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The history
of the Chosen People continues with the focus
on the life of Joseph. Joseph is one of the very
best human beings who ever lived. He was a great
man. God used Joseph to save the Chosen People
from disaster, and also save the lives of thousands
in Egypt. The circumstances of Joseph's life will
cause the Jewish people to enter Egypt. This will
be part of the fulfillment of the prophecy that
the Lord made to Abraham found in 15:13-14, that
Abraham's descendants will be strangers in a land
that is not theirs, where they will be enslaved
and oppressed for 400 years, and that nation will
be punished by God. The Jewish people will be
rescued out of slavery, and come away with much
wealth. It is the life of Joseph that is the transition
from the life of the Jewish people in Canaan,
to Egypt, and the background for the great experience
of redemption out of Egypt.
We already
know that Joseph was the second to the youngest
of Israel's sons, and the first son from Israel's
favorite wife, Rachel. Moses gives us additional
preliminary information that is necessary to the
story: Jacob loved Joseph more than the rest of
his sons. It seems that the intention of Israel
was to make Joseph the leader of his family. We
know this from the special ornamental garment
that Jacob gave to Joseph. It is translated as
a coat of many colors, or a long colorful coat,
or a full-sleeved robe, or an ornamented tunic
(Kaplan). The giving of this special garment indicated
Joseph's favored position in his father's eyes
(Ryrie). Parents, even if you do love one of your
children more than the others, keep it to yourself.
It is not wise to show favoritism to your children,
or even let them know that you may favor one more
than another.
Once,
when Joseph was 17 years old, and was shepherding
the sheep along with some of his brothers, when
he came home, he brought his father a bad report
about their behavior. All of this resulted in
resentment toward Joseph from his brothers. To
make matters worse, Joseph had two dreams, which
he told to his brothers. The meaning of the dreams
was clear to them - that Joseph would be the leader
of the family, even though he was younger than
all of them, except Benjamin. They resented Jacob
even more after he told them the dreams.
Was it
necessary for Joseph to tell his brothers his
two dreams? If Joseph understood the meaning of
the dreams, and we know that later Joseph had
an ability to interpret dreams, then he could
have understood that the dreams would be likely
to inflame the hatred of his brothers, which was
already smouldering. We can make the same mistake.
We tend to assume that because the Lord has shown
us something, we need to tell it to others. Not
necessarily - we might want to ask ourselves some
questions first, like: "is this truth just for
me, or Lord, do you want me to share it with others?
If I do, will it make the situation better, or
worse?"
This sets
the stage for what happens next. The sons of Jacob
were tending their father's sheep. Jacob sent
Joseph to check up on them, and bring him back
the report. When the brothers saw Joseph approaching,
they conspired to kill him. Reuben, the eldest,
intervened, and suggested that they don't kill
Joseph directly. They should capture him, and
throw him into a pit, where he could die without
them shedding his blood. He could die starvation
or dehydration - which of course, does not make
much of a difference as to the level of guilt.
Reuben suggested this because his intention was
to keep Joseph alive, and then rescue him from
the other brothers.
But Reuben's
plan went amiss. While Reuben was away, a caravan
of Midianite traders approached, headed toward
Egypt. The brother's decided that it made more
sense to sell their brother into a life of slavery,
than to kill him. So, they sold Joseph to the
Midianites for 20 pieces of silver. If the pieces
were a standard shekel, weighing about a half
ounce, it would have been ten ounces of silver
- about 70 dollars in today's money - not much
value for a human life. This tells us that sin
has resulted in us thinking incorrectly that human
life is cheap. It's all too easy to forget that
human beings are made in the image of God, and
although that image is marred, nevertheless we
are still fraught with potential and value. But,
is it an easy thing for us to undervalue those
whom we dislike, and treat them as if they were
virtually worthless. The Word of God that reminds
us that every human life is important, and valuable,
and can carry an eternal value.
Reuben
returns, and finds that Joseph had been sold into
slavery, and he was very upset. But, instead of
him dealing with the situation properly, and confessing
the truth to his father, and perhaps making efforts
to find their brother, and buy him back out of
slavery, Reuben and the brothers deceived Israel,
and dipped Joseph's tunic into the blood of a
goat, and let their father conclude that a wild
animal had killed Joseph. Jacob was extremely
upset, and mourned the death of Joseph for many
days.
Do not
be deceived. God is not mocked; for whatever a
man sows, this he will also reap. Jacob sowed
deception, and reaped deception. Jacob deceived
his father, and was in turn deceived by his father-in-law.
Jacob deceived his father, and was deceived by
his sons. What are you sowing? Righteousness?
Honesty? Integrity? Truth? Salvation? Faithfulness?
Good works? Sacrifice? Or are you sowing deception,
laziness, wrong behaviors, lukewarmness toward
God?
Chapter
37 ends with the Midianites arriving in Egypt,
one of the great nations of that day, and selling
Joseph to Potiphar, a high official of Pharaoh,
the captain of his bodyguard. Interestingly, the
Midianites took part in getting the Jewish people
into Egypt, and they will also take part in getting
us out of Egypt.
In chapter
38 we have an interlude from the life of Joseph,
but the interlude is significant. It describes
the children that come from Joseph's brother Judah.
Why does the focus of Holy Scripture now shift
to Judah? Because, although Joseph was the favorite
son of Jacob, and the one he wanted to lead the
family, it is God's will that Judah eventually
lead the family of Israel. From Judah will come
David, and the kings of Israel, and ultimately
Messiah Yeshua, the Son of David, and the Son
of Judah, who will be the Savior of Israel and
the other nations of the world.
Judah
marries a Canaanite woman and had three sons with
her: Er, Onan and Shelah. Judah's eldest son Er
marries Tamar. Because Er was evil in the Lord's
sight, the Lord took his life, which the Lord
has every right to do. Like Er, every one of have
offended the Lord, and He would be righteous if
He took any or all of our lives at any moment.
Yibum
- levirate marriage, which later became the law
of the Torah, was the custom of the time. Levirate
marriage is when a man dies without having an
heir, and his brother marries his widow, to produce
an heir for his dead brother, so that the son
that is born is considered the heir of the dead
brother, so that his inheritance is passed on,
and his name and memory is remembered. Onan was
willing to marry Tamar, and engage in the act
of marriage with her, but he was not willing to
raise up an heir for his dead brother Er, and
prevented insemination from taking place. He did
this because he knew that if he married Tamar,
and she had no children, then the inheritance
of the firstborn would be his. This displeased
the Lord, and so He took Onan's life as well.
Judah
then promised his daughter-in-law Tamar, that
when his last son, Shelah, reached maturity, they
would marry, and she should wait until then. He
said this, but he didn't intend to fulfill this
promise, because he was afraid that the death's
of Er and Onan might be due to Tamar, and he didn't
want to have Shelah die as well.
When Shelah
did grow up, Judah did not follow through on his
promise, and didn't allow him to marry Tamar.
Judah's wife also died, and what happens next
is horrible, and yet God will bring some good
out of it.
Tamar
heard that her father-in-law, who had promised
Shelah to her as a husband, but was reneging on
his word, was approaching the city of Timnah to
shear his sheep. She dressed up like a zonah -
a prostitute, and covered her face with a veil.
It's interesting that in that culture in that
day, it was the prostitutes who wore veils - not
the women of good reputation. Judah wanted to
have sex with her, and not knowing who she was,
agreed on a price. Tamar asked for a pledge, so
that she could have something until the transaction
was completed, and Judah gave her three things
that were uniquely his: his seal, a cord or wrap
(possibly a cloak, belt, or shawl) and his staff,
which may have been carved with a unique design.
They had
sex, and she conceived twins. Then she went back
home. Meanwhile, Judah sent his friend Hirah to
pay her for her services, but of course, he was
unable to find her. About three months later Judah
found out that Tamar was pregnant. He was offended,
because she was supposed to be waiting faithfully
for Shelah. Judah wanted to punish her not only
with death, but a particularly harsh and severe
death by burning her with fire for her alleged
adultery.
It's not
looking good for Tamar! While she was being brought
out in order to be put to death, she sent the
seal, cord or wrap and staff to Judah, and told
him that she was pregnant by the man these items
belonged to. Of course, they were Judah's, who
realized that he had committed incest with his
daughter-in- law. He realized that he was responsible
for this situation, by not fulfilling his promise
to allow her to marry Shelah.
Judah
does not come off looking good. He engaged in
prostitution, and committed incest, even if it
was unknowingly. He was unwilling to fulfill his
promise. He was hypocritical he was quick to condemn
his daughter-in-law to a horrible death, for misusing
her sexuality, while at the same time he excused
himself for misusing his.
Tamar
had two sons, Perez and Zerah. Perez was born
first, and becomes one of the ancestors of Messiah
Yeshua. No child is a mistake, even a child of
incest. No child should be put to death for the
sin of his parents, even if the parents are guilty
of incest or rape.
Even the
greatest of families, and the family that produced
the Messiah could be considered the greatest family
of all, have unsavory things in their history.
I would venture to say that all of us have unsavory
things in the history of our family. In fact,
all of us unsavory things in our very own lives.
This calls us to humility. And, it also calls
us to thank the God who can bring good out of
our evil choices, the Lord who is able, where
sin abounded, to make His grace abound all the
more. And, if you love Him, and are called to
fulfill His purposes, you will find out that all
things will work together for your good as well.
Chapter
39 picks up after the interlude with Judah, and
we find Joseph serving Potiphar, the captain of
Pharaoh's bodyguard. I love verse 2: "va-y'hee
Adonai et Yosef va-y'hee eesh matz-lee-ach - and
the Lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful
man." Isn't the Lord with everyone? Yes, the Lord
is with everyone, but there is a special way in
which the Lord is with the righteous more than
He is with the wicked and the God-ignorers. There
are different degrees in which believers can have
the Spirit of God. We can be indwelt by the Spirit,
and yet not be filled with the Spirit. Joseph
was a good and righteous man, and the Lord was
with Joseph to a great degree. And, as a result,
the Lord was able to bless him. And, that helped
Joseph succeed.
It was
obvious to others, like Potiphar, that Joseph
made the right choices, and that he made good
and wise decisions, and he avoided evil, and did
good, and that God was with Joseph. And, if we
are walking in the Spirit, close to God, and close
to Yeshua, it should be obvious to others that
God is with us. Potiphar wisely promoted him,
and put him in charge of everything that he possessed.
And that was good, because the Lord honors those
who bless a good man like Joseph, one of the Chosen
People; the Lord honors those who do as little
as offer a cup of water to a disciple of Messiah,
simply because they are one of His disciples.
And, not only did the Lord bless and prosper Joseph,
He began to bless everything that belong to Potiphar
as well.
But, doing
the right things, and having the Lord with you
doesn't mean that you won't suffer tragedies in
this life, as Joseph was about to experience.
Joseph was well-built, and handsome, and in the
prime of his life, and Potiphar's wife desired
Joseph, and repeatedly asked him to have a sexual
relationship with her. But Joseph knew that would
be a sin against his master Potiphar, and a crime
against God as well, and so he repeatedly refused
her offers of illicit pleasure. Not only would
he not have sex with her, but he would not be
with her, and spend time with her. He knew that
a good way to avoid a temptation is to distance
yourself from the source of the temptation. He
knew that he should flee immorality, and so he
wisely distanced himself from Potiphar's wife.
How about
you? When you know that you are weak in an area,
and are tempted by it, do you try to avoid that
situation? Do you keep your distance from that
thing that is tempting you? Or, like the moth
that is attracted to the flame, do you circle
closer and closer, until you get burned? Don't
make any provision for those things that tempt
you. Avoid them, put some distance between yourself
and the situation. Many could tell you, with sorrow,
that when they didn't, they wound up getting too
close to the object of their temptation, and cross
the line, and sinned, and brought much harm and
misery into their lives.
So Joseph
resisted this temptation many times. And, what
did he get for doing the right thing? Suffering.
Being accused falsely of raping Potiphar's wife,
with the result that Joseph was sent to prison.
A day came when Potiphar's wife found Joseph alone
in the house, caught him by his cloak, and demanded
that he have sex with her. He ran away outside
of the home without his cloak, since she held
onto his cloak. That left her with a choice: she
could admit that Joseph was outside without a
cloak because she was willingly about to commit
adultery with Joseph, or she could accuse Joseph
of attempting to rape her. She decided to falsely
accuse Joseph, the Hebrew slave, an inferior from
a foreign people, of attempted rape. Potiphar
believed the accusation of his wife, and was very
angry, and threw innocent Joseph into prison.
Doing
the right thing does not always result in a good
reward right away. In fact, in this case, resisting
temptation, resulted in Joseph suffering even
more. Speaking the truth about God and Messiah,
not being willing to be silent about the truth
about salvation, not being willing to do something
wrong when your boss pressures you to do so, can
result in suffering.
One of
the mistakes that modern evangelism has made is
to promise people a better life in this world
if they will only follow God and Messiah. We promise
people a better marriage, even a more prosperous
life. We promise them peace and joy and happiness.
I don't
think that is what we should be telling people.
We should tell them that they must serve God because
it is right. They must follow Messiah because
they have deeply offending a Holy King, and God
is rightfully angry with us, and demands that
we turn from our wicked ways, and obey His good
commands. We follow Messiah because that is the
only way to receive atonement for our sins, and
salvation from Hell. A better life in this world
is secondary. In fact, we owe it to people to
tell them that their life in this world may be
made even more difficult by their acceptance of
God and Messiah; that they can expect to be persecuted
and rejected by the world, by their own people,
and even by those they love most of all. All who
would follow God will suffer persecution. It is
though many trials and difficult situations that
we will finally arrive at the gates of the eternal
Kingdom of God.
Human
beings may have betrayed Joseph, but not the God
of the spirits of all flesh. While he was in prison,
the Lord was still with Joseph. The Lord was kind
to Joseph, and compensated for the unkindness
of man. The chief jailor recognized that Joseph
was special, and made him the manager of the jail.
And, the Lord enabled Joseph to succeed with everything.
Now, even
though Joseph has been rejected by his brothers,
and sold into a life of slavery, and then falsely
accused of rape, and thrown into prison, we do
not read that he ever gave up hope, or despaired,
or threatened to kill himself, or got angry with
God, and blamed the Almighty for his troubles,
and refused to serve Him. Instead we read the
opposite - that while in prison, he still loved
the Lord. God was with him, and he was with God.
He maintained his faith in the Almighty.
We can
see that in verse 8 of chapter 40. Joseph told
two of Pharaoh's officials who were in prison
with him that God is the One who gives human beings
the ability to interpret dreams. Joseph is giving
glory to God. He is serving the Lord. He is witnessing
to these Egyptians about the Creator. What a great
example from a slave who is in prison, who has
suffered so many disappointments in life from
those who were close to him. Few of us have suffered
as much as Joseph, and if he could suffer as much
as he did, and still be faithful to the Creator,
with the Lord's grace, we can too.
While
in prison, Joseph interpreted the dreams of two
of Pharaoh's officials, the king's chief cupbearer
who oversaw all those who served the king his
wine, and the chief baker, who oversaw the making
of the king's baked goods. They had angered Pharaoh,
and had been thrown into the same prison with
Joseph. They both were given a dream the same
night, and were upset the following morning. Joseph
could see by their faces that they were upset,
and asked them why it was so. They told Joseph
they each had a dream, but knew of no one who
could interpret it. Joseph knew that God can give
special dreams, and He can give human beings the
ability to understand those dreams. So, each official
told Joseph his dream, and he was able to correctly
interpret it.
The head
steward of the wine would be restored to his position
in three days, while the head baker would be executed
in three days. Joseph asked the chief wine steward,
when he was restored to his office, to keep Joseph
in mind, and use his influence with Pharaoh to
release Joseph from prison, in which he, an innocent
man, was unjustly being held for a crime he did
not commit. After three days, the chief baker
was executed, and the chief cupbearer restored
to his position, just as Joseph had said. God
had clearly been speaking through this son of
Israel. God generally does not speak in special
prophetic ways through the wicked, but through
the righteous. Joseph must have been excited,
and hopeful that the cupbearer would understand
this, and intervene on his behalf, and that he
would soon be released from prison.
But, again
Joseph was let down by man, and the head wine
steward forget about Joseph, and did not mention
this special man, who was close to God, and who
was able to interpret dreams, to the king. Joseph
will remain in jail for what seems to be another
two years.
Does Joseph
despair? Curse God? Give up his faith in the God
of Israel? No. He remains true to God, and continues
serving the Lord in prison, and then is prepared
for his next great challenge, interpreting the
dreams of the king of one of the most powerful
nations on Earth, and saving that nation, and
his own special people.
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