NL-Year 3 / Week 3: Joseph

Introduction to this week

Why is it that some in this country, who cry out about family values, turn to the Bible?  Have they read the stories in here?  They’re full of flawed human beings and dysfunctional families.  Hardly ones I would call role models.

Last week in Genesis, we heard God make a promise to Abraham and Sarah of land, offspring and a blessing – a blessing through which God would bless all the families of the earth.  Abraham trusted God’s promise and they sealed the covenant with a ritual.

God eventually enabled Abraham and Sarah to have a child whom they named Isaac.  Now, one child isn’t exactly as many as stars in the sky, but it’s a start.  Isaac married and had twin sons, Esau and Jacob.  As the one born first, Esau should have received the blessing and carried on the promise from his father.  It was a custom at the time called primogenitor.  But Jacob, the trickster, deceived their father and stole the blessing and the promise from Esau then ran away from home.  That’s biblical family values.  And it gets better.

Jacob has two wives, sisters, in fact.  And Jacob will father children with both wives and their maidservants – twelve sons and a daughter.  By the way, Jacob is the one who has the dream of a ladder to the heavens and angels going up and down the ladder.  Jacob is also the one who wrestles all night with God.  Jacob emerges from this encounter changed and with a new name, Israel, which means one who wrestles with God.  Which brings us to today’s reading. 

We begin with Genesis, chapter 37.  Listen for what the Spirit is saying to the church. 

Genesis 37:1-8, 12-14a, 17b-34

¹Jacob settled in the land where his father had lived as an alien, the land of Canaan. 2This is the story of the family of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was shepherding the flock with his brothers; he was a helper to the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father’s wives; and Joseph brought a bad report of them to their father. ³Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his children, because he was the son of his old age; and he had made him a long robe with sleeves. ⁴But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably to him.

⁵Once Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more. ⁶He said to them, “Listen to this dream that I dreamed. ⁷There we were, binding sheaves in the field. Suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright; then your sheaves gathered around it, and bowed down to my sheaf.” ⁸His brothers said to him, “Are you indeed to reign over us? Are you indeed to have dominion over us?” So they hated him even more because of his dreams and his words.

¹²Now his brothers went to pasture their father’s flock near Shechem. ¹³And Israel said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers pasturing the flock at Shechem? Come, I will send you to them.” He answered, “Here I am.” ¹⁴So he said to him, “Go now, see if it is well with your brothers and with the flock; and bring word back to me.” So he sent him from the valley of Hebron.

So Joseph went after his brothers, and found them at Dothan. ¹⁸They saw him from a distance, and before he came near to them, they conspired to kill him. ¹⁹They said to one another, “Here comes this dreamer. ²⁰Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits; then we shall say that a wild animal has devoured him, and we shall see what will become of his dreams.” ²¹But when Reuben heard it, he delivered him out of their hands, saying, “Let us not take his life.” ²²Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but lay no hand on him” —that he might rescue him out of their hand and restore him to his father.

²³So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the long robe with sleeves that he wore; ²⁴and they took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it. ²⁵Then they sat down to eat; and looking up they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, with their camels carrying gum, balm, and resin, on their way to carry it down to Egypt. ²⁶Then Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? ²⁷Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and not lay our hands on him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.” And his brothers agreed. ²⁸When some Midianite traders passed by, they drew Joseph up, lifting him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt. ²⁹When Reuben returned to the pit and saw that Joseph was not in the pit, he tore his clothes. ³⁰He returned to his brothers, and said, “The boy is gone; and I, where can I turn?”

³¹Then they took Joseph’s robe, slaughtered a goat, and dipped the robe in the blood. ³²They had the long robe with sleeves taken to their father, and they said, “This we have found; see now whether it is your son’s robe or not.” ³³He recognized it, and said, “It is my son’s robe! A wild animal has devoured him; Joseph is without doubt torn to pieces.” ³⁴Then Jacob tore his garments, and put sackcloth on his loins, and mourned for his son many days.

The Word of the Lord.  Thanks be to God.

Joseph – Part 1

The last part of the book of Genesis is the dramatic story of the children of Jacob with a particular, but not exclusive, focus on Joseph.  As you heard this morning, we begin with Jacob and his family settling in the land which God had earlier promised to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob.  And immediately we know there is some tension in this family.  We learn that Jacob has a favorite among his sons – Joseph, who is seventeen.  It doesn’t take a genius to realize this will become a problem.  The narrator also gives us a visual cue: Jacob has given this favored son a special coat – a coat of many colors or a robe with long sleeves and reaching down to your feet.  We’re not sure how to translate the word.  Either way one describes it, that coat or robe and what it stands for stirs up jealousy among his brothers.

But that’s not all.  After “working” in the fields with his brothers, Joseph brings “a bad report” of them to their father.  Joseph is a tattletale, a bratty teenager!  The final straw is when Joseph tells his family about a dream he had in which he and his brothers are represented by stalks of wheat, and his brothers’ stalks are bowing down to Joseph’s stalk.  Somehow, Joseph hasn’t figured out that sharing this with his brothers might upset them further.  Joseph has a lot of growing up to do.  And his brothers have grown to hate Joseph.

Having given us a picture of the animosity between Joseph and his brothers, the storyteller sets up the scene that will drive the whole rest of the story of this family, a problem that won’t be resolved until the end of Genesis.

Jacob’s sons are pasturing the flock way out in the next county.  Guess who’s not out there with them.  Of course, Joseph, who’s back home with his dad.  Jacob decides to send Joseph out to see how his brothers are doing.  From the brother’s perspective here comes Joseph, the spoiled brat, probably sent to spy on them.  Is he going to bring back to their father another “bad report”?  And look at him: he’s wearing that coat their father gave him, a reminder that Joseph is special, and they aren’t.  And their father is far, far away.

Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised when the brothers scheme to kill Joseph, as horrible as that thought is.  And again, maybe we shouldn’t be surprised when they have second thoughts and decide to sell him instead to a passing caravan.  Either way, they’ve gotten rid of their pain-in-the-neck brother, and key to their plot is taking Joseph’s coat so they can put animal blood on it to show their father as proof that a wild animal devoured him.

In four generations we’ve gone from Abraham who trusted God to Jacob’s sons who are jealous and planning to kill.  It’s a cycle of violence that keeps repeating itself.  After Adam and Eve came the story of Cain killing his brother Abel out of jealousy.  And I mentioned earlier how Jacob stole his brother’s blessing and birthright.  Well, Jacob had to flee from home after that because Esau was ready to kill him.

There’s an old saying that the sins of the fathers get visited upon the children.  I don’t think that means God punishes children for the sins of their parents.  I think it reflects the reality that we tend to repeat the same mistakes, generation after generation.  Despite our best intentions, we often make the same mistakes our parents made.  Of course, we often do the same things right as well.  But sometimes we hurt others in ways that are like the ways we once were hurt.  And how often do we hear stories today of domestic violence, of spousal abuse, abuse of children by a parent, that seems to carry on from one generation to the next.  The abused becomes the abuser.  How difficult to break the cycle then and now.

Joseph’s brothers were a lot like their father, Jacob, the trickster.  Reuben, the oldest, realizes that his father will hold him accountable if something bad should happen to Joseph.  You know how it is when you’re the oldest.  So he proposes an alternative plan that will enable him to secretly rescue Joseph.  A little trickery.  And another brother, Judah, not trusting Reuben, secretly comes up with a different plan to sell Joseph as a slave.  A little more trickery.  And all the brothers take Joseph’s special coat and cover it with goat’s blood to show their father, fooling him into believing Joseph has been killed by a wild animal.  Still more trickery.

By the end of the chapter, this family is broken.  The father thinks his favorite son is dead.  The brothers have to live with a terrible secret.  And Joseph ends up a servant in Egypt.  Meanwhile, God seems to be nowhere in sight. 

Introduction to Genesis 50

In Egypt, Joseph’s fortunes rise and fall.  But it is his ability to interpret dreams that will eventually lead to his rescue.  When he interprets the dreams of Pharaoh as predicting a famine, and proposes a plan to prepare for this, Joseph is put in charge of storing and distributing grain.  He becomes Pharaoh’s right-hand man.

As it turns out, the famine is so severe throughout the region that even Jacob and his family have to leave their home and go to Egypt, the only nation with food.  Eventually, Joseph and his brothers are reunited in an emotional scene.  An even more emotional scene takes place soon after when Joseph is reunited with his father.

All would seem to be ending well, but there is one more scene involving Joseph and his brothers.  It follows the death and burial of their father, Jacob.  Listen for what the Spirit is saying to the church in Genesis 50. 

Genesis 50:15-21

¹⁵Realizing that their father was dead, Joseph’s brothers said, “What if Joseph still bears a grudge against us and pays us back in full for all the evil that we did to him?” ¹⁶So they approached Joseph, saying, “Your father gave this instruction before he died, ¹⁷‘Say to Joseph: I beg you, forgive the transgression of your brothers and the evil they did in harming you.’ Now therefore please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father.” Joseph wept when they spoke to him. ¹⁸Then his brothers also wept, fell down before him, and said, “We are here as your slaves.” ¹⁹But Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid! Am I in the place of God? ²⁰Even though you intended to do harm to me, God intended it for good, in order to preserve a numerous people, as he is doing today. ²¹So have no fear; I myself will provide for you and your little ones.” In this way he reassured them, speaking kindly to them.

The Word of the Lord.  Thanks be to God. 

Joseph – Part 2

The cycle of hatred and revenge has finally been broken.  Or so we think when the brothers reconcile, and Joseph is reunited with his father, Jacob.  But now that Jacob has died, the brothers are worried Joseph still holds a grudge against them.  That’s because they are still living in the past.

This past spring a group of us read the book “Amish Grace” about the murder of five Amish schoolgirls in Nickel Mines, PA.  A lot of our discussion centered on forgiveness.  It’s not about ignoring or forgetting the past, but about refusing to be chained to the past.  It’s about letting the past go, and it’s not easy.  Ask the folks in Northern Ireland.  Look at the continuing cycle of violence in the Middle East.  Consider your own families – I’m sure some of us can recall feuds that went on for years.  Maybe they still haven’t been settled.

Joseph tells his brothers to look at the present.  Despite the evil of their plan to sell Joseph into slavery, God used that event for good.  This is not to blame God for the actions of Joseph’s brothers.  Rather, despite the brothers’ efforts to harm Joseph, God found a way by working behind the scenes to put Joseph in a position with enough power to enable Jacob’s family to survive and thrive, to become a “numerous people.”  Plans for death have become God’s plans for life.  Forgiveness and the breaking of the cycle of violence is possible because God is involved.  But sometimes God’s plans can be hard to see when you are in the midst of a crisis.

When tragedy strikes one wants to know why and where was God.  There are some who try to attribute the evil to God’s workings.  This text says, “No.”  God doesn’t plan evil, but turns evil plans around to good.  The prophet Jeremiah puts it this way: “For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.”  It’s often not until after we have come through a tragedy that looking back years later we realize God was always there working quietly in ways and through people we least expect.

When I was a teenager my parents got divorced.  We had a tough first year until my mother could find a job in addition to church organist.  I wouldn’t wish the experience on anyone else, but in spite of the bad situation, my brother, sister and I found some good in it.  Fifteen years later while gathered at my mother’s for Thanksgiving, we all commented on how great her idea was to give each of us $5 a week to buy groceries for making our weekday suppers.  We learned how to cook, how to budget.  We grew closer as a family during this tough time.  And I can look back now and see that God was present in the friends, neighbors and church members who helped us, encouraged us, prayed for us.

Perhaps the good news for us is to realize that God works through ordinary flawed human beings and dysfunctional families.  The Bible is full of them.  Look at Joseph, the snotty kid who irritated his family, didn’t do any work, tattled on his brothers.  He became the means for God to save Jacob’s family, and by extension the people of Israel.  We discover over and over again the sure and ongoing promise of God to create new things, new possibilities, new life, and new hope.  If God can accomplish that through Jacob and his family, think of what God could already be doing through us.