Long Story Short 5 – Joseph and the Pit, Prison, and Palace

 

Redemption Church Plano Tx

Welcome back to Redemption Church in Plano ,Tx. My name is Chris Fluitt and I am glad to share the Word of God with you today. I believe God’s Word can make a big difference in your life.

Long Story Short

Last week talked about Abraham and the cutting of the covenant. The story of Abraham is an important development in the long story of the Bible.

The story involved…

-Promise
-Faith
-Personal loss
-And a willingness to offer one’s own son
 

God’s commitment to us is greater than our ability to follow Him.

 

There is a common thread that runs throughout your Bible. Do you know it?

John 5:39 (NIV) You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me,

#LONGSTORYSHORT #ALLaboutJESUS

 

Today we are going to talk about a character named Joseph, but before we do we need to fill in some history.

 

Abraham

Abraham & Isaac

Isaac had 2 sons – Esau and Jacob. The promise of God went through Jacob.

Abraham & Isaac & Jacob/Israel

God himself changed Jacob’s name to Israel. Israel means to “contend/struggle with God.

Abraham & Isaac & Jacob/Israel & 12 sons

Israel has 12 sons and they become the 12 tribes of Israel.

One of these 12 sons was named Joseph and he was Israel’s favorite son.

Genesis 37:3 (NIV) Now Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons, because he had been born to him in his old age; and he made an ornate robe for him.

This “ornate robe” is often called “the coat of many colors.”

4 When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him.

Joseph was hated by his brothers.

Joseph the Dreamer

Joseph had a spiritual gifting from God. He was able to interpret spiritual dreams.

Genesis 37:5-8 (NIV) 5 Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more. 6 He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had: 7 We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it.”

8 His brothers said to him, “Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us?” And they hated him all the more because of his dream and what he had said.

Joseph was hated because of his favor with his father, and because of his gifting.

Some people may hate you because of your relationship with God.
Some people may hate you because of your gifting and calling.

 

The hatred of his brothers was deadly serious.

Genesis 37:19 (NIV) “Here comes that dreamer!” they said to each other. 20 “Come now, let’s kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns and say that a ferocious animal devoured him. Then we’ll see what comes of his dreams.”

“Let’s kill him and throw him in a pit (cistern).”

Genesis 37 21 When Reuben heard this, he tried to rescue him from their hands. “Let’s not take his life,” he said. 22 “Don’t shed any blood. Throw him into this cistern here in the wilderness, but don’t lay a hand on him.” Reuben said this to rescue him from them and take him back to his father.

The eldest brother, Reuben spoke up and rescued Jospeh from being killed. Instead Joseph would b thrown into the pit(cistern), and Reaben planned to rescue him later.

The Pit

The favorite son ended up in a pit. He had done nothing wrong.

Life has highs and lows. This was a low place for Joseph. His very own brothers had placed him in a pit.

Genesis 37:23 (NIV) So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe—the ornate robe he was wearing— 24 and they took him and threw him into the cistern. The cistern was empty; there was no water in it.

What a sad lonely place a pit is. What thoughts must have been going through Joseph’s mind.

Have you ever been in a pit? Hated and left to die?

People will hate you.
  -Because of your gifting.
  -Because of your relationship with others.
  -Because of your relationship with God.

25 As they sat down to eat their meal, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead…

26 Judah said to his brothers, “What will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? 27 Come, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him; after all, he is our brother, our own flesh and blood.” His brothers agreed.

28 So when the Midianite merchants came by, his brothers pulled Joseph up out of the cistern and sold him for twenty shekels of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt.

Instead of killing their brother in the pit, they lifted him out and sold him into slavery for 20 shekels of silver.

Then the brothers take the fancy ornate robe, the coat of many colors that Israel had given his favorite son. They take that robe a tear it up so that it looked like a ferocious beast had attacked Joseph and they dipped the coat in the blood of a goat.

In a strange reverse, the brothers are trying to use blood to cover their sin, but not as God designed blood covenant.

Israel sees Jospeh’s robe and weeps…

Genesis 37:35 All his sons and daughters came to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. “No,” he said, “I will continue to mourn until I join my son in the grave.” So his father wept for him.

Joseph is alive, but Israel does not know it. Joseph and Israel are separated.

Jospeh ends up in Egypt as a servant to an important man named Potiphar.

How would Joseph respond?

Taken from his father.
Betrayed by his brothers.
No one he could trust.
A slave.

But Joseph had something that had not been taken away. Joseph had the promise of God.

Genesis 39:2 The Lord was with Joseph so that he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. 3 When his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord gave him success in everything he did, 4 Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned. 5 From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the Lord blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of the Lord was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field. 6 So Potiphar left everything he had in Joseph’s care; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate.

Joseph was far from home, but not alone. God was with him, and God blessed him. And God blessed Potiphar.

Joseph becomes the top worker in the house of Potiphar.

Genesis 39: Now Joseph was well-built and handsome, 7 and after a while his master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, “Come to bed with me!”

This is bad. Potiphar’s wife should only be in bed with Potiphar.

She asks Joseph to come to bed with her.

Sometimes people ask you to do the wrong thing, a dishonest thing.

MOST TIMES it is easier to do the wrong thing.  What does Joseph do in this situation?

Joseph refuses her. He says, I will remain true to your husband, Potiphar, even if you won’t.

Even though Joseph had been betrayed and treated poorly, he chose to do the right thing. Joseph chose to do the more difficult thing.

 

Potiphar became angry with Joseph. She lies to her husband about Joseph, saying that he tried to come to bed with her but she refused him. Potiphar believed his wife…

Genesis 39:19 When his master heard the story his wife told him, saying, “This is how your slave treated me,” he burned with anger. 20 Joseph’s master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined.

From the PIT to the PRISON.

The Prison

Joseph was in chains, in prison.

He had done nothing wrong. He had been faithful to Potiphar, but one lie caused him to be arrested.

Joseph is once again betrayed and left to die.

How would Joseph respond?

How would you respond to reoccurring disappointment?

 

Genesis 39 …But while Joseph was there in the prison, 21 the Lord was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. 22 So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there. 23 The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s care, because the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.

 

Joseph had gone from the PIT to the PRISON, but God was still with Him, and blessed him.

God is with us in tough times. God intends for us to rise in tough times.

Joseph became HEAD of Potiphar’s house.
Joseph became in charge of the prison.

God intends for us to RISE in our life, even in tough situations. Joseph always became a leader!  You are called to be a leader!

Earlier in this story we mentioned a spiritual gifting that Joseph had. Do you remember it?

Joseph the Dreamer

Once again Joseph uses his gifting. In prison there were two prisoners, the Cupbearer and the Baker. These 2 were servants to the pharaoh but had done something to make him so mad that he put them in prison.

Genesis 40:8 “We both had dreams,” they answered, “but there is no one to interpret them.” Then Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell me your dreams.”

Joseph hears the dreams and interprets them.
The news was good for the cupbearer. In 3 days he would be restored to his job as cupbearer to the Pharaoh.

The news was not good for the baker. In 3 days he would be executed by the Pharaoh.

Joseph told the cupbearer this…

Genesis 40:14 But when all goes well with you, remember me and show me kindness; mention me to Pharaoh and get me out of this prison.

Remember me… Mention me…

Everything occurred like Joseph predicted. The Baker was executed and the cupbearer restored…

Genesis 40:23 The chief cupbearer, however, did not remember Joseph; he forgot him.

It is disappointing to do good, but be forgotten.  And Joseph was forgotten and 2 years go by where he remained in prison.

In Genesis 39 Pharaoh has 2 dreams he can’t understand. His magicians, wisemen, and advisors have no idea what the dream means…  If only there were someone who could interpret dreams.

The cupbearer speaks up and tells Pharaoh about a prisoner who had interpreted 2 dreams, and Pharaoh sends for Joseph to come interpret the dreams.

The dreams of Pharaoh were very important and God gave Joseph the interpretation instantly.

Joseph said there will be 7 years of abundance followed by 7 years of famine. During the 7 years of abundance Egypt should store up food to have food on hand during the 7 years of famine.

Genesis 41:37 The plan seemed good to Pharaoh and to all his officials. 38 So Pharaoh asked them, “Can we find anyone like this man, one in whom is the spirit of God[a]?”

39 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one so discerning and wise as you. 40 You shall be in charge of my palace, and all my people are to submit to your orders. Only with respect to the throne will I be greater than you.”

 

Joseph had been in the pit.
Joseph had been in the prison.
Now Joseph was exalted by God to the Palace.

The Palace

God is still with you in the pit.. the prison… and the palace.

God was always with Joseph, and now he was 2nd in command over all of Egypt.  Pharaoh was greatly blessed because of the leadership and gifting of Joseph.

During the 7 years of famine people came from everywhere to buy food from Egypt.

 

In the distance, Jospeh’s family was running out of food.  His father, Israel says this…

Genesis 42:2 …“I have heard that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us, so that we may live and not die.”

Israel sent the 10 brothers who had secretly thrown Joseph in the pit, to Egypt. And these brothers travel to Egypt and walk right up to Joseph and attempt to buy food from him.

Genesis 38:8 Although Joseph recognized his brothers, they did not recognize him.

These brothers had held Joseph down and stripped him of his coat of many colors. Joseph had been powerless, but now Joseph had all the power as 2nd in command of Egypt.

Joseph could have had his brothers killed… thrown into a pit… or locked away in prison…

How would Joseph respond?

This is such an important question for us.

Will we forgive, or will we try to get revenge?
Will we love, or hate?
Will we help, or will we hurt?

 

Joseph secretly causes some problems with the brothers purchase of food. Joseph interrogates them and they said one to another…

Genesis 42:21 They said to one another, “Surely we are being punished because of our brother. We saw how distressed he was when he pleaded with us for his life, but we would not listen; that’s why this distress has come on us.”

For all these years, they have been living with the secret shame and guilt of doing harm to Joseph. And the brothers do not know that they are standing in the presence of their lost brother Joseph.

Genesis 45:3 Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still living?” But his brothers were not able to answer him, because they were terrified at his presence.

4 Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come close to me.” When they had done so, he said, “I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! 5 And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you.

Joseph embraced his brothers and wept.
His brothers returned home and carried the whole family to Egypt. Joseph saw his father Israel again, they wept as they embraced.

 

What are we supposed to learn from this story?

 

The Pit, The Prison, and The Palace

Joseph had gone from the Pit, to the Prison, and to the Palace. God was faithful the entire time.

God’s blessing was on him the entire time.

God’s will was done the entire time…

Sometimes we go through hardship because God has a plan to save lives.

Joseph says these words to his brothers.

Genesis 50:20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.

Joseph’s story shows us that God is still working even when we can’t see Him.

We ought to try to be like Joseph.
-Rise above and be a leader.
-Use our gifting.
-Remain true and faithful.
-Forgive others.

 

But this story offers more than a be like Joseph message. This story is all about Jesus.

#LONGSTORYSHORT #ALLaboutJESUS

Joseph points us to Jesus. How?  Think about this.

-The Father’s favored son – Jesus is the Son of God.

-Joseph was hated and betrayed by his brothers – Jesus was betrayed by his own as well.

-They hated Joseph because of his relationship with His father and his gifting – Jesus was hated because of His relationship with His Father in heaven… and because of his power, authority, knowledge, and miracles.

Joseph was thrown into a pit – Jesus was thrown into a pit the night he was betrayed.

Joseph was sold for silver – Jesus was sold for silver.

Potiphar’s wife lied about Joseph – Many lied about Jesus.

Joseph was imprisoned – Jesus was imprisoned both physically and spiritually.

Only Joseph could open the interpretation – Only Jesus can open the way to Heaven (open the scroll)

Joseph became ruler of the land – Jesus will become ruler of Earth one day.

Joseph was found in the palace – Jesus is King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

TYPE AND SHADOW

Joseph is a type and shadow.  He is a prophetic picture of Jesus. He is an example and an illustration.

We see the use of type and shadow all through out the Old Testament scriptures.

The story of Joseph points directly at the life of Jesus.

 

The Pit, The Prison, and The Palace

Where are you today?

The pit?

  -Are you betrayed?

  -Are you depressed?

  -lost and confused?

God’s blessing can be found in the pit. Come to Jesus today! 

 

The Prison?

  -Are you bound?  Unhealthy thoughts and habits?

  -Are you in spiritual chains?

  -Do you feel forgotten?

God’s freedom can be found in the prison. Come to Jesus today!

 

The Palace?

  -Do you feel blessed?

  -Do you feel like you are doing good?

God has more for you in the palace.  He wants to restore brothers and save nations. Come to Jesus today!