## Lessons from Joseph: Dark Threads

## Genesis 37

God wanted to preserve His people through a severe famine, so long before the famine occurred He transplanted one of their number to the land of plenty where he became the chief dispenser of grain. But to accomplish this, God used the mistreatment by others to move Joseph to Egypt and to elevate him to his position of influence. The story of Joseph has been called the Old Testament Romans 8:28.

(Rom 8:28) And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

God used cruelty, slander, and ingratitude as dark threads to be woven into a beautiful, bright pattern. With God, there is no accident or chance. Man proposes; God disposes. Though others may treat us nastily, God is still on the throne, directing human affairs, able to use even the dirty deeds against us to bring about His perfect will.

I. The Thread of Cruelty.

A. His brothers hated him. v3-11

1. When Joseph's brothers saw that their father loved Joseph more than he loved any of them…

2. And expressed his favoritism openly by making the lad a coat of many colors…

3. "They hated Joseph, and could not speak peaceably unto him".

4. When Joseph told them of his two dreams foretelling his dominion over them, his brothers "hated him yet the more".

B. His brothers plotted against him. v12-22

1. One day when the 10 brothers had been gone several days tending their flocks, father Jacob sent Joseph to see how they were doing.

2. It was a three-day journey from Hebron to Shechem, some 50 miles to the north.

3. When Joseph arrived in Shechem he learned that his brothers had moved to Dothan, 12 miles beyond.

4. The brothers, spotting him afar off, -conspired against him to kill him.

5. They coldly discussed how they would dispose of the evidence by throwing him into a pit and contriving a story to tell their father.

6. But his oldest brother Reuben, intending to later rescue Joseph, suggested they put him in a pit or dry well.

C. The brothers take action. v23-28

1. When Joseph reached his brothers they seized him, stripped him of his special coat, and shoved him into a pit.

2. For some reason, Reuben was absent at this time and the rest of the brothers sat down to eat, ignoring the cries of Joseph.

3. A caravan of Ishmaelites, carrying spices to Egypt, gave Judah the idea of selling Joseph to the merchants.

4. "What profit is it if we slay our brother, and conceal his blood?" he asked.

5. The brothers agreed, bargaining with the merchants for the price of 20 pieces of silver.

D. Jacob was heartbroken. v29-35

1. When Reuben discovered he was so upset that he began tearing at his clothes.

2. But he wasn't ready to tell the truth to his father.

3. Now they all went with the original plan to explain the Joseph's disappearance.

4. They killed a goat, dipped Joseph's special coat in its blood, then brought it to their father, saying, "This have we -found: know now whether it be thy son's coat or no?"

5. Recognizing the coat, Jacob was deceived by them into thinking that Joseph had fallen victim to a wild beast.

6. He is totally heartbroken, and refuses to be comforted.

E. A dark thread, but the Master Weaver is at work in all of their lives.

1. Who kept the brothers from killing Joseph?

2. Who sent the caravan along just then?

3. What kept Reuben from returning in time to rescue his brother and restore him to his father?

4. The brothers thought they were making Joseph's dream of domination forever impossible.

5. Instead, their very act of selling him into slavery was the first step toward Joseph's exaltation and the ultimate fulfillment of his dreams.

6. In fact, years later when Joseph revealed his idenity to his terrified brothers, he told them that God had overruled their wickedness.

(Gen 45:8a) So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God:

II. The Thread of Slander

A. Sold as a slave. 37:36; 39:1-6

1. Joseph was carried by the Midianites down to Egypt to be sold as a slave.

2. Not a very bright future for such a young man 17 years of age; but remember that God is still at work.

3. Pharoah's captain of the guard, Potiphar purchased Joseph.

4. Was it chance that deposited Joseph in an upper class home with close links to Pharaoh?

5. Was it chance that gave Joseph favor in the sight of his master so that Potiphar made him overseer of his household affairs?

6. Absolutely not…the Lord was with him!

B. His character tested. v6b-20

1. Joseph's handsome appearance did not go unnoticed by Potiphar's wife.

2. She repeatedly tried to seduce him, and one day, she grabbed him, but when he fled away she kept his coat.

3. She held onto the garment and used it as "evidence" of attempted rape by her husband's most trusted slave.

4. Note this was the second time Joseph's coat was used to deceive others about him.

5. Potiphar angrily ordered Joseph placed in the king's prison.

C. Another dark thread.

1. Maybe Mrs. Potiphar thought she had gotten rid of Joseph when he was thrown into prison.

2. But in reality, her frame-up only moved Joseph closer to being advanced to the second-in-command of Egypt.

3. I am sure that Joseph must have thought that the slander was certainly another mistake by God.

4. But God makes no mistakes!

5. Not in Joseph's life, and not in ours.

III. The Thread of Ingratitude

A. But the Lord was with Joseph. v21-23

1. Even in the Egyptian prison, God allowed him to prosper.

2. Eventually the warden placed everything under Joseph's jurisdiction.

B. The butler and the baker. 40:1-23

1. Two of Pharaoh's servants were imprisoned and placed under Joseph's charge.

2. They each had troubling dreams, which Joseph interpreted accurately for them.

3. Joseph asked the butler to put in a good word to Pharaoh on his return to the palace.

4. But he was forgotten, initially.

5. Although Joseph wanted out of prison right then, God knew the timing wasn't right yet.

6. It would be two more years before God would refresh the butler's memory.

C. Joseph fulfills God's purpose.

1. Pharaoh dreams and none can interpret.

2. The butler remembers and speaks to him of Joseph.

3. The rest, as they say is history.

4. Joseph is promoted to the second-in-command over all of Egypt.

5. Years later God uses Joseph to preserve Israel through the famine, and to allow them to grow from a family of 70 to a multitude of nearly 2 million when they would leave.

The lone survivor of a shipwreck found himself on an uninhabited island. After a while he managed to build a hut where he placed some food he had gathered. Every day he scanned the horizon for any passing ship. One day he spotted a boat. He waved frantically. But the ship disappeared over the horizon. Sadly he returned to his hut, only to find it in flames. But the next day a ship arrived - it was the same one that had passed the day before. The captain explained, "We saw your smoke signal."

What may seem like an accident unplanned by man may turn out to be an incident planned by God in His great design. A disappointment may really be His appointment.

My life is but a weaving Between my Lord and me; I cannot choose the colors He worketh steadily. Ofttimes He weaveth sorrow, And I in foolish pride Forget He sees the upper, And I, the under side. Not till the loom is silent And the shuttles cease to fly Shall God unroll the canvas And explain the reason why The dark threads are as needful in the Weavers skillful hand As the threads of gold and silver in the pattern He has planned.

Joseph said to his brothers,

(Gen 50:20) But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.