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If God is in control,
what am I doing in this pit?
Genesis 37:12-36
Sermon 02
September 27, 2009
Ever feel like life is the pits? All of us have. The recession weighs on our minds. Maybe you have health concerns or emotional struggles? Perhaps you're failing a class at school. Maybe a friendship has fallen apart? Has a marriage soured? Has a child walked away from God? Others have endured the loss of a loved one or suffered a divorce. Some encounter terrible work conditions. Whatever your circumstance - we've all thought at times that life was the pits. Some chaotic event left us wondering if we could survive another day. When we’re in the midst of this, we sometimes wonder: “Where is God in all this? If God is all-powerful, if God is loving, why is He allowing this to happen to me? If God is in control, what am I doing in this pit?
Joseph could have asked that question. Because of his father’s and brothers’ sin, he was literally in a pit. And from there things didn’t get better. His brothers didn’t kill him, as they originally planned, but they did sell their teenage brother into slavery in a foreign land, which was little more than a “living death.” That caravan made its way south to Egypt, perhaps passing within a few miles of Joseph’s home in Hebron. He was overwhelmed with grief and loneliness, as he wondered if he’d ever see his Dad again. He must have wrestled with fear, anger and feelings of rejection as he thought about his brothers’ vicious hatred toward him. He must have wondered, If God is in control, what am I doing in this pit?
It’s interesting that God is not mentioned in Genesis 37. A skeptic might say, “See, God isn’t there when you need Him. If He cared about you, He’d stop sinful people from carrying out their terrible plans.” But even though God is not mentioned by name, His sovereign providence runs like a strong river through this chapter, carrying even the sinful plans of man downstream in His overall purpose. The basis for seeing God’s sovereign hand behind these events is found in His earlier word to Abraham. “Then the LORD said to [Abraham], ‘Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years. But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions...In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure’” (Gen. 15:13-14, 16).
God planned all of this, years before! Next week’s study of Genesis 38 will reveal why God wanted to get His people into Egypt: They were becoming thoroughly corrupt in Canaan. To preserve the nation from assimilation with the Canaanites, He sent them to Egypt, where they became slaves for 400 years. This solidified them as a people under God and prepared them for conquering Canaan when the time of God’s judgment was ripe. But the point is clear: God was providentially orchestrating all of these events according to His eternal plan.
Someone might ask, “But doesn’t that make God responsible for man’s sin?” The Biblical answer is clearly, “No!” People are responsible for their sin and yet God uses them and their sin to accomplish His sovereign purpose. This is a continual theme throughout Scripture: God is sovereign even over men’s sin, yet they are responsible for it (Jer. 8:10; 13:13; 19:3, 9, 15; 25:9; Acts 2:23; 4:27-28, plus many others).
If it boggles your mind as to how God can grant man freedom of choice and yet turn man’s sin so that it accomplishes the very thing they were trying to thwart, then join Paul in exclaiming, “Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable His judgments, and His paths beyond tracing out!” (Rom. 11:33). The bottom line of this marvelous story is that since God is sovereign over all, we can trust Him even when things seem to go against us.
There are three main characters in this drama, each of whom demonstrates the sovereignty of God: Jacob, who is insensitive and foolish; Joseph, who is obedient and submissive; and, Joseph’s brothers, hardened in their sin. But the real central character is God, Who is providentially at work behind the scenes. God is in control even when all Hell breaks loose, Genesis 37:12-36 (p. 28). If you’re taking notes…
1. God is in control even when parents are just stupid. Elbert Hubbard said, “Genius may have its limitations, but stupidity is not thus handicapped.” Three times in the first eleven verses, we are told that Joseph’s older brothers hated him. We know two of them are murderers, four have bad reputations, one is a sexual deviant. But here’s Daddy sending his lamb into the wolf den, vss 12-13, “Now his brothers had gone to graze their father’s flocks near Shechem, and Israel said to Joseph, ‘As you know, your brothers are grazing the flocks near Shechem. Come, I am going to send you to them’.”
Maybe it was because they were at Shechem? Remember that was the scene of a horrible massacre. Perhaps Jacob, worried that they’d returned there, got more focused on his concern about where they were working than their hatred of Joseph.
Remember, too, that Jacob is a passive father. Rather than problem-solving, he lives in denial. It’s the Linus approach to life. One day Linus and Charlie Brown are walking along and chatting with one another. And Linus says "I don’t like to face problems head on. I think the best way to solve problems is to avoid them. In fact, this is a distinct philosophy of mine. No problem is so big or so complicated that it can’t be run away from!" That’s Jacob’s approach to life. If there was a way to avoid dealing with a problem, if there was a way that a confrontation could be avoided – he was for avoidance every time. Twice already he’d skipped town in the middle of the night, rather than seeking to problem-solve. Sadly, many Christians and too many parents have that same approach to life. Please mark it down! Ignoring problems does not make them better.
And Jacob should have known better. Doesn’t he remember how much his own brother, Esau, hated him? Doesn’t he remember how terrified he was that Esau was going to kill him and later attack his family? He also knows what these adult sons are capable of.
I’d surmise that if Rachel had still been alive, this never would have happened. She’d have put her foot down and if need be, pitched a tantrum. There was no way he was going to send her boy to check on that gang of cutthroats.
Maybe Jacob rationalized away this sibling hatred, you know, “boys will be boys.” Too many parents ignore their children’s ongoing issues with the old, “Well, all kids fight.” While that’s true, it does not mean it should be ignored or that we shouldn’t lay down some ground rules, as well as teach them how to Biblically problem-solve. Let me make a few observations.
a) Men, in spite of cultural opposition, are responsible before God to lead their homes. It’s confusing today to be a man. If you’re a strong leader, you’re accused of being a Neanderthal. Then, many men have never seen a strong leader in the home, someone Christ-like, who is both tough and tender. About the only places that you see strong male leadership today is on the athletic field…and even there it’s limited. But many a man who is tough as nails on the athletic field is putty at home.
It doesn’t help that some wives believe that it is their calling to criticize and second-guess their husbands. When it comes to leadership, most men need maximum affirmation and minimal accusation. To be sure, there are times when a wife needs to ask some vital questions. Let’s be careful though that we’re not petty. Choose your battles.
There are frequently two detrimental results when a husband will not lead. First, many women will step up and lead because the husband is not leading. Secondly, the husband becomes more passive, yet he often becomes critical and resentful.
It shows our lack of faith when we refuse to wait and let God work. We must learn to pray and ask God to intervene. Often a wife jumps in but if she’d wait and let God work, her husband would be forced to step up.
And men, just because your wife or children may resist you fulfilling your role as Biblical leader, that does not alleviate you of your responsibility before God. You are accountable before God to be the leader of your home…even when it is tough, unpleasant and even resisted.
b) Parents are responsible to be discerning and protective of their children. God ultimately overrules, using even Jacob’s naïvette as well as the brother’s brutality for His purposes. But that does not mean that Jacob should not have been more discerning. It’s commonly known that these brothers hate Joseph. Jacob also knew what it was like when his own brother, Esau, hated him. His life had been in danger when he was a young man. He knows too the violence these adult sons are capable of, but still he sends Joseph. Remember that timeless quote by General Russel Honoré from the Hurricane Katrina clean-up when he made national headlines after he told a reporter not to get “stuck on stupid.” Apparently, Jacob is…
There are some places that our children just should not go. There are some situations they should never be in. And I know the old, “Well, everyone else is doing it.” “No, they’re not because you’re not.”
Parents need to ask the tough questions: Where are you going? Who are you going with? What are you going to do when you’re there? And have strong guidelines: This is when you will be home. This is not tolerated in our home. This is how you will treat us and talk to us. These are the responsibilities you have in this home if you wish to live here.
A foundational, God given prerequisite for being a successful parent is simply – God does not want you to be your child’s buddy, He wants you to be their parent.
c) Parents need to be careful that they are not presumptuous or even arrogant. One of the most foolish statements that you can ever make as a parent is: “My child would never do that!” I believe that my children are capable of doing even the most debauched thing…because I know I am.
Now that Jane and I only have adult children living in our home, periodically, we ask them tough questions about morality or substance abuse…about their spiritual lives. Some years ago I remember sharing that with one Dad and he was shocked. It had never occurred to him that his children might be capable of doing some wicked things. The truth was that he needed to be asking those questions because it was commonly known to nearly everyone but him that his kids were already into those things.
Jacob knows what his sons are capable of yet apparently he never considers they might do it to one of their own. Even after the bloodstained robe is brought to him, he’s clueless. He seems to think he’s some kind of super parent and can protect Joseph from all harm…he can’t. As parents, we must remember that our children are a gift to us from God (Ps. 127:3). They’re entrusted to us from our Heavenly Father and He has the right to reclaim what is His.
All three of our children have now gone on missions trips. In today’s terrorist world, that’s a real risk. But since I know that they all three know the Lord, I also know that if the Lord should take them Home, He’s sovereign and I can trust Him. Yet, I must confess that when Ben went to Morocco last May, it weighed heavily on me. Not so much that God might call Ben Home but I was afraid that with Ben’s epilepsy, he might have a seizure and receive horrible medical treatment in a 3rd world country.
Before we throw Jacob under the bus, let’s admit that it’s easy for parents to get out of touch with their children. You leave the house early in the morning and don’t get home until dinner. After dinner, the kids are busy with homework and other things. You sit down at the computer or in front of the TV. And so it goes. Your kids are in their world, you’re in yours. You’ve lost touch with the things that are shaping their lives. It’s easy to be right where Jacob was, to be an insensitive parent!
The point is, while Jacob was not right, and while we need to work at avoiding his blunders, God is still sovereign, even when parents are insensitive and foolish. Jacob should have been wise enough not to have shown favoritism to Joseph. He should have protected him from this explosive situation. He dropped the ball but God was still in control.
Maybe your parents did (or now are doing) some dumb things toward you. You can get mad and bitter at them (or even at God) for all the wrong things they’ve done. You can blame them for not protecting you from things that damaged your life or for showing favoritism to your siblings, or for being passive parents. Another option is to choose to trust God and rest in the fact that He has placed you in your family. Even though you don’t understand everything, you can thank Him because you know that He will work all these bad things out for your ultimate good. You can ask Him to take away your bitterness and make you the channel of His love.
No matter what our family background or circumstances, we’re responsible to obey the Lord. Joseph’s life demonstrates that it’s possible to obey the Lord, even when we’re mistreated and others around us are disobedient. Even if you come from a rotten background, God holds you responsible to not succumb to bitterness. You are still to obey Him in response to His grace and love as shown to you in Christ. Every parent, like Jacob, does some stupid things. What a blessing to know that God is in control even when we as parents are just stupid.
2. God is in control even when we do the right thing and are abused for it. A father often shared of the problem he had of getting his son to clean his room. The son would always agree to tidy up, but then wouldn't follow through. After high school the young man joined the Marine Corps. When he came home for leave after basic training, his father asked him what he’d learned in the service. "Dad," he said. "I learned what 'now' means. Joseph knew what “now” meant. Obedience to his father and those in authority over him are a wonderful part of this young man’s character. What he did was the right thing to do, totally the right thing to do.
In a world programmed to question authority, Joseph is a breath of fresh air. And this was no little trek. It was sixty miles to Shechem and then another fifteen to Dothan. His compliance to Jacob’s command and going on to Dothan was going beyond duty. After not finding them at Shechem, he’d have completed his obligations if he’d returned home, and shared that he could not find them. But Joseph is determined to obey and complete the task that he’s been given. He diligently seeks to find them, “When Joseph arrived at Shechem, a man found him wandering around in the fields and asked him, ‘What are you looking for?’ He replied, ‘I’m looking for my brothers. Can you tell me where they are grazing their flocks?’ ‘They have moved on from here,’ the man answered. ‘I heard them say, “Let’s go to Dothan.”’ So Joseph went after his brothers and found them near Dothan” (vss. 14-17).
Joseph gives 110%! I wonder how many of us function as employees with the conscientiousness of Joseph? Do we go beyond what is expected? Do we do enough to get by? One reason our country has lost so many jobs to other parts of the globe is that too many Americans have lost what is known as “the Protestant work ethic.”
How about our service for the Lord? Do we do just enough…or are we committed to diligence and excellence? Sadly, some will never hear “Well done, good and faithful servant!” (Matt. 25:23) because we’ll never be much more than half finished with what God has for us to do.
Here’s our problem. If you do the right thing, we believe that we’re supposed to be rewarded, not suffer for it. Joseph’s life repeatedly reminds us that oftentimes you and I will suffer for obeying God and doing the right thing. We must do the right thing because it’s the right thing to do, not because we are immediately rewarded for it.
God is at work and overruling here, even using Joseph’s diligence to bring about the fulfillment of His sovereign plan. If God had not sent this man to find Joseph when he was wandering around Shechem looking for his brothers and sent him on to Dothan, Joseph would have just gone back home and never been sold into Egypt.
One other observation, other than obedience to God’s commands, God never expects blind obedience. What Jacob asked Joseph to do was not wrong and Joseph was right to obey. But as Joseph is seventeen and almost a man and knows that he’s not his brothers’ favorite person, it would have been completely appropriate for him to ask his father, “Dad, are you sure you want to send me…alone...on this trek?” My point is that we need to first teach our children to obey, yet as they mature, we also need to teach them how to graciously question authority with the right attitude and in an appropriate way. Isaac questioned Abraham about where the sacrifice was (Gen. 22:7). Daniel questioned his superiors, asking if there was not another diet he could eat that would be in line with his faith (Daniel 1).
Joseph did the right thing – he obeyed. He would have also been right, in light of the animosity of his brothers, to have asked his father a few questions. What a blessing to know that God is in control even when we do the right thing and are abused for it.
3. God is in control even when people are hatefully hardened in sin. “But they saw him in the distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him. ‘Here comes that dreamer!’ they said to each other. ‘Come now, let’s kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns and say that a ferocious animal devoured him. Then we’ll see what comes of his dreams’” (vss. 18-20). From the time that Cain killed Abel in the Bible, sibling rivalry has been as insidious as germ warfare in the arena of family dynamics. The Bible is full of stories of sibling rivalry, ranging from the story of Joseph and his older brothers to the story of David and Absalom, to name just a few. Although the end result hasn't always been murder, sibling rivalry has been at the root of all forms of subtle sabotage, which lead to human problems.
The world has never had a shortage of cruel, hateful, vicious, mean people. Somehow though we just don’t think that they should be part of our own family. The wound always goes deeper if the ones who wound us maliciously and viciously are supposed to be the very ones who are supposed to love us, encourage us and accept us. Joseph is a lamb to the slaughter. He’s just obeying his father. He’s probably relieved and looking forward to seeing them after his 75 mile trek.
William Wordsworth writes of “man’s inhumanity to man.” This level of cruelty, that even though we are so desensitized, still shocks us! Joseph finds them huddled together. Perhaps he thinks they’re planning their work strategy for the day but in this unholy huddle, these ten men are conspiring together to murder him, their innocent younger brother.
In the very act of his showing his innocence, his purity, his obedience and love for both his father and them – their fury pours out on him. First they strip off the despised robe and then hurl him into a pit, a cistern. During the dry seasons in the ancient Middle East, bottle-shaped wells with small openings at the top were ideal places for incarceration. Archeologists have found skeletons in such pits. The only reason that they don’t slit his throat on the spot is that Reuben steps in.
a) Reuben the Fickle. “When Reuben heard this, he tried to rescue him from their hands, 'Let’s not take his life,' he said. 'Don’t shed any blood. Throw him into this cistern here in the desert, but don’t lay a hand on him.' Reuben said this to rescue him from them and take him back to his father” (vss. 21-22). No one needs a friend or brother like Reuben…they’re totally willing to stand behind you…as long as no one is looking.
Once Joseph was in the pit, Reuben went off, perhaps to check on the flocks. It appears later though that he really was more concerned about protecting himself. As the oldest, he’d have to answer to his father for whatever happened to his little brother. He was already in hot water with Jacob over the matter of sleeping with his concubine. Maybe by rescuing Joseph he hoped to get himself back in his father’s good graces. But after they sell Joseph, he goes along with the scheme. If he really was concerned about Joseph, why didn’t he go after the caravan and redeem him?
b) Judah the Opportunist. “As they sat down to eat their meal, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were loaded with spices, balm and myrrh, and they were on their way to take them down to Egypt. Judah said to his brothers, 'What will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? Come, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him; after all, he is our brother, our own flesh and blood.' His brothers agreed” (vss. 25-27). Judah gets a brainstorm: “There’s no profit for us if we let Joseph die in this pit. Let’s sell him to these traders. That way we won’t have the guilt of killing our own brother and we’ll make a couple of bucks each besides.”
It strikes everyone as a great idea. Isn’t it amazing how we can salve our consciences against some terrible sin by rationalizing that at least it isn’t as bad as it could have been? Compared to murdering your brother, selling him into slavery doesn’t sound too bad. You can almost hear them saying, “It will be better for both Joseph and us this way.” They rationalize away their guilt by saying, “After all, he is our brother.” Comparative morality is still no morality at all!
c) The Soulless Brothers. It’s estimated that 7% of Americans would murder for money. That means that in a crowd of a hundred, it’s highly likely that there are people there that would take you out for the right price.
I haven’t met many people who really scared me but there have been a few. Those who really bother me are what I call soulless people. When you look in their eyes, it’s as if there is no soul. That was Joseph’s brothers.
The fact that they could return to Shechem is shocking. Shechem was a place of rape, murder and plunder but that’s where they took their flocks to let them graze.
This is a mob mentality. They so hate Joseph. They’re so bitter at their father that they’ve whipped themselves up into a frenzy. They’re ready for a violent killing. They themselves are the wild beasts who leap on Joseph, ripping the hated coat off of him, hurling him into the pit.
Want to know how soulless they are? After throwing Joseph down into this pit to die, they sit down just yards away to eat lunch, possibly the very food that he brought them. As they munch their sandwiches, they can hear his cries for mercy and for them to please rescue him. They relate that twenty-five years later when the chickens come home to roost, “Surely we are being punished because of our brother. We saw how distressed he was when he pleaded with us for his life, but we would not listen…” (Gen. 42:21). Their consciences were so hardened, their hatred so out of control…nothing would stop them!
Then, after selling Joseph to the Midianites, they send a messenger to Dad, carrying the bloody robe. They watch him weeping, tearing his clothes…and they never say a thing. One wonders if there is any hope for such hardened, hateful men but God is not done with them.
Conclusion: In his book, God is Never Late; He’s Seldom Early; He’s Always Right on Time, Stan Toler tells about the time James Garfield – later a President of the United States – was principal of Hiram College in Ohio. A father once asked him if a particular course of study could be simplified so that his son could go through by a shorter route. "Certainly," replied Garfield. "But it all depends upon what you want to make of your boy. When God wants to make an oak tree, he takes a hundred years. When he wants to make a squash, he only requires two summers."
God was “making” Joseph. What’s so ironic and so amazing is that the very brothers who so hated him and were so determined to silence him, putting an end to his silly dreams once and for all – are the very ones that God used to “purchase” Joseph’s ticket to the throne. The pit led to the palace…it just took twenty years to get there. What a reminder that if you want to realize your dream, don’t rush God. Be thankful for the way He is preparing you now for the time in the future when He will bring about His plans for your life.
If God is in control, what am I doing in this pit? God had prepared the pit for Joseph. When everything seemed totally out of control, God was completely in control. We see that at several points. First, Joseph did not find his brothers where they were supposed to be. As he wandered around in a field, a man “happened” to come along who knew where the brothers went, so Joseph was able to find them. Then, Joseph arrived just before this caravan came along, sparking Judah’s idea, which got Joseph into Egypt.
You can also see a hint of God’s providence in the ironic boast of the brothers, “Then we’ll see what comes of his dreams!” (37:20). What became of his dreams is that they were precisely fulfilled! God had His hand on this whole process, in spite of the brothers’ calloused sin, for which they were responsible. God providentially put Joseph into Potiphar’s house and orchestrated the events that followed there, in spite of Potiphar’s wife’s sin against Joseph. God was sovereign in the timing of the cupbearer’s remembering Joseph before Pharaoh.
Perhaps the most convincing evidence of God’s sovereign hand in these events is the remarkable parallel between Joseph’s history and that of our Lord Jesus Christ. Just as Joseph was loved by his father and sent to seek the welfare of his brothers, so Jesus was loved and sent by the Father. Just as Joseph’s brothers hated him because he spoke the truth about their sin and he convicted them of sin by his righteous life, so with Jesus. Just as Joseph’s brothers sold him for a few pieces of silver, so Jesus was betrayed for the same. Joseph’s brothers sought to get rid of him so that he would not reign over them, but their action resulted in that becoming true. Their rejection of him resulted in his later becoming their savior from the famine. Even so, the Jewish leaders did not want Jesus to reign over them. But their killing Him resulted in His becoming the Savior of the whole world, exalted in His resurrection as Lord of all at the right hand of the Father, just as Joseph was second under Pharaoh.
Joseph easily could have thought, “If only I hadn’t met that guy in the field, I wouldn’t have found my brothers and all this wouldn’t have happened to me!” But his wandering in the field and meeting that man wasn’t bad luck. Even though God is never mentioned, even though He appears invisible, He is obviously at work. Often when God is most silent, He is the most present.
Years later, Joseph could say to his brothers, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done” (Gen. 50:20). We may see the reason for God’s dealings after a few years or maybe not until eternity. But, like Joseph, we need to trust God, even when we don’t understand. The bottom line is: We can trust God no matter what happens to us because His sovereign, loving hand is on us even in the little “happenstances” of life. We can trust God even when we’re in the pit!
Recognizing the power of God is a lesson every Christian must learn—and learn well. As professional golfer Lee Trevino reflected following a brush with death in which he was struck by lightning on the golf course, “When God wants to play through, you let Him.”
Our God is capable of anything and everything. He loves to take our tragedies and turn them into His triumphs, our disasters; into His diamonds! But you and I must choose to trust Him even when we’re in the pits!
