JOSEPH: Trust and Obey

  

Have you ever have a bad day? Like a “Murphy’s Law: anything that can go wrong will go wrong” type of day? Sure, we all have them and will have them. Nobody likes them, but days like that are opportunities for personal growth and help us to see God’s faithfulness.

Joseph had a bad day, a really bad day. Things just went from bad to worse. But God had a plan for his bad day. In Joseph’s case, he had several bad days, decades of bad days. With one bad day I am tempted to throw in the towel and give up, could you imagine decades of bad days? How would you feel?

But Joseph didn’t give up. No, his life and his responses to bad days can be summarized by the phrase, “trust and obey.” The young man Joseph lived out this phrase for his life and God used his bad days to save his family and nations.

As I was thinking of this phrase, it reminded me of the old Gospel song, “Trust and Obey”. I am grateful for learning that song, for there are times that it pops in my head and I have a great reminder from the chorus to “trust and obey for there is no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey.”

The song, like Joseph’s story, talks about the presence and promises of God through life’s trials and afflictions. That the right perspective on life will lead us to recognize the importance of faithfulness in present circumstances in hopes of future rewards (Romans 8:18).

King Solomon penned these words generations after Joseph’s story,

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD, and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones.”  Proverbs 3:5–8

Trusting God and obeying Him will bring healing to our flesh and refreshment to our souls. Joseph’s story leads us to this important truth in a few short chapters, but we must realize that it took years to fully see what God was doing, yet Joseph remained faithful.

A Dysfunctional Family

The story of Joseph opens with a bleak backdrop. Jacob, Joseph’s father, had made some majorly bad decisions. Genesis opens with God’s intention for marriage, “one man and one woman for one lifetime.” Yet, here we see the patriarch Jacob has allowed the culture to shape his view of marriage and family. He has 12 sons from 3 wives, and Joseph’s story begins with the dysfunction that flows from his father’s decisions.

Jacob also plays favorites and loved Joseph more than his brothers. It was very evident and all his older brothers knew it. It was so obvious that his brothers despised him for it.

Imagine for a moment, Christmas day has finally arrived. The excitement and anticipation of opening presents has been building for days. You have hopes and dreams of getting the items on your list and can’t wait to rip the paper off and enjoy the prize. As you open yours the excitement turns to disappointment when you receive a hand-me-down sweater. As you try to conceal your disappointment, you look across the room and see your little brother opening a brand-new $500 Patagonia M’s Pluma Jacket. You’d be a little upset, right?

That’s sort of what Jacob did with Joseph when he gave him the coat of many colors. It set Joseph apart from his brothers and drove a wedge of resentment between them.

Tattle Tailing and Dreams

 Jacob’s decisions established a dysfunctional environment for Joseph, but Joseph’s actions didn’t help his cause. His brothers were already jealous of their father’s affection, and then Joseph would tattle on his brothers. Not that he did anything wrong, necessarily, but it didn’t endear him to his brothers.

The family dysfunction and the younger brother reports to dad didn’t set the stage well for him sharing his dreams with the family. The first one the brothers interpreted, correctly, that the dream mean they would bow down to him. The second one they interpreted correctly again, that the brother, mom and dad would bow down to him.

Although it was correct, they wouldn’t know that for many years. The brothers, and even dad, assumed it was Joseph becoming entitled by their father’s favoritism.

From Bad to Worse

So, the home life wasn’t great. Sure, he had it good spot with dad, but his older brothers despised him. Home wasn’t the safe place it was intended to be.

When there is dysfunction in the home, what do we all do? Try to avoid it right?

Maybe it was avoiding all this which led his brothers to take the flocks miles away. They got distance physically, but they were heated about the coat of many colors. They fueled each other’s jealous and anger by encouraging a hate fest.

That’s when they saw him at a distance. Dad sent him to check in on them and he would just return home and give a bad report. So, they decided to get rid of him. One brother recommended killing him. The eldest brother knew that wasn’t the best idea and recommended throwing him in a pit, which they did. They cast him into an old dried up well.

How much anger, jealousy and hatred must you have in order to throw your sibling into an old well?

That’s when they saw a caravan of slave traders. Why not just sell him, make some money and not have to worry about him anymore? So, they did. And Joseph finds himself on his way to Egypt to be sold as a slave.

The Cover Up

The brothers then take his coat, dip it in blood and take it back to dad. Their envy and hate led them to deceive their dad into believing his favorite son is now dead.

Did you ever play a practical joke on your parents that you immediately regretted? I once called home, before caller idea, and said something like, “this is …hospital calling about your son, Brad… just kidding mom it’s me.” Yeah, she didn’t find that funny. The reality of what I did set in pretty quick and I realized I shouldn’t do stuff like that.

I wonder what these brothers felt when their dad mourned the loss of their brother. I am sure that there were mixed feelings at first. Some felt a vindictive justification, “that’s what you get.” Others may have immediately been remorseful when they saw the level of pain their actions caused. Regardless, their decision was made and now they lived with a cover up.

It’s Not All Bad

Well, yes today’s story will end with pretty much all of it being bad. But as we continue through the life of Joseph we will see that some things in that dysfunctional family were actually good. Jacob, though not the ideal man or father, did some good things.

Joseph, though a tattle teller, was a young man who knew right from wrong and attempted to live it out. His father had taught him about who God is, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The God who has established covenants with His people. The importance of obeying God above all else in his life.

What we see in Genesis 37 is a young man excited about his faith and dreams, but lacking the maturity in communicating them. Yet he did receive dreams from God and we will see that he quickly matured through the trials that have just begun in his life.

It’s a good reminder that things are not always as bad as they seem. Though life can be difficult and you may not understand why things happen the way they do, the same God that was with Joseph is with you. He is working and shaping in your heart and life a story. Leading you to know the power of Jesus Christ and the power to overcome.

When you follow the storyline that God began in Genesis, in the story of Joseph, you will see that it traces to another righteous One who was betrayed and suffered unimaginable pains he did not deserve. Jesus trusted and obeyed the Father, even to death on the cross, that we might have hope in our struggles. With Jesus’ resurrection, the story continues on today. And we can have confidence, like Joseph, that God has things in control and is always at work.

Whatever you are facing, God is working. Learn to look to Him, fix your eyes on Jesus and trust and obey, for there is no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.