blow it and we don't find a lick of self-pity in his story here.

He was promoted eventually to house steward but falsely accused of attempted rape and then imprisoned and forgotten two more years. Now that's the story we see in the 13 years from the time he's 17 to the time he's 30 when he comes into Pharaoh's court. That's a lot of adversity.

That's a lot of uncertainty. Imagine Joseph being at the bottom of a pit where his brothers had placed him. Thinking about these brothers and he's well aware of what his brothers did when they butchered all of the men in Shechem. He knows the violence and the hatred of these men and I think a lot of that kind of went through his mind when he's thinking I'm at their hands, I'm at their mercy.

They don't have a very good track record for handling things well. A lot of adversity, a lot of uncertainty in his life, a lot of vulnerability in his life, a lot of injustice in his life and that's his seen world and I want you to be thinking what are the setbacks, what are the reversals, what are the uncertainties, what are the vulnerabilities, what are the injustices in my life and what did Joseph know in the unseen world that gave him such stability that perhaps I'm not seeing right now. Though Joseph was chosen by God to be a patriarch, his story was riddled with adversity and number two, God used adversity to equip him to serve. I don't like that any better than you do but there is no way for you and me to be equipped with the character of Jesus without developing endurance. That's one of the character qualities of 2 Peter 1, adding to your faith virtue and virtue knowledge and knowledge self-control and self-control endurance and James says let these trials have their perfecting work and endure in these, they will produce endurance and God uses a adversity to do that.

You can't go to the fitness center down here and develop muscles by lifting air weights. You have to be exerting your muscles against real resistance, mechanical pneumatic resistance, gravitational resistance and you cannot develop the endurance of Jesus unless you have real problems to wrestle through with his help and Joseph certainly handled that well. Let me remind you again before we get into the next part of this verse, the last sentence of it, for the things which are seen are temporal but the things which are not seen are eternal. So let's look at the unseen things. I want you to notice Joseph's responses after 13 years of adversity in the seen world and that comes into play.

If you'll turn to Genesis 40, a lot of them are right in here. I put several pieces of this up on slides here but look how he takes orders. He's in prison, verse 4, Potiphar has sent him to prison. I believe that Potiphar knew Joseph was not guilty of attempting to rape his wife and the reason I believe that is because Joseph's still alive and Potiphar probably knew his wife pretty well and the best thing he could do is get Joseph out of her sight and I can imagine maybe a conversation, he says, honey I'll take care of this guy, you'll never see him again and she's thinking good he's going to execute him and Potiphar's saying I got a job down in that prison for him and he puts him in prison and in fact he wasn't treated kindly initially in prison because Psalm 107 says that his feet were hurt in irons while he was in prison and just as another side thing here, I would have loved to be kind of a fly on the wall when Joseph is honored by Pharaoh and driven through the streets in his chariot as the prime minister of Egypt, second only to Potiphar. Imagine what's going through Potiphar's wife's heart, not mind at that time. I hope he doesn't remember this you know and Joseph didn't take vengeance on her either but look how he takes orders so verse 4 says and the captain of the guard, that's Potiphar, charged Joseph with them, these are the royal prisoners, the chief baker and the butler and the candlestick maker, oh no not the candlestick maker, and he served them. He could have said to Potiphar, are you kidding, I'm down in this prison and you know that I am innocent and you're asking me to run your ship for you?

You find somebody else, I'm not helping you. That's the natural response. If we don't think somebody's qualified to tell us what to do, we just won't do it and that's totally unbiblical. Look how he takes orders. Look how he comes to work. Verse 5 talks about the two guys having a dream, verse 6, and Joseph came in unto them in the morning and he looked upon them and behold they were sad. And he asked Pharaoh's officers that were with him in the ward of his lord's house saying wherefore do you look sadly today? A man who is obsessed with his own miseries doesn't notice the non-verbals on somebody else's face. You know you might have a guy in the workplace who comes to the office and he's just he's late and he's just screaming and yelling and fussing and then you know I got behind this this lady or this guy in the car and they're on their cell phone doing something and they miss the left arrow and now we got to go through the whole light again and I think if people are gonna drive that way they oughta park it, they just oughta you know he goes on and on. Do you suppose that a person who comes to work like that notices the sadness on other people's eyes and their faces? I think one of the greatest testimonies of Joseph's contentment with where God had placed him is how he comes to work in this setting. He looks on their faces and he says what's wrong?

Talk to me. Look how he avoids cynicism and bitterness and they say well we had some dreams. Joseph could have said oh you had some dreams? Let's talk about dreams. I mean you want to talk about dreams? Let's talk about dreams.

She's bowing, sun and moon bowing. Don't put any stock in dreams. Dreams have no bearing. He's not a cynic and he's not bitter and he says the interpretations of dreams belong to God.

Let's talk. He's not cynic. He's not cynical. He's not bitter.

Look at his willingness to get involved. Verse 8, do not interpretations belong to God? Tell me them I pray you. He doesn't say man I got enough of my problems of my own.

My dreams aren't working out so well either so you know I'm sorry guys. He's not that at all. He's willing to get involved in their lives and you know you watch him interpret the dream of the butler and it's a very positive dream and then he has to interpret the dream of the baker and it's not positive and I think that baker probably got the Hebrew version in Egyptian of God's simple plan of salvation. This man is not long in the earth and I imagine Joseph told that story, told his future with a quivering voice and a hurting heart but he's willing to get involved. He doesn't say I got problems of my own.

Man, I don't have time for you. Look at his awareness of God and this is where I really want us to take away. Look at his awareness of God before these royal prisoners. Now people don't in Egypt in that time where they're not going around talking about the God of heaven.

Joseph's probably the lone voice in all the country. The royal prisoners said they said to him we each have had a dream in verse 8 and there's no interpreter of it so Joseph said to them do not interpretations belong to God tell me tell them to me please. You know he could have left God out of that thing and said you know that well share it with me let me see if I can help you.

He didn't do that. He's not taking credit for dream interpretation. He's saying they belong to God.

Let's talk about that. Look at Joseph's awareness of God before Pharaoh. I love this. He's interpreting Pharaoh's dream. Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph. They brought him quickly out of the dungeon and he shaved and changed his clothing and came to Pharaoh and Pharaoh said to Joseph I've had a dream and there is no one who can interpret it but I've heard it said of you that you can understand a dream to interpret it so Joseph answered Pharaoh saying it is not in me God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace.

He's talking to the ruler of the country and he's not afraid to bring God into this picture. Verse 25 28 and 32 then Joseph said to Pharaoh the dreams of Pharaoh are one. God has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do. This is the thing which I have spoken to Pharaoh. God has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do.

Verse 32 and the dream was repeated to Pharaoh twice because the thing is established by God and God will shortly bring it to pass. This this man men and women is seeing the unseen world and he's bringing the unseen world right down into the center stage of the drama that's unfolding before him even before pagan people. Look at his impact for God upon Pharaoh in 38 and 39 and Pharaoh said to his servants can we find such a one as this a man in whom is the Spirit of God then Pharaoh said to Joseph in as much as God has shown you this there is no one as discerning and wise as you.

He's he's got a pagan king talking about God. That's impact folks and Joseph is seeing something that other people are not seeing. Look at his awareness of God when naming his children. Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh for God has made me forget all my toil and all my father's house.

That's an interesting statement. So many of us when we've had very difficult times and Joseph had very difficult times. We just rehearse the past and rehearse it and rehearse it and rehearse it and rehearse it and Joseph didn't find any profit in rehearsing that. What profit is it going to be to go back and think of the way his brothers treated him and what it was like in an Egyptian dungeon.

What it was like to be betrayed by Potiphar and his wife. He's not rehearsing that he's saying God has made me forget. I don't I don't think he has some kind of divine amnesia but but he's saying this is not the focus of my life. God has made me change what I think about. God has made me forget all my toil and all my father's house. In the name of the second he called Ephraim for God has caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction. I'm fruitful. God did this. God men and women God can make you and me fruitful in our affliction and if that's true your nickname could be Manasseh.

I mean Ephraim. God has caused you to be fruitful in the land of your affliction. I think sometimes we're not we're not hung up on what we know we know these things are true what we forget is we don't meditate upon them long enough to see that they are actually possible for us. You can be fruitful in your affliction.

It's part of your equipping and you can think differently about your past. Joseph gave testimony this is a divine record of how a man contented and used of God and equipped looked at life. Now none of us are saying that's easy and we just have we're just doing a thirty five thousand foot flyover maybe a hundred thousand foot I don't know but we're just but Joseph actually lived this for 13 years. Here's a look at his awareness of God before his brothers but now do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here for God sent me before you to preserve life and God sent me before you to preserve a prosperity for you and the earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So now it was not you who sent me here but God and he has made me a father to Pharaoh and Lord of all his house and ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.

That is an amazing perspective. He's seeing something folks more than the unseen world he's seeing the unseen world as well. In Genesis 50 20 the Romans 8 28 of the Old Testament he said as but as for you you meant evil against me but God meant it to good in order to bring bring it about as it is this day to save many people alive and then verse 25 24 and 25 and Joseph said to his brethren I am dying but God will surely visit you and bring you out of this land. Then Joseph took an oath from the children of Israel saying God will surely visit you and you shall carry up my bones from here.

Joseph interpreted the events of the seen world by what he knew to be true about the unseen world. Men and women that's why you and I must bury our souls in this book every single day. We must know our God well. One of the ways that you know that God is well is that God when you know God well is that God is becoming entirely predictable to you because he never changes and no matter what comes your way you know some things that are true about God that are predictable. He will always love me always. He is always up to something good in my life always.

His grace is always enough for me always. Those are predictable statements of God. Somehow without a Bible Joseph knew his God well enough to know that he was predictable and had amazing amazing stability and he used what he knew about God to interpret life's events. He knew God had chosen him to be a patriarch.

He'd had the his father certainly favored him and chose him to be the next heir because his eldest brother Reuben slept with his father's concubine and because of that first Chronicles five tells us that the birthright was taken from Reuben the firstborn of Leah the first wife and given to Joseph the firstborn of the second wife and and Jacob made that transition making him the prince heir of that and God even confirmed that further with the patriarchal visions and Joseph was a patriarch and he knew it he knew God had chosen him to be a patriarch and he knew God used adversity to equip him to be a deliverer. So what about your unseen world and I just want to leave you with this passage first Peter 2 9 but you are a chosen generation a royal priesthood a holy nation his own special people that you may proclaim the praises or the excellencies of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. That's what you and I are chosen to do as servants of the living God. We are to show to the world by the way we live that our God is excellent above all things and we do that by the way we respond to life because of who he is and what he's taught us about himself. God will use adversity to equip you to proclaim his praises if you will see the unseen during your trials and I just want most of us spend we live in the seen world don't we I mean we can't live in the unseen world it's like somebody said I won't be at your meeting and body but I'll be there in spirit. Listen if you don't send your body don't send your spirit you know I want the whole person here. You and I live in the seen world but men and women we must interpret what we are seeing with what is unseen. There is no other source of joy and peace and stability in the Christian walk unless you are seeing God and what he's like.

Let's pray. Lord Jesus thank you for what you have done to make all of this possible. You have told us that these things were written in these previous times or written for our instruction we unto whom the ends of the world should come and Lord we pray that we by this man's example would learn how important it is to know you the living and true God and to know you so well that though the world is crashing in about us that we would know that you don't change and that you are working all of these things out even though other men may intend evil against us you are able to take all of that and turn it into good because of who you are. Lord may we be grateful for this testimony of Joseph may we be motivated to know and to love you more. Lord Jesus we thank you that you made all this possible by your death and your burial and your resurrection and your presence with us through your spirit now and the written word you've given us and your intercessory work before the Father now.

Lord Jesus I pray today that you would help us because of these things to be a blessing to each other and most of all may we be a blessing to you our great God we pray this in your precious name amen. You've been listening to a sermon preached from Seminary Chapel at Bob Jones University by Professor Dr. Jim Berg. I'm Steve Pettit president of Bob Jones University thank you for listening to The Daily Platform. Please come visit our beautiful campus in Greenville South Carolina and see how God is working in the lives of our students. For more information about Bob Jones University visit www.bju.edu or call 800-252-6363. Thanks again for listening we look forward to the next time as we study God's Word together on The Daily Platform.