Sermon
9/30/07 –
The Life Preserver –
Genesis 45:5
Audio Sermon
The Life Preserver
“But now, do not therefore be grieved or
angry with yourselves because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to
preserve life“ (Genesis 45:5)
The following joke about a Church Board Meeting was sent to us:
“A fight surprisingly broke out during the monthly board
meeting, involving three men who hit each other with chairs. Later, when the
case went to criminal court, one of the defendants, a deacon, described how the
other two defendants had struck one another with those chairs. ‘You’re a deacon,
why didn't you try to establish peace?’ asked the judge. ‘Didn't you think about
that?’ ‘Yes, I did, Your Honor,’ the deacon replied, ‘which is why I picked up
that other chair.’"
And that’s the way it often is in life. We might have thoughts
about being peacemakers, but things often don’t work out so well. Have you ever
been badly hurt by someone? Someone who meant something to you? This was the
person or persons who were supposed to love you like you loved them, but instead
they did you harm. That was what happened to Joseph, son of Jacob. He loved his
brothers, but they were jealous of him because he was the favorite of their
father. You can read about all it in Genesis Chapter 37. They were alone with
him in an isolated place. It is revealed in Verse 18 that they already meant to
kill him and suddenly they grabbed him and threw him down into an empty,
waterless pit (Verse 24).
His brothers had second thoughts about what they had done, but
not the kind of thoughts we would want. They pulled Joseph up out of the pit,
and he must have felt a bit of hope that his brothers loved him after all, but
all hope was quickly gone. They only raised him up to sell him to slave-traders
in a nearby caravan for “twenty shekels of silver”
(Genesis 37:28). The favored son was now the slave of strangers who cared
nothing about him at all.
Slavery has been the way of humanity throughout history. Every
cultural group in the world has trafficked in slaves at one time or another and
those they controlled had no rights at all. For many years it was impossible for
Joseph to meet anyone who had less freedom than he did, for slaves like him had
no rights at all.
It’s amazing how we can be seemingly “free” one minute and then
fall into abject slavery the next. Certain drugs, like alcohol, seem to offer
freedom, but lead to slavery. A promising career can, with a sudden change of
bosses or other circumstances, become like a form of slavery that imprisons us.
Disease can come into us in such a way that we feel confined, trapped in our own
bodies. Our very souls are imprisoned by the loss of a loved one. Those who had
purchased Joseph now sold him to someone else (Genesis 37:36), and his
circumstances then did seem to improve, but all too soon his life would become
even worse than before. Soon he would be in an Egyptian prison for a crime he
did not commit.
How many times did Joseph think of his brothers and what they
had done to him? Many times, I’m sure. Very likely he thought of them every hour
of every day, and each thought caused extreme pain. Did he forgive his siblings?
Probably not, for a long, long time. The distance between Joseph and his
brothers actually helped him, for if he could have spoken to them during those
years, he would have found that they had not changed their minds about him, and
they would not change until they had to. Did he eventually forgive them? Oh yes
he did, although like most of us, he first had to endure a lengthy, grueling life process that
finally turned him into a man who could forgive.
What about God, by the way? Did Joseph blame God for what
happened? It does not look like it. When a temptress came to him in the person
of his “master’s” wife, he shouted, “How then can I do
this great wickedness and sin against God?” (Genesis 39:9). His faith WAS
being tested, however. Just like human muscles are taken to the limit in order
to make them strong, OUR faith will be tested as well. God wants us to grow in
faith to the extent that we will help others and no longer be like babies who
always must cry for help. Here are some of the reasons why Joseph suffered, and
these reasons may be useful to you as well:
It was not his brothers who sent him into slavery; it was
God, and the reason was so Joseph would be enabled to help
others (Genesis 45:5)
We have tribulation in life so we will receive God’s “comfort” and learn to share with others the comfort
that comes from God (2 Corinthians 1:4)
Our suffering amazingly has the potential to lead others to
salvation in Christ (2 Corinthians 1:6)
Like Joseph, and later, like Paul the Apostle, we can be
so overcome by trouble that we despair even of life, but it is allowed
so we will no longer trust in ourselves, but in God, “who
raises the dead” (2 Corinthians 1:8-9)
Suffering comes so that we will learn to pray, learn to
trust that God will deliver us, and become thankful to Him (2 Corinthians
1:10-11)
For a number of years I have taught Bible studies in
convalescent homes. Recently someone new began to attend our studies, and unlike
most of the others, this man actually brought a Bible with him, and he even
opened it and followed along. We met, had a discussion and I learned that this
man REALLY loves the Lord and leads a Bible study of his own which is connected
to his work. Both of his knees were replaced, which led to his presence in the
convalescent home and to time in a wheelchair. It’s interesting that God has led
him to come back to the home, even though he has now been released, and he presents
a fun question-and-answer Bible quiz to the residents after my study each
week.
His name is Charles and he would not even know about the
convalescent home except his knees went bad. Just like Joseph, his suffering
drew
him to help others. I also think of Faye, who, because she had breast
cancer, started the Breast Cancer Angels organization. I think of Genevieve, my
wife, who became a widow when her husband, Bob, died from cancer related to the
Agent Orange sprayed on Vietnam during the war. She started the Agent Orange
Widows Awareness Coalition and helps others because of what happened to her.
Sue, a friend of ours, learned firsthand what grief was all about and started
the New Hope Grief Support Community in order to comfort others with the comfort
she received.
Joseph, Paul, Charles, Faye, Genevieve and Sue all are extremely
useful to others in ways they would not have sought or understood, except that
God led them through suffering to become helpers. The Lord helped them and as a result,
they do the same. When trouble comes, trust in God, for He indeed
is our life preserver – forever.
Father, we often do not understand, but we trust in You. We
know You will see us through and you have a good outcome for our lives. Thank
You. In Jesus Name. Amen.
