Integrity and Forgiveness

Pastor Rod Thompson

Midland SDA Church

January 5, 2019

Read Matthew 16: 2-3

Jesus was speaking to the Pharisees and Sadducees, but He could just as well have been speaking to Jacob.

Like any good shepherd, Jacob knew how to discern the meaning of the sky’s appearance.  But he chose to ignore the red, threatening signs that hung over his own family.  He closed his eyes to the trouble that was brewing amongst his own children. 

Jacob’s marriages and family life were, to say the least unstable but probably more appropriately were dysfunctional.  The bickering and fighting between his wives and concubines lead to jealousy, strife, anger, lust, deceit, competition, and secrecy with the children. 

Jacob takes his family and he returns to the land of Canaan, where he grew up.  But his life is full of trouble all along the journey.  When they get to Shechem his daughter Dinah is raped.  Incredibly when Jacob hears about it he does nothing.  But her brothers did, They killed not only the man who raped her, but also every man in the city.  After his sons then loot the town Jacob voices his concern.  But it wasn’t for the welfare of his daughter, he is concerned only about his own reputation.  So they move on, but then his beloved Rachel dies giving birth to her second son, Joseph’s brother Benjamin.  After the funeral they move on and tragedy in this family strikes again.  Reuben, the oldest son commits incest with his father’s concubine.  And then when he gets to Canaan Jacob’s father Isaac dies.

The clouds hanging over Jacob’s family at this point in his life were like dark bruises, swollen with the pain of years of unresolved conflict.  Yet in the midst of all of this, Jacob discovered a refuge, a shelter against the turbulence he felt within his family.

Read Genesis 37:3a

In trying to escape the dysfunction of his own family Jacob compounds the problem by showing favoritism to his son Joseph.  In reality Joseph is a good boy, he is different from his brothers.  When he sees them doing something wrong he tells on them (vs 2).  Of course this makes the brothers angry.  Jacob provides Joseph a coat of many colors (vs 3-4), which was more than a simple gift of a loving father.  It is a long sleeved garment worn by the nobility of the day, a symbol of authority and favored position within the family, which makes the brothers jealous.  And then to top it all off Joseph has some dreams that he shares with the family, and in the dreams they are all bowing down to him.

Can you see the red storm rising?

One day the brothers are all out tending the sheep, all of them except Joseph and his little brother Benjamin.  Jacob sends Joseph to check up on them.

Read Genesis 37: 18-20

They later change their minds and sell him into slavery instead.

Imagine your own siblings tossing you into a pit to die, then sitting down for dinner as though nothing happened.  Imagine being sold as a slave, taken to a country you didn’t know, to be owned by a man you’ve never seen.  And all the while you are just 17 years old.  All we can do is imagine!

But we can also learn 4 real lessons that can be just as important for us today as they were for Joseph. 

1. No family is exempt from adversity                  There is no place in this fallen world where we can escape trials

2. No enemy is more subtle than passivity                   Jacob was too passive and preoccupied to deal with the issues in the family.  Where was Jacob when Dinah was raped?  Where was he when his sons slaughtered Shechem?  When Reuben committed incest?  When the whole family was being torn apart by jealousy and anger? 

3. No response is more cruel than jealousy                 Solomon was right (Song of Solomon 8:6) when he said, Jealousy is as cruel as the grave.  If you let the seed of Jealousy take root it will destroy unity and harmony.

4. No condition is more unfair than slavery                  In one-day Joseph went from a favored son to a faceless slave, from luxury’s pillows to Egypt’s bonds.   

Read Genesis 39: 1-6

Did you notice in the first two verses, two things that are conspicuously missing?  First, there is no mention of how long Joseph has been Potiphar’s slave before the events in this chapter take place.  He may have been there a few months or a few years – we are not told. Second, there is no mention of the traumatic adjustments Joseph has had to endure as a slave in a foreign land and culture.  Remember he is used to a pampering father and privileges that exempt him from menial tasks.  Now he has to obey the commands of a master. 

But God’s blessing is on Joseph’s life, and this, coupled with Joseph’s personal integrity and hard work, leads to his being promoted to a place of prominence.

Notice that Joseph didn’t tell Potiphar that the Lord was with him.  Verse 3 says, “His master noticed that God was with him.”  And verse 4 says Joseph found favor with Potiphar, not that Joseph request favor.  Joseph earned the right to be respected and trusted.  Along with that comes a greater measure of responsibility and freedom for Joseph. 

But sneaking up behind these benefits also comes a greater measure of vulnerability.  While Mr. Potiphar is appreciating Joseph’s reliable business sense and trustworthy nature, Mrs. Potiphar is becoming increasingly preoccupied with Joseph’s good looks and strong stature.

Read Genesis 39: 7

In His Bible biography of Joseph F. B. Meyer says this:

We may expect temptation in days of prosperity and ease rather than in those of privation and toil….   Not where men frown, but where they smile sweet, exquisite smiles of flattery – it is there. It is there. That the temptress lies in wait!  Beware!  If thou goest armed anywhere, thou must, above all, go armed here.

Joseph immediately, but politely refuses.  He tries to appeal to her reason first and then to her conscience.  But Mrs. Potiphar isn’t moved a bit.  She isn’t interested in the sanctity of marriage or the trust between her husband and Joseph.  She is interested in gratifying her physical lust – now, nothing else.  It is no wonder, then, that Joseph’s spiritual concern could not penetrate the darkness that shrouded her mind and will

I’d like to pause here for a moment to clarify some of the specifics in Joseph’s situation.

1. Joseph faced a difficult dilemma.  The very place which he lived and worked brought him face to face with one very seductive temptation

2. Her advances surely must have flattered Joseph’s ego and aroused a powerful sensual temptation

3. The source of temptation was persistent – verse 10 says she pursued him day after day

4. This woman pursued Joseph when they were alone, she made sure there were no witnesses

It was a vulnerable time for Joseph.  No doubt his own lust was working overtime trying to erode his powers of clear discrimination and decision

James 1: 13-15  Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he himself tempt anyone.  But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.  Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is full grown, brings forth death.

Read Genesis 39: 8-9

And verse 18 says that Joseph fled

In almost every instance where the issue of sexual lust is dealt with in the New Testament, we are told to flee, to get up and run. 

1 Corinthians 6:18       Flee sexual immorality

Some temptations we are stand and resist.  But when it comes to sexual lust we are told to do exactly what Joseph did – run.

Joseph did the right thing.  But once outside, he didn’t hear any Angels singing his praises for saying no.  He didn’t receive any awards from the city mayor for being strong in the midst of temptation.  What he heard instead was the scream of a woman scorned and the voice of accusation.

And what is Joseph’s reward?  He is thrown in prison. 

The pain of suffering unjustly is one of the severest trials we can ever enter into.  It is a sanctuary of flames from which we emerge in only one of two possible conditions.  We either immerge with the impurities of a sinful nature removed from our lives and a unshakeable tempered faith or we are burned to ashes. 

The greatest test in this kind of suffering is our attitude toward it. 

Victor Frankle was a man who was forced against his will into a Nazi concentration camp.  He later wrote;

Everything can be taken from a man but one thing – the last of the human freedoms – to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.

We cannot control whether today or tomorrow we will be treated fairly.  But we can choose how we will respond.  Our attitude is something we can control.  Resentment, hostility, bitterness, revenge – these are the common attitudes people choose when they are mistreated. 

God, however, has a different choice in mind for his children

1 Peter 2:20                 For what credit is there if, when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure with patience?  But if when you do right and suffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God.

Joseph did what was right, and suffered for it. 

I don’t know if you are aware of this or not but there are essentially 3 basic kinds of mistreatment that are common to everyone.

1. Undeserved treatment from family

2. Unexpected restrictions from circumstances

3. Untrue accusations from people

Joseph experienced all three categories.

1. His brothers hated him and sold him into slavery

2. He was confined as someone else’s slave

3. He was falsely accused by his master’s wife

Once again Joseph was thrown from a privileged position into a pit – only this time, instead of a dry well in Dothan, it was dark dungeon in Egypt

But once again we see the invisible providence of God don’t we?

Read Genesis 39:21

So what can we learn from Joseph’s life?

First and foremost, we need to see that Joseph has his life wrapped up in an extreme trust in God.  And if God has chosen to allow him to be put in prison, Joseph sees that as God’s sovereign right.  He doesn’t argue with God or take it personally, or even blame others for his misfortune.  Instead, he recognizes that God’s hand is in it and humbly approaches his new restriction as another opportunity for God to work in his life.  Because of that, God is able to use him strategically in the lives of others.

In Genesis 40: 1-13 We see the story of how Joseph interprets the dreams of the cupbearer and the baker.

Even though the bottom has dropped out of his life, Joseph’s attitude of patient endurance enables him to be sensitive to the needs of others.  It is his concern for others that starts a chain of events that eventually leads to his release.

And Joseph is no dummy, he realizes that the cupbearer is going to be released from prison.  And Joseph sees the possibility of something good coming of this for himself. 

Read Genesis 40: 14

There is only one problem though, the cupbearer has a short memory.  He remember him for 2 full years

Earlier we talked about 3 different types of mistreatment.  But from this part of Joseph’s life we can add a 4th

4^th     Unfair abandonment from someone you’ve helped

But Joseph has not been abandoned by God.   God has him right where he wants him.  You see Joseph still had some lessons to learn.  He needed to get to the place where Job was in our scripture reading this morning when (Job 23:10) he said, “When you have tested me, I will come forth as gold.” 

Joseph wasn’t quite ready to handle the promotion that God was preparing for him.  What happened in those two years?  Nothing --- on the outside.  Joseph lived out monotonous hours that stacked up into days, months, and finally years.  Humanly speaking, waiting is one of the most difficult tasks we can be assigned.  From our perspective it feels like were stagnating and getting nowhere.  But from God’s perspective, it is the ideal crucible for strengthening and establishing his character in us. 

But finally the day comes when Joseph is drug from the prison, cleaned up and brought before Pharaoh. 

Read Genesis 41: 15

Joseph wants it understood that if truth comes, it will come from God not from Joseph.  It is God alone who deserves the glory.

The 13 years of suffering have purged Him, and now he has come forth as Gold – having the kind of character that refuses to use God’s gift of interpreting dreams as a bargaining chip to secure his freedom.  He has been refined and has the quality of discernment and humility.  He has learned to forgive his brothers, Potiphar, the cupbearer because he understands that God is in control

Read Genesis 45:5 and see what later Joseph told his brothers

Joseph’s story shows him to be even more than a man of integrity and forgiveness – He is a model of God’s grace.  A type and shadow of Jesus.  Joseph resonates with Christ’s spirit.  He responds to mistreatment with blessing, and he gathers those who are in need of compassion, grace and mercy

But what about you?   Are you able to compare your life to Joseph’s and can you see where you have fallen short?  Know this brothers and sisters, God is not done with you yet.  He is still trying to remove the impurities from your life.  Won’t you cooperate with him.  Won’t you trust him that he has plans for you, for good and not for evil?  Is that the desire of your heart?