The Mystery of God With Us

The Mystery of God With Us

Christmas Sunday. We celebrate the First Advent of Jesus, son of man, son of God.
Jesus was the Son of God, fully divine, sharing all the attributes of the Father in heaven.
The most direct way to avoid distractions during Advent is to focus on the godhead:
The Father sent His unique son to earth.
Jesus came fully divine and took on a human body. He was all God and all human.
The Spirit anointed, animated, guarded, and guided the Son in His 30 years here.

We usually have difficulty imagining all this.
Silent Night has made us think that the baby Jesus just sort of lay quietly in the manger; Away In A Manger tells us “no crying He made.”
If you’ve ever attended a birth, you will remember that there’s nothing quiet about it. The mother is not silent; once the baby appears, the baby is not silent. That night is LOUD with pain, with groaning, then with crying, with hunger, with exhaustion.
This birth was a natural birth like all typical births we experience with our babies.
It truly was a HOLY NIGHT, but it wasn’t a SILENT ONE.

WHEN SUCH THINGS ARE ADDED TO THE STORY, WE PROBABLY INTEND TO HIGHLIGHT THE DEITY OF JESUS, TO OVEREMPHASIZE THE DIVINE NATURE OF JESUS.
You will NOT hear me UNDEREMPHASIZE THE DEITY OF JESUS, apart from a mental lapse, one that should be publicly challenged!! If Jesus were not FULLY DIVINE, then I’ve wasted my life.

Our Christmas intentions are noble, but misguided. The story is vital and does not need enhancement.
Luke 2:6–7 NASB
“And it came about that while they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her first-born son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.”

The story relates a PHYSICAL, natural and normal process. Jesus was born with all the elements of humanity, in its purest state.
There are many benefits to understanding the fully-human nature of Jesus.
1. His birth was the same sort of birth we experienced; He became like us.
Hebrews 2:17–18 NASB
“Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted.”

This is not a new tension. In the FOURTH CENTURY, people from the Emperor on down were debating the Nature of Jesus.
…Gregory of Nazianius (329-89 AD.) wrote: ‘If anyone has put his trust in Him as a man without a human mind, he is really bereft of mind, and quite unworthy of salvation. For that which He has not assumed He has not healed; but that which is united to His Godhead is also saved. If only half Adam fell, then that which Christ assumes and saves may be half also; but if the whole of his nature fell, it must be united to the whole nature of Him that was begotten, and so be saved as a whole.

2. His life was lived with the same challenges we face.
Hebrews 2:9 NASB
“But we do see Him who has been made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone.”

3. His death secured for us all that was promised.

Gregory the Great (540-604), ‘first pope’, bishop of Rome:
“…Guilt can be extinguished only by a penal offering to justice. But it would contradict the idea of justice, if for the sin of a rational being like man, the death of an irrational animal should be accepted as a sufficient atonement. Hence, a man must be offered as the sacrifice for man; so that a rational victim may be slain for a rational criminal. But how could a man, himself stained with sin, be an offering for sin? Hence a sinless man must be offered. But what man descending in the ordinary course would be free from sin? Hence, the Son of God must be born of a virgin, and become man for us. He assumed our nature without our corruption.
…a victim without sin, and able both to die by virtue of his humanity, and to cleanse the guilty, upon grounds of justice.”

Texts:
Philippians 2:1-12
“If therefore there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus Every Knee Should Bow, of those who are in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling;”


NIBC, FF Bruce
Irenaeus of Lyons (ca. 140-202 AD.) ‘…There is therefore…one God the Father, and one Christ Jesus our Lord, who came by means of the whole dispensational arrangements and gathered together all things in himself. But in every respect, too, he is man, the formation of God: and thus he took up man into himself, the invisible becoming visible, the incomprehensible being made comprehensible, the impassable becoming capable of suffering, and the word being made man, thus summing up all things in himself: so that as in super-celestial, spiritual and invisible things, the Word of God is supreme, so also in things visible and corporeal he might possess the supremacy and, taking to himself the preeminence, as well as constituting himself head of the church, he might draw all things to himself at the proper time.’

O, Come, O, Come, Emmanuel

Here are my notes from 13 January…
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
Introduction:
Today, we will celebrate Advent, the arrival of Jesus, by unpacking the meaning of a favourite Christmas Carol. During the Christmas season, we often sing these familiar songs without thought about the meaning.
Many of the lyrics are rich with Scripture, dense with meaning. Today’s carol is one such lyric.
What is a CAROL??
Mark Roberts “…the word “carol” comes from the Old French word “carole,” that refers to a circle dance.
In centuries past there were carols not only for Christmas, but for other holidays as well.

Lyric:
- O come, O come, Emmanuel And ransom captive Israel
That mourns in lonely exile here Until the Son of God appear
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel.

- O come, Thou Day-Spring, come and cheer Our spirits by Thine advent here
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night And death's dark shadows put to flight.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel.

- O come, desire of nations, bind all peoples in one heart and mind
Bid envy, strife and quarrels cease, fill all the world with heaven’s peace
- Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee O Israel.

Key Words
1. Come—a call for help, for an intervening visit
2. Emmanuel—a name, the centrepiece of the lyric
3. Ransom Captive Israel—buy out the prisoner, the slave, Israel
4. Exile—Israel is captive, far away from it’s home in Palestine, away from it’s God, YHWH.
5. DaySpring—poetic for DAWN
Luke 1:67 ¶ And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying:
Luke 1:68 “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
For He has visited us and accomplished redemption for His people,
Luke 1:77 To give to His people the knowledge of salvation
By the forgiveness of their sins,
Luke 1:78 Because of the tender mercy of our God,
With which the Sunrise from on high will visit us,
Luke 1:79 TO SHINE UPON THOSE WHO SIT IN DARKNESS AND THE SHADOW OF DEATH,
To guide our feet into the way of peace.”

Isaiah 9:1–2; 42:7; 49:9–10 NASB
“But there will be no more gloom for her who was in anguish; in earlier times He treated the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali with contempt, but later on He shall make it glorious, by the way of the sea, on the other side of Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles.
The people who walk in darkness
Will see a great light;
Those who live in a dark land,
The light will shine on them.
To open blind eyes,
To bring out prisoners from the dungeon,
And those who dwell in darkness from the prison.
Saying to those who are bound, ‘Go forth,’
To those who are in darkness, ‘Show yourselves.’
Along the roads they will feed,
And their pasture will be on all bare heights.
“They will not hunger or thirst,
Neither will the scorching heat or sun strike them down;
For He who has compassion on them will lead them,
And will guide them to springs of water.”

6. Advent
7. Desire of Nations
KJV: Hag. 2:7 And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of hosts.

“That which is desired/treasured by all nations” they will bring their wealth.

NASB: “‘And I will shake all the nations; and they will come with the wealth of all nations; and I will fill this house with glory,’ says the Lord of hosts.”

Now, back to our central word:

Emmanuel—a name, from Isaiah 7 & 8
Renn –Bible words
This word is only found in Isa. 7:14; 8:8, where it constitutes the name assigned to the son born of the virgin, and means “God with us.” ‏עִמָּנוּאֵל‎ ʾimmānûʾēl (i.e., Emmanuel) specifically refers to the son born to the “prophetess,” the unnamed wife of the prophet Isaiah (see Ἐμμανουήλ Emmanouēl, below).

[Ἐμμανουήλ--This term only occurs in Matt. 1:23, where it refers to the infant Jesus as the direct fulfillment of the sign given to the prophet Isaiah
Texts:
Is. 7:14 “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.

Isaiah 8:6–7 NASB
““Inasmuch as these people have rejected the gently flowing waters of Shiloah,
And rejoice in Rezin and the son of Remaliah;
“Now therefore, behold, the Lord is about to bring on them the strong and abundant waters of the Euphrates,
Even the king of Assyria and all his glory;
And it will rise up over all its channels and go over all its banks.”
Isaiah 8:8 NASB
““Then it will sweep on into Judah, it will overflow and pass through,
It will reach even to the neck;
And the spread of its wings will fill the breadth of your land, O Immanuel.”

NET notes
15 sn The appearance of the name Immanuel (“God is with us”) is ironic at this point, for God is present with his people in judgment.

Matt. 1:23 “BEHOLD, THE VIRGIN SHALL BE WITH CHILD AND SHALL BEAR A SON, AND THEY SHALL CALL HIS NAME IMMANUEL,” which translated means, “GOD WITH US.”

Immanuel (with us is God); name of child, symbolizing presence of ’‏י‎ to deliver his people; declaration of trust and confidence, with us is God.

8. Rejoice!


"Joy To The World!"

Questions about Gen 50:20 evil & God

19. In Gen. 50:20 does it mean that God meant Joseph's brothers to sin against him? Can God ordain that people sin?

This requires a complex answer. God does not cause sin. He does create people who sin, so He can be said to be a secondary cause of sin, but we cannot accuse God of breaking His own character, which is holy, complete, perfect, etc. He is incapable of sinning.

Several times in Scripture, however, the hints are floating around that God USES sin, catastrophe, etc. for His own good purposes (Romans 8:28 most famously), and does NOT prevent all catastrophes from occurring.

Google "Alvin Plantinga" for a series of essays on good and evil. He's done some wonderful work on this topic.

Questions about Forgiveness: Subjective forgiveness

18. Does the objective/subjective principle apply to human relationships?

Yes.

We forgive those who harm us in our minds (objectively), without experiencing the emotional (subjective) joy of reconciliation with them.

We forgive because it's the right thing to do (mimicking God's behaviour), though we often do NOT see an appropriate response from the person we forgive.

Questions about God's help in conflict

17. When we have been hurt and are longing for love and connection that we aren't getting in a damaged relationship, what can we ask for and expect from God?

The Book of Psalms is alive with the promises of God for those who have been hurt or wounded by enemies. Read through it a little every day, looking for "what we can expect from God" when others fail us. This keeps me alive!

Questions about Forgiveness: revenge

16. How are we to respond to one who says, "I forgive,' yet acts out revenge?

Reconcilation is complex.

It includes smaller steps that I did not discuss in the sermon on Genesis 50 because it wasn't in the story.

After confession, restitution follows. If you confess having stolen from someone, the next step is paying back what was stolen. If you don't, then confession seems hollow and the forgiving party will want to know when the return is scheduled! If you think you should be forgiven WITHOUT RESTITUTION, then the wounded party may appear to be acting in vengeance toward you!!!!

If confession is followed by restitution, and still vengeful behaviour comes, then that requires a second confrontation, this time on the 'confessors' part. The roles are reverse.

Questions about Forgiveness: too freely given?

15. How does one forgive an offender when to do so will only swell their existing self-righteousness?

There must be more to this question under the surface.

We forgive freely. There is no warning in Scripture against forgiving-to-freely. One of the reasons people remain immature in their faith-walk is based on their lack of experiencing true forgiveness and reconciliation.

We forgive freely, but we don't forgive at a distance. True forgiveness is followed by true reconciliation. Think of the way that God forgives us in Christ, then sends His Spirit to live in us to complete our reconciliation. The only cure for alienation is "life together."

Questions about Forgiveness: annoying people

14. How do you forgive someone who has not offended you, but whose very character is a vexation to your spirit due to clashing personalities?

Not sure what you meant by this. Certainly, we do grow tired of offensive character.

However, if you meant only the clash of personality, then it will help to understand those who are most difficult for you to enjoy. The book that has helped me most is titled "Understanding How Others Misunderstand You" by Ken Voges (Moody Press).

Let me be careful to also say that sometimes we are annoyed by people whom we don't like. We can't like everyone, though we must love everyone. My desire to make everyone resemble me is not a godly impulse!

Let's not classify "annoyed" with "offended" though!

Forgiving hurtful Churches

13. Can you speak to the many situations where people have been hurt by churches/Christians? What can help them to reconnect with God and the church?

First, it will help them if we Christians will acknowledge that we have done harm both individually and corporately.

Second, it will help them if we show the sort of love that we speak about, including corporate love for one another. Many have said that they have found the community at PMC to be refreshing and encouraging. Models matter.

Third, there is a time to say that "not all lawyers are shysters" and there is a time when we need the services of an honest lawyer; "not all doctors are quacks" and there is a time when we need the services of an effective doctor. Not all Christians are offensive, not all churches are abusive. We all need believing friends to enjoy God's good intentions for us!

Questions about Forgiveness: Anger continues

12. What happens if you have forgiven someone but they don't forgive you?

This is the way things often go.

Love persists, as mentioned in several of the previous answers.

Reconciliation requires both persons to WANT to forgive one another. Sometimes, we have to wait until they are as ready as we are.

Questions about Forgiveness: Joseph's death

11. Why was Joseph embalmed when the Jewish people don't believe in this?

This was done before the Law was given to Moses, before the rabbis developed their applications, etc.

Joseph was an Egyptian leader and was treated as such. There was no law banning such.

Questions about Forgiveness: Great White Throne forgiveness

10. Does God forgive those who come before the Great White Throne Judgment? If not, why not?

This is described in Revelation 20. The text says that this is a judgment of the dead. The dead are judged based on their deeds. Those whose names are not written in the book of life are NOT forgiven.

The implication is that those whose names ARE written in the book of life will have their forgiveness restated, the promise of eternal life granted in their lifetime will be affirmed there.

Questions about Forgiveness: role of prayer

9. What is the role of prayer in forgiveness?

Forgiveness requires supernatural power, spiritual enabling.

We enjoy God's power only when we ask Him for it.

Therefore, prayer is essential to forgiveness. No prayer, no power.

Questions about Forgiveness: how long?

8. Blame is usually considered "two sided at some point and time."
With this if forgiveness is asked for on one side, and not accepted by the other party involved, how long or often should forgiveness be asked for?

Reconciliation is either underway or not.

We delight in reconciliation, unity, etc. We only live without pursuing it when we convince ourselves it cannot be achieved or it's too painful to achieve. Then we grow numb; we forget that life is meant to be joyful (John 10:10).

We should not stop seeking reconciliation.

Questions about Forgiveness: for all families?

7. Is the story of Joseph--the reconciliation of his family--God's will for all fractured families?

Yes.

Understand that there are "two wills" in God. Theologians call them His "preceptive" will and His "decretive" will. His preceptive will addresses His intentions for us and toward us. That is clear but not enforced. His decretive will involves those things which God insists will happen, the ends which He guarantees.

In regard to family reconciliation, God desires that all families be reconciled. He does not force such reconciliations. He apparently gains more glory when He persuades us to obey Him because we want to (much more glory because we ALL begin NOT wanting to obey Him to the point of reconciliation!).

Questions about Forgiveness: anger and pain

6. What is the proper way to deal with our anger and pain from longstanding offenses that may be continuing?

This seems similar to a previous question, already addressed. The difference is how we deal with our own anger and pain.

First, realize that that anger and pain cannot be fully resolved without reconciliation. We cannot wait until we are all "healed up" to confront or confess!

Second, we do find healing from God as we submit ourselves to Him and ask for His intervention:

1Pet. 5:6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time,
1Pet. 5:7 casting all your aanxiety on Him, because He cares for you.

Third, if their offenses are continuing, then you may need to mobilize help to continue your confrontations. Jesus is quite specific about that in Matthew 18:15-20.

Questions about Forgiveness: reconciliation

5. What is the relationship between forgiveness and reconciliation? What should you do if the person you're trying to forgive is continuing their offending, abusive behaviour?

Reconciliation can only begin AFTER forgiveness takes place. Both persons then have to want to reconcile, and then begin to walk toward one another.

Each offending behaviour must be confronted. If we wait until MANY offensives force us to confront, then behaviours become embedded habits. If we love someone, we will be willing to intervene before those habits become a lifestyle. Silence on our part is NOT love.

The term "abusive" is alarming. If this means sexual abuse, or physical abuse, then confrontation should be immediate and in the presence of a referee. If this is criminal behaviour, law enforcement should be notified.

Questions about forgiveness: without remorse

4. If a person is living with a sin that they continue to commit and are not remorseful and have not asked God to forgive…has God already forgiven that person?

If that person is a Christian, yes. All our sin is forgiven in Christ on the Cross. We don't experience the joy of fellowship with God when we persist in sin and refuse to confess those sins. However, our STATUS before the Father is the same.

If that person is NOT a Christian, then all their sins were on Christ objectively, but they have not subjectively experienced that forgiveness, since they have not repented and confessed Christ. Conversion launches reconciliation.

Questions about Forgiveness: of an unbeliever

3. How does this all work if the other person is a non-believer?

Largely the same.

At least, procedurally, we make the same approach.

Of course, if the Holy Spirit is not resident in the other person, they have fewer resources to deal with our confrontation or confession.

With unbelievers, I would have more limited expectations of reconciliation, but I would be just as persistent.

Questions: indirect approach to forgiveness?

2. Was it correct for the brothers to ask for forgiveness "indirectly" (they said their father requested Joseph to forgive). Should we not, when asking forgiveness, take personal responsibility for the wrong doing?

Yes!

No doubt, the brothers felt both guilty and vulnerable. As far as they knew, their betrayed brother now held the power of life and death over them.
Most of the time, we do not fear death at the hands of those we have offended!

Questions about Forgiveness: when unacknowledged

There were a significant number of questions today about forgiveness. Here are my thoughts…

1. What if the person you approach to forgive doesn't feel they did anything to hurt you in the first place?

First, remember that when you "approach to forgive" you are actually confronting someone who has sinned against you (or so you believe). They may not recognize their behaviour as offensive, so you will need to be prepared to explain how you have been hurt.

Second, most of the damage we endure from one another is emotional damage. Repeated often enough, of course, it may also damage our will, inhibiting our best behaviour. That means we should use emotional language to describe the damage or pain inflicted.
"When you did this/said this…I felt…" One can't argue with feelings; only the person with the feelings can know whether they exist.

Third, many will never admit wrong. The healthier someone is, the more likely to admit wrong.

Fourth, when we make an approach to confront and express forgiveness, we are prepared to enjoy the approval of God, even if the other person refuses to acknowledge our wounds.

God's presence, God's approval sustains us. He sustains us with the intention of "putting things to rights" in the kingdom.

Joseph's Forgiveness and Ours

Forgiveness: A Chance To Live Again
I. The Story
a. The story of Jacob: Genesis 37:2 NASB “These are the records of the generations of Jacob. Joseph, when seventeen years of age, was pasturing the flock with his brothers while he was still a youth, along with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives. And Joseph brought back a bad report about them to their father.”
b. The story of Judah: Matthew 1:3 “and to Judah were born Perez and Zerah by Tamar; and to Perez was born Hezron; and to Hezron, Ram;” Ancestor of David and Jesus.
c. The story of Joseph: Gen. 50:26 “So Joseph died at the age of one hundred and ten years; and he was embalmed and placed in a coffin in Egypt.”
i. Joseph survived being sold as a slave, life as a slave, betrayal by his brothers and slave-owners.
ii. God intervened in the looming regional famine by warning Pharoah in a dream and revealing the meaning to Joseph.
iii. Joseph’s humble wisdom was rewarded with his management of the agricultural system and then the entire kingdom.
iv. Joseph recognized his brothers as they came to buy food early in the famine.
1. He did not reveal himself to them, though his emotional outburts show that he longed to be reconciled to them.
2. Rather than pursuing vengeance, Joseph set up his brothers to reveal their current state-of-heart.
3. The brothers show their new attitudes toward one another.
4. Joseph reveals himself and welcomes them as their benefactor.

II. The Meaning of the Story
a. The story of Jesus:
i. as Joseph wept (Gen. 42:24; 43:30; 45:2; 45:14-15; 46:29; 50:1; 50:17), so Jesus wept (John 11:35—over Lazarus’ death; Luke 19:41—over Jerusalem)
ii. as Joseph went to Egypt, so Jesus went to Egypt (Matt 2:14)
iii. As Joseph forgave his brothers, so Jesus asked the Father to forgive his executioners, (for they don’t know what they do: Luke 23:24).
iv. The message of Jesus:
Dictionary of Biblical Imagery: Forgiveness
Jesus’ command that people forgive their fellow humans “seventy times seven” times (Mt 18:22; Lk 17:4), buttressed by a parable involving the canceling of debts (Mt 18:23–35).
The imagery of an equation appears in Jesus’ statements about God’s forgiving people as they forgive others (Mt 6:12, 14–15). The parable of the prodigal son and the forgiving father is a picture of human forgiveness but also a metaphor of God’s forgiveness (Lk 15:11–32).

b. The story of our lives, there is enough blame to go around:
i. Jacob created the circumstance whereby his other sons hated Joseph: broken families always have a cause; there is REASON to be fractured.
ii. Joseph added to the family tension by his lying about his brothers’ behaviours, by actually wearing the coat-of-favoritism in front of his brothers, and by arrogantly relating the dreams God had given him.
iii. Reuben, the eldest brother, could have taken Joseph aside and explained to him how family dynamics work, how life together functions.
iv. Judah betrayed his brother, selling him to the slave-traders.
III. We take away…
a. Motivation for Forgiveness.
i. We forgive because we have been forgiven.

Col. 2:13-14 ‘He forgave us all our sins, having cancelled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross’

C. S. Lewis--If God forgives us, we must forgive others. Otherwise it is almost like setting up ourselves as a higher tribunal than him.


ii. We forgive so that we might EXPERIENCE FORGIVENESS.
IVP—Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels
God’s forgiveness cannot be effectively received except by those who are ready to forgive others. This is given special emphasis in Matthew’s version of the Lord’s Prayer by being made the subject of a unique comment: “If you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive the wrongs you have done” (6:15). The same thought is expressed positively in the previous verse, and in different words in Luke 6:37. There is even a scale of gratitude: the greater the forgiveness, the greater the love (Lk 7:47).

iii. We long for trusting community.
iv. We are wounded and grow numb when we do not forgive over time.
v. We experience less of God and less of one another when we cut ourselves off from the wounding person.

Illus: We may think, “I’m still angry with Fred or Mary, so I’ll just enjoy the smaller circle of my friends more richly.
Then you learn what CS Lewis learned: you need an entire circle of friends in order to truly know one another, to bring out the best of each person. True Friendship requires many in the circle, not just one other person. We cannot spare the loss of a friend to an offense, ours or theirs.

b. Means of Forgiveness.
i. We take the initiative.
Matthew 5:23–24 NASB
““If therefore you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar, and go your way; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering.”

Matthew 18:15 NASB
““And if your brother sins, go and reprove him in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother.”

ii. We forgive because we were forgiven before we confessed!

Ephesians 2:1–6 NASB
“And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus,”

Ephesians 2 teaches that we were dead in our trespasses and sins. Once we are born again, we are alive. Dead men can't confess sins. Only God can initiate this process. Augustine, Luther, Calvin, etc. were all clear on this point.


iii. We can forgive because we have experienced forgiveness.
Refusal to forgive others until they have repented and asked to be forgiven would mean that we would grow angrier and angrier throughout our days, because many of the people whom we know will hurt us and will not repent or ask to be forgiven in thoroughly genuine ways. Waiting for their confession, we would be left with a deepening, burning rage.

The mechanism of forgiving…
c. Mechanism of Forgiveness.
i. Forgive with the mind: We know TO DO that.
1. Remember my own BROKENESS.
2. Remember my REDEMPTION: what Christ has done for me.
3. Even though I can’t FORGET, I FORGIVE.

Colossians 3:13 “bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you.”

ii. Forgive with the will: We CHOOSE to do that;
1. We ACT AS IF WE HAVE FORGIVEN the other person.
2. Repay evil with good.

1 Thessalonians 5:15 NASB
“See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another and for all men.”

3. What we think, say, or do, we ACT as if we have forgiven.
a. We may REMEMBER THE SIN AGAINST US.
b. God says that He “remembers our sins no more.”
i. He means that He does not take our past into account when He thinks of us, speaks to us, acts toward us.
ii. We DO NOT TAKE INTO ACCOUNT WHAT THE OTHER HAS DONE AGAINST US WHEN WE THINK OF THEM, SPEAK TO THEM, OR ACT TOWARD THEM.


C.S. Lewis, Reflections on the Psalms, chap. 3, para.10, pp.24-5
"There is no use in talking as if forgiveness were easy. We all know the old joke, 'You've given up smoking once; I've given it up a dozen times.' In the same way I could say of a certain man, 'Have I forgiven him for what he did that day? I've forgiven him more times than I can count.' For we find that the work of forgiveness has to be done over and over again."

iii. Forgive with the emotions.
Forgiveness on an emotional level requires rebuilding trust. Full forgiveness means that a relationship has been reconstructed, following the proof of trustworthiness.
THAT REQUIRES BOTH PARTIES TO BE ACTIVE, and it REQUIRES TIME TO RE-EARN, TO RE-BUILD TRUST.
That is what the Kingdom of God entails. We will trust one another. It begins here, today.

The Joseph Story Summarized-Joseph, Recognize & Remember!

We began the study with a "reader's theatre" presentation of the story, from Gen. 37 through 45, abridged. The 20-minute reading highlighted the occurrences of "remember" and "recognize this" in the text.
The sermon was impromptu, but these notes prompted the presentation…

Joseph: Recognize & Remember

The Joseph narrative is threaded with two themes: knowledge and recognition.

We may learn much if we see that Joseph had knowledge that no one else had:
* He was given two dreams, which highlighted his role in God’s purposes. The dreams were fulfilled in his experience: his brothers DID bow to him, even though they did not recognize him.
* He was given the interpretation of the baker’s dream and the cupbearer’s dream. They were both fulfilled within three days: one restored to the palace, the other executed.
* He was given the interpretation of the Pharaoh’s dreams: seven years of plenty followed by seven years of famine.
* He knew his brothers in Egypt, even though they did not know him.
* He knew God’s good purposes for him, though his brothers lived in fear because they did not.

I. We can hardly miss the importance of KNOWLEDGE in this story!
1. What you know matters.
2. What you don’t know, God knows; if you trust God, then that gives you rest.

II. The second theme is RECOGNIZE!!
A. Recognize your behavior, Judah!

B. Recognize divine activity, brothers!

C. Recognize God’s purposes in your life, Joseph!

D. Recognize God’s purposes in Jesus’ life, disciples!

Luke 24: On the road to Emmaus…
Luke 24:25 And He said to them, “O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!
Luke 24:26 “Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?”
Luke 24:27 Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.

Jesus talked the two disciples through the stories of Genesis, Exodus and Numbers, explaining how He was the
NEW AND GREATER ADAM, who brought grace, eradicating sin from the world
NEW AND GREATER NOAH, who saves all who within him from deserved destruction.
NEW AND GREATER JACOB, whose spiritual offspring fill the earth
NEW AND GREATER JUDAH, who loves the abandoned
NEW AND GREATER JOSEPH, who will end hunger and suffering
NEW AND GREATER MOSES, whose Word will stand forever1
NEW AND GREATER DAVID, who will rule the earth with love and justice

Luke 24:30 When He had reclined at the table with them, He took the bread and blessed it, and breaking it, He began giving it to them.
Luke 24:31 Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him; and He vanished from their sight.
Luke 24:32 They said to one another, “Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?”
Luke 24:33 And they got up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found gathered together the eleven and those who were with them,
Luke 24:34 saying, “The Lord has really risen and has appeared to Simon.”
Luke 24:35 They began to relate their experiences on the road and how He was recognized by them in the breaking of the bread.

E. Recognize God’s activity in MY life!

If recognition of God’s good intentions will free us to live life without fear,
then how do we recognize that?

Even at the times of life when we DON’T KNOW all that we’d like to know or need to know, God FLAGS our CIRCUMSTANCES to ALERT US to His good intentions for us.

If knowledge of Jesus’ present activity for us will free us to live life full of hope,
then how do we KNOW that?


PRAYER:
O, LORD, LET ME SEE ENOUGH OF YOUR WORK IN MY LIFE TO RECOGNIZE THAT YOU ARE COMPETENT, YOU ARE IN CHARGE, YOU HAVE NOT FORGOTTEN ME.

LET ME REMEMBER TODAY THAT YOU HAVE BEEN FAITHFUL THROUGH ALL GENERATIONS AND WILL BE TOMORROW.

LET ME TRUST YOU TO BRING JUSTICE TO THE WORLD, RECONCILIATION TO MY CONFLICTS.


We can know that we have trusted God to work for good in our lives
when we are able to forgive those who have done us harm.

Next week: HOW CAN WE FORGIVE AS JOSEPH FORGAVE HIS BROTHERS?
The two are linked: seeing God as ultimately in control of our lives & forgiving those who have done us harm.


If forgiveness releases us to enjoy all the goodness of God and His world,
then how do I forgive??

Discipline: Sun & Frost Q&A

Question: Isn't it possible that we are seeing Joseph go through the normal process of forgiveness, including anger, crying, harshness, toying with, scaring them, putting them in prison, and then eventually reconciling with them?

Answer: Yes! These are classic behaviors, the turmoil of forgiveness and reconciliation. The remarkable aspect of this is Joseph's reluctance to exercise his absolute power over his brothers; he manipulates them but does not take vengeance. Many would have failed the test that Joseph faced here; he passed the test, restrained his power, because of his own insights into justice and mercy.

Question: God is sovereign, just and loving. There are many horrific things that happen here on earth, how come we are quick to blame God and not take ownership ourselves?

Answer: Since the Garden, when Adam blamed Eve and Cain blamed Abel, we humans have shown a strong preference for blame-shifting. It's what we do! That's not what we were made for. Look at Jesus, who not only didn't blame-shift, but took the blame for all our brokenness and violence!

Question: A lot of times we have very subtle idols just like in Egypt where people worshiped Pharaoh; what are some things besides prayer we can do to keep God the centre of our lives?

Answer: As social animals, we need one another's help for that. That might come in an accountability partnership, a small group, etc.
I am greatly helped also by appropriate reading.
Tim Keller's latest book, Counterfeit Gods, is on this topic; I have not read it yet, but have heard his messages on the topic. I'll recommend it on this topic, based on what I've heard from Tim already.

Discipline Has A Face

DISCIPLINE HAS A FACE
6th Sermon: 1 NOVEMBER
Resources: Genesis, Derek Kidner
Genesis, Bruce Waltke
Genesis, Walter Brueggemann
Genesis, in Expositor's Bible Commentary, John Sailhamer
Discipline, a sermon by Tim Keller

Reading: Genesis 41:46--42:28
The story thus far…
Joseph pushed his ten brothers once too often, so they conspired to detain him and sell him to slave traders passing by.
Joseph is sold again to Potiphar, a high-ranking Egyptian, who recognized his unusual abilities and placed him in charge of his entire household.
Potiphar’s wife attempted to seduce Joseph, then when he refused, falsely accused him as the aggressor. Potiphar had Joseph arrested and placed in prison.
After two years in prison, Joseph was given charge of the prison by the chief jailer. While there, two of the King’s arrested court officers had dreams, told Joseph, who then interpreted their dreams accurately. No credit was given.
Two years later, Pharaoh had a dream, called for interpreters, who could do nothing. Joseph’s name was recalled; he interpreted the dream to the Pharaoh’s satisfaction.
Pharaoh put Joseph in charge of preparing for the dream’s fulfillment.
Now that he is out of prison, married to an Egyptian, and the father of two sons, the story grows more complex: his brothers show up looking to buy food for the famine.

NOTICE:
1. Joseph’s sons—the birth account marks the pivot point of the story.
Manasseh—nasa, ‘forget’
Ephraim—hiprani, “made me fruitful”
2. Doublets:
Literary device: doublets to “prove” that God set this up…

Sailhamer, EBC The central theme of chapter 41 is expressed clearly and forthrightly within the narrative itself by Joseph in
v.32: “the matter has been firmly decided by God, and God will do it soon.”
…the ASSURANCE that God will surely bring future events to pass comes from the fact that the dreams relating those events are repeated twice.
• In the previous chapter the “two” (shene 40:2) officials of the king each had a dream.
• “Two” dreams with the same meaning show that God will certainly bring about that which was foreseen in the dreams. One dream was good, the other bad. The dreams and their interpretations are repeated twice, once by the writer in the narrative of chapter 40 and then again by the cup-bearer before the Pharaoh in vv.9-13.
• After “two years” (shenath ayim v.1), the king himself had “two” (shenith v.5) dreams, one part of each dream was good (“years of great abundance,” v.29) and the other bad (“years of famine,” vv.27, 30).
• Within the narrative, each of the two dreams is repeated twice, once by the writer (vv.1-7) and again by Pharaoh (vv.17-24).
The point of the narrative is that such symmetry in human events is evidence of a divine work.


I. The Story
Waltke--The original prophecy to Joseph is about to be fulfilled quickly in the three journeys to Egypt:
first by Joseph’s ten hateful brothers (42:1-38),
second by them and his younger full brother Benjamin (43:1-45:28), and
third by all the brothers and his father, Jacob (46:1-27).

The family cannot find salvation in Egypt until the brothers are first reconciled with Joseph.

a. Scene I 42:1-38
Waltke: In Scene 1 (42:1-38), the first journey to Egypt, Joseph imprisons Simeon, promising his release upon their second journey with Benjamin in hand. However, by clandestinely placing money in their sacks, Joseph gives them the choice of either returning the money, guaranteeing Simeon’s release, or of keeping it and jeopardizing his freedom.

b. Scene 2 43:23
Waltke: In Scene 2, Joseph’s steward returns Simeon to them as soon as, but only after, they return the money to him (43:23). At the end of that scene, Joseph tests the brothers by giving Benjamin preferential treatment, but without envy the joyous brothers drink freely together.

c. Scene 3
Waltke: In Scene 3, Joseph puts the brothers to their final test of loyalty to a needy brother. This time he makes Benjamin alone appear guilty by clandestinely placing his silver cup in his sack and counseling the other brothers to return home in peace. Judah, however, offers himself as a slave in his brother’s place. Joseph is now free to discard his Egyptian mask; they prove they are brothers he can trust through thick and thin. He assures them of his good will.
…he brilliantly regroups the brothers in the same way as in the first scene of this book. However, instead of the brothers ganging up against Rachel’s son (Joseph), they rally round Rachel’s son (Benjamin). Instead of being cold and indifferent to their father, as in Scene 1, they are now filled with compassion for him.
In retrospect, it is clear that Joseph’s harsh, accusing treatment of his brothers serves both to discipline them and to test them, not to vent his spleen. Through his severe mercy they confess their sin and renounce their hateful ways (42:21, 28; 44:16). At the end of the day, he does them only good, not harm.

d. Scene 4
Waltke: In Scene 4, the act’s denouement, the whole family migrates toward Egypt to find salvation with Joseph.

II. The Meaning of the Story
a. The patterns in the story are repetitive but purposeful.
i. Joseph’s ups and downs are repeated for his brothers.
ii. The family’s ups and downs are repeated for Israel.

Waltke: Joseph prefigures Moses at the founding of Israel and Daniel at the end of Israel’s monarchy. All three, oppressed captives in a hostile land, come to power by pitting God’s wisdom against the wise of this world and displaying the superiority of God’s wisdom and his rule over the nations. They prefigure Christ, God’s wisdom, who astonishingly is raised from the cross to rule the world (1 Cor. 1:18-2:16; Rev. 12:1-5). As all were commanded to bow before Joseph (Gen. 41:43), so “at the name of Jesus every knee should bow” (Phil. 2:10),.

iii. …and for Moses
iv. …and for David

Waltke: In the case of Jacob, this pattern was necessary to discipline Jacob and prepare him to become a true covenant partner in God’s blessing. This is less obvious in the case of Joseph. His afflictions are unjust. But each person learns dependence on God. Roop states, “The pilgrimage of Joseph from slave to vice-regent parallels the journey of Israel as escapees from Egypt to the nation under Solomon, the life of David from shepherd’s helper to king, and the story of Jesus from manger to the right hand of God…The presence of God brings life in the place of death, honor instead of humiliation, and fertility over sterility…The story depends not on the prowess of the people, but the presence of God, Immanuel (Matt. 1:20-23).” This pattern of humility and exaltation is the pattern for all saints: “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.” (I Peter 5:6).

Brueggemann—“This narrative affirms that power is a good thing. It celebrates the capacity to make tough decisions, to face crisis boldly, and to practice prudence so that the empire can be fed…This is public power for the public good.”
Cf Christ on the teaching that the first shall be last, Matt. 19:30; 20:16; Mark 9:35; 10:31.

b. The purpose of God is to reconcile and restore, as a true Father.
i. The family was fractured and only God could bring reconciliation.
ii. The reconciled family could then be restored with blessing.

Joseph uses his knowledge of his brothers both to fulfill his calling and to test their love and loyalty to a brother in need.

i. What about the negative side of God’s sovereignty?
ii. Von Rad—What is theologicially noteworthy is the way in which the strong predestination content of the speech is combined with a strong summons to action. The fact that God has determined the matter, that God hastens to bring it to pass, is precisely the reason for responsible leaders to take measure!”

c. God used a roller-coaster to DISCIPLINE Joseph.
i. Privileged son & brother to
ii. Detained captive to
iii. Slave to
iv. Prisoner to
v. Prime Minister of Egypt.
d. Joseph used roller-coaster DISCIPLINE to change his brothers.
i. Joseph moves his brothers back and forth from Egypt to Canaan and back again.
1. Scene 1
2. Scene 2
3. Scene 3
4. Scene 4
ii. Joseph’s harsh tone is not surprising. 42:7
1. His brothers had been harsh to him, threatening death and imprisonment.
2. He was not responding in kind: how do we know?
a. They were not killed!
b. They were not imprisoned!
c. He wept at every contact.

43:24 “The steward took the men into Joseph’s house, gave them water to wash their feet and provided fodder for their donkeys. Deeply moved at the sight of his brother, Joseph hurried out and looked for a place to weep. He went into his private room and wept there.
43:30 Then Joseph could no longer control himself before all his attendants, and he cried out, “Have everyone leave my presence!” So there was no one with Joseph when he made himself known to his brothers. And he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard him, and Pharaoh’s household heard about it.
45:1-2 Then he threw his arms around his brother Benjamin and wept, and Benjamin embraced him, weeping.
45:14-15 And he kissed all his brothers and wept over them.
50:17 Afterward his brothers talked with him. ‘This is what you are to say to Joseph: I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins and the wrongs they committed in treating you so badly.’ Now please forgive the sins of the servants of the God of your father.” When their message came to him, Joseph wept.”

i. Kidner Behind the harsh pose there was warm affection (42:24, etc.), and after the ordeal overwhelming kindness. Even the threats were tempered with mercy (cf. 42:16-19; 44:9,10), and the shocks that were administered took the form of embarrassments rather than blows. A vindictive Joseph could have dismayed his brohers with worthless sackloads, or tantalized them at his feast as they had tantalized him (37:24, 25); his enigmatic gifts were a kinder and more searching test.
iii. Joseph is doing for his brothers what God had done for him.
1. Dreamer to slave to servant to prisoner to prime minister.
2. Shepherds to hungry to falsely accused to restored.
Kidner—
Just how well-judged was his policy can be seen in the growth of quite new attitudes in the brothers, as the alternating sun and frost broke them open to God.

III. Where do we go from here?
a. God is SOVEREIGN and good.
i. We have all been disciplined, but by imperfect parents; thus, we fear and avoid more.
ii. God superintends such that His people are certain to experience the benefit of His promises.
1. Hebrews 12:
Heb. 12:3 ¶ For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary 1band lose heart.
Heb. 12:4 You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin;
Heb. 12:5 and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons,
“MY SON, DO NOT REGARD LIGHTLY THE DISCIPLINE OF THE LORD,
NOR FAINT WHEN YOU ARE REPROVED BY HIM;
Heb. 12:6 FOR THOSE WHOM THE LORD LOVES HE DISCIPLINES,
AND HE SCOURGES EVERY SON WHOM HE RECEIVES.”
Heb. 12:7 It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline?
Heb. 12:8 But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.
Heb. 12:9 Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live?
Heb. 12:10 For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness.
Heb. 12:11 All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.

2. Philippians 1:6“being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”


What about us?
b. We can be RECONCILED as we acknowledge the sovereign goodness of God, who DISCIPLINES us through the choices that OTHERS make.
i. Discipline requires firm love.
ii. Discipline involves genuine mercy.


c. The Gospel
Another, greater, Joseph was DISCIPLINED, not for His own sins, but for ours.
He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
Yet He did not open His mouth;
Like a lamb that is led to slaughter,
And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers,
So He did not open His mouth.

Another Question about Joseph & Sexual Temptation

Lane,

If Joseph "got too close" emotionally to Potiphar's wife, was he then lying when he said to the chief cupbearer, "Now I'm here in jail, but I did nothing to deserve it"? (40:15)

The Temptation of Joseph

The Temptation of Joseph
Genesis 39

Reading: Gen 39:1-20 Temptations of Power, Sex, and Bitterness

I. The Story
Waltke--The events of the biblical narrative often echo previous events. These echoes declare that God is sovereign over history. God instructed Noah to build an ark. Then he brought all creatures to Noah to redeem the covenant people and accomplish the salvation of creation in the midst of natural disaster. Now God leads Joseph to build storehouses, and all people are brought to Egypt. In the midst of the natural disaster of famine, God will redeem the covenant people and rescue the world.

a. Potiphar has purchased Joseph.
i. He was the head of the army of Egypt—a high position.
ii. He was named after one of the deities of Egypt.
William A. Ward, “Egyptian Titles In Genesis 39-50”
…attached to the royal palace guard seems indicated by the description of him as “an officer of Pharaoh” and the fact that he himself could throw Joseph into the prison where the prisoners of the state were kept (Gen. 39:1, 20). Only an officer close to the palace would have this kind of authority.
IRONY…If Joseph was actually made Vizier, he thus had direct personal control over Potiphar.
Joseph as “overseer of the house” of Potiphar (Gen. 39:4).

b. Through the desert to Egypt: his brothers having sold Joseph, the teenager is transported across the Sinai to the fertile Nile delta.
i. He left an arrogant brother.
ii. He arrived in Egypt responding to his circumstance in a remarkably different manner.
1. He had accepted his “special status” in the family.
a. His brothers did away with him because he was prideful.
2. With Potiphar’s wife, he denied any special privileges.
a. She did away with him because he was humble.
c. From a slave in the desert to a slave in a household.
d. From the head of a household to a dungeon.
e. From a cell in a dungeon to head of the prison.
f. From head of the prison to prime minister of the land.
Along the way…
II. The Meaning of the Story
a. Temptation of Power—What temptation? Why refused? How declined?
Joseph is placed in a privileged position, though a slave, as the head of household for a man of high position.
i. Difficult to wield power without being overwhelmed by that power.
ii. Potiphar’s wife is all about power, using that power over Joseph. Her power has corrupted her heart.
In contrast…
iii. Joseph used power he was granted to bless those under his influence.
1. Potiphar
2. Later, The head jailer, The cupbearer and the baker in prison, The nation, His family

iv. He was mistreated at the hands of power: [Swindoll]
1. Underserved treatment from family.
2. Unexpected restrictions from circumstances, …either physically or emotionally.
3. Untrue accusations from people.
James descries the tongue as a fire (James 3:5-6). In one day its careless, untrue statements can completely incinerate a reputation that has taken years to build.

b. The Temptation of Sex
i. We know why Potiphar’s wife was seductive.
1. She was power-mad.
Sarna: Sikba ‘immi--Come to bed with me! Her clipped proposition portrays brutish lust.

2. She was flexible.
Further, the attack had flexibility: if Joseph could not be stormed he might be coaxed, for a refusal to be so much with her could look quite unreasonable.
3. She was persistent.
Kidner: v.10—the constant pressure, day after day, was profoundly searching: it was this that would find out Samson twice in his career (Jdg. 14:17; 16:16).

4. She was effective:

Hamilton The word used for the article of clothing by which Potiphar’s wife grabbed Joseph (begged) is the same as that used in the previous chapter to describe the clothing that Tamar …removed (v.14), then put back on (v.19), the widow’s garb.
…it could refer both to an outer garment (2 K. 7:15) and an inner garment (Ezek. 26:16).
By using begged at this point, the narrator may be implying something about Joseph’s own emotional involvement in this story. He is on the verge of acting faithlessly to his master.

This makes Joseph more believable and his story more encouraging to us.
1. His resistance to temptation was being worn down by her persistence.
2. Just before he collapsed, he RAN away.

Knowing Potiphar’s wife was so seductive…

ii. Why did Joseph say “no”?
Kidner Joseph’s reasons for refusal (8,9) were those that another man might have given for yielding, so neutral is the force of circumstances.
1. His freedom from supervision and
2. His rapid promotion, which have corrupted other stewards (Is 22:15-25; Luke 16:1ff.), and
3. His realization that one realm only (9) was barred to him (which others, from Eve onwards, have construed as a frustration) were all arguments to him for loyalty.

Gen. 39:8 But he refused and said to his master’s wife, “Behold, with me here, my master does not concern himself with anything in the house, and he has put all that he owns in my charge.
Gen. 39:9 “There is no one greater in this house than I, and he has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do this great evil and sin against God?”
Gen. 39:10 As she spoke to Joseph day after day, he did not listen to her to lie beside her or be with her.

iii. How Did Joseph say NO?
Gen. 39:9 “There is no one greater in this house than I, and he has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do this great evil and sin against God?”
Kidner:
a. By giving the proposition its right name of WICKEDNESS (9)
a. he made truth his ally, and
b. “GREAT EVIL”—not just wrong because she’s married, but because she’s not his wife = adultery & fornication
c. contrast Judah, who’s story of consorting with prostitutes we’ve just read

Kidner --saved his honour at the cost of his prospects; the NT recommends it (
19-20—Death was the only penalty Joseph could reasonably expect. His reprieve presumably owed much to the respect he had won; and Potiphar’s mingled wrath and restraint may reflect a faint misgiving about the full accuracy of the charge. But the unfolding story makes it obvious that God who had brought him here was preserving him for his task.
Prison—the Hebrew root suggests a round structure and therefore perhaps a fortress, which is the term used by LXX.

b. by relating all to God (9c) he rooted his loyalty to his master deep enough to hold---“sin against God”

c. by adding a technique that Joseph did NOT have available:

Heb. 3:13 But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called “Today,” so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

The temptation of Power
The temptation of Sex
c. The Temptation of Despondency, Despair, and Bitterness.
i. Joseph irritated his brothers; then had a change of heart in the desert.
1. Could he see why he was suffering?
ii. Joseph irritated Mrs. Potiphar, was unjustly jailed.
1. Could NOT see why he was suffering!
2. I’M DOOMED REGARDLESS!!
Imprisoned in a round, plastered, like the cistern in Dothan??

3. When I do bad things, I deserve punishment.
4. When I do well, I don’t deserve punishment.
iii. Dilemma:
1. How well must I do to avoid justice?
2. How poorly must I do to deserve justice?
3. MORALISM HAS ONLY ONE SOLUTION TO EVERY PROBLEM:
a. make perfect choices.
iv. This is the pathway of all human religion.
v. GOSPEL: ANOTHER, LATER, JOSEPH WAS CAST INTO JAIL UNJUSTLY, SUFFERING CONDEMNATION WITH GUILTY CRIMINALS .
vi. INSIGHT THAT MORALISM CANNOT GIVE…
1. If Joseph had not been sold into slavery,
2. if Potiphar’s wife had not unjustly accused him,
3. if Potiphar had not had mercy on him and sent him to prison,
THEN, Jacob and his clan would not have survived the famine to come.
God was with him!
God was with him!
Westermann
The unifying motif in chapter 39 is that God was with Joseph. The presence of God is an essential part of blessing.
…Yahweh is on Joseph’s side, showering him with success, and this comes to have a wider effect on the house of the Egyptian as soon as Joseph ahs been appointed overseer. For blessing has a growing and pervasive power, just as it does in the story of Jacob in Laban’s houe.

Gen. 39:5 It came about that from the time he made him overseer in his house and over all that he owned, the LORD blessed the Egyptian’s house on account of Joseph; thus the LORD’S blessing was upon all that he owned, in the house and in the field.

Gen. 39:21 But the LORD was with Joseph and ıto him, and gave him favor in the sight of the chief jailer.
Gen. 39:23 The chief jailer did not supervise anything under Joseph’s charge because the LORD was with him; and whatever he did, the LORD made to prosper.

Psa. 1:1 ¶ How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,
Nor stand in the path of sinners,
Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!
Psa. 1:2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
Psa. 1:3 He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water,
Which yields its fruit in its season
And its leaf does not wither;
And in whatever he does, he prospers.

III. Takeaways
Hamilton--Wisdom literature does not outlaw adultery because God disallows it …The sanctions in Prov. 6 include: self-destruction (v.32); wounds, loss of respect, and public disgrace (v.33); a husband bent on revenge (v.34); no way to buy oneself out of trouble )v.35). Prov. 7;23 comes the closest-perhaps—to connecting adultery and the death penalty: “he does not know that it will cost him his life.” In short, the sanctions are not historical but rational.

1. Practical advice: Run!
I Cor. 6:18 Flee immorality. Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body.
2Tim. 2:22 But keep away from youthful passions, and pursue righteousness, faithfulness, love, and peace, in company with others who call on the Lord from a pure heart.
2Pet. 1:4 Through these things he has bestowed on us his precious and most magnificent promises, so that by means of what was promised you may become partakers of the divine nature, after escaping the worldly corruption that is produced by evil desire.
2. God hates adultery not because He wants to stamp out fun!
…violates His covenant model: no broken covenants
…violates His triune nature: the Godhead interrelate as Father, Son, and Spirit; the angels are not welcomed into that circle; humans participate only indirectly; thus, swirling partners misses the model

This is not about Doing Better! This is about reordered LOVES.
Where does God reorder our loves?
i. Transform a heart, through the desert.
ii. God gave sight to the blind, in the darkness of a dungeon.

What about intermarriage in Egypt?

A couple of questions came in response to my statement that one of the reasons God moved Israel to Egypt was to prevent further intermarriage there, as Judah had done in Canaan.
Certainly, that does not mean that Gentiles were unwelcome in the nation of faith. In fact, the genealogy of Jesus in the Gospels contains the names of women who were not Jewish: Rahab & Tamar.
The point of remaining distinct was that of spiritual separation from pagans, not to the detriment of the pagans but preserving the purity of faith in the nation.
The point of preserving that pure faith was to have a faith to offer to the pagans!

As to the "mixed company" leaving Egypt in the Exodus, Walter Kaiser comments:

38 The “many other people” (‘ereb rab; KJV, “mixed multitude”; cf. the “swarms” of flies in 8:21 [17 MT], ‘arob ) were composed of Egyptians (some “feared the word of the LORD” in 9:20), perhaps some of the old Semitic population left from the Hyksos era and slaves native to other countries. Some of this group must be part of the “rabble” (ha’sapsup lit., “a collection”) mentioned later in Numbers 11:4. Thus the promise to Abraham in Genesis 12:3, of a blessing to “all peoples on the earth,” received another fulfillment in this swarm of foreigners who were impressed enough by the power of God to leave Egypt with Israel after all the plagues had been performed. Another aspect of God’s display of his power was so that the Egyptians could, if they only would, be evangelized (7:5; 8:10, 19; 9:14, 16, 29-30; 14:4, 18).

Hopes that helps!!

Questions Asked via Messaging

Here are the questions that I have received over the past weeks; most of these were answered "live" but I thought those who missed the interaction in the room might enjoy the quality of questions being asked!

Beauty sermons from August 2009:

Q: How do you separate the desire for acquiring beauty from materialism?
A: Tough to do so; the two easily merge. It's helpful for me to think of beauty as something to be savoured rather than possessed. Accumulating "beautiful" objects can quickly degenerate into materialism. We often prove to be simple creatures! The experience of beauty is what I am after, not the grasping of things that remind me of beauty.

Q: Is the glory of God reflected in the beauty of the new Jaguar or just in the 'creation' of nature?
A: I understand that human creative acts can reflect beauty; nature's beauty would be God's direct expression of beauty; our creative acts can mimic that. So, yes, the Jaguar IS beautiful! Not dependable, perhaps, but beautiful...

Q: Can you comment on aesthestics such as those that have adorned the Catholic Church as good or bad?
A: Wow, that debate has been alive since Ulrich Zwingli, the Swiss Reformer, emptied all the statuary in his Canon's parishes. I am sympathetic to his arguments, which remind us that "no graven image" is to distract us from the beauty and glory of God. Certainly, that goes all the way back to Augustine in the fifth century, so Zwingli's argument was not new.
I do believe that Zwingli over-reacted to the issue. From childhood, I was made to feel uncomfortable with any depiction of Jesus, so that is a struggle that remains. However, the concept of beauty as expressed in painting, sculpture, etc. does NOT contradict the Commandment.

Q: How do we reconcile that the subjectivity of beauty causes some people to look at God's works without seeing beauty because of personality or spiritual disorder?
A: Paul addresses that directly in Romans 1--we are all accountable to recognize the eternal and divine nature of God in his work of creation. Psalm 19:1-6 is a root of this thought from Paul; it's not original with the apostle. We are broken at every level, thus we cannot savour beauty for all it's worth; often, we cannot even perceive beauty. The English proverb imploring the hearer to "stop and smell the roses" echoes the tendency to move too quickly through the day without even noticing beauty around, though the assumption is that the beauty CAN be perceived.

Q: The language you are using is very close to that of Screwtape. Are you saying that we should desire to possess God in the same sense?
A: Yes, I think I am saying that. We perceive the glory of God and by that perception experience Him; this is what Paul was driving home in Romans 1, not just that we are accountable but that He is available to us. Eccl 3's "eternity in their hearts" is a similar idea--we have the capacity to perceive Him, "through a glass darkly."

Q: How does NT Wright deal with the Scripture that states that the old heaven and earth will pass away and there will be a new heaven and earth?
A: Gingerly. Wright expresses the connection between the two as follows: We work hard in the present, fallen earth, believing that God will somehow take the hard work which He inspires and enables us to accomplish now as the "building blocks or stones" which will be used by Him to construct the new heaven and the new earth. He professes not to fully understand such a process, but that without such a connection, he is left with a sense of futility over work done now.
I find his guesses intriguing but not fully satisfying!
Read NTWright's "Surprised By Hope" for more detail.


Joseph's Life Cyle (which is really about Judah!)
Q: What creates favoritism then?
A: We do. This is a sign of our brokenness, our fallenness, but it is a perversion of God's ability to savour each one of us with a special kind of love and joy. He also is fully justified in preferring Jacob to Esau, based in God's own character and intention.
We are made in His image, so we have similar capacities to savour those whom we love, but we distort and twist it into a raw favouritism. Our choosing one over another looks ugly, because it reflects our brokenness rather than God's wisdom and love.

Judah's sons: Er, Onan, Shelah
Q: You imply that Er's death at God's hand was a deserving death because Er was evil. Is premature death a mark of evil and judgment?
A: Yes. Not always the evil of the dying person, though!!! All death is a a result of evil, since the Fall of Adam and Eve. "Premature" death most often happens because of someone else's evil (murder), rather than that of the dead. There are certainly occasions, like Er and Onan, where God directly intervenes and ends a life based on the devastation that is ABOUT to spread if that life were extended. This is God's role as a Just One. Without belief in a just being who makes such decisions, we are left hopeless in a world full of evil.

Q: Is God's will shaped by our culture? Eg, God's reason for killing Onan?
A: I think this question must have been stimulated by the way that I stated the point, and I don't remember precisely how I made the point.
I will say this: God DOES respond to our actions. Several places in the OT, this is plainly stated (God spoke to David: if you do this, I'll do that, etc.).
God's reasons for killing Onan had to do with the SEED. The SEED promised to Abraham was to go through Judah; Onan's refusal to provide offspring brought quick action from God, who at all times works to fulfill his promises to Abraham, without lapse.
On the other hand, our cultural decisions and tendencies do NOT shape God's intentions nor his will.

Q: How do we know that Judah had been with prostitutes before?
A: Several ways. First, Judah never expressed hesitation at bargaining with the veiled Tamar; his negotiations reflect his comfort and experience. Second, Tamar is said to have known his patterns, an apparent reference to his common behaviour with prostitutes. Third, the narrator is brutal about this, contrasting his behaviour with Tamar's, not defending him as innocent but for this one occurrence. Fourth, ALWAYS TRUST THE NARRATOR, one of the cardinal rules of reading narrative literature. Fifth, Judah's entire response of repentance (She is more just than I) is predicated on a new understanding of his moral condition, implying that this sort of thing was not new with him, but is now seen in a new light.

Joseph & the Multi-Coloured Roller Coaster

Joseph & The Many-Coloured Roller Coaster
Genesis 39-40

Joseph was preferred by God as His own conduit for blessing. 39-40

Preview: Sara’s throat injury
What are you thankful for that didn’t first appear to be a blessing?

a. Unseen depth of our brokenness:
b. Unseen depth of God’s engagement in our lives=GRACE.
c. Unseen CONFUSION of our MIS-perceptions.

I. The Story
A story for the short-sighted; a parable for the defeated.
Joseph on the roller-coaster ride in Egypt:
1. Sold as a slave by his brothers.
2. Rising to the heights in Potiphar’s household.
3. Falsely accused and imprisoned again in the dungeon.
4. Promises from God by the gift of interpretation of OTHER’s dreams!
a. The cupbearer
b. The baker
c. The Pharaoh
5. Rising to the heights in Pharaoh’s court.

a. Through the desert to Egypt: his brothers having sold Joseph, the teenager is transported across the Sinai to the fertile Nile delta.
i. He left an arrogant brother.
ii. He arrived in Egypt quite different.
1. He had accepted his “special status” in the family.
a. His brothers did away with him because he was prideful.
2. With Potiphar’s wife, he denied any special privileges.
a. She did away with him because he was humble.
b. From a slave in the desert to a slave in a household.
c. From the head of a household to a dungeon.
d. From a cell in a dungeon to head of the prison.
Along the way…
e. Power temptation—Joseph is placed in a privileged position, though a slave, as the head of household for a man of the highest position.
f. Sexual temptation
i. “a wicked thing”—not just wrong because she’s married, but because she’s not his wife.
ii. “sin”

Gen. 39:2 The LORD was with Joseph, so he became a successful man. And he was in the house of his master, the Egyptian.
Gen. 39:3 Now his master saw that the LORD was with him and how the LORD caused all that he did to prosper in his hand.
Gen. 39:4 So Joseph found favor in his sight and became his personal servant; and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he owned he put in his charge.
Gen. 39:5 It came about that from the time he made him overseer in his house and over all that he owned, the LORD blessed the Egyptian’s house on account of Joseph; thus the LORD’S blessing was upon all that he owned, in the house and in the field.
Gen. 39:6 So he left everything he owned in Joseph’s charge; and with him there he did not concern himself with anything except the food which he ate.
¶ Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance.

Gen. 39:21 But the LORD was with Joseph and extended kindness to him, and gave him favor in the sight of the chief jailer.
Gen. 39:22 The chief jailer committed to Joseph’s charge all the prisoners who were in the jail; so that whatever was done there, he was responsible for it.
Gen. 39:23 The chief jailer did not supervise anything under Joseph’s charge because the LORD was with him; and whatever he did, the LORD made to prosper.

Gen. 40:4 The captain of the bodyguard put Joseph in charge of them, and he took care of them; and they were in confinement for some time.
Gen. 40:5 Then the cupbearer and the baker for the king of Egypt, who were confined in jail, both had a dream the same night, each man with his own dream and each dream with its own interpretation.

Gen. 40:8 Then they said to him, “We have 1had a dream and there is no one to interpret it.” Then Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell it to me, please.”

Gen. 40:23 Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but aforgot him.

II. The Meaning of the Story
a. Unseen depth of our brokenness:
New Orleans was sinking year by year, decade by decade, century by century. Some realized that, others did not.
When debi and I honeymooned there, I was stunned to see with my own eyes that the Mississippi river, held back by a levee, was ABOVE the level of the protected streets. Parts of the city were 18 feet (5.4m) below sea level.
New Orleans was a disaster waiting to happen, but few knew and no one listened.

i. God sees Joseph’s character, among his brothers.
ii. God oversees the sale of Joseph by his brothers, preventing his murder through the intervention of the fourth son, Judah.
iii. Joseph’s faith response to God.
1. Gen. 40:8-- Then Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell it to me, please.”
2. Gen. 40:15 “For I was in fact kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews, and even here I have done nothing that they should have put me into the dungeon.”
WE CAN’T SEE OURSELVES AS WE ARE!!
DiSC—we see ourselves as other’s see us…

b. Unseen depth of God’s engagement in our lives=GRACE.
Divine oversight of Joseph’s life and therefore of Abraham’s offspring.
i. Gen. 39--vv. 2,3, 21, 23--’the Lord was with Joseph’
1. This comment from the narrator explains the movements from the pit to the palace.
2. Joseph makes enemies for…
a. good reasons: lording it over his brothers
b. bad reasons: he refused to betray his lord
ii. He accompanies Joseph through the dessert to Egypt.
iii. He transforms Joseph’s heart on the journey.
1. Transformed from self-absorbed brat who might have delighted in the wife’s invitation.
2. Now, character enough to say, “no, this is sin, and this is wrong.”
3. The INNER TRANSFORMATION HAS EXTERNAL IMPACT.
DEEP INSIDE OUR LIVES, GOD’S PURPOSES ARE UNPACKING AND UNFOLDING.
Joseph was not aware of Judah’s move into the Canaanite camp, marrying a Canaanite woman; the drift towards Canaanites threatened God’s good purposes for Israel; the Egyptians mixed with NO-ONE! They wouldn’t even EAT in the presence of outsiders. In God’s good purposes, Israel was being moved into Egypt, to be preserved and to multiply unmixed for several hundred years.
God is at work in our lives: we just can’t yet see it all.

c. Unseen CONFUSION of our MIS-perceptions.
i. Does this “bad thing” prove God is against me?
1. Things often “go wrong”!
2. Debi’s story:
Her dad was a career Air Force officer; they moved regularly from posting to posting. Twice, the assignment was Guam. During the first assignment, the family moved into officer’s housing, only to be moved again shortly.
You might imagine the frustration of a young mum, having just moved to the island with two very young daughters, only to be told they would have to move again immediately.
So, they did.
A week later, an Air Force plane crashed on approach, INTO THE HOUSE THEY HAD JUST VACATED.
I’m sure my mother-in-law was happy to have moved; and I am happy to be married to the toddler who was NOT in harm’s way.
THINGS OFTEN DO NOT GO THE WAY WE INTEND;
GOD ALWAYS WORKS OUT HIS GOOD INTENTIONS,
EVEN WHEN THEY MIGHT SEEM TO BE GOING AGAINST US.







III. Takeaways
If God is in charge of things, He must be either cruel or incompetent.
i. I’m alone.
ii. I’m deeply wounded by someone close to me, someone I trusted; who’s protecting me??
iii. I’m greatly disappointed by the circumstances of my life; this is NOT the way things were supposed to go.
This story tells us something completely different: God’s wises purposes are a fit with”bad” things that happen in our lives.

* God’s commitment to His own is unbending and without compromise, even though UNSEEN.

* God’s purposes can be recognized if we have eyes to see, but God continues his work even when we remain blind to them.
1. He doesn’t ask us NOT to believe what we see;
2. He asks us to more thoroughly believe what we hear from Him.

* God is delighted with what only God can do.
3. This is not about Doing Better!
a. If good intentions could save the day, they would have!
b. The stories of the Bible have no human heroes;
c. God’s active grace in the stories makes HIM the HERO.
4. Transform a heart, through the desert.
5. Give sight to the blind, in the darkness of a dungeon.

What are you thankful for that didn’t first appear to be a blessing?
We can be thankful that God is active in our lives, though out of sight.

ANOTHER, LATER, JOSEPH CAME TO WALK THE ROADS OF THE CANAANITES; HE SPOKE OF THE DEPTHS OF OUR BROKENNESS, THE GREATER PURPOSES OF GOD THE FATHER, UNFOLDING IN GRACE.
THAT NEW and GREATER JOSEPH WAS ARRESTED, STRIPPED, AND PUT TO DEATH.
All who will hear him, and trust him will become part of his family, and enjoy His friendship, FIND REST FROM WORRY AND ANXIETY, BECAUSE His purposes as good.

Immortal, invisible, God only wise,
in light inaccessible hid from our eyes,
most blessed, most glorious, the Ancient of Days,
almighty, victorious, thy great name we praise.

To all, life thou givest, to both great and small;
in all life thou livest, the true life of all;
we blossom and flourish as leaves on the tree,
and wither and perish, but naught changeth thee.

Judah & Tamar

A story for the ages…
Judah & Tamar
Or, Brothers & Friends
CENTRAL IDEA OF THE SERIES: God transformed a broken family into a nation that was useful in extending the blessing of God to all.
Resources: Tim Keller’s sermon, Tamar
Sidney Greidanus, Preaching Christ from Genesis
Robert Alter, The Art of Biblical Narrative, Genesis, et al
Bruce Waltke, Genesis

I. The Story
a. Joseph was Jacob’s favoured son, by Rachel.
1. This inappropriate favoritism DAMAGED the other sons.
Notice how often the word “HATED” occurs in the story: vv. 4, 5, 8.
2. Note that this hatred led them to plot murder, against their own brother! This was no mere family spat.
a. Judah arranged a Quick sale—Joseph was sold for a slave, rather than executed as the brothers wanted.
b. The deed was covered by the blood of a GOAT.
i. Goat skin was used by Jacob to deceive his father Isaac, when he stole the blessing.
b. Judah was the fourth son of Leah.
i. Judah identified in the family.
1. Leah was in despair as the unfavoured wife of Jacob. At the birth of her first four sons, she named each one by her state of heart at the time. At Reubens’ birth,
1. Reuben: sounds like—“see, a son” Jacob will notice
2. Simeon: sounds like: “has heard”, God has heard me
3. Levi: sounds like—“will join” me to Jacob
Gen. 29:35 She became pregnant again and had another son. She said, “This time I will praise the LORD.” That is why she named him Judah. Then she stopped having children.
4. Judah: sounds like—“sing praise” TO THE LORD only
Alter: no longer expresses hope of winning her husbands’ affection but simply gives thanks to God for granting her male offspring.
ii. Judah interceded for his brother Joseph, to prevent his death by their own brothers.
1. Either murder or removal
2. No particular pain or sacrifice involved for Judah.
iii. Judah had three sons.
1. Er, married Tamar. He was evil; God took his life; Tamar was widowed.
2. Levirate Marriage: Latin word levir, meaning "husband's brother,” practiced by societies with a strong clan structure in which exogamous marriage, i.e. that outside the clan, was forbidden.
a. Brother, brother, brother.
b. When the brothers were all dead, then the father-in-law was to take her and produce offspring for his first-born.
c. This was the rule of the day.
d. The Law of Moses had not yet been given.
3. Onan married Tamar, 38:8, who refused to impregnate her, jealous that her offspring would be called his brother’s. His own biological son would then gain the double portion of Judah’s estate, to the loss of Onan’s own other children! God took his life.
Gen. 38:11 Then Judah said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, “Remain a widow in your father’s house until my son Shelah grows up”;
for he thought, “I am afraid that he too may die like his brothers.”

Alter: Judah, whose lie about Joseph’s death triggered extravagant grief in his father, Jacob, now has double cause for grief himself; no grief is mentioned.

4. Shelah, the third son, Judah withheld from Tamar, blaming her for the untimely deaths of the first two sons and fearful that marriage to her might end his life as well.
a. JUDAH THEREBY REVEALS A TROUBLING ISSUE OF HIS OWN CHARACTER: His sons are HIS sons, not Tamar’s. Their bad character is a reflection on HIM, not her.
b. Blame-shifting!!
c. Lying—we know from the narrator that JUDAH HAS NO INTENTION OF PROVIDING A THIRD HUSBAND FOR TAMAR.
So Tamar went and lived in her father’s house.
5. Tamar is thus left destitute.
a. Living in her father’s house would be a short-term fix.
i. Life-expectancy was in the mid-30s.
ii. Once her father was dead, why would any brothers be willing to look after her?
1. A slave worked for room and board.
2. A widowed sister may attempt to claim a portion of the legacy!
b. Tamar needed a longer-term plan.

iv. Tamar will not leave Judah’s “well-enough” alone.
1. We may struggle with her demand for a husband; for her, it was a matter of life and death; no husband, no children, no income, no life.

Tamar single-mindedly pursues justice at any cost.
2. She knows Judah well enough to predict his behaviour and sets a trap for him: GOAL IS TO OBTAIN A CHILD.
a. Hearing that Judah is coming to her region as a recent widower, she dresses as a prostitute and sits in the gate of Enaim, a village on the road to Timnah, his destination.
b. “Twin Wells” an allusion to another betrothal type-scene?!?!?
c. Recently bereft, she knew that Judah would be motivated.
d. She had no doubts that Judah would consort with prostitutes.
e. “She saw that Shelah” had grown up; if the young man were with Judah, then this DOUBLES DOWN on his blatant double standard regarding sexual activity.
v. Judah sees the “prostitute” and stops to interact.
1. Assumes she is a prostitute by her dress: she had covered her face.
2. Begins to bargain: “go to you.” V.16.
3. Tamar replies in kind: what is your payment?
4. Judah offers a YOUNG GOAT FROM THE FLOCK.
5. Tamar wants a guarantee of payment.
6. Judah asks what she wants in pledge.
7. Tamar asks for his SEAL, CORD, AND STAFF.
a. Alter: equivalent to driver’s license & credit cards.
vi. The pledge exchanged, the two have intercourse.
1. She conceives.
2. She leaves.
3. She changes into her widow’s garb.
vii. Judah keeps his pledge, sending a goat by his companion.
1. The Adullamite asked for the temple prostitute and hears that no such woman has been seen here.
2. He reports back to Judah.
3. Judah drops the issue to avoid embarrassment.
4. After all, I kept my JUSTLY KEPT MY WORD.
viii. Judah is told that his daughter-in-law has conceived a child as a harlot; three months later.
1. Bring her out.
2. Burn her!
3. Alter—this speed is highlighted …by the unusual use of a passive present participle…literally, “she is-being-taken-out.”
ix. Tamar, on her way to execution, sends the SEAL, CORD, AND STAFF to Judah, saying that her consort owned these and asking, “RECOGNIZE THIS?”
x. Judah did indeed RECOGNIZE THIS.
1. His response changes the course of his life.
a. I did not give her my son Shelah, as I must have.
b. She is more righteous than I.
c. Gen. 42:21 Then they said to one another, “Truly we are guilty concerning our brother, because we saw the distress of his soul when he pleaded with us, yet we would not listen; therefore this distress has come upon us.”
d. Gen. 44:33 “Now, therefore, please let your servant remain instead of the lad a slave to my lord, and let the lad go up with his brothers.

II. The Meaning of the Story God’s grace in our lives is unrelenting.

a. BREAK DOWN: Judah lived a life of self-indulgence, using those around, and denying responsibility for his family.
i. Judah blamed Tamar for the deaths of his first two sons; the truth is that both were evil men, denied long lives by divine judgment. Who would be more culpable for their character: Tamar or Judah?!?
ii. Judah had failed as a son of the covenant: left the land and married a Canannite, even behaved like the Canaanites; failed as a father (wicked sons); failed as a father-in-law (deceived Tamar about Shelah).
iii. GRACE intervenes
iv. When Judah saw the seal, the cord, and the staff…
1. He could have said
a. ‘so what? I’m the man.’
b. ‘The barrenness and wickedness of my sons has nothing to do with me!’
2. Instead, Judah said: SHE IS MORE RIGHTEOUS THAN I.
3. This marks a transition in his life.
a. Rather than blaming this on Tamar, he recognizes that Tamar was pursuing JUSTICE and admits his selfish, oppressive behaviour.
b. Later, at the Climax of this story, not knowing he was standing before Joseph, the brother he had sold into slavery, he pleads to take the place of his younger brother Benjamin, rather than allow the Egyptians to keep Benjamin hostage, to the collapse of his father. Judah would never have made that bargain before being caught by Tamar.
v. Judah’s change of heart Jesus described as…
1. Taking a drink of living water in John 4 at the well in Samaria.
2. Being reborn in John 3, in conversation with Nicodemus.
3. Living or abiding IN Him, in John 15.
vi. The transition into this new life occurs when Judah realizes that he is not better than Tamar.
That sort of brokenness is the doorway into a new relationship with God.

b. BREAK IN: Tamar was twice-widowed, denied a third opportunity to have children, security, and a future.
i. Tamar thought she was owed a child, either by Shelah, or by Judah directly, so she acted in pursuit of JUSTICE.
ii. Judah recognized his own double standard, and withdrew his judgment.
iii. Prostitution is just as wrong as before; social injustice is worse!
1. If we insist on a ranking, this is the divine ranking.
2. Though we should be and might be sexually pure, there are greater sins than sexual sins.
a. Passivity in the face of social justice is a worse sin than sexual impurity.
b. Food, clothing, and shelter are essential to life here.
c. We invite immigration for 235,000 people a year to Canada; we also deny recognition of their training to virtually all outsiders. UNJUST.
d. We know that literacy is essential to survival in our job market, yet we are silent in the face of illiteracy.
3. Jesus spoke to this same principle:
a. Matt. 23:23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and 1cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. Luke 11:42
b. Keeping the tithe does not excuse them from caring for their aging parents!
Until justice is done, we cannot rest.

c. BREAK THROUGH: Perez is born, the promise of blessing fulfilled.
His twin brother stuck out his hand, the midwife tied a scarlet thread, the hand disappeared, then Perez, unmarked, was delivered!
38:29 Then she said, “What a breach you have made for yourself!” So he was named Perez.
Zerah, the RED, or shining one.
i. Perez triumphed over his red-tagged twin brother, just as Jacob triumphed over his twin brother, Esau, The Red.
a. Esau became the father of the Edomites, troubling to Israel.
b. Zerah, the RED, or shining one, became the progenitor of Achan, whose betrayal led to disaster at Jericho.
ii. God was faithful; He took this immoral act, this deception, and used it to produce a son, the father of David.
Questions for Discussion
1. What surprises you most about this story? What disturbs you most?
2. Do you recognize your own rank of injustices? Which is at the top of your list? Which things are lower in your ranking? What is missing from that list? What things should you add to the list of injustices?
3. Name one injustice that you sense the most unease about. How can we help you address that injustice?
4. Judah’s blindness to his own immoral lifestyle endangered others. How does our similar blindness impact those around us? Those not close to us?
5. The grace of God is unrelenting, according to this narrative. God provides Perez through this immoral act, fulfilling His promise to provide a seed that would bless the entire world. How has God’s grace shown itself in your life recently?

The Story of Joseph & Judah: The Coat

Joseph’s Coat: The Story of Joseph & Judah
Or, Brothers & Friends

CENTRAL IDEA OF THE SERIES: God transformed a broken family into a nation that was useful in extending the blessing of God to all.
Resources: Tim Keller’s sermon, The Hiddeness of God
John Piper’s sermon, The Sale of Joseph and the Son of God
Sidney Greidanus, Preaching Christ in Genesis
Robert Alter, The Art of Biblical Narrative
et al

I. The Story
a. Joseph was Jacob’s favoured son, by Rachel.
i. Jacob had been disfavoured by his father, Isaac.
1. So he tried to fill the gap in his soul with Rachel. No doubt, he had seen her and thought, “Life will be good if I could have her as a wife.” And he did.
2. It wasn’t enough.
ii. Jacob did not learn from his pain; he favoured Joseph, the only son of Rachel, among all the sons of Leah.
1. This inappropriate favouritism wounded Joseph and
a. Joseph became something of a gossip.
i. V.2--“bad report”-- whispering, defamation, evil report
ii. The utterance of ‏דִּבָּה‎ marks the fool (Prov 10:18).
iii. Not merely “telling it like it is.”
b. Joseph actually WORE the special gift from his father, which set him above his brothers.
c. Joseph’s dreams, which were clearly prophetic, he used against his brothers.
i. God gave them.
ii. God intended them to be constructive!!
d. Things got so bad that even Jacob noticed and rebuked his favoured son!
Ga’ar--to rebuke, speak insultingly to
2. This inappropriate favoritism DAMAGED the other sons.
Notice how often the word “HATED” occurs in the story: vv. 4, 5, 8.
Gen. 37:4 His brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers; and so they hated him and could not speak to him on friendly terms.
Gen. 37:5 Then Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more.
Gen. 37:8 Then his brothers said to him, “Are you actually going to reign over us? Or are you really going to rule over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.
3. Note that this hatred led them to plot murder, against their own brother! This was no mere family spat.
a. Joseph was seized, stripped, and imprisoned.
i. Strip—violently.
ii. Used for stripping armour off a foe.
iii. Used for skinning, or flaying.
b. Murder was threatened and deferred.
c. Quick sale was arranged—sold for a slave.
d. The deed was covered by the blood of a GOAT.
i. Goat skin was used by Jacob to deceive his father Isaac, when he stole the blessing.
II. The Meaning of the Story God’s grace in our lives is unrelenting.

a. Favouritism: Anything that we look to for love and happiness is the object of our worship.
i. God wants to be the object of our worship, the source of our Love, Happiness and Ultimate satisfaction.
ii. No husband, no wife, no child, no friend, no roommate can ever give us all the Love we need, nor the happiness that we are made for.

b. Brokenness: we are not only what we choose to be.
i. We are made by the choices of others.
1. Either because we follow their pattern of life, or
2. Because we invest lots of energy in becoming the OPPOSITE OF WHAT THEY WERE.
a. My dad was so coercive, I’m not going to make that mistake with my son.
b. So, you fail to discipline my own son, and he becomes a social problem; no one can deal with him.
ii. We are not as good as we think we are.
iii. We cannot repair ourselves, or even identify our greatest weaknesses!

c. Grace: God intervenes on our behalf, even if…
i. If any of these circumstances had not occurred in this way, the family might have starved in Palestine.
1. The brothers are in Dothan, not Shechem.
2. The stranger appears to redirect Joseph. Vv. 15-17
3. Reuben is there to prevent a quick and bloody end to Joseph.
4. Reuben is not there when the slavers came by, to prevent the sale.
ii. God superintended such that Joseph is sent off to Egypt as a slave.
iii. The brothers who hated their young, favoured brother will later see him as their saviour from a severe famine.

Gospel—another man came to his own people, but was rejected, betrayed for a slavers fee, stripped, and left for dead.

Series Overview:
God transformed a self-absorbed man into a family man.
a. God, knowing the heart condition of Jacob’s offspring, keeps his promise to Abraham by reconditioning the family for blessing.
b. God restores broken families.
i. Isaac preferred Esau/Rebekkah preferred Jacob.
ii. Jacob preferred Joseph.
c. God uses restored families to his good ends.

A New Kind of Love

A New Kind of Love
Finding joy in Loving God

By CHRIS BURY and MARY MARSH
Sept. 1, 2009— ABC http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/Story?id=8462247&page=1

John McAfee knows about risk. A mathematician by training, in the late 1980s he developed the antivirus computer software program that has become a household name. In the 1990s he pioneered instant-messaging. In both cases, he grew bored and cashed out. At his peak, he was reportedly worth about $100 million.
Like many wealthy Americans, McAfee was hit hard with the simultaneous collapse of real estate, stocks and Wall Street investment banks. But he got whacked more than most, since much of his fortune was tied up in luxury properties.
Last Saturday, auctioneers worked up bids for his 80-acre retreat in the high desert of Rodeo, N.M. With a private airstrip and hangar, it's a slice of paradise, and it's all up for grabs.

McAfee has sold his private twin-engine plane, beachfront property in Hawaii and a Colorado mansion in the shadow of Pike's Peak. His posh New Mexico getaway is the last property to hit the auction block.
"At one point, I had five houses in five different locations and it's impractical, it's almost insane to have that much real estate," he conceded. "You can only be in one place at a time."

McAfee admits that he got caught up in the culture of consumption.
"We are the ultimate consumer society," he said. "If you succeed within that culture, then you're simply more bonded to it. You feel like, 'Yes, I've got all this money, the ability to get things' ... and so you just do it. People buy yachts, they buy jets, they buy multiple homes."
McAfee himself indulged his whims and passions, spending millions to promote the sport of aero-trekking: tiny motorized kites that enthusiasts fly to explore the remotest corners of the country.

McAfee says he expects no sympathy. "Oh, God, I hope they don't have sympathy. I don't have sympathy for my position," he said. "I'm perfectly happy."

In fact, he believes that to a certain extent, the recession has served a useful purpose: "It's brought home a dose of reality," he said. "And sometimes a little pain is necessary to see and understand the true circumstances of your life."

McAfee's net worth dropped from within the ballpark of $100 million to less than $10 million, he told ABC News. But instead of feeling a sense of loss, he says he feels free.
"I feel a sense of freedom," he said. "People think that it's a joy to own things. But it really isn't."
"I'm happy to get rid of them [possessions]. I have a few pennies in my pocket. I don't have stuff to worry about," he said.
"I feel freer. I have less responsibility and obligations. And I have enough money left to feed myself," he said.
After 65 years, his attitude about money, he says, is forever changed.
"I think most people don't sit down and ask, 'What do I need?" not "What do I want?" Because we all want everything," he explained. "But what do we need? We don't need very much. We really don't ... The things we want and the things we need are two different things."

This year, you may be anticipating success by…
New friends to enjoy; new job for fulfillment;

We have many loves, but when our loves are disordered, it’s inevitable that our values get distorted under the crush of economics, fast company, etc.
We experience the most intense joy when we find ourselves loving God for all He is worth.

Premise:
I. We love many things, but our loves are “disordered” as Augustine said.
II. We can learn to love God.
III. We have designed our congregation to equip us love God and one another.
IV. If you throw in your lot with us, you will learn, with us, how
i. to love God above all else, and
ii. to love your neighbour as yourself.

Outline:
A. We know the divine expectation is that we love God above all things.
a. Our love for God consumes all that we are.
i. Deut. 6:5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.
b. Our love for God comes from God himself.
i. POSITIVELY: 1John 4:16 We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.
ii. NEGATIVELY: 1John 4:8 The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
iii. 1Cor. 16:22 If anyone does not love the Lord, he is to be accursed.

Problem!!!
c. Our loves are distorted:
i. We love things.
ii. We use people.
DOUBLE PROBLEM:
d. 1 Cor. 16:22 If anyone does not love the Lord, he is to be accursed.
We are NOT the first to see the dilemma:

David Naugle…[Augustine’s] concept of disordered love in which the soul seeks satisfaction in things that are metaphysically incapable of providing it is strikingly applicable to our day.

The quest for happiness consists in attaching ourselves in love to objects of desire that we think will make us happy. But for this to occur, a knowledge of the metaphysical order and value of objects of love is necessary such that love might be properly ordered.
Love is disordered when it seeks final happiness in temporal and finite objects, an action which engenders all kinds of pathologies in human behavior.
The human condition as envisaged by Augustine calls for nothing less than the radical reconstruction of the human personality through Christian conversion and reunion with the only proper object of happiness which is the Godhead. Augustine's own conversion experience as set forth in the Confessions is the paradigm.

B. We know that love for Christ casts all other loves into shadow.
a. Love for God is love for Christ. John 8:42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and have come from God, for I have not even come on My own initiative, but He sent Me…”
b. Love for Christ supersedes all other loves: Matt. 10:37 He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me;
and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.

C. We understand that a surpassing love for Christ leads us into great joy.
a. 1Pet. 1:8 …and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory,
b. John 10:10 “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.
Obeying the command to love is not the first step to loving God
D. We must understand the place of obedience; obedience follows love.
a. John 14:15 If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.
b. Piper: [This is] …the effect of love, not the essence of love…
E. We learn to love God when we experience God’s love for us.
a. We first experience God’s love.
b. Then we can learn to love God.
c. So then, How do we experience God’s love?
1John 4:10-12 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us.
i. God loved first: evidenced by the sending of the Son.
ii. Being loved of God, we love one another.
iii. AS we love one another, God perfects his love within us.
iv. We love God BY loving one another.

Appplication: HOW CAN YOU EXPERIENCE GOD’S LOVE?
DIRECTLY, as you pray, read the Word, meditate on His character
INDIRECTLY, mediated through friendships

Reorder your loves! We need one another to gain personal insight, to obtain the will to persevere, to enjoy the successes we may find.

Don't be forced to liquidate the objects of your love, cultivate the sort of love that lasts forever.

Reprise: If you throw in your lot with us, you may learn, with us, how
to love God above all else, and
to love your neighbour as yourself.