Israel Guided by Yahweh

Jann Martin August 10, 2008

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Matthew 11:16 - 19, 25 - 30

Bible Lesson

¹ So Jacob settled again in the land of Canaan, where his father had lived. ² This is the history of Jacob's family.

When Joseph was seventeen years old, he often tended his father's flocks with his half brothers, the sons of his father's wives Bilhah and Zilpah. But Joseph reported to his father some of the bad things his brothers were doing. ³ Now Jacob loved Joseph more than any of his other children because Joseph had been born to him in his old age. So one day he gave Joseph a special gift-a beautiful robe. ⁴ But his brothers hated Joseph because of their father's partiality. They couldn't say a kind word to him.

²² "Why should we shed his blood? Let's just throw him alive into this pit here. That way he will die without our having to touch him." Reuben was secretly planning to help Joseph escape, and then he would bring him back to his father.

²³ So when Joseph arrived, they pulled off his beautiful robe ²⁴ and threw him into the pit. This pit was normally used to store water, but it was empty at the time. ²⁵ Then, just as they were sitting down to eat, they noticed a caravan of camels in the distance coming toward them. It was a group of Ishmaelite traders taking spices, balm, and myrrh from Gilead to Egypt.

²⁶ Judah said to the others, "What can we gain by killing our brother? That would just give us a guilty conscience. ²⁷ Let's sell Joseph to those Ishmaelite traders. Let's not be responsible for his death; after all, he is our brother!" And his brothers agreed. ²⁸ So when the traders came by, his brothers pulled Joseph out of the pit and sold him for twenty pieces of silver, and the Ishmaelite traders took him along to Egypt. (1)

This is the Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

In the section of Genesis in between the verses we heard this morning is the story of the dreams that Joseph had about himself and his brothers. Here are the dreams in verses 5 - 11:

⁵ One night Joseph had a dream and promptly reported the details to his brothers, causing them to hate him even more. ⁶ "Listen to this dream," he announced. ⁷ "We were out in the field tying up bundles of grain. My bundle stood up, and then your bundles all gathered around and bowed low before it!"

⁸ "So you are going to be our king, are you?" his brothers taunted. And they hated him all the more for his dream and what he had said.

⁹ Then Joseph had another dream and told his brothers about it. "Listen to this dream," he said. "The sun, moon, and eleven stars bowed low before me!"

¹⁰ This time he told his father as well as his brothers, and his father rebuked him. "What do you mean?" his father asked. "Will your mother, your brothers, and I actually come and bow before you?" ¹¹ But while his brothers were jealous of Joseph, his father gave it some thought and wondered what it all meant. (2)

The dreams tell in symbolism of how they will bow down to him. When he tells his brothers about his two dreams this makes them dislike him even more. He had always been the favored son since his mother was Rachel and he was born when Jacob was older.

Jacob even gave Joseph a beautiful robe. This was different than the usual plain robes that were used for many things in everyday life. The cloak most people had was used to keep warm, carry things in it for a trip, sit on it, or even wrap a baby in it. The robes were usually short sleeved and only knee length. Joseph's robe is talked about as a beautiful robe, probably more like what the royalty would have worn; it was very colorful and probably had long sleeves and was ankle length. This gift of a special robe to Joseph only made the relationship between him and his brothers even more strained.

In the story of Joseph and his brothers we also see a correlation of God to His people Israel. Both Israel, on their travels to the Promised Land, and Joseph are tested many times in their lives. Even though it doesn't talk about God watching over Joseph in our reading, you get the feeling He, God, is always watchful and guiding the events to come out the way He wants.

We don't always understand why things happen the way they do in our own lives. We don't see the whole picture like God does. He knows what is best for us. We have to remember to seek out His guidance and wait for His answer. I remember being frustrated and looking for a job in 2004 when I read the ad looking for a Christian Education Director. All of the jobs I had previously tried for kept falling apart. When I called Tammy Johnson and learned more about the position here at Faith Community, I knew this was where I should be. God contacted me through a want ad in a local paper. I never would have dreamed of finding a ministry position through the newspaper.

God does use everyday things to guide us to where He wants us and what He wants us to do. Have you ever felt frustrated with church and God and wondered why you even bothered going to church. This story I received from a friend is a good reason why you need to continue going to church.

Why Go To Church?

A Churchgoer wrote a letter to the editor of a newspaper and complained that it made no sense to go to church every Sunday. "I've gone for 30 years now," he wrote, "and in that time I have heard something like 3,000 sermons. But for the life of me, I can't remember a single one of them. So, I think I'm wasting my time and the pastors are wasting theirs by giving sermons at all"

This started a real controversy in the "Letters to the Editor" column, much to the delight of the editor. It went on for weeks until someone wrote this clincher:

"I've been married for 30 years now. In that time my wife has cooked some 32,000 meals. But, for the life of me, I cannot recall the entire menu for a single one of those meals. But I do know this. They all nourished me and gave me the strength I needed to do my work. If my wife had not given me these meals, I would be physically dead today. Likewise, if I had not gone to church for nourishment, I would be spiritually dead today!"

When you are DOWN to nothing, God is UP to something! Faith sees the invisible, believes the incredible and receives the impossible! Thank God for our physical AND our spiritual nourishment!

We need to remember to rely on God in our daily lives and trust Him to guide us in the right direction. Joseph could have been very bitter and made the rest of his life miserable. He instead relied on God and God helped him to be safe and treated well by his captives.

When Joseph arrived in Egypt, Potiphar bought him as a slave to work in his home. Because Joseph had found favor in the eye of God, God blessed the work Joseph did and the household of Potiphar as well. As time went on, Potiphar's wife decided she wanted Joseph, and when he wouldn't accept her advances, she had Potiphar throw Joseph in jail.

Once again God was watching out for him, and the warden put Joseph in charge of all that were being held in the prison. While there, the pharaoh had some dreams and was told that Joseph could interpret dreams. The pharaoh was pleased with Joseph's interpretation of the dreams and had him released from prison to come and work for him. Thus preparing the people for the famine that was to come. Of those who were affected by the famine in the outlying country was Joseph's family. They ended up coming to Egypt to see if they could get some food. Thus the symbolism of the stalks of wheat bowing down to Joseph in his first dreams had come true. Joseph's brothers had to come to him to get food to survive. Even though Joseph had gone through some tough times, God still had a hand in making things turn out for the best.

Like Joseph, we can be pushed into a situation we would not choose, but it can be turned around and God can bless our situation. Many years ago we were in a really tight financial situation. This could have been a time when we turned our backs to God and got mad because things weren't going the way we wanted them to go. Instead we relied on God and prayed for His guidance and everything turned out better than we could have expected. Remember the rainbow at the end of the storm, God promised that He will take care of you.

Here is an interesting article I received on knowing that God will watch over you:

STILLNESS AND SORBET

By Michael A. Halleen
"Be still, and know that I am God." (Psalm 46:10)

Fine restaurants have the right idea. After each course, they serve a small sorbet, something to clear the palate. It is a timeout, a minute or two to let go slowly of what has been and to allow the tongue--and mind--to prepare for the pleasures to come. Too often we live at a fast food pace, moving from one experience to another without reflection, from one encounter to the next without clearing the head. Our lives need more sorbets.

It is in those in-between times that we can put things in perspective, reflect on what has occurred; let the flavors subside before moving on to the next course. I encourage my business clients to take time to celebrate, if only for a minute, a victory of the past week, congratulate one another and consider what contributed to that success, however small. We benefit from contemplating for a moment the conversation we have had before rushing ahead to the next call. And we gain something by allowing ourselves to acknowledge a mistake or missed opportunity, even to feel the pain of a loss, before plunging into the next minute of the day-or phase of life.

Some monastic orders, I am told, have a practice called statio. It means they stop one thing before beginning another. Rather than rush from one activity to the next, they pause and recognize this time between the times. It is an idea, which I try to communicate to churches I serve as an interim minister. The gap between pastor leaders can be a beneficial time of reflection and refreshment for a congregation. The Psalm writer suggests that it is in pauses--stillness--that we recognize the reality of God's presence, both in what has passed and in what is yet to come.

The father of cellist Yo-Yo Ma lived in Paris during World War II, holed up alone in a garret during the years of German occupation. In order to restore sanity to his world, he practiced violin pieces by Bach during the day, and through the long night hours of blackout, he played them again in the dark from memory. His son Yo-Yo took up his father's advice to play a Bach suite from memory every night before going to bed. "It isn't practicing," he says, "it's contemplating. You're alone with your soul."

Joseph and the Israelites learned to stop and listen to God and followed his guidance. They and we do not always understand what God wants at all times, but God is always there when we turn to Him and He will guide us. Waiting to sell our home has been a very trying time, and yes, it is still on the market, more so for me than Jim. As a female I tend to see more of what has to be kept clean and picked up. Daily I try to remember to pray to God and ask Him for His strength to just wait and let Him be in control. I know in my heart that He has our best interest in mind for what will come. So I ask each of you to join me in starting each day with a prayer to God, asking Him to guide each decision you make and then turn your day over to Him.

Amen.

1. Holy Bible, New Living Translation, (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.) 1996.
2. Holy Bible, New Living Translation, (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.) 1996.

©Jann Martin 2008