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Text: Genesis 37-50; Isaiah 61 ● The story of Joseph has all the components/qualities of a good ‘reality TV’ show; or, legitimate candidates for a “Jerry Springer” episode. It’s the typical “nuclear family”… (1) husband, (2) wives, (2) concubines, and several ‘his, hers, mine, ours’ children. ● Some “trailers” from Joseph’s story… ~ “… Jacob loved Joseph more than any of his other sons” (37:3: an observation) Joseph’s development takes place in a fairly ‘volatile’ family environment; it’s expectedly “dysfunctional”. He’s the child born in the parent’s later years. He’s the ‘favored’ son (advantaged and disadvantaged), but encounters a great deal of hostility as a result. ~ Joseph is a “dreamer” (37:19); he’s more attuned; more sensitive; more available. Dreamers always seem to have the sense that there’s much more going on around them than what they can see. Dreamers are not always the most discretionary people; they can’t understand why others are not equally excited about for them. ~ Joseph is recognized by others as ‘gifted’; it’s apparent that he has much to offer and that his involvement in anything would ultimately be good for the advancement of the Egyptian empire. ~ He has to confront his own ‘demons’, if you will. He comes face to face with his own temptations; his own tendency to ‘get sloppy’ with life because of his talent and abilities. He finds out that the “nice guys sometimes finish last” and “cheaters do prosper”! He becomes the victim of an illegitimate sexual-assault charge and loses everything. ~ Joseph faced the temptation to leverage his position by helping out a fellow ‘inmate’ (40:14). ~ Being a ‘dreamer’ finally pays off for him. He interprets the Pharaoh’s dreams and predicts (7) prosperous years and (7) years of famine and outlines an economic strategy not only for Egypt, but the surrounding nations (41:56). ~ His experience lends itself to ‘perspective’; something you rarely have in the midst of unexplainable adversity. 45:5,7 “And now, don’t be distressed and angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance”. 45:8 “So, then, it was not you who sent me here, but God”. 50:19-21 “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” ► I believe in “Accidental-Design”. There’s this sense that God’s ‘sovereignty’ allows to end up in places, relationships, situations which we would typically attempt to avoid. And, although it appears at times ‘random’, there’s an intentionality (by design) to it. ● God promised Abe that his descendents would be blessed in order to be a channel of blessing to the world. What is not always palatable is God method of positioning us to be a blessing (‘blessing us’). Historically, God has positioned his people where they didn’t want to be in order to accomplish what needed to be done. ● God has positioned his people in ‘exile’ or ‘captivity’, at least in part, to be part of his reclamation project. Being forced to live ‘cross-culturally’; learning new languages, adopting new customs; adapting to new environments in order to extend the boundaries of God’s dream to those who we would tend to exclude (i.e. Daniel: born and raised in Israel, but exiled by the Babylonians; against his will, but under the sovereignty of God. Daniel knew the climate of the culture… they were godless. But, he found a way to remain both faithful to God and accessible to the Babylonians). ►You get the feeling that sometimes God reveals enough of the dream to ensure our participation without risking our abandonment due to “foresight” (i.e. it’s why babies come out ‘cute and cuddly’, not ‘talking back’). Joseph’s dream was really God’s dream of having his people effectively immersed/engaged in the prevailing culture; unfortunately, Joe misinterpreted it as arbitrary power and influence… that he really was ‘special’ (Dad and mom were right!) It appears that any time God allows for advancement it’s always to expose you to greater opportunities for influence and service. For God’s sake… for the sake of others! ►Successful people are not just the ones that can look ahead and make predictions, but those who can look around and make decisions- to be involved. It’s not always about forecasting what will happen, but seeing what’s happening and determining what needs to be done. ►God dreams about “justice”. Dreams are sometimes images/possibilities that God attempts to communicate while we’re ‘unconscious’ because they are contradictory to what we are seeing. God’s dreams are what he asks us to ‘wake up’ to. The Bible often challenges people to ‘wake up’- be aware. This dream of justice remains one of the central visions of humanity; but, it always seems so allusive (always out of reach). ● It portrays the dream of “justice”- which is possibly the best one-word description for God and his dream for his good creation. It’s a dream that resonates within all of us, and made apparent with every declaration, “Hey, that’s just not right!” ►“The Bible (story) is “political” as well as “personal”. When I use the term ‘political’, I refer not to a particular party or platform, or specific candidate, but in its broadest sense, to the social systems under which we live. From the Greek, ‘polis’, meaning “city”. It’s about the shaping and function of community. It includes financial systems, governmental systems (laws of protection), and values systems. All of which influence how we live together. God’s dream not only envisions his good intentions for his creation, but sharply criticizes human systems and structures that dominate and oppress, or that fail to look out for God’s good creation. ● Historically, Christianity has allowed for this ‘dichotomy’ of faith to exist; one which either over-emphasizes the personal/individual aspect of faith (that each must make their own decision; faith is reduced to ‘right thinking’), or, it has suggested that faith is primarily about being a ‘good humanitarian’. ● I think a more healthy and accurate expression of Christianity is one that combines the need for individual/personal transformation as well as social/political; one that anticipates that our personal transformation will have significant impact on our social interaction. It’s not only about us as ‘individuals’, but our lives ‘together’ as a community. It’s the central truth bound up in the summary of the commandments… loving God, loving others. Our deepest personal longing is to be connected with God; but, that desire must find a means of fulfilling the best possible way to live with each other. ►“The opposite of justice is not mercy, but injustice. God loves justice. And the single biggest cause of human suffering, historically, has been human injustice: systems which are not ‘good for’ humanity.
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Admittedly, the story is realistic about what we alone will be able to
accomplish. There’s a sense that we will be called to work toward a just world,
but also a sense that we will never be able to accomplish it without God’s
intervention. |
