How do you prepare for a famine? 飢餓に対してあなたはどのように対応しますか？

     For the past few weeks we have been looking at the progress of God’s revelation to His creation.  We have seen His footprints in the Bible sand. We have seen Him promise a People who will follow Him. A promise of a land that these people would live in.  And we have seen such a family struggle with all this as they rise and fall in their humanness.  We have seen a father almost kill his only son on a hillside. We have read before that about a flood that would kill all but one family. Even before that, there was a brother who would feel such hatred that he would kill his only brother in a fit of rage.  And we have been looking at the life and times in the man Joseph.

     This is the family God selected.  Not shinning examples of greatness by any standard.  Jealously, mistrust, murder, lust, stealing… Sounds like the goings on of people in the Yakuza!  But yet, we can also see that it is God who is working under the surface, bringing people to a place in their walk of Life when they look up and see that He is God.

     Today, we will continue as we start off reminding us what had already happened to this young man, Joseph.  He was born to an old man. His other brothers began to hate him.  They felt deep jealously toward him as the father shows favoritism toward him.  This almost gets him killed but he is sold into slavery instead.  The brothers go back to the father and lie about what happened to Joseph and the father is heart broken.  The brothers do not break silence but kept the lie alive.

     Joseph was sold to a man who was in charge of the State Penitentiary.  Joseph excels in this new role and is elevated to second in power in the household.  The man’s wife seduces Joseph. Joseph refuses and is thrown into, most likely, the same Penitentiary his boss ran.  Here, too, he is lifted up and after longer than two years, gets a break and interprets the Pharaoh’s difficult dream and becomes Prime Minister of Egypt.

A rags to riches story like none other! ぼろから裕福への物語

     The dream the Pharaoh had was really weird.  Seven scrawny cows eat seven fat cows and seven sickly heads of grain eat up seven good heads of grain.  But for a country that was agricultural, it makes a lot of sense.  For seven years, the land would bring forth a GREAT harvest.  Year one and two—huge harvest.  Year three-five, same thing.  Year six and seven, the same.  But on the 8th year, the harvest failed.  And for a total of seven more years, the whole area – all over the known world – there is a great famine. What to do?  41:41.  Pharaoh said, “I have put you in charge of the whole land of Egypt.” 

     Joseph was 30 years of age when he started as Prime Minister of Egypt. He was 17 when he came to Egypt as a slave and now, 13 years later, he is #2 of the land.  Not bad.

     And he got there because God was in the famine. God sent a famine into the world to teach Joseph and everyone else who wanted to learn from it, just HOW to prepare for a famine.  And OH, my, what a famine we have today!

     People are dying all over the world because of the lack of food or water.  You don’t have to look too far—to North Korea, and you will see famine of historic proportions.

     Speaking of deaths, just last week, I got the report that Larry LaPrise, from Scotland, died.  He wrote “The Hokey Pokey” (and turn yourself around…).  He died peacefully at the great age of 93.  The most traumatic part for his family was getting him into the coffin.  They put his left leg in…and then the trouble started! That’s what it is all about!

     Read with me, starting from verse 46-49.   

 ヨセフは、エジプトの王ファラオの前に立ったとき三十歳であった。ヨセフはファラオの前をたって、エジプト全国を巡回した。 豊作の七年の間、大地は豊かな実りに満ち溢れた。 ヨセフはその七年の間に、エジプトの国中の食糧をできるかぎり集め、その食糧を町々に蓄えさせた。町の周囲の畑にできた食糧を、その町の中に蓄えさせたのである。 ヨセフは、海辺の砂ほども多くの穀物を蓄え、ついに量りきれなくなったので、量るのをやめた。

Now, 53-57.

ヨセフは、エジプトの王ファラオの前に立ったとき三十歳であった。ヨセフはファラオの前をたって、エジプト全国を巡回した。 豊作の七年の間、大地は豊かな実りに満ち溢れた。 ヨセフはその七年の間に、エジプトの国中の食糧をできるかぎり集め、その食糧を町々に蓄えさせた。町の周囲の畑にできた食糧を、その町の中に蓄えさせたのである。 ヨセフは、海辺の砂ほども多くの穀物を蓄え、ついに量りきれなくなったので、量るのをやめた。

     Joseph was THE Man of the year!  His face would be on the TIME magazine as such an impressive man.  He saved, not only Egypt and the known world from deep hardship, but he also saved his People, Israel.  And in doing so, he shows us how to prepare for hardships and famines.

Putting this all into perspective, he gives God the glory. ヨセフは栄光を神に帰する。It was God who gave him the interpretation.  It was God who sent him to Egypt for this very reason. Joseph was very much aware of whom God was in his life and he made sure others knew about it as well.  Not in a flashy sort of way, just the facts.  I am sure he told his wife, the daughter of the high priest of On.  He told it to his two boys.  He told it to the household of Pharaoh.  And the people everywhere understood that Joseph was more than just a clever man.  

      Look at the new name that was given to him, (Genesis 41:45  Pharaoh gave Joseph the name Zaphenath-Paneah. パロはヨセフの名をザフナテ・パネアと呼び、 Probably means “God speaks and lives” or “The One Who Interprets Dreams”.   And when his brothers came to him for grain, which name did they use?  Not Joseph, but this Egyptian name.  He had interpreted his dreams for them 13 years before!

     And who is that for us today?  Who is the One who knows the future and has prepared a way for those who follow Him? The Lord Jesus.  Once again, Joseph is the shadow of the Lord. イエスの影。Jesus is the one who we look to for understanding and for salvation.  As Joseph saved his people, Jesus is the One who is able to save us.

• Allow Yourself HOPE  望みを持たせてくれる        Ps 3:1-6, 8 詩篇3：1-8

    A psalm when David fled from his son Absalom.

 1 O LORD, how many are my foes!   How many rise up against me!
2 Many are saying of me,  “God will not deliver him.”
 3 But You are a shield around me, O LORD; You bestow glory on me and lift up my head.
4 To the LORD I cry aloud, and He answers me from His holy hill.
 5 I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the LORD sustains me.
6 I will not fear the tens of thousands drawn up against me on every side.

8 From the LORD comes deliverance. May Your blessing be on Your people.

• Commit Self to Action 神の御前に歩む 詩篇56：3-4、10-13         

 Ps 56:3-4, 10-13 When the Philistines had seized him in Gath.

 3 When I am afraid, I will trust in You.
4 In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can mortal man do to me?

10 In God, whose word I praise, in the LORD, whose word I praise—
11 in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?

 12 I am under vows to You, O God; I will present my thank offerings to You.
13 For You have delivered me from death and my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before God in the light of life.

• Place Confidence & Trust in Him 神を信じ、依り頼む　詩篇13：5、27：13 Ps 13: 5 

But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation.;

• Remember Past Salvation 過去の救いを思い返す　詩篇71：15     Ps 71: 15 

My mouth will tell of Your righteousness, of Your salvation all day long, though I know not its measure.

• Wait Patiently  忍耐深く待つ　詩篇27：14　創世記45：7   Ps 27: 14 

Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.             

Gen 45:7 But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.

• Stay Dependent on God 神を頼りとする　詩篇71：1 Ps 71: 1 

In You, O LORD, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame.

　　　　　During those long years of famine Joseph, there was much suffering.  It effected all of life and because of it, many died around the world.  The Supreme Head of Egypt told his subjects to take their needs to Joseph.  Everyone went to him for substance.  They paid for the food and they lived. Some came from far away countries and laid down some serious gold and silver for the much needed grain.  Because of that, Egypt got very rich.  THAT was because of the wisdom of their Prime Minister.  His plan for the famine was followed and people who went to him, lived.

　　　　　So it is in our land today.  We have a famine on this earth right now.  It is in the form of a spiritual famine.  People are without hope and without substance to keep them going.  Jesus is the One we can turn to for all our needs.  He welcomes all to come to Him and have life and to have life more abundantly!  People come from around the world to gain insight and salvation from Him.  The cost was already covered by the Sacrifice that Jesus supplied on the Cross

·  I hear the Savior say, “Your strength indeed is small; Child of weakness, watch and pray, Find in Me your all in all.”

Refrain:
Jesus paid it all, All to Him I owe; Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow.

イエスは全てを贖われた、主に全ては帰す

罪が朱色に汚れていても、主はそれを雪のように白くされる

·  For nothing good have I whereby Your grace to claim; I’ll wash my garments white in the Blood of Calvary’s Lamb.

·  And now complete in Him, My robe, His righteousness, Close sheltered underneath His side, I am divinely blessed.

Jesus paid it all, All to Him I owe; Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow.

 (Look to Isaiah 1:18 and John 3:30 for more on this.)

　　　　　Also, remember that the Lord is in control of all things.  He knows. He does not make mistakes.  He does not say: “What, Stan De La Cour just died…boy that took me by surprise! Wow!  Didn’t see that coming!”

　　　　　How do you survive a spiritual famine? One, realize that there is a famine.  Deal with it in His Wisdom.  This is not to be taken lightly!  Don’t say: “Oh, I’m just fine, I’m not in a famine!” Denial does not help your situation. WE ALL NEED to realize that our spirits are weak and we need to eat from His Hand. 

　　　　　To realize the famine, ask yourself:  

Do I long for time alone with Him?   

Do I read His Word? 

How is your prayer time? 

Do I talk with Him during the day—asking Him for His leading? 

Do I have fellowship with others who call on His Name? 

Am I pro active in seeking forgiveness? 

Are there areas of your life that needs a Spiritual cleaning? 

 第１ヨハネ　１：8-9 自分に罪がないと言うなら、自らを欺いており、真理はわたしたちの内にありません。 自分の罪を公に言い表すなら、神は真実で正しい方ですから、罪を赦し、あらゆる不義からわたしたちを清めてくださいます。

1 John 1:8-9 8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.   

 Don’t deny His claim on you!

Please make plans to attend the Benefit Concert for Wheelchairs Of Hope at the Biblical Church in Ekoda on Wed, November 23rd.  The Black Gospel Concert will host the sounds and personality of Mr. Ray Sidney.  Read the handout for details.  WHO needs 100 new names to add to their mailing list so that they can become an NPO with the Japanese government.  If you are unable to attend, you might want to make a donation of ¥3,000 and sign the address list on their behalf.

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１１月２３日水曜日に江古田聖書教会にて車いす活動の支援コンサートがあるのでご出席ください。黒人霊歌のコンサートが音楽を奏で、レイ・シドニー師が司会します。詳しくはチラシをご覧ください。車いすの支援活動としては、１００名の名簿を必要としています、それにより日本政府からNPOとしての認可が下ります。もし参加できなくとも、３０００円の献金をして、住所の登録をしてください。

Just Give Thanks: Psalm 100

   A psalm. For giving thanks.

  ¹ Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.
 ² Worship the LORD with gladness;
   come before Him with joyful songs.
³ Know that the LORD is God.
   It is He who made us, and we are His;
   we are His people, the sheep of His pasture.
 ⁴ Enter His gates with thanksgiving
   and His courts with praise;
   give thanks to Him and praise His Name.
⁵ For the LORD is good and His love endures forever;
   His faithfulness continues through all generations.

New International Version 1984 (NIV1984)

Joseph: From the Pits to the Palace. ヨセフ：穴から宮殿へ

An overview of the rest of Genesis: 残りの創世記概観

39-Joseph and Potiphar’s wife.  Second jail time.

40-More Dreams: The Cupbearer and the Baker’s dreams.

41-Pharaoh’s Dreams / Joseph in charge of Egypt.

42-Brothers go to Egypt and bow down.

43-Second Journey and more bowing.

44-a Silver Cup in a Sack –lot more bowing.

45-Joseph Makes Himself Known –Foot in mouth.

46-Jacob Goes to Egypt—70 in all.

47-The Famine: Big Government.

48-Sons are born to Joseph: Manasseh and Ephraim.

49-Jacob Blessed His Boys—Dies an old man of 130+.

50-Joseph reassures His Brothers—they don’t believe it!

Remind his brothers of God’s Promise and Dies at 110.

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The Main point: God is in control. What man does is for evil; God has a better plan in store. 要点：神は人の悪しき行ないさえも御手の内にあり、神はよりよき御計画を持つ。

Who are you when you are alone? あなたが一人のときに、あなたは何者なのでしょう。

When driving a car, you can see all sorts of strange things going in the cars around you.  Exploratory surgery; painting toenails-while on the cell phone while driving; reading Manga while driving a big rig in traffic while on the cell phone and eating an obento; riding a bike, with one child on the back seat, in her back pack, in the rain (holding an umbrella) talking on the cell phone.

      It is a question of integrity.  When you are alone in your office cubical, or home alone, what kind of a person are you?

Do you take the ¥10,000 note left on the seat of the train? Do you keep the extra change from the 7/11? Do you pay for the ticket or walk thru—when you are in a hurry? Do you watch the porno video that comes up as a pop up on the PC? Do you disregard the copyright warning on the document or CD?

What kind of a person are you when you are traveling in a foreign country when you KNOW no one knows you? Do you take liberties with your speech or actions when you are far from the people you know? I am asking these questions because it has a lot to do with our topic today. When Joseph was sold into slavery, one would think he put his past behind him and absorbed the culture he was now forced to live in. Why should he follow his father’s teachings? Why wouldn’t he just adapt to what is common around him?

The culture of Egypt at that time was completely decadent and corrupt on all levels.  History tells us that the Egyptian women at that time were vulgar and sexually active to the max. There was a story of a Pharaoh’s search for a faithful woman lead him to search the entire country only to find one woman who had only sexually knew one man-her husband.  The Pharaoh killed the husband and took her as his wife.

Such was the case this young adult found himself. Look at the story! He was a fine looking. He was young. He was lifted up in the house of his master. All that control; he had it all.  All except one thing: his boss’ wife. Joseph was fine with that.

Then one day, Potiphar and everyone one else except Potiphar’s wife was gone. She had grown in her lust for this young Hebrew slave.  One, she saw he was fine to look at.  Two, she found him attractive. Three, she sought a time to let him know of her interest. Four, she sprung into action when the coast was clear. She grabbed him and told him what was on her mind—clear enough, even for a young Hebrew man.  He was not just innocent, he was, and we will see this, a young man of integrity and moral fiber. 

The wife of Potiphar had a problem. ・ポティファルの妻は問題をかかえていた。

That kind of turned Potiphar’s wife on!  Something that was out of her grasp was at last there in front of her. This was not the first time she had enticed him.

39:6b-10 Now Joseph was well-built and handsome, and after a while his master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, “Come to bed with me!”

 But he refused. “With me in charge,” he told her, “my master does not concern himself with anything in the house; everything he owns he has entrusted to my care. No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her. 

Day after day!  Always in his face! Her lust for him turned physical and she made herself known. 

One day he went into the house to attend to his duties, and none of the household servants was inside. She caught him by his cloak and said, “Come to bed with me!” But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house.

It was her time to shine! Her victory!  But that was short lived. He rejected her. "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned" based on lines from The Mourning Bride by William Congreve (1670-1729): Meaning: A woman rejected in love can be very angry and dangerous.

Seduced  誘惑した

Rejected　拒否された

      Dangerous　危険だ

Such was the case with this mad lady! She could not have him, no one will have him.  Wait until my husband gets home!!!  Listen to her twisted lies! 

16 She kept his cloak beside her until his master came home. 17 Then she told him this story: “That Hebrew slave you brought us came to me to make sport of me. 18 But as soon as I screamed for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house.”

She actually blames her husband for Joseph being there.  “That Hebrew YOU brought us! It was your fault!  I am the innocent one here!  He hurt me…booo, booo, bo.”

He was burned with anger. Was it toward Joseph or because he knew what kind of woman his wife was, I wonder?  But his action was to take and throw him into the darkest of prisons.

Jail Time for Joseph　ヨセフの獄中期間

Ever been to a prison?  I have: South Carolina Boys Correctional MAX Center.  I worked there as a Bible teacher while in college. There were 30-45 boys with all sorts of crimes committed.  The guards were also pretty unjust and cruel.  But this prison Joseph was sent to was at the bottom of prisons. 

She was vindictive, cunning, sexually permissive, spoke untruths, and untrustworthy.  Why did her husband believe her and not even ask Joseph the obvious question?  Well, being a slave, he had NO rights.  And he was married to this foxy lady. He did not want to jeopardize or risk his relationship with her! She was Egyptian and the slave was not.

So off to jail he went.

What was his defense? Joseph told the wife: 

9 No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?”

When he was all alone, his integrity was in place. 彼が全く孤立したとき、彼の高潔な人柄が出た。 This is not something you can work on while IN the temptation. It had to have been worked out long before this incident.  I will not get involved with her BECAUSE of God’s Law. PERIOD! No second thoughts. No time to reconsider the offer.  He had already done his homework and he was ready to stand up for what was right.  He would not sin against God!

　　Personal inventory／個人の財産目録

How is your integrity? Is it in place? Is it on shaky ground? Is your mind and heart made up? Stay true to the Lord—no matter if I am alone or not!

The next event in Joseph’s life happened while he was serving time in the Government prison. 

20b But while Joseph was there in the prison, 21 the LORD was with him; He showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. 22 So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there. 23 The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s care, because the LORD was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.

How impressive is that!  In his own family—loved best by his father. In Potiphar’s home—second in power. Now, in prison—second only to the head jailer!  But he was still in prison.  That had not changed.  Was God with him or not? Was he where God wanted him to be? God’s blessing was on him no matter where he was.  The surrounding circumstances were still difficult, but that did not keep God from blessing him. You will find this true in your life as well.

Surrounding circumstances/周辺環境  

God’s blessing is not curbed by bad weather. In the storms, His Hand still directs. In the storms of life, you will still get wet and blown around! But His Word is solid; it will not change.  “I am with you. I am your rock. Stand under my shelter. Be still and know that I am God.”

     But, even with this knowledge, Joseph had to wait.  Over two years.   

The end of 40:23  “The chief cupbearer, however, did not remember Joseph; he forgot him.”  

 　But God did not forget Joseph. 神はヨセフを忘れなかった

41:1 When two full years had passed, Pharaoh had a dream…  9 Then the cupbearer said to the Pharaoh, “Today I am reminded of my shortcomings…” 

He remembered the details very well! The cupbearer told Pharaoh and the Pharaoh sent for this dream interpreter.  When Joseph was shaved and washed—maybe the first time since he left Potiphar’s house, he went to the Pharaoh.  God brought him back up—even higher than before.  A slave, an honored slave.  A prisoner, a honored prisoner. Now, an honored Prime Minister of Egypt!

Can you imagine what he was feeling at that time? “I can’t do it, he said, BUT GOD WILL…” All during these times of trials, he kept his heart right with his God.

How did he do that? The secret is found in his early life. Close to home, he was told the stories of Abraham, of Isaac and of his own father’s encounters with The God Who Is! He believed them to be true.  But it was not just because he believed them that made them true. 

This belief was based on Divine Truth, deeper than what you would find in a desert tent. Deeper than what could be found in a pit. Deeper still than what you could find as Prime Minister of one of the greatest nations at that time! It was a deepening knowledge of this God of Abraham who chooses whom He will to bring about His will on earth.

   Then, while Prime Minister of Egypt, he sees his brothers coming in before him, bowing, asking for mercy.  What a sight!  

Genesis 42:6-13 (NIV1984)

 6 Now Joseph was the governor of the land, the one who sold grain to all its people. So when Joseph’s brothers arrived, they bowed down to him with their faces to the ground. 7 As soon as Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he pretended to be a stranger and spoke harshly to them. “Where do you come from?” he asked.

   “From the land of Canaan,” they replied, “to buy food.”

 8 Although Joseph recognized his brothers, they did not recognize him. 9 Then he remembered his dreams about them and said to them, “You are spies! You have come to see where our land is unprotected.”

 10 “No, my lord,” they answered. “Your servants have come to buy food. 11 We are all the sons of one man. Your servants are honest men, not spies.”

 12 “No!” he said to them. “You have come to see where our land is unprotected.”

 13 But they replied, “Your servants were twelve brothers, the sons of one man, who lives in the land of Canaan. The youngest is now with our father, and one is no more.”

Then, when he made himself known to the brothers, wow!

 Genesis 45:4-8 (NIV1984)

 4 Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come close to me.” When they had done so, he said, “I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! 5 And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. 6 For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will not be plowing and reaping. 7 But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.

 8 “So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt.

God’s footprints are all over the Egyptian sand. He is the One who is in control of all things.

　Our situations … われわれの場合は。。。

We have been betrayed by family members. We have been put into a prison of sorts. We have been lied about. We have been lifted up. We have been given Salvation that we did not deserve. We all needed to respond to His call to follow Him. We need to give Him praise for His Salvation.

Who will give Him glory today? Who will say, as Joseph did, I cannot do it, but God will…as He desires?

Give Him praise as we remember what Jesus did for you.  “As often as you eat this bread and drink of the cup, do THIS in remembrance of Me.”

ヨセフの夢 外套と乾いた穴/Joseph’s Dreams, a robe and a dry pit

The big picture. That is the whole idea of this series. 
God’s foot prints in the story of Mankind.  
 It is history --- His story.  Can you see a developing theme here of God choosing some one person and that one person struggles to live in both worlds?   

How does man respond to the leading of God in their life?  For some, it was hard.  Cain, who we did not cover, but the story might be already known, blew it big time when he got jealous of his brother as his offering was accepted but his own was not—so he killed his brother. He could not live with the fact that his brother did things right.  He made a bad choice and he paid dearly for that mistake.  In the life of the one we will be covering today, we can see that his 10 brothers made some serious errors in judgment causing great sorrow for their father and a teenager lost his life into slavery. We are talking about the life of Joseph, son of Jacob—or Israel.
 

Jacob was not the model of a great father.  In fact, he most likely did just about everything wrong.  But even though that was true, God was still interested in him and continued to bless him.  I don’t understand that but the Bible shows us that God blessed him over and over again.  Jacob was a man like none other and yet, was like so many men today.  But our talk today is not about him—some other time perhaps.

Joseph was from a broken dysfunctional family.  One father, three main wives.  The sons of Bihah and the sons of Zipah were not behaving so Joseph brought a bad report about them to their father. This did not go over very well with his brothers.  A tattletale! Why don’t you mind your own business?

 

Here was a 17-year-old teenager.  He was looking for acceptance at home and two mother types did not give him any attention. His half brothers could not even speak a kind word to him.  His father showed more love to him than toward his other brothers and they became deeply jealous. He was just a 17 yr old kid trying to be wanted; to belong! Very much like any 17 yr old today!

Then Dad gave him a nice new robe.  It must have been something else!  “Ornate robe” is how the NIV put it.  We heard from Sunday School times that it was a coat of many colors.  Whatever it was, it was an extravagant gift to give to a 17 year old but his father did not care.  He loved Joseph deeply.  Then something happened that got in the way.  Joseph had a dream.  In fact, two dreams and he told his family about them.  He was loved but he was not so bright!  

“In my dream, I saw all of you bowing down to me! Isn’t that amazing? Wow!  It was so cool!”

Not shared by his brothers.  “They hated him all the more because of his dream and of what he had said.”

You’d think he might have picked up on it with that first dream, but when he had a second dream, he still told them all about it!  This one even got his dad bent out of shape.  “What? You think your Mother and I will come and bow down before you?”  Are you crazy?  Who do you think you are?  What kind of authority do you think you have over us?

People said the same thing about Jesus, remember?  When He told them the Truth, they said about the same thing back to Him.  “Are you crazy? You think you are the Son of God or something?”  “Well, yes I am, as a matter of fact.”  “Oh yeah?  We are going to kill you and then see how that runs true to real life!”

His bothers were jealous of Joseph.  Why?  Might be because of Dad’s love to him but even more so when they saw that this Joseph had something they did not have.  He had direction.  This ‘dream thing’ gave him a sense of a future, and I believe they saw that and it made them angry.

Why should the youngest have these dreams that God was behind.  I believe they could see that God’s Hand was there!

A boy who was loved deeply! A boy who was hated deeply! A favorite son of his father.  And 10 brothers who really started to hate him. And they had a chance to change things in their family forever. They plotted to kill their brother.

Jacob told his son to go and see how the brothers were doing.  His response: “Very well.” “No problem. I’ll go!”

And when he is seen from a distance, they plotted to kill their own brother.

The dreams really had made them mad. They would not let it go. That is the fascinating thing about anger. It starts small—an offence, sometimes an unknowingly offensive remark or action. It gets planted in the heart, grows, gets bitter, and when the feelings have a chance to become physical, it erupts into rage or certainly evil actions.  We often self-talk ourselves into the pit of anger, it is never a good place to be nor is it easy to get out of that pit of anger.

It is not a sin to be angry or even to be tempted, for we read in: 

James 1:14ff  "…each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.”   

These brothers ALLOWED that desire to not only to take root; they allowed it to come to full bloom. They were dragged away into their own pit. It ended with attempted murder.

Anger might be present here in our worship time at ICCS. If you have anger or bitterness in your heart RIGHT now, you will not be able to worship at all. Bitterness takes away any feelings of holiness. Anger and worship can’t co-mingle! The Holy Spirit of God can’t speak to us when we hold bitterness in our hearts. We are outside the Camp of God and only repentance for that anger and bitterness can allow us to re-enter the sanctuary of His blessings and really worship with a pure heart. If that is where you are today, you might not be even able to hear my words very well. If that’s you, check your heart and come back to the place of worship.

The brothers felt good enough about their deed that they had a meal. They broke bread together.  And while they were eating, distant relatives came by. The Ishmaelites. Ishmael was their grandfather’s brother. “Let’s give the brat to our cousins!  They could take this dreamer to Egypt and that will be the end of his dreams coming true!” After all, they really did want to kill the boy—just get rid of him.  Not much of a difference considering what slavery meant to anyone caught in it. And they sold him for 20 shekels of silver.

Slavery meant Death.  A slow death. And a death unnoticed by anyone who could be concerned.

So Joseph left the pit of gloom and entered another type of pit; the pit of human slavery. At the time of the Civil War in the US, four million slaves were forced to call America home with the population of over 31,000,000. Today, there is a reported 12 to 27 million slaves worldwide! Human trafficking is primarily for prostituting women and children into sex industries—and as young as five years of age. Egypt, with its fields of grain, felt they needed slaves to work those fields and enslaved many from all over the known world.  

The Ishmaelites sold him to someone and he found himself standing naked, in front of possible buyers.  Can’t you just imagine how he felt? A boy of 17, standing in front of total strangers and wondering what will become of himself.  Lost, away from his dear Father, in a foreign land. Not knowing the language, he could only look into the eyes or hear the tone and try to understand what the meanings were… All was lost-then he is bought by Potiphar, the captain of the guard.  His position was to punish all national prisoners with capital punishment.  He must have been a harsh sort of man who’d have such a violent job.  

Let’s stop there and consider the different situations Joseph faced and try and apply these things to our lives.  Not an easy task but well worth our time today as we look at the footprints of God on this story. 

First, God is looking for a family. God seems to work in groups, like a family, to show His plans, both to those who are in that family and for those who are on the outside looking in.  Many times, those going through the events have NO idea what is going on but God’s hand is there and with hindsight, they might be able to put it together.  God was calling a Family to follow Him. Imperfect people, but people God is willing to work with them. Some in the family were cunning, while others were cruel, while still others were kind and had a soft heart.  God was AND is looking for Families to live in.  Do you fit the bill? Are you willing to trust Him more—as we asked last week? Is your family important to God?  YES, it is! And He wants to be worshiped by your whole family to show that His Plans work in the lives of everyone He touches.

That was how it was with Jacob. Not a perfect man but a man who would be lead of God and was chosen as the leader of a clan of 12 to be focal in His plans for sending the Messiah.

••Members can teach each other Deut 6:4-9

4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

••Do not let sin effect family life  Ps 101:2

2 I will be careful to lead a blameless life— when will you come to me? I will walk in my house with blameless heart.

••Don’t bring trouble to family  Proverbs 11:29

29 He who brings trouble on his family will inherit only wind,
   and the fool will be servant to the wise.

••Faith is more important than family  Luke 12:51-53

51 Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. 52 From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three. 53 They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”

••Believers are members of God’s Family  Eph 2:19

19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household,

••Church leaders must have a good family life  1 Timothy 3:4-5 4 He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect. 5 (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?)

••Families should take care of each other  1 Timothy 5:3-4

3 Give proper recognition to those widows who are really in need. 4 But if a widow has children or grandchildren, these should learn first of all to put their religion into practice by caring for their own family and so repaying their parents and grandparents, for this is pleasing to God.

Second, God is looking for a person. Joseph would be such a person. I have always enjoyed looking at this guy! He was SO good and nothing turned his head. Brothers who wanted him dead! Cousins who would sell him into a slave market. Working for an executioner. Being falsely accused of rape. Placed in a horrid prison.  And he kept his heart pure before the Lord and those who he served. 

Thirdly, God is showing us a shadow.  Joseph was a foreshadowing of The Christ. 

See 1 Peter 2:22  “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in His mouth.” When they hurled their insults at Him, He did not retaliate; when He suffered, He made no threats. Instead, He trusted Himself to Him who judges justly.”

We just do not hear Joseph complain.  Not a word. His brothers sold him into slavery and we do not hear him protest!  (Overwhelmed, I am sure.)  Falsely accused of rape—not a protest.  He seemed to trust the One who gave him the dreams. His father, Jacob was a dreamer too.  Gen 28—runs in the family!  He took those communications from the God of his father as Truth. When we read and hear from God as we read our Bibles, do we put our trust in Him? Does it strengthen our fortitude! Are we strengthen in our Walk of faith!  

Another question I need to ask? Are you reading your Bibles at all?  Just once or twice a week is not doing your part in knowing Him better!  Read the Bible each day. Get a system of day to day reading and get started. If you stop, pick it back up again!  You need to be in the Word of God on a regular basis! 

Joseph was sold for 20 pieces of silver. 

Jesus was sold for 30.  

Joseph was sent into Egypt, so was Jesus. 

Joseph was sold into slavery-

Jesus died to set free men. 

Joseph is a great example for us as we face difficult situations. He held on to what was foundational in his Faith base youth. And so should we! 

Titus 3:5-7“He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His Mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by His Grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.”  

 Just what did he know of this God who takes him into places no one would want to go? We’ll hear more of that next week, when we finish this personal series of Joseph. (Please read ahead: Chapters 38~).

God is looking for such a person even today. 

Is He looking at you?

“Son, let’s take a walk…trust me.” 息子よ 歩こう わたしを信頼しなさい。

#3 Abraham and Isaac.

Last week the promise was given. Today, we will look at the first birth of Abraham, the Father of Many.

This is found in Genesis 21

Vs 2, Sarah had a child in her old age

Vs 5. Abraham was a hundred years old!

Sarah: “God has brought me laughter!”

Vs 13—deals with his other child. Ishmael and Hagar was sent away but God would bless that boy because he was a son of Abraham—not the son on promise but will become a nation as well. 

Chapter 21 ends and that lead to a testing in Ch. 22.

God calling Abraham again.

Abraham said “Here I am.” He was ready. He was available to His God. How ready are you?

Go and sacrifice “your only son, Isaac, whom you love, go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.”

And Dad responded quickly—the very next morning.  He took with him, wood, two servants and some fire and took off.

I find it interesting that he did not say a word to his wife. Was this a way to show his love to her? What would she say? 

Illustration: _ To prove his love for her, he swam the deepest river, crossed the widest desert and climbed the highest mountain. She divorced him: he was never home. Rose Sands, The Saturday Evening Post.

Let’s continue: He was told this deed to do and left in the morning. Third day of traveling- found the location—saw it in a distance.

He spoke to the servants: “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.”   

 “WE”  Not, “I will come back alone…” His son hears this as well.

Then: 6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together,

Then son spoke up…  “Eh, Dad?” 

“Yes, my Son?” 

 “The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”

God is leading Abraham to do something very wild! Way out of the ways He had been leading Abraham before. Out of character with what we now know of God. Abraham did not have a long history with this God, so how did he know this was going to be OK?  Was the belief in the promises (the covenant) so strong within him, that he just did not doubt? We will find that to be true-but first, consider this.

We have to look at this in light of the rest of Scripture. Had God done anything like this before?  Well, yes, He did.  With Noah.  He destroyed the whole earth and killed everyone in the earth except for Noah, his wife and his three sons and their wives. But not to a father on a child.  This was unique.  

In the New Testament, Jesus did something out of the ordinary when He cursed the fig tree. Mark 11: 12-14, 20-25.  When we read something like this, we NEED to put it in the light of the whole of Scripture. This narrative is full of difficulties.  We need to hold tightly to our principles of the interpretation of the Bible. Reminding ourselves of certain principles of Biblical interpretation.  To guard us of coming up with strange explanation of the passage #1 I must interpret the obscure by the clear. And the partial by the more complete. 

When you come to a passage like this, you HAVE to put it together with other passages that are more complete. Because some passages –at first reading—seem to be really difficult to understand. First say: “This is difficult to understand.” Start with the position of being humble and meek rather that saying I really understand this. 

2nd , comparing Scripture with Scripture and let scripture check my understanding. IF I come up with a different understanding of the Bible that runs contra or opposes the clear teachings of the Bible, than I would be 100% wrong with my interpretation  of the passage.

3rd , I must use the OT to understand the NT and in reading the OT, I will read it in relationship to the New, and see it as the fulfillment in Jesus.  This whole story in Chapter 22 is a foretaste of what God would be doing with His own Son.  The parallels are huge! God provided a sacrifice that could take the cost of the sin—that of His only Son, Jesus. God took the life of the Lamb of God to take away the sins of Mankind. 

4th , I must take deep care to understand each separate passage and not doing so in isolation. Is this unique? Does God do anything like this in other passages? Is it literal or figurative; is it actual, or metaphorical? Is it one of the figures of speech like hyperbole, simile or metaphor.  Is the language largely proverbial language?  

 IE, Jesus saying “I am the Door.”  He is not a door but the Son of God, so the meaning takes on a different sense.  When He said, “this is My Body”—He did not become bread-it is a descriptive device to give special meaning.

So, what do we have here? Does God tell Abraham to kill his son or was it a metaphor. Did God say take the life of his child? YES, He did. And what was Abraham’s thoughts on this?  “We shall both return.” He was convinced that God would raise his own son from the dead!  Never seen it but…

So, we look at 

Hebrews 11: 17-19 By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son,  even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death.

It was God’s promise to Abraham. And Abraham understood that you can't break God's promises by leaning on them!  He trusted God THAT much! He believed God! God said it! Period!

How goes your trust level? Do you trust God? Do you trust me? Do you trust your spouse? Your child? Your parent? Your brother or sister? Does trust come into the picture when it comes to families getting along? Does trust come into the picture here at ICCS? Do we trust each other? Let me say this hard statement: If you don’t trust each other here—who you do see, how in the world can you say you trust God—who you can’t see?  

Trust is a heavy issue, isn’t it? Do you trust that God has you here for a purpose? Does God make mistakes? Well, He isn’t asking us to slice the neck of our child—or does He? I am in no way suggesting that God is asking you to kill your family member! No, but as a matter of simply trusting God, could you trust Him more? Is He worthy of that trust?

I say He is! And it is not just because I need to preach a sermon on this: I need to live that out in my own life as well.  I must trust Him for my family needs, for my family’s future. I must trust Him for life itself! To trust Him! 

As the hymn writer puts it: O how sweet to trust in Jesus, Just to take Him at His Word, Just to rest upon His promise, Just to know “Thus says the Lord!” Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him! How I’ve proved Him over and over! O for Grace to trust Him more!   

Trust Him more!

And here we have Abraham, with knife in hand, with his only son tied to the wood-pile—who is looking up at his father with wide eyes!  Abraham looks at his son—whom he loves and is just about to plunge the knife into the boy’s neck—when he hears—“Abraham, Abraham!”  “Here I am!” 

The Lord sees that He cannot only trust Abraham but that Abraham can totally trust Him.  “Now I know that you fear God, BECAUSE you have not withheld from Me your only son.”

What a joy it must have been for this man!  “I have found favor with God!”  “He trusted me!”  “I was doing what I knew to be His leading and He will give me my son back—as it were—from the dead!” 

His mind was filled with the thoughts of how God was going to honor His Promises to him.  Now that was behind him, he looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son.

All Abraham had to do was to show up and let God do what He alone was capable of doing: God provided a replacement offering! God provided it all! And for us today, that replacement offering is the Lord Jesus-His only Son!

 14 So Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided.” אלוהים ייתן In the modern Hebrew, this means: God will give.  In Japanese, it is: 神が提供されます。

God saw Abraham’s need and He provided. 

Jehovah-Jireh: This was the Name by which God revealed Himself to Abraham, "Jehovah-jireh." It may be translated in three ways. It could be translated "The Lord will See," or "The Lord will Provide," or "The Lord shall be Seen." However we translate this Name of our God, Jehovah-jireh expresses the idea of God seeing and of God being seen. For God, to see is to provide. You know how we sometimes say, "I will see to it," when we mean, "I will take care of it," or "I will provide for it." That is the meaning here.

The gift of the Lord Jesus Christ as our Substitute is a provision that secures all other conditions. 

Romans 8:32: "He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?" 

He will give us all things we need according to His purposes.  He will give us all things promised in the covenant. He will give us all things in heaven. He has given us His OWN SON as our Lord: all we need to do is to do as Abraham did: he looked up and saw his offering.  You-look up and see your Savior waiting for you. He has provided His Son for you all. Put your faith in God.  Trust Him. He provides salvation to all who call on Him.

 

And then the chapter ends with God remaking His promise to Abraham. “I swear by Myself, declares the LORD, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, 18 and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed Me.”

 19 Then Abraham returned to his servants, and they set off together for Beersheba. And Abraham stayed in Beersheba.

Obey God. Look to Him. 

Let Him provide. 

And thank Him by living a life set apart for His Glory.

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