Text: Genesis 37: 2-36
Title: A dysfunctional family and the God who is still there
Psychologists like to talk about dysfunction. The Bible speaks of sin.
Sin always leads to dysfunction.
Sin leads to greater dysfunction within families.(marriage, parenting etc..)
Bad news: we all come from and live in dysfunctional families.
The good news is that God knows a thing or two about dysfunctional families.
God has a long history of working in/through/changing people.
From beginning: God chose a dysfunctional family (Abraham) to bless through whom all the nations of the earth would be blessed.
In Genesis 37, we have family dysfunction with a capital “D.”
Big Idea: God continues to work on behalf of His people, even overcoming evil, to carry out His good plan. In Genesis 37, we discover the God is who still there.
Notice 3 focal points in our text:
1. The root of the estrangement between Joseph and his brothers. (v2-11)
Three things to note: a bad report (v2), a father’s favoritism (v3) and two dreams (v5-11).
It appears that Joseph is immature, foolish, unwise.
We know his brothers hate him and cannot even speak a kind word to him.
Jacob plays favorites, Joseph is immature, his brothers hate him: the estrangement grows even more.
What causes this? (favoritism, jealously, envy, pride, outright hatred)
Bible does not let us settle for surface answers.
James 4:1 provides accurate commentary on Genesis 37.
The root cause of conflict/estrangement/division among family members are our passions/desires that are out of control.
The war in our hearts eventually will spill out into our lives.
2. The bitter fruit of this estrangement. (v12-35)
Sinful thoughts lead to sinful actions.
Joseph’s 65 mile trek to meet his brothers. V12 (Why is he not with them in the fields?)
How did his brothers know it was Joseph? (v18)
Brothers devise a plan to kill Joseph. (v19-20)
Reuben saves Joseph’s life. (v 21-22)
Brothers spare Joseph’s life but do not spare him a brutal beating. (v23)
Hebrew word for “stripping” in Lev. 1:6 is used for skinning of animals.
Bitter fruit of estrangement continues…
Joseph is left for dead, at bottom of deep pit.
Brothers response: they eat a meal! (v25)
Judah intervenes and commutes Joseph’s sentence from death to slavery. (v26-27)
Brothers hatch a cover-up to deceive Jacob. (v31)
Jacob’s response to death of Joseph. (v33-35)
Dysfunction in this family seems to reach a whole new level.
James 1:15 and the process of sin.
Where is God in all of this? Amidst all this sin and dysfunction, what is God up to?
I want to answer this in two ways:
1. What was God’s purpose for God’s people then? (Joseph, his family and the Israelites)
2. What is God’s purpose for God’s people today? (for us, our families)
3. The purpose of this estrangement (v36)
For God’s people then:
Genesis 37 reveals a God who is still there!
He may be silent but He is not absent.
God was all the while working, using even the evil deeds against Joseph and the sins of his brothers, to carry out His good plan.
Proof: Where do we find Joseph? (v36)
From the beginning of Joseph’s arrival in Egypt, he is near Pharaoh.
Even though this would mean more suffering for Joseph, he would eventually rise to the highest position in Pharaoh’s palace.
God sovereignly chose Joseph to save his people from famine in Egypt.
Providence defined: (Heidelberg Catechism)
Providence “is the almighty and ever-present power of God by which he upholds, as with his hand, heaven and earth and all creatures and so rules them that leaf and blade, rain and drought, fruitful and lean years, food and drink, health and sickness, prosperity and poverty – all things, in fact, come to us not by chance but from his fatherly hand.”
It seems clear that Joseph believed this. (Gen. 50:20; 45:5)
What was God’s purpose in all of this? Preserving life! (Gen. 45:5)
The sovereign God overruled the evil intentions of Joseph’s brothers to accomplish His goal – ultimately, to keep his chosen people Israel alive – the very people through whom the Messiah would come.
No doubt the people of Israel, as they journeyed to the Promised Land, could look back at this story and be comforted and encouraged.
For God’s people now:
1. Mercy for past sins and failures.
In some ways, Joseph pre-figures Jesus Christ.
God raised Joseph up to save His people from an early death (famine) and God raised Jesus from the dead to save God’s people from eternal death caused by our sins.
Romans 5:10; Colossians 2:13.
Every one of us has a sinful, dysfunctional past to deal with.
The gospel assures us that our sinful past does not determine our future.
Why? Jesus nailed your sins (past, present and future) to the cross. It is finished!
We deserve condemnation. We receive mercy, grace and forgiveness.
Is it well with your soul today?
Do you know the mercy of God given for you in Christ Jesus to forgive you?
2. Comfort in present trials.
The story of Joseph offers us comfort “in the tight places.”
We are reminded of the God who is still there.
God may be silent. But He is not absent, even when evil seems to rule the day.
Our present trials will not thwart God’s good and gracious plan for our lives.
We must learn to trust Him in the “tight places.”
Augustine: “Trials come to prove us and improve us.”
God uses trials/suffering as well as pleasure/prosperity to either prove our faith or improve our faith.
Romans 8:38 ff..
3. Hope in a glorious future.
God sent Joseph to preserve life so that His chosen people might reach the Promised Land.
God sent His own son Jesus not only to save life but to preserve our lives for all eternity, so that we might reach heaven.
Necessity of meditating on heaven a lot more.
I Peter 1:13; v4ff..
Meditating on heaven brings much needed perspective on the past and the present.