Genesis 37:17b–36
So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan. 18 They saw him from afar, and before he came near to them they conspired against him to kill him. 19 They said to one another, “Here comes this dreamer.20Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits. Then we will say that a fierce animal has devoured him, and we will see what will become of his dreams.” 21 But when Reuben heard it, he rescued him out of their hands, saying, “Let us not take his life.”22 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 out of their hand to restore him to his father. 23 So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the robe of many colors that he wore. 24 And they took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it.
25 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. 26 Then Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? 27 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 listened to him. 28 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. They took Joseph to Egypt.
29 When Reuben returned to the pit and saw that Joseph was not in the pit, he tore his clothes 30 and returned to his brothers and said, “The boy is gone, and I, where shall I go?” 31 Then they took Joseph’s robe and slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood. 32 And they sent the robe of many colors and brought it to their father and said, “This we have found; please identify whether it is your son’s robe or not.” 33 And he identified it and said, “It is my son’s robe. A fierce animal has devoured him. Joseph is without doubt torn to pieces.” 34 Then Jacob tore his garments and put sackcloth on his loins and mourned for his son many days. 35 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.” Thus his father wept for him.36 Meanwhile the Midianites had sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard.
Prayer: Lord God, heavenly Father, in Your divine wisdom and fatherly goodness You cause Your children to bear the cross, and send many afflictions upon us to subdue our sinful flesh, and to enliven our hearts to faith, hope, and unceasing prayer: We ask You to have mercy upon us, and graciously deliver us out of our trials and afflictions, so that we may see Your grace and fatherly help, and with all the saints forever praise and worship You; through Your dear Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one true God, now and forever. Amen.
Trust in God
I. Even When He Appears Silent
II. Because You are His
Dear Fellow Redeemed,
It’s easy to trust in God and his promises when everything is going well—the family is healthy, your job is secure, and there is money in the reserves. It’s a lot harder to trust in God and his promises when everything is going wrong—when your family has forsaken you, you don’t know what’s going to happen to you, and everything seems to be against you. Just prior to the sermon, we sang the words, “If thou but trust in God to guide thee And hope in Him through all thy ways, He’ll give thee strength, whate’er betide thee, And bear thee through the evil days” (ELH 205:1). These are powerful and true words. Words we can boldly proclaim when things are going well. But how about when we are going through trouble—those “evil days”?
God had promised Jacob many blessings. He was the grandson of Abraham and recipient of God’s promises—Jacob would inherit the land of Canaan. Through one of his descendants all the families of the earth would be blessed, God would multiply his family like the sands of the earth, and God promised to be with him all the days of his life. But where was God now? Why didn’t God put a stop to this tragedy? Jacob’s beloved son had been killed by a wild animal. Not only was this news devasting for Jacob, but what about poor Joseph?
It’s remarkable to think that all this evil was the result of envy and jealousy. Jacob had twelve sons, but he loved Joseph most. He was the first born of his wife, Rachel, whom he loved, and the son born to him in old age. The coat of many colors that Jacob gave to Joseph served as a constant reminder of his special love for Joseph to all the other brothers. They hated Joseph because of this. But their hatred for Joseph only grew when he told his brothers his dreams. Joseph had two dreams in which his brothers, pictured as the sheaves in the field and stars in the sky, bowed down to him. “Who does he think he is?” they wondered. So, while the brothers were tending their flocks and saw that Joseph, that “dreamer,” walking toward them alone, away from their father’s protection, they plotted their evil plan.
Here we see how quickly evil thoughts can give birth to sin (James 1:15). And among God’s chosen people no less! Jacob and his family were supposed to be a light to the nations around them. They were to model Christian living and the fear of God. But they had no virtues and no fear of God.
Moses doesn’t record any of the words between Joseph and his brothers. But it’s not hard for us to imagine the pleas and begging that Joseph made to his brothers to spare his life. “Why would you do this? Please don’t!” And just what would have Joseph been thinking as he sat there in the bottom of the well or as he was traveling with the Ishmaelites to Egypt? “God, didn’t you show me in a dream, that you would raise me up to an important position—that even my family would bow down to me? How can this be? I’m now as good as dead. I’m in a foreign land, away from my father. How is this keeping with your plans and promises to me?”
When we hear bad news, when we go through hard times, when a test result doesn’t come back the way we wanted, when we lose a friend or job, when life appears to be going all wrong, we can wonder, “God, how is this a good thing? How is this keeping with your plans and promises to me?” Sometimes our lives seem to be in conflict with God’s promises. And then, in answer to our cries, all we hear is silence. What are we to do then? What did Joseph do as he was being hauled away to Egypt and forced to work as a slave? He only had one thing he could do. He trusted in God. Surely Joseph comforted himself with the words his father spoke to him, “God promised to Abraham and Isaac my father, that He will be the God of his sons forever.” Joseph could encourage himself, “I am Jacob’s son to whom God has promised that he will care for me. This I firmly believe, although all things seem to be contrary to this.”
The story of Joseph and so many others in the Old Testament teach us that we receive God’s promise by faith and that we must not doubt his promises. Because God cannot lie (Titus 1:2). It is impossible for him not to care for us, especially when we believe his promise. When we cling to God’s promise, he will not and cannot forsake us. Even if we are facing great tests, as were Jacob and Joseph, we must turn back to God’s promise, and not let our eyes deceive us.
But why can we boldly trust in God, even when we are going through suffering and he appears to be silent? It’s because of who God is and what he has promised. The Lord’s love for you knows no limits. To save us from our sin and eternal damnation, God the Father promised a Savior and gave his only begotten Son to redeem us. God kept his promise to all the Old Testament believers and to Simeon who saw Christ in the temple before he died. Simeon could depart in peace because he knew what Jesus’ birth meant—peace with God. By living a life of humble obedience to God’s law, by fulfilling his commands, and carrying the weight of our sins to the cross, Jesus made full atonement for the sins of the world—yours and mine. Jesus took the punishment that our sins deserved so that we could be forgiven and given the hope of eternal life in heaven through faith in him.
Now, this Savior, who gave his life for you, who rose from the dead showing his victory and your peace, promises you forgiveness, life, and eternal salvation. He promises you grace and every blessing. “I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
You can trust God because you are his. Joseph could comfort himself with the words his father spoke to him and say, “I am Jacob’s son, the Lord will be with me.” He could rely on God’s promises even when all was going wrong. And so can we. No matter what trouble you may go through, the hellish battles you might face, you can confidently say, “I am baptized and absolved. I am a child of God. I have his holy Supper and my forgiveness. I believe his Word. Even if Satan rages against me, I have no need to fear. For Christ is with me. I have his promise.”
At times, God allows suffering and testing into our lives for our good. Joseph faced great obstacles, but through it all God used it to bring Joseph to the second most important position in Egypt. God used the planning of Joseph’s wicked brothers to bring about the salvation of God’s people during the horrible famine. Or consider how God used the plotting of evil men, to bring about the redemption of the whole world through the suffering and death of Jesus on the cross.
God may send some challenges into your life. As Scripture says, “For the Lord disciplines the one he loves” (Hebrews 12:6). Yet, the Lord does this to teach us to trust in him. So often, we have a shallow faith in God. We trust in him, but it’s because everything is going well. But when troubles come, our idols are often exposed. Do you fear the markets more than God? Do you trust in political leaders more than God? Do you love the things of this world more than God? So, God may kick the crutches of our pride out from under us every once in a while. But he does this, so that we realize all we need is him. “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness” (II Corinthians 12:9).
The examples of the patriarchs are for our comfort. It took twenty-two years for Joseph and Jacob to be reunited and for God’s promises to be fulfilled. But they were! We too may go through times of testing, but these examples give us hope. Even if it looks as if nothing is going according to God’s plan and promise—we have his word, and it will never disappoint. So, hold on to that word!
When you and I go through tests and troubles, we may not always handle them the best. We may endure them kicking and screaming. But God doesn’t save us because we have passed all the tests. God saves us, because of Jesus, who was tempted just as we are, but did not sin. When he faced the cup of God’s wrath, Jesus prayed, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will” (Matthew 26:39). When Jesus was beaten, mocked, and slandered, he didn’t cry out with complaint, but cried for God’s mercy, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34).
All your sin was laid on Jesus and his holy and righteous life is given to you through faith in him. Because he has suffered when tempted, “He is able to help those who are being tempted” (Hebrews 2:18). You are God’s child, he will never forget you. So, may we learn to cling to God’s promises and know that the crosses that we face are for our benefit, as Paul himself writes, “Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us” (Romans 5:3–5). Amen.