Tawa Baptist

Second Chances

Scripture: Genesis 44

Video Link: https://youtu.be/fZVV72MlMpM

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • A second chance
  • A substitute
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

Many of you will remember, from childhood, the nursery rhyme about Humpty Dumpty.

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall.

Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.

All the king’s horses and all the king’s men

couldn’t put Humpty together again.

It’s such a sad nursery rhyme. Why would you say that to a child? For years I have wondered what the point of it is. Humpty Dumpty raises so many questions.  

Is the nursey rhyme a kind of health and safety warning, before health & safety became a thing, teaching kids to be careful how high they climb? Or is it saying that people who are indecisive and sit on the fence (aka the wall) end up worse off than those who pick a side?

Who is Humpty Dumpty anyway and what does he (or she) represent? Did Humpty fall by accident, or was he pushed? And if he was pushed, who pushed him and why? (Robyn says I tend to overthink things. She may be right.)  

Whatever the answers to these important questions, I just wish the consequences for poor old Humpty Dumpty were not so fatal and final.

I wish Humpty Dumpty was given a second chance.

Today we continue our series in the life of Joseph. Joseph’s brothers certainly needed a second chance. They pushed their father Jacob off the wall by selling Joseph into slavery and lying about it. And they cannot undo what they have done.

But through Joseph, God gives them a second chance to make things right and put Jacob together again. From Genesis 44, verse 1, we read…

1 Now Joseph gave these instructions to the steward of his house: “Fill the men’s sacks with as much food as they can carry, and put each man’s silver in the mouth of his sack. 2 Then put my cup, the silver one, in the mouth of the youngest one’s sack, along with the silver for his grain.” And he did as Joseph said. 3 As morning dawned, the men were sent on their way with their donkeys. 4 They had not gone far from the city when Joseph said to his steward, “Go after those men at once, and when you catch up with them, say to them, ‘Why have you repaid good with evil? 5 Isn’t this the cup my master drinks from and also uses for divination? This is a wicked thing you have done.’ ”  6 When he caught up with them, he repeated these words to them. 7 But they said to him, “Why does my lord say such things? Far be it from your servants to do anything like that! 8 We even brought back to you from the land of Canaan the silver we found inside the mouths of our sacks. So why would we steal silver or gold from your master’s house?  9 If any of your servants is found to have it, he will die; and the rest of us will become my lord’s slaves.” 10 “Very well, then,” he said, “let it be as you say. Whoever is found to have it will become my slave; the rest of you will be free from blame.” 11 Each of them quickly lowered his sack to the ground and opened it. 12 Then the steward proceeded to search, beginning with the oldest and ending with the youngest. And the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack. 13 At this, they tore their clothes. Then they all loaded their donkeys and returned to the city.

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate God’s word for us.

A second chance:

When Thomas Edison and his staff were developing the incandescent light bulb, it took hundreds of hours to produce the first one. After finishing the bulb, Edison handed it to a young errand boy and asked him to take it upstairs to the testing room.

As the boy turned and started up the stairs, he stumbled and fell. The bulb shattered on the steps. The boy felt terrible. He knew how much work had gone into it and he felt the disappointment of everyone in the room.

He turned to face the famous inventor. But instead of tearing strips off the boy, Edison reassured him. And then told his staff to start working on another bulb.

When the second bulb was completed several days later, Edison did something unexpected. He walked over to the boy, handed him the bulb and said, “Please take this up to the testing room”.

Thomas Edison knew it was a risk, both to himself and to his staff. But he also knew the boy needed another chance. He needed the opportunity to redeem himself. And the boy did just that, delivering the second bulb without incident.

You may remember, from a few weeks ago, that Joseph needed to test his brothers to determine whether they were trustworthy. Well, so far, they have been passing the tests. When Simeon was held hostage, the brothers returned with Benjamin and Simeon was released. Also, they were honest about the silver found in their sacks.

However, these tests didn’t really prove whether Joseph’s brothers had changed. It was in the brothers’ interests to bring Benjamin to Egypt and return the silver. They would have starved if they hadn’t.

Joseph needed a test that replicated the situation (as close as possible) from 22 years earlier, when his brothers had sold him into slavery.

Benjamin, the youngest son and the only other child born to Rachel, was now Jacob’s favourite. What would the brothers do if they had to choose between saving Benjamin and saving themselves?

There was risk in Joseph’s test, to be sure. Just as there was risk in trusting the errand boy with the light bulb a second time. But, like the errand boy, Joseph’s brothers needed a second chance, a chance to redeem themselves.   

Joseph set Benjamin up to look guilty by instructing his steward to place a special silver cup in the mouth of Benjamin’s sack. Then, when Benjamin was found out, the steward gave the brothers a choice.

They could trade Benjamin for their own freedom. They could go home if they gave Benjamin up as a slave.

This was a similar scenario to the one 22 years earlier when they gave Joseph up to slave traders. Only now the stakes are higher.

When the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack the brothers tore their clothes as a sign of grief. It rips them up on the inside to think that harm might come to him.

To their credit all the brothers stand in solidarity with Benjamin, even though he appears guilty. The brothers’ calloused hearts have softened.  

The brothers would rather go into slavery with Benjamin than return home to Canaan without him. This was a pretty big call. The brothers didn’t know if they would ever see their wives and children again.

A substitute:

So what happens next? From verse 14 of Genesis 44, we read…

14 Joseph was still in the house when Judah and his brothers came in, and they threw themselves to the ground before him. 15 Joseph said to them, “What is this you have done? Don’t you know that a man like me can find things out by divination?”  16 “What can we say to my lord?” Judah replied. “What can we say? How can we prove our innocence? God has uncovered your servants’ guilt. We are now my lord’s slaves—we ourselves and the one who was found to have the cup.” 17 But Joseph said, “Far be it from me to do such a thing! Only the man who was found to have the cup will become my slave. The rest of you, go back to your father in peace.” 18 Then Judah went up to him and said: “Please, my lord, let your servant speak a word to my lord. Do not be angry with your servant, though you are equal to Pharaoh himself. 19 My lord asked his servants, ‘Do you have a father or a brother?’  20 And we answered, ‘We have an aged father, and there is a young son born to him in his old age. His brother is dead, and he is the only one of his mother’s sons left, and his father loves him.’  21 “Then you said to your servants, ‘Bring him down to me so I can see him for myself.’ 22 And we said to my lord, ‘The boy cannot leave his father; if he leaves him, his father will die.’ 23 But you told your servants, ‘Unless your youngest brother comes down with you, you will not see my face again.’  24 When we went back to your servant my father, we told him what my lord had said.  25 “Then our father said, ‘Go back and buy a little more food.’ 26 But we said, ‘We cannot go down. Only if our youngest brother is with us will we go. We cannot see the man’s face unless our youngest brother is with us.’ 27 “Your servant my father said to us, ‘You know that my wife bore me two sons. 28 One of them went away from me, and I said, “He has surely been torn to pieces.” And I have not seen him since. 29 If you take this one from me too and harm comes to him, you will bring my gray head down to the grave in misery.’ 30 “So now, if the boy is not with us when I go back to your servant my father and if my father, whose life is closely bound up with the boy’s life, 31 sees that the boy isn’t there, he will die. Your servants will bring the gray head of our father down to the grave in sorrow. 32 Your servant guaranteed the boy’s safety to my father. I said, ‘If I do not bring him back to you, I will bear the blame before you, my father, all my life!’  33 “Now then, please let your servant remain here as my lord’s slave in place of the boy, and let the boy return with his brothers. 34 How can I go back to my father if the boy is not with me? No! Do not let me see the misery that would come upon my father.”

There’s a story from Japan about a man called Hamaguchi. Hamaguchi was a highly respected leader of a fishing village.

One day, as Hamaguchi looked out from his house on the top of the hill, he saw the tide receding quickly. The villagers below were running to the beach to look at what was happening.

Hamaguchi realized it was a tsunami. There wasn’t time for him to run down the hill to warn the people of the village, so he set his own crops on fire. When the people saw the smoke, they ran up the hill to help Hamaguchi put out the fire.

They were too late to save Hamaguchi’s crops but, by showing solidarity and coming to his aid, they saved themselves, for the entire village was devastated by the incoming tidal wave. Hamaguchi’s sacrifice brought people together and saved many lives.

Joseph is secretly pleased to see his brothers standing together in solidarity and not abandoning Benjamin. But he doesn’t show this, for the final test is not yet complete.

Joseph says to his brothers, What is this you have done? Don’t you know that a man like me can find things out by divination?”

Some ancients believed they could reveal secrets and predict the future by pouring oil into water and watching the pattern it makes. Kind of like some people today think they can reveal mysteries by looking at tea leaves or reading horoscopes or tarot cards.

The Bible forbids divination. But Joseph doesn’t practice divination in any case. He is just saying this to disguise his true purpose. In a way though, Joseph is using the cup to find out the truth.

Judah takes the lead and responds to Joseph. But it is a different Judah to the one that Joseph once knew. For this Judah, has been through the crucible of conversion. This Judah has lost his wife and two sons. He has humiliated himself with Tamar and been bullied by regret at what he did to Joseph and Jacob 22 years earlier.

This Judah doesn’t try to force his own way and he doesn’t try to deceive Joseph. Instead, he acknowledges God’s justice in their situation saying…

“What can we say? How can we prove our innocence? God has uncovered your servants’ guilt. We are now my lord’s slaves….”

Judah is making a confession. Even though Benjamin was the one found with the cup, Judah remembers his own sins and stands in solidarity with Ben.   

To which Joseph replies…

“Far be it from me to do such a thing! Only the man who was found to have the cup will become my slave. The rest of you go back to your father in peace.”

Joseph is letting the brothers off the hook. It’s like Joseph is saying,‘Go on – you don’t need to stay. No one would blame you for leaving’.

This is the second time the brothers are tempted to abandon Benjamin. But they won’t budge. They stay loyal to Ben at great risk to themselves.

Judah takes the lead again. Calling himself a servant, Judah intercedes for Benjamin with a speech, the longest speech recorded in Genesis. Much of the speech is a retelling of the plot so far.

What we notice though, in Judah’s speech, is the three things that God requires of people. To do justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly.

Judah does not beg for leniency from Joseph. He doesn’t ask to avoid punishment. He accepts that justice must be done and offers himself as a slave in Benjamin’s place. As a true leader, Judah takes responsibility.

At the same time, Judah performs mercy for his brother Benjamin. The Hebrew word often translated as mercy is hesed. You may remember that hesed is a life-saving action done for someone you know who cannot otherwise help themselves.

Judah is doing hesed for Benjamin and his father. Judah is preserving Benjamin’s freedom and saving Jacob from further grief.

Thirdly, Judah walks humbly. He approaches Joseph with utmost respect, naming himself in a lower position as Joseph’s servant. Judah is honest, without being rude, and he does not presume upon any entitlement.         

The other thing we notice in Judah’s speech is his affection for his father, Jacob. Fourteen times in these verses, Judah mentions his father.

Judah is motivated by deep compassion for his dad. Judah is willing to sacrifice himself not just for the sake of Benjamin, but also for Jacob.

Judah, the same brother who once convinced the others to sell Joseph into slavery, now offers to become a slave himself, in Benjamin’s place. The transformation in Judah is miraculous. Only God can bring about that sort of change.

By God’s grace (and Joseph’s wisdom) Judah gets a second chance and he makes good on the opportunity for redemption.  

As Bruce Waltke observes, Judah is the first person in Scripture to willingly offer his own life [as a substitute] for another. His [self-giving] love, to save his brother for the sake of his father, prefigures the vicarious atonement of Christ, who by his voluntary sufferings heals the breach between God and human beings.  

Or to put it more simply, Judah points to Jesus by being willing to sacrifice himself to save his family.

Except, Jesus did something far greater than Judah. Jesus actually went through with the sacrifice, even unto death on a cross. And the Lord did it to save not just his family and friends but also his enemies, those who hated him.

Conclusion:

Have you ever done something you regret? I’m not talking about getting a bad haircut or ordering the wrong thing off the menu. I’m talking about serious regret. Regret that haunts you for decades.

Have you ever pushed Humpty Dumpty off the wall and not been able to put him back together again? Have you ever wished you could have a second chance and do things right this time?

Jesus came to show us the way of forgiveness, to release us from our regret and self-hatred.

Have you ever felt like Humpty Dumpty after his fall? Your life, your family, the things that really matter to you, all in pieces, perhaps through no fault of your own.

Jesus came to put our Humpty Dumpty lives and this Humpty Dumpty world back together again. Jesus came to make all things new.

May the Spirit of Jesus give us eyes to see the second chances God provides and the faith to put things right. Amen.

Questions for discussion or reflection:

  1. What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?
  2. What thoughts and feelings does the Humpty Dumpty nursery rhyme put you in touch with?
  3. Why did Joseph frame Benjamin by putting a silver cup in his sack?
  4. What stands out for you in reading Judah’s speech of intercession for Benjamin?  
  5. Have you ever done something you seriously regretted? What happened? Did you experience God’s redemption in this situation? If so, how?
  6. In what ways does Judah remind us of Jesus?
  7. How might we recognise when God is giving us a second chance?   
Tawa Baptist

Attachment

Scripture: Genesis 42:25-43:14

Video Link: https://youtu.be/qdL_nTpVw54

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Fear and attachment
  • Faith and attachment
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

When children are young, they often form an attachment to a soft toy, a teddy, a blanket or something else they cannot part with. The attachment gives the child a feeling of security.

Eventually though, the child forms other attachments. They make friends or get a pet and the toy or the teddy is put away. Although the kinds of attachments we make change through the various stages of our life, the basic reason for forming attachments remains the same, security. 

Attachments are important. We need healthy attachments to survive and thrive, much like a plant needs an attachment to good soil. Sometimes though we become overly attached to the wrong things. Things which might make us feel good in the moment but provide no real or lasting security and are actually harmful to our wellbeing, causing us to wither and die.

This morning we continue our sermon series in the life of Joseph. Previously, Joseph’s brothers had travelled to Egypt to buy grain. They did not recognize Joseph but Joseph recognized them and decided to test them to see if they had changed for the better. 

Joseph needed to know the quality of their attachments. Were they still attached to the wrong things? Or had they formed more healthy, life-giving attachments? We pick up the story from Genesis 42, verse 25…

25 Joseph gave orders to fill their bags with grain, to put each man’s silver back in his sack, and to give them provisions for their journey. After this was done for them, 26 they loaded their grain on their donkeys and left. 27 At the place where they stopped for the night one of them opened his sack to get feed for his donkey, and he saw his silver in the mouth of his sack. 28 “My silver has been returned,” he said to his brothers. “Here it is in my sack.” Their hearts sank and they turned to each other trembling and said, “What is this that God has done to us?” 29 When they came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan, they told him all that had happened to them. They said, 30 “The man who is lord over the land spoke harshly to us and treated us as though we were spying on the land. 31 But we said to him, ‘We are honest men; we are not spies. 32 We were twelve brothers, sons of one father. One is no more, and the youngest is now with our father in Canaan.’ 33 “Then the man who is lord over the land said to us, ‘This is how I will know whether you are honest men: Leave one of your brothers here with me, and take food for your starving households and go. 34 But bring your youngest brother to me so I will know that you are not spies but honest men. Then I will give your brother back to you, and you can trade in the land.’ ” 35 As they were emptying their sacks, there in each man’s sack was his pouch of silver! When they and their father saw the money pouches, they were frightened. 36 Their father Jacob said to them, “You have deprived me of my children. Joseph is no more and Simeon is no more, and now you want to take Benjamin. Everything is against me!” 37 Then Reuben said to his father, “You may put both of my sons to death if I do not bring him back to you. Entrust him to my care, and I will bring him back.” 38 But Jacob said, “My son will not go down there with you; his brother is dead and he is the only one left. If harm comes to him on the journey you are taking, you will bring my gray head down to the grave in sorrow.”

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate God’s word for us.

In these verses we see how fear affects attachment.

Fear and attachment:

Imagine yourself in a room full of gold. The gold is yours to keep if you want it. And you do want it. You’ve got bills to pay and having some money tucked away would give you peace of mind, or so you think.

The problem is this room you are sitting in with the gold is on a ship far out at sea.  And the ship is sinking fast. If you stay with the gold, you will go down with the ship and if you try to take some of the gold with you, in your pockets, the weight will drag you under the waves.

The choice is clear. If you want to live, you must abandon your attachment to the gold.    

Many of us have an attachment to money, although we may not like to admit it. We like having money because wealth gives us a feeling of security. It puts some of our fears to bed and makes us feel safe.

The problem is, having money also awakens other fears. Specifically, the fear of losing our money. Too much wealth can be as bad as too little. Riches, like poverty, tend to isolate us.

But when faced with a crisis, a choice between life and death, most of us would sacrifice the money to save ourselves. The fear of death is usually greater than the fear of poverty. You can always make more money, but you can’t make more time.

Joseph had suffered much at the hands of his brothers. They had sold him into slavery for 20 shekels of silver. By doing this the brothers had demonstrated a greater attachment to money than to Joseph.

When Joseph’s brothers leave Egypt to return to Canaan, Joseph orders his servant to put the silver they had paid back in their sacks. Why does Joseph do this? Is the silver a subtle reminder of his brothers’ crime? Or is Joseph being generous and repaying their wrongdoing with good?

Whatever Joseph’s motivation, when the brothers later discover the silver has been returned, their hearts sink and they feel terribly afraid.

They know this is not a good look. It makes them appear dishonest and gives the lord of the land more reason to distrust them.

In fear the brothers say to one another, “What is this that God has done to us?” Their guilty consciences see the returned silver as a punishment from God.

Although guilt doesn’t feel good, it is not always a bad thing. Guilt acts like bolt cutters for an unhealthy attachment. When we are attached to something that is harmful, like drinking too much for example, then (if our conscience is functioning properly) we will feel guilty about it and the guilt will motivate us to break our harmful attachment to alcohol.   

The brothers’ fear and guilt is a necessary step in the process of their redemption.

When the brothers get home to Canaan and explain to their father Jacob what happened, how the lord of the land wants them to return with Benjamin, Jacob is fearful also. He won’t have a bar of it saying…

38 “My son will not go down there with you; his brother is dead and he is the only one left. If harm comes to him on the journey you are taking, you will bring my gray head down to the grave in sorrow.”

Clearly, Jacob’s attachment to Benjamin and to his own grief is greater than anything he feels for the rest of his family.

Benjamin is no longer a child. He is a young man in his 20’s. Jacob’s attachment to Benjamin is not healthy. It keeps Jacob in a prison of fear and threatens the survival of the whole family.

While it is natural for parents to feel a strong attachment to their children, there comes a point when we need to trust God and let our children go. Not all at once, but gradually and with the support they need. Our attachment to our kids needs to flex and adapt as they grow.

It is difficult for Jacob to do this though because he has lost his favourite son, Joseph, and he is still living with the pain of that loss.

In his book, God of Surprises, Gerard Hughes (a Catholic priest and spiritual director) says this; “The answer is in the pain. We fear whatever causes us pain and try to escape, but in escaping we are running away from the answer… Face the fears that haunt you.” (page 101)

Jacob needs to face his fear of losing Benjamin. But will he find the faith he needs to do this?

Faith and attachment:

We continue the story from verse 1 of Genesis 43…

1 Now the famine was still severe in the land. 2 So when they had eaten all the grain they had brought from Egypt, their father said to them, “Go back and buy us a little more food.” 3 But Judah said to him, “The man warned us solemnly, ‘You will not see my face again unless your brother is with you.’ 4 If you will send our brother along with us, we will go down and buy food for you. 5 But if you will not send him, we will not go down, because the man said to us, ‘You will not see my face again unless your brother is with you.’  6 “Israel asked, “Why did you bring this trouble on me by telling the man you had another brother?” 7 They replied, “The man questioned us closely about ourselves and our family. ‘Is your father still living?’ he asked us. ‘Do you have another brother?’ We simply answered his questions. How were we to know he would say, ‘Bring your brother down here’?” 8 Then Judah said to Israel his father, “Send the boy along with me and we will go at once, so that we and you and our children may live and not die. 9 I myself will guarantee his safety; you can hold me personally responsible for him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him here before you, I will bear the blame before you all my life. 10 As it is, if we had not delayed, we could have gone and returned twice.” 11 Then their father Israel said to them, “If it must be, then do this: Put some of the best products of the land in your bags and take them down to the man as a gift—a little balm and a little honey, some spices and myrrh, some pistachio nuts and almonds. 12 Take double the amount of silver with you, for you must return the silver that was put back into the mouths of your sacks. Perhaps it was a mistake. 13 Take your brother also and go back to the man at once. 14 And may God Almighty grant you mercy before the man so that he will let your other brother and Benjamin come back with you. As for me, if I am bereaved, I am bereaved.”

In these verses Jacob finds the faith to face his fears. Faith plays an important part in the formation of healthy attachments. 

In the movie, The Sound of Music, Captain von Trapp does not enjoy a close or warm attachment to his children. Then along comes Maria who, through love and music, restores the father to his family.

In the middle of the film, the Captain and Maria start to form a romantic attachment. And, as is often the case with romantic attachments, neither of them is really that aware of their feelings at first.

Maria is confused and, after a quiet word from Baroness Schraeder, decides to return to the convent where she stays in seclusion and prepares to take vows to become a nun.

When the mother superior learns that Maria is actually afraid and hiding in the convent, to avoid her feelings for the Captain, she wisely encourages Maria to return to the von Trapp villa to face her fear and look for her purpose in life.

As it turns out, the Captain’s feelings of love for Maria have not changed, except now he has found the courage to admit his feelings to himself and to Maria. Baroness Schraeder sees the reality of the situation and gracefully leaves. Maria and the Captain are then married.

Faith plays an important part in forming healthy attachments. Faith helps us to face our fears and our pain. At the same time, faith enables us to hold things loosely, so we can let go in trust.

By faith Maria was able to put her romantic attachment to Captain von Trapp in God’s hands. She was willing to let God be God.

In Genesis 43, Jacob finds that he must face his fears and let go in faith, or else lose everything. The famine is so severe that the brothers must return to Egypt to buy more grain, or else they will starve. But they can’t return without taking Benjamin with them.

Reuben, the eldest brother, had tried persuading his father by saying that Jacob could put both of his sons to death if he doesn’t bring Benjamin back with him. But Jacob refuses.

If Reuben is that careless with his own sons, why would Jacob trust him with Benjamin. What good would it do to destroy more innocent lives? Reuben’s proposal is not the letting go of faith. It is the reckless letting go of desperation. It shows that Reuben’s attachments are not healthy.

Later Judah tries persuading Jacob by offering himself as guarantor for Benjamin saying, “I myself will guarantee his safety; you can hold me personally responsible for him…”

You may remember from Genesis 38 that two of Judah’s sons had died. Judah understands his father’s pain all too well.

Unlike Reuben, who was risking his sons’ lives, Judah is taking the risk on himself. Judah is saying that he will take the blame if he fails to bring Benjamin back safely. Judah’s proposal is more like the letting go of faith.

This reveals a real transformation in Judah’s character. Earlier, in Genesis 37, it was Judah who had led the others in selling Joseph into slavery. Now Judah takes the role of leader again, only this time he is not serving his own interests. This time Judah makes himself vulnerable and let’s go of his power in order to help others.   

We see a change in the other brothers too. Twenty years earlier they might have ignored Jacob’s wishes and kidnapped Benjamin in order to get him to Egypt to buy grain.

But now, having witnessed the suffering of their father, the brothers let go of their attachment to violence and power in order to honour their father and allow him to decide.

In the end Jacob realises his options are limited. If he does not let Benjamin go, they will all die. So, Jacob finally allows Benjamin to travel with his brothers to Egypt.

But notice Jacob’s advice to his sons. “Take the best products of the land as a gift… Take double the amount of silver with you… And may God Almighty grant you mercy… As for me, if I am bereaved, I am bereaved.”

In faith, Jacob faces his fear of being bereaved. He does what he can to prepare his sons (sending them off with gifts for the man) and then trusts his sons and the success of their mission to God’s mercy. This is the letting go of faith. Jacob is learning to let God be God.

Letting go in faith requires thoughtfulness and courage. We do what is in our power to do and we trust God with the rest.

Conclusion:

Unhealthy attachments can reveal themselves in many ways. The accumulation of wealth, the compulsion to try and control everything, an obsession with what others think, an affair of the heart, overworking, a destructive habit, self-righteousness, becoming too dependent on one person for our security, and so on. These are all signs of an unhealthy attachment to something.   

If we find ourselves holding onto something so tightly that we cannot let go and leave it in God’s hands, then it has probably become an unhealthy attachment. A millstone around our neck. Something that weighs our soul down and will eventually kill us.

What fears do you need to face?

What attachments do you need to hold more loosely?

Or perhaps let go of altogether?

Jesus understood our need for attachment. He also knew the human tendency to form attachments to the wrong things. The Lord says…

‘For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?’  

In the end, the only thing that really matters is the quality of our attachment to Jesus.

Questions for discussion or reflection:

What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?

  • Why do people form attachments?
  • How does fear affect our attachments? Why do we need to face our fears? What fears do you need to face?
  • What role does guilt play in breaking unhealthy attachments?
  • What role does faith play in the formation of healthy attachments? Can you think of ways that faith has helped you in forming attachments?
  • How might we know when an attachment has become unhealthy? What unhealthy attachments do you need to let go of? Ask God for his grace in doing this.
  • What can you do to strengthen your attachment to Christ? 
Tawa Baptist

Changing Spots

Scripture: Genesis 38:1-26

Video Link: https://youtu.be/SHr5xYlysAQ

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Genesis 38:1-11
  • Genesis 38:12-23
  • Genesis 38:24-26
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

Let me ask you a question. It’s a rhetorical question, so you don’t need to answer. Can a leopard change its spots?

The Lord God posed this question to his people through the prophet Jeremiah many centuries ago. It’s a question that is still relevant today. Can a leopard change its spots? It’s like asking, can people change their ways? Can bad character be re-formed into good character?

Today we continue our sermon series on the life of Joseph by focusing on Genesis 38. Last week we heard how Joseph’s brothers sold Joseph into slavery and then deceived their father into thinking that Joseph had been killed by a wild animal.

This week, the focus shifts off Joseph and Jacob and onto Judah. Judah was Jacob’s fourth son and Joseph’s half-brother. It was Judah’s idea to sell Joseph into slavery. Judah was the opposite of Joseph. Joseph was sincere and virtuous, while Judah was calculating and immoral.

Among other things, Genesis 38 addresses the question of whether a leopard can change its spots. It shows how God re-formed Judah’s character.   

Genesis 38:1-11

Genesis 38 begins with Judah leaving home. If the home environment you grew up in was violent or toxic, then sometimes the best thing to do is leave. Nothing changes if nothing changes. But you need to leave to something better. Otherwise you may be jumping out of the fry pan and into the fire. 

Judah’s family was dysfunctional and Judah contributed to that dysfunction. Unfortunately, when Judah left, he did not leave to something better. Judah went to live with the pagan Canaanites.

As Bruce Waltke observes, “Judah’s geographical descent from Hebron’s heights to Canaan’s lowlands mirrors his spiritual condition”. [1]

Judah makes a moral decline. He has little regard for God’s ways or God’s purpose. Far from having a positive effect in the world, Judah conforms to the Canaanite way of life against the purpose of God. He marries a Canaanite woman and has three sons: Er, Onan & Shelah.

After some time, Judah found a Canaanite wife for his eldest son Er. Her name was Tamar. We are not told what Er did, only that his conduct was so evil in the Lord’s sight that God put him to death.

God, who sees the heart, must have known that Er would never change his spots and, perhaps as a way of protecting others from harm, God took back Er’s life.

Now, we need to be careful in reading a verse like this. We cannot make a formula out of Er’s death. Just because someone dies young or experiences some kind of misfortune, it does not automatically follow that God is displeased with them or punishing them.

There are plenty of bad people in this world who live long and prosper. Just as there are many good people who suffer injustice or die young. Next week we will hear how Joseph was sent to prison for doing the right thing.

Jesus was without sin and he was nailed to a cross. The test that someone has found favour with God is not health or wealth in this world. Rather it is resurrection to eternal life. Yes, Jesus died a horrific death at just 33 years of age, but God vindicated Jesus by raising him from the dead.

When it comes to suffering in this life, there is no formula for explaining it. Sometimes life is fair and sometimes it isn’t. The challenge of faith is believing that God is fair, even when circumstance is not, and that God can redeem suffering. He can work it for good.

Er died without fathering any children, so Judah said to his second son, Onan…

“Go and sleep with your brother’s widow [with Tamar]. Fulfil your obligation to her as her husband’s brother, so that your brother may have descendants.”

This is called ‘Levirate marriage’. Levirate marriage was a practical way of taking care of the family. By marrying the dead man’s wife and giving her children, the living brother was giving his dead brother descendants. And he was providing food, shelter & children for the widow, so that she wasn’t destitute. It was a form of social security.

Levirate marriage may seem strange to us. Probably there are some women here who would prefer not to marry their brother-in-law. But in the culture of Genesis 38 it was considered the honourable thing to do.

In effect, Judah was asking Onan to take Tamar into his household and get her pregnant. If Tamar gave birth to a boy, then that boy would be considered Er’s son, not Onan’s son. In other words, the boy born to Tamar would receive Er’s inheritance (as first born) which means there would be less for Onan.

Onan did not like this idea, but he did not want to lose face either, so he faked it. He slept with Tamar in a way that ensured she did not get pregnant. Coitus Interruptus. Onan repeatedly took advantage of Tamar and only pretended to do the right thing.

What Onan did was wicked in the Lord’s sight; so the Lord put him to death also.

Let’s reflect on the bigger picture for a moment. Judah had robbed his father Jacob of his favourite son Joseph. Now Judah learns what it is to become a father and lose two sons. Judah is reaping what he sowed.

Sometimes God allows us to experience the consequences of our actions as a way of preparing us for change. Consequences don’t necessarily effect immediate change, but they can lay the groundwork for long term change.    

The loss of two of his sons does not change Judah for the better in the short term. All it does is make Judah more fearful, more self-interested. What if Tamar is bad luck? Or worse, what if she is a witch? Judah doesn’t want to risk his third son. Fear has Judah running from change.

We notice a certain obtuseness from Judah here. He is spiritually insensitive. Judah seems blind to his sons’ wrongdoing. Instead of facing the fact that his sons were not good people, he superstitiously suspects that Tamar is to blame. 

Judah kicks for touch, he plays it safe and sends Tamar back to her father’s house in mourning, telling her to wait until his youngest son Shelah is old enough for marriage.  

This was another act of deception on Judah’s part. He had no intention of giving Tamar to his youngest son in marriage.

Judah’s spots don’t show any sign of changing at this point.  Judah denies Tamar the freedom to marry anyone else but at the same time he doesn’t provide for her through his son Shelah. Judah’s deception of Tamar is cruel, just as his deception of Jacob had been cruel.

Genesis 38:12-23

After a long time, Judah’s wife died. When it became clear that Judah had no intention of letting Tamar marry Shelah, Tamar came up with her own plan of subterfuge.  

Tamar changed out of her widow’s clothes, covered her face with a veil and sat down at the entrance to the town of Enaim, knowing Judah would pass that way.  

When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute, so he went over to her and said, ‘Come now, let me sleep with you.’ He had no idea who he was talking to.

Tamar said, ‘What will you give me to sleep with you?’ Judah doesn’t realise it, but this is a loaded question. Tamar is hoping he will give her children.

Judah replies, ‘I will send you a young goat from my flock’. This shows that Judah is acting on impulse. He has an itch that needs scratching. He didn’t come prepared to hire a prostitute, but he also doesn’t have much self-control.

The fact that Judah is unprepared plays right into Tamar’s hands. She asks for Judah’s seal with its cord and the staff he is carrying.

Men in the ancient world carried a seal around their neck on a cord. The seal was the shape of a cylinder with unique markings on it which could be rolled over soft clay to authenticate a transaction.

The staff Judah carried was a symbol of his authority, also with unique markings to identify that it belonged to him. In today’s terms Judah was basically giving Tamar his credit card and driver’s licence as guarantees of payment.

Judah is a victim of his own lust and ego. If you give away your moral authority, like Judah did, then you tend to lose other forms of personal authority also.

Judah hands over the symbols of his power and authority to Tamar without realising what he is doing. Once again, Judah is reaping what he sowed. Just as Judah deceived his father Jacob, now Tamar deceives Judah.      

There is a significant difference in Tamar’s deception though. Unlike Judah who deceives for his own selfish ends, Tamar deceives with the more honourable motivation of preserving the family line. Some call it a faithful deception.

After Judah sleeps with Tamar, she becomes pregnant by him. Later Judah sends the young goat he promised but Tamar is no longer there. She has changed back into her widow’s clothes and returned home.

So Judah lets the matter drop. He doesn’t want to become a laughingstock.  

Judah is more concerned with his reputation than he is with doing what is right.

About three months later Judah was told, “Your daughter-in-law Tamar is guilty of prostitution and as a result she is now pregnant.”
Judah said, “Bring her out and have her burned to death.”

If Tamar was guilty then Judah would be expected to respond like this to preserve family honour. But even so, natural justice requires him to test the facts first. Judah is quick to condemn Tamar without a fair trial.

His callous response reveals an ulterior motive. Judah sees this as a convenient opportunity to get rid of his daughter-in-law so that he doesn’t have to give his son to her in marriage. Judah thinks he has found a way to avoid his responsibility while keeping up appearances.   

As readers we can see the double standard. Why is a man called a stud, but a woman is called a slut? Why is it her fault when he is the one who is angry?

Why can’t Judah see what lurks in his own shadow?

Genesis 38:24-26

As Tamar was being brought out, she sent a message to her father-in-law.

“I am pregnant by the man who owns these,” she said. And she added, “See if you recognise whose seal and cord and staff these are.”

‘Do you recognise your own credit card and driver’s license, Judah?’ Mic drop.

In the original Hebrew, Judah literally says, ‘She is righteous, not I.’

Now we might ask, ‘How can the Hebrew Bible say that Tamar is righteous?

She tricked her father-in-law into sleeping with her and, according to the Bible, sex outside of marriage is a sin. Well, Tamar’s example does not give us a licence to deceive people and sleep around.  

Tamar is declared righteous because she acted in faith and loyalty for the well-being of Judah’s family.  

When we consider how risky Tamar’s plan was, we realise that God was helping her every step of the way. There was so much that could have gone wrong but didn’t.

What if someone else tried to solicit Tamar before Judah came along?

What if Judah ignored Tamar as she sat disguised by the side of the road?

What if Judah had not given Tamar his seal and staff?    

What if Judah had recognised Tamar?

What if Tamar had sex with Judah but didn’t get pregnant?

What if Judah had denied any wrongdoing and accused Tamar of stealing his seal and staff and lying about it?

Tamar acted in faith, taking some huge risks to her personal safety, all so she could do the right thing by Judah’s family. Tamar risked her life to give life.    

Returning to the question we started with, can a leopard change its spots? Can a person like Judah change their ways?   

Well, Judah changed his environment and went to live with the Canaanites but that didn’t make him better. If anything, it made him worse. Becoming a husband and a father didn’t change Judah either.

And when he suffered the loss of two of his sons and his wife, there was still no positive change. If anything, these losses only made Judah more fearful and more self-interested.    

A leopard may not be able to change its spots, but God can. Judah could not change his ways, but God did change Judah. God reformed Judah’s character by grace and God’s grace came in the form of Tamar, a Canaanite woman from the wrong side of the tracks, the one no expected.

We can rightly call Tamar the heroine of this story because she saved Judah from himself. God used Tamar’s brave faith as the catalyst for Judah’s repentance and transformation.

The tipping point for character change is honest confession. Judah’s humiliation (at being found out) goes hand in hand with his honest confession and the first steps of his conversion. Nothing changes until Judah is honest with himself.      

God rewarded Tamar’s faith with twin boys (Perez & Zerah) to replace the two sons Judah had lost. This is the grace of God. Tamar literally gives birth to the grace of God for Judah. She mediates God’s grace to Judah.

One thing to note here is that we don’t always reap what we sow. Judah had been quick to condemn Tamar to death for prostitution. By that measure Judah himself should have been killed also. But God in his grace does not punish Judah. God blesses Judah when Judah has done nothing to deserve it. 

When Judah realises that he is the father of Tamar’s babies he knows that God is giving him another chance. And in response to God’s grace, Judah repents. He acknowledges Tamar’s righteousness, and he does not sleep with her again.

God changes Judah. We don’t see all the changes in Genesis 38. But, towards the end of the Joseph story, we see what real character change looks like.

By his grace God changes Judah from being deceitful to being truthful.

From being insincere to being authentic.

From being powerful to being vulnerable.

From being hypocritical to being humble.

From being sexually promiscuous to being self-controlled.

From being callous to being compassionate.

Perhaps the greatest transformation to Judah’s character though was the change from self-interest to self-sacrifice. 

In Genesis 44, when the brothers go to Egypt to buy grain, Judah (the former slave trader) offers himself as a slave in Benjamin’s place. Judah offers himself as a sacrificial lamb to save his family.   

Conclusion

Both Tamar and Judah are mentioned in Jesus’ genealogy (in Matthew 1).

Each of them points to Jesus in different ways.  

Tamar points to Jesus as one who mediates God’s grace to sinners.

And Judah points to Jesus who offers his life on the cross to redeem creation.  

What spots is God changing in your character?

May the Lord guide us in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Amen.  

Questions for discussion or reflection:

What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?

  • Can a leopard change its spots? Can a person change their ways? Can bad character be reformed?
  • In what ways does Judah reap what he sowed? Can you think of a time in your life when you reaped what you sowed? (Whether good or bad.) What happened? Can you think of a time in your life when God (in his grace) saved you from reaping what you sowed? What happened?
  • Why does Judah say, “She is righteous, not I”? Why is Tamar considered righteous in this situation? Why is honest confession necessary / important for character change?    
  • What changes does God bring about to Judah’s character? How does God change Judah’s character?
  • Looking back over your life, so far, what changes has God brought about to your character? How did God effect these changes?
  • How do Tamar and Judah point to Christ?

[1] Bruce Waltke, ‘Genesis’, page 510.

Tawa Baptist

Connection & Consequences

Scripture: Genesis 37:12-36

Video Link: https://youtu.be/dOELw8qLQqU

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • God’s providence
  • The brothers’ deceit
  • Joseph’s innocence
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

Leonardo da Vinci is quoted as saying…

Learn how to see. Realise that everything connects to everything else.

There is truth in this statement I believe. Everything on this planet is connected. We are part of a complex eco system, part of a global economic system, part of a diverse human culture, part of a long history and part of a web of relationships that is all inter-connected.  

And those connections have consequences. For example, if we put plastic into the ocean, that plastic gets into the food chain which eventually gets into our bodies and affects our health.

If there is a natural disaster in New Zealand or overseas, then we feel an outpouring of compassion for those who have suffered loss. We also feel pain in our pocket as our insurance premiums go up.

If there is a war on the other side of the world, countries are inevitably forced to choose sides. Then before long food and oil shortages drive up commodity prices, making life tougher for everyone.

If someone in your family gets sick or goes to prison or dies, then that places more stress and pressure on the rest of the family. And if the family buckles under the pressure, then the fabric of the community suffers for it.

There are also spiritual connections. Connections we cannot see or understand that have real consequences. Without the sustaining connection of God’s Holy Spirit, life as we know it would collapse.    

I could go on, but you get the point. Everything is connected. What happens to one part has very real consequences for the other parts.

Today we continue our series on the life of Joseph, focusing on Genesis 37:12-36. This passage is full of connections and consequences. We just need to learn to see. From Genesis 37, verse 12 we read…

12 Now Joseph’s brothers had gone to graze their father’s flocks near Shechem, 13 and Israel said to Joseph, “As you know, your brothers are grazing the flocks near Shechem. Come, I am going to send you to them.”

“Very well,” he replied. 14 So he said to him, “Go and see if all is well with your brothers and with the flocks, and bring word back to me.” Then he sent him off from the Valley of Hebron.

When Joseph arrived at Shechem, 15 a man found him wandering around in the fields and asked him, “What are you looking for?” 16 He replied, “I’m looking for my brothers. Can you tell me where they are grazing their flocks?”

17 “They have moved on from here,” the man answered. “I heard them say, ‘Let’s go to Dothan.’” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them near Dothan. 18 But they saw him in the distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him.

19 “Here comes that dreamer!” they said to each other. 20 “Come now, let’s kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns and say that a ferocious animal devoured him. Then we’ll see what comes of his dreams.”

21 When Reuben heard this, he tried to rescue him from their hands. “Let’s not take his life,” he said. 22 “Don’t shed any blood. Throw him into this cistern here in the wilderness, but don’t lay a hand on him.”

Reuben said this to rescue him from them and take him back to his father. 23 So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe—the ornate robe he was wearing – 24 and they took him and threw him into the cistern. The cistern was empty; there was no water in it.

25 As they sat down to eat their meal, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were loaded with spices, balm and myrrh, and they were on their way to take them down to Egypt. 26 Judah said to his brothers, “What will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? 27 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.” His brothers agreed. 28 So when the Midianite merchants came by, his brothers pulled Joseph up out of the cistern and sold him for twenty shekelsof silver to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt.

29 When Reuben returned to the cistern and saw that Joseph was not there, he tore his clothes. 30 He went back to his brothers and said, “The boy isn’t there! Where can I turn now?”

31 Then they got Joseph’s robe, slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood. 32 They took the ornate robe back to their father and said, “We found this. Examine it to see whether it is your son’s robe.”

33 He recognized it and said, “It is my son’s robe! Some ferocious animal has devoured him. Joseph has surely been torn to pieces.” 34 Then Jacob tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and mourned for his son many days. 35 All his sons and daughters came to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. “No,” he said, “I will continue to mourn until I join my son in the grave.” So his father wept for him.

36 Meanwhile, the Midianitessold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard.

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate God’s Word for us.

Last week we heard about God’s election and God’s revelation. This week’s reading shows us a series of connections and consequences.

In particular, the text draws connections with God’s providence, the brothers’ deceit and Joseph’s innocence. Let’s begin with God’s providence.

God’s Providence:

Some years ago, at the Wellington airport, there was a portrait of Peter Jackson made out of 2,000 pieces of toast, all organised to make a coherent image. Every piece of toast, even the burnt ones, found a purpose in the hands of Maurice Bennett, the artist.

Although we cannot see the artist in the picture, we know there is an artist because the picture makes sense. Toast cannot arrange itself in a meaningful pattern like this. The presence of the artist is revealed in the way the details are connected.  

Although God is not mentioned in today’s reading, we know God is present because, when we zoom out to look at the bigger picture, we see God’s providence.

God’s providence is a term that refers to God’s care and provision for creation. God works with the choices we make (both good and bad) to provide for his creation. God has a way of connecting the dots to give meaning and coherence to our lives.

Augustine has a lovely quote: Trust the past to God’s mercy, the present to God’s love and the future to God’s providence.

We may not be able to see it right now, but God is at work putting things in place and creating connections that will provide for our future.  

We see many providential connections in Genesis 37, which God’s uses to get Joseph to Egypt where the Lord will use Joseph to save millions from starvation.

In verse 12 we read how most of Jacob’s sons had gone with their father’s flock to Shechem.

Now Shechem was a strange place for Jacob’s sons to go really. It was like returning to the scene of the crime. For it was at Shechem that some of Jacob’s sons had massacred a number of people.

Naturally, Jacob would be feeling a bit anxious about his sons returning to a place where they had made enemies. So, Jacob sends Joseph to check that his family are okay.  

In his providence, God uses Jacob’s anxiety as part of the process of getting Joseph to Egypt.  

We see another seemingly random connection in verses 15-17.

Jacob sent Joseph from Hebron to Shechem, which would have meant roughly a four day walk for Joseph. And when Joseph gets to Shechem his brothers are nowhere to be found.

So, there he is, walking around in a lonely part of the countryside when a complete stranger finds him and asks what he is looking for. Joseph says he’s looking for his brothers, and guess what? The stranger just happens to know where Joseph’s brothers are.

We have to ask ourselves, what are the chances of that happening? Pretty slim I would think. Half an hour either way and Joseph probably wouldn’t have met this joker.

By including this detail of Joseph’s ‘chance’ encounter with the stranger the writer means for us to see the hand of God at work here, making sure connections are made.

When Joseph’s brothers see him coming in the distance, they conspire to murder him. They hate Joseph and want to kill his dream. But Reuben intervenes to save Joseph.

Reuben was the eldest son. He had made the mistake of sleeping with one of his stepmothers, that is, one of his father’s wives. So there was a cloud hanging over him. But God still used Reuben to save Joseph’s life, even though things did not go exactly the way Reuben planned.  

While Reuben is gone, Judah suggests selling Joseph to some merchants.

It’s interesting that the slave traders turn up at just the right moment, on their way to Egypt. Interesting also that these merchants just happen to be Ishmaelites and Midianites, cousins of Jacob. Another connection.

God, being the artist he is, chooses to weave other descendants of Abraham into his broader plan of salvation. In today’s terms, it would be like God getting Jews and Arabs to work together to save the Americans.  

God’s providence keeps popping up throughout the Joseph story, but Joseph and his family were not aware of it until after the fact. God’s providence is often only visible in the rear vision mirror.  

As you look back on your life, so far, can you see God’s providence?

Can you see the connections the Lord has made to provide for you?

Are you aware of the consequences of those connections?

Of course, we need to avoid extremes. On the one hand it is not helpful to try and read God’s providence into every little thing that happens. On the other hand, we don’t want to deny the possibility that God is at work in the very things we think are hopeless.  

The Brothers’ Deceit:

Right alongside God’s providence, in today’s reading, we have the brothers’ deceit. After Joseph was sold into slavery his brothers come up with a scheme to hide the truth from their father.

They kill a goat, like a sacrifice, or a scapegoat for themselves and they dip Joseph’s robe in the goat’s blood. Then they show it to their father Jacob.

Notice how crafty the brothers are in doing this. They don’t lie directly to their father. They simply show Jacob the blood-stained coat and allow him to draw his own conclusions.

And Jacob figures the most likely scenario is that Joseph was mauled to death by wild animals.

Like most parents, Jacob reveals a certain blindness here. Jacob does not think for a moment that his sons could be to blame for Joseph’s disappearance. Which is extraordinary. Does he not remember what they did at Shechem? Does he not realise how much they hate Joseph.   

So often we see what we want to see. We deceive ourselves by making the connections we want to make. It’s a self-protection thing.

Those who are familiar with Jacob’s origin story may see a connection here. Jacob is reaping what he sowed. Just as Jacob had taken advantage of his father Isaac’s physical blindness in order to steal the birthright from Esau, so too Jacob’s sons take advantage of their father’s emotional blindness in order to hide what they have done to Joseph.

Connections come with consequences. But not all connections are the same. The closer the connection, the more deeply we feel the consequence. They say a parent is only as happy as their unhappiest child. If your son or daughter is suffering, then you feel it too.

The brothers did not see this connection or realise the consequences for their father. By leading Jacob to believe that Joseph was dead, the brothers put their father in another kind of pit. The pit of grief. Jacob entered into a long depression, refusing to be comforted. Our words and actions have very real consequences for those around us.

The brothers remind us of the religious leaders of Jesus’ day. Pretending to be one thing when all the time they were something else. Jesus was scathing in his rebuke of their hypocrisy.

Jesus understood the damage deceit can cause. Dishonesty destroys trust and trust is essential to abundant life. Trust is the foundation of right relationship. Without trust our relationships collapse. Without trust we feel alone and anxious.     

Joseph’s Innocence:

Like a light in the darkness, Joseph’s innocence stands out against the backdrop of the brothers’ deceit.  

One of the qualities of light is silence. Light makes no sound. You can see it and feel it, but you cannot hear it.

Strangely, the text gives more attention to the brothers’ deceit than it does to Joseph’s innocence. How often is that the way. The naughty kids get most of the attention while the good kids are overlooked.

We see Joseph’s innocence in the way he obeys his father in going to look for his brothers. And we see his innocence in the charges the brothers bring against him. Joseph’s only crime (and it is no crime at all) is being the favourite and having a dream.

Once Joseph catches up with his brothers, we don’t hear a word out of him. The writer of Genesis leaves Joseph’s ordeal to the reader’s imagination.

Joseph was quite young, still a teenager. He was outnumbered by grown men who, to his complete surprise, mug him, strip him of his clothing and throw him into a pit in the ground. He is left there, in the dark, confused, sore, thirsty, terrified and crying for help.

We know that Joseph was distressed in the pit because later in the story, in chapter 42, Joseph’s brothers recall how they had ignored his cries for help. All those years later they could still remember it.  

By silencing Joseph, at this point, the author is highlighting Joseph’s powerlessness. The boy has no say in the matter. He is forced. Joseph is innocent. He has done nothing wrong and yet he is being severely mistreated. This is a circumstance outside of his control.

It is a well-documented fact that most abuse happens within families. Joseph’s experience mirrors that of millions of innocent children down through the ages. And millions more who have been trafficked and sold into slavery.

If you are not safe with your family, then where are you safe?

If you cannot trust your family, then who can you trust?  

Joseph’s ordeal at the hands of his brothers draws some clear connections with Jesus’ suffering…

Like Joseph, Jesus was the subject of a murder plot.

Like Joseph, Jesus was betrayed by those close to him.

Like Joseph, Jesus was sold for a bag of silver.

Like Joseph, Jesus was innocent.

Like Joseph, Jesus was stripped of his robe.

Like Joseph, Jesus cried out.

And like Joseph, Jesus went down into the ground.

Unlike Joseph though, Jesus didn’t just die in people’s imaginations. Jesus actually died, physically, and was raised to life again.

Conclusion:

Who do you identify with most in this story of Joseph and his brothers?

What connections do you draw with your own experience?

Perhaps like the stranger in the wilderness you are oblivious to the part you play in God’s providence. May the Lord give you eyes to see that your life has consequence. What you do matters.   

Or maybe, like Joseph’s brothers, you have done some terrible things. Things you wish no one to ever find out. Things you now regret. May the Lord hear your confession and help you to make amends.

Or perhaps, like Jacob, you have dared to love greatly and are paying the price in grief. May the Lord heal your pain and restore your joy.   

Or maybe, like Joseph, you have suffered great injustice at the hands of people you should have been able to trust. May the Lord lift you out of the pit and set you free. Amen.

Questions for discussion or reflection:

What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?

  • Discuss / reflect on the quote: ‘Learn how to see. Realise that everything connects to everything else’. What connections and consequences are you aware of at the moment?  
  • What is providence? How might we recognise God’s providence? Can you think of an example of God’s providence at work in your own life? What happened as a consequence?  
  • What are the consequences of the brothers’ deceit? E.g. the consequences for Jacob? And the consequences for the brothers’ themselves?
  • Why is deceit so damaging? What is the remedy for deceit?
  • Discuss / reflect on the ways Joseph’s experience connects with Jesus’ experience.
  • Who do you identify with most in Genesis 37:12-36 and why?