2020/Joseph #1—The “Meanwhile” of Faith (Sermon)_transcript.txt

[0.00 --> 11.98]  So, our scripture reading this morning is Genesis 37, the entire chapter.
[13.66 --> 23.22]  And as we read scripture this morning, as we go through the story of Joseph, keep in mind, this is our story.
[23.22 --> 29.00]  If you are part of God's family, this is your story.
[30.00 --> 38.22]  Jacob, we read, lived in the land where his father had stayed, the land of Canaan.
[39.10 --> 42.88]  This is the account of Jacob's family line.
[44.12 --> 54.28]  Joseph, a young man of 17, was tending the flocks with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives.
[54.68 --> 58.42]  And he brought their father a bad report about them.
[58.42 --> 67.08]  Now, Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons, because he had been born to him in his old age.
[67.64 --> 70.26]  And he made an ornate robe for him.
[70.98 --> 79.02]  When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him, could not speak a kind word to him.
[79.02 --> 82.64]  Joseph had a dream.
[82.64 --> 87.62]  And when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more.
[88.24 --> 90.44]  He said to them, listen to this dream I had.
[90.82 --> 96.74]  We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheave rose and stood upright,
[97.00 --> 101.30]  while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it.
[101.30 --> 107.12]  His brothers said to him, do you intend to reign over us?
[107.74 --> 109.78]  Will you actually rule us?
[110.74 --> 114.38]  And they hated him all the more because of his dream and what he had said.
[115.78 --> 119.20]  Then he had another dream, and he told it to his brothers.
[120.26 --> 127.34]  Listen, he said, I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and 11 stars were bowing down to me.
[127.34 --> 133.32]  When he told his father, as well as his brothers, his father rebuked him and said,
[133.84 --> 135.30]  what is this dream you had?
[135.88 --> 141.38]  Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow down to the ground before you?
[143.20 --> 145.34]  His brothers were jealous of him.
[146.60 --> 151.00]  But his father, note, kept the matter in mind.
[151.00 --> 156.02]  Now, his brothers had gone to graze their father's flocks near Shechem,
[156.20 --> 160.58]  and Israel said to Joseph, as you know, your brothers are grazing the flocks near Shechem.
[160.78 --> 162.82]  Come, I'm going to send you to them.
[163.64 --> 164.76]  Very well, he replied.
[165.18 --> 169.36]  So he said to him, go and see if all is well with your brothers and with the flocks,
[169.42 --> 171.54]  and bring word back to me.
[172.48 --> 174.84]  Then he sent them off from the valley of Hebron.
[175.54 --> 180.84]  When Joseph arrived at Shechem, a man found him wandering around in the fields and asked him,
[181.00 --> 182.94]  what are you looking for?
[183.64 --> 185.28]  He replied, I'm looking for my brothers.
[185.38 --> 187.74]  Can you tell me where they are grazing their flocks?
[188.76 --> 190.70]  They have moved on from here, the man answered.
[190.80 --> 192.74]  I heard them say, let's go to Dothan.
[193.46 --> 196.44]  So Joseph went after his brothers and found them near Dothan.
[197.12 --> 201.88]  But they saw him in the distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him.
[202.38 --> 205.02]  Here comes that dreamer, they said to each other.
[205.26 --> 208.36]  Come now, let's kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns
[208.36 --> 210.86]  and say that a ferocious animal devoured him.
[211.12 --> 213.06]  Then we'll see what comes of his dreams.
[214.64 --> 217.28]  When Reuben heard this, he tried to rescue him from their hands.
[217.52 --> 219.04]  Let's not take his life, he said.
[219.18 --> 220.44]  Don't shed any blood.
[220.88 --> 224.78]  Throw him into the cistern here in the wilderness, but don't lay a hand on him.
[225.64 --> 229.38]  Reuben said this to rescue him from them and take him back to his father.
[229.38 --> 235.60]  So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped them of his robe, the ornate robe he was wearing,
[235.80 --> 238.06]  and they took him and they threw him into the cistern.
[238.26 --> 241.06]  The cistern was empty, there was no water in it.
[241.60 --> 247.28]  As they sat down to eat their meal, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead.
[247.76 --> 253.66]  Their camels were loaded with spices, balm, and myrrh, and they were on their way to take them down to Egypt.
[253.66 --> 259.86]  Judah said to his brothers, what will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood?
[260.90 --> 264.74]  Come, let's sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him.
[264.78 --> 267.86]  After all, he is our brother, our own flesh and blood.
[268.68 --> 269.72]  His brothers agreed.
[270.52 --> 274.48]  So when the Midianite merchants came by, his brothers pulled Joseph up out of the cistern
[274.48 --> 279.44]  and sold him for 20 shekels of silver to the Ishmaelites who took him to Egypt.
[280.04 --> 283.48]  When Reuben returned to the cistern and saw that Joseph was not there,
[283.66 --> 286.68]  he tore his clothes, he went back to his brothers and said,
[286.92 --> 290.06]  the boy isn't there, where can I turn now?
[291.28 --> 295.66]  Then they got Joseph's robe, they slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood.
[296.04 --> 298.68]  They took the ornate robe back to the father and said,
[299.34 --> 304.28]  we found this, examine it to see whether it is your son's robe.
[304.66 --> 308.98]  He recognized it and said, it is my son's robe.
[309.36 --> 312.20]  Some ferocious animal has devoured him.
[312.20 --> 315.06]  Joseph has surely been torn to pieces.
[316.46 --> 323.18]  Then Jacob tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and mourned for his son many days.
[323.96 --> 328.76]  All his sons and daughters came to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted.
[329.40 --> 334.84]  No, he said, I will continue to mourn until I join my son in the grave.
[334.84 --> 337.24]  So his father wept for him.
[338.68 --> 345.58]  Meanwhile, meanwhile, the Midianites sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar,
[346.22 --> 350.02]  one of Pharaoh's officials, the captain of the guard.
[350.74 --> 352.60]  This is the word of the Lord.
[352.60 --> 364.22]  Soon after my dad retired from the ministry, he wrote a book entitled On the Move, The Slopster Story.
[364.40 --> 369.62]  It became an instant bestseller, as you can imagine, at least in our family.
[369.62 --> 375.18]  It is a genealogy, actually, of our family, along with commentary.
[376.44 --> 381.86]  Lots of stories describing how our family came to be as it is today.
[382.92 --> 388.18]  One of my favorite stories is the one about how we ended up in Canada,
[388.18 --> 395.16]  a move which obviously profoundly affected my life and for which I've always been so grateful.
[395.98 --> 396.98]  Well, here's how it happened.
[397.80 --> 403.30]  It was the spring of 1960, and the Christian Reformed Church of Clinton, Ontario,
[403.74 --> 406.56]  had been without a pastor for a long time.
[406.56 --> 412.32]  But they had come up with a slate of two persons for the congregation to vote on.
[413.12 --> 417.66]  One was Reverend Louis Tamminga from Smithers, B.C.
[418.18 --> 420.88]  The other was my father from the Netherlands.
[422.20 --> 425.36]  Well, after a lengthy debate about the merits of both pastors,
[425.72 --> 430.18]  the congregation's sentiments were clearly leaning towards Reverend Tamminga,
[430.82 --> 435.66]  mostly because the younger people, who had already been in Canada for ten years,
[435.66 --> 440.58]  were concerned that that other candidate might be a little bit too Dutch.
[442.42 --> 445.24]  The discussion came to an abrupt end
[445.24 --> 449.04]  when one of the older brothers stood up and asked,
[449.94 --> 450.48]  Mr. Chairman,
[451.52 --> 457.48]  what would it cost us to get Reverend Tamminga here all the way from Smithers?
[459.08 --> 462.44]  Well, that would be about $2,000, the chairman said.
[463.56 --> 466.54]  And Mr. Chairman, continued the older brother,
[466.78 --> 472.22]  what would it cost us to bring Reverend Sloster to Clinton all the way from Holland?
[472.22 --> 475.04]  The chairman answered,
[475.04 --> 479.28]  well, that, since the present policy of the Dutch government
[479.28 --> 483.12]  is to pay the full cost of moving immigrants to Canada,
[483.62 --> 485.94]  that brother will cost us nothing.
[487.64 --> 490.80]  The elder brother stood up one more time and said,
[491.14 --> 492.92]  Mr. Chairman, I call the question.
[494.52 --> 495.74]  And here I am.
[495.74 --> 499.38]  And if you ask me,
[499.56 --> 502.82]  that cheap, sorry, I mean that thrifty Dutchman
[502.82 --> 506.44]  had God's fingerprints all over him.
[508.64 --> 512.08]  My dad's book is full of other such stories,
[512.20 --> 515.02]  stories that look back and reveal patterns
[515.02 --> 516.88]  of what our family recognizes
[516.88 --> 520.80]  as God's providence in our lives.
[520.80 --> 523.76]  God's leading and care,
[523.90 --> 525.40]  God's fingerprints,
[525.96 --> 527.64]  evident in sometimes ordinary,
[528.30 --> 529.44]  sometimes humorous,
[529.52 --> 530.42]  sometimes sad,
[530.80 --> 533.46]  sometimes obvious,
[533.86 --> 535.72]  sometimes fleeting ways.
[537.00 --> 539.22]  And I suspect that all of you,
[540.00 --> 543.30]  looking back over your own life up to this point,
[544.04 --> 546.48]  could find those same fingerprints.
[546.48 --> 550.78]  It is one of the major themes
[550.78 --> 553.90]  that ties together the Joseph story
[553.90 --> 556.26]  told over the last 14 chapters
[556.26 --> 557.90]  of the book of Genesis.
[559.66 --> 562.46]  Mind you, I call it the Joseph story,
[562.92 --> 565.16]  but it isn't just about Joseph.
[565.92 --> 568.72]  It is part of a bigger picture that began
[568.72 --> 570.60]  when God called Abraham,
[570.98 --> 572.54]  the father of all believers,
[572.90 --> 574.72]  and promised that in him,
[574.72 --> 577.92]  he would bless all the families of the earth.
[579.34 --> 581.10]  And throughout the book of Genesis,
[581.34 --> 582.74]  God's promise to Abraham
[582.74 --> 585.78]  gets narrowed down as you go along.
[586.14 --> 587.76]  Abraham has two sons,
[588.12 --> 589.92]  but God's promise of blessing,
[590.34 --> 593.16]  contrary to accepted custom and tradition,
[593.96 --> 595.62]  comes to the younger son Isaac
[595.62 --> 598.48]  instead of the elder Ishmael.
[599.62 --> 601.16]  Isaac has two sons,
[601.16 --> 603.58]  but God's promise of blessing again
[603.58 --> 605.68]  comes to the younger son Jacob
[605.68 --> 608.50]  rather than the elder Esau.
[610.00 --> 612.30]  And so the Joseph story begins
[612.30 --> 615.32]  in Genesis 37 with these words,
[616.58 --> 617.82]  Jacob lived in the land
[617.82 --> 619.32]  where his father had stayed,
[619.66 --> 620.66]  the land of Canaan.
[620.96 --> 623.72]  This is the account of Jacob.
[623.72 --> 628.74]  Jacob has 12 sons.
[630.28 --> 631.34]  And of these 12,
[631.76 --> 635.38]  Joseph is definitely the star of this story.
[636.64 --> 640.64]  But it is a story about a whole family in crisis
[640.64 --> 644.24]  and how all the members of this family
[644.24 --> 647.86]  are transformed and changed over time.
[647.86 --> 653.82]  It is also more than a history of one family.
[655.02 --> 658.02]  Even though God's name is never mentioned
[658.02 --> 660.06]  in this first chapter of the story,
[660.68 --> 661.34]  did you notice that?
[662.38 --> 664.90]  And only very sparingly in the rest,
[666.16 --> 667.92]  the last chapter in Genesis
[667.92 --> 669.94]  makes it absolutely clear
[669.94 --> 673.70]  that this is a story about our God.
[673.70 --> 677.32]  And if you know anything about the story,
[677.42 --> 678.48]  even up to this point,
[678.78 --> 680.60]  younger sons chosen over the elder,
[680.98 --> 681.80]  meaningful dreams,
[682.20 --> 683.10]  family squabbles,
[683.44 --> 685.44]  flawed characters as chosen people,
[685.72 --> 687.42]  you know that God's fingerprints
[687.42 --> 688.86]  are all over it.
[689.74 --> 692.36]  This is the story about God's loving
[692.36 --> 694.96]  and saving purposes in history.
[695.24 --> 696.98]  And so it is our story too.
[696.98 --> 703.26]  And the mystery of how God's purposes intersect
[703.26 --> 706.90]  with ordinary, messy people,
[707.68 --> 710.70]  even people like you and like me.
[712.62 --> 715.30]  What we find in Genesis 37
[715.30 --> 718.42]  is what we nowadays kindly refer to
[718.42 --> 721.00]  as a blended family.
[721.64 --> 724.18]  Although this one has been through the blender
[724.18 --> 725.90]  a few more times than most.
[726.98 --> 728.06]  Think of it.
[728.38 --> 729.72]  Jacob has 12 sons
[729.72 --> 733.46]  by four different mothers.
[734.40 --> 735.64]  Two of them his wives,
[735.86 --> 737.72]  two of them his wives' nannies.
[739.44 --> 740.64]  And of all these sons,
[740.82 --> 743.04]  Jacob loves Joseph the best.
[743.88 --> 745.98]  Joseph means added.
[747.32 --> 749.82]  Added to Jacob's family unexpectedly
[749.82 --> 753.08]  because Rachel, his best-loved wife,
[753.12 --> 753.90]  now dead,
[753.90 --> 756.00]  had been childish so long
[756.00 --> 758.56]  before Joseph was finally conceived.
[760.04 --> 760.64]  Added,
[761.44 --> 762.80]  if ye ask his brothers,
[763.20 --> 765.30]  as an unwelcome afterthought.
[766.66 --> 769.28]  For while Joseph is destined like greatness,
[769.78 --> 770.80]  like other great men,
[770.86 --> 773.30]  he could also be in insufferable pain
[773.30 --> 775.18]  in a variety of places.
[776.46 --> 778.50]  The very first thing you hear
[778.50 --> 780.70]  about the now 17-year-old Joseph
[780.70 --> 782.92]  is that he tattles on his brothers.
[784.00 --> 785.14]  He brought their father
[785.14 --> 787.20]  a bad report about them.
[787.56 --> 788.56]  Now, I can remember
[788.56 --> 790.34]  wanting to sell one of my siblings
[790.34 --> 791.52]  into slavery for less.
[793.52 --> 796.28]  Then, there's that dream coat of his,
[796.96 --> 798.32]  which most scholars agree
[798.32 --> 799.62]  was a long-sleeved,
[800.02 --> 801.90]  intricately designed coat
[801.90 --> 803.28]  befitting royalty.
[803.28 --> 806.16]  Not a coat that is meant
[806.16 --> 807.90]  for work of the sort
[807.90 --> 810.34]  Joseph's brothers were expected to do.
[811.58 --> 813.08]  Oh, he might have swept the porch
[813.08 --> 814.64]  for his dad once in a while,
[814.84 --> 817.62]  but mostly Joseph never got his hands dirty
[817.62 --> 818.76]  and seemed to serve
[818.76 --> 821.14]  only as dad's agent or messenger.
[824.24 --> 826.02]  Jacob, of course,
[826.10 --> 828.32]  is neither the first nor the last parent
[828.32 --> 830.62]  to have a favored child.
[830.62 --> 834.20]  wise parents, however,
[834.96 --> 837.50]  try very hard not to show it.
[839.28 --> 841.48]  Jacob was not so wise,
[842.48 --> 844.26]  which created exactly
[844.26 --> 846.52]  the kind of sibling rivalry
[846.52 --> 848.42]  you would expect.
[848.88 --> 850.68]  His brother, says our story,
[851.40 --> 852.62]  hated Joseph,
[853.40 --> 857.36]  could not speak one kind word to him.
[857.36 --> 861.06]  And it's hard to blame them.
[862.74 --> 863.94]  Then come the dreams.
[864.40 --> 865.58]  Not the silly kind of dreams
[865.58 --> 867.20]  we remember hazily, if at all,
[867.36 --> 868.64]  when we wake up in the morning,
[868.68 --> 869.64]  and if we do remember them,
[869.68 --> 870.44]  we don't have a clue
[870.44 --> 871.36]  what they might have meant.
[872.36 --> 874.48]  No, these dreams mean something.
[875.00 --> 876.28]  These dreams are all about
[876.28 --> 877.70]  how Joseph will turn out
[877.70 --> 879.14]  to be greater than his brothers,
[879.28 --> 880.90]  greater even than his father.
[881.34 --> 882.74]  And there is no question,
[882.94 --> 885.24]  both for those who first heard this story
[885.24 --> 886.94]  and we who read it today,
[887.24 --> 889.60]  that these dreams came from God,
[889.76 --> 891.00]  that in these dreams
[891.00 --> 892.64]  we are meant to sense something
[892.64 --> 894.78]  of God's plan and purposes,
[895.64 --> 897.32]  that Joseph is special,
[897.42 --> 898.90]  whether his brothers like it or not,
[899.40 --> 901.52]  and that he will do great things
[901.52 --> 902.60]  with his life,
[902.72 --> 903.92]  and that in itself
[903.92 --> 905.40]  is not the problem.
[907.58 --> 909.24]  It is how Joseph interprets
[909.76 --> 911.90]  and uses these dreams.
[911.90 --> 914.88]  He describes them to his family
[914.88 --> 917.72]  with an air of self-importance,
[917.80 --> 920.30]  finding a sort of perverse pleasure
[920.30 --> 922.08]  at the picture of his family
[922.08 --> 923.98]  bowing before him.
[924.20 --> 927.82]  And he ends up interpreting
[927.82 --> 930.60]  the dreams with himself
[930.60 --> 934.52]  rather than God at the center.
[936.56 --> 938.12]  Joseph was certainly old enough
[938.12 --> 939.20]  to know it would be better
[939.20 --> 940.50]  to keep his dreams to himself.
[940.50 --> 944.88]  But obviously not mature enough.
[946.32 --> 947.10]  And so it happens
[947.10 --> 948.40]  that at breakfast one day,
[948.52 --> 949.32]  as they're all munching
[949.32 --> 950.58]  on their bagels and lox,
[951.26 --> 952.52]  he spills out his dream
[952.52 --> 953.32]  about his brothers
[953.32 --> 954.70]  bowing down before him.
[955.22 --> 956.32]  As you can imagine,
[956.80 --> 958.90]  this doesn't go over real well.
[960.16 --> 961.84]  But that does not deter Joseph.
[962.86 --> 963.80]  A few mornings later,
[963.86 --> 964.88]  he causes his brothers
[964.88 --> 966.12]  to spit out their goat's milk
[966.12 --> 967.22]  by telling the same story
[967.22 --> 968.02]  all over again.
[968.02 --> 969.16]  Only this time,
[969.24 --> 970.52]  the imagery has changed
[970.52 --> 971.84]  from sheaves of wheat
[971.84 --> 973.20]  to the sun and moon
[973.20 --> 974.42]  and eleven stars
[974.42 --> 975.82]  bowing down to him.
[976.28 --> 978.02]  Which is when even Father Jacob
[978.02 --> 979.32]  cannot resist the urge
[979.32 --> 981.78]  to actually rebuke Joseph.
[982.88 --> 984.66]  He loved Joseph and all.
[985.34 --> 986.30]  But enough was enough.
[986.54 --> 987.38]  Talk like this
[987.38 --> 988.86]  was only going to lead
[988.86 --> 989.82]  to something bad.
[989.82 --> 990.98]  And while we read
[990.98 --> 991.74]  that his father
[991.74 --> 993.36]  kept the matter in mind,
[993.80 --> 994.58]  after all,
[995.08 --> 996.84]  Jacob knew the power of dreams.
[997.10 --> 998.40]  Remember Jacob's ladder.
[999.52 --> 1000.66]  You get the impression
[1000.66 --> 1002.28]  that Jacob was finally
[1002.28 --> 1003.54]  beginning to see
[1003.54 --> 1004.72]  what this was doing
[1004.72 --> 1006.08]  to Joseph's brothers.
[1007.54 --> 1009.02]  Our translation says
[1009.02 --> 1010.40]  they were jealous.
[1011.26 --> 1012.70]  Technically, of course,
[1012.96 --> 1014.60]  they were envious.
[1014.60 --> 1016.86]  You are jealous
[1016.86 --> 1018.12]  of what is yours.
[1019.38 --> 1020.28]  You envy
[1020.28 --> 1022.06]  what somebody else has.
[1023.56 --> 1024.84]  And envy easily
[1024.84 --> 1026.56]  becomes both dangerous
[1026.56 --> 1027.92]  and deadly.
[1029.30 --> 1030.74]  Envy can churn away
[1030.74 --> 1031.66]  inside of you
[1031.66 --> 1032.98]  like psychic heartburn
[1032.98 --> 1033.72]  and making you
[1033.72 --> 1035.26]  want to destroy the one
[1035.26 --> 1037.58]  who has what you don't.
[1037.58 --> 1041.54]  And so Jacob's home
[1041.54 --> 1042.80]  became a time bomb
[1042.80 --> 1044.66]  waiting to explode.
[1045.62 --> 1047.08]  But life went on
[1047.08 --> 1048.38]  until one day
[1048.38 --> 1049.64]  Joseph's brothers
[1049.64 --> 1050.28]  were grazing
[1050.28 --> 1051.28]  dad's flocks
[1051.28 --> 1052.22]  near Shechem
[1052.22 --> 1054.34]  and Jacob decides
[1054.34 --> 1055.26]  to send Joseph
[1055.26 --> 1056.60]  to check on them,
[1056.88 --> 1057.54]  though it sounds
[1057.54 --> 1059.28]  more like a spying mission.
[1061.30 --> 1062.70]  And that brings us
[1062.70 --> 1064.26]  to a part of the story
[1064.26 --> 1065.28]  that seems completely
[1065.80 --> 1066.54]  unnecessary
[1066.54 --> 1067.58]  to the plot
[1067.58 --> 1068.76]  now unfolding,
[1069.14 --> 1070.10]  making it easy
[1070.10 --> 1071.38]  to skim over
[1071.38 --> 1074.02]  about how Joseph
[1074.02 --> 1075.58]  does not find
[1075.58 --> 1076.06]  the brothers
[1076.06 --> 1076.62]  at Shechem
[1076.62 --> 1077.48]  as expected,
[1077.88 --> 1078.86]  but happens
[1078.86 --> 1079.62]  to run into
[1079.62 --> 1080.40]  a stranger
[1080.40 --> 1081.86]  who in fact
[1081.86 --> 1083.22]  finds him,
[1084.32 --> 1084.96]  a stranger
[1084.96 --> 1086.94]  who somehow
[1086.94 --> 1088.36]  overheard the brothers
[1088.36 --> 1089.28]  and knows
[1089.28 --> 1090.30]  they had moved
[1090.30 --> 1091.38]  on to Dothan
[1091.38 --> 1092.12]  an additional
[1092.12 --> 1093.76]  30 kilometers away.
[1095.30 --> 1095.62]  Well,
[1095.62 --> 1096.72]  Shechem,
[1097.08 --> 1097.48]  Dothan,
[1097.72 --> 1099.18]  who really cares,
[1099.30 --> 1099.60]  right?
[1101.22 --> 1102.34]  But in the Bible
[1102.34 --> 1103.68]  it is always important
[1103.68 --> 1105.02]  to sweat the small stuff,
[1105.72 --> 1107.60]  to pay attention
[1107.60 --> 1108.40]  to seemingly
[1108.40 --> 1109.94]  unnecessary details,
[1110.22 --> 1112.02]  because sometimes
[1112.02 --> 1112.66]  that's where
[1112.66 --> 1113.66]  the deepest meaning
[1113.66 --> 1114.44]  of the story
[1114.44 --> 1115.62]  gets exposed.
[1115.98 --> 1116.24]  I mean,
[1116.28 --> 1117.12]  it's remarkable
[1117.12 --> 1118.58]  if you think about it.
[1118.62 --> 1119.28]  A stranger
[1119.28 --> 1120.40]  just happens
[1120.40 --> 1122.02]  to find Joseph
[1122.02 --> 1123.62]  just happen
[1123.62 --> 1125.24]  to overhear a conversation.
[1128.24 --> 1129.28]  Without what
[1129.28 --> 1130.10]  we might call
[1130.10 --> 1131.90]  this chance encounter,
[1133.52 --> 1134.54]  Joseph would not
[1134.54 --> 1135.48]  have found his brothers,
[1136.62 --> 1137.88]  would not have been there
[1137.88 --> 1139.20]  at the precise time
[1139.20 --> 1140.26]  a trading caravan
[1140.26 --> 1141.02]  of Midianites
[1141.02 --> 1141.76]  passed by,
[1142.30 --> 1144.04]  would not have ended up
[1144.04 --> 1145.12]  on his long tour
[1145.12 --> 1146.38]  of duty in Egypt,
[1146.88 --> 1147.72]  thereby saving
[1147.72 --> 1149.24]  not only his own people,
[1149.58 --> 1150.96]  but also the Egyptians
[1150.96 --> 1153.00]  and many others.
[1153.18 --> 1154.66]  Without that chance
[1154.66 --> 1155.42]  encounter,
[1156.48 --> 1157.44]  Joseph would likely
[1157.44 --> 1158.20]  have gone back
[1158.20 --> 1158.92]  to his father
[1158.92 --> 1160.32]  with another bad report,
[1160.66 --> 1161.66]  my brothers were not
[1161.66 --> 1162.24]  where they said
[1162.24 --> 1163.10]  they would be.
[1163.10 --> 1166.40]  And that would have been
[1166.40 --> 1167.20]  that.
[1169.66 --> 1170.54]  Makes you wonder
[1170.54 --> 1172.42]  who the stranger
[1172.42 --> 1174.24]  really was.
[1176.94 --> 1177.84]  In any case,
[1177.96 --> 1178.62]  Joseph finally
[1178.62 --> 1179.44]  finds his brothers
[1179.44 --> 1180.58]  and already from a distance
[1180.58 --> 1181.46]  they recognize him,
[1181.54 --> 1182.68]  probably from the way
[1182.68 --> 1183.82]  his coat was building
[1183.82 --> 1185.04]  in the wind behind him,
[1186.10 --> 1186.86]  the dreamer,
[1187.00 --> 1187.52]  they call him.
[1187.60 --> 1189.08]  Here comes that dreamer.
[1190.50 --> 1191.16]  And their hate
[1191.16 --> 1191.76]  and their envy
[1191.76 --> 1192.70]  is so raw,
[1192.70 --> 1193.42]  it takes only
[1193.42 --> 1194.14]  the few minutes
[1194.14 --> 1195.20]  for him to reach them
[1195.20 --> 1196.66]  that the plot is hatched.
[1196.72 --> 1197.46]  Let's kill him,
[1197.62 --> 1198.06]  they say.
[1199.20 --> 1200.12]  No, no, no,
[1200.14 --> 1201.18]  says oldest brother Reuben.
[1201.72 --> 1202.68]  Let's just dump him
[1202.68 --> 1203.46]  in a pit for now,
[1203.56 --> 1204.80]  thinking to rescue him later.
[1206.34 --> 1207.12]  And before Joseph
[1207.12 --> 1208.20]  knows that he's in a pit,
[1208.50 --> 1209.56]  minus his royal robe,
[1209.78 --> 1210.50]  while his brothers,
[1210.72 --> 1211.46]  minus Reuben,
[1211.66 --> 1212.24]  who is off
[1212.24 --> 1213.02]  checking the flocks,
[1213.34 --> 1213.96]  enjoy a meal
[1213.96 --> 1214.60]  just like a bunch
[1214.60 --> 1215.32]  of mobsters
[1215.32 --> 1216.62]  returning to their spaghetti
[1216.62 --> 1218.06]  after they've erased somebody.
[1218.96 --> 1220.08]  Taking care of business,
[1220.56 --> 1221.14]  that's all.
[1222.70 --> 1224.60]  That's when the Midianites
[1224.60 --> 1225.26]  come along
[1225.26 --> 1226.42]  and Judah,
[1226.76 --> 1227.60]  one of the brothers
[1227.60 --> 1228.32]  to watch
[1228.32 --> 1229.78]  in this story,
[1230.28 --> 1231.84]  gets the idea
[1231.84 --> 1232.78]  to sell Joseph.
[1233.80 --> 1234.82]  And before you know it,
[1235.06 --> 1235.28]  Joseph
[1235.28 --> 1236.58]  is on his way
[1236.58 --> 1237.46]  to Egypt.
[1238.50 --> 1239.62]  In his novel
[1239.62 --> 1240.24]  on Jacob,
[1241.00 --> 1241.84]  Son of Laughter,
[1242.68 --> 1243.38]  Frederick Buechner
[1243.38 --> 1244.16]  imagines
[1244.16 --> 1245.58]  how the transaction
[1245.58 --> 1246.38]  took place.
[1246.48 --> 1246.92]  The traders
[1246.92 --> 1247.74]  inspecting
[1247.74 --> 1248.58]  Joseph
[1248.58 --> 1249.36]  like a horse
[1249.36 --> 1250.12]  at an auction,
[1250.50 --> 1251.44]  pinching his muscles,
[1251.80 --> 1252.84]  prying his mouth open
[1252.84 --> 1254.02]  to look at his teeth,
[1254.26 --> 1254.78]  then offering
[1254.78 --> 1255.74]  five silver bits
[1255.74 --> 1256.18]  for him.
[1256.44 --> 1257.06]  When their brothers
[1257.06 --> 1257.96]  insist on thirty,
[1258.04 --> 1258.98]  they up it to ten,
[1259.42 --> 1260.24]  then to fifteen
[1260.24 --> 1260.96]  if a good knife
[1260.96 --> 1261.74]  comes with a deal,
[1261.82 --> 1262.60]  then to seventeen,
[1262.88 --> 1263.64]  one for each year
[1263.64 --> 1264.16]  of his age,
[1264.20 --> 1264.62]  and finally
[1264.62 --> 1265.28]  they all agree
[1265.28 --> 1266.12]  on twenty bits
[1266.12 --> 1266.62]  of silver,
[1266.94 --> 1267.40]  the price
[1267.40 --> 1268.22]  of a brother.
[1270.70 --> 1271.74]  We are not told
[1271.74 --> 1272.14]  here
[1272.14 --> 1273.60]  if Joseph cried
[1273.60 --> 1274.72]  or pleaded
[1274.72 --> 1275.20]  with him.
[1277.56 --> 1278.62]  He did all
[1278.62 --> 1279.02]  of that
[1279.02 --> 1279.86]  and more
[1279.86 --> 1281.44]  as we learn
[1281.44 --> 1281.76]  later.
[1282.62 --> 1283.66]  But the dreams
[1283.66 --> 1284.82]  have long ago
[1284.82 --> 1285.32]  hardened
[1285.32 --> 1286.76]  his brother's hearts.
[1287.44 --> 1287.94]  There would be
[1287.94 --> 1288.64]  no sympathy,
[1289.24 --> 1290.34]  no compassion.
[1291.30 --> 1291.58]  Joseph,
[1292.04 --> 1292.84]  like another
[1292.84 --> 1293.78]  beloved son,
[1294.26 --> 1294.86]  much later
[1294.86 --> 1296.24]  in his story
[1296.24 --> 1297.84]  is betrayed
[1297.84 --> 1298.76]  for a few pieces
[1298.76 --> 1299.32]  of silver.
[1300.10 --> 1300.98]  And as the caravan
[1300.98 --> 1301.50]  moves off,
[1301.56 --> 1302.24]  one imagines
[1302.24 --> 1302.74]  the brothers
[1302.74 --> 1303.50]  taunting him
[1303.50 --> 1304.62]  with exaggerated
[1304.62 --> 1305.06]  bows.
[1305.20 --> 1305.46]  So,
[1305.62 --> 1306.32]  little bro,
[1306.72 --> 1307.30]  dreamer,
[1307.58 --> 1308.34]  what happens
[1308.34 --> 1309.08]  to your dreams
[1309.08 --> 1309.58]  now?
[1313.08 --> 1313.90]  This part
[1313.90 --> 1314.36]  of the story
[1314.36 --> 1314.84]  ends
[1314.84 --> 1315.92]  when the scheming
[1315.92 --> 1316.52]  brothers bring
[1316.52 --> 1317.02]  their father
[1317.02 --> 1318.28]  Joseph's dream coat,
[1318.76 --> 1319.70]  now mostly blood
[1319.70 --> 1320.50]  red in color,
[1321.08 --> 1321.94]  the blood of a goat,
[1322.06 --> 1322.80]  and convince him
[1322.80 --> 1324.36]  that his son,
[1324.66 --> 1325.06]  note,
[1325.50 --> 1326.20]  they don't say
[1326.20 --> 1326.94]  our brother,
[1327.26 --> 1328.62]  but his son
[1328.62 --> 1329.88]  is missing
[1329.88 --> 1330.70]  in action.
[1331.60 --> 1332.12]  Certainly
[1332.12 --> 1332.68]  almost
[1332.68 --> 1334.30]  killed by a wild
[1334.30 --> 1334.72]  animal,
[1335.62 --> 1336.14]  and Jacob,
[1336.64 --> 1337.64]  and only Jacob,
[1337.98 --> 1338.48]  is left
[1338.48 --> 1339.20]  weeping
[1339.20 --> 1340.30]  in a grief
[1340.30 --> 1341.46]  which,
[1341.68 --> 1342.44]  with no dead
[1342.44 --> 1343.24]  body to bring
[1343.24 --> 1344.22]  any sort of closure,
[1344.76 --> 1345.56]  goes on
[1345.56 --> 1346.50]  and on
[1346.50 --> 1347.66]  and on.
[1350.16 --> 1351.26]  What a story.
[1352.54 --> 1353.78]  The classic
[1353.78 --> 1355.04]  blended family
[1355.04 --> 1356.32]  in which
[1356.32 --> 1356.82]  everything
[1356.82 --> 1357.74]  goes wrong,
[1358.44 --> 1359.10]  favoritism,
[1359.70 --> 1360.12]  spying,
[1360.12 --> 1361.20]  tattletaling,
[1361.64 --> 1362.54]  sibling rivalry,
[1363.18 --> 1363.52]  hatred,
[1363.82 --> 1364.12]  envy,
[1364.50 --> 1364.90]  strife,
[1365.34 --> 1366.28]  murder schemes,
[1366.50 --> 1366.82]  greed,
[1367.06 --> 1367.50]  violence,
[1367.64 --> 1368.02]  deceit,
[1368.12 --> 1368.62]  and grief
[1368.62 --> 1370.40]  that refuses comfort.
[1371.54 --> 1372.76]  Unlike the musical
[1372.76 --> 1374.22]  Joseph and the Amazing
[1374.22 --> 1375.52]  Technicolor Dreamcoat,
[1375.62 --> 1376.32]  as much fun
[1376.32 --> 1377.40]  as it was
[1377.40 --> 1378.02]  and is,
[1379.10 --> 1379.96]  there's not much
[1379.96 --> 1380.44]  in the way
[1380.44 --> 1381.10]  of laughter
[1381.10 --> 1382.32]  and dancing
[1382.32 --> 1383.36]  and singing
[1383.36 --> 1384.50]  here.
[1384.50 --> 1387.56]  you wonder,
[1388.18 --> 1390.40]  where is God
[1390.40 --> 1391.34]  in all this?
[1393.38 --> 1394.14]  The question
[1394.14 --> 1395.28]  we still ask
[1395.28 --> 1395.68]  today,
[1395.76 --> 1396.14]  isn't it?
[1397.12 --> 1398.00]  When we look
[1398.00 --> 1399.00]  around at the evil
[1399.00 --> 1399.78]  and heartbreak
[1399.78 --> 1400.54]  in our world,
[1400.62 --> 1401.64]  when we look
[1401.64 --> 1402.30]  at the way
[1402.30 --> 1403.26]  these days
[1403.26 --> 1403.72]  our world
[1403.72 --> 1404.30]  has been turned
[1404.30 --> 1405.42]  upside down
[1405.42 --> 1406.60]  by a simple
[1406.60 --> 1407.34]  virus,
[1407.34 --> 1409.90]  when we look
[1409.90 --> 1410.70]  at the brokenness
[1410.70 --> 1411.36]  we ourselves
[1411.36 --> 1412.12]  experience
[1412.12 --> 1413.38]  in our lives
[1413.38 --> 1414.22]  or in our families,
[1414.58 --> 1416.02]  where is God
[1416.02 --> 1417.60]  in all this?
[1421.00 --> 1422.00]  Sometimes we talk
[1422.00 --> 1422.74]  easily about
[1422.74 --> 1423.58]  God's providence,
[1423.68 --> 1424.38]  mostly when good
[1424.38 --> 1424.94]  things happen,
[1425.02 --> 1425.68]  like a thrifty
[1425.68 --> 1426.46]  Dutchman standing
[1426.46 --> 1426.92]  up at a
[1426.92 --> 1427.70]  congregational meeting
[1427.70 --> 1428.36]  to call for the
[1428.36 --> 1428.76]  question,
[1429.46 --> 1429.82]  yes.
[1431.92 --> 1432.94]  It's great to talk
[1432.94 --> 1433.60]  about providence
[1433.60 --> 1434.42]  when you get the job
[1434.42 --> 1435.16]  you prayed for
[1435.16 --> 1436.02]  or you meet
[1436.02 --> 1437.74]  Mr. or Miss Wright
[1437.74 --> 1438.46]  at just a proper
[1438.46 --> 1439.32]  time in your life
[1439.32 --> 1440.44]  or you narrowly
[1440.44 --> 1440.90]  escaped,
[1441.00 --> 1441.88]  as you recounted
[1441.88 --> 1442.76]  in your prayer,
[1443.06 --> 1444.08]  a terrible accident
[1444.08 --> 1445.78]  or you experience
[1445.78 --> 1446.78]  any of the countless
[1446.78 --> 1448.22]  big or small ways
[1448.22 --> 1450.60]  by which the strong
[1450.60 --> 1452.90]  but sure hands
[1452.90 --> 1454.54]  of the Heavenly Father
[1454.54 --> 1457.16]  uphold and care
[1457.16 --> 1457.94]  for our world
[1457.94 --> 1460.18]  and your life.
[1460.18 --> 1464.88]  But when bad
[1464.88 --> 1465.68]  things come along,
[1466.46 --> 1467.60]  we begin to wonder,
[1468.38 --> 1470.10]  where was God?
[1472.00 --> 1473.40]  Because God's providence
[1473.40 --> 1474.66]  is not all sweetness
[1474.66 --> 1475.82]  and happiness.
[1476.10 --> 1476.76]  One of the things
[1476.76 --> 1477.60]  Genesis 7
[1477.60 --> 1478.66]  and the Joseph cycle
[1478.66 --> 1479.16]  of stories
[1479.16 --> 1480.26]  have to teach us
[1480.26 --> 1481.30]  is that there is more
[1481.30 --> 1482.74]  to God's providence
[1482.74 --> 1483.72]  than that.
[1485.02 --> 1485.62]  Sometimes
[1485.62 --> 1486.94]  the world
[1486.94 --> 1487.64]  resists
[1487.64 --> 1488.44]  God's work.
[1488.44 --> 1490.68]  sometimes
[1490.68 --> 1491.80]  God's own children
[1491.80 --> 1492.90]  including you and I
[1492.90 --> 1494.86]  resist His work
[1494.86 --> 1496.12]  and His word.
[1497.52 --> 1498.64]  Because of the sin
[1498.64 --> 1499.34]  and brokenness
[1499.34 --> 1500.18]  of our lives
[1500.18 --> 1500.84]  and the world,
[1501.00 --> 1501.72]  sometimes it is
[1501.72 --> 1503.06]  God's work itself
[1503.06 --> 1504.04]  that can bring us
[1504.04 --> 1504.86]  unhappiness.
[1507.12 --> 1508.20]  At other times,
[1508.30 --> 1509.30]  God does this work
[1509.30 --> 1509.84]  in the midst
[1509.84 --> 1510.86]  of some of the worst
[1510.86 --> 1511.96]  things life can dish
[1511.96 --> 1512.60]  out to you.
[1513.90 --> 1515.06]  God did not inspire
[1515.06 --> 1515.94]  the evil plot
[1515.94 --> 1517.28]  of Joseph's brothers,
[1517.28 --> 1517.40]  brothers,
[1518.20 --> 1519.04]  but that doesn't mean
[1519.04 --> 1519.92]  He cannot bring good
[1519.92 --> 1520.44]  out of it,
[1520.88 --> 1522.02]  that He cannot fulfill
[1522.02 --> 1522.66]  His purposes
[1522.66 --> 1523.74]  in spite of it.
[1525.34 --> 1526.20]  A certain
[1526.20 --> 1527.66]  Jewish rabbi
[1527.66 --> 1528.56]  trying to explain
[1528.56 --> 1529.04]  all this
[1529.04 --> 1530.22]  writes about
[1530.22 --> 1530.80]  the following
[1530.80 --> 1531.52]  conversation
[1531.52 --> 1532.56]  between a rabbi
[1532.56 --> 1533.64]  and his student.
[1534.84 --> 1535.40]  Rabbi,
[1536.52 --> 1537.72]  do you know
[1537.72 --> 1538.26]  why Satan
[1538.26 --> 1539.02]  is so angry
[1539.02 --> 1539.96]  all the time?
[1539.96 --> 1541.68]  because whenever
[1541.68 --> 1542.34]  he works
[1542.34 --> 1543.24]  a particularly
[1543.24 --> 1544.08]  clever bit
[1544.08 --> 1544.72]  of mischief,
[1545.54 --> 1546.56]  God uses it
[1546.56 --> 1547.16]  to serve
[1547.16 --> 1547.86]  His own
[1547.86 --> 1549.34]  righteous purposes.
[1550.52 --> 1551.08]  Student,
[1551.92 --> 1552.18]  so,
[1552.96 --> 1553.82]  God uses
[1553.82 --> 1554.66]  wicked people
[1554.66 --> 1555.36]  as His tools?
[1557.16 --> 1557.52]  Rabbi,
[1558.30 --> 1559.30]  God gives us
[1559.30 --> 1560.06]  freedom to do
[1560.06 --> 1560.72]  a great deal
[1560.72 --> 1561.20]  of evil
[1561.20 --> 1562.44]  if we choose.
[1563.20 --> 1563.58]  Then,
[1564.10 --> 1564.84]  He uses
[1564.84 --> 1565.58]  His own freedom
[1565.58 --> 1566.46]  to create goodness
[1566.46 --> 1567.16]  out of that evil
[1567.16 --> 1567.94]  for that is what
[1567.94 --> 1568.78]  He chooses.
[1568.78 --> 1570.56]  student.
[1571.38 --> 1571.58]  So,
[1571.90 --> 1572.90]  in the long run,
[1573.72 --> 1575.42]  God always wins.
[1576.34 --> 1576.58]  Rabbi,
[1577.54 --> 1578.12]  yes.
[1579.00 --> 1580.28]  But in the short run,
[1581.14 --> 1582.12]  it can be
[1582.12 --> 1584.28]  very uncomfortable.
[1587.10 --> 1588.68]  And if you doubt that,
[1589.20 --> 1590.24]  don't just ask
[1590.24 --> 1591.28]  Jacob's son,
[1591.98 --> 1592.90]  ask God's
[1592.90 --> 1593.78]  own
[1593.78 --> 1595.14]  beloved son.
[1596.26 --> 1597.06]  Ask Jesus.
[1598.78 --> 1599.86]  In the short run,
[1600.26 --> 1600.96]  we can make
[1600.96 --> 1601.64]  such a mess
[1601.64 --> 1602.40]  of our lives.
[1603.44 --> 1604.38]  In the short run,
[1604.90 --> 1605.56]  human history
[1605.56 --> 1606.64]  often looks
[1606.64 --> 1607.14]  more like
[1607.14 --> 1608.02]  a train wreck
[1608.02 --> 1609.44]  than the unfolding
[1609.44 --> 1610.02]  purposes
[1610.02 --> 1611.04]  of God.
[1612.24 --> 1613.22]  God does not
[1613.22 --> 1613.94]  guarantee us
[1613.94 --> 1614.66]  the ability
[1614.66 --> 1615.64]  to see the
[1615.64 --> 1616.08]  meaningful,
[1616.58 --> 1617.62]  larger patterns
[1617.62 --> 1618.34]  of it all
[1618.34 --> 1619.76]  on this side
[1619.76 --> 1620.58]  of the grave.
[1621.22 --> 1622.08]  Any number
[1622.08 --> 1622.58]  of people
[1622.58 --> 1623.20]  have lived
[1623.20 --> 1624.28]  and have died
[1624.28 --> 1625.06]  without being
[1625.06 --> 1625.84]  able to look
[1625.84 --> 1627.26]  back as Joseph
[1627.26 --> 1628.16]  of one day will
[1628.16 --> 1629.02]  and declare
[1629.02 --> 1630.26]  it was all good
[1630.26 --> 1631.42]  because it was
[1631.42 --> 1632.64]  all used
[1632.64 --> 1633.42]  by God.
[1635.34 --> 1636.02]  Nor do
[1636.02 --> 1637.12]  Genesis 37
[1637.12 --> 1637.78]  and the chapters
[1637.78 --> 1638.32]  that follow
[1638.32 --> 1638.90]  tell us that
[1638.90 --> 1639.64]  we'll always know
[1639.64 --> 1640.58]  the wherefores
[1640.58 --> 1641.42]  and the whys
[1641.42 --> 1642.12]  of what's happening
[1642.12 --> 1642.68]  to us.
[1643.06 --> 1643.44]  Instead,
[1643.72 --> 1644.40]  these chapters
[1644.40 --> 1644.98]  declare
[1644.98 --> 1646.90]  the sure hope
[1646.90 --> 1648.14]  that in the longest
[1648.14 --> 1649.12]  possible run,
[1649.30 --> 1650.78]  it will make sense.
[1651.28 --> 1652.44]  God will not be
[1652.44 --> 1653.14]  outdone,
[1653.64 --> 1654.30]  outsmarted,
[1654.30 --> 1655.28]  outwitted,
[1655.64 --> 1656.44]  not even by
[1656.44 --> 1657.06]  the world's
[1657.06 --> 1658.16]  greatest evil,
[1659.06 --> 1659.74]  the killing
[1659.74 --> 1661.28]  of his own son.
[1662.92 --> 1663.84]  The witness
[1663.84 --> 1665.32]  of Genesis 37
[1665.32 --> 1666.10]  to 50
[1666.10 --> 1667.64]  and all
[1667.64 --> 1668.06]  scripture
[1668.06 --> 1669.24]  is that somehow
[1669.24 --> 1670.56]  God can
[1670.56 --> 1671.22]  and will
[1671.22 --> 1672.28]  make all
[1672.28 --> 1673.22]  things new,
[1674.02 --> 1675.24]  right every
[1675.24 --> 1675.70]  wrong,
[1676.12 --> 1676.92]  and return
[1676.92 --> 1678.02]  all things
[1678.02 --> 1678.88]  to how they
[1678.88 --> 1679.32]  should have
[1679.32 --> 1680.98]  been all along.
[1680.98 --> 1684.46]  many scholars
[1684.46 --> 1685.16]  believe that
[1685.16 --> 1686.14]  the Joseph story
[1686.14 --> 1686.92]  was first set
[1686.92 --> 1687.80]  into written form
[1687.80 --> 1688.80]  during the time
[1688.80 --> 1689.92]  of Israel's exile
[1689.92 --> 1690.70]  in Babylon.
[1691.74 --> 1692.52]  If so,
[1692.60 --> 1693.38]  then the original
[1693.38 --> 1694.74]  audience of Joseph's
[1694.74 --> 1695.50]  story were people
[1695.50 --> 1696.18]  well acquainted
[1696.18 --> 1696.88]  with grief
[1696.88 --> 1697.84]  and with the
[1697.84 --> 1698.64]  collapse of what
[1698.64 --> 1699.44]  were the fondest
[1699.44 --> 1700.50]  hopes and dreams
[1700.50 --> 1701.98]  of their faith.
[1703.74 --> 1704.70]  Even if that
[1704.70 --> 1705.34]  isn't so,
[1705.68 --> 1706.72]  certainly this story
[1706.72 --> 1707.42]  has been read
[1707.42 --> 1708.28]  by any number
[1708.28 --> 1709.04]  of Israelites,
[1709.04 --> 1711.16]  Jews and Christians
[1711.16 --> 1712.04]  who found
[1712.04 --> 1713.00]  themselves in
[1713.00 --> 1714.06]  some measure
[1714.06 --> 1714.86]  of exile,
[1715.20 --> 1715.80]  at some
[1715.80 --> 1717.00]  removed from
[1717.00 --> 1717.36]  God,
[1717.52 --> 1718.10]  at some
[1718.10 --> 1719.02]  crisis point
[1719.02 --> 1719.52]  of faith.
[1721.10 --> 1722.14]  In other words,
[1722.26 --> 1723.10]  it really is
[1723.10 --> 1723.68]  a story
[1723.68 --> 1725.22]  for all of us.
[1727.24 --> 1728.54]  And that story
[1728.54 --> 1729.60]  does not end
[1729.60 --> 1730.46]  with the
[1730.46 --> 1731.52]  inconsolable
[1731.52 --> 1732.54]  weeping of
[1732.54 --> 1733.30]  Jacob over
[1733.30 --> 1734.18]  his apparently
[1734.18 --> 1735.44]  dead son.
[1736.34 --> 1737.24]  This story
[1737.24 --> 1737.72]  we know
[1737.72 --> 1738.46]  is far
[1738.46 --> 1739.08]  from over.
[1740.28 --> 1741.06]  For the author
[1741.06 --> 1742.46]  of Genesis 37
[1742.46 --> 1743.68]  has sown
[1743.68 --> 1744.26]  at least
[1744.26 --> 1745.06]  three
[1745.06 --> 1746.02]  seeds
[1746.02 --> 1747.00]  of hope.
[1748.24 --> 1749.16]  The first
[1749.16 --> 1750.20]  is in verse 11
[1750.20 --> 1751.36]  when Jacob,
[1751.62 --> 1752.12]  despite having
[1752.12 --> 1752.94]  just rebuked
[1752.94 --> 1753.68]  Joseph for his
[1753.68 --> 1754.18]  arrogance,
[1755.32 --> 1756.60]  kept the matter
[1756.60 --> 1757.70]  in mind.
[1759.44 --> 1760.16]  Jacob,
[1760.38 --> 1760.70]  that is,
[1760.74 --> 1761.36]  who has had
[1761.36 --> 1762.12]  his own share
[1762.12 --> 1762.78]  of dreams,
[1763.24 --> 1764.46]  has the nagging
[1764.46 --> 1765.12]  sense and
[1765.12 --> 1765.94]  gives us
[1765.94 --> 1766.56]  the nagging
[1766.56 --> 1767.38]  sense that
[1767.38 --> 1768.34]  if he didn't
[1768.34 --> 1768.92]  already know
[1768.92 --> 1769.32]  better,
[1769.46 --> 1769.82]  there is
[1769.82 --> 1771.08]  something more
[1771.08 --> 1771.88]  to Joseph's
[1771.88 --> 1773.14]  dreams than
[1773.14 --> 1773.54]  a vivid
[1773.54 --> 1774.28]  imagination
[1774.28 --> 1775.60]  or wishful
[1775.60 --> 1775.96]  thinking.
[1778.26 --> 1779.18]  The second
[1779.18 --> 1779.82]  seed of hope
[1779.82 --> 1780.18]  is the
[1780.18 --> 1780.94]  appearance of
[1780.94 --> 1781.68]  that stranger.
[1782.56 --> 1783.20]  In this
[1783.20 --> 1783.60]  seemingly
[1783.60 --> 1784.88]  irrelevant detail,
[1785.76 --> 1786.30]  it is as
[1786.30 --> 1786.80]  though the
[1786.80 --> 1787.60]  storyteller
[1787.60 --> 1788.34]  is whispering,
[1788.34 --> 1790.42]  look,
[1791.06 --> 1791.48]  get it?
[1791.58 --> 1792.00]  There is a
[1792.00 --> 1792.94]  bigger picture
[1792.94 --> 1793.30]  here.
[1793.76 --> 1794.24]  There is a
[1794.24 --> 1794.90]  bigger purpose
[1794.90 --> 1795.28]  here.
[1796.40 --> 1796.92]  Imagine,
[1797.72 --> 1798.42]  again,
[1798.52 --> 1798.88]  if this
[1798.88 --> 1799.46]  stranger had
[1799.46 --> 1800.00]  not appeared.
[1801.42 --> 1801.98]  Joseph would
[1801.98 --> 1802.46]  have returned
[1802.46 --> 1803.18]  home to his
[1803.18 --> 1803.54]  father,
[1804.54 --> 1805.18]  his family,
[1805.84 --> 1806.60]  and Israel,
[1806.90 --> 1807.36]  and the line
[1807.36 --> 1807.74]  from which
[1807.74 --> 1808.38]  God's Savior
[1808.38 --> 1809.26]  Jesus would
[1809.26 --> 1809.88]  one day come
[1809.88 --> 1810.40]  would never
[1810.40 --> 1810.78]  have been
[1810.78 --> 1811.28]  rescued from
[1811.28 --> 1811.66]  the great
[1811.66 --> 1812.02]  famine,
[1812.42 --> 1812.96]  and God's
[1812.96 --> 1813.40]  people would
[1813.40 --> 1813.80]  not have
[1813.80 --> 1814.58]  ended up as
[1814.58 --> 1815.52]  slaves in
[1815.52 --> 1815.84]  Egypt,
[1815.94 --> 1816.52]  only to be
[1816.52 --> 1817.08]  delivered by
[1817.08 --> 1817.70]  Moses hundreds
[1817.70 --> 1818.16]  of years
[1818.16 --> 1818.50]  later,
[1818.80 --> 1819.62]  because the
[1819.62 --> 1820.18]  stranger
[1820.18 --> 1822.04]  appears.
[1823.14 --> 1823.52]  God's
[1823.52 --> 1824.06]  promise to
[1824.06 --> 1824.94]  Abraham in
[1824.94 --> 1825.90]  Genesis 15
[1825.90 --> 1826.80]  will yet be
[1826.80 --> 1827.22]  fulfilled,
[1827.52 --> 1827.88]  namely,
[1828.84 --> 1829.36]  know for
[1829.36 --> 1830.06]  certain that
[1830.06 --> 1830.92]  your descendants
[1830.92 --> 1831.62]  will be
[1831.62 --> 1832.40]  strangers in
[1832.40 --> 1832.82]  a country
[1832.82 --> 1833.30]  not their
[1833.30 --> 1833.62]  own,
[1833.84 --> 1834.38]  and they
[1834.38 --> 1834.78]  will be
[1834.78 --> 1835.92]  enslaved and
[1835.92 --> 1836.52]  mistreated
[1836.52 --> 1838.36]  400 years,
[1838.96 --> 1839.78]  but I will
[1839.78 --> 1840.44]  punish the
[1840.44 --> 1841.40]  nation they
[1841.40 --> 1842.12]  serve as
[1842.12 --> 1842.50]  slaves,
[1842.58 --> 1843.20]  and afterward
[1843.20 --> 1844.06]  they will
[1844.06 --> 1844.58]  come out
[1844.58 --> 1845.44]  with great
[1845.44 --> 1846.04]  possessions.
[1847.08 --> 1848.96]  It was
[1848.96 --> 1849.52]  only later
[1849.52 --> 1850.18]  that Joseph
[1850.18 --> 1851.76]  would recognize
[1851.76 --> 1852.60]  this stranger
[1852.60 --> 1853.66]  as God
[1853.66 --> 1854.44]  at work,
[1855.40 --> 1856.34]  God directing
[1856.34 --> 1857.06]  his path
[1857.06 --> 1858.44]  towards slavery
[1858.44 --> 1859.96]  so that one
[1859.96 --> 1860.56]  day Joseph
[1860.56 --> 1861.10]  could tell
[1861.10 --> 1861.72]  his brothers
[1861.72 --> 1862.98]  you meant
[1862.98 --> 1863.60]  it for evil
[1863.60 --> 1864.38]  but God
[1864.38 --> 1865.12]  meant it
[1865.12 --> 1866.02]  for good.
[1867.18 --> 1868.16]  It serves
[1868.16 --> 1868.72]  to remind
[1868.72 --> 1870.88]  us that
[1870.88 --> 1871.62]  just because
[1871.62 --> 1872.34]  God is
[1872.34 --> 1873.34]  hidden from
[1873.34 --> 1873.88]  our view
[1873.88 --> 1875.02]  does not
[1875.02 --> 1876.02]  mean he
[1876.02 --> 1876.36]  is not
[1876.36 --> 1876.74]  there,
[1877.86 --> 1879.26]  keeping
[1879.26 --> 1880.20]  his promises.
[1881.16 --> 1881.92]  Even when
[1881.92 --> 1882.56]  God is
[1882.56 --> 1883.08]  hidden,
[1883.46 --> 1883.98]  even when
[1883.98 --> 1884.48]  life goes
[1884.48 --> 1885.24]  all wrong,
[1885.54 --> 1886.04]  even when
[1886.04 --> 1886.66]  God cannot
[1886.66 --> 1887.40]  be seen,
[1888.54 --> 1889.50]  he is not
[1889.50 --> 1890.52]  absent.
[1891.52 --> 1892.78]  He is with
[1892.78 --> 1893.14]  us,
[1893.58 --> 1894.60]  still in
[1894.60 --> 1895.06]  control.
[1896.34 --> 1897.22]  Remember the
[1897.22 --> 1898.34]  stranger and
[1898.34 --> 1899.80]  be alert for
[1899.80 --> 1900.72]  God's strangers
[1900.72 --> 1902.30]  in your own
[1902.30 --> 1902.72]  life.
[1904.48 --> 1905.44]  Remember too
[1905.44 --> 1905.88]  that when
[1905.88 --> 1906.64]  God was
[1906.64 --> 1907.18]  the most
[1907.18 --> 1908.28]  absent at
[1908.28 --> 1908.70]  the cross
[1908.70 --> 1909.26]  of Christ,
[1909.64 --> 1909.94]  he was
[1909.94 --> 1911.16]  also the
[1911.16 --> 1911.94]  most near
[1911.94 --> 1912.86]  to save
[1912.86 --> 1913.24]  us from
[1913.24 --> 1914.62]  sin and
[1914.62 --> 1915.12]  make us
[1915.12 --> 1915.66]  heirs of
[1915.66 --> 1916.42]  his promise
[1916.42 --> 1917.50]  of a new
[1917.50 --> 1918.68]  life and
[1918.68 --> 1919.06]  a new
[1919.06 --> 1920.20]  creation where
[1920.20 --> 1920.98]  there is no
[1920.98 --> 1922.04]  more sin or
[1922.04 --> 1923.14]  sadness or
[1923.14 --> 1924.36]  dysfunction or
[1924.36 --> 1925.60]  disease or
[1925.60 --> 1927.10]  death anymore.
[1927.10 --> 1927.28]  him.
[1929.28 --> 1930.44]  The third
[1930.44 --> 1931.30]  seed of hope
[1931.30 --> 1932.36]  is in the
[1932.36 --> 1932.88]  chapter's
[1932.88 --> 1934.22]  last verse.
[1936.06 --> 1936.68]  Meanwhile,
[1937.34 --> 1938.06]  the Midianites
[1938.06 --> 1938.72]  sold Joseph
[1938.72 --> 1939.48]  in Egypt to
[1939.48 --> 1940.02]  Potiphar,
[1940.50 --> 1940.96]  one of
[1940.96 --> 1941.42]  Pharaoh's
[1941.42 --> 1941.94]  officials,
[1942.22 --> 1942.76]  the captain
[1942.76 --> 1943.60]  of the
[1943.60 --> 1943.90]  guard.
[1945.96 --> 1946.96]  Joseph lands
[1946.96 --> 1947.64]  in Egypt
[1947.64 --> 1950.58]  alive and
[1950.58 --> 1951.28]  is sold to
[1951.28 --> 1952.12]  someone closely
[1952.12 --> 1953.62]  associated with
[1953.62 --> 1954.18]  no less
[1954.18 --> 1954.94]  powerful a
[1954.94 --> 1955.64]  figure than
[1955.64 --> 1956.10]  the Pharaoh
[1956.10 --> 1956.66]  himself.
[1958.00 --> 1958.76]  Verse 36
[1958.76 --> 1959.40]  is sort of a
[1959.40 --> 1959.98]  poke in the
[1959.98 --> 1960.42]  ribs as if
[1960.42 --> 1960.76]  to say,
[1961.12 --> 1961.32]  hey,
[1961.44 --> 1961.98]  don't give
[1961.98 --> 1962.16]  up,
[1962.22 --> 1962.62]  the dream
[1962.62 --> 1962.96]  is still
[1962.96 --> 1963.42]  alive,
[1963.82 --> 1964.38]  God isn't
[1964.38 --> 1964.76]  dead and
[1964.76 --> 1965.24]  neither is
[1965.24 --> 1965.60]  Joseph,
[1965.94 --> 1966.30]  so keep
[1966.30 --> 1966.60]  reading.
[1968.44 --> 1968.90]  Yes,
[1968.96 --> 1969.36]  the story
[1969.36 --> 1969.90]  has taken a
[1969.90 --> 1970.62]  difficult turn.
[1970.96 --> 1971.64]  Everybody is
[1971.64 --> 1972.10]  suffering from
[1972.10 --> 1972.44]  the bad
[1972.44 --> 1972.98]  choices they
[1972.98 --> 1973.50]  have made,
[1973.88 --> 1974.24]  Jacob,
[1974.66 --> 1975.02]  Joseph,
[1975.36 --> 1975.90]  the brothers.
[1977.18 --> 1977.80]  But even
[1977.80 --> 1978.98]  when people
[1978.98 --> 1979.68]  take matters
[1979.68 --> 1980.16]  into their
[1980.16 --> 1980.92]  own hands
[1980.92 --> 1982.44]  with often
[1982.44 --> 1983.16]  disastrous
[1983.16 --> 1983.96]  consequences,
[1984.12 --> 1984.56]  even when
[1984.56 --> 1984.92]  things are
[1984.92 --> 1986.04]  falling apart,
[1987.10 --> 1987.82]  there is a
[1987.82 --> 1988.46]  voice on the
[1988.46 --> 1989.98]  sideline saying,
[1990.76 --> 1991.04]  yes,
[1991.72 --> 1992.22]  but.
[1994.14 --> 1994.76]  God's
[1994.76 --> 1995.46]  hidden hand
[1995.46 --> 1996.06]  is still at
[1996.06 --> 1996.36]  work,
[1997.42 --> 1997.98]  weaving the
[1997.98 --> 1998.80]  tapestry of a
[1998.80 --> 1999.66]  larger story,
[2000.46 --> 2001.46]  a story so
[2001.46 --> 2002.36]  big that its
[2002.36 --> 2003.70]  loving purpose,
[2004.18 --> 2004.94]  as we now know
[2004.94 --> 2005.52]  in Christ,
[2005.88 --> 2006.68]  will embrace
[2006.68 --> 2007.64]  the entire
[2007.64 --> 2008.70]  universe.
[2010.38 --> 2011.14]  Often we
[2011.14 --> 2011.92]  cannot see it
[2011.92 --> 2012.88]  in the struggles
[2012.88 --> 2013.52]  and sins,
[2013.94 --> 2014.56]  in the tears
[2014.56 --> 2015.66]  and tragedies
[2015.66 --> 2016.52]  of our lives,
[2017.12 --> 2017.64]  but this
[2017.64 --> 2018.86]  story bears
[2018.86 --> 2019.70]  witness to
[2019.70 --> 2020.28]  the Christian
[2020.28 --> 2021.60]  hope that
[2021.60 --> 2022.40]  in the longest
[2022.40 --> 2023.44]  possible run,
[2023.70 --> 2024.70]  it will all
[2024.70 --> 2026.06]  make sense.
[2026.68 --> 2027.42]  God will
[2027.42 --> 2027.80]  not,
[2027.92 --> 2028.78]  to use the
[2028.78 --> 2029.58]  language of my
[2029.58 --> 2030.50]  favorite reality
[2030.50 --> 2030.78]  show,
[2030.86 --> 2031.40]  Survivor,
[2031.86 --> 2032.74]  God will not
[2032.74 --> 2034.28]  be outwitted,
[2035.06 --> 2035.92]  outlasted,
[2036.20 --> 2037.22]  or outplayed
[2037.22 --> 2038.72]  by any human
[2038.72 --> 2040.28]  evil or any
[2040.28 --> 2041.64]  human empire.
[2041.64 --> 2042.64]  God,
[2042.64 --> 2043.36]  the living
[2043.36 --> 2044.14]  God whom we
[2044.14 --> 2044.72]  have come to
[2044.72 --> 2045.72]  know in Jesus
[2045.72 --> 2046.46]  Christ as
[2046.46 --> 2047.48]  faithful and
[2047.48 --> 2048.40]  gracious and
[2048.40 --> 2049.42]  full of mercy
[2049.42 --> 2050.54]  for all,
[2051.64 --> 2052.90]  will continue to
[2052.90 --> 2053.70]  write his story,
[2054.72 --> 2055.58]  a story that has
[2055.58 --> 2056.42]  been punctuated
[2056.42 --> 2057.18]  with a cross
[2057.18 --> 2058.58]  and an empty
[2058.58 --> 2060.10]  tomb so that
[2060.10 --> 2061.76]  we know the
[2061.76 --> 2062.48]  dream will go
[2062.48 --> 2063.64]  on, God's
[2063.64 --> 2064.90]  promises are
[2064.90 --> 2065.72]  not at an end,
[2065.98 --> 2066.74]  our world,
[2067.74 --> 2069.04]  our family,
[2069.04 --> 2070.76]  I do have
[2070.76 --> 2071.80]  a future.
[2073.18 --> 2074.82]  Just keep
[2074.82 --> 2076.30]  reading, keep
[2076.30 --> 2077.16]  following Christ
[2077.16 --> 2078.08]  because as the
[2078.08 --> 2078.78]  last verse of
[2078.78 --> 2079.82]  Genesis 37
[2079.82 --> 2081.40]  nicely reminds us
[2081.40 --> 2082.46]  when it comes to
[2082.46 --> 2083.04]  God and his
[2083.04 --> 2084.18]  people in and
[2084.18 --> 2084.64]  through even
[2084.64 --> 2085.34]  life's darkest
[2085.34 --> 2086.36]  moments, there
[2086.36 --> 2087.04]  is one more
[2087.04 --> 2087.82]  word that can
[2087.82 --> 2088.80]  always be spoken
[2088.80 --> 2090.56]  and that word
[2090.56 --> 2092.22]  is meanwhile.
[2093.84 --> 2094.48]  Meanwhile,
[2095.10 --> 2096.66]  that is,
[2096.66 --> 2098.90]  God will have
[2098.90 --> 2099.92]  the last word
[2099.92 --> 2101.08]  yet.
[2102.02 --> 2102.94]  In the name of
[2102.94 --> 2103.56]  the Father, the
[2103.56 --> 2104.90]  Son, and the
[2104.90 --> 2105.44]  Holy Spirit.
[2106.22 --> 2106.96]  Let's pray.
[2107.48 --> 2108.18]  Gracious God,
[2108.94 --> 2109.84]  we thank you
[2109.84 --> 2110.62]  for this story
[2110.62 --> 2113.28]  and we thank you
[2113.28 --> 2114.26]  for the assurance
[2114.26 --> 2115.86]  which we need
[2115.86 --> 2117.08]  perhaps more
[2117.08 --> 2117.86]  now than ever
[2117.86 --> 2118.76]  before in a
[2118.76 --> 2119.62]  world that seems
[2119.62 --> 2120.20]  to have turned
[2120.20 --> 2121.10]  upside down in
[2121.10 --> 2121.98]  so many ways
[2121.98 --> 2123.98]  that you are
[2123.98 --> 2124.70]  not absent,
[2125.28 --> 2126.12]  you are still
[2126.12 --> 2127.04]  here, you are
[2127.04 --> 2127.60]  still busy
[2127.60 --> 2128.36]  working out
[2128.36 --> 2129.08]  your purposes
[2129.08 --> 2130.94]  even through
[2130.94 --> 2131.32]  us.
[2132.36 --> 2132.88]  Help us,
[2133.02 --> 2133.32]  Lord, be
[2133.32 --> 2134.22]  attentive to
[2134.22 --> 2134.80]  your presence
[2134.80 --> 2135.48]  in our lives
[2135.48 --> 2135.94]  and world
[2135.94 --> 2137.26]  and use
[2137.26 --> 2138.42]  even us
[2138.42 --> 2139.78]  to bring about
[2139.78 --> 2140.74]  your kingdom.
[2141.22 --> 2141.74]  In Jesus'
[2141.92 --> 2142.48]  name we pray.
[2143.08 --> 2143.36]  Amen.
[2143.36 --> 2143.48]  Amen.