In our last post about Joseph, his brothers plotted to kill him and threw him into a dry cistern. We explored how Jesus said the Old Testament spoke of Him throughout, and how Joseph’s life is an example of this. We saw how both their fathers held them as favorites, how both Joseph and Jesus’ brothers envied them and plotted to kill them, how Joseph went down into the cistern, and how Jesus went down into the grave, how both were raised up, how both saved their people. (For more see previous post: Joseph and Jesus)
Joseph is a powerful picture of Jesus. Just as Jesus said, the Old Testament scriptures “testify about me.” and, Moses “wrote about me.” (John 5:39-40, John 5:45-46)
The plan to kill Joseph was on track until Judah said to his brothers, “What will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? Come, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him; after all, he is our brother, our own flesh and blood.” (Genesis 37:26-27) The brothers who were present agreed, and Joseph was sold into slavery, eventually finding himself the property of Potiphar, Pharoah’s captain of the guard.
Chapter 38:
After selling Joseph into slavery, Judah leaves his brothers and heads down to his friend Hirah’s place in Adullam. There he meets a Canaanite woman named Shua. They wind up marrying and having three sons, Er the eldest, Onan the middle son, and Shelah the youngest.
Judah’s association with those outside the family of faith will prove costly. He first finds a friend, then a wife, then, later, we’ll see him participating in the Canaanite practice of soliciting sex with a shrine prostitute. There are only two types of close friends to associate with, those who will influence you for Christ, and those who you will influence for Christ. It’s inevitable, you’ll begin to value yourself based on the opinions of those you hang with. Judah is a classic example. What trouble might have been avoided had he chose his friends more wisely? And what blessings did he miss?
When Er is old enough, Judah finds a wife for him named Tamar. But the Bible tells us Er was wicked in the Lord’s sight, so He put him to death.
Then Judah invokes a custom of that culture for widows who are without an heir. He tells his middle son, Onan, Er’s brother, Go sleep with your brother’s widow, and fulfill your obligation as her brother-in-law, to raise up offspring for your brother.
But Onan knows Tamar’s child won’t be his, so whenever he sleeps with her he spills his sperm on the ground so she won’t conceive. This was wicked in the Lord’s sight, so He put him to death also.
Life was hard in that place at that time, especially for women, and even more so for widows. Without a man around Tamar would receive no inheritance from Judah. And without a son, Er’s family name would not be preserved. The law requiring a brother-in-law to provide seed for the widow is later described in Deuteronomy 25:5-10. According to this passage, if the brother-in-law of the widow refuses his duty, his brother’s widow shall go up to him in the presence of the elders, take off one of his sandals, spit in his face and say, “This is what is done to the man who will not build up his brother’s family line.” That man’s line shall be known in Israel as The Family of the Unsandaled.
I wonder if it was because of situations like Onan’s, the Lord instituted such a law.
So now Judah has lost two sons. He says to Tamar, Go home to your father and live with your family there, as a widow, until my youngest son Shelah grows up.
Judah’s thinking, Wow, I wonder if Tamar has anything to do with the longevity (or lack thereof) of her husbands. I think I’ll keep my only remaining son Shela, at a safe distance.
So Tamar went back home to live in her father’s house.
A long time passes, and Judah’s wife Shua dies. After Judah recovers from his grief he goes up to Timnah with Hirah the Adullamite, to the men who are shearing his sheep.
Well word gets back to Tamar her father-in-law is on his way to Timnah to shear his sheep, so she hatches a plan. She takes off her widow’s clothes, covers herself with a veil, and sits at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah.
So what’s this all about? Well the Canaanites had this cult prostitution thing going on to promote fertility. Followers of the fertility goddess Ishtar would dress up in veils, symbolizing they’re the bride of another god named Baal. Then the men who were planting fields, or helping their sheep birth lambs, or shearing sheep would use the prostitutes’ services to promote the fertility of their crops or herds. So Tamar takes off her widow clothes, special clothes women wore in that culture to identify themselves as widows, and she dresses in veils, posing as one of these cult prostitutes.
She does this because she’s realized Shela is past the time when he’s eligible to marry, yet she still hasn’t been given to him as his bride, as Judah had promised.
So Judah, on the road to Timnah, and completely oblivious, like an ox going to the slaughter, sees her and he thinks she’s one of these cult prostitutes. He doesn’t realize she’s his daughter-in-law. He goes over and propositions her, saying, Let me sleep with you. (Proverbs 7:8-27)
What will you give me in return, she asks.
How about one young goat from my flock, he says.
How about you give me something as a pledge until you send it? she asks.
What pledge do you have in mind?
She says, Your seal, and its cord, and your staff.
He agrees, so he gives her his stuff and sleeps with her.
And she becomes pregnant.
After she leaves him she puts on her widow’s clothes again.
Meanwhile Judah asks his friend Hirah the Adullamite to deliver the young goat so Judah can get back the stuff he pledged. But Hirah can’t find her.
He asks around, Where’s the shrine prostitute who hangs out next to the road at Enaim?
And he receives a most interesting answer: What shrine prostitute? We don’t have a shrine prostitute here.
Uh oh.
You see the seal she has is Judah’s one and only unique seal. In those times people used a precious or semi-precious stone, with an inscription on it, to press into wax, or a clay tablet, to provide their signature. The cord was used to hang the seal around Judah’s neck. Judah’s staff was another personal item, used in that day not just to assist walking but also to tend livestock and as a weapon. It may have been polished and adorned in such a way as to uniquely identify Judah even further.
These three items represent Judah’s person, possessions, and position: three things often lost when someone falls into temptation. If you don’t believe that, just read the news.
Judah will have some explaining to do.
So Hirah the Adullamite goes back to Judah and says, Hey, the men around there are telling me there is no prostitute who does business there.
Well then, I better just let her keep my stuff, or there’ll be a scandal and we’ll become a laughingstock. I did try to pay her. I sent her the young goat but you just couldn’t find her.
Three months go by…
Someone tells Judah, Your daughter-in-law Tamar has been found guilty of prostitution and she’s pregnant.
Burn her to death, Judah says.
That’s interesting because later in Deuteronomy we see prostitution punished by stoning. (Deuteronomy 22:23-24) We see punishment by burning for incest or for the daughter of a priest who prostitutes herself. (Leviticus 20:14, Leviticus 21:9) I’m reminded of David’s response when he learned of the rich man who stole the poor man’s lamb. ( see 2 Samuel 12)
We often find those sins we struggle with ourselves, most offensive in someone else.
But when she is brought out to be burned, she sends Judah’s seal, cord, and staff to him, along with a message: I’m pregnant by the man who owns these, maybe you should have a look to see if you recognize who they belong to.
Of course Judah recognizes them as his own and realizes what happened. He says, She is more righteous than I, since I wouldn’t give her to my son Shelah as I promised. And he did not sleep with her again.
When it was time for the babies to be born it’s discovered she has twin boys in her womb. As she begins to give birth one of the boys puts his hand out first, so the midwife takes a scarlet cord and ties it to his hand to mark that he came out first. But then that one draws his hand back in and his brother comes out.
She says, So this is how you’ve broken out! And they name him Perez, which means breaking out (or breach).
Then his brother with the scarlet thread on his wrist comes out, and they name him Zerah, which means scarlet (or brightness).
Jesus and Judah:
After seeing Judah sell his own brother Joseph into slavery, and then impregnate his own daughter-in-law, it’s amazing how, later, in Genesis chapter 49 we’ll see Israel bless Judah by saying, “Judah, your brothers will praise you; your hand will be on the neck of your enemies; your father’s sons will bow down to you.” (Genesis chapter 49 verse 8)
Judah is the line from which Messiah comes. Jesus is from the tribe of Judah. And not only from Judah, but from Tamar as well — she’s only one of four women named in the genealogy of Christ found in Matthew chapter 1. (see Matthew chapter 1, verse 3) His righteousness is His own, and isn’t derived from His ancestors (on His human side). Yet He’s not ashamed to be associated with the likes of Judah, or other sinners, such as you and me. “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.” Jesus said, “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” (see Mark 2:14-17)
We’re reminded again of how God does His work. His choices are made by grace and not by merit. He accomplishes His work organically. (see previous post: Serious Questions About How God Does Things)
He uses real people.
He uses people who make mistakes.
He uses sinners like you and me.
His treatment of Judah and Tamar in His genealogy is an amazing example of how gracious He is. It’s as though He’s saying,
Live for Me and I’ll even take your mistakes, and use them to link you to Christ.
[Image via TenaciousR, Creative Commons]
References:
Bible Gateway
Blue Letter Bible
Walton, Matthews, Chavalas, (2000) IVP Bible Background Commentary, Old Testament
Matthew Henry
Jon Courson
Proverbs 7:8-27:
He was going down the street near her corner, walking along in the direction of her house at twilight, as the day was fading, as the dark of night set in. Then out came a woman to meet him, dressed like a prostitute and with crafty intent. (She is unruly and defiant, her feet never stay at home; now in the street, now in the squares, at every corner she lurks.) She took hold of him and kissed him and with a brazen face she said: “Today I fulfilled my vows, and I have food from my fellowship offering at home. So I came out to meet you; I looked for you and have found you! I have covered my bed with colored linens from Egypt. I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes and cinnamon. Come, let’s drink deeply of love till morning; let’s enjoy ourselves with love! My husband is not at home; he has gone on a long journey. He took his purse filled with money and will not be home till full moon.” With persuasive words she led him astray; she seduced him with her smooth talk. All at once he followed her like an ox going to the slaughter, like a deer stepping into a noose till an arrow pierces his liver, like a bird darting into a snare, little knowing it will cost him his life. Now then, my sons, listen to me; pay attention to what I say. Do not let your heart turn to her ways or stray into her paths. Many are the victims she has brought down; her slain are a mighty throng. Her house is a highway to the grave, leading down to the chambers of death.
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God, Joseph, and Direction: Genesis 41:41-57
(Photo Credit http://www.stihi.ru/pics)
Read Genesis 41:41-57
In our last post on Genesis we saw how Joseph, after living faithfully through all kinds of hardships: betrayal by his family, slavery, false accusation, and ten years in a dungeon, was ultimately raised up, raised up in one day, to second in command over Egypt. In today’s post we’ll look at what happens to Joseph and Egypt, after Pharaoh’s decision to appoint him as governor. Where Joseph’s life continues to paint a picture of Jesus, I simply couldn’t help myself, I just had to insert commentary to point out those scriptures. Finally, we’ll look at Joseph’s process for choosing direction as it relates to God’s Spirit and Joseph’s abilities.
Genesis 41:41-57
So after Pharaoh hears what the cupbearer says about how the Lord used Joseph to accurately interpret dreams, and after Pharaoh hears Joseph’s interpretation of his own dreams, he sees God’s Spirit is in Joseph. (Genesis 41:38) Just as soon as Pharaoh recognizes Joseph is led by God’s Spirit, he makes a command decision.
I’m putting you in charge, of the whole country, Pharaoh says to Joseph. Then he takes off his signet ring and puts it on Joseph’s finger. He orders up some clothes fitting for a man who’s second in command and has Joseph put them on. He gives Joseph a gold chain to wear around his neck. And he has him ride in a chariot, as his right hand man, and the people shout out before him, Make way!
And that’s how it went down when Joseph was appointed as the governor of Egypt, only with respect to the throne, was Pharaoh greater than Joseph. (Genesis 41:40)
After all the ceremony, Pharaoh says to Joseph, Yes I’m Pharaoh, but nobody will lift a finger in all of Egypt without your word. Pharaoh renames Joseph, he calls him Zaphenath-Paneah. And he gives him a wife named Asenath, daughter of Potiphera, priest of On.
Pharaoh says to Joseph, “,,,without your word no one will lift hand or foot in all Egypt.” (Genesis 41:44) Even as Jesus said in John 15:5, “…apart from me you can do nothing.”
Joseph is given a Gentile bride. Even as Jesus is given His Gentile bride, us, you and me, the church. (Revelation 21:9)
Then Joseph travels all over Egypt to learn about the land he’s governing.
He’s thirty years old when he enters into public service.
I can’t help but notice Joseph is thirty years old when he enters into serving the public, even as Jesus was thirty when he entered into public ministry. (Luke 3:23)
So he’s traveling throughout Egypt, and during the seven years of prosperity the land produces bountifully, just as God, through Joseph, said it would. And Joseph collects all the food produced in those seven years and stores it in the cities. Each city has it’s storage from the food produced in the fields around it. The quantities of grain Joseph collects and stores are like the sand of the sea; there’s so much that he can’t keep track of it so he stops keeping records. The crop production is so great, it’s beyond measure.
During these first seven years Joseph has two sons with his wife Asenath, daughter of Potiphera, priest of On. Joseph names his first son Manasseh (which means causing to forget). He says he named him that, “…because God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father’s household.” The second son he names Ephraim (which means I shall be doubly fruitful), “…because God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering.”
Well, just as God’s Spirit predicted, the seven years of abundance come to an end, and the seven years of famine begin. All around people are hurting for food. But Egypt is prepared for the shortage. When Egypt begins to feel the famine, the people cry out to Pharaoh, who tells all the Egyptians, Just go see Joseph and do whatever he tells you.
When the people cry out to be saved, from starvation, Pharaoh directs them to Joseph. “…do what he tells you,” Pharaoh says to the Egyptians. (Genesis 41:55) Even as God, when the people cry out to be saved, from their own sin, directs them to Jesus. Speaking of Jesus on the mount of transfiguration God said, “…listen to Him.” (Luke 9:35)
When the famine is effecting the whole of Egypt, Joseph opens the storehouses and sells grain to the Egyptians. The famine is terrible, and everyone both inside and outside of Egypt comes to buy grain from Joseph, because the famine is so severe, everywhere.
Through Joseph, God saves the nations from starvation. Through Jesus, God saves the world from their sin.
God, Joseph, and Decisions:
It’s obvious Joseph was one in whom is the Spirit of God. (Genesis 41:38) And God’s Spirit in him resulted in his prospering and in an ability to make great decisions.
But maybe you’ve read about Joseph and you’re asking yourself, How does that work? Does Joseph use reason and wisdom? Or does he use the leading of God’s Spirit to make decisions?
I believe the answer is both. To gain insight, I think it’s important to see how Joseph had God’s Spirit two distinct ways.
1) First, he had God’s Spirit in the same way some of the craftsmen who built the tabernacle had God’s Spirit: …he has filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills, Moses said of the man chosen to lead the building of the tabernacle. (Exodus 35:30-35)
Joseph had skills born of God’s Spirit. Joseph was faithful to his duty, even in the beginning, in the day of small things. He was industrious and he had great integrity. Based on his rapid rise to prominence in Potipher’s household, and in prison, and in Pharaoh’s administration, I believe Jospeh also had great skills as a communicator, as an organizer, and as a problem solver. (see previous post Joseph’s 4 Steps to Success)
No doubt Joseph used all these skills in his decision making and problem solving wherever he worked. And I don’t think there’s any doubt these skills served him well.
But there’s a danger here. Sometimes the more skills God blesses you with, the more you tend to rely on those skills — at the exclusion of seeking God’s direction. Which brings us to the second way in which Joseph experienced God’s Spirit.
2) The second way in which Joseph had God’s Spirit was through connection. Joseph was connected to God in a way that opened communication with God’s Spirit. I believe Joseph was someone who was constantly seeking God’s direction. He was seeking God’s will in his life. He was sensitive to God’s Spirit.
Can you imagine the consequences, had Joseph relied solely on his gifts and skills, without tapping into the leading of the Spirit? Egypt’s economy would have gone into deep depression. The recovery from such devastation would have taken decades, if there even was a recovery. And most importantly, millions in Egypt and in the surrounding nations would have died of starvation.
I’m reminded of Joshua, another man gifted with great administrative abilities. When the Gibeonites came and requested of Joshua that Israel enter into an alliance with them, they told him they were from a far away country. Joshua, relying on his powers of deduction, saw they had worn clothes, and old wineskins, and moldy bread. What a seemingly simple decision. It’s so obvious. They’re from a far away country.
We’re not to ally ourselves with anyone local, Joshua told them, but an alliance with you? No problem. It’s easy to figure out, you’re not from around here.
Joshua 9:14 says, they checked out their provisions but did not inquire of the Lord. (see Joshua Chapter 9)
Three days later the Israeli people find out the truth about the Gibeonites. And they’re protesting against Joshua and the others leading Israel, because they were duped.
Not long after that, Israel has to march all night, and risk lives in battle, to honor their alliance with the Gibeonites.
Like Joshua, Joseph was blessed with brains and abilities, but he recognized the value in seeking God’s direction. And like Joseph, like Joshua, and like anyone, you and I can’t see one single second into the future. Right now you can’t see beyond the four walls of the room you’re in, or if you’re outside, you’re limited to the strength of your eyesight. You can’t see into the past except for what others have recorded and what you remember. Even with television and the internet, your awareness of the time-space continuum is just the tiniest fraction of what God sees, which is everything.
Joseph recognized this. “Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell me your dreams.” He said to the cupbearer and to the baker. (Genesis 40:8) When Pharaoh asked Joseph to interpret his dreams he immediately said,
“I can’t do it…”
“…but…”
“…God will give the answer…”
God had the answer. He saved millions of lives from death by starvation.
God has the answers still. For you and for me.
Thank God for the skills, gifts, and abilities He’s blessed you with. But don’t rely on your gifts exclusively. Don’t neglect seeking His direction.
Pray through life decisions.
Seek His direction constantly.
Pray for Him to direct your steps.
Pray for sensitivity to His Holy Spirit.
If you do you could be blessed like Joseph was.
If you do you could be led down a path that will save you and your people from disaster.
References:
Bible Gateway
Blue Letter Bible
J.B. Jackson, A Dictionary of Scripture Proper Names, 1908
Matthew Henry
Walton, Matthews, Chavalas, (2000) IVP Bible Background Commentary, Old Testament
Jon Courson
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Posted on June 23, 2012 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Commentary, Bible Study, Genesis, I Wish Someone Had Told Me This When I Was Young
Direction, Genesis 41, God's direction, God's will, Holy Spirit, joseph, Joseph and Jesus, Joseph Egypt, Spirit led
Resurrection: Genesis 41:1-40
Read Genesis 41:1-40
Verse 1: “When two full years had passed…” Wait, let’s stop right there. Two years? Yes, two full years. But that was after Joseph had already been in prison for eight years. So Joseph was left in the dungeon for two full years after his encounter with the chief cupbearer and the chief baker and for a total of ten years. In our last post on Genesis we looked at how Joseph was apparently forgotten and what that feels like. We also saw how Joseph’s life paints a prophetic picture of Jesus. (See previous post Forgotten) In today’s post, we’ll see Joseph resurrected from the dungeon. Read More
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Posted on June 16, 2012 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Study, Genesis, Jesus in the Old Testament
Genesis 41, Jesus Old Testament, Joseph in charge, Joseph Jesus, Pharaoh's dreams
Forgotten
Forgotten (Photo Credit: davidknightwrites.blogspot.com)
Read Genesis 40:8-23
Last post on Genesis, we looked at Joseph’s comment about interpretation and how it relates to fire, and more importantly, how it relates to God. (see previous post: God, Fire, and Interpretation)
In today’s post we’ll see how Joseph is used by God to interpret the dreams of two of Pharaoh’s prisoners: Pharaoh’s chief cupbearer, and his chief baker. We’ll also look at even more parallels in Joseph’s life that continue to paint a prophetic picture of Jesus. Jesus Himself said in Luke 24:44-45, “Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.” Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.
Finally we’ll look at what it feels like to be forgotten.
Genesis 40:8-23
Pharaoh’s chief cupbearer and baker each have dreams on the same night. Joseph sees they’re dejected because they recognize the dreams as having meaning, but they can’t figure out the interpretation. So Joseph asks them the rhetorical question, “Do not interpretations belong to God?”
So the cupbearer decides to share his dream with Joseph.
He, the cupbearer, says, In my dream I see this vine in front of me, and it has three branches. As soon as the vine buds, it blossoms, and it’s clusters ripen into grapes. In my dream, Pharaoh’s cup is in my hand so I take the grapes, squeeze the juice out of them into Pharaoh’s cup, and put the cup in his hand.
Joseph says, This is the interpretation, The three branches are three days. Inside of three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and call you back up to your former position. You’ll put Pharaoh’s cup in his hand just like you used to. Now listen, when you’re back in Pharaoh’s good graces, remember me and do me a favor, mention me to Pharaoh and get me out of this prison. I was taken by force from the land of the Hebrews, and I’ve never done anything to deserve a life sentence in a dungeon.
When the baker sees that the cupbearer received a favorable interpretation he decides to share his dream as well.
I also had a dream, the baker says. In my dream I have three baskets of bread on top of my head. Inside the top basket there are all kinds of baked goods for Pharaoh, but the only thing is, birds are eating them out of the basket on my head.
This is what it means, The three baskets equal three days. In three days Pharaoh will have your head and impale your body on a pole. And the birds will eat your flesh.
Cut to three days later and it’s Pharaoh’s birthday. He gives a feast for all his officials. Pharaoh lifts up the heads of the chief cupbearer and the chief baker, in front of all his administration. He restores the chief cupbearer to his old position, so he’s serving Pharaoh his cup once again. But he has the chief baker impaled. Everything happened just as God, through Joseph, had interpreted.
But the chief cupbearer forgot about Joseph and his request.
Joseph and Jesus:
The picture of Jesus painted in Joseph’s life continues as we see still more parallels between them:
1) Both were sentenced based on false accusations: Joseph accused of raping Potiphar’s wife, and Jesus of inciting rebellion against the established government. (Luke 23:1-4)
2) Both were numbered with two transgressors: Joseph with the chief cupbearer and the chief baker, and Jesus with the two thieves on either side of Him as He hung on the cross. (Mark 15:27-28)
The baker of bread and the cupbearer of wine also speak of Jesus’ command for us to take communion. And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.” (Luke 22:19-20)
3) Both endured feeling forgotten: Joseph thought he was forgotten by the cupbearer, but he wasn’t, as we’ll see later. And Jesus, felt forsaken when He was separated from His Father for the first time in eternity. He cried out “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”) (Matthew 27:45-50)
Forgotten
I spoke with a good friend of mine day before yesterday and he shared with me how he’s feeling forgotten. He’s separated from family, he has financial problems, and he has health problems. Maybe you’re feeling forgotten. Maybe you’re not stuck in a dungeon but stuck in a job, or stuck on unemployment, or stuck in a house that’s upside down financially, or stuck in debt, or stuck in a tough marriage.
You know, just one chapter previous, the Bible says of Joseph, the Lord was with him; he showed him kindness. (Genesis 39:21) Given Joseph’s story so far, you might be saying to yourself right now, “Are you kidding me? The Lord was with him? The Lord showed him kindness? What kindness? Joseph’s family badmouthed him behind his back, they plotted to kill him, they tossed him into a cistern, they sold him into slavery, they told his father he was dead, then he was falsely accused of rape, tossed into a dungeon, and now… Now the cupbearer’s forgotten about him altogether and he’s rotting in this dungeon for who knows how long! Kindness you say?”
Speaking of God the Father, Jesus said, “He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” (Matthew 5:45)
In other words, we all have problems.
Jesus said it again, even more directly, when He stated, In this world you will have trouble. (John 16:33)
It’s not surprising then that Joseph has had trouble, serious trouble. We all either do have, or will have trouble. You either have, or are going to have trouble, serious trouble. Every single person on the planet experiences problems. No one escapes. Not one of us. No matter what we do.
Because we live in a fallen world, we have no choice when it comes to troubles, we’ll all have them. The choice we do have though, is whether or not we want the Lord with us in the dungeon, whether or not we want Him to show us kindness when we’re stuck in that tough situation, when we’re in the midst of our trouble. Walking through problems with Him can make our difficulties so much better than they would be otherwise.
Last night a man named Louie Zamperini was interviewed on a talk show. Louie was a juvenile delinquent who seemed to turn things around when he became a track star as a teenager. He went to the Olympics and it appeared he had a bright future ahead of him. Many thought he’d be the first to break the four minute mile barrier. But before the next Olympics, World War II started. Louie enlisted as a bombardier. During a rescue mission his plane crashed into the middle of the Pacific Ocean. He was lost at sea on a life raft with two fellow soldiers for 47 days, longer than any other person in history. During that time he was nearly killed by starvation, sharks, storms, and a Japanese bomber that strafed his raft — twice.
But that wasn’t even the hard part. On the 48th day they were captured by the Japanese. Louie was tortured mercilessly by a Japanese guard, nicknamed “the Bird” by the prisoners. This went on for years.
During his time lost at sea and as a P.O.W. Louie prayed fervently for God to spare his life. In return, Louie promised he would serve Him.
Miraculously, Louie did survive the war but afterwards he suffered from post traumatic stress disorder. He had intense horrific dreams of his tormentor, the Bird, every single night. He even attempted to find him in Japan so he could kill him in revenge. He started drinking heavily. He had trouble holding a job. He was at rock bottom. Eventually his wife told him she was filing for divorce.
Then one day his wife attended a Billy Graham crusade. She made a commitment to Christ and came home a changed woman. She announced to Louie the divorce was off. She also drug Louie to the next crusade meeting. He was resentful and angry about it. But then she talked him into attending another, and as he listened to Billy Graham that second time, it hit him.
I have forgotten!
On the talk show he said, I thought to myself, what an idiot! Here I had told God if He saved me I’d serve Him for the rest of my life. God kept his end of the deal, but I had forgotten mine. So I committed myself to Christ. Up until that time I dreamed of the Bird every night. But since that day I committed myself to Christ, I haven’t dreamed of him once, and I haven’t had any drinking problems. (Unbroken)
The point is, God didn’t forget Joseph while he was in the dungeon. And God didn’t forget Louie Zamperini, not even while he was stranded at sea and suffering torture from the Bird.
But Louie forgot Him!
It’s not a question of God forgetting you. It’s a question of you forgetting Him!
I’m telling you right now, remember Him. Whatever you do, remember to TAKE HIM WITH YOU, into the dungeon you’re dwelling in currently. Remember Him. Remember to TAKE HIM WITH you out in whatever sea you’re stranded in. Remember Him. Remember to TAKE HIM WITH you into whatever torture you’re enduring.
Take Him into your heart and mind by reading His Bible. Take Him into conversation by praying to Him. Take Him into your company by worshiping Him at His house, with His people.
And do this in remembrance of Him — take communion.
He hasn’t forgotten you.
Remember Him.
References:
Bible Gateway
Blue Letter Bible
Matthew Henry
Chuck Smith
Jon Courson
Chuck Smith Blog Post: Not Abandoned
Laura Hillenbrand (2010). Unbroken, Random House
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Posted on June 9, 2012 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Commentary, Bible Study, Genesis
cupbearer, Genesis 40, Jesus Old Testament, Joseph and Jesus, Joseph Old Testament, Unbroken, Zamperini
God, Fire, and Interpretation: Genesis 40:1-8
Read Genesis 40:1-8
In the last post on Genesis, we saw how Joseph, a young man, in the prime of his life and possessing all the desires young men in their prime possess, somehow avoided succumbing to the relentless propositions of Potiphar’s wife. (see previous post: Joseph’s 5 Steps to Avoid Temptation) At the end of the previous chapter, she (falsely) accuses him of rape. It was the word of a slave, against the word of the wife of a high government official, and, of course, she won. So Joseph finds himself in a dungeon. But, by God’s grace, he also finds favor with the warden of the dungeon. And after awhile, the warden puts him in charge of other prisoners.
In today’s post we’ll learn about two of Pharaoh’s prisoners, the cupbearer and the baker, and their respective dreams. And we’ll look at interpretation as it relates to fire, and as it relates to God.
Genesis 40:1-8
So Joseph has been in prison for some time when a couple of new convicts arrive. They were officials in the king’s court who had offended their master, the Pharaoh. One was the chief cupbearer, and the other the chief baker. And Joseph is assigned to take care of both of them.
They had been in custody for awhile when each of them, the cupbearer and the baker, has a dream on the same night, and each dream has its own meaning. The only thing is, neither of them can figure it out.
When Joseph shows up the next morning he can tell they’re both dejected. So he asks, Why so sad?
They both answer, We both had dreams but there’s no one to interpret them.
Then Joseph says, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell me your dreams.”
Interpretation: Fire and God
On the topic of interpretations, and who they belong to: In my thirty years in the fire service, I have heard of only one person crazy enough to disregard the interpretation of a fire scene by firefighters. Unfortunately I experienced it first hand. The call came in around 7 in the morning, as a house fire with children trapped at 503 Alberts St. When we rolled up we saw the house was well involved with fire. I’ll never forget my surprise when, as we deployed off our fire engines, we were met by a man screaming obscenities. He was, if you will, challenging our interpretation of the fire scene — in no uncertain terms. He continued to scream obscenities at us while we removed three children trapped in a back bedroom of the burning house. Sadly, we were too late to save two of them. One survived.
Later we found out the man screaming was a neighbor, and Vietnam vet, suffering from post traumatic stress disorder. After it was all over, he apologized profusely. He felt terrible. I actually feel sorry for the guy.
Let me ask you something:
If your house was on fire.
And your family was trapped inside.
And you were standing out in the street next to me.
And a half dozen or so fire engines rolled up to the scene.
Would you interpret that fire scene — or would you rely on me, as a firefighter, to interpret it for you?
Of course, you would rely on my interpretation — even though you wouldn’t understand much of what I did. Undoubtedly you’d have questions. Why are you cutting a hole in my roof? you might ask. Why are you using precious time to take your fire hose all the way around to the back? you may question. What are you doing with those big fans? And what does all this have to do with saving my family?
Yes, you would definitely have questions. There would definitely be things you wouldn’t understand. But to give you and your family the best possible chance, you’d rely on my interpretation anyway.
You would put your faith in me, as a firefighter, and you would be wise to do so. If you tried to figure it out yourself, your family could die in the flames.
And yet, the difference between me and you isn’t that great. After all, I’m just a man. My time on the earth may not be as long as yours. My life experience might not be as extensive as yours. My accomplishments probably aren’t as great as yours.
But still, you’d rely on my interpretation.
How much more then, should we rely on Jesus Christ’s interpretation of the scriptures, because of who He is.
I’m not talking about checking your brain. I enjoy discussing questions concerning scripture with others, and also exploring questions about scripture myself. Romans 12:2 says we’re to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. And the Jews of Berea received Paul’s information, but they had questions. So they diligently researched to see if what he was saying was true. (Acts 17:10-12)
Asking questions about the Bible is healthy and should be commended. The people at Berea were said to be of more noble character than others.
What I’m talking about is recognizing who Jesus is compared to who you are and who I am.
So who does Jesus say he is?
He said, He was with God before the world even existed. (John 17:5)
Jesus said to His disciples, If you’ve seen Me, you’ve seen the Father. How can you even say, Show us the Father? (John 14:9)
In these and other places in the Bible, Jesus says He is God.
In John 10:33 we see clearly, the Jews understood Jesus claim that He was God: “We are not stoning you for any good work, but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.” they said.
So it makes sense for you to rely on me, a mere man, not much different than you, for the interpretation of a fire scene, and for the salvation of your family from a house fire. How much more then, does it make sense for you to rely on the Christ, who is God, as much as you possibly can, for your interpretation of scripture, as well as your salvation.
The only thing that makes sense is to rely on Jesus’ view of scripture.
And how does He see it?
I think it’s impossible to read the four gospels without coming to the conclusion Jesus viewed (and views) scripture as God’s word.
“But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all.” Jesus said, substantiating the account of the destruction of Sodom. (Luke 17:29)
“Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died.” Jesus said, confirming manna fell from heaven (John 6:49)
“So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand—” Jesus stated, validating Daniel of the Old Testament as a real and genuine prophet. (Matthew 24:15)
Let the reader understand, Jesus really did view the Old Testament as God’s word. He quoted from twenty four different books of the Old Testament. He quoted from it often and as having the weight of God’s authority behind it. He accepted the Old Testament as “that which was spoken unto you by God” (Matthew 22:31) But please, let me encourage you not to take my word for it. Read the gospels and see for yourself.
I don’t think there’s any question, we’ll never understand everything in the Old Testament, or the New Testament for that matter, this side of heaven. The interpretation of scripture is infinitely more complex than the interpretation of a fire scene. If you have questions about a fire scene, it’s only natural you would have questions about scripture. But because Jesus is God, the only thing that makes sense is to view the scriptures as He did.
I know how to rescue people from a house fire (IF, you give me a handful of fire engines and 20 or so trained firefighters). So you put your faith in me. Jesus knows how to raise people from the dead! I know how to extinguish the flames. So you put your faith in me. Jesus created fire, and everything in the earth, and the entire universe!
In fact, because Jesus is God, it makes infinitely more sense for you to rely on Jesus for your interpretation of scripture, than it does for you to rely on me to interpret a fire scene. In either case, if you try to lean on your own understanding, you and the people you love and care about will get burned. (Proverbs 3:5-6)
In the end, what you’re left with is a choice: Will you buy the secular criticisms of the Bible so prevalent on the internet today? Or will you believe God’s word in the same way Jesus did?
Will you believe the critics or Christ?
“Do not interpretations belong to God?” (Genesis 40:8)
Joseph said it well.
Put your faith in Him.
Newly released book by Kurt Bennett, now available on Amazon!
Love Like Jesus: How Jesus Loved People (and how you can love like Jesus)
Love Like Jesus begins with the story of how after a life of regular church attendance and Bible study, Bennett was challenged by a pastor to study Jesus. That led to an obsessive seven year deep dive. After pouring over Jesus’ every interaction with another human being, he realized he was doing a much better job of studying Jesus’ words than he was following Jesus’ words and example. The honest and fearless revelations of Bennett’s own moral failures affirm he wrote this book for himself as much as for others.
Love Like Jesus examines a variety of stories, examples, and research, including:
With genuine unfiltered honesty, Love Like Jesus, shows you how to live a life according to God’s definition of success: A life of loving God well, and loving the people around you well too.
A life of loving like Jesus.
(Kindle, hardcover, and paperback now available on Amazon.)
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Posted on June 2, 2012 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Commentary, Bible Study, Genesis
Bible interpretation, deity of Christ, Genesis 40, interpretation, joseph, Old Testament
Joseph’s 5 Steps to Avoid Temptation: Genesis 39:6-23
Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife, Simone Contarini, Italian, about 1640 (Photo Credit: AlainTruong.com)
Read Genesis 39:6-23
In our last post on Genesis, we looked at Joseph’s seduction in light of Joseph’s fidelity — to God. (See previous post on Joseph’s Seduction) Today we’ll look at the same story, but we’ll focus on the 5 steps Joseph took to avoid temptation.
(The paraphrase of Genesis 39:6-23 is the same as our last post on Genesis. So if you read the last post on Genesis, you might like to skip down to the next section.)
Genesis 39:6-23
I don’t know what Joseph’s early responsibilities were when he first began at Potiphar’s house, but they may have been intensely physical because Joseph was ripped (“well built” verse six tells us). He was also a good looking guy. And because of this, Joseph’s master’s wife notices him and begins to proposition him, without much in the way of subtlety either.
“Come to bed with me!” she says to him.
But Joseph consistently refuses her. He says, Hey look, my master has such trust in me that he doesn’t concern himself with anything in the house; he’s put everything he owns in my care. I’m the top guy here. He’s kept nothing of his from me, except for you, because you’re his wife. So, with all that in mind, how could I possibly do such a terrible thing, and sin against God?
But in spite of his refusals, she persists. Day, after day, after day she continues to proposition him. But Joseph continues to refuse to go to bed with her, or even to be with her.
One day though, he goes into the house to do his work, and the place is empty. None of the other servants are around. Potiphar’s wife is the only one there. She grabs him by his cloak and says (for the one-thousandth time), “Come to bed with me!” But he escapes out of his cloak, leaving it in her hand, and runs out of the house.
When she realizes Joseph left his cloak in her hand when he fled, she calls in her servants and says, Look! This Hebrew is making a joke of us! He came in here to have his way with me, but I screamed. When he heard me scream, he left his cloak laying here beside me and ran.
She keeps his cloak next to her until Potiphar comes home, and she tells him her story: That Hebrew slave guy you brought us came into my room to force himself on me. But fortunately, I screamed, and as soon as I did he left his cloak beside me and ran. This is how your slave has treated me!
After Potiphar hears the story he’s outraged. He takes Joseph and has him locked up where the king’s prisoners are kept.
But, while Joseph’s in the king’s prison, the Lord is with him again! God shows him kindness and grants Joseph favor with the warden. Eventually, his situation is the same or similar to when he was with Potiphar. The warden puts Joseph in charge of all the prisoners and gives him the job of running the place. And like Potiphar, the warden trusts him completely, he pays no attention to anything Joseph’s responsible for, because the Lord is with Joseph, and gives him success in everything he puts his hand to.
Joseph’s 5 Steps to Avoid Temptation
Joseph, a young man, in the prime of his life and possessing all the desires young men in the prime of their life possess, somehow avoids this temptation from Potiphar’s wife.
How’d he do that?
We see from our story, he took 5 steps.
1) Responsibility — Take It
We see in verse 9, Joseph says the words, “How then could I do such a…”
“How then could I…” Joseph said. He took responsibility for his own behavior. How many might have said, “Well what could I do? I’m just a slave and she’s the boss’s wife. I mean, really, I couldn’t refuse now could I?” Or, “Come on, give me a break, this was a situation where an older woman took advantage of a young man. What would you expect someone my age to do, with hormones raging? How could I help it?”
No, Joseph didn’t go there. He took responsibility for his own actions.
2) Recognize Sin
We see in verse 9, Joseph recognizes what Potiphar’s wife wants as something wicked and terrible. Joseph sees it for what it is: sin. The Bible is God’s word for humanity. He loves us enough to define sin in His scriptures and to warn us away from it. He does so not because he’s against pleasure, but because He knows in the long run, sin is disastrous for you. He’s trying to spare you from heartache and pain you’ll experience in the end, though you may experience pleasure in the short term. Today there’s a huge push in our culture to discount what the Bible says about sin as old-fashioned and irrelevant. Right now there’s actually a website author offering 1 million dollars for Tim Tebow’s virginity. This person’s stated goal is to bring our culture to the point where adultery is viewed as inconsequential. (see Washington Post article by Esther Fleece) I know that might seem unlikely right now, but many sins that were previously recognized as bad behavior have already been brought a long way toward a perception they’re trivial, or even a perception those who commit a given sin are victims.
Joseph didn’t discount what Potiphar’s wife asked him to do. He saw it for what it was. So should you and I.
3) Respond to God
We see in the last part of verse 9 how Joseph recognizes, if he gratifies his desires, he will sin against God. Joseph has a depth of relationship with God such that it would grieve Joseph to sin against Him. He can’t bear to sin because he can’t bear to disappoint the God he loves. Yes, he’s loyal to his earthly master Potiphar, but in the end, it’s God who Joseph is most concerned about. Living your life loving God, and concerned about God and what He thinks is one of the great keys to living the abundant life God has in mind for you. (John 15:11) “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind,’” Jesus said in Matthew 22:37. (See previous post: How to Love Like Jesus — God First)
4) Refuse to be Present
We see in verse 10 he not only refused to go to bed with Potiphar’s wife, but he refused to even be with her. I wonder how many marriages would still be intact if both the husband and the wife decided to simply avoid putting themselves in situations that might lead to temptation. I’m talking about not friending the old high school flame on Facebook. I’m talking about staying out of bars. I’m talking about never allowing yourself to be alone with another person of the opposite sex, ever.
What a small price to pay if it results in you keeping your family intact.
And what a heavy price to pay if you break your family apart.
Today divorce is so acceptable, our culture has endorsed it so strongly, most are so nonchalant about it, you never hear much concerning its consequences. But five years after divorce more than 1/3 of children experience depression. Kids from divorced families are less successful in life than children from intact families, especially in their careers and their relationships. And the great majority of children from divorced families say they want their original family back together.
After a divorce, custody usually goes to the mother. And about half of all single mothers live below the poverty line — on average for six years. For African American single mothers it’s even worse: 2/3 are still single and in poverty 10 years after their divorce. (The Atlantic, McLanahan-Garfinkel)
No one talks about these things. You never see these findings in the news.
Joseph was a slave and didn’t have control of his own life to the degree you do. Yet he did his best to avoid putting himself in situations where he might be tempted. You can do the same.
5) Run
We see in verse 12, when he was unavoidably confronted with temptation, he fled. He left. He split immediately.
When she grabbed his robe, he didn’t stop and use the moment to teach Potiphar’s wife about his faith. He didn’t hesitate and share with her that he’s flattered but must decline, or how it’s nothing personal, or how it might be different, under different circumstances. He didn’t spend one moment on one word of conversation. And he didn’t go back for his coat. He bailed, he beat it, he bounced out of there — right away.
Again, how many marriages might still be intact if this were how people responded to sexual temptation.
Next time you’re confronted with temptation: leave, immediately.
The 6th Step (Two failures, and two outcomes: Why David recovered and Samson did not)
As an important aside, there’s one way in which Joseph was a major anomaly, he was able to avoid temptation without support from believing friends. This is profoundly rare. We can see the more usual pattern for humanity in scripture when we look at two other men of God who experienced temptation. Both Samson and David fell into temptation but only one of them recovered from its consequences. And here’s the reason why.
More was written about Samson than most other men in the Bible yet not one friend is named in all the pages devoted to Samson’s life. He was a loner. In contrast, David’s list of friends is a long one. And we see that he had certain friends like Jonathan who were especially close. (1 Samuel 18:1-5) And we see David was open to being held accountable, for instance when he subjected himself to correction by his friend Nathan. (2 Samuel 12:1-14)
So here’s the deal: To rid yourself of a temptation, like porn or alcohol or some other selfish pursuit, do whatever you have to do to find friends–men who have overcome the same temptation you’re battling against. Sit down with each of these men one at a time and tell them your story without pretense. If you become open and vulnerable, you’ll be surprised at how many friends you attract.
Going it alone as Samson did will almost certainly produce the same result that Samson experienced. You’ll become a prisoner. You’ll find yourself living life blindly walking in circles.
Instead, invest in friends the way David did. Develop close friendships the way David did. And become a man who is wide open to being held accountable–the way David did. Invest in friends the same way David did and you’ll find the same results that David did. He confessed his sin. He repented. And he never fell into sexual temptation again.
Joseph was an anomaly, an outlier. The first five steps are only the beginning steps to avoid temptation. The sixth step, that’s actually the biggest and most important step for us all.
Joseph Imprisoned
Of course, Potiphar’s wife had no integrity when it came to her marriage, and we see she had no integrity when she gave her account of what happened either. She lied and told her husband the Hebrew tried to rape her, using Joseph’s coat as a false proof of her deception. Interestingly, Joseph’s coat was also central to his brother’s deception before Jacob concerning his death.
We live in a fallen world. You can do everything according to God’s word and still wind up in a dungeon.
But Potiphar’s response is interesting because the punishment for attempted rape was death. And even though Joseph, a slave, was (wrongly) found to have attempted rape against the wife of a powerful official, Joseph is not put to death but put in prison. Verse 19 says Potiphar was angry but doesn’t say who he was angry with. Perhaps he recognized Joseph’s innocence but was forced to do something because of his wife’s insistence. Perhaps he even gave instruction for the warden to show Joseph favor.
Whether it came through Potiphar or not, God was the reason Joseph found favor in prison.
Even in the dungeon, God was with Joseph.
Nothing can separate us from His love.
References:
Newly released book by Kurt Bennett, now available on Amazon!
Love Like Jesus: How Jesus Loved People (and how you can love like Jesus)
Love Like Jesus begins with the story of how after a life of regular church attendance and Bible study, Bennett was challenged by a pastor to study Jesus. That led to an obsessive seven year deep dive. After pouring over Jesus’ every interaction with another human being, he realized he was doing a much better job of studying Jesus’ words than he was following Jesus’ words and example. The honest and fearless revelations of Bennett’s own moral failures affirm he wrote this book for himself as much as for others.
Love Like Jesus examines a variety of stories, examples, and research, including:
With genuine unfiltered honesty, Love Like Jesus, shows you how to live a life according to God’s definition of success: A life of loving God well, and loving the people around you well too.
A life of loving like Jesus.
(Kindle, hardcover, and paperback now available on Amazon.)
Share now:
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Posted on May 26, 2012 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Study, Genesis, I Wish Someone Had Told Me This When I Was Young, Marriage, temptation
adultery, Genesis 39, Genesis 39:6-23, joseph, Joseph imprisoned, Potiphar's wife
Joseph’s Seduction: Genesis 39:6-23
Who Has Your Heart? (Photo Credit: The Rooted Blog)
In our last post on Genesis, we saw, though Joseph began as a lowly seventeen year old slave boy, he rose rapidly to prominence in Potiphar’s household. And we explored the four steps Joseph took to get there. (see previous post: Joseph’s 4 Steps to Success: Genesis 39:1-6)
In today’s post on Genesis 39:6-23 we’ll see Joseph tested with seduction and temptation, then we’ll explore the question: Who’s seducing you?
Genesis 39:6-23
I don’t know what Joseph’s early responsibilities were when he first began at Potiphar’s house, but they may have been intensely physical, because Joseph was ripped (“well built” verse six tells us). He was also a good looking guy. And because of this, Joseph’s master’s wife notices him, and begins to proposition him, without much in the way of subtlety either.
“Come to bed with me!” she says to him.
But Joseph consistently refuses her. He says, Hey look, my master has such trust in me, he doesn’t concern himself with anything in the house; he’s put everything he owns in my care. I’m the top guy here. He’s kept nothing of his from me, except for you, because you’re his wife. So, with all that in mind, how could I possibly do such a terrible thing, and sin against God.
But in spite of his refusals, she persists. Day, after day, after day she continues to proposition him. But Joseph continues to refuse to go to bed with her, or even to be with her.
One day though, he goes into the house to do his work, and the place is empty. None of the other servants are around. Potiphar’s wife is the only one there. She grabs him by his cloak and says (for the one thousandth time), “Come to bed with me!” But he escapes out of his cloak, leaving it in her hand, and runs out of the house.
When she realizes Joseph left his cloak in her hand when he fled, she calls in her servants and says, Look! This Hebrew is making a joke of us! He came in here to have his way with me, but I screamed. When he heard me scream, he left his cloak laying here beside me and ran.
She keeps his cloak next to her until Potiphar comes home, and she tells him her story: That Hebrew slave guy you brought us came into my room to force himself on me. But fortunately, I screamed, and as soon as I did he left his cloak beside me and ran. This is how your slave has treated me!
After Potiphar hears the story he’s outraged. He takes Joseph and has him locked up in the prison where the king’s prisoners are kept.
But, while Joseph’s in the king’s prison, the Lord is with him again! God shows him kindness and grants Joseph favor with the warden. Eventually his situation is the same or similar to when he was with Potiphar. The warden puts Joseph in charge of all the prisoners and gives him the job of running the place. And like Potiphar, the warden trusts him completely, he pays no attention to anything Joseph’s responsible for, because the Lord is with Joseph, and gives him success in everything he puts his hand to.
Who’s Seducing You?
Potiphar’s wife was relentless in her efforts to seduce Joseph. But the question for you today is, who’s seducing you? Or more accurately, who or what is seducing you?
I think it’s important to see we can learn from Joseph’s example concerning relationships with the opposite sex, and we’ll explore that in the next post on Genesis. But there’s something even more important to learn here. I think the key words in this passage of scripture are Joseph’s words about God. (39:9) What’s most important here is the issue of fidelity, but not Joseph’s fidelity to Potiphar, or Potiphar’s wife’s infidelity, but Joseph’s fidelity to his God.
Through the incessant relentless daily seduction, Joseph maintained God as the ultimate in his life.
Which brings us back to the question.
Who or what is seducing you?
Who or what is tempting you to make them first in your life?
Who or what desires to take God’s place as the ultimate in your life?
It could be a person of the opposite sex, trying to seduce you, as Potiphar’s wife did to Joseph. Or it could be your career, or sports, or video games, or a hobby, or social networks, or TV, or food, or shopping.
You know it’s interesting, Potiphar’s wife wasn’t faithful to Potiphar, nor was she faithful to the truth when she falsely accused Joseph. It’s the same with whoever, or whatever from that list in the last paragraph, is seducing you. It promises fulfillment but, like Potiphar’s wife, it’s absent of fidelity to the truth. In the end fulfillment comes only when you devote yourself to God. Fulfillment only comes when He’s first in your life.
The ultimate, the most important, the top person or activity — who or what is it? What consumes your thinking? Where do you invest your time? Where do you invest your money?
Who or what has your heart?
Is it God?
Or someone, or something else?
Joseph kept God foremost in his life, through rejection by his family, through his being sold into slavery, through Potiphar’s wife’s attempts at seduction, through wrong accusation, and through imprisonment.
Joseph kept God as his ultimate.
Who or what is yours?
References:
Blue Letter Bible
Bible Gateway
Matthew Henry
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Posted on May 19, 2012 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Commentary, Bible Study, Genesis
Genesis 39, Genesis 39:6-23, joseph, Joseph imprisoned, Potiphar's wife, Seduction
Joseph’s 4 Steps to Success: Genesis 39:1-6
May God Pour Out His Spirit Upon You (Photo Credit: Pursuing Holiness Blogspot)
In our last post on Genesis we saw Judah fall in a disturbing way, when he had sexual relations with his daughter-in-law while she posed as a shrine prostitute. (see previous post: Judah and Tamar) In today’s post, we’ll look at Joseph’s rapid rise to success in Potiphar’s household, and the four steps he took to get there.
Genesis 39:1-6
Here in Genesis 39 we pick up our story with Joseph, just sold into slavery. The Ishmaelites who bought him from his brothers, turn around and sell him to an Egyptian named Potiphar who’s the captain of the guard for Pharoah, the king of Egypt.
Can you even imagine what Joseph went through? Can you imagine having your family turn on you? If my siblings sold me into slavery, and I was taken away to serve a master in a far away foreign country, I don’t know what I’d do. But look what Joseph did.
We see Joseph as a picture of Jesus in that, like Jesus, Joseph takes on the role of a servant. And the Lord is with him so he rocks his new position in Potiphar’s house. When Potiphar sees the Lord is with him in the small things, and how the Lord blesses Joseph with success in everything, Potiphar shows him favor and makes Joseph his attendant. He puts Joseph in charge of his whole household. All Potiphar owns is placed under Joseph’s charge. After Potiphar promotes him to run it all, the Lord blesses his entire estate because of Joseph. Everything thrives: inside, outside, in the house, and in the field. He trusts Joseph so much he leaves every detail in his care. Potiphar doesn’t concern himself with anything except the food he eats.
Joseph’s 4 Steps to Success: Steps You Can Take Too
1) Ask for God’s Spirit
The first five words of verse two say, “The Lord was with Joseph…” It’s a wise man who remains close to God all his days. You never know when you might be separated from every other living soul in your life. Joseph was. He was separated from his family and every single person who was familiar to him.
But he still had his God. And that proved to be his saving grace. The Lord was with Joseph…
And it’s obvious God’s Spirit was upon him. Which brings to mind a favorite saying of one of my favorite fire department Captains, Rick Rohrbough, who would sometimes remark, “You don’t dig with your shovel when the backhoe is comin’.”
That saying comes to mind because living life without God’s Spirit compared to living life with His Spirit is like digging with a shovel compared to digging with a backhoe. Life flows when you’re living in the Spirit. Life’s so much harder when you’re not. It just doesn’t make any sense to live without His Holy Spirit poured out on your life.
And all you have to do is ask for it. Jesus said, If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!” (Luke 11:11-13)
Ask God to pour His Holy Spirit upon you, to be with you in what you put your hand to.
Ask.
Ask every day.
2) The Day of the Small Things
I think it’s important to keep in mind, as a slave, Joseph had to have started with small responsibilities. It’s a great reminder for you and for me not to despise the day of the small things. (Zechariah 4:10) When I started with the fire department my duties included cleaning the toilets. Having lived it, I recommend, if you’re assigned to clean the toilets, clean them well. I remember another time when we needed to find someone to take on the task of managing the laundry service for the fire department. This is not a glamorous task by any stretch of the imagination. A firefighter, who was already passed over four times for Captain, volunteered for the assignment and handled it extremely well. Today he serves as the Deputy Chief of Administration.
God’s word speaks of minding the day of the small things in Zechariah, and we see Jesus operates in the same way in Matthew 25:21.
So don’t despise the day of the small things. It results in great blessings, in the long run. (see previous post, Pat Summit: The Day of Small Things)
3) Work With All Your Heart
It’s been said: “Genius is one percent inspiration, and ninety-nine percent perspiration.” After reading the story of Joseph, I’m left with the distinct impression, he was industrious. Running the estate of a high government official, and running it well, had to be demanding of his time and energy. The Holy Spirit is God’s part, and the most important part, but Joseph had an important part too, and that was to give it his best. Joseph’s response is remarkable given the circumstances. He had to have been tempted to succumb to depression as a result of his brother’s intense hostility and rejection of him, as well as his current circumstances in Egypt. But he didn’t fall into despondency. Instead he worked with all his heart, as working for the Lord, not for his strange new Egyptian master.
However difficult your circumstances, how do they compare to Joseph’s? Have you been sold into slavery lately?
Wherever you find yourself, whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters… (Colossians 3:23)
4) Live According to God’s Word
In the biblical account of Joseph’s life, no sin is ever mentioned (another reason Joseph of the Old Testament is such a powerful picture of Jesus. See previous post: Joseph and Jesus). It’s obvious from our story, Potiphar trusted Joseph completely. Many of the simple truths in God’s scriptures are extremely valuable to those in authority. At the fire department some of us called certain employees who lived with great integrity and purpose, “fire and forget weapons.” When we gave them an assignment, they took responsibility and worked at it with all their heart. These people didn’t require much in the way of supervision. As Potiphar was with Joseph, once we gave them an assignment, we never gave it another thought.
Reading your Bible daily and living out the scriptures will pay off big in the long run. I have found Psalm 1 to be absolutely true.
Do you want whatever you do to prosper?
Live like Joseph did — regardless of your circumstances.
References:
Newly released book by Kurt Bennett, now available on Amazon!
Love Like Jesus: How Jesus Loved People (and how you can love like Jesus)
Love Like Jesus begins with the story of how after a life of regular church attendance and Bible study, Bennett was challenged by a pastor to study Jesus. That led to an obsessive seven year deep dive. After pouring over Jesus’ every interaction with another human being, he realized he was doing a much better job of studying Jesus’ words than he was following Jesus’ words and example. The honest and fearless revelations of Bennett’s own moral failures affirm he wrote this book for himself as much as for others.
Love Like Jesus examines a variety of stories, examples, and research, including:
With genuine unfiltered honesty, Love Like Jesus, shows you how to live a life according to God’s definition of success: A life of loving God well, and loving the people around you well too.
A life of loving like Jesus.
(Kindle, hardcover, and paperback now available on Amazon.)
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Posted on May 12, 2012 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Study, Genesis
4 Steps to Success, day of the small things, Genesis 39:1-6, Holy Spirit, Joseph and Jesus, Joseph prospers, Psalm 1, whatever they do prospers, work at it with all your heart
Judah and Tamar
Joseph is a powerful picture of Jesus. Just as Jesus said, the Old Testament scriptures “testify about me.” and, Moses “wrote about me.” (John 5:39-40, John 5:45-46)
The plan to kill Joseph was on track until Judah said to his brothers, “What will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? Come, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him; after all, he is our brother, our own flesh and blood.” (Genesis 37:26-27) The brothers who were present agreed, and Joseph was sold into slavery, eventually finding himself the property of Potiphar, Pharoah’s captain of the guard.
Chapter 38:
After selling Joseph into slavery, Judah leaves his brothers and heads down to his friend Hirah’s place in Adullam. There he meets a Canaanite woman named Shua. They wind up marrying and having three sons, Er the eldest, Onan the middle son, and Shelah the youngest.
Judah’s association with those outside the family of faith will prove costly. He first finds a friend, then a wife, then, later, we’ll see him participating in the Canaanite practice of soliciting sex with a shrine prostitute. There are only two types of close friends to associate with, those who will influence you for Christ, and those who you will influence for Christ. It’s inevitable, you’ll begin to value yourself based on the opinions of those you hang with. Judah is a classic example. What trouble might have been avoided had he chose his friends more wisely? And what blessings did he miss?
When Er is old enough, Judah finds a wife for him named Tamar. But the Bible tells us Er was wicked in the Lord’s sight, so He put him to death.
Then Judah invokes a custom of that culture for widows who are without an heir. He tells his middle son, Onan, Er’s brother, Go sleep with your brother’s widow, and fulfill your obligation as her brother-in-law, to raise up offspring for your brother.
But Onan knows Tamar’s child won’t be his, so whenever he sleeps with her he spills his sperm on the ground so she won’t conceive. This was wicked in the Lord’s sight, so He put him to death also.
Life was hard in that place at that time, especially for women, and even more so for widows. Without a man around Tamar would receive no inheritance from Judah. And without a son, Er’s family name would not be preserved. The law requiring a brother-in-law to provide seed for the widow is later described in Deuteronomy 25:5-10. According to this passage, if the brother-in-law of the widow refuses his duty, his brother’s widow shall go up to him in the presence of the elders, take off one of his sandals, spit in his face and say, “This is what is done to the man who will not build up his brother’s family line.” That man’s line shall be known in Israel as The Family of the Unsandaled.
I wonder if it was because of situations like Onan’s, the Lord instituted such a law.
So now Judah has lost two sons. He says to Tamar, Go home to your father and live with your family there, as a widow, until my youngest son Shelah grows up.
Judah’s thinking, Wow, I wonder if Tamar has anything to do with the longevity (or lack thereof) of her husbands. I think I’ll keep my only remaining son Shela, at a safe distance.
So Tamar went back home to live in her father’s house.
A long time passes, and Judah’s wife Shua dies. After Judah recovers from his grief he goes up to Timnah with Hirah the Adullamite, to the men who are shearing his sheep.
Well word gets back to Tamar her father-in-law is on his way to Timnah to shear his sheep, so she hatches a plan. She takes off her widow’s clothes, covers herself with a veil, and sits at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah.
So what’s this all about? Well the Canaanites had this cult prostitution thing going on to promote fertility. Followers of the fertility goddess Ishtar would dress up in veils, symbolizing they’re the bride of another god named Baal. Then the men who were planting fields, or helping their sheep birth lambs, or shearing sheep would use the prostitutes’ services to promote the fertility of their crops or herds. So Tamar takes off her widow clothes, special clothes women wore in that culture to identify themselves as widows, and she dresses in veils, posing as one of these cult prostitutes.
She does this because she’s realized Shela is past the time when he’s eligible to marry, yet she still hasn’t been given to him as his bride, as Judah had promised.
So Judah, on the road to Timnah, and completely oblivious, like an ox going to the slaughter, sees her and he thinks she’s one of these cult prostitutes. He doesn’t realize she’s his daughter-in-law. He goes over and propositions her, saying, Let me sleep with you. (Proverbs 7:8-27)
What will you give me in return, she asks.
How about one young goat from my flock, he says.
How about you give me something as a pledge until you send it? she asks.
What pledge do you have in mind?
She says, Your seal, and its cord, and your staff.
He agrees, so he gives her his stuff and sleeps with her.
And she becomes pregnant.
After she leaves him she puts on her widow’s clothes again.
Meanwhile Judah asks his friend Hirah the Adullamite to deliver the young goat so Judah can get back the stuff he pledged. But Hirah can’t find her.
He asks around, Where’s the shrine prostitute who hangs out next to the road at Enaim?
And he receives a most interesting answer: What shrine prostitute? We don’t have a shrine prostitute here.
Uh oh.
You see the seal she has is Judah’s one and only unique seal. In those times people used a precious or semi-precious stone, with an inscription on it, to press into wax, or a clay tablet, to provide their signature. The cord was used to hang the seal around Judah’s neck. Judah’s staff was another personal item, used in that day not just to assist walking but also to tend livestock and as a weapon. It may have been polished and adorned in such a way as to uniquely identify Judah even further.
These three items represent Judah’s person, possessions, and position: three things often lost when someone falls into temptation. If you don’t believe that, just read the news.
Judah will have some explaining to do.
So Hirah the Adullamite goes back to Judah and says, Hey, the men around there are telling me there is no prostitute who does business there.
Well then, I better just let her keep my stuff, or there’ll be a scandal and we’ll become a laughingstock. I did try to pay her. I sent her the young goat but you just couldn’t find her.
Three months go by…
Someone tells Judah, Your daughter-in-law Tamar has been found guilty of prostitution and she’s pregnant.
Burn her to death, Judah says.
That’s interesting because later in Deuteronomy we see prostitution punished by stoning. (Deuteronomy 22:23-24) We see punishment by burning for incest or for the daughter of a priest who prostitutes herself. (Leviticus 20:14, Leviticus 21:9) I’m reminded of David’s response when he learned of the rich man who stole the poor man’s lamb. ( see 2 Samuel 12)
We often find those sins we struggle with ourselves, most offensive in someone else.
But when she is brought out to be burned, she sends Judah’s seal, cord, and staff to him, along with a message: I’m pregnant by the man who owns these, maybe you should have a look to see if you recognize who they belong to.
Of course Judah recognizes them as his own and realizes what happened. He says, She is more righteous than I, since I wouldn’t give her to my son Shelah as I promised. And he did not sleep with her again.
When it was time for the babies to be born it’s discovered she has twin boys in her womb. As she begins to give birth one of the boys puts his hand out first, so the midwife takes a scarlet cord and ties it to his hand to mark that he came out first. But then that one draws his hand back in and his brother comes out.
She says, So this is how you’ve broken out! And they name him Perez, which means breaking out (or breach).
Then his brother with the scarlet thread on his wrist comes out, and they name him Zerah, which means scarlet (or brightness).
Jesus and Judah:
After seeing Judah sell his own brother Joseph into slavery, and then impregnate his own daughter-in-law, it’s amazing how, later, in Genesis chapter 49 we’ll see Israel bless Judah by saying, “Judah, your brothers will praise you; your hand will be on the neck of your enemies; your father’s sons will bow down to you.” (Genesis chapter 49 verse 8)
Judah is the line from which Messiah comes. Jesus is from the tribe of Judah. And not only from Judah, but from Tamar as well — she’s only one of four women named in the genealogy of Christ found in Matthew chapter 1. (see Matthew chapter 1, verse 3) His righteousness is His own, and isn’t derived from His ancestors (on His human side). Yet He’s not ashamed to be associated with the likes of Judah, or other sinners, such as you and me. “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.” Jesus said, “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” (see Mark 2:14-17)
We’re reminded again of how God does His work. His choices are made by grace and not by merit. He accomplishes His work organically. (see previous post: Serious Questions About How God Does Things)
He uses real people.
He uses people who make mistakes.
He uses sinners like you and me.
His treatment of Judah and Tamar in His genealogy is an amazing example of how gracious He is. It’s as though He’s saying,
Live for Me and I’ll even take your mistakes, and use them to link you to Christ.
[Image via TenaciousR, Creative Commons]
References:
Bible Gateway
Blue Letter Bible
Walton, Matthews, Chavalas, (2000) IVP Bible Background Commentary, Old Testament
Matthew Henry
Jon Courson
Proverbs 7:8-27:
He was going down the street near her corner, walking along in the direction of her house at twilight, as the day was fading, as the dark of night set in. Then out came a woman to meet him, dressed like a prostitute and with crafty intent. (She is unruly and defiant, her feet never stay at home; now in the street, now in the squares, at every corner she lurks.) She took hold of him and kissed him and with a brazen face she said: “Today I fulfilled my vows, and I have food from my fellowship offering at home. So I came out to meet you; I looked for you and have found you! I have covered my bed with colored linens from Egypt. I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes and cinnamon. Come, let’s drink deeply of love till morning; let’s enjoy ourselves with love! My husband is not at home; he has gone on a long journey. He took his purse filled with money and will not be home till full moon.” With persuasive words she led him astray; she seduced him with her smooth talk. All at once he followed her like an ox going to the slaughter, like a deer stepping into a noose till an arrow pierces his liver, like a bird darting into a snare, little knowing it will cost him his life. Now then, my sons, listen to me; pay attention to what I say. Do not let your heart turn to her ways or stray into her paths. Many are the victims she has brought down; her slain are a mighty throng. Her house is a highway to the grave, leading down to the chambers of death.
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Posted on May 5, 2012 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Study, Genesis
Jesus and Judah, Judah and Jesus, Judah and Tamar, Judah daughter-in-law, Onan spills seed
Joseph and Jesus, Sold by His Brothers: Genesis 37:12-36
Joseph Sold by His Brothers (Photo credit: DoJewish Blog)
Jesus said to them on the road to Emmaus:
Genesis 37:12-36
So Joseph’s brothers are overseeing their father’s flocks in an area near Shechem. Israel (Jacob) says to Joseph, You know how your brothers are out with the flocks near Shechem? Well I need you to head out there.
Israel sent Joseph, his most favored son, to his flocks. Joseph would ultimately save his brothers and the nation of Egypt from perishing in the famine. God the Father sent Jesus, His most favored son, to His flocks, the people on earth. Jesus would ultimately provide a means to save his brothers, and the entire world. (Matthew 3:17)
Joseph replies to his father, Sounds good.
Israel says, Head out there and see how your brothers and the flocks are doing then come back and let me know what you found.
Then he sends Joseph out from where they are, in the Valley of Hebron, toward Shechem.
When Joseph gets to Shechem, he wanders around in the fields for awhile looking for his brothers until a man asks him, What are you looking for?
Joseph says, I’m looking for my brothers, they’re grazing their flocks around here somewhere. Can you tell me where they are?
They’ve moved on from here, the man answers. I overheard them say they’re going to Dothan.
So Joseph continues on to Dothan and finds his brothers. They see Joseph off in the distance and while he’s still out of earshot, they plot to kill him.
“Lazarus come out!” Jesus said. And Lazarus, who had been dead, left his resting place in the cave, and came out, witnessed by many. The Sanhedrin never disputed Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead, in fact, they never disputed any of Jesus’ miracles. But they were afraid, because He was performing so many miracles, the people would follow Jesus, leaving the Sanhedrin without a power base. Bringing Lazarus back from the dead proved to be the last straw for them.
So they plotted to kill Jesus. (John 11:17-55)
Here comes the dreamer! they say to each other mockingly. We can kill him now and toss his body into one of these cisterns and we’ll just say a wild animal attacked him and ate him. Then we’ll see what becomes of his dreams.
Problem for the brothers: the dreams aren’t Joseph’s, they’re from God, and God’s dreams always come to pass.
Well Reuben hears all this, and as the oldest, he knows he’ll ultimately be held responsible for Joseph, so he says, Let’s not kill him, let’s not shed any blood. Instead we’ll throw him into this empty cistern out here, but don’t hurt him. Reuben’s thinking he’ll come back later, pull Joseph out of the cistern, and return him to their father.
Reuben is hoping, by throwing Joseph in the cistern, he can satisfy his brothers, even as Pontius Pilate had Jesus scourged, hoping to satisfy Jesus’ brothers the Jews who cried for Jesus’ crucifixion.
So when Joseph shows up, they strip him of his robe, the one of many colors, with oversized sleeves, the one his father gave him, and they toss him into the empty cistern.
Joseph was stripped of his special garment, even as Jesus was stripped of his seamless garment. And down into the empty cistern Joseph goes, even as Jesus went down into the grave. (Matthew 27:59-60, Mark 15:46, Luke 23:53, John 19:41-42)
Then they sit down to eat.
As they’re eating, they look up and see a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. The caravan’s loaded with goods: spices, balm, and myrrh. They’re on their way to Egypt to do some trading.
After seeing the caravan, Judah comes up with an idea, (or an idea was given to Judah by the Lord) he says, What do we gain if we kill him? Instead let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites and not hurt him; after all, he is our brother, our own flesh and blood.
We can avoid having Joseph’s blood on our hands if we turn him over to these Gentiles, Judah and his brothers, the other fathers of the tribes of Israel are thinking. Likewise, their descendants said it was against Roman law for the Jews to execute Jesus themselves. So they turned Jesus over to the Gentiles. It’s interesting to note, though they said, “We have no right to execute anyone” they were perfectly willing to stone the woman caught in adultery, and they were more than enthusiastic about throwing Jesus off the cliff. But it was prophesied Jesus was to die by crucifixion and only the Romans executed criminals in that manner. So this took place to fulfill what Jesus had said about the kind of death he was going to die. (John 8:1-11, Luke 4:29, John 18:31-32)
Here also, we see the trap of comparing your own actions to an action or intention that’s worse. Let’s be good guys and not kill Joseph, he’s our brother after all. Instead lets sell him into slavery so we never see him again, then lie to our father saying he’s dead. How much better we’re treating him than if we had chosen to kill him!
Of course this makes no sense at all. It never makes sense to compare our own bad deeds to those that are even worse, whether they be your own or someone elses. Your own holiness is your only concern. And there isn’t anyone who is too holy before the Lord.
Finally we see here the result of envy. Matthew Henry states, “Where envy reigns, pity is banished, and humanity itself is forgotten.” And Proverbs 27:4 tells us, Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous; but who is able to stand before envy? In our story we see siblings driven by envy to plot the death of their own brother, even as he desperately pleaded for his life! (Genesis 42:21) Envy: stay clear of it. Don’t allow yourself to be caught by the green eyed monster, or you may find yourself doing things you never dreamed you were capable of.
His brothers buy into the idea so when the Midianite traders come by, they pull Joseph up out of the cistern and sell him into slavery for twenty shekels of silver. The Midianites then continue on their way to Egypt.
Jesus was sold, for 30 pieces of silver, by one of his brothers. (Matthew 26:14-16, Mark 14:10-11, Luke 22:3-6, Zechariah 11:12-13)
All this occurs while Reuben was off somewhere. When he returns and sees Joseph isn’t there in the cistern, he tears his clothes. He goes back to his brothers and says, The boy’s not there! What am I going to do?
Reuben thinks he’s undone because of Joseph’s plight, when in reality, had Joseph not been sold into slavery, they all would have been undone, by famine. When the two Mary’s returned and saw Jesus wasn’t there in the tomb, they were distressed also, but in reality, had the tomb not been empty, we’re all undone. (Luke 24:1-8) (Matthew Henry)
So they kill a goat and dip Joseph’s robe in its blood. When they arrive home they show it to their father and say, We found this. You better have a look at it, it might be Joseph’s robe.
Of course Jacob recognizes it right away and says, It is my son’s robe! Some wild animal has devoured him. He’s been torn to pieces for sure.
Then Jacob tears his clothes, puts on sackcloth, and mourns for Joseph for many days. All his sons and daughters come to comfort him, but he refuses their consolation. “No,” he says, “I will continue to mourn until I join my son in the grave.” So his father wept for him.
To Jacob, Joseph is dead. But, there’s good news he doesn’t know about.
Meanwhile, the Midianites sell Joseph to Potiphar, Pharoah’s captain of the guard.
To the disciples and all who knew of His crucifixion, Jesus was dead. But there was good news coming they didn’t know about. It was dark on Friday, but Sunday’s coming. (See previous post: Back From the Dead)
Speaking of Jesus, Luke 25 verse 7 says, Beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.
I think the story of Joseph was probably a big part of that explanation.
And I’m reminded of something else Jesus said:
“Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.” (Luke 8:8)
References:
Bible Gateway
Blue Letter Bible
Matthew Henry
Walton, Matthews, Chavalas, (2000), IVP Bible Background Commentary, O.T.
Jon Courson
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Posted on April 28, 2012 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Commentary, Bible Study, Genesis
Genesis 37:12-36, Genesis 3:7, Jesus and Joseph, Jesus Joseph comparison, Joseph and Jesus, Joseph Jesus comparison, Joseph sold by his brothers
7 Steps to Your Dream — Genesis 37:5-11
Last post on Genesis 37:1-4 we saw how both Joseph and Jesus’ brothers saw they were their father’s/Father’s favorite and how they envied them. We also saw how both Jesus and Joseph have a heart for their respective fathers.
In this post we’ll learn about Joseph’s dreams. Then after the story of Joseph’s dreams, we’ll discover how to learn what dream God has in mind for you.
Genesis 37:5-11
When his brothers saw he was their father’s favorite, they envied him, to the point where they couldn’t speak a kind word to him.
Around this same time, Joseph had a dream. He shared it with his brothers, with great excitement, I imagine, after which, they hated him all the more. He said, “Listen to this dream I had: We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it.”
His brothers said to him, Do you intend to set yourself up to reign over us? Will you rule over us?
And they hated him even more because of his dream and what he had said.
Then he had another dream, and he told it to his brothers. “Listen,” he said, “I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.”
When he told his father about the second dream, his father rebuked him, What kind of dream is that? Will your mother and I and all your brothers bow down to the ground before you?
His brothers were jealous, but his father, though he rebuked him, kept the matter in mind and secretly wondered if there might not be something to these dreams.
Dreams:
Jesus very plainly states, the Old Testament scriptures “testify about me.” And that, Moses “wrote about me.” (John 5:39-40, John 5:45-46) We see it here in the story of Joseph. Like Joseph, Jesus had a dream given to Him by God. Joseph’s dream was to ultimately rule and reign in government. Jesus’ dream was to sacrifice Himself for all of humanity, then to rise up and ultimately rule and reign over everyone and everything, over all there is, at the right hand of the throne of God.
I’m going to give you 7 steps to help you learn what God’s dream is for you, but, before I do, I want to point out God’s dream for Joseph was only recognized by Joseph. His brothers derided him for it. And God’s dream for Jesus was only recognized by Jesus. In fact, when Jesus shared His dream, the religious establishment rejected Him, His own disciple Peter rebuked Him, and even after His dream was finished, after the resurrection, His disciples didn’t recognize Him at first.
So when God gives you your dream, don’t be surprised if you and God are the only two who recognize it. But don’t let that deter you. It didn’t deter Joseph. It didn’t deter Jesus. And as long as you follow the 7 steps below, don’t let it deter you.
So the question I want you to ask yourself right now is, “What is God’s dream for me? And how can I verify that dream is what God desires for me, in the most successful way possible.”
7 Steps to Learning God’s Dream for You:
1) Give Thanks and Praise
What a secret this is to successful prayer about any matter. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name, Psalm 100:4 tells us. When you’re entering into His presence to ask Him to give you the precise dream He has for you, first give thanks for prayers already answered, and for those dreams, however small, which have already happened for you.
2) God’s Word
Immerse yourself in God’s word. Soak up God’s perspective of you and the world around you. Seeing yourself and the world through God’s eyes is one of the most powerful things you can do. In this life we see as through a glass darkly, at best, but God’s word is a lamp for your feet and a light for your path. (1 Corinthians 13:12, Psalm 119:105) Time in His word correlates with enlightenment regarding His will.
3) Go Pray
When Peter received his vision on the rooftop, he was in a quiet place, in prayer. (Acts 10:9-13) When John received the great revelation, he was in a quiet place on the island of Patmos, and he was “in the Spirit.” (Revelation 1:9-10) When Nebuchadnezzar demanded his dream be interpreted, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah prayed for revelation, and received it. (Daniel 2:17-19)
So turn off the TV, close the cover of your laptop, put your phone in another room, and carve out quiet time for you to pray for God’s revelation concerning what dream He has in mind for you. Over and over again we see in scripture, people in a quiet place, very intentionally seeking to hear from God.
4) God’s People
After Jesus ascended and left the disciples, they were without their leader for the first time in several years. They needed direction. So what did they do? They gathered together. They were all together in one place when God made it obvious for them, what to do next. (Acts 2:1)
So find people who love God with everything they have and hang out with them as much as possible. Go to church. Ask questions about the dreams of those who are more godly than yourself. Pray with people who love God with all their hearts, minds, and souls about what God wants for your life. Hanging with people who love God with everything might be the most important part of learning what God’s specific dream is for you.
5) Give Love
As we’ll see later, God’s dream for Joseph was to save millions of people from a devastating famine. God’s dream for Jesus was to save all of mankind from their failures, and their inherent faults and flaws, and to reconcile us to God.
You probably noticed, in both dreams, given to Joseph and Jesus, serving others is central to the dream. I’m not saying you have to be a savior of the world, but how others are blessed by your dream provides great indication of whether or not your dream is simply a self absorbed means of selfish gratification or is truly the dream God has in mind for you.
After all, you have to recognize, “If in my dream I do not have love, I am nothing.” (1 Corinthians 13:2)
6) Great passion
God designed you for your dream, and your desires and passions are central to that design. So if you hate high humidity, bugs, and camping in the jungle, your dream probably doesn’t involve missionary work in Africa. I’ll never forget reading about how one of the big considerations for Chuck Smith choosing to pastor a church in Costa Mesa was the great surfing available in that area. In fact, the first time he decided to teach through the entire Bible was partly because he needed enough material to keep him in Costa Mesa where he could continue to surf.
A big consideration of whether or not your dream is truly from the Lord is, how well it fits with your passions and desires.
7) Give Thanks
“Well we already gave thanks in step 1,” you might be saying.
Give thanks again. Only this time give thanks, in faith, for what the Lord is going to do.
Moving forward with an attitude of hope, expectation, and thanksgiving is key to successfully receiving and living out God’s dream for you. Besides, one thing you know for sure is to give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5:18)
I’m not proposing this as some kind of formula for learning God’s dream for you. God can’t be confined to a formula. But look through scripture and see if it isn’t true. Those who received their dreams and revelation from God were 1) thankful, 2) spent time in God’s word (or even wrote some of God’s word) 3) prayerful, 4) hung with people who loved God with their whole heart, 5) lovers of God and people, 6) passionate, and 7) faithful.
There is no formula but it’s undeniable these seven steps are modeled in scripture.
Your dream becomes your story:
What a phenomenal story resulted from Joseph receiving and living out God’s dream for him.
And what an amazing story was born from Jesus receiving and living out God’s dream for Him.
You have to ask yourself, “What story will be told about my life? When people tell my story, what will they say?”
“He watched a lot of TV?”
or
“He was amazing at that MMOG, RPG, or at that first person shooter game?”
or
“His Minecraft creation was the best I’ve ever seen?”
Or will your story be one of value from God’s perspective:
“He went to work everyday and did his job with integrity and honor, as unto the Lord.”
or
“He lived out God’s word, as a father and husband.”
or even,
“He loved the Lord his God with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his mind.”
or even,
“He dared great adventures, for Christ. He swung for the fence, for Him.”
or even,
“That guy really loved people like Jesus.”
You see, in the end, finding and choosing to follow God’s dream for you, will determine what story will be told of you.
Try those 7 steps for a couple of months, see what happens to your life.
Live out the dream God has designed uniquely for you.
Swing for the fence, for Him.
In Christ’s name.
References:
Bible Gateway
Blue Letter Bible
Walton, Matthews, Chavalas. (2000). IVP Bible Background Commentary, Old Testament
Matthew Henry
John Piper
Chuck Smith, (2001) Living Water
Jon Courson
Photo at the top of the blog post by Francesco Ungaro on Pexels.com
Love Like Jesus: How Jesus Loved People (and how you can love like Jesus) now available on Amazon!
Love Like Jesus begins with the story of how after a life of regular church attendance and Bible study, Bennett was challenged by a pastor to study Jesus. That led to an obsessive seven year deep dive. After pouring over Jesus’ every interaction with another human being, he realized he was doing a much better job of studying Jesus’ words than he was following Jesus’ words and example. The honest and fearless revelations of Bennett’s own moral failures affirm he wrote this book for himself as much as for others.
Love Like Jesus examines a variety of stories, examples, and research, including:
With genuine unfiltered honesty, Love Like Jesus, shows you how to live a life according to God’s definition of success: A life of loving God well, and loving the people around you well too.
A life of loving like Jesus.
(Kindle, hardcover, and paperback now available on Amazon.)
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Posted on April 26, 2012 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Commentary, Bible Study, Genesis, I Wish Someone Had Told Me This When I Was Young
dream, dream come true, dream interpretation, Genesis 37 Bible study, Genesis 37:5-11, Genesis 3:7, help me God, Joseph's dream, success
Max Lucado Country Music Song: Story of Joseph
Has it ever occurred to you the story of Joseph sounds like a country music song?
Apparently it did to Max Lucado…
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Posted on April 23, 2012 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Study, Genesis
Genesis, Genesis 3:7, joseph, Max Lucado Country Music Song: Story of Joseph
Esau, the father of the Edomites — Genesis 36
While she was pregnant with the twins Jacob and Esau, God said to Rebekah, “Two nations are in your womb…” (Genesis 25:23) Of course the nation of Israel came from Jacob. And here in chapter 36 we see Esau’s family growing into the nation of Edom. Chapter 36 in its entirety is here for you to read, followed by a few insights about Esau as he represents our selfish, flesh focused nature.
Genesis 36:
This is the account of the family line of Esau (that is, Edom).
Esau took his wives from the women of Canaan: Adah daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Oholibamah daughter of Anah and granddaughter of Zibeon the Hivite— also Basemath daughter of Ishmael and sister of Nebaioth.
Adah bore Eliphaz to Esau, Basemath bore Reuel, and Oholibamah bore Jeush, Jalam and Korah. These were the sons of Esau, who were born to him in Canaan.
Esau took his wives and sons and daughters and all the members of his household, as well as his livestock and all his other animals and all the goods he had acquired in Canaan, and moved to a land some distance from his brother Jacob. Their possessions were too great for them to remain together; the land where they were staying could not support them both because of their livestock. So Esau (that is, Edom) settled in the hill country of Seir.
This is the account of the family line of Esau the father of the Edomites in the hill country of Seir.
These are the names of Esau’s sons:
Eliphaz, the son of Esau’s wife Adah, and Reuel, the son of Esau’s wife Basemath.
The sons of Eliphaz:
Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam and Kenaz.
Esau’s son Eliphaz also had a concubine named Timna, who bore him Amalek. These were grandsons of Esau’s wife Adah.
The sons of Reuel:
Nahath, Zerah, Shammah and Mizzah. These were grandsons of Esau’s wife Basemath.
The sons of Esau’s wife Oholibamah daughter of Anah and granddaughter of Zibeon, whom she bore to Esau:
Jeush, Jalam and Korah.
These were the chiefs among Esau’s descendants:
The sons of Eliphaz the firstborn of Esau:
Chiefs Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz, Korah, Gatam and Amalek. These were the chiefs descended from Eliphaz in Edom; they were grandsons of Adah.
The sons of Esau’s son Reuel:
Chiefs Nahath, Zerah, Shammah and Mizzah. These were the chiefs descended from Reuel in Edom; they were grandsons of Esau’s wife Basemath.
The sons of Esau’s wife Oholibamah:
Chiefs Jeush, Jalam and Korah. These were the chiefs descended from Esau’s wife Oholibamah daughter of Anah.
These were the sons of Esau (that is, Edom), and these were their chiefs.
These were the sons of Seir the Horite, who were living in the region:
Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, Dishon, Ezer and Dishan. These sons of Seir in Edom were Horite chiefs.
The sons of Lotan:
Hori and Homam. Timna was Lotan’s sister.
The sons of Shobal:
Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho and Onam.
The sons of Zibeon:
Aiah and Anah. This is the Anah who discovered the hot springs in the desert while he was grazing the donkeys of his father Zibeon.
The children of Anah:
Dishon and Oholibamah daughter of Anah.
The sons of Dishon:
Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran and Keran.
The sons of Ezer:
Bilhan, Zaavan and Akan.
The sons of Dishan:
Uz and Aran.
These were the Horite chiefs:
Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, Dishon, Ezer and Dishan. These were the Horite chiefs, according to their divisions, in the land of Seir.
The Rulers of Edom
These were the kings who reigned in Edom before any Israelite king reigned:
Bela son of Beor became king of Edom. His city was named Dinhabah.
When Bela died, Jobab son of Zerah from Bozrah succeeded him as king.
When Jobab died, Husham from the land of the Temanites succeeded him as king.
When Husham died, Hadad son of Bedad, who defeated Midian in the country of Moab, succeeded him as king. His city was named Avith.
When Hadad died, Samlah from Masrekah succeeded him as king.
When Samlah died, Shaul from Rehoboth on the river succeeded him as king.
When Shaul died, Baal-Hanan son of Akbor succeeded him as king.
When Baal-Hanan son of Akbor died, Hadad succeeded him as king. His city was named Pau, and his wife’s name was Mehetabel daughter of Matred, the daughter of Me-Zahab.
These were the chiefs descended from Esau, by name, according to their clans and regions:
Timna, Alvah, Jetheth, Oholibamah, Elah, Pinon, Kenaz, Teman, Mibzar, 43 Magdiel and Iram. These were the chiefs of Edom, according to their settlements in the land they occupied.
This is the family line of Esau, the father of the Edomites.
Esau and our selfish nature:
Esau, because he was hungry, sold his birthright for a bowl of stew. He also took wives from the land of Canaan, causing his parents grief. He and his descendants lived by the sword, that is, they sustained themselves at the expense of others’ lives. He was a man focused on feeding his flesh rather than focused on his God, and though he experienced success materially and politically, he goes down in scripture as someone who lived a life without God. (Hebrews 12:16) He represents our selfish nature. That creature who lives inside of every single one of us who wants to eat whatever she wants, drink whatever he wants, marry whoever she wants, get up whenever he wants, watch whatever movie, play whatever game, look at whatever website. That part of you and me that says, “Just back off and let me do what I want to do.” As we see in Esau, if your or my desire to disregard God’s ways is allowed control, we can wake up one morning to find ourselves living a life without God.
We see from Genesis 36, Esau and his descendants settle in Seir and his family grows into a nation as God prophesied. It’s interesting to see the contrast in the two peoples early in their histories. We see kings and rulers included in the list of Esau’s descendants. While Israel was dwelling in Egypt enslaved, Esau was dwelling in Seir as a successful nation. But centuries later Edom comes to nothing and Israel, not only enters into the promised land, but remains a nation to this day. (Malachi 1:3) Likewise, we may be tempted to envy those outside of our Lord’s family who are reigning materially, or politically, or in fame, or in their careers. There can even be a temptation in some to chuck it all, to unload our belief in Christ and in God’s word, thus enabling us to go the way of the rest of the world, and perhaps experience gain in these areas. But, we do well to remember, ultimately, we go to that place Jesus prepares for us. (John 14:2-3) Others may reign in this life, while you may feel as though you’re enslaved, but it’s only for a short while. If you have Christ, you have eternity after this brief life on earth. Or as Matthew Henry puts it, “…all things considered, it is better to have Canaan in promise than mount Seir in possession.”
Bottom line:
References:
Bible Gateway
Blue Letter Bible
Chuck Smith
Matthew Henry
Jon Courson
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Posted on March 31, 2012 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Study, Genesis
Esau flesh, Esau the father of the Edomites, For what shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul?, Genesis 36, Genesis Chapter 36, Selfish, selfishness
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