WEBVTT 00:00:00.560 --> 00:00:01.600 Good morning. 00:00:03.279 --> 00:00:09.679 Today's reading is from Genesis chapter 37, verses 12 through 36. 00:00:10.240 --> 00:00:14.640 Now his brothers went to the pasture to pasture their father's flock near Shechem. 00:00:14.720 --> 00:00:18.960 And Israel said to Joseph, Are not your brothers pasturing the flock at Shechem? 00:00:19.440 --> 00:00:21.280 Come, I will send you to them. 00:00:21.440 --> 00:00:23.440 And he said to him, Here I am. 00:00:23.679 --> 00:00:29.199 So he said to him, Go now, see if it is well with your brothers and with the flock, and bring me the word. 00:00:29.760 --> 00:00:36.159 So he sent him from the valley of Hebron, and he came to Shechem, and a man found him wandering in the fields. 00:00:36.320 --> 00:00:39.039 And the man asked him, What are you seeking? 00:00:39.200 --> 00:00:41.280 I am seeking my brothers, he said. 00:00:41.520 --> 00:00:44.640 Tell me, please, where they are pasturing the flock. 00:00:44.799 --> 00:00:50.479 And the man said, They have gone far away, for I have heard them say, Let us go to Dothan. 00:00:50.799 --> 00:00:53.759 So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan. 00:00:54.079 --> 00:00:59.119 They saw him from afar, and before he came near to them, they conspired against him to kill him. 00:00:59.280 --> 00:01:02.320 They said to one another, Here comes this dreamer. 00:01:02.640 --> 00:01:06.000 Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits. 00:01:06.239 --> 00:01:11.760 Then we will say that a fierce animal has devoured him, and we will see what will become of his dreams. 00:01:12.000 --> 00:01:17.359 But when Reuben heard it, he rescued him out of their hand, saying, Let us not take his life. 00:01:17.519 --> 00:01:20.959 And Reuben said to him, said to them, Shed no blood. 00:01:21.200 --> 00:01:28.719 Throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but do not lay a hand on him, that he might rescue him out of their hand to restore him to his father. 00:01:28.879 --> 00:01:36.719 So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the robe of many colours that he wore, and they took him and threw him into a pit. 00:01:36.879 --> 00:01:39.760 The pit was empty, there was no water in it. 00:01:40.000 --> 00:01:51.680 Then they sat down to eat, and looking up, they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing gum, balm, and myrrh on their way to carry it down to Egypt. 00:01:51.920 --> 00:01:57.359 Then Judah said to his brothers, What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? 00:01:57.599 --> 00:02:04.319 Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let it let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother, our own flesh. 00:02:04.560 --> 00:02:06.159 And his brothers listened to him. 00:02:06.400 --> 00:02:14.319 Then Midianite traders passed by, and they drew Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. 00:02:14.479 --> 00:02:16.159 They took Joseph to Egypt. 00:02:16.400 --> 00:02:26.159 When Reuben returned to the pit and saw that Joseph was not in the pit, he tore his clothes and returned to his brothers and said, The boy is gone, and I, where shall I go? 00:02:26.400 --> 00:02:30.080 Then they took Joseph's robe and slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood. 00:02:30.240 --> 00:02:34.800 And they sent the robe of many colors and brought it to their father and said, This we have found. 00:02:34.960 --> 00:02:37.680 Please identify whether it is your son's robe or not. 00:02:37.840 --> 00:02:40.879 And he identified it and said, It is my son's robe. 00:02:41.120 --> 00:02:43.039 A fierce animal has devoured him. 00:02:43.199 --> 00:02:46.400 Joseph is without doubt torn to pieces. 00:02:46.560 --> 00:02:52.400 Then Jacob tore his garments and put a sackcloth on his loins and mourned for his son for many days. 00:02:52.639 --> 00:03:01.680 All his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted and said, No, I shall go down to Sheol to my son mourning. 00:03:01.919 --> 00:03:03.680 Thus his father wept for him. 00:03:03.919 --> 00:03:10.000 Meanwhile, the Midianites had sold him to Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard. 00:03:10.240 --> 00:03:12.080 This is the long word of the Lord. 00:03:12.240 --> 00:03:13.680 Please have a seat. 00:03:20.159 --> 00:03:22.159 Hope you got your coffee this morning. 00:03:23.199 --> 00:03:23.680 Welcome. 00:03:23.759 --> 00:03:24.879 My name is James Rathman. 00:03:25.039 --> 00:03:27.840 I'm the pastor here at Redemption Church Denver. 00:03:28.240 --> 00:03:34.240 Before I pray and we move into today's text, we have a members' meeting right after church today. 00:03:34.400 --> 00:03:37.039 So if you're a member, now you know. 00:03:38.000 --> 00:03:47.199 That means we could use some uh help with our children during the members meeting to take them over to the park at the school. 00:03:47.439 --> 00:03:53.680 Uh so if there's three or four of you that could volunteer to do that to take the kids over to the school. 00:03:53.840 --> 00:03:56.080 One, two, two. 00:03:56.400 --> 00:03:57.039 We got two. 00:03:57.199 --> 00:03:58.639 We got two, two, three. 00:03:58.719 --> 00:03:59.520 All right, we're in. 00:03:59.680 --> 00:04:00.800 Thanks, every thanks. 00:04:00.960 --> 00:04:01.919 That worked. 00:04:02.159 --> 00:04:04.719 Now we're gonna do uh tithing. 00:04:04.800 --> 00:04:06.400 So who do we got? 00:04:10.479 --> 00:04:14.479 Um okay, so let's pray and then we'll move into today's text. 00:04:14.560 --> 00:04:16.480 Thanks for that logistical moment. 00:04:16.879 --> 00:04:23.759 Holy Father, we praise you for your word and the stories that you give to us of your faithfulness to your people. 00:04:24.720 --> 00:04:42.160 Lord, we pray that you would give us wisdom to understand these stories, and then just as we interpret these stories, we might interpret our own lives, understanding that you are no less active in our lives than you were in the lives of Joseph or his brothers or all these people that we read about in Scripture. 00:04:42.720 --> 00:05:01.439 Lord, we pray that we would have eyes of faith to rightly interpret our lives in light of who you are as the most important factor in them, and that those eyes of faith might encourage us to go out and proclaim you as king in the coming of your kingdom, Lord. 00:05:01.759 --> 00:05:03.120 Lift this up in Jesus' name. 00:05:03.279 --> 00:05:03.839 Amen. 00:05:05.759 --> 00:05:13.040 So, right in the middle of the greatest exposition of the gospel in history, Paul writes this in Romans 8.28. 00:05:13.680 --> 00:05:24.639 And we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 00:05:24.879 --> 00:05:26.480 Have you heard that verse before? 00:05:27.199 --> 00:05:31.120 You might have a coffee mug with it on it, or a needle point. 00:05:31.920 --> 00:05:35.439 It is a lovely and wonderful verse. 00:05:35.839 --> 00:05:42.000 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good, to those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose. 00:05:42.079 --> 00:05:42.959 That's the NASB. 00:05:43.120 --> 00:05:44.639 That's what I memorized it in. 00:05:44.959 --> 00:05:49.199 And it's uh it's so wonderful, it's almost hard to process. 00:05:49.279 --> 00:06:02.720 It's the type of verse that we want to that we want to caveat and sort of sort of like add some sort of caveats to because uh all things, he makes all things work together for good to those who love God. 00:06:03.759 --> 00:06:09.279 Right now, in your life, you are facing wicked and terrible things. 00:06:09.519 --> 00:06:24.480 You uh you have points of your life, relationships, or within your own mind or careers that seem hopeless or like they can't be reconciled. 00:06:26.160 --> 00:06:27.439 All things. 00:06:28.160 --> 00:06:43.920 You think of it culturally, you know, we uh in our own city, we'd hang flags of multiple colors, and their only unity is is that they're antithetical to Christian doctrine and Christian sexual ethic. 00:06:44.240 --> 00:06:45.439 So not those things, right? 00:06:45.519 --> 00:06:51.439 He doesn't use those things for the glory of God, and yet this fits all things. 00:06:52.560 --> 00:06:56.079 What is what is the what's the escape? 00:06:56.240 --> 00:06:57.199 Oh, I've got it. 00:06:57.439 --> 00:06:59.600 We can take a pietistic angle. 00:07:00.240 --> 00:07:02.560 Not your own sin, right? 00:07:02.639 --> 00:07:04.319 Because you're it's everything. 00:07:04.399 --> 00:07:11.120 It's a this verse must mean he causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, but it couldn't possibly be your sin. 00:07:12.319 --> 00:07:14.319 That's the one thing that he doesn't use. 00:07:14.399 --> 00:07:16.399 He just curses you for those things. 00:07:16.639 --> 00:07:20.000 No, that's all things fits in there. 00:07:20.079 --> 00:07:24.079 The verse is so extravagant and expansive. 00:07:24.319 --> 00:07:31.439 The hard part of a beautiful and glorious verse like this is just simply taking it at face value. 00:07:32.079 --> 00:07:38.959 He causes all things to work together for good to those who love him, to those who are called according to his purposes. 00:07:39.199 --> 00:07:49.680 In Joseph's story, we are pressed into the reality of this verse, because this verse exposes that there are dual purposes in the world. 00:07:50.319 --> 00:08:07.680 There are our own purposes, the purposes of sinful man, you and all of us together here, our own purposes and intentions and desires and the things that we decide and cause to take place in the world, those are real things, and they're real purposes that actually happen in the world. 00:08:07.839 --> 00:08:14.480 And then, simultaneously, somehow, there are the purposes of God. 00:08:16.399 --> 00:08:24.800 Now, those dual purposes are always functioning in our lives and in scripture, and the purposes of God always win. 00:08:25.839 --> 00:08:32.159 In well, philosophers use these terms necessary and contingent. 00:08:32.720 --> 00:08:34.960 Necessary means it could be no other way. 00:08:35.200 --> 00:08:38.480 You know, you cannot have a square with three sides. 00:08:38.799 --> 00:08:40.720 That's a triangle. 00:08:40.960 --> 00:08:43.519 You cannot make a four-sided triangle. 00:08:43.759 --> 00:08:50.879 So it is necessary that a triangle has three sides whose internal angles add up to 180 degrees. 00:08:51.200 --> 00:08:56.000 Do you remember learning proofs of triangles in geometry class? 00:08:57.039 --> 00:08:59.360 Ever had anybody doubt me on a triangle? 00:09:00.000 --> 00:09:02.559 It's good to know that I could prove it multiple ways. 00:09:02.799 --> 00:09:05.679 So that's a necessary part of reality. 00:09:06.720 --> 00:09:13.840 A contingent part of reality is where we could imagine it being a different way. 00:09:15.279 --> 00:09:19.360 So I got uh coffee with cream this morning. 00:09:19.600 --> 00:09:23.120 I could imagine it that I just got black coffee this morning. 00:09:23.440 --> 00:09:26.879 That would not upset the structures of reality. 00:09:27.519 --> 00:09:30.960 You could have married someone different. 00:09:31.440 --> 00:09:41.759 You could have been uh half a second quicker and missed the car accident, or a half second slower and been in the car accident. 00:09:41.919 --> 00:09:44.399 These are the contingencies of life. 00:09:44.639 --> 00:09:53.120 And the story of Joseph pushes us into this dance between the necessary will of God. 00:09:53.360 --> 00:09:55.120 The will of God is necessary. 00:09:55.360 --> 00:09:57.759 It will absolutely happen. 00:09:58.000 --> 00:10:08.159 And the contingencies of our lives, those little decisions, those almost, those counterfactuals, those what-ifs where we live in the world. 00:10:09.360 --> 00:10:21.919 Us humans are very good at seeing the contingencies, at game theorying them and managing them and considering all the ways that uh these things could have played out. 00:10:22.080 --> 00:10:25.120 We run counterfactuals and if-onlies and what-ifs. 00:10:25.360 --> 00:10:29.039 We can spend countless amounts of time in those places. 00:10:30.559 --> 00:10:35.120 But the will of God is absolutely necessary, and it always wins. 00:10:35.279 --> 00:10:41.200 No matter the contingencies of life, the will of God is absolutely necessary. 00:10:41.600 --> 00:10:45.039 We see that clearly in Joseph's story. 00:10:45.679 --> 00:10:52.399 And in this verse in Romans, we see that the will of God is for the good of his people. 00:10:53.039 --> 00:10:57.840 There is no possible contingency that can upset this. 00:10:58.320 --> 00:11:00.559 It is a necessary outcome. 00:11:00.720 --> 00:11:02.320 It is the purpose of God. 00:11:02.559 --> 00:11:14.159 And so, because of that, because of God's graciousness, amongst the sinful contingencies of man, there is this necessary graciousness of God. 00:11:15.120 --> 00:11:17.279 And we live in both of those places. 00:11:17.600 --> 00:11:19.679 And God's graciousness always wins. 00:11:19.919 --> 00:11:25.360 That's why we live in a world, that's why the Christian lives in a way that's guided by faith. 00:11:26.240 --> 00:11:38.320 And that faith marries up into hope because we have faith that God is always working his purposes no matter what we see, and that marries up into hope because he promises us his purposes are for our ultimate good. 00:11:38.960 --> 00:11:40.559 And because of that, we love him. 00:11:41.440 --> 00:11:47.679 So the cardinal virtues show themselves in this frame of faith, hope, and love. 00:11:48.399 --> 00:11:51.679 Now, in the narrative of Joseph, we see this in all the almos. 00:11:52.720 --> 00:11:58.240 There's a lot of almos in the story of Joseph being sold to Egypt. 00:11:58.559 --> 00:12:02.639 He almost doesn't see his brothers, he almost gets saved. 00:12:03.840 --> 00:12:06.080 And we can read those in a couple of different ways. 00:12:06.240 --> 00:12:15.440 We can read, see, this is just the contingent happenstance of an almost random unfolding of the story of mankind. 00:12:16.080 --> 00:12:17.840 In those almost, we can see that. 00:12:18.080 --> 00:12:20.720 See, it could have just been this other way. 00:12:22.080 --> 00:12:28.799 Or in those almost, we can see God has been guiding this whole thing. 00:12:29.679 --> 00:12:31.840 Look at the hand of God. 00:12:33.200 --> 00:12:34.720 Now that is a decision. 00:12:35.279 --> 00:12:43.679 How we interpret Joseph is this just happenstance and almost becomes the way that you interpret your life. 00:12:44.240 --> 00:12:48.639 Is it just happenstance and almost, or are there no counterfactuals? 00:12:48.799 --> 00:12:50.799 There's the necessary will of God. 00:12:51.679 --> 00:12:57.840 So let's look at this and how Joseph is sent to his brothers and he almost misses them. 00:12:58.000 --> 00:12:59.039 Let's begin our story there. 00:12:59.200 --> 00:13:01.360 Genesis 37, 14. 00:13:01.519 --> 00:13:07.120 It says, So he said to him, Go now, see if it is well with your brothers and with the flock, and bring me word. 00:13:07.279 --> 00:13:11.200 So he sent him from the valley of Hebron, and he came to Shechem. 00:13:11.840 --> 00:13:14.559 So Jacob and Joseph are together. 00:13:14.799 --> 00:13:23.039 The other brothers are, they think, in Shechem with the flock, pasturing the flock of sheep. 00:13:23.200 --> 00:13:31.039 And so Jacob had uh trusted Joseph before to bring back a reliable word about his brothers. 00:13:31.200 --> 00:13:37.279 And we saw last week how Joseph brings back and he says, There are my brothers, they're not good shepherds. 00:13:37.519 --> 00:13:40.080 Uh they're on their phones the whole time. 00:13:40.399 --> 00:13:42.159 Don't even look up at the sheep. 00:13:42.399 --> 00:13:47.919 And Jacob is appreciative of the accurate description of his brothers that he receives. 00:13:48.240 --> 00:14:00.960 And this causes a rift between Joseph and his brothers, because Joseph is now the trusted reporter of his father, and he's the favorite of his father, and his brothers begin to hate him because of that. 00:14:01.200 --> 00:14:04.080 That relational dynamic just breeds this hate. 00:14:04.320 --> 00:14:09.840 Well, now Jacob has the bright idea of, hey, Joseph, you're a trusted reporter. 00:14:10.159 --> 00:14:14.559 I'm gonna send you off to your brothers to bring back a good word. 00:14:14.720 --> 00:14:20.720 Now, this is a dangerous thing because Joseph is hated by his brothers. 00:14:21.039 --> 00:14:28.240 And the danger is compounded because he's sent off to Shechem, where he thinks his brothers are. 00:14:28.399 --> 00:14:30.879 Now, Shechem has come up in our story once before. 00:14:31.120 --> 00:14:39.360 Shechem was the place where the man, it was actually the prince of Shechem, who raped Dinah. 00:14:39.600 --> 00:14:45.600 Dinah is the sister of the uh twelve sons of Israel. 00:14:46.559 --> 00:15:02.320 And after she was taken by the prince of Shechem, then the sons of Israel gathered together and they murdered all the men in Shechem, and they took their wives and children to be their wives and slaves. 00:15:02.639 --> 00:15:14.240 And so Jacob is sending the hated Joseph into the very place of his brother's violence. 00:15:15.039 --> 00:15:24.240 The very place where before we have seen the absolute, insatiable violence of his other brothers. 00:15:25.279 --> 00:15:33.279 We should be thinking, as we see this narrative, Joseph, uh uh, you know, as the reader, we should be thinking, Joseph, don't go. 00:15:33.440 --> 00:15:38.320 You know, this is the in the horror movie when someone's like, I'm gonna check the basement. 00:15:38.720 --> 00:15:41.600 You're like, don't, that's not a that's not a good idea. 00:15:41.759 --> 00:15:43.519 You know, and then you shout at the screen. 00:15:43.759 --> 00:15:46.559 It's a quote, one of my favorite movies, don't have to be Stonewall Jackson. 00:15:46.639 --> 00:15:48.320 No, you don't want to fight in a basement. 00:15:48.799 --> 00:15:53.679 So he goes down uh and uh goes down to Shechem. 00:15:54.000 --> 00:15:58.960 And the reader, we should be thinking, This this shouldn't, you shouldn't be going, this is too dangerous. 00:15:59.120 --> 00:16:02.559 And then he gets to Shechem, and his brothers aren't there. 00:16:03.120 --> 00:16:04.559 They're not in Shechem. 00:16:04.960 --> 00:16:07.600 The the place that held their violence. 00:16:08.559 --> 00:16:09.759 We take a deep breath. 00:16:09.919 --> 00:16:12.240 You know, that noise in the corner is just a cat. 00:16:12.799 --> 00:16:14.879 To return to our horror movie. 00:16:16.879 --> 00:16:19.279 And then we think Joseph's off the hook. 00:16:19.440 --> 00:16:22.960 He almost just doesn't meet his brothers today. 00:16:23.279 --> 00:16:28.159 And then he would just go home and be like, Yeah, sorry, Dad, the they weren't there. 00:16:29.600 --> 00:16:31.759 Genesis 37, 15 through 17. 00:16:31.919 --> 00:16:35.360 And a man found him wandering in the fields. 00:16:35.600 --> 00:16:38.639 And the man asked him, What are you seeking? 00:16:39.279 --> 00:16:41.759 Verse 16, I am seeking my brothers, he said. 00:16:41.919 --> 00:16:44.879 Tell me, please, where they are pasturing the flock. 00:16:45.279 --> 00:16:50.559 And the man said, They have gone away, for I heard them say, Let us go to Dothan. 00:16:50.799 --> 00:16:55.120 So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan. 00:16:56.320 --> 00:16:58.879 All the men of Shechem have been murdered. 00:16:59.039 --> 00:17:00.799 There are no men in Shechem. 00:17:01.759 --> 00:17:15.680 Joseph is wandering looking for his brothers in Shechem, and there's a nameless wandering man who finds him and happened to overhear that his brothers went to Dothan. 00:17:16.559 --> 00:17:19.200 Now, there are two ways to read this. 00:17:19.759 --> 00:17:23.039 We can read this as just the strange contingencies. 00:17:23.200 --> 00:17:26.160 What if that man just hadn't have been there? 00:17:26.720 --> 00:17:35.599 What if he had been like, you know, there had been a strong gust of wind and they were like, yeah, we're heading over to They said they were going somewhere. 00:17:35.759 --> 00:17:36.960 I couldn't hear, though. 00:17:37.200 --> 00:17:37.839 You know? 00:17:38.880 --> 00:17:51.119 There's all of these strange little contingencies that we can interpret and say, look, there's uh man, Joseph, this is a a stack of bad luck that you've had. 00:17:51.200 --> 00:17:53.359 Because you almost missed your murderous brothers. 00:17:53.519 --> 00:17:54.960 You wouldn't even have known where to go. 00:17:55.039 --> 00:17:58.319 This is like 15 miles away that he'll have to head out. 00:17:59.279 --> 00:18:00.880 But the man was there. 00:18:02.000 --> 00:18:12.160 And we read in it, this is not just a strange contingency, this is the necessity of God's will working in the world. 00:18:12.559 --> 00:18:18.960 It is as though Joseph is being funneled into the danger of his brothers. 00:18:19.920 --> 00:18:22.480 So off Joseph goes to Dothan. 00:18:22.960 --> 00:18:24.240 Remember Dothan. 00:18:24.880 --> 00:18:26.240 He goes to Dothan. 00:18:28.559 --> 00:18:32.640 Now he arrives at his brothers, and then Joseph is almost rescued from their murder. 00:18:32.799 --> 00:18:39.920 In Genesis 37, 18 through 20, they saw him from afar, and before he came to them, they conspired against him to kill him. 00:18:40.160 --> 00:18:43.759 They said to one another, Here comes this dreamer. 00:18:44.000 --> 00:18:47.200 Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits. 00:18:47.359 --> 00:18:54.640 Then we will say that a fierce animal has devoured him, and we will see what will become of his dreams. 00:18:55.759 --> 00:18:58.799 So they see Joseph walking off in the distance. 00:18:59.039 --> 00:19:02.880 And he was probably easy to spot, you know, the coat. 00:19:04.000 --> 00:19:11.519 And as they're walking, as he's walking towards them, his brothers get together, and they say, There he is, there's that dreamer. 00:19:11.680 --> 00:19:19.200 Remember his dreams that his brothers and uh mother and father would bow down to him, and they resented him for his dreams. 00:19:19.519 --> 00:19:20.960 Here comes that dreamer. 00:19:21.119 --> 00:19:22.640 You know what we should do? 00:19:23.440 --> 00:19:25.039 We should kill him. 00:19:26.000 --> 00:19:28.240 And we can throw him into one of these pits. 00:19:28.400 --> 00:19:32.079 There were a bunch of dry cisterns in the area. 00:19:32.720 --> 00:19:37.839 Then look, listen, we've got the perfect alibi out here in Dothan, it's in the middle of nowhere. 00:19:38.079 --> 00:19:41.359 A wild animal came and devoured him. 00:19:41.519 --> 00:19:45.839 And we'll just explain that a wild animal came and devoured him. 00:19:46.000 --> 00:19:47.519 And then listen to this. 00:19:47.839 --> 00:19:51.599 And we will see what will become of his dreams. 00:19:53.359 --> 00:19:56.559 Now we've got that same dynamic here. 00:19:58.160 --> 00:19:59.440 The brothers. 00:20:00.240 --> 00:20:04.400 We can decide to kill Joseph. 00:20:04.960 --> 00:20:10.720 And in deciding to kill Joseph, we will take hold of reality and we will bend it towards our purposes. 00:20:11.599 --> 00:20:26.240 Now compare that, our ability to take and kill him, the weight of that, the reality of that, compared to the flightiness of a couple of his dreams that he had. 00:20:26.799 --> 00:20:29.680 These are what are pitted against each other. 00:20:30.240 --> 00:20:31.759 But what are the dreams? 00:20:32.400 --> 00:20:35.359 The dreams, oh, what is more flighty than a dream? 00:20:35.440 --> 00:20:37.359 You wake up, you can barely remember it. 00:20:37.920 --> 00:20:45.599 But the dreams are the necessary will of God, which has been revealed to Joseph. 00:20:47.200 --> 00:20:49.359 It seems flighty and weightless. 00:20:49.680 --> 00:20:53.839 Oh, but what will become of his dreams as they seek to kill him? 00:20:54.400 --> 00:21:00.480 Do you see that their contingent plans is nothing compared to the weight of their dreams? 00:21:00.799 --> 00:21:01.680 Of his dreams? 00:21:01.839 --> 00:21:04.000 They have it perfectly opposite. 00:21:06.559 --> 00:21:10.559 So the plan, here comes Joseph. 00:21:10.880 --> 00:21:12.720 Oh man, I hate that guy. 00:21:12.960 --> 00:21:14.160 Let's kill him. 00:21:14.640 --> 00:21:17.200 Enter Reuben, the oldest brother. 00:21:18.079 --> 00:21:24.400 But when Reuben heard it, he rescued him out of their hands, saying, Let us not take his life. 00:21:24.559 --> 00:21:43.519 And Reuben said to them, Shed no blood, throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but do not lay a hand on him, that he might rescue him that and do not lay a hand on him, that he might rescue him out of their hand to restore him to his father. 00:21:44.240 --> 00:21:46.160 Alright, Reuben. 00:21:46.400 --> 00:21:59.440 The last time of sandwich fame, the last time that we saw Reuben, he uh the last thing that we heard about him was that he slept with Jacob's one of Jacob's four wives, Billah. 00:22:01.920 --> 00:22:05.119 This means, this is an outrageous sin. 00:22:06.480 --> 00:22:18.240 It basically means that Reuben sought to make himself absolutely equal with Jacob and to grab that position for himself. 00:22:19.680 --> 00:22:26.799 And in doing so, he estranged himself from Jacob. 00:22:27.279 --> 00:22:29.279 Reuben is the firstborn son. 00:22:29.920 --> 00:22:41.680 He is the obvious choice for the blessing, but he has removed himself utterly from that possibility by what he did with his stepmother Billah. 00:22:42.640 --> 00:22:50.400 Now, in doing that, he has obviously become estranged from his father Jacob. 00:22:51.039 --> 00:22:53.359 So he sees this opportunity. 00:22:54.000 --> 00:23:03.680 Look, in saving Joseph, my father's favorite son, I will be able to restore Joseph to my father. 00:23:03.920 --> 00:23:11.359 And in restoring Joseph to my father, I'll also be able to restore myself to my father. 00:23:12.000 --> 00:23:19.440 So we see the motivations of Jacob are mixed, but part of the mixture we can say is good. 00:23:20.880 --> 00:23:29.680 And it means that he has this desire, although selfishly inclined, to rescue Joseph and to not spill Joseph's blood. 00:23:29.759 --> 00:23:33.119 So Joseph is almost saved. 00:23:34.480 --> 00:23:46.960 We see the oldest, most authoritative brother, the one who would be responsible for his other brothers and who they ought to all listen to, has now advocated for the rescue of Joseph. 00:23:48.319 --> 00:23:56.000 So it looks like if we were to just assess the power structures of man, that Joseph will be saved. 00:23:57.599 --> 00:23:58.799 So that's what they do. 00:23:58.960 --> 00:24:04.960 They listen to Reuben and they throw him into one of the pits after stripping his cloak off of him. 00:24:05.680 --> 00:24:08.480 And Reuben thinks, my plan is working. 00:24:08.640 --> 00:24:20.559 I'll return later, get Joseph out of the pit, and then I'll be able to go take Joseph back to my father and say, Look, you know, so the Bilas stuff, water under the bridge, because Joseph's back. 00:24:21.039 --> 00:24:24.240 It's a strange plan, but it's a strange family. 00:24:24.799 --> 00:24:26.640 And that was his plan. 00:24:26.799 --> 00:24:29.039 And it looked like Joseph would be saved. 00:24:30.880 --> 00:24:37.599 So something that's not written in the text, but which is implied, and it is that Reuben ends up elsewhere. 00:24:37.759 --> 00:24:44.559 Perhaps he he decides, like, I'm just gonna go ahead and wander home and wander away from these guys, and they'll leave two. 00:24:44.720 --> 00:24:51.359 That way I can separate myself from them, then I'll be able to return alone later to rescue Joseph. 00:24:52.000 --> 00:24:54.960 So Reuben is removed from the situation. 00:24:55.599 --> 00:25:06.880 And the other brothers, in perhaps in one of the cruelest details, they sit by the pit eating. 00:25:08.480 --> 00:25:19.359 It's this awful detail in the text that they're just sitting there with their brother in a pit, eating, like nothing happened. 00:25:21.440 --> 00:25:28.720 And as they're eating, strangely, a caravan of Ishmaelites drives by. 00:25:29.519 --> 00:25:31.119 A Dodge caravan. 00:25:33.599 --> 00:25:38.400 I realize it was absurd to say drives, so a caravan wanders by. 00:25:39.440 --> 00:25:45.200 And it's a caravan of Ishmaelites. 00:25:45.359 --> 00:25:47.440 I mean, look at the strangeness. 00:25:48.079 --> 00:25:50.880 The sons of the promise. 00:25:52.079 --> 00:26:05.200 The sons of the sons of the true family, not Ishmael, Isaac's offspring, not Ishmael. 00:26:05.680 --> 00:26:15.680 But Ishmael's are sitting here, and they're saying, we're going to sell our brother, one of the sons of the promise, to the rejected family directly. 00:26:16.000 --> 00:26:18.799 Is there a greater sign of absolute rejection? 00:26:19.039 --> 00:26:24.000 We're going to remove him from the covenant family, place him into, sell him to the Ishmaelites. 00:26:24.079 --> 00:26:27.200 It's just a wild detail that it's Ishmaelites. 00:26:29.039 --> 00:26:34.319 So as they're sitting eating, they wander by, and Judah gets this idea. 00:26:34.880 --> 00:26:41.119 In 26 and 27, it says, Then Judah said to his brothers, What prophet is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? 00:26:41.279 --> 00:26:51.200 Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother, our own flesh, and his brothers listen to him. 00:26:51.440 --> 00:26:58.480 So Reuben thinks his plan is working, and he's wandering off, like, I'm gonna go fetch my brother back, and this is gonna be great. 00:26:58.799 --> 00:27:08.799 And meanwhile, his brothers are back here conspiring, and Judah, cruelly, for the first time mentions that this is our brother, our own flesh. 00:27:09.039 --> 00:27:15.440 Now that he sees a profit incentive of selling their brother, they say, look, we can do this. 00:27:15.519 --> 00:27:18.000 Uh there's a couple, this is a win-win-win. 00:27:18.079 --> 00:27:28.319 We get rid of Joseph, they get a pretty good slave, we get 30 shekels, and we we get to never see Joseph again, and we don't even have his blood on our hands. 00:27:28.880 --> 00:27:31.279 This seems like the perfect deal. 00:27:32.480 --> 00:27:33.680 And so that's what they do. 00:27:33.839 --> 00:27:39.839 With the introduction of a prophet incentive, he becomes their their brother, our own flesh again. 00:27:41.440 --> 00:27:49.359 And in verse 28, and they drew Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. 00:27:49.599 --> 00:27:52.000 They took Joseph to Egypt. 00:27:54.079 --> 00:28:03.359 Twenty shekels of silver was the price of a living slave, which is described to us in Leviticus. 00:28:03.599 --> 00:28:09.920 The price of a slave who's in Joseph's demographic, this age male, is 20 shekels. 00:28:11.200 --> 00:28:21.680 The price of a slave who is murdered, say you have an ox and it murders someone else's slave, then you owe that person 30 shekels. 00:28:23.440 --> 00:28:26.960 Joseph is sold for the price of a living slave. 00:28:27.839 --> 00:28:31.440 Jesus is sold for the price of a murdered slave. 00:28:35.519 --> 00:28:36.720 Joseph is gone. 00:28:36.960 --> 00:28:39.119 Genesis 37, 29 through 30. 00:28:39.279 --> 00:28:51.920 When Reuben returned to the pit and saw that Joseph was not in the pit, he tore his clothes and returned to his brothers and said, The boy is gone, and I, where shall I go? 00:28:52.319 --> 00:28:55.039 There's a couple of things we can see about this. 00:28:55.519 --> 00:28:56.559 The boy is gone. 00:28:56.720 --> 00:28:59.359 Here's what you might expect the boy is gone. 00:29:00.000 --> 00:29:02.720 And the boy, where is he? 00:29:03.200 --> 00:29:05.519 Might be another thing he might have said. 00:29:06.319 --> 00:29:11.759 But we get a bit of insight into what the his real intentions were here. 00:29:12.319 --> 00:29:23.839 And we also hear this echo of Cain, who is told by God that he will be a wanderer on the earth after murdering his brother. 00:29:24.000 --> 00:29:26.559 And we hear this in Reuben's cry. 00:29:26.880 --> 00:29:29.440 And I, where shall I go? 00:29:30.000 --> 00:29:36.799 I I cannot return to my father because I have no way to entrust myself to him anymore. 00:29:36.960 --> 00:29:41.599 The position that I hold in this family of the oldest son is gone now. 00:29:41.839 --> 00:29:43.599 And I, where shall I go? 00:29:43.839 --> 00:29:58.559 You see, the the family has disintegrated in all its ordinary roles, and he has been barred from re-entry. 00:29:59.839 --> 00:30:02.400 The flaming sword is in place. 00:30:03.279 --> 00:30:04.799 There's no going back. 00:30:09.039 --> 00:30:10.480 Verses 31 through 32. 00:30:10.559 --> 00:30:19.359 They took Joseph's robe and slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood, and they sent the robe of many colors and brought it to their father, and said, This we have found. 00:30:19.440 --> 00:30:23.119 Please identify whether it is your son's robe or not. 00:30:23.680 --> 00:30:24.960 How clever. 00:30:25.920 --> 00:30:31.279 Kill a goat, dip the coat of many colors into it. 00:30:31.440 --> 00:30:33.680 The coat of many colors is now red. 00:30:35.200 --> 00:30:39.359 Send it and then retrieve it and then deliver it to their father. 00:30:39.599 --> 00:30:41.839 There's so much strange about this. 00:30:43.279 --> 00:30:45.440 First of all, we see this pattern. 00:30:45.599 --> 00:30:50.160 Maybe the blood of this animal will be sufficient to cover over our sin. 00:30:51.440 --> 00:30:53.039 That's a pattern. 00:30:54.000 --> 00:31:02.880 Another pattern, they took a goat, and they used the goat to deceive Jacob. 00:31:04.000 --> 00:31:12.400 Jacob took a goat and he used the goat to deceive his father, Isaac. 00:31:12.880 --> 00:31:21.839 Now his sons come and use a goat and participate in the same pattern of deception against him. 00:31:23.200 --> 00:31:29.599 You see, the sin patterns of this family just follow and multiply down the line. 00:31:30.799 --> 00:31:31.680 What do you do? 00:31:31.839 --> 00:31:39.680 Isn't this just a family headed towards disaster and multiplied terror and uselessness? 00:31:41.119 --> 00:31:42.880 The chosen family. 00:31:45.200 --> 00:31:56.480 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to his purposes. 00:31:56.559 --> 00:32:01.119 Do you see how deeply we are pushed into these dual realities? 00:32:01.839 --> 00:32:14.000 The wickedness of these people, this chosen family, but their chosenness, which places them necessarily in the will of God. 00:32:18.319 --> 00:32:22.000 Another just strange thing that's just worth saying, this we have found. 00:32:22.079 --> 00:32:25.440 Please identify whether it is your son's robe or not. 00:32:25.680 --> 00:32:31.680 You know, didn't wouldn't you think they'd say whether this is our brother's robe or not? 00:32:32.240 --> 00:32:35.119 And he identified it and said, It is my son's robe. 00:32:35.279 --> 00:32:36.799 A fierce animal has devoured him. 00:32:36.960 --> 00:32:39.519 Joseph is without a doubt torn to pieces. 00:32:39.759 --> 00:32:45.119 Then Jacob tore his garments and put sackcloth on his loins and mourned for his sons many days. 00:32:45.279 --> 00:32:51.519 And all Jacob's sons and all Jacob's daughters could not put Jacob back together again. 00:32:52.000 --> 00:32:57.599 He mourned and said he would mourn all the days until he would go down to Sheol. 00:32:58.400 --> 00:33:01.279 To Jacob, Joseph is dead. 00:33:04.000 --> 00:33:08.000 To Jacob, Joseph is dead. 00:33:10.079 --> 00:33:12.720 Verse 36, the final verse of this section. 00:33:12.799 --> 00:33:14.640 This isn't just a clever chapter break. 00:33:14.720 --> 00:33:18.799 This is really the final verse of this section because right after this goes into a story about Judah. 00:33:18.960 --> 00:33:24.240 So this is where the text wants us to end this particular part of the story. 00:33:24.400 --> 00:33:37.599 In verse 36, meanwhile, the Midianites had sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard. 00:33:38.000 --> 00:33:41.200 To Jacob, Joseph is dead. 00:33:41.599 --> 00:33:46.240 Meanwhile, Joseph is alive. 00:33:48.880 --> 00:33:54.240 Joseph is sent to find his brothers, but he can't find them in Shechem. 00:33:54.480 --> 00:34:03.519 Meanwhile, some nameless dude is wandering around who happened to overhear where they were going, and he finds them. 00:34:03.839 --> 00:34:06.079 Reuben plans to rescue his brother. 00:34:06.240 --> 00:34:07.920 His plan is working. 00:34:08.159 --> 00:34:16.159 Meanwhile, his brothers are conspiring against Joseph once again, and his plan falls apart. 00:34:16.880 --> 00:34:19.920 Some Ishmaelites are wandering by. 00:34:20.079 --> 00:34:23.519 Meanwhile, there are some brothers who are planning to kill. 00:34:23.599 --> 00:34:26.559 To Jacob, Joseph is dead. 00:34:26.960 --> 00:34:31.519 Meanwhile, Joseph is alive and sold to Potiphar's wife. 00:34:31.679 --> 00:34:46.079 You see, this text, through all the dramatic irony in this text, we're being taught that our vision as humans is a humble vision. 00:34:47.679 --> 00:34:51.840 The plans that we make are humble plans. 00:34:52.800 --> 00:34:56.400 Because look at all in this story. 00:34:56.559 --> 00:34:58.719 It's what, it's a day? 00:35:01.840 --> 00:35:03.760 It's an episode of 24. 00:35:04.000 --> 00:35:04.559 Not even. 00:35:04.639 --> 00:35:07.599 It's like a half episode of 24. 00:35:08.559 --> 00:35:23.119 And there's all of these people who think they have a clear understanding and think that they can make decisions, and they are making decisions, to bring things into their own hands, and yet they don't even have a grasp of what's going on. 00:35:23.519 --> 00:35:32.000 Even at the plane of our own reality, you know, it Joseph isn't dead, he's just somewhere else. 00:35:32.239 --> 00:35:35.280 But to Jacob, Joseph is dead. 00:35:35.840 --> 00:35:38.559 Meanwhile, he's alive. 00:35:39.039 --> 00:35:58.800 If we can't even understand the realities that are taking place, if our vision is so short that we cannot even understand the realities that are taking place on our own human plane, how do we think we could possibly understand the necessary will of God? 00:35:59.920 --> 00:36:12.719 How it is hidden and interwoven and manifest in all of these events, that it is the necessary will of God that is accomplishing its purposes. 00:36:12.880 --> 00:36:36.719 The story is in so many ways about our own blindness and how the only way that we can truly live in the world is by the eyes of faith, which means that when God says, I am accomplishing my good purposes for my chosen people, it means that we believe him. 00:36:37.199 --> 00:36:43.440 And that becomes the most factual aspect of our lives. 00:36:44.719 --> 00:37:11.840 Because to be a Christian is to have this tacked on to all of the hardships and all of the difficulties that you are experiencing, all of the lost causes and hopeless things, be it your own sin or be it the sin of others against you, or the feeling of trapped that you have in your particular situations, in your marriage or in your career, or with a relationship with a child, or with wherever it may be. 00:37:13.280 --> 00:37:23.440 You take all of those things, and then to be a Christian is to have tacked onto the end of that list, meanwhile, God is accomplishing all things. 00:37:23.679 --> 00:37:26.800 God is working all things together for my good. 00:37:27.519 --> 00:37:32.719 Meanwhile, amidst all of this tragedy, meanwhile, God was operating. 00:37:33.039 --> 00:37:43.199 God was working, he's been working completely, his necessary will as being one of his chosen people whom he loves, and I love him. 00:37:43.519 --> 00:37:48.079 I'm in his absolute will, and his will always wins. 00:37:48.159 --> 00:37:51.440 And then someone says, Could you please describe to me this will? 00:37:51.760 --> 00:37:58.559