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Voddie Baucham - Joseph Sold Into Slavery · Voddie Baucham Sermons

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  Speaker 1: As we continue our journey in the life of Joseph,
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  Speaker 1: we come now to the end of Genesis chapter 37,
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  Speaker 1: there verses 12 and following on through the end of
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  Speaker 1: the chapter. And as we come to the end of
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  Speaker 1: chapter 37, it's very important that we remember not only
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  Speaker 1: the beginning of this chapter, but also the beginning of
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  Speaker 1: this story, the beginning of Not just the story of Joseph,
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  Speaker 1: but the story of Jacob. Not just the story of Jacob,
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  Speaker 1: but the story of Israel. Not just the story of Israel,
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  Speaker 1: but the story of Abraham. Not just the story of Abraham,
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  Speaker 1: but the story of Adam. It's very important that we
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  Speaker 1: put all of this in context as we follow through
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  Speaker 1: and understand what God in His providence is accomplishing in us.
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  Speaker 1: with and through the life of Joseph. If we narrow
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  Speaker 1: in on the life of Joseph alone, granted, there are
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  Speaker 1: some precious jewels there in the life of Joseph. And
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  Speaker 1: we're gathering these jewels as we go along the way.
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  Speaker 1: But if we stop and merely gather these precious jewels
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  Speaker 1: there from the life of Joseph and ignore the treasure
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  Speaker 1: trove that is the book of Genesis, we will have
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  Speaker 1: robbed ourselves of a great deal. So not only do
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  Speaker 1: we have to remember what it is that God has
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  Speaker 1: done in chapter 37, but we have to remember how
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  Speaker 1: we got here, why we got here, and why these
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  Speaker 1: things are significant. And this will be true today as
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  Speaker 1: it has been in every other instance as we've walked
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  Speaker 1: through the book of Genesis. Now, There are two major
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  Speaker 1: movements here in the last part of Genesis chapter 37.
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  Speaker 1: These two major movements are related very closely to one another.
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  Speaker 1: The first major movement is the obedience of Joseph. There's
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  Speaker 1: a juxtaposition here. Joseph and his obedience and his brothers
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  Speaker 1: and their heinous sin. Those two are to be understood together.
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  Speaker 1: Those two are to be understood together. Somebody looking behind me,
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  Speaker 1: I just want to... That's all right. Those two are
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  Speaker 1: to be understood in light of one another. It's very important.
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  Speaker 1: We've often talked about this concept, even in the book
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  Speaker 1: of Romans, about how oftentimes there is the illustration of
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  Speaker 1: the diamond and you get the black felt and put
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  Speaker 1: out the black felt so that you can see the
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  Speaker 1: contrast of the diamond on the black felt. This is
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  Speaker 1: another one of those examples. We see Joseph and his
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  Speaker 1: obedience to his father, and in turn, we see the
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  Speaker 1: sin of his brothers, and we learn something about both
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  Speaker 1: in the process. Let's look first at Joseph and his obedience,
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  Speaker 1: verses 12 through 17. Now, his brothers went to pasture
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  Speaker 1: their father's flock near Shechem, and Israel said to Joseph,
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  Speaker 1: Let me pause here. I meant to make note of this.
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  Speaker 1: The names Israel and Jacob are used interchangeably. If you'll remember,
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  Speaker 1: after wrestling with the angel, Jacob's name is changed to Israel.
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  Speaker 1: I will use Jacob. I will use Israel. The reason
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  Speaker 1: that it sometimes gets confusing is because we're used to
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  Speaker 1: talking about Jacob as Jacob, and we're used to talking
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  Speaker 1: about the nation as Israel. And sometimes if you say
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  Speaker 1: Israel when referring to Jacob, it can be a bit confusing.
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  Speaker 1: But at the outset, let me say that we're talking
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  Speaker 1: about Jacob as an individual, and if and when we
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  Speaker 1: talk about Israel as a nation, I will try to
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  Speaker 1: make that distinction very clear. So, are not your brothers
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  Speaker 1: pasturing the flock at Shechem? Come, I will send you
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  Speaker 1: to them. And he said to him, here I am.
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  Speaker 1: So he said to him, go now, see if it
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  Speaker 1: is well with your brothers and with the flock and
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  Speaker 1: bring me word. So he sent him from the valley
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  Speaker 1: of Hebron and he came to Shechem. Now that's about
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  Speaker 1: 50 miles, folks. And there are no cars. Amen. 17
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  Speaker 1: years old. Arid desert land. by himself. Go 50 miles
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  Speaker 1: on foot on camel and check on your brothers. This
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  Speaker 1: is not look out the window and see if you
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  Speaker 1: can see him in the backyard. Okay? And the man
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  Speaker 1: found him wandering in the fields. And the man asked him,
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  Speaker 1: what are you seeking? I am seeking my brothers, he said.
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  Speaker 1: Tell me, please, where they are pasturing the flock. And
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  Speaker 1: the man said, they have gone away. For I heard
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  Speaker 1: them say, let us go to Dothan. So Joseph went
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  Speaker 1: after his brothers and found them at Dothan. Here we
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  Speaker 1: see the picture of an obedient son. Joseph is told
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  Speaker 1: by his father, get your stuff because obeying me is
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  Speaker 1: going to take you several days. So get your stuff,
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  Speaker 1: pack it up. You're going on a journey, you're going alone.
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  Speaker 1: You're going some 50 miles on foot, on camel, take
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  Speaker 1: enough food with you. Because the fact that your brothers
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  Speaker 1: are 50 miles away is indicative of the fact that
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  Speaker 1: there is not much vegetation left between here and there.
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  Speaker 1: So take with you what you will need to go
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  Speaker 1: those 50 miles to look for your brothers. There is
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  Speaker 1: not a hint of hesitation. Joseph's response is only, here
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  Speaker 1: I am. Joseph does not say, Dad, that's a long
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  Speaker 1: way to go by myself. I'm 17. Joseph does not say,
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  Speaker 1: wait a minute, Dad. Those boys are grown. I'm 17.
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  Speaker 1: Do you know how old that makes Judah? Do you
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  Speaker 1: know how old that makes Levi? Do you know how
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  Speaker 1: old that makes Simeon? Do you know that that has
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  Speaker 1: to put Reuben at least in his 30s? And I
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  Speaker 1: have to go 50 miles to bring a report to
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  Speaker 1: you about your grown sons. He doesn't say that. He
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  Speaker 1: doesn't hesitate. In fact, if you remember the paragraph before
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  Speaker 1: that we looked at on last week, there's a little
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  Speaker 1: mention of something that is not explained very well and
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  Speaker 1: sometimes misunderstood. But look with me back there in that
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  Speaker 1: first paragraph. Look at verse 2. These are the generations
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  Speaker 1: of Jacob. Joseph, being 17 years old, was pastoring the
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  Speaker 1: flock with his brothers. He was a boy with the
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  Speaker 1: sons of Bilhah and Silpah, his father's wives. And Joseph
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  Speaker 1: brought a bad report of them to their father. Now,
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  Speaker 1: you see that, and our immediate response is, oh, Joseph
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  Speaker 1: is a tattletale. That's not what the Scripture says. Joseph said,
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  Speaker 1: the scripture says Joseph brought a bad report of his
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  Speaker 1: brothers to his father's. Well, why did Joseph bring a
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  Speaker 1: bad report to his father? The scripture doesn't tell us
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  Speaker 1: in the first paragraph why Joseph brought a bad report,
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  Speaker 1: but it explains a little bit here because evidently Joseph
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  Speaker 1: as the youngest son was in the habit of being
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  Speaker 1: sent out by his father to check on his brothers.
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  Speaker 1: His brothers were much older and were probably able to
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  Speaker 1: take on much more responsibility long before Joseph could do
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  Speaker 1: any of that sort of work. So if he can't
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  Speaker 1: do any of that sort of work, what does his
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  Speaker 1: father rely upon him to do? Bring him word of
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  Speaker 1: how things are with his brothers. So we see a pattern,
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  Speaker 1: not just obedience here, but we see a pattern of
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  Speaker 1: obedience in the life of Joseph as it relates to
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  Speaker 1: his father's and giving his father word of his flocks
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  Speaker 1: and his sons. The other thing we see here is
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  Speaker 1: that not only is Joseph immediately obedient to his father,
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  Speaker 1: but he goes beyond surface obedience to his father. Joseph,
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  Speaker 1: I want you to go to Shechem and find out
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  Speaker 1: about your brothers. Joseph goes to Shechem and he looks
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  Speaker 1: around and his brothers are not there. Children, listen now.
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  Speaker 1: Here's what Joseph doesn't do. Joseph doesn't make the 50-mile
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  Speaker 1: journey back home, come to his father and say, I
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  Speaker 1: obeyed the words that you told me to obey. Okay?
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  Speaker 1: I went to Shechem. It was 50 miles. Please pat
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  Speaker 1: me on the back. But my brothers weren't there. Now
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  Speaker 1: after obeying just the words that you said, I am back.
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  Speaker 1: I did not go beyond the words that you said
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  Speaker 1: because that's all that's required of me is technical obedience
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  Speaker 1: to the words that you said. It's not what Joseph did.
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  Speaker 1: Joseph went 14 more miles to Dothan. Why? Because Joseph
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  Speaker 1: is obedient to the heart of his father as well
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  Speaker 1: as the words of his father. Let me say that
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  Speaker 1: to you again. Joseph is obedient to the heart of
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  Speaker 1: his father, not just the words of his father. Joseph
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  Speaker 1: was not just trying to accomplish the task in such
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  Speaker 1: a way that he couldn't be called disobedient. Joseph was
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  Speaker 1: seeking to accomplish the task in such a way that
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  Speaker 1: he could be called obedient, above and beyond what was asked.
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  Speaker 1: Because what's the heart of his father? The heart of
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  Speaker 1: his father is, I want to know if all is
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  Speaker 1: well with my sons and with the flocks. That's the
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  Speaker 1: heart of his father. So when Joseph has gone 50 miles,
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  Speaker 1: he has not accomplished what the heart of his father
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  Speaker 1: sent him out to accomplish, although he has kept the
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  Speaker 1: words of his father. You ever been partially obedient to
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  Speaker 1: your father? And then rested in the fact that you
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  Speaker 1: technically did what you were told? If you can't say amen,
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  Speaker 1: you ought to say ouch. Ouch. Has this ever been you?
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  Speaker 1: And I'm not even talking about your heavenly father here.
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  Speaker 1: I'm talking about your earthly father. If you are here
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  Speaker 1: and you still live in the home of your earthly father,
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  Speaker 1: ask yourself, are you passionate about pursuing obedience to the
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  Speaker 1: heart of your father? Or are you merely trying to
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  Speaker 1: get away with as little as you possibly can? One
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  Speaker 1: of those is obedience. The other is sin. Joseph follows
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  Speaker 1: through all the way. Joseph doesn't just do what his
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  Speaker 1: father says. Joseph does what his father means, what his
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  Speaker 1: father intends. It goes beyond that. Joseph wants to bring
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  Speaker 1: back to his father the only thing that would satisfy
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  Speaker 1: and delight his father. If Joseph comes back having gone
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  Speaker 1: the 50 miles and only having gone the 50 miles
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  Speaker 1: and comes back to his father and says, Father, here
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  Speaker 1: I am. I did what you said. What happens to
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  Speaker 1: his father's heart as it relates to his flocks and
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  Speaker 1: to his sons? His father is left unsatisfied. That's not
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  Speaker 1: enough for Joseph. He wants his father to be satisfied.
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  Speaker 1: That's obedience. Not just doing enough to get by, but
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  Speaker 1: pursuing the desire of the one who called you to obey. Now,
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  Speaker 1: this is important, and I hear you. You're sitting out there,
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  Speaker 1: and you're going, and yeah, that transfers to our relationship
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  Speaker 1: with God. Just don't try to get ahead of me, please. Amen?
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  Speaker 1: We're going to get there in a minute. But trust me,
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  Speaker 1: this is extremely important. And stick a pen there because
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  Speaker 1: I know you're thinking, well, this doesn't just apply to
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  Speaker 1: children as they obey their parents. This applies to us
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  Speaker 1: as we obey our heavenly father. Just pause right there.
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  Speaker 1: That is the point. But it actually is made more
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  Speaker 1: powerfully later on. After we look at the obedience of Joseph,
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  Speaker 1: we see the heinous sin of his brothers. And the
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  Speaker 1: heinous sin of his brothers falls into three categories. Category
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  Speaker 1: number one, jealousy and envy. Category number two, bitterness. Category
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  Speaker 1: number three, disobedience and blasphemy. Category number one, jealousy. Category
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  Speaker 1: number two, After jealousy and envy is bitterness. Took me
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  Speaker 1: a minute there. And category number three, blasphemy. Let's look
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  Speaker 1: at the first. Verse 18. They saw him from afar.
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  Speaker 1: And before he came near to them, they conspired against
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  Speaker 1: him to kill him. Now, I know what you're thinking.
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  Speaker 1: You're thinking, okay, that's a leap, right? Right? Where does
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  Speaker 1: that come from? I'm going to explain where that comes from.
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  Speaker 1: They said to one another, here comes this dreamer. Come now,
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  Speaker 1: let us kill him and throw him into one of
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  Speaker 1: the pits. Then we will say that a fierce animal
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  Speaker 1: has devoured him and we will see what will become
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  Speaker 1: of his dreams. But when Reuben heard it, he rescued
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  Speaker 1: him out of their hands saying, Let us not take
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  Speaker 1: his life. Hooray for the big brother. Not so fast.
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  Speaker 1: Verse 22. And Reuben said to them, shed no blood,
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  Speaker 1: throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but
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  Speaker 1: do not lay a hand on him. Why? Here's the
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  Speaker 1: parenthetical explanation. That he might rescue him out of their
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  Speaker 1: hands and restore him to his father. Why does Reuben
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  Speaker 1: want to restore Joseph to his father? Because Reuben is
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  Speaker 1: such a good guy? No, we've already heard about Reuben.
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  Speaker 1: Reuben is absolutely not a good guy. Reuben, however, wants
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  Speaker 1: to get back in the favor of his father. Verse 23.
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  Speaker 1: So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him
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  Speaker 1: of his robe, the robe of many colors that he wore.
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  Speaker 1: And they took him and threw him into a pit.
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  Speaker 1: The pit was empty. There was no water in it.
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  Speaker 1: Now that last phrase has to be explained. These pits,
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  Speaker 1: you ask, what is this pit? It's got to be
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  Speaker 1: a pretty big pit. It is. Remember, these are nomadic people.
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  Speaker 1: They live in a place where there is a desperate
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  Speaker 1: need for water. There are rainy seasons and then non-rainy seasons.
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  Speaker 1: What they would do in some of the lower lying
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  Speaker 1: areas is they would dig these pits when it was dry.
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  Speaker 1: They were deep pits, deep enough for a man to
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  Speaker 1: stand up in and need help getting out of the pit.
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  Speaker 1: What they would do is they would either put clay
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  Speaker 1: or tar on the inside of the pit so that
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  Speaker 1: when the rainy season came, the water would roll down
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  Speaker 1: into the pit and fill up so that as shepherds
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  Speaker 1: came by along these major roads, they would need to
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  Speaker 1: replenish their water supply. They would use these pits to
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  Speaker 1: replenish their water supply. Now, when the pits were dry,
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  Speaker 1: they were also used so that if bandits were caught
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  Speaker 1: by the shepherds, the shepherds could drop the bandit into
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  Speaker 1: the pit. The bandit couldn't get out of the pit.
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  Speaker 1: You go and get the authorities, and it was like
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  Speaker 1: a holding cell. So when it says there's no water
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  Speaker 1: in it, it tells you what time of year it is,
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  Speaker 1: and it also tells you of the kind of pit
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  Speaker 1: that they put Joseph in. So this is a pit
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  Speaker 1: that's too deep for him to climb out of himself.
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  Speaker 1: It's also a pit that's used for criminals to be
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  Speaker 1: held until they could be punished. That's the kind of
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  Speaker 1: pit that they placed them in. Verse 25. Then they
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  Speaker 1: sat down to eat, and looking up they saw a
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  Speaker 1: caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead with their camels bearing gum, balm,
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  Speaker 1: myrrh on their way to carry it down to Egypt.
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  Speaker 1: Then Now understand what Judah just said. Judah just says, hey,
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  Speaker 1: let's not kill our brother. Let's sell him into slavery instead.
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  Speaker 1: Because after all, he is our brother. In other words,
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  Speaker 1: here's what Judas says. We kill him, we get nothing.
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  Speaker 1: Let's sell him and get something. Has his heart changed?
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  Speaker 1: Not at all. If we kill him, that's just rationale. No.
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  Speaker 1: If we kill him, we get nothing. Let's sell him
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  Speaker 1: and we'll get something. When Reuben returned to the pit
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  Speaker 1: and saw that, oh, excuse me, I went a little
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  Speaker 1: ahead there. And his brothers listened to them, verse 28.
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  Speaker 1: Then Midianite traders passed by and they drew Joseph up
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  Speaker 1: and lifted him out of the pit. and sold him
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  Speaker 1: to the Ishmaelites for 20 shekels of silver. They took
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  Speaker 1: Joseph to Egypt. When Reuben returned to the pit and
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  Speaker 1: saw that Joseph was not in the pit, he tore
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  Speaker 1: his clothes and returned to his brothers and said, the
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  Speaker 1: boy is gone. And I, where shall I go? then
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  Speaker 1: they took Joseph's robe and slaughtered a goat and dipped
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  Speaker 1: the robe in blood and they set the robe of
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  Speaker 1: many colors and brought it to their father and said
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  Speaker 1: this we have found please identify whether it is your
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  Speaker 1: son's robe or not verse 33 and he identified it
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  Speaker 1: and said, it is my son's robe. A fierce animal
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  Speaker 1: has devoured him. Joseph is without doubt torn to pieces.
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  Speaker 1: Then Jacob tore his garments and put sackcloth on his
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  Speaker 1: loins and mourned for his son many days. All his
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  Speaker 1: sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him,
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  Speaker 1: but he refused to be comforted and said, no, I
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  Speaker 1: shall go down to Sheol to my son mourning. Thus,
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  Speaker 1: his father wept for him. Meanwhile, the Midianites had sold
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  Speaker 1: him in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the
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  Speaker 1: captain of the guard. Now, there is much here, but
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  Speaker 1: I want to highlight just a couple of things and
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  Speaker 1: go to the root of the matter. We definitely see
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  Speaker 1: the providence of God in all of this, but notice
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  Speaker 1: the heinous sin of his brothers. First, there is the
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  Speaker 1: sin of jealousy and envy. Notice when he comes in
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  Speaker 1: verse 18, they saw him from afar and before he
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  Speaker 1: came near to them, they conspired against him to kill him.
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  Speaker 1: He hadn't done anything in this instance. Well, what were
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  Speaker 1: they upset about? Well, then they said to one another,
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  Speaker 1: here comes the dreamer. Come now, let us kill him
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  Speaker 1: and throw him into the pits. Then we will say
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  Speaker 1: a fierce animal has devoured him and we will see
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  Speaker 1: what will become of his dreams. Well, what were his dreams?
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  Speaker 1: His dreams were Here's me in my dream, and here's
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  Speaker 1: you all standing around me, bowing down to me in
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  Speaker 1: my dreams. What is this about? This is about envy.
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  Speaker 1: This is about jealousy. This is about them seeing their
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  Speaker 1: brother and recognizing that God has something in store for
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  Speaker 1: him that they do not desire for him to have.
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  Speaker 1: What is jealousy? It is ill will toward another because
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  Speaker 1: of something they possess, which we desire and do not have. Or,
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  Speaker 1: When we believe we deserve the praise, adoration, worship, attention,
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  Speaker 1: or possessions given to another. Or a state of ill
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  Speaker 1: will towards someone because of some real or presumed advantage
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  Speaker 1: experienced by such a person. Either because you believe the
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  Speaker 1: advantage should be yours or simply that it shouldn't be theirs.
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  Speaker 1: That's jealousy. That's envy. Another person, let me simplify it.
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  Speaker 1: You look at another individual, and they have position, possessions,
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  Speaker 1: or praise that you believe either, number one, you should have,
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  Speaker 1: or number two, they shouldn't. And as a result of that,
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  Speaker 1: you harbor ill will toward that individual because of their position,
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  Speaker 1: because of their possessions, and because of the praise that
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  Speaker 1: is going toward that other individual. That is jealousy. That
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  Speaker 1: is envy. And that is the sin that his brothers
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  Speaker 1: are guilty of. There is a position coming to Joseph
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  Speaker 1: that they do not believe that Joseph deserves. Well, why
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  Speaker 1: don't they believe Joseph deserves it? Who cares? It doesn't
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  Speaker 1: matter why. God is going to grant a position to
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  Speaker 1: Joseph and these individuals say they do not agree with God.
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  Speaker 1: That's the bottom line. Listen, jealousy is a serious sin.
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  Speaker 1: It is among the vilest of sins. Listen to this
• 23:53
  Speaker 1: in Romans 13, 13. Let us walk properly as in
• 23:58
  Speaker 1: the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual
• 24:02
  Speaker 1: immorality or sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. Did you
• 24:07
  Speaker 1: notice the rest of the list? Jealousy is not a
• 24:11
  Speaker 1: petty sin. It is among the most gross sins, among
• 24:16
  Speaker 1: the most serious sins. Listen to this in Galatians 5.
• 24:21
  Speaker 1: But I say walk by the Spirit and you will
• 24:22
  Speaker 1: not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires
• 24:25
  Speaker 1: of the flesh are against the Spirit and the desires
• 24:28
  Speaker 1: of the Spirit are against the flesh. For these are
• 24:30
  Speaker 1: opposed to each other to keep you from doing the
• 24:33
  Speaker 1: things you want to do. But if you are led
• 24:36
  Speaker 1: by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now
• 24:38
  Speaker 1: the works of the flesh are evident. Sexual immorality. impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy,
• 24:46
  Speaker 1: fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and
• 24:52
  Speaker 1: things like these. It's not petty. It's not small. Here's
• 25:00
  Speaker 1: the other thing. Jealousy leads to other sins. Proverbs 6, 34.
• 25:07
  Speaker 1: Proverbs 6, 34. For jealousy makes a man furious, and
• 25:16
  Speaker 1: he will not spare when he takes revenge. Proverbs 27, 4.
• 25:23
  Speaker 1: Wrath is cruel, anger is overwhelming, but who can stand
• 25:27
  Speaker 1: before jealousy? James 3, 16. For where jealousy and selfish
• 25:33
  Speaker 1: ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.
• 25:40
  Speaker 1: Where jealousy and envy exist, there will be disorder and
• 25:44
  Speaker 1: every vile practice. Why? Because they flow from jealousy. They
• 25:48
  Speaker 1: flow from envy. And this one, in fact, is flowing
• 25:52
  Speaker 1: from that very same place. Acts chapter 7 and verse 9.
• 25:57
  Speaker 1: And the patriarchs, jealous of Joseph, sold him into Egypt.
• 26:01
  Speaker 1: But God was with him. It was jealousy that led
• 26:04
  Speaker 1: to this. But here's the question that we asked ourselves earlier.
• 26:08
  Speaker 1: Is it this murder bit? A little too far? No,
• 26:12
  Speaker 1: it's not. For two reasons, it's not too far. Look
• 26:15
  Speaker 1: at what they say. They saw him from afar, and
• 26:17
  Speaker 1: before he came near to them, they conspired against him
• 26:20
  Speaker 1: to kill him. There's two reasons that murder shouldn't seem
• 26:25
  Speaker 1: like a leap to you. Number one, because these boys
• 26:28
  Speaker 1: have already proven that they're murderers. Do you remember what
• 26:33
  Speaker 1: happened with their sister? Do you remember when her sister
• 26:39
  Speaker 1: is violated? And they come and make a treaty. And
• 26:43
  Speaker 1: they say, you can marry our sister. Only all the
• 26:46
  Speaker 1: men have to be circumcised. And while the men are
• 26:53
  Speaker 1: in the process of great pain, they come through, take
• 26:58
  Speaker 1: their time, and kill everyone. It makes sense that they
• 27:05
  Speaker 1: leap to murder because they are murderers. This was not
• 27:11
  Speaker 1: an idle threat. They had done this before, and it
• 27:16
  Speaker 1: meant very little to them to take a life. You
• 27:20
  Speaker 1: need to understand how wretched these men are. They are murderers.
• 27:27
  Speaker 1: Second reason that we shouldn't think that this has gone
• 27:29
  Speaker 1: too far is because James tells us very clearly in
• 27:34
  Speaker 1: James chapter 4. What causes quarrels? What causes fights among you?
• 27:39
  Speaker 1: Is it not this, that your passions are at war
• 27:41
  Speaker 1: within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder.
• 27:52
  Speaker 1: By the way, what's that called? That sin that James
• 27:56
  Speaker 1: says leads to this murder. It's jealousy. It's envy. This
• 28:02
  Speaker 1: is not a small thing. Here's what we need to
• 28:05
  Speaker 1: know as parents. Hear me on this. When we have
• 28:08
  Speaker 1: children and that our children, this is one of the
• 28:12
  Speaker 1: first sins that you see in the life of a child.
• 28:16
  Speaker 1: It is that sin that sees a toy in the
• 28:19
  Speaker 1: hands of another child, a toy that they've never seen
• 28:22
  Speaker 1: before and they look at it and they say, mine.
• 28:28
  Speaker 1: What is that? It's the sin of jealousy and it
• 28:32
  Speaker 1: leads to murder. It's not a small thing. Not at
• 28:38
  Speaker 1: all is it a small thing. It's not new here either,
• 28:42
  Speaker 1: is it? There's jealousy among these brothers. Really? What's their
• 28:48
  Speaker 1: father's name? Israel. What was his name before his encounter
• 28:51
  Speaker 1: with the angel? Jacob. What does Jacob mean? Heel grabber.
• 28:57
  Speaker 1: Whose heel was he grabbing? Could it be his twin
• 29:00
  Speaker 1: brother Esau? There was jealousy there. There was envy there.
• 29:04
  Speaker 1: By the way, with their parents, there was jealousy and envy.
• 29:09
  Speaker 1: With Laban and the goats, there was jealousy and envy.
• 29:14
  Speaker 1: Let's go back before Jacob to Isaac. Between Isaac and Ishmael,
• 29:21
  Speaker 1: there was jealousy and envy. Between Hagar and Sarah, there
• 29:25
  Speaker 1: was jealousy and envy. Go back even further. And the
• 29:30
  Speaker 1: first murder that ever occurred among all mankind is the
• 29:37
  Speaker 1: murder of a jealous brother. This is not a small sin.
• 29:49
  Speaker 1: Jealousy and envy are deadly. And this is just one
• 29:56
  Speaker 1: example of it. When we look at another and they're
• 30:01
  Speaker 1: receiving praise, possessions, or position that we either want for
• 30:08
  Speaker 1: ourselves or simply don't want for them, what we are
• 30:14
  Speaker 1: experiencing in us is the same thing that led to
• 30:18
  Speaker 1: this thought of murder and the actual murder that was
• 30:23
  Speaker 1: the first murder in all humankind. It's envy. It's jealousy.
• 30:33
  Speaker 1: When we see it in ourselves and when we see
• 30:35
  Speaker 1: it in our children, it needs to be addressed. Why?
• 30:38
  Speaker 1: Why is it so important that that envy and jealousy
• 30:40
  Speaker 1: be addressed? Well, because if you don't, it turns into bitterness. Bitterness.
• 30:47
  Speaker 1: Look again at verse 18. We know that over in
• 30:54
  Speaker 1: five through eight, there's jealousy because there's a dream that's communicated.
• 30:58
  Speaker 1: We know in 9 through 11, there's jealousy because of
• 31:01
  Speaker 1: a dream that's communicated. However, that happened a long time ago.
• 31:08
  Speaker 1: We know that there's also jealousy because of this coat
• 31:11
  Speaker 1: of many colors. By the way, there are many things
• 31:13
  Speaker 1: that they could have stripped Joseph of. But did you
• 31:15
  Speaker 1: notice that when they put him in the pit, they
• 31:17
  Speaker 1: specifically took this coat? So, they're jealous of his possessions.
• 31:25
  Speaker 1: They're jealous of his position because his dreams say there's
• 31:28
  Speaker 1: a position coming. And they're jealous of his praise because
• 31:31
  Speaker 1: his father praises him as his favorite. All three. His possessions,
• 31:37
  Speaker 1: his positions, and his praise. Either they want it for
• 31:41
  Speaker 1: themselves or they simply don't want it for him. And
• 31:44
  Speaker 1: they hold on to it and they hold on to
• 31:46
  Speaker 1: it and they hold on to it and the boy
• 31:49
  Speaker 1: hasn't even arrived yet. He's just on his way. And
• 31:55
  Speaker 1: his mere presence is enough for them to taste blood.
• 31:59
  Speaker 1: Look at verse 18. They saw him from afar, and
• 32:02
  Speaker 1: before he came near them, they conspired against him to
• 32:06
  Speaker 1: kill him. This is not in the heat of the moment.
• 32:11
  Speaker 1: This is not, I can't take this anymore. This is,
• 32:15
  Speaker 1: here he comes, and he's barely close enough for me
• 32:18
  Speaker 1: to see him. And I've held on to this thing
• 32:21
  Speaker 1: so long that he doesn't even have to do anything.
• 32:25
  Speaker 1: This bitterness is so real in me that the mere
• 32:28
  Speaker 1: sight of him, the mere thought of him, the mere
• 32:31
  Speaker 1: mention of his name is enough to set me off.
• 32:34
  Speaker 1: I don't even want to see him. I want him dead.
• 32:39
  Speaker 1: It's bitterness. Listen to this in Psalm 64, 1 through 6,
• 32:45
  Speaker 1: and tell me if this doesn't sound familiar. Hear my voice,
• 32:50
  Speaker 1: O God, in my complaint. Preserve my life from the
• 32:53
  Speaker 1: dread of the enemy. Hide me from the secret plots
• 32:57
  Speaker 1: of the wicked, from the throng of evildoers who wet
• 33:01
  Speaker 1: their tongue like swords, who aim bitter words like arrows,
• 33:06
  Speaker 1: shooting from ambush at the blameless, shooting at him suddenly
• 33:11
  Speaker 1: and without fear. They hold fast to their evil purpose.
• 33:14
  Speaker 1: They talk of laying snares secretly, thinking who can see him.
• 33:20
  Speaker 1: They search out injustice, saying, We have accomplished a diligent
• 33:24
  Speaker 1: search for the inward mind and the heart of a
• 33:29
  Speaker 1: man are deep. It's exactly what's happening in the bitter
• 33:36
  Speaker 1: hearts of Joseph's brothers. They stored up bitterness against him,
• 33:42
  Speaker 1: so much so that all he has to do to
• 33:45
  Speaker 1: make them want to kill him is show up. Ephesians 4.31 says,
• 33:51
  Speaker 1: Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and
• 33:54
  Speaker 1: slander be put away from you, along with all malice.
• 33:58
  Speaker 1: James 3, 14. But if you have bitter jealousy and
• 34:01
  Speaker 1: selfish ambition in your heart, do not boast and be
• 34:05
  Speaker 1: false to the truth. Hebrews 12, 15. See to it
• 34:09
  Speaker 1: that no one fails to obtain this grace of God,
• 34:13
  Speaker 1: that no root of bitterness springs up and causes trouble,
• 34:18
  Speaker 1: and by it many become defiled. There's the picture that's
• 34:23
  Speaker 1: painted of the bitterness that exists in the lives of
• 34:26
  Speaker 1: his brothers. So we go from jealousy and envy to bitterness.
• 34:35
  Speaker 1: But at the root of all this is something else.
• 34:40
  Speaker 1: You look at the jealousy and envy and they would
• 34:43
  Speaker 1: probably admit that it is in their minds against Joseph. Joseph.
• 34:49
  Speaker 1: You talk to them about this sin. And when they
• 34:51
  Speaker 1: talk among themselves about this sin, what do they say?
• 34:54
  Speaker 1: Reuben comes in and he says, let's don't kill him.
• 34:56
  Speaker 1: He's our brother. We don't want to sin against our brother.
• 34:59
  Speaker 1: Joseph says, let's sell him and not kill him. And
• 35:04
  Speaker 1: let's get something for him because after all, he is
• 35:06
  Speaker 1: our brother. So even when their consciences are pricked or
• 35:10
  Speaker 1: when they have other plans, Reuben's plan, I'm the number
• 35:13
  Speaker 1: one born son and I'm probably going to be disinherited.
• 35:17
  Speaker 1: I need to get back in my father's good graces.
• 35:19
  Speaker 1: What better way than to bring his favorite son and say,
• 35:22
  Speaker 1: by the way, Judah and the boys wanted to kill him.
• 35:24
  Speaker 1: I just thought you might want to know. Judah, what
• 35:32
  Speaker 1: is his response? Let's at least get something for him. Not,
• 35:37
  Speaker 1: this is heinous. This is murder. His response is, let's
• 35:40
  Speaker 1: at least get something for him. But still, this is
• 35:44
  Speaker 1: about their brother. They don't understand their sin of disobedience
• 35:48
  Speaker 1: and blasphemy. Let me explain this to you. First of all,
• 35:53
  Speaker 1: I started to say direct and indirect blasphemy against God.
• 35:58
  Speaker 1: Direct and indirect. No, it's less direct and more direct. Amen?
• 36:03
  Speaker 1: It's not indirect at all. It's less direct and more direct.
• 36:08
  Speaker 1: Here's the less direct. The less direct is their sin
• 36:13
  Speaker 1: against their brother. And they recognize this. They recognize he
• 36:19
  Speaker 1: is our brother and we are going to kill our brother.
• 36:21
  Speaker 1: We are going to allow the sin of envy, the
• 36:24
  Speaker 1: sin of jealousy that has led to the sin of
• 36:26
  Speaker 1: bitterness to cause us to sin against our own brother.
• 36:29
  Speaker 1: And even in the midst of their rage, they acknowledge
• 36:32
  Speaker 1: this sin. But not only against their brother, but against
• 36:37
  Speaker 1: their father. Remember Joseph? He wants to be obedient to
• 36:42
  Speaker 1: his father to the degree that he brings delight to
• 36:45
  Speaker 1: his father's heart. He goes 50 miles in order to
• 36:48
  Speaker 1: obey his father. He goes 14, 15 more miles in
• 36:52
  Speaker 1: order to do what the heart of his father wants
• 36:54
  Speaker 1: beyond just what the words of his father wants. Joseph
• 36:58
  Speaker 1: is coming and these boys know that that is their
• 37:01
  Speaker 1: father's favorite son. So when they say we will murder him,
• 37:05
  Speaker 1: what they say is we will break the heart of
• 37:08
  Speaker 1: our father. What our father desires is for this boy
• 37:15
  Speaker 1: to come find out about us, to come find out
• 37:18
  Speaker 1: about his flocks, and for this boy to come back
• 37:21
  Speaker 1: home so that our father can know, my brothers, my
• 37:25
  Speaker 1: flocks are fine, my sons are fine, and Joseph, my
• 37:29
  Speaker 1: favorite son, has been restored to me. Instead, what we
• 37:33
  Speaker 1: are going to do is return it to our father
• 37:37
  Speaker 1: and bring him the news that his favorite son is dead.
• 37:41
  Speaker 1: not only by committing the sin of murder, but we're
• 37:45
  Speaker 1: also going to commit the sin of lying and bearing
• 37:48
  Speaker 1: false witness and compound our sin of murder. And in
• 37:52
  Speaker 1: the midst of it all, we're going to defile and
• 37:56
  Speaker 1: indirectly disobey our Father. Newsflash. All authority on earth is
• 38:02
  Speaker 1: derived from authority in heaven. So it's less direct when
• 38:10
  Speaker 1: it comes to their disobedience to God. But folks, why
• 38:14
  Speaker 1: must children obey their fathers? We talked about this earlier.
• 38:19
  Speaker 1: You look at this and you talk about Joseph obeying
• 38:21
  Speaker 1: his earthly father, and immediately we wanna make the connection
• 38:26
  Speaker 1: to us and obeying our earthly father. Here's why I
• 38:29
  Speaker 1: didn't want you to run to make that connection. Because
• 38:32
  Speaker 1: for children, obeying their earthly father is obeying their heavenly father.
• 38:39
  Speaker 1: Hear me on that. All authority comes from God. So
• 38:44
  Speaker 1: when a child disobeys his father, he is ultimately disobeying
• 38:50
  Speaker 1: God who granted his father as an earthly representative of
• 38:54
  Speaker 1: his heavenly authority. So when these boys violate the wish
• 39:02
  Speaker 1: of their father, they are violating the authority of God Almighty.
• 39:11
  Speaker 1: Because that's where their father derives his authority. Children, hear me.
• 39:16
  Speaker 1: When you are disobedient to your mother, when you are
• 39:18
  Speaker 1: disobedient to your father, this is not just about your
• 39:21
  Speaker 1: mother and your father. This is about God. Yeah, well,
• 39:26
  Speaker 1: I love God and I respect God. It's just, you know,
• 39:28
  Speaker 1: my parents, they're kind of, no. No. Your parents are
• 39:30
  Speaker 1: God's representatives. The authority of God is always represented indirectly
• 39:35
  Speaker 1: in your life by those whom he places in authority
• 39:38
  Speaker 1: over you. And you obey God by obeying those whom
• 39:42
  Speaker 1: he placed in authority over you. And when you do
• 39:44
  Speaker 1: not obey that authority, you are disobeying God. These boys
• 39:51
  Speaker 1: are sinning against God. Not only in this less direct way,
• 39:58
  Speaker 1: but how about in a very direct way? You think
• 40:04
  Speaker 1: about their jealousy. And when you initially go to this passage,
• 40:08
  Speaker 1: you think about their jealousy, you just think Joseph's having
• 40:11
  Speaker 1: a dream and they're mad at Joseph because maybe Joseph
• 40:14
  Speaker 1: is just some little brat and they don't like the
• 40:16
  Speaker 1: way he talks about it. Maybe he's arrogant when he
• 40:18
  Speaker 1: communicates it or whatever. No. No. Let me explain to
• 40:23
  Speaker 1: you very carefully and very clearly. These boys are rich.
• 40:30
  Speaker 1: They're filthy rich. And the reason they're filthy rich is
• 40:33
  Speaker 1: because God blessed their father while he was in Laban's house.
• 40:38
  Speaker 1: Now how, pray tell, did God bless their father while
• 40:41
  Speaker 1: their father was in Laban's house? By coming to him
• 40:44
  Speaker 1: in a dream and telling him how to get the
• 40:47
  Speaker 1: majority of the goats for himself. So God revealed himself
• 40:53
  Speaker 1: to Jacob in a dream. And as a result of
• 40:56
  Speaker 1: God revealing himself to Jacob in a dream, these boys
• 40:59
  Speaker 1: have everything that they have. Now Jacob has undoubtedly communicated
• 41:04
  Speaker 1: to his boys that it was God who broke his hip,
• 41:08
  Speaker 1: but that it was God who communicated to him in
• 41:11
  Speaker 1: a dream and revealed to him how to have all
• 41:15
  Speaker 1: of these sheep. It would also be him who revealed
• 41:21
  Speaker 1: to their grandfather, Abraham, that he was going to be
• 41:25
  Speaker 1: the father of many nations. So these boys do not
• 41:28
  Speaker 1: doubt for one minute that God reveals himself through dreams.
• 41:34
  Speaker 1: So when they say, we're going to kill Joseph and
• 41:37
  Speaker 1: see what becomes of his dreams, here's what they're saying.
• 41:41
  Speaker 1: We know that's the word of God, but we don't care.
• 41:49
  Speaker 1: This is direct blasphemy against the word of God. God
• 41:57
  Speaker 1: is communicating to Joseph and then through Joseph by way
• 42:02
  Speaker 1: of a dream. These boys say, yeah, that's God's word,
• 42:05
  Speaker 1: but I really don't care because what I want is
• 42:07
  Speaker 1: what I want. And I do not like the fact
• 42:10
  Speaker 1: that God is going to use Joseph. I will kill
• 42:13
  Speaker 1: Joseph so that God has to use another avenue. This
• 42:16
  Speaker 1: is a direct affront. to Almighty God and His Word.
• 42:25
  Speaker 1: And it's worse. What is God doing? Here's why it's
• 42:31
  Speaker 1: so ridiculous for us to fight against God. What is
• 42:34
  Speaker 1: God doing? God is sending the boy to Egypt and
• 42:39
  Speaker 1: putting him in a position of authority, because what authority
• 42:43
  Speaker 1: comes from God? All authority comes from God. He's going
• 42:48
  Speaker 1: to put Joseph in a position of authority. They're going
• 42:50
  Speaker 1: to have to bow down to Joseph. Why? Because Joseph's
• 42:53
  Speaker 1: better than them? No, because there can only be one.
• 42:57
  Speaker 1: God's going to place him in that authority, but why
• 43:00
  Speaker 1: is God going to place Joseph in that authority? So
• 43:03
  Speaker 1: that through Joseph, he can save Egypt and indirectly save Israel.
• 43:11
  Speaker 1: God's doing this for their own good, and they want
• 43:15
  Speaker 1: to kill it. It's what happens when you allow bitterness
• 43:21
  Speaker 1: to set up in your heart. You fight against God
• 43:28
  Speaker 1: when God's the only one to bless you, the only
• 43:31
  Speaker 1: one to help you, the only one to keep you.
• 43:35
  Speaker 1: Do we not see this? Is this not foreshadowing what
• 43:40
  Speaker 1: we're going to see in the life of Christ? As
• 43:42
  Speaker 1: I read this, all I could hear was Jesus saying
• 43:45
  Speaker 1: to the Pharisees, for which one of my miracles are
• 43:47
  Speaker 1: you gonna stone me? You want to kill me. Let
• 43:52
  Speaker 1: me see if I get this straight. The blind see.
• 43:56
  Speaker 1: The lame walk. The deaf hear. The poor have the
• 44:01
  Speaker 1: gospel preached to them. And instead of you falling on
• 44:05
  Speaker 1: your face before the Messiah, your desire is to kill
• 44:08
  Speaker 1: me because you don't like the package that God chose.
• 44:17
  Speaker 1: Mark 15 makes it very clear. that they offered him
• 44:20
  Speaker 1: up because of their own jealousy and envy. I know
• 44:30
  Speaker 1: that the Messiah is supposed to come. I just don't
• 44:31
  Speaker 1: want it to be you. Nothing personal, God. I just
• 44:40
  Speaker 1: don't like the one you chose. But when men fight
• 44:48
  Speaker 1: against God and his providence, they're ultimately fighting against themselves.
• 44:54
  Speaker 1: Jesus comes to save us from our sin and we
• 44:58
  Speaker 1: cry out, crucify him. But why do we do that?
• 45:07
  Speaker 1: Here's why. Because of our own blasphemy. Because there is
• 45:13
  Speaker 1: worship that goes to Christ that we want to reserve
• 45:17
  Speaker 1: for ourselves. Because there are possessions that our God and
• 45:26
  Speaker 1: his providence puts into the hands of others that we
• 45:29
  Speaker 1: want for ourselves because we believe we know better than God.
• 45:33
  Speaker 1: Because there is praise that goes to others because of
• 45:40
  Speaker 1: God in heaven. But we believe that the praise ought
• 45:43
  Speaker 1: to go to us because there are positions that God
• 45:47
  Speaker 1: gives to others. But we determine that God doesn't know
• 45:51
  Speaker 1: what he's doing. and that God could have and should
• 45:54
  Speaker 1: have chosen better. And so we fight and we war
• 45:59
  Speaker 1: and we murder because of our own self-love and our
• 46:03
  Speaker 1: own sinful flesh and our own desires, which in our
• 46:07
  Speaker 1: ignorance are ultimately fighting against the hand of God that
• 46:11
  Speaker 1: feeds us. Do you see yourself in this text? Does
• 46:25
  Speaker 1: your own mind race to those places where you're in
• 46:30
  Speaker 1: this story and you're not Joseph? Amen. See, here's what
• 46:37
  Speaker 1: normally happens. You come to this story of Joseph and
• 46:41
  Speaker 1: the only way we think about this story is those
• 46:44
  Speaker 1: moments in our lives when we've been Joseph. But that's
• 46:48
  Speaker 1: because we're sinful. What I want you to do today
• 46:52
  Speaker 1: is is look at this story and perhaps for the
• 46:55
  Speaker 1: first time in your life be Reuben or Judah or
• 47:01
  Speaker 1: Simeon who's silent. Levi, the father of the priesthood who's
• 47:07
  Speaker 1: nowhere to be found. Gad, Asher, Issachar, Naphtali. Just choose
• 47:14
  Speaker 1: the brother you want to be because it really doesn't
• 47:18
  Speaker 1: matter unless it's Benjamin who's not around yet, you're guilty.
• 47:23
  Speaker 1: And the only reason Benjamin's not guilty is because he's
• 47:25
  Speaker 1: not here. Don't look at this text and see yourself
• 47:34
  Speaker 1: as Joseph. You look at this text and you see
• 47:39
  Speaker 1: yourself as Reuben or as Judah. Especially Judah. Here's why Judah. Judah.
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  Speaker 1: You look at this text and you see yourself as
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  Speaker 1: Judah and here's what you say. Things are bad for me.
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  Speaker 1: And this isn't even as bad as they get. Because
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  Speaker 1: in the next chapter, it gets much worse for Judah.
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  Speaker 1: And yet, he is the father of the royal line.
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  Speaker 1: And ultimately, the father of the Lord Jesus Christ. You see,
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  Speaker 1: you think of yourself as Judah because that gives you hope.
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  Speaker 1: If you think of yourself as Judah, you think about
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  Speaker 1: that moment when you blew it or those many moments
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  Speaker 1: when you blew it and you say, yes, that is
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  Speaker 1: me right there. Jealousy, envy, bitterness, blasphemy, disobedience, that is me.
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  Speaker 1: And wait, there's more because there's another chapter where it's
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  Speaker 1: going to get worse for me. That is me. But
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  Speaker 1: praise God he doesn't leave Judah there. And I don't
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  Speaker 1: mean just in the ultimate sense in the person of Christ.
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  Speaker 1: I mean later on there's going to be a beautiful moment.
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  Speaker 1: And in this beautiful moment, Joseph is going to test
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  Speaker 1: his brothers and he's going to say, you boys go
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  Speaker 1: back to your father, but I want you to bring
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  Speaker 1: me that Benjamin. I want you to bring me that
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  Speaker 1: younger brother. And his brothers are all looking at each
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  Speaker 1: other and they're first going, okay, how does he know
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  Speaker 1: there's a Benjamin? And secondly, they're going, Benjamin is born
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  Speaker 1: to the same mother Joseph was born to, has replaced
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  Speaker 1: Joseph as the son of my father's youth and probably
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  Speaker 1: as his favorite boy. Benjamin's not even allowed to go
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  Speaker 1: out with us because we've kind of proven that we're
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  Speaker 1: not trustworthy with his favorite sons. It's over. And then
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  Speaker 1: there's a beautiful moment where Judah stands up and offers
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  Speaker 1: himself as a ransom for his brother Benjamin. Just like
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  Speaker 1: his descendant and greatest son, the lion of the tribe
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  Speaker 1: of Judah, who will offer himself as a ransom for
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  Speaker 1: his brothers and save them from their sin in order
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  Speaker 1: that they might be delivered to his father who loves
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  Speaker 1: them so dearly. Now, I don't see yourself as Joseph
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  Speaker 1: here because you've never been that obedient. Amen. And you're
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  Speaker 1: not the victim. You're the criminal in this story. You're Judah.
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  Speaker 1: That's the bad news. But the good news is the
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  Speaker 1: God we serve is the God who redeems the Judah
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  Speaker 1: in us all. Would you bow with me? Father, as
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  Speaker 1: we bow, we recognize the great irony in the fact
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  Speaker 1: that you are a jealous God. And that although jealousy
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  Speaker 1: is a sin for us, it's never a sin for you.
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  Speaker 1: Because there is no possession, there is no position, and
• 51:43
  Speaker 1: there is no praise that is given to another that
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  Speaker 1: does not rightfully belong to you. So it is right
• 51:56
  Speaker 1: and only right for you to be jealous. And it
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  Speaker 1: is right and only right when we are jealous for
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  Speaker 1: your name, your praise. But the fact of the matter is, Lord,
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  Speaker 1: we think much more of ourselves than we ought. And
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  Speaker 1: much less of you than we should. The fact of
• 52:26
  Speaker 1: the matter is we are filled with envy and strife
• 52:29
  Speaker 1: and bitterness and murder, covetousness, disobedience, blasphemy, every last one
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  Speaker 1: of us. And we are in desperate need of your
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  Speaker 1: redemptive work. And what's worse, we even fight against that.
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  Speaker 1: Would you today grab a hold of the reins of
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  Speaker 1: our hearts? Remind us of our desperate need of Christ.
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  Speaker 1: Remind us of His forsakenness that won our redemption. And
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  Speaker 1: do this for your own glory, your own praise. and
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  Speaker 1: your own namesake. Would you crush our desire to be first?
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  Speaker 1: Would you crush our desire to be most? Would you
• 53:38
  Speaker 1: crush our desire to be best, to be praised? And
• 53:47
  Speaker 1: in its place, grant us a heart that delights in
• 53:53
  Speaker 1: obedience to the will of our Father. This we pray
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  Speaker 1: in the name of your obedient Son who laid down
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  Speaker 1: his life to ransom his brothers from the Egypt of
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  Speaker 1: their own sin. Jesus, who is the Christ, our Master, Savior, Redeemer,
• 54:21
  Speaker 1: and Sovereign King, Amen.