Important Lessons From Familiar Stories
Joseph - Making the Best of a Bad Situation
-Introduction
-One of my favorite characters within the scriptures is Joseph.
-first born of Rachel
-Jacob served Laban for 7 yrs for Rachel; Laban was deceptive and gave him
Leah instead; Jacob served Laban for an add’l 7 yrs for Rachel
-Joseph was one of the 12 sons of Jacob/Israel.
-Jacob showed favoritism toward Joseph - Gen 37:3-4.
-When you add Joseph’s dreams to the equation (Gen 37:5-11), the displeasure of his
jealous brothers was fueled even more.
-Their wicked plot: (Gen 37:18-34)
-As we’ll see, throughout the events of Joseph’s life, he always made the best of a bad
situation with God’s help.
-Application #1 - Regardless of what we face, we need to try to make the best of the
situations we face.
-Rom 12:21
-Joseph - A Slave Taken to Egypt
-Gen 39:1-6
-the advances of Potiphar’s wife toward Joseph and his refusal
-Gen 39:8-9 - (vs 9 - “...sin against God”)
-Notice, even amidst difficult circumstances, Joseph’s focus remained on serving God.
-Application #2 - Regardless of circumstances, we need to stay focused on serving God.
-Joseph Jailed
-Due to the lies told by Potiphar’s wife, Joseph was cast in jail.
-Once again, Joseph made the best of a bad situation.
-Gen 39:19-23
-Let’s not get the wrong idea here. Yes, the Lord blessed Joseph; yet, Joseph had not
been turned into a robot. He still had to make his own choices.
-1 Pet 3:8-12
-Difficult times bring out the best and the worst in people.
-example of natural disaster: Some unselfishly carry out heroic deeds for the good of
others. At the same time, others break into empty stores and steal all they can.
-For Joseph, the difficult times brought out his best.
-Application #3 - In difficult times, we need to dig deep for our best.
-Joseph Interprets Dreams
-God gave Joseph the ability to interpret dreams - the dreams of the baker, the cupbearer
and, eventually, Pharoah.
-Gen 41:15-16 - Joseph gave the credit to God.
-Application #4 - Although we can take comfort in being a part of God’s work, we
need to ultimately give God the credit, glory and honor.
-Through the interpretation of Pharoah’s dreams (cows, corn), Joseph predicted the seven
good years to be followed by seven years of famine.
-With a display of such ability and wisdom, Joseph was exalted to the right hand of
Pharoah - 2nd in command over all of Egypt.
-Joseph’s Kindness to His Brothers
-We know that Joseph’s brothers eventually came to him to purchase food.
-Rather than seek vengeance, Joseph treated them with kindness, eventually revealing
his identity to them and inviting them and their families to live in Egypt.
-So many friendships, families and churches have been torn apart due to the fact
that people have chosen to hold on to grudges and have resisted forgiveness.
-Application #5 - Following Joseph’s example, let’s seek reconciliation rather
than vengeance.
-Joseph - The Influence of One
-Gen 50:20 - Many people were saved through Joseph - one individual.
-Pharoah allowed Joseph’s family to settle in Egypt - something that would not
have happened otherwise.
-Gen 43:32; 46:31-34
-Ex 1:6-7; 12:37
-Obviously, by looking at the number of Israelites, quite some time had passed.
-When a new leader had no knowledge of Joseph, God’s people were enslaved.
-What does this seem to imply? - As long as there was a remembrance (respect for)
Joseph, the Israelites were treated kindly.
-Joseph’s influence lasted for generations.
-Application #6 - As individuals, we can have a great influence as well - an influence
that can last for generations.
-Summary and Invitation
-In all of these applications we have made from the life of Joseph (and we could have
made more), we see that Jesus exemplified each of these in His life.
-Jesus became the ultimate example of each of these and many, many more.
-Review the applications in light of Jesus’ example.
-Let’s be thankful for the many examples of faith that we find in the scriptures.
-Heb 12:1-2
-What about you this morning? Are you living by faith (Rom 1:16-17)?
-If not, begin doing so by responding to the Gospel - Believe (John 3:16, 8:24), Confess
your faith (Matt 10:32, Acts 8:37), Repent of your sins (Luke 13:3,5; Acts 17:30), Be
Baptized into Christ (Acts 2:38, Mark 16:16)
-If you’ve obeyed the Gospel but haven’t been putting your faith into proper action
(Jas 2:14-26) or if you’ve turned back to sin, confess your shortcomings, repent of
them and pray for God’s forgiveness (1 John 1:7-9, Acts 8:22-24).