Joseph’s Victory: The role of providence in fighting temptation – Genesis 39
At the outset of our study on the life of Joseph we made mention of one of the most comforting, yet perplexing promises found in the Bible. It was Paul who taught his Roman brethren the truth of God’s providential work when he said:
Romans 8:28 – “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”
This verse is perplexing because in light of the pain and trials of life it is sometimes hard to understand how everything in our lives can actually be worked together to bring about good for us and glory for God. It is comforting; however, because in spite of these same pains and trials, we can close our eyes each night with full assurance that no matter what the dawn brings with it, our Lord is going to use it for our eternal good. This truth should fill us with hope, assurance, faith and strength, hope because we know that God is working on our behalf, assurance because God’s love for his children knows no timeline, faith because it reminds us that God is on our side, and strength because we know that with God on our side, no one can triumphantly stand against us (Romans 8:31-39).
Sadly, to many this promise will sound like strong words which appeal to our emotions yet fall flat when the actual pain of life invades. However, as one pastor writes, “Romans 8:28 is not a pious platitude to be mumbled at a bedside or a graveside when we don’t know what else to say but want to be helpful. It is truth that’s meant for life…”[1] Did you catch that? The doctrine of God’s providence is “truth that’s meant for life”. In other words, it is meant to impact our lives on a daily basis. When we lose a job and when we land a new one. When we get bad news from the doctor and when we get good news from him. The truth that God is working all things together for our good is meant to comfort us when war breaks out and when peace is declared. It is meant to draw us nearer to God when a loved one dies and when one is born. Can you see how powerful this truth is for our lives? We would do well to remember that whether we are enjoying that new car smell or praying that the car will hold together for just a little bit longer, God has a purpose and he is working for our eternal good and his glory. That is providence, and that is truth meant for life.
So we can see that God was at work in Joseph’s life when he used his brothers to get him on that Ishmaelite trading caravan. We can also see that God was working in Joseph’s life upon his arrival in Egypt, for he quickly proved his worth and was elevated to a position of leadership and responsibility within Potiphar’s home. Later in Joseph’s life, while in prison for a crime he did not commit, God continued to work on his behalf. However, what Genesis 39 is meant to teach us about providence goes beyond jobs and doctors and wars and cars and all the physical ways God works in our lives; it gets right to the heart of how we can more successfully face and deal with the many temptations which confront us on a daily basis.
This chapter is easily divided into three basic sections: (1) Joseph’s arrival and initial blessing while in Egypt (1-6a); (2) Joseph’s battle with temptation (6b-20); and (3) Joseph’s imprisonment and blessing while in captivity. The brunt of the story is found in the middle, where we read of Joseph’s victorious battle with temptation. This section will certainly provide us with many practical insights into Satan’s methods and how we should respond, but the key to Joseph’s success is found in the other two sections, which serve as doctrinal bookends to the work of God in Joseph’s life.
The key to Joseph’s success is not that he had prepared in his heart how he would respond before the temptation arrived, nor is it that he ran instead of continuing to talk to Potiphar’s wife – although both of these are important actions – his success was rooted in a singular truth that we find emphasized through these bookends: God was with Joseph. The text is clear about this. We are told that the “LORD was with Joseph” when he first arrived in Egypt (39:2). God’s presence with Joseph was so obvious that we are also told that Potiphar quickly saw that the “LORD was with him” and that everything Joseph touched prospered (39:3). Later, when Joseph was cast into prison, we are once again told that the “LORD was with Joseph” (39:21). So the one consistent aspect of Joseph’s life throughout this chapter, which transpired over an eleven year period[2], is the fact that he was not alone – God was with him.
As we mentioned in our study of Genesis 38, upon studying the life of Joseph it is easy to lift him up and see why God used him so mightily; the danger for us is that we will carry this to an extreme and fail to remember that he was a human being just like us. He was not divine. He was not super-human. He was a man, with all of the desires and feelings and shortcomings that each of us have. To say it another way, Joseph did not posses within himself the strength necessary to resist such a temptation as he faced in Potiphar’s wife, he needed help. He needed the very presence of God. So how does this chapter teach us how God’s providence goes beyond the physical aspects of life and helps us with the likes of spiritual warfare? It does so by conveying the personal means by which God works out his purpose in our lives. If we are not careful, we may read the Bible and come to the conclusion that God is distant from us, that he only works from afar; yet, that is not the case!
The point of this chapter is to teach us that God is personal and intimate; he chooses to work closely within us as he works out his purpose in our lives. And truly, if we fail to see this and chose not to live with the constant awareness of God’s presence, then we cannot even hope to have the same success that Joseph enjoyed. We need to understand that God knows the specifics of our lives; moreover, we need to see that he is concerned about us and desires to work in our individual lives in such a way that reveals his intimate concern and knowledge of who we are. So providence is not deep theology meant for only for a chosen few; it is a mean of expressing how God connects his hand to our lives.
Full Sermon Manuscript – Genesis 39
[1]Alistair Begg, The Hand of God (Chicago: Moody Press, 1999), 9.
[2]Based on Genesis 37:2 which tells us that Joseph was seventeen at the time he was sold into slavery, Genesis 41:1 which tells us that he spent two years in prison, and Genesis 41:46 which tells us that he was thirty when he was elevated to service within Pharaoh’s house.
Judah & Tamar: Finding hope in an unlikely place – Genesis 38
Hope, it is something that every person needs to possess. Some people are naturally optimistic and filled with hope. Their hope may be rooted in God or in their perceived goodness of man, either way; they constantly seem to have a positive outlook on life. Other people, however, are naturally pessimistic and devoid of hope. They see only the negative in life’s events and have little faith that life will ever get better or that there is a Creator who is actively working in and amongst us. Regardless of which camp a person finds themselves in, hope is something that every person needs. Without hope, the rising of the sun only draws our attention to pain and despair. Without hope, the setting of the sun serves only as a stale ending to another dreadful day. This is not how God intends for people to live. Rather, we are to be filled with hope because of who he is and all that he has promised us.
We are to have hope because God is faithful:
Psalm 38:15 – “But for you, O LORD, do I wait; it is you, O Lord my God, who will answer.”
Proverbs 23:18 – “Surely there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off.”
We are to have hope because God is our refuge:
Joel 3:16 – “The LORD roars from Zion, and utters his voice from Jerusalem, and the heavens and the earth quake. But the LORD is a refuge to his people, a stronghold to the people of Israel.”
We are to have hope because God has assured us of eternity with him:
1 Corinthians 15:19 – “If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.”
We are to have hope because it strengthens our joy:
Romans 12:12 – “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.”
There are certainly more reasons for us to hope in God, for the subject of hope abounds from Genesis all the way through Revelation, and although it may not seem so at the outset, Genesis 38 is no different. This brief, somewhat shocking narrative which is unexpectedly tucked within the broader Joseph biography, likewise provides a shot of hope for humanity. While there is no definitively stated call for hope found within this chapter, there are several points which converge and subtly challenge us to have hope in God. Taken together, they should serve to bolster our confidence in God and draw us closer into his presence.
Change is Possible
One of the first things we notice about this narrative is the character of Judah. To say it simply, Judah was despicable at this point. We are told that the immediate context of these events directly follows Joseph being sold and sent to Egypt. From there, Judah departed from his brothers and went to see a friend of his, Hirah the Adullamite. While there, Judah would make several poor choices which in turn allows us to come face-to-face with his blatant sin.
He married a Canaanite woman
Genesis records that his first mistake was taking a wife for himself from among the Canaanites and fathering three sons with her. While this may seem simple enough to us, Judah knew that this had been forbidden ever since his great-grandfather’s generation. It was Abraham that commanded his servant to return home and find a wife for Isaac from among his own people. Later, Isaac sent Jacob home in order to find a wife, making it quite clear that he was not to take a wife from among the Canaanites (Genesis 24:1-4; 27:43-28:5; 28:6-9). That standard had not changed at this point and Judah knew it. Yet, he openly defied this tradition and embraced his own pleasure.
He failed to uphold the marital rights of his daughter-in-law
As the narrative unfolds, we learn that his first born son, Er, also took a wife from among the Canaanites; her name was Tamar. Now Tamar seems to have been a strong woman; as we will see later God most certainly worked through her, but for now her life serves only to highlight Judah’s poor character, which comes to light following the death of two of his sons. Being thoroughly wicked, we are told that God struck down Er (38:7). According to the marital laws of that time, the next oldest son was to take his brother’s widow as his own wife and produce an heir for his deceased brother. Honoring this law, Judah instructed Onan to “perform the duty of a brother-in-law” to Tamar (8). However, Onan refused to perform this duty and God subsequently struck him down as well (10). At this point it was Judah’s third son – Shelah – who would inherit the responsibility of providing an heir for his oldest brother; yet, this time it was Judah who resisted:
Genesis 38:11 – “Then Judah said to Tamar his daughter-in-law, ‘Remain a widow in your father’s house, till Shelah my son grows up’ – for he feared that he would die, like his brothers.”
Having already lost two sons, by his own admission Judah now feared losing his last son, so he used Shelah’s young age as an excuse to delay his marriage to Tamar. He then removed Tamar from the picture all together, sending her off to her father’s house. Out-of-sight-out-of-mind was the idea here. It seems clear that Judah was simply working to get Tamar away from his son. He had no desire or intention of honoring the customs of his day and he was unconcerned of how this would affect Tamar. He was simply concerned about himself. As time went by, Judah’s wife died and Shelah grew up; yet, as we would expect by now, he never gave his son to Tamar. Finally, Tamar realized what Judah was up to, so she took matters into her own hands.
He embraced a prostitute
Following the death of his wife, Judah went back to visit his friend, Hirah. While there, he passed by a woman whom he perceived to be a prostitute. Seemingly without delay or reservation, he propositioned her. While there are several reasons for the inclusion of chapter 38 in the book of Genesis, this specific decision by Judah is an important aspect because it provides a powerful contrast to the behavior we will see in Joseph later when he was propositioned by Potiphar’s wife. As we will see then, Joseph recognized that adultery is sin and he refused to sin against God. Judah, however, embraced this woman with virtual ease; it seems as though he did not even have to think about it. He had no idea that he was being deceived, and his desire for pleasure had so captivated him that he was even willing to turn over his signet, his cord and his staff to this prostitute as a pledge. This very act would later serve to condemn him.
Three months later it was told to Judah that Tamar was “pregnant by immorality” (24a). Judah’s initial response is cold and harsh, “Bring her out, and let her be burned” (24b). However, once Tamar produced his signet, his cord and his staff, Judah’s attitude quickly changed. Judah humbly confessed, “She is more righteous than I, since I did not give her to my son Shelah” (26). So what does this have to do with hope? It challenges us to have hope because these events reveal the poor character of Judah and works to set the stage for his spiritual transformation that will become obvious later in Joseph’s biography. In other words, we should have hope because change is possible. Truly, we are basically no different than Judah; we all deliberately and at times joyfully sin against God. We embrace the pleasures of this world with such ease that it often goes unnoticed. Yet, thankfully, like Judah we can change. The change in his life starts here, but is more obvious later:
Genesis 43:8-9 – “And Judah said to Israel his father, ‘Send the boy with me, and we will arise and go, that we may live and not die, both we and you and also our little ones. 9I will be a pledge of his safety. From my hand you shall require him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, then let me bear the blame forever.’”
It appears that at this point in his life honor has replaced dishonor. He had learned a valuable lesson and it changed his life. Listen to his confession once again, “She is more righteous than I”. Such a confession reflects what our demeanor should be when we are confronted with sin. He did not deny it or rationalize it, he admitted it. Oh how we need to just be honest with God about the sin which is present in our lives. We need to stop hiding and hoping that it will go away on it’s on – it won’t! If we want to change then by God’s grace we can, but we must become transparent before him and lay the cards out on the table.
Providence is Powerful
Another hope-producing point derived from this passage focuses on the power of God’s providence. We see this in several ways.
God preserved Judah’s family line
The first is seen by noting that God providentially preserved Judah’s family line. Rather than allowing his line to end with the death of his sons, he worked to provide two additional sons to Judah, Perez and Zerah. This is important because we know that it is through Judah that the Davidic Dynasty will rise, a point that is made in the book of Ruth:
Ruth 4:18-22 – “Now these are the generations of Perez: Perez fathered Hezron, 19Hezron fathered Ram, Ram fathered Amminadab, 20 Amminadab fathered Nahshon, Nahshon fathered Salmon, 21Salmon fathered Boaz, Boaz fathered Obed, 22Obed fathered Jesse, and Jesse fathered David.”
Our hope is strengthened here because we are reminded once again that God is not absent or distant from us; instead, he is right here working in our lives.
God is willing to work with stubborn and sinful people
Our hope is further strengthened in this case because we see that God’s providence is being worked out in the lives two sinful individuals. This fact should truly encourage us, for we too, just like Judah and Tamar are sinful people. So through God’s work in them here we are constantly reminded that God is willing to providentially work in our hearts and lives as he guides us toward our final glorification. Think about Paul’s words on this subject to the Philippians:
Philippians 2:12-13 – “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.”
We must hope in God because he is at work in us! Remember, he is working “all things” together for our good and his glory, his good pleasure as Paul says it here. That is a joyous cause for a hope that can stand the test of persecution and trials. This is the hope that God intends for us.
God is willing to bring about hardship
An extension of this is to understand that God, as he works in us, will bring about hardship if it is necessary to produce righteousness in our lives. For example, with Judah and his sons marrying Canaanite women we actually find one reason why the period of Egyptian exile was necessary. Due to the fact that the Egyptians detested foreigners, this would not be a problem in Egypt; thus, the purity of the line would be preserved as God continued to guide the world toward Calvary. They needed to learn once and for all that God was serious about marriage and the purity of Israel; therefore, hardship was necessary in order to produce righteousness in their lives.
Truly, we too need a little hardship if we are going to become more Christ-like. We do not like it, nor do we look forward to it, but in our hearts we know that pain in life is necessary because it always works to remind us of our utter dependence upon Christ. Is it not true that we often learn the most about ourselves and about God when the floodgates of pain have been opened? Yes, it is true. So how should this produce hope in our souls? If we try to view God as merely benevolent and giving then we will find it difficult to hope while in the midst of hardship, but if we remind ourselves that God brings about pain with the intent of making us more like Christ, then we can find hope amidst the trial because we will know that God is there with us, striving to grow and develop us. This text is full of hope for us because it reminds us of God’s steadfast love – which is a love that never ceases (Lamentations 3:20).
God has a heart the Gentiles
Finally, are hope is strengthened in a very subtle way through God’s use of Tamar, for it says something very powerful to every gentile who has ever lived. When we read the first chapter of Matthew’s Gospel we are given a very detailed record of Jesus’ genealogy. If you read it closely, Matthew draws our attention to five women; interestingly enough four of these women are gentiles. The first woman mentioned is Tamar (3). Rahab (5), who birthed Boaz, is the second woman mentioned. She too was a gentile, a woman of Jericho according to Joshua 2:1. Ruth is the third woman mentioned (5); she was a Moabite (Ruth 1:4). The fourth woman mentioned is Bathsheba, who was a Hittite (2 Samuel 11:3). The last woman mentioned is of course Mary, the only Jewish woman mentioned in Matthew’s account of Jesus’ family tree.
Again we ask, how does this give us hope? It gives us hope as gentiles because we see that he was serious about blessing all nations through Abraham (Genesis 18:18; 22:18). God’s redemptive plan was never limited to the Jews, God has had a people from the very beginning, a nation of people who would receive faith and be drawn to Christ through the effectual work of the Holy Spirit through the gospel of Jesus Christ. This is a great hope for us, for we know that God loves us. He has intentionally sought us and bought us through the shedding of Christ’s holy blood. We are a purchased possession of his because he has loved us from before the foundation of the world.
As we continue on through the remainder of Genesis we are going to focus exclusively on a very righteous man, Joseph. Joseph was a man who loved God and walked with him; he was a man with honor and character. I point this out because it will be easy for us to see why God used him so mightily. However, one of the reasons I believe that God led Moses to include this narrative about Judah and Tamar is to remind us that even though we are called and expected to walk righteously, he does not abandon us or reject us when we fail to live up to our calling. No, his love and grace is persistent. He keeps working on us even when we least deserve it. This truth must give us a great hope as we walk through our days. Yes, times are tough and this world becomes a little scarier every day, but God never changes. We can have as much hope in him today as Judah did thousands of years ago, for he will strive with us also and help us change. He will complete the work he began in each of us and ultimately he will conform us into the image of his son through the transformation of our souls. This is a cause for great hope.
Living in awe of God
As we slowly and carefully made our way down the deserted streets we sat in silence. Some houses were totally destroyed while others had been completely separated from their foundation and moved hundreds of feet away. Cars were overturned and the smell of death was in the air. Just days before Hurricane Katrina had left its undeniable mark upon the landscape of Pass Christian, Mississippi; the destruction was catastrophic. My team’s mission that day was to provide much needed supplies for the local law enforcement officials.
As they shared their stories of survival amidst tremendous wind and mountains of water flooding their community, our entire team sat in awe. We were in awe of their bravery. It is amazing what man can do when placed in such overwhelming situations. We were in awe of the destructive power produced by hurricanes. There was nothing we could say. There was very little we could do. We just sat there in silence.
While I certainly do not hope for the destruction, pain and death brought about by the likes of hurricanes, I personally long for the sense of wonder it produced in my life. Imagine for a moment what life would be like as a Christian if we were so overwhelmed by the power of God that we simply sat in silence before Him? Imagine being in such awe of God’s love for us that words quickly proved insufficient to express our love for Him? What would our witness for Christ be like if we were genuinely amazed at the power of the gospel for the salvation of all who believe? Truly, the world would not know what to think or do.
I began to evaluate my own sense of wonder for God a few months ago as my church was preparing for a series of revival services. At first my prayers centered on people expressing their new found faith in Christ as their Savior. However, as I continued to pray, God burdened my heart with what revival is truly about. Revival is about Christians being startled from their slumber. It is about nominal Christians being overwhelmed by a torrential flood of God’s glory and the far-reaching ramifications of the gospel. In short, it is about living in awe of God. So prayer is the Christian’s first step towards revival. We must be praying that God would flood our souls with the undeniable, unequaled and unmatched power of the Holy Spirit.
All too often we allow one of the greatest aspects of our salvation, which is the privilege of constant and intimate communion with God, to slip past us because we stop desiring Him once we have received the benefits of salvation. We must not stop here! Instead, our passion must be to draw closer to God as we learn to live more like Christ. The reason for this common tendency can be illustrated through a simple piece of playground equipment – the see-saw.
It is probably safe to assume that the vast majority of us have been on a see-saw at some point in our lives. We likely all remember the fun of rising high in the air as our friend sunk lower to the ground, only to have our positions quickly reversed. We both wanted to be high in the air, but the nature of the see-saw required that only one person be lifted up at a time. One person had to be at ground level. The same is true for the relationship between people and God. Both God and man cannot be lifted up at the same time. If I think too highly of myself, then my understanding of God will fall. However, when I think rightly of God and exalt Him above all, then He is lifted up and I am brought low. This latter scenario should be our goal, for when God is exalted in our minds the doors of communication are opened. Yet, when we resort to lifting ourselves above Him, the doors are shut because we have placed ourselves above our Creator. Sadly, there is a painful reality of thinking too highly of ourselves – we do not desire that which is below us.
This leads us to a second step toward developing a sense of wonder for God: we must make an honest, biblical assessment of our lives. Ask yourself, “Am I placing myself above God?” One of the most common hindrances to personal revival is a direct result of being on the high end of the see-saw. All too often we are guilty of reading the Bible through me-focused lenses when the reality is that it is not a self-help manual! Rather, it is the very word of God, breathed out by Him so that we could have access to Him and know all that He desires for us to know about Him. Yes, it answers the many and varied questions of life, but its chief purpose is to tell us about Him, not us. Therefore, we need to realize that our lives lack the spiritual vitality that characterized the early church in Acts because we desire self-fulfillment over communion with God.
The last step I will mention is obvious. As we prayerfully assess our lives and acknowledge whatever roadblocks are in our lives – some common obstacles are apathy, anger, busyness or ignorance – we must follow up with action. Consider how Job responded to God after coming to terms with God’s sovereignty. He simply covered his mouth (Job 40:3-5). Or what about Isaiah? When he was confronted with the majesty and holiness of God he cried out, “Woe is me, for I am lost” (Isaiah 6:5, ESV). He captures his emotions well, “For my eyes have seen the king!” Friends, we all need to see the King. We need to stand with Isaiah and take action. Not long after his encounter with God he said quite simply, “Here am I God, send me.” It was not duty or obligation that motivated Isaiah, it was amazement. He had seen the King and he became fully convinced that the only rational response he could make was to exalt God and offer his life in sacrificial living for Him.
The world needs to see more Isaiah’s, for they, along with too many Christians, have lost their wonder of God. Some are merely apathetic, but sadly more and more go beyond apathy towards antagonism. They intentionally deny the existence of God and berate those who align themselves with Him. Truly, the world does not need Christians that reflect them; they need Christians who reflect Christ and His glory. They need Christians who live in awe of God simply because of who He is. I pray that a multitude of Christians would wake from their slumber to the awesome realization of God’s glory and the power of His gospel, for the world needs to see Christ in us.
Trusting the unseen – Genesis 37
Our study of Genesis has taught us many amazing truths about God. We have been challenged to embrace the God who is, as opposed to the god we think we need. We have studied creation and witnessed unprecedented faith. Sadly, we have also witnessed unprecedented sin and utter faithlessness. Beginning with Adam, we have considered the lives of some truly fascinating men, men such as Noah, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Through the events of these men’s lives we have watched God work in extraordinary ways. He called Noah to build an Ark that he would eventually use to preserve his creation while the wicked perished.
Years later God called Abraham out of Ur and led him into Canaan where he established a covenant with him. In the generations which followed we watched as God faithfully upheld this covenant, even when the recipients of his many blessings failed miserably in their walk with him. We have witnessed God prove himself to be gracious, yet firm; forgiving, yet faithful to his character and expectations; holy, yet personal.
At the very beginning of this study we made the point to establish why the book of Genesis is so important to the lives of every Christian. In short, we can summarize our need by saying that we cannot know where we are going unless we know where we came from. So “Genesis is a book of beginnings,” writes one commentator, “a book that sets the foundation for all that follows in the scriptures.”[1] With Genesis 37, that foundation becomes even broader and most certainly deeper.
Over the course of this study we have often mentioned the faith-building truth of Romans 8:28. In this one verse, the Apostle Paul firmly establishes the reality of God’s invisible hand, a hand which remains at work moment-by-moment and lovingly, yet sovereignly, guiding creation to its end. Paul states:
Romans 8:28 – “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”
This verse can be summarized in one word – providence. One Baptist statement of faith from the nineteenth century captures well the essence of God’s providence. It states quite plainly:
God from eternity, decrees or permits all things that come to pass, and perpetually upholds, directs and governs all creatures and all events; yet so as not to destroy the free will and responsibility of intelligent creatures.[2]
Admittedly, the doctrine of God’s providence can at times be perplexing. Questions like “How can God decree or permit all things, yet not destroy my will or be the cause of sin?” are often asked. However, as we will see in the life of Joseph throughout the remainder of our study in Genesis, the reality of God’s providence is a beautiful and liberating truth for every Christian, and there is perhaps no other narrative in the entire Bible which so brilliantly captures it as the life of Jacob’s favorite son, Joseph.
The biography of Joseph begins in Genesis 37 and continues to the very last verse of the book. It focuses on the years of his life from age seventeen to his death at the age of 110. In between these two points we will watch him face great obstacles with a strong faith that is clearly rooted in the trustworthiness of God. He will be hated and resented, abducted and sold. He will be falsely accused and thrown into prison. Yet, by God’s grace he will be delivered from prison and lifted to a position of power in the most unlikely of places. As many have observed, the Joseph narrative is a masterfully written account of a man’s life that understood God’s providence and embraced it completely. Joseph himself acknowledges his acceptance of God’s invisible hand at work:
Genesis 45:7-8 – “And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. 8So it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt.”
These two verses provide us as learners with a great deal of insight into the man Joseph. Through his words here we can see why he was able to not only endure the trials he experienced, but excel through them and have the ability to praise God on the other side. He did not waste time blaming his brothers or God for that matter; instead, he settled his mind on the fact that God had a purpose in all of the events of his life. Joseph understood the truth of Romans 8:28 centuries before Paul was even born. He understood and accepted the “all things” of God’s providence, even when “all things” meant pain, discomfort, isolation, separation, and even the threat of death.
So who is Joseph? We know that he is the eleventh son of Jacob, the firstborn son of Rachel, who was the love of Jacob’s life. We are told that Joseph was Jacob’s favored son (37:3), a fact that most certainly fostered resentment among Jacob’s remaining sons. He was born to Jacob and Rachel while they were still in Paddan-aram, which means that it was possible for Joseph to have been old enough to remember the pain of leaving his grandfather, Laban, and the fear of facing his uncle, Esau. Or perhaps he could recall the horror of his sister’s rape and the subsequent genocide that his brothers conducted. Surely the image of his father destroying his family’s idols had earned a place in his mind. Our point in these observations is simple, Joseph had an eventful childhood. He had witnessed first hand the joy of faith and the pain of disobedience. In other words, Joseph had been prepared for the life-altering events of his seventeenth year.
Full Sermon Manuscript – Genesis 37
[1]Thomas R. Schreiner, “Foundations for Faith”, The Southern Baptist Journal of Theology Volume 5, Number 3, Fall 2001, Genesis (Louisville: The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2001), 2.
[2]The Abstract of Principles. The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. 1858. http://www.founders.org/abstract.html
God’s love displayed in adoption
I often wonder why some professing Christians associated with adoption refuse to see the eternal and gracious love of God through His adopting of men, women, boys and girls. On several occasions I have read heartfelt statements denying that the work of God in adopting His children relates in any way to what is often called “horizontal” adoption – the adoption of orphans by individuals. Contrary to this belief, the adoptive work of God directly impacts and instructs how we as Christians carry out our ministry to the multitude of orphans around the world.
When my wife and I adopted our children, Cana and Jostin, they became our daughter and son, not our “adoptive” daughter and son. Okay, legally speaking two governments allowed us to work through mountains of paperwork and jump through dozens of hoops so that we could legally take them from their foster homes and their birth country and bring them to our home. However, when I refer to them I never label them my “adoptive daughter” or “adoptive son”. Cana is my daughter and Jostin is my son just as if my wife had physically birthed them. Blood is not the issue. Legality is not my concern (please do not interpret this remark as a lack of concern for unethical or illegal adoptions!). Love, however, is my concern.
I love them both because they are my children. My love for them is not based on who they are or what they do – such topical love is not becoming of a father. My love for them is much deeper. It is a well without a bottom. And I pray that it somehow resembles the sweet love God has for me.
That is the great thing about becoming a child of God through His adoptive grace. He justified me through the sacrificial death of his son and then showed the depth of this great love by choosing to adopt me as His own son. Moreover, he made me a co-heir with Christ! I’m not the unwanted child who is tolerated more than loved; I’m an heir alongside my Lord and brother, Jesus Christ the righteous. Yes, Jesus is still the “first-born” and the pinnacle of God’s revealed glory, but God makes a powerful point in Romans 8 – His love for me is not topical – His love for me is like a canyon filled with endless compassion, mercy, grace, forgiveness, love, and patience.
This “vertical” dimension of adoption is beautifully illustrated in the adopting of orphans into loving homes. Gone is the issue of blood or legality. All that is left is the love of a father and a mother for their children. To the glory of God and the eternal good of man, his divine love has moved Him to give us, his children, the greatest of privileges, for we can kneel before God and humbly cry, “Abba Father!” Yes, God loved us by sending His Son to take the penalty of our many sins, but His loved extended beyond that great sacrifice as He lovingly made us His sons and daughters. To that I say, thank you God for loving me as a compassionate Father and making me your son.
Seeing the unseen – Genesis 36
I confess it is intriguing to read of people who seem to be endless givers. Such is the case with Nettie McCormick, a widow living in nineteenth century mid-America. Following the death of her wealthy husband, Nettie worked tirelessly as a Christian worker and witness. For instance, she worked closely with a local seminary and provided it with a great deal of financial support.
She enabled missionaries to carry the gospel to the ends of the earth and supported evangelists such as D.L. Moody as they worked to reach America for Christ. She started a college in Tennessee and worked to meet the various needs of people living in Appalachia. Asian missions captured her heart and led her to open her home to many missionaries who were on furlough. She worked to improve drinking water, build hospitals and provide needed resources in other lands such as Persia, Korea and India. What is even more striking is her rationale for giving – it was all about Christ. Her selflessness shines through in the following statement: “…the greatest gift of all comes from the self-sacrifice and devotion of missionaries”.[1]
What I love about Nettie McCormick’s biography is that it captures her ability to see beyond the physical. Based upon what I have read of her, it seems clear that she lived her life with not only an awareness of the needs which surrounded her, but with a greater awareness of the God who had called her. Here is a woman who had everything at her finger-tips, physically speaking of course.
It would have been easy for her to have become consumed with the physical comforts that her fortune would have afforded her, but she didn’t. Instead, she gave and gave and gave because it seems that she kept her eyes set upon God. Esau, on the contrary, demonstrates with equal clarity what it looks like when we focus on the physical and lose sight of the divine.
On the surface, Genesis 36 appears to be what some would label as a “meaningless genealogy”; I pray that we can dispel that notion by studying it in light of a few helpful passages which will serve to illustrate a very practical and biblical truth. In short, through Esau’s life we learn a valuable lesson: Look to what is unseen, not to what is seen. The best way for us to see this is by refreshing our memories as to Esau’s character and setting it against God’s abundant blessing. We will then see how all of this was projected into the future through Esau’s vast descendents.
The Character of Esau
When we think of Esau’s character, two aspects quickly come to mind: (1) Sensuality and (2) Forgiveness. By sensuality I am referring to Esau’s natural love for the physical, such as hunting, food and women (Genesis 25:27). Now we know that none of these pursuits is bad in and of themselves, but as with anything, when something is overly focused upon and divorced from the truth of God it becomes cancerous. Such was the case with Esau. His unhealthy and narcissistic love for the physical served to drive him further and further away from God. It affected his decisions – recall that he surrendered his birthright for a bowl of soup (Genesis 25:29-34) and that he took wives from the Canaanites simply because it displeased his parents (Genesis 28:6-9). Ultimately, it affected every area of his life. Esau’s life is in so many ways a sad portrait of Paul’s words in Ephesians:
Ephesians 2:1-3 – “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.”
However, although it is right to say that Esau was by nature a child of wrath and consumed by the desires of his body, it is also right to point out that God’s common grace still rested upon him. We will see this more clearly in a moment, but for now we can see it in his character. For all of Esau’s faults, it is clear that he had forgiven his brother Jacob. Even Jacob did not expect this from Esau. As Jacob cautiously approached his brother after years of isolation, we are told that he received love and compassion from Esau rather than anger and wrath (Genesis 33:4-9).
By common grace we are referring to a general outworking of God’s grace which rests upon all of creation. It is not saving grace, by which we refer to the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit as he frees people from the penalty and power of sin and renews the inner person. Rather, it is the grace which restrains individuals from expressing the fullness of sin in their lives. This is the grace Esau was experiencing. It is important for us to see this as we consider Esau’s life because it teaches us something about God’s character. Actually, it teaches us more about God than it does about Esau…
…We need to learn from the likes of Esau and Herod Antipas. We need to examine our lives and seek out every possible way we are following in their footsteps. They were both guilty of focusing on the now. They refused to see the eternal dimensions of life such as the reality of heaven and hell. Instead, they focused merely on the physical. This proved to be their downfall and if we refuse to take notice, it will prove to be ours as well.
Looking to that which is Unseen
Paul captures this sentiment most powerfully in 2 Corinthians:
2 Corinthians 4:16-18 – “So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. 17For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”
Everything that Esau and Herod Antipas fixed their gaze upon was visible to them, and Paul describes them as “transient”. Synonyms for transient include fleeting, passing, brief and short-lived. If Paul could have counseled Esau, I believe that he would have challenged him to see past the fleeting, short-lived joys of this world. Perhaps he would have reminded Esau that there is more to life than a bowl of soup or money or “blessings”. Paul is communicating the same message to us today, for we are at times just as guilty as Esau and Herod.
We cruise through our days with an acute emphasis upon the physical – jobs, rent, bills, terrorism and wars – when what we need the most is to have our eyes fixed upon the God who set his saving grace upon our souls. Just like Esau and Herod, we need to move past our fascination with the physical and fall in love with the eternal. To say it another way, Christ and his glory must become our focus as we strive to see the unseen.
Full Sermon Manuscript – Genesis 36
[1]Robert J. Morgan, On This Day (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1997), January 26.
Worship the One who is there
One reality of the Christian life is that there are both mountains and valleys. There are seasons of great victory over sin and heartfelt communion with God. During these times it seems that we cannot spend enough time at the fountain of God’s Word. No matter what part of the Bible we read, God pours out His truth in flood-like proportions. Then there are the valleys.
While traveling through the valleys we look around for help, but it never seems to be there. We struggle to hear God as we diligently, though perhaps out of obligation, open the Bible and read His word. Our prayers for relief or deliverance seem to go unnoticed and we wonder if the valley has an edge, a place where the darkness is overcome by the light of God’s glory and presence. Sound familiar?
Some valleys are certainly deeper than others. Truly, some valleys involve more pain and depression than others, but regardless of depth or dryness, I have grown to rely on one truth as I find myself traversing the valleys of life: God has a purpose in my affliction.
At the outset such a statement seems harsh and contrary to God’s merciful character. However, Scripture is clear that even the difficulties of life are meant to refine our hearts and prepare us for an eternity in God’s presence. Take for example how Paul dealt with his own affliction: “Therefore we do not lose heart” (2 Corinthians 4:16a). In spite of all the pain and difficulties Paul was experiencing, he testifies that he did not lose heart. But how did Paul succeed in traversing the valleys without being consumed? He tells us how in very simple terms: “Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:16b-18; emphasis mine).
Paul’s secret rested in the realization that his earthly life, which included both mountains and valleys, was designed to prepare him for the life to come. Perhaps more than anything, in this passage we get a glimpse of Paul’s tremendous faith in Jesus Christ. It is here where we can see the deeply practical implications of God’s providence. He did not lose heart because he believed that his afflictions were providentially included in the “all things” of Romans 8:28. His heart was continuously strengthened because he knew that God had a plan.
So the question I am routinely faced with is this: Do I honestly believe that God is at work in the valleys of my life? As God teaches and empowers me to live rather than merely verbalize my answer, I find that it is through these valleys where I learn the most. The painful reality of my faith’s depth is plainly revealed in my response to the valleys of life. My hands and feet and eyes reveal just how seriously I take God’s promise to bring good out of the valleys.
Paul’s faith was clearly visible as the angry, stone wielding mob drug him outside the city wall of Lystra and left him for dead (Acts 14). He must have had a peace in his heart that God would raise him up one day just as He did Jesus (2 Corinthians 4:13-14). Or perhaps he genuinely believed that this life is really all about bringing glory to God. One thing is certainly clear; Paul was living by faith and not by sight.
As we find ourselves in the valley searching for its end, we would do well to look for that which only faith can see. We must realize that the powerful images of the valley have a way of monopolizing our eyes. Faith, however, would have us to look for that which is unseen. It was by way of faith that Paul saw the glory of Christ through blood soaked eyes in Lystra. And it will be through faith that we see the mountain peaks of God while still in our own valleys.
We truly serve a faithful God. He is loving. He is kind. He is good. And along with a thousand other qualities, He is trustworthy. If you are walking through a valley, know that you are not alone. Keep fighting. Keep striving. Keep praying and most certainly, keep walking. In God’s time you will come to a crucial spot – the place where the edge of the valley meets the base of the mountain. It is here where you must stop walking and start climbing. Do not be content with having merely left the valley. Consider Paul’s life once more, regardless of difficulty or frustration, Scripture consistently paints a picture of the apostle as one striving after a deeper relationship with God. In the same manner, we too must make every effort to move toward Christ, fighting to resist the temptation of being satisfied with simply being out of the valley. Instead, we should take up our faith and pursue our great God, worshiping the One who is constantly working in our lives for our good and His glory.
The author of Psalm 95, much like the Apostle Paul, understood that God was actively working in his life. Having no specific psalmist named for this psalm prevents us from knowing anything about his life, but it is safe to say that he experienced both the mountains and valleys of life just like every other person that has ever lived. This is important to us because of what he says about God in verse 4: “In his hand are the depths of the earth.” The psalmist worshiped God because he knew that even in the valleys of life God was in control, all was in His hands.
But there is more. As we leave the valley and begin once more to ascend the mountain of God, we must not lose sight of the One we are seeking. The latter half of verse 4 states this: “and the mountain peaks belong to him.” We often have the tendency to lose our passion for God once we have left the valley, naïvely turning once again to trust in self. I pray that we will not make this mistake any more, for the same God who held the valley we suffered through also owns the mountain we are climbing!
So whether we are scaling the mountains of life with energy and zeal for Christ or struggling to find our way through the desolate valleys, we must remember that God is there and that nothing is too difficult for him (Genesis 18:14). He is our ever present help and encouragement and strength. Therefore, we must worship the One who is there, for He will guide us out of the valley and up the mountain.
Abortion, faith and politics
This is a well-worded and forthright challenge to our government’s distorted view on abortion. It is worth 3 minutes of your day.
God is holy
“Holiness in angels and saints is but a quality, but in God it is His essence.”
- Thomas Brooks
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