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| SOVEREIGN GRACE OFTEN APPEARS VANQUISHED Genesis 37: 12-36 INTRODUCTION I worked for a year right after college for a general contractor. I was his only employee. I began working with him on a “spec” house he was building. The day I arrived at the work site there were piles of dirt and piles of wood scattered around a hole in the ground in which the foundation walls had been poured. It looked very chaotic and incoherent. Simply by looking at the mayhem on this lot you would never know that there was a plan to build a house and the necessary strength and skill to complete it in my boss, Mr. Jerry Grabowski. We worked on that house for the better part of six months before it was completed. Many days I simply did what I was told without having any idea how what I did on that particular day was contributing to the final product. But Jerry had a plan and the skill to direct the disordered material and me to the goal he had determined. The chaos I encountered on that first day was slowly worked into an attractive, three bedroom home surrounded by a beautiful green yard. It seems to me that any honest evaluation of the world we live must yield the same sort of impression that I had when I first walked on that job site. The world seems a very chaotic and incoherent collection of events, materials and people. Granted, most people do not live as though the world is chaotic. We live as though our lives have purpose, as if the events in our lives make sense. Especially in the affluent west, where our money can insulate us from some of life’s miseries, we act as though we are in control and life is working out to expected and chosen ends. But the fact is that we are truly in control of very few things in our lives individually and certainly we have no control over the physical world or the course of nations. Disease, accident and death strike randomly across all lines of societal differentiation. Human plans are interrupted by economic realities and fractured relationships. Tornadoes wipe out towns, floods eradicate entire communities, war decimates nations, snipers randomly kill, and accidents eliminate young men. When life is viewed from the horizontal perspective we must agree with the author of the biblical book of Ecclesiastes, “Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher. “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.” Yet, the Bible claims and Jesus Christ confirms that this world of apparent randomness is being formed into a beautiful and ordered existence called the kingdom of God. Like my boss, God is directing these apparently meaningless events to a perfect conclusion. We have in the story of Joseph’s betrayal and sale into slavery by his treacherous and murderous brothers an all too real description of the apparent arbitrariness of our world that is actually being used by God to build his kingdom. We know from the first 36 chapters of Genesis that God is going to make these wicked men into a great nation that will be the channel of God’s salvation for the whole world. We know from the first eleven verses of chapter 37 that the 11th son born to Jacob, 17 year old Joseph is going to be the key player in God’s plan to save the world. We know that God has chosen this family and these men to be the instruments of his salvation, because he has said so. We do not know this because of what we see. What we see in this story is human passion run amok. What we see is human stupidity and human cunning. What we see is despair and hopelessness. What we see is chaos. What you do not see in this story is God’s power at work and yet the point of the story is that God is powerfully at work. While all appears incoherent now, we know, because God has said so, that he is at work. That’s the reason that this story is included in the Bible. This story looks a lot like our world and our lives. This story exists to convince us that regardless of what we think or feel or see, the fact is that there is a wise and powerful God who is shaping all these horrible circumstances to produce an awesome and amazing salvation. But this morning we are not going to talk about the salvation, we are going to talk about the ways in which this work of God’s sovereign grace often appears vanquished, destroyed, overcome. NARRATIVE BLOCK ONE (vv. 12-17) Joseph stood looking down into the empty valley in front of him, catching his breath and giving his three donkeys a breather. He scanned the valley floor for any sign of his brothers and their herds but there was no trace of them anywhere. His eyes passed over the remains of the city of Shechem; he felt a faint chill run up his spine and the hair stand up on his neck. The formerly cultivated fields that surrounded the looted city had reverted to their wild state in the ten years since their caretakers were butchered by his brothers. How well he remembered the anguish and the fury that motivated his brothers to wreak havoc upon this city of Amorites. His half sister Dinah, after foolishly befriending the pagan women of this city was raped and then kidnapped by the son of the ruler of the city. Joseph’s nomadic family was no match for the strength of the inhabitants of this walled city but his brother’s fury would not let them arrange for peace. As an eight-year-old boy, he was not included in planning the revenge. Rather he recalled sitting at the door of the tent as his ten older brothers, full of hatred but with cold calculation, came up with a scheme to both rescue their sister and pour out their vengeance on the city. They told the men of Shechem that the ruler’s son could marry Dinah and they would become as one people if all the men of the city would agree to be circumcised. The men of Shechem, full of thoughts of taking over their property agreed. Well he remembered the night his boisterous and bloody brothers returned to camp with Dinah and all the loot of Shechem. They boasted of how they had burst into one home after another and murdered the helpless men and taken the women and children as slaves. When Jacob their father was awakened by the barbarous revelry, he, in a panic, ordered the entire camp to pack up. He screamed at the brothers that by their brutal act they would bring the wrath of the entire Amorite people upon them and they would be destroyed. The chill again went down his spine as he remembered Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s full brothers, standing in the light of the campfires with their bloody swords in their hands coldly replying to their father’s rebuke, “Should we have let our sister be treated like a prostitute?” He shook his head and continued to scan the edges of the valley for evidence of his brothers and their livestock. He could see no sign of them. They had left home almost two month’s ago. His father had never been in favor of their returning to Shechem to pasture the flocks. The ten brothers had dismissed his fears and insisted that they make use of the excellent pasture in the fertile and vacant valley of Shechem. Besides, they had said, “We own property there, we should make sure no one has moved in on our claim.” It was to that plot of ground that Jacob had bought from the men of Shechem that Joseph headed. He wound his way carefully down the mountainside into the lush valley with his pack donkeys behind. It had taken him a week to get here from the camp at Hebron. His anxious father had ordered him to find his brothers and make sure they were all right and then to return to him with a report. He couldn’t stop the feeling of being watched as he walked down the valley with the ruined city behind him. It was late afternoon; the sun was hanging just over the ridge of the western hills that formed the valley when he came to the plot of ground that Jacob owned. There were signs of a recent camp all over the ground but no brothers or livestock. Joseph pulled the packs off the donkeys and set up his camp around one of the abandoned fire pits. He tethered the donkeys on some grass, near the stream flowing down the valley and made a fire to cook his evening meal. He went to sleep that night with a growing sense of foreboding about the disappearance of his brothers. The next morning Joseph awoke with a sense of urgency. He ate a quick breakfast and loaded his donkeys. He began to circle around the old campsite to try to find a track to follow. While he could find where the herds were grazed, the wind and water had wiped out ever trace of the track away from the valley. Joseph began to wander down the valley toward the spoiled city with a growing sense of panic. His eyes were fixed on the ground as he meandered back and forth across the valley floor and so he did not notice the stranger who appeared out of the shadows of the broken wall walking towards him. Joseph nearly jumped out of his skin when the stranger called to him. “Who are you looking for son?” Joseph, recovering from his fright, told the man he was looking for his brothers and their flocks. “I spent some time with your brothers while they were camped at the other end of the valley. I overheard them say they were going to Dothan which is another 15 miles north of here.” Joseph cautiously thanked the man for his help and began the two-day march to the region of Dothan. Application: Most of us have seen a scary or suspenseful movie when one of the characters in the movie decides to go down the dark alley where we know the bad guys are lurking. We yell at the TV, “Don’t go down there. You’re going to get hurt.” Then as the character proceeds to boldly, foolishly and ignorantly walk into danger we yell in disgust, “How could you be so stupid! You deserve to be devoured by the monster for being so stupid.” That is exactly how we feel about Jacob sending Joseph to find out how his brothers are doing in Shechem. In the first eleven verses we were told three times his brothers hated Joseph. They were so jealous of his being given the rights of the firstborn son that they were not able to say anything polite or brotherly. They heaped abuse and scorn upon him at every chance they could get. Now Jacob sends Joseph 50 miles away from him to check up on these brothers who hate Joseph. Not only are we shocked by this profound ignorance of the brother’s hatred but also we are shocked that Joseph is going to Shechem. I mean, shouldn’t the memory of the violent hatred of these brothers at Shechem have prompted Jacob to exercise more caution? This is the height of foolish and ignorant behavior. We live in a world where harm often comes to people because they make stupid choices and do foolish things. We live in a world where accidents happen that didn’t need to happen if people would have just used their heads. Have you ever done something stupid and suffered for it? Last Saturday I was taking apart some of the woodwork at the back of our house. As I looked at the structure I thought to myself if I hit this board, the other boards are going to let loose and fall down. I knew they would fall and yet I hit the board and they fell down, one of them right on my toe. Fortunately, I only lost a hunk of flesh off the tip of it and didn’t shatter the bone. That was a foolish thing to do. I knew better and yet I did it anyway and was harmed by it. While that is a very simple and relatively painless example, we all know that much worse things happen because of foolish and stupid decisions and actions. When humans do stupid things and bring harm to themselves or others, does this mean that God’s gracious work is ended? If two years ago, you put your entire retirement savings in Enron stock, against the advice of your stockbroker and now you have no retirement money, does that mean that God has abandoned you and will not care for you? If you goofed off all weekend, didn’t study for your exam, and so flunked it, does that mean that you are now cut off from God’s mercy? If you were showing off for your friends by driving recklessly and hit a parked car with your dad’s new car, does that mean that God’s plan for your life is now thwarted? Do foolish, stupid and ignorant decisions and actions end the work of God’s grace in your life? The answer that this story gives us is no, it does not. Maybe, you’ll say, stupidity can’t stop God’s work, but certainly human evil stops God’s gracious plan from moving forward. NARRATIVE BLOCK TWO (vv. 18-28) Two days later Joseph clambered up yet another ridge in the region of Dothan. This time, when he came over the top his eyes were rewarded with the sight of herds of sheep, camels and donkeys spread out over green pastures. He could see his brothers gathered in their camp. He called and waved his arms in youthful exuberance and began to scramble down the hillside. Down in the camp the ten brothers looked up from the preparations for their midday meal to see a man with three donkeys behind him calling and waving from the ridge top. Immediately they recognized the royal robes from their father that their detested brother Joseph wore. The resentment and jealousy rose in them. They began openly mocking him and venting their rage against him to one another. “Here comes that dreamer. What’s he doing so far from his father’s side, the little baby? We ought to make him pay for his acting so high and mighty. Who does he think he is anyway? Acting like he’s better than us. Telling us he’s going to be the one God uses to save us and who we will bow down to in gratitude. We ought to kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns where nobody will ever find him. We can tell his father that a wild beast devoured him.” The more they talked the more their hatred grew and the more determined they became to murder Joseph. Reuben, Jacob’s true firstborn son, listened quietly while the others worked themselves into a rage. Levi, noticing that he had not joined in their plotting asked him, “What about you, Reuben? Are you with us or not? Reuben replied, “I tell you what. Killing is too good for this brat. Besides, we don’t want his blood on our hands and our consciences accusing us from now on. Let’s just throw him into that deep cistern over to the east of here and let him rot there.” So the brothers began waving to Joseph and calling out in friendly voices, “Joseph, it’s so good to see you. What news do you bring from home?” As Joseph approached, they spread out and walked towards him calling out with eager voices. Unsuspecting, Joseph half ran the final 100 yards with the donkeys trotting behind him. As he came into the midst of his brothers, they jumped upon him as one man and began to punch him and kick him. Reuben began to wildly call out, “Let’s get that pretty robe off from him and throw him in the cistern.” He grabbed hold of Joseph and dragged him to his feet and the other brothers gleefully pulled off the robe that marked Joseph’s status in the family as the rightful and chosen ruler of the brothers. Reuben trussed him like a sheep to be slaughtered and threw him over his shoulders, carrying him to the cistern that was over the ridge about a half-mile away. The other brothers followed behind, dancing and mocking him as Reuben carried him to his fate. They would fall to their knees and cry out, “O Master, please don’t hurt me. O great ruler, you’re so strong and brave, what can I do to serve you?” When they arrived at the cistern, Reuben cut the cords and roughly threw him into the deep, but dry cistern. Joseph lay in a crumpled ball, crying as his brothers kicked dirt down upon him, spit, and mocked, saying, “Let’s see what comes of your dreams now!” Then they left him and went back to camp. Like men returning from battle or from some great victory the brothers celebrated being rid of their detestable younger brother. They dragged the donkeys with the supplies that Joseph had brought them and from these provisions began making a feast to celebrate their vanquishing the pretender, that daddy’s boy. While the preparations were being made, Reuben told Simeon that he needed to go check on one of the ewes that was about to give birth. He didn’t want to lose another kid to the lions that prowled about. As soon as Reuben was out of sight of the celebrating camp, he turned not towards the flocks but began to circle around, keeping a ridge between he and his brothers. As the brothers sat down to enjoy their feast one of them noticed
a large caravan of camels come into sight on the main road that
passed through Dothan on the way to Meanwhile, Reuben had finally arrived back at the cistern where they had thrown Joseph. It had taken him longer than he thought to get back without being seen by his brothers. When he had heard the enraged plotting of his brothers, he had immediately seen an opportunity for himself to regain his favored position in the family. How happy his father would be when he returned Joseph unharmed and reported the murderous treachery of the other brothers. Jacob would be sure to reward him richly and restore him to favor for risking his life to save the life of Joseph. He slowly peered over the ridge to see if any of his brothers had returned to torment Joseph. No one was in sight so he quickly approached the cistern uncoiling the rope he had brought and calling out softly, “Joseph, are you OK?” As he stared into the shadowed hole, he saw that it was empty. Joseph was gone! He cried out with fear and frustration and tore his robe. He jumped to his feet and ran back to the camp. He found the brothers lounging around the fire, joking and talking about their new wealth and freedom from the oppressive presence of Joseph. Reuben ran into the middle of the camp crying out, “The boy is gone. How can I return home now? Our father will disown me for sure and I’ll get nothing.” The other brothers looked at him with amazement and suspicion. “Reuben, what are you talking about?” Reuben quickly came to his senses, remembering the treacherous men he was dealing with. With feeling, but less self-pity he told them that he went by the cistern and Joseph wasn’t there. He feared that the boy had escaped and was even now returning to tell their father what had happened. The brothers laughed and quickly told him what they had done and gave him his share of the silver. Then they took the royal robe of Joseph, killed a lamb, draining its blood into a bowl and splattered the robe with blood. They ripped it in several places. They packed up camp and began the two-week trek back to Hebron to meet their father and tell him about the horrible thing that had happened to Joseph. Application: The brothers show their contempt for Joseph and for the will of God when they say, “Now let’s see what happens to your dreams.” They believe that their evil actions will hinder God’s plan from moving forward. Most humans naturally believe that human evil will stop God’s good work. Most people believe, whether they say so or not, that man has the final word on whether God’s saving work can go forward. These men, by their evil deeds must certainly have cut themselves off from God’s gracious work. By their betrayal of Joseph and selling him into slavery they must have stopped God’s plan to make Joseph into their ruler and the agent of salvation for the world. I hope you see in their treatment of Joseph the betrayal, suffering and death of Jesus. Don’t you hear the crowds crying out, “He saved others, let’s see if he can save himself. Come down from the cross if you are the Son of God, the chosen one.” The religious leaders were sure that they had finished Jesus and thereby frustrated God’s plan to save the world through him. But you see, humans cannot thwart God’s kind plan to save his people and restore the universe to himself. When the brothers were selling Joseph into slavery little did they know that they were moving God’s plan forward. When Satan inspired Judas to betray Jesus and when the religious leaders cried for his crucifixion and when Pilate sentenced him to death and when the soldiers tortured and then hung him on the cross, little did they know that they were doing God’s will and accomplishing his plan for saving the world. Human evil never vanquishes God’s good work to save his people and restore the universe. Whether it is the evil that you do or the evil that is done against you, God’s grace is greater and more powerful. God works in and through all the evil that men do to save all those who trust in Christ and to bring the world to the end that he has planned. No one and nothing can resist his will. Now the amazing thing is that he does this through human choice. Joseph’s brother’s and Jesus’ executioners are guilty of great evil and will be held accountable by God. However, God is so great and so gracious that he is able to rule over human freedom in such a way that our free and evil choices serve his good purposes. Therefore, we do not need to fear when terrorists fly planes into office buildings or when snipers randomly kill or when your spouse divorces you or when your child gets caught doing drugs. I’m not saying evil doesn’t matter. What I am saying is that even human evil cannot impede God’s unmerited, saving work from moving ahead, on his timetable. When you do evil you need to know that God is able and willing to rescue you. Your evil cannot separate you from the love of God, so do not despair when you do wrong but flee to Christ in repentance and faith. When evil is done to you, do not despair, flee to Christ and rejoice in his promises to save all those who trust in him and to punish all those who do evil. Human stupidity and human evil cannot prevent the advance of God’s sovereign, gracious plan and neither can death. NARRATIVE BLOCK THREE (vv. 29-36) The brothers rehearsed their story many times on the trip home
until they all had it down and were agreed upon the ruse they would
tell not only to their father but to their wives, children and servants
once they returned home. They bound themselves with an oath and
solemnly swore that none of them would reveal what had really happened.
Meanwhile, Jacob was anxiously awaiting the arrival of his son Joseph
with word from his brothers and a report on the status of his herds.
One day, several of his servants who were out with his sheep spotted
a large cloud of dust in the distance. They quickly rode back to
Hebron when they saw that it was Jacob’s sons returning with their
livestock. So Jacob was waiting as the ten sons rode up to the
camp. They dismounted and approached the smiling Jacob with their
heads hung low. Jacob slowly sank to his knees, gathered the robe of his beloved son into his arms, and began to weep into the bloodied cloth. In a voice so full of despair that it caused all who heard to shudder, Jacob cried out, “It is my son’s robe! Some ferocious animal has devoured him. Joseph has surely been torn to pieces.” The brothers, with heads hung low and some with tears on their cheeks quietly rejoiced that their scheme was working to such perfection. Jacob went into his tent wailing and tore his clothing as the robe of his son was torn. He placed rough sackcloth around his waste, wearing it under his torn robes and spent many days bitterly weeping for his lost son. The brothers returned to their own tents and their own families but life in the camp was dreary. The days became weeks and weeks turned into months and yet Jacob continued to mourn for his son. Finally, the brothers gathered together their wives and sisters and Jacob’s grandchildren and all of them together came to Jacob to comfort him with their presence and support and thus enable Jacob to rejoice in their presence rather than mourning the absence of one son. However, not even the boyish laughter Benjamin, the son of his beloved Rachael could cause Jacob to smile. He looked at his gathered family and said, “No! I will never stop mourning my son. I will go down to the grave in grief over my son. Without him I have no joy, no pleasure. I will never be happy again and there is nothing you can do to change that reality.” Jacob, with his grandchildren hugging him and his sons and daughters surrounding him wept bitterly for Joseph. Jacob, with decades of God’s faithfulness and with the promises of God ringing in his ears, sinks into a despair that resists all the evidences of God’s care and refuses to be comforted. Eleven living sons and scores of grandchildren cannot make up for the loss of one son. And Joseph, after many weeks of walking bound to his new master’s
camel by rope finally arrives in Application: There are losses in our lives that appear to snuff out all hope
of being happy again. Death is the ultimate impediment to God’s
saving work. For Jacob, he cannot fathom how God’s work of salvation
can go forward when death has taken the life of the one upon whom
his hope for the future rested. Jacob, for whatever reason, is
not able to do what Abraham did, when God told him to offer his
son as a sacrifice. Abraham was able to offer his son, who God
had said was the key player in his plan of salvation, because he
believed that God was able to raise Isaac from the dead. Abraham
lost Isaac and did not despair because he knew that even death could
not end God’s promises. Isaac and Rebekah were able to send their
son, Jacob to Paddan In many ways Jacob is just like the disciples following the death of Jesus. They too despair when their Lord is killed. Do you remember what the angels said when the women came to the empty tomb and were shocked that it was empty? They were wondering where the officials had taken his body and the angel shows up and rebukes them, saying, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you while he was still with you in Galilee: ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’” When God has made promises, not even death can stop those promises from being fulfilled. Jacob should have known this and believed the promise. However, he did not believe and so was overcome with despair. Jacob despairs because he thinks Joseph is dead, but he’s not dead. He’s alive. Not even death can overcome God’s sovereign grace. Not even Jacob’s unbelieving despair can stop God’s gracious, saving work from going forward. Jacob is going to live in 20 years of despair, but in the end he will see his son alive. I love the Bible because it describes life as it is, not as we would wish it to be. God is working out all things in accordance with the purposes of his will. His will is to bring all things in the universe into subjection to Jesus Christ. His will is to rescue all of those who trust in Christ from sin and death and hell and to restore the universe to its original, sinless condition. He has made promises that he is keeping. Not even my stupid, foolish choices, not even the evil I do and the evil that is done to me, not even death can stop his invincible purposes from being accomplished. I can either believe the promises in spite of the circumstances I live in or I can believe what the circumstances indicate and live in despair. But no matter how I choose to live, God’s purposes are going to be accomplished. Oh that God would give us grace to believe the promises of his invincible purposes.
©
Copyright 2002 John Swanson.
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