Day Six What a Tangled Web We Weave Genesis 37:18-36 Welcome back! When we left off on Day Five we had seen Joseph’s brothers throw him in the pit, sit down to eat while he screamed in the background. I still can’t imagine committing such an insidious act and then sitting down to eat immediately after. I guess conspiracy and lying can work up an appetite. But the more I think about it, I realized it gave them a few minutes to think about the repercussions of their actions. So they decided to pull Joseph out of the cistern and sold him for a very cheap amount of money (not that there is any price on a human life, let alone your brother’s). Twenty shekels must have seemed like a king’s ransom when compared to the smallness of their wicked hearts. I read a quote once by Alistair Begg that said “All hate needs is a corner of a selfish heart to germinate.” Powerful but true. The trek from Joseph’s house to where is brothers were working was a 65 mile trip. It took that long for their hate to grow. If you remember, it only took a few minutes for the plan to come together. Never underestimate the power of a hateful heart. We met Reuben, who devised a plan to not kill Joseph but to come back at night and rescue him. When he returned, there was no Joseph. Notice Reuben’s reaction. “What am I going to do now?” Don’t you love it? His concern wasn’t with Joseph’s well being or his brothers’ actions. He was wondering how he was going to cover his own behind. I guess Reuben missed the memo. I can’t criticize him because truthfully, I miss it sometimes myself. You know the one that says “Hey kid…it ain’t all about you. Love, God.” Because of his lack of boldness to do the right thing, he is left with the guilt of knowing that regardless of his intentions, Joseph is gone and the blame is as much his as it is his brothers. Remorse is a heavy burden. Guilt can drag you into a pit. Look at poor Jacob’s reaction to his son’s demise. The Bible says he was inconsolable. None of his children could comfort him. He mourned for days…went without food…just wanted to die right alongside his beloved son. Notice that the brothers didn’t actually have to lie. They simply handed the blood soaked, shredded robe to Jacob and said “Is this your son’s?” He immediately did what they knew he would…he jumped to the conclusion that wild animals had devoured Joseph. He held the shredded symbol of a father’s undaunting love in his hand, as he tore at his own robe in grief. They stand, unified, as they watch their father fall to pieces and allow the biggest lie of all times to continue on. They maintain their story…One wicked lie with a lifetime of repercussions and a twenty year expiration date (stay tuned to see how that works out). Question: Since they didn’t technically lie to him, was it still wrong? A lie of omission is as sinful as a verbal lie. Anytime you set out to deceive someone, it doesn’t matter how you rationalize it, it is still sin. Their intent to cause Jacob pain was accomplished, regardless of how it came about. Just like the brothers did, we tend to rationalize our sins. Things like…”Everyone else was doing it…” or “I didn’t say a word. He drew his on conclusion” are simply rationalizations of our poor choices. Question: Have you ever told a lie so big that it changed your entire life? You know what I mean. The kind of lie that once you have set it into motion, it’s too late to go back and correct. It may mean swallowing your pride or revealing you true nature. It may change how others see you. The truth is, once we tell those whoppers, it’s almost impossible to take them back. One lie leads to another and before we know it we are in a web of lies. It is a tangled web indeed. Just like a spider’s web, a lie is weak, with no foundation and is easily destroyed. All lies are the same….one small lie leads to another big lie and soon you are so tangled up in their sticky mess and there is no escaping the situation. You either face your lie or you remain entangled in it forever. I’ve said it a million times and I will say it until I die. It’s so much easier to pray for strength than to pray for forgiveness. Joseph had to have been horrified at his situation. He was carted out of Dothan on a camel to Egypt, betrayed by the same people that he should always be able to trust. I have wonder if his heart was screaming what mine would have been. “Where are you God? What are you doing to me?” We don’t know for sure what his reaction was. The only thing we can be sure of is God’s hand remained very much on Joseph and he held tightly to it. Maybe he knew that God allowed it. Or maybe he knew that God had a bigger plan for his life, we aren’t sure. All we do know is that the God we know and serve, which is the same God Joseph knew and served, is consistently the same. Full of love, fiercely protective of his children, and full of grace and mercy. Isn’t it funny that in all of these sins our characters have committed by the brothers (conspiracy attempted murder, betrayal, lies), the traders (profiteering and human slavery), and Jacob (favoritism)…..nothing could change the will and love of God. Think about a time when you were in a valley in your life. Did your mind go where Joseph’s might have gone? Did you wonder where God was and why you had to endure your circumstances? It’s okay if it did. We are human and God isn’t surprised when we react this way. The main thing is to do what Joseph did, hold on to God and trust Him. As the saying goes, “when you can’t see His hand…trust His heart.” Turn to Psalm 18:6-8 (Biblegateway is a free Bible site if you need it to retrieve this passage.) What can we depend on when we find ourselves dwelling in the pits of life or enslaved to a situation that seems hopeless? God’s divine protection and salvation. His eternal love and the fact he will never abandon us. Does this mean that we won’t ever face difficulties? No. John 16:33 says “33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” Joseph still went through a “hell on earth” situation. He just went through it under the protective right hand of God. Did he hate his circumstances? Probably. Was he fearful? Absolutely. He just persevered as God required. We are required to do the same. I don’t want you to miss this point. He was protected in his circumstances and not from them. Folks, we won’t have it easy. We won’t float through life without difficulties and challenges. The world is tough, but with Jesus, we have eternity. We can find peace in our circumstances and hope in a Savior who died for us so that this world would be overcome. So how did Joseph endure the betrayal, fear, pain and suffering? He knew that He was not alone. Go to Genesis 39:2. The Lord was with Joseph. Five small words that change any situation from despair to hope. Five words that make us look up instead of around us in a bewildered state. Five words that give us the hope and power to say “I’m here…God has this…and I am going to trust Him and do His will. It’s a decision that Joseph had to consciously make and one we are required to make as well. Tomorrow we are going to read Genesis 39:1-23. We will see that Joseph has been traded again and this time he lands in Potipher’s house.
Posted on: Mon, 09 Sep 2013 01:14:13 +0000
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