Dreams and Destiny – November 24, 2024
Today we bring our series about Joseph to a close. Over the last four weeks we’ve followed the story of this remarkable young man through ups and downs, from slavery to blessings, from blessings to prison, from prison to power.
A couple of weeks ago I described this story as something of a prequel to the events of the book of Exodus, where the Israelites have grown and multiplied, and find themselves in slavery in Egypt.
How did they end up there? Joseph’s story tells us the answer.
So let’s dive in and see how the story ends, and what it might have to teach us about our own stories.
Turn with me please to Genesis 42, Page _____. We’ve got 8 chapters to cover, so we’re going to touch down at a few specific points and I’ll summarize the rest.
A BROTHER IN DISGUISE
So, last week Maron told us about the famine Joseph predicted from Pharaoh’s dreams. Now it has come to pass. But God… Remember? Because the Lord was wit Joseph, Egypt was prepared with plenty of extra food. Let’s read what happens next.
Genesis 42:3-9
So Joseph’s ten older brothers went down to Egypt to buy grain. But Jacob wouldn’t let Joseph’s younger brother, Benjamin, go with them, for fear some harm might come to him. So Jacob’s sons arrived in Egypt along with others to buy food, for the famine was in Canaan as well. Since Joseph was governor of all Egypt and in charge of selling grain to all the people, it was to him that his brothers came. When they arrived, they bowed before him with their faces to the ground. Joseph recognized his brothers instantly, but he pretended to be a stranger and spoke harshly to them. “Where are you from?” he demanded. “From the land of Canaan,” they replied. “We have come to buy food.” Although Joseph recognized his brothers, they didn’t recognize him. And he remembered the dreams he’d had about them many years before.
Alright, just in case you weren’t around for week 1 or you haven’t read the story (or seen the musical), as a teenager Joseph had two dreams in which his brothers, represented by sheaves of grain in one dream and stars in another, bowed down to him.
When he told his brothers about the dreams, they were super offended (it was one of the main reasons they sold him into slavery), but now the dreams have come true. They’re literally bowing at his feet.
Now, the text tells us that the brothers don’t recognize Joseph. It may seem a little hard to believe (he’s their brother), but let’s take a second to think about why this might be true.
For one thing, it’s possible they just assume he’s dead. Why would they expect to find him not just alive, but the second in command of Egypt?
But it’s also likely that Joseph has simply changed a lot over the years. When we first meet him in the story he’s only 17. At this point he’s likely in his late 30’s or early 40’s.
That’s my age, and I’ll tell you. I don’t look as fresh as I did in my teens.
If you’re curious how we know Joseph’s age here, I put the reasons why in the app notes. But suffice it to say, he’s an older guy now.
But that’s not all. In Egypt, being clean-shaven, including your head, was a sign of holiness. So maybe Joseph here is bald. He probably has eyeliner on too. This stuff called “kohl.”
Add that to the fact that he was likely introduced to them by his new Egyptian name, Zaphenath-paneah, and we learn later that he’s speaking through an interpreter.
Add all that up, and you can see why they have no idea who he is.
So, because he has this anonymity with his brothers, Joseph decides to put them through a series of tests. This is a major theme in the biblical story - that of the Israelites being tested.
Now, I’m not going to go through the whole saga (they go back and forth from Canaan a few times, there are hidden bags of money, and prison sentences), but essentially these tests involve Joseph framing his brothers for crimes they didn’t commit.
Scholars debate why, exactly, Joseph does all of this. Is he being punitive? Torturing his brothers for what they did to him?
Or is this some elaborate way to find out if his full brother Benjamin is really alive?
Or maybe he is being redemptive. Like the tests the future Israelites would go through, is this an opportunity for them to be honest for once?
Regardless of why he does it, these tests will ultimately show Joseph (and us the readers) whether his brothers have changed at all.
I’ll just cut to the chase here and say that in the end, it’s obvious that they have. They are repentant now. They take responsibility for their actions. It’s obvious they are different men than the ones who sold Joseph into slavery.
JUDAH’S REDEMPTION
But I think none of them have changed as much as Judah.
Remember, it was Judah who had the idea to sell Joseph in the first place. But also, in chapter 38 Judah has this really dark moment where he sleeps with a prostitute who turns out to be his daughter-in-law, and he gets her pregnant, bringing shame on his family. Judah’s a mess.
But here, at the end of the story, it’s clear that he has been on a major arc of redemption. Because when it seems like Joseph is going to imprison his youngest brother Benjamin, Judah offers himself instead.
Genesis 44:33
“Please, my lord, let me stay here as a slave instead of the boy, and let the boy return with his brothers. For how can I return to my father if the boy is not with me? I couldn’t bear to see the anguish this would cause my father!”
Woah. Judah (of all people!) has become selfless. Others-focused. He really has changed.
So much so, that as the story of the Bible continues, we learn that it is from Judah’s line that Israel’s kings arise. King David, King Hezekiah. They’re all Judah’s descendants.
Listen to what Jacob (his dad) says later when he’s blessing his sons.
Genesis 49:10
The scepter will not depart from Judah,
nor the ruler’s staff from his descendants,
until the coming of the one to whom it belongs,
the one whom all nations will honor.
Who is he talking about here? He’s talking about the future universal king of not just Israel, but the whole world. That king will descend from Judah.
And sure enough, after many, many generations, it is a direct descendent of Judah named Jesus of Nazareth who proves himself to be that king - the Messiah.
Again, you can see how God’s plans are working through this entire story in ways none of the characters could have possibly imagined at the time.
Ok. Back to the story. What we’ve seen is that Joseph’s tests reveal the truth. Judah and the rest of the brothers have genuinely changed.
The one who once sold his brother into slavery is now offering himself instead.
AN IDENTITY REVEALED
Which is why, at the end of Judah’s speech, Joseph finally comes clean about who he is. Let’s read about that moment together.
Genesis 45:1-8
Joseph could stand it no longer. There were many people in the room, and he said to his attendants, “Out, all of you!” So he was alone with his brothers when he told them who he was. Then he broke down and wept. He wept so loudly the Egyptians could hear him, and word of it quickly carried to Pharaoh’s palace. “I am Joseph!” he said to his brothers. “Is my father still alive?” But his brothers were speechless! They were stunned to realize that Joseph was standing there in front of them. “Please, come closer,” he said to them. So they came closer. And he said again, “I am Joseph, your brother, whom you sold into slavery in Egypt. But don’t be upset, and don’t be angry with yourselves for selling me to this place. It was God who sent me here ahead of you to preserve your lives. This famine that has ravaged the land for two years will last five more years, and there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. God has sent me ahead of you to keep you and your families alive and to preserve many survivors. So it was God who sent me here, not you! And he is the one who made me an adviser to Pharaoh—the manager of his entire palace and the governor of all Egypt.
What a beautiful moment of forgiveness and reconciliation. Just a few verses later we read this:
Genesis 45:14-15
Weeping with joy, he embraced Benjamin, and Benjamin did the same. Then Joseph kissed each of his brothers and wept over them, and after that they began talking freely with him.
Think about this: The last time his brothers touched him physically, they were throwing him in a pit and selling him into slavery. Now they are embracing and weeping together.
I love that narrative arc, don’t you?
THE BIG IDEA
But what I love even more is how Joseph talks with his brothers here about the things he’s experienced. We touched on this a couple of weeks ago, but look at how he describes the driving force behind his roller coaster journey.
Verse 5. “It was God who sent me here ahead of you to preserve your lives.” He says it again in verse 7. “God has sent me ahead of you.” And again in verse 8. “It was God who sent me here, not you.”
Here we’ve come to the core concept that undergirds the entire Joseph story, one we’ve touched on every week. The big idea that has defined Joseph’s posture toward all the ups and downs of his journey: God is working, even when we can’t see it.
“It was God who sent me here.” That’s what Joseph wants his brothers to understand. None of this was by accident. Even his brothers’ selfish and evil actions were turned around by God for good. Even broken, selfish, messed up Judah became the ancestor of kings.
Joseph reiterates this big idea one final time chapter 50. After their father Jacob dies, the brothers are still a little uncertain about whether ol’ Joe is looking for revenge.
Genesis 50:19-21
But Joseph replied, “Don’t be afraid of me. Am I God, that I can punish you? You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people. No, don’t be afraid. I will continue to take care of you and your children.”
And that’s exactly what happens. Abraham’s family - the sons of Jacob - the people of Israel survive the famine, multiply in Egypt, and find themselves ready for their own roller coaster journey of redemption to begin. The exodus.
It was all made possible by Joseph’s trust that God was always working. Every time his story looked like a dead end, Joseph believed there was more redemption to come.
We have the benefit of knowing the end of the story. Not only were both Israel and Egypt saved from the famine, but one day the whole world would be offered salvation through the promised king - “the one whom all nations will honor,” Jesus Christ.
God is working, even when we can’t see it. Joseph trusted in that truth, even if he could never have imagined what God would ultimately do through his faithfulness.
TRUSTING IN GOD’S REDEMPTION
So that’s the story of Joseph. It’s a beautiful reminder that God’s promises are true. It’s no surprise that our spiritual ancestors handed this story down to us.
Not only because it’s a good story, but because it can lead us all to a place of reflection if we let it. So let’s reflect for a few minutes.
Let’s talk about the decision that every one of us has to make in light of this story: whether or not we will trust God in the circumstances we face.
Here’s the real question. Do you believe that God can redeem your story? Let me be more specific. Do you believe that God can make something good out of even the worst moments of your life?
Because this is what our spiritual ancestors, the biblical authors, claim again and again.
• This is what the authors of Genesis convey through the story of Joseph.
• This is what the prophets and the Psalm-writers wrote about in the midst of the Babylonian Exile.
• And it’s what the apostles said as they faced a world set against the message of Jesus.
For example, the Apostle Paul. As a young Jewish child, he undoubtedly grew up listening to the story of Joseph over and over again so he was very familiar with this theme. And then he started to live it.
After he believed in Jesus, Paul dealt with violence, prison, shipwrecks, and torture for his faith. And yet the gospel continued to spread through him all the more. Which is why he put it this way in his letter to the church in Rome (Maron shared this passage last week):
Romans 8:28
We know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.
God causes everything to work together for good.
Now, a quick caveat about this. Some believe Paul is saying here that God causes everything, including the shipwrecks and the torture. But I don’t believe that’s what Paul means.
What he’s saying is that God can take every circumstance that this broken world can conjure up - injustice, violence, grief, oppression - and he can turn it around. “You intended to harm me,” Joseph said, “but God intended it all for good.”
God does not cause sin and chaos and injustice - that’s what we do - it’s what the brothers did when they sold Joseph… God doesn’t cause brokenness, but he can redeem it all.
You see, this is not some saccharine feel-good slogan like “everything happens for a reason!” No. Sometimes our world is just broken. Sometimes your life is just a mess.
But God is not content to leave you in the dungeon of despair. He wants to work with and through your circumstances to create something beautiful out of the ashes.
God intends good for this world, and his intentions will win the day in the end.
Sometimes you get to see that beautiful redemption in your own lifetime. You’ll have a moment like Joseph embracing his brothers when you can say, “Look what God did!”
Sometimes you’ll have a moment like Judah, where you can see just how much God has changed and redeemed you from the brokenness of your past.
But sometimes you’ll be more like the descendants of Joseph - the Israelites who were brought out of slavery in Egypt only to die in the wildness without ever seeing the Promised Land with their own eyes. All they had was hope and trust that God wasn’t done yet.
You may not see all that God is doing with your story until you’re standing face to face with him in New Creation.
But do you believe that he is still working? Do you trust that he’s causing all things to work together for your good? Because he is. It’s what he does.
The promises of God will not go unfulfilled. His love will always win the day.
I love what Paul says a bit later in Romans 8, because it captures this idea perfectly.
Romans 8:35-39
Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death?... No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.
God is working, even when we can’t see it. And it’s especially then - when we can’t see it - that this truth is so important to cling to.
You are not alone. You are not abandoned. And nothing on earth or in heaven can separate you from the love of Jesus. Not slavery, not prison, not the power of Pharaoh….
To paraphrase Dr. Martin Luther King, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends to the will of God.”
The story of Joseph is an ancient tale. But it is a story relived over and over again by those who put their trust in a God works all things together for good.
Do you believe it? Do you believe that God can redeem your story?
Because that kind of trust can change you and help you see your broken world through an entirely different lens.
Your story is still being written. But we know where it’s going to end: in the arms of a God who would give anything to bring you home.