How can you relate to a holy, perfect God? One answer that people come up with is that we have to be perfect. That is an idea that has an appeal. In fact that is an ideal that society harbours in other areas of life. For example we really want our politicians to be perfect. The reality is however; when you turn the spotlight on any human being you discover that there are flaws there.

We belong to a fallen race; people are flawed by nature. No amount of political spin can maintain the illusion of the perfect politician. No amount of skill from the most competent public relations team can change or in the end, hide that fact that people are fallible. It is also a big mistake to try and change the rules to justify sinful human behaviour. It has been rather sad to see our Home Secretary defending his adulterous behaviour. Already the cynical pundits of the political world are throwing the stones that I suspect will end in his downfall.

The church in the past has often been sidetracked into the path of seeking God’s favour by achieving the sin free life. In some instances the monastic life has been an example of this sort of enterprise. People have been under the false impression that by cutting themselves off from the world, they will become closer to God. But the reality has usually been disappointment.

Or nearer to home, we sometimes see groups of Christians who break away from their church because they feel that they must become separate from their fellow sinful church members in order to really experience the Lord’s blessing. But it doesn’t work. The real way to relate to a holy God is in humility and repentance.

The wonderful truth of the Christian faith is that the holy creator God in his grace and mercy chooses to stoop down to fallible human beings. In his faithfulness and love he is there watching over human affairs, teaching, sustaining and providing for his people. We see that in the story of Joseph. In this saga of Abraham’s family, there are all the ingredients that you find in the average TV soap opera. We will only briefly touch on the events of chapters 37 to 45. I do recommend if you have time that you sit down and read the story, it’s gripping stuff, there are all the elements of human experience and interest that you get in a novel or film, but in the bible we also have the faithful record of how God deals with sinful people, we see the story in a divine perspective.

Joseph was Jacob’s favourite son. Jacob’s hopes of a happy family life with his true love Rachel had been shattered when her father had tricked him into marrying her sister Leah. So he had ended up with two wives, those wives in their rivalry both brought their maids into the rivalry to produce sons for Jacob. Yet Rachel, the woman Jacob loved could not bear children, until at long last Joseph was born.

We can understand why Joseph was the favourite. Rachel was to have a second son, but childbirth a second time proved to be too much for Rachel. She died giving birth to Joseph’s brother Benjamin. Jacob was bereft of his love, but he had her son Joseph on whom he lavished his love. Joseph was given a coat of many colours. In fact Jacob’s treatment of Joseph was a mistake. He was in some ways a spoilt child. His brothers resented him, and when he tells tales on them to their father, their resentment turns to hatred.

Then there were the dreams. Joseph has this air of superiority that in the end even Jacob tells him off for. But to his brothers Joseph has become unbearable. Then one day the opportunity presents itself to the brothers to get rid of Joseph. The ten older brothers are off finding pasture for the sheep, camping away from the family home. Jacob sends Joseph to see how things are going.

In the distance they see their brother in his flashy coat heading in their direction. Their anger and hatred boils up. They plot to kill him and be rid once and for all of the object of their hatred. No one will know, they can pretend to Jacob that Joseph has been attacked by a wild animal. But yet one of the brother’s has a pang of conscience. Reuben knows better. He persuades the others not to kill Joseph, just to throw him into an empty irrigation pit and leave him there; Reuben hopes to rescue Joseph later.

So seventeen year old Joseph is deprived of his coat and thrown into the pit. As the brother sit down to eat their meal, they notice a caravan of camels approaching. It is Ishmaelite traders on their way to Egypt with goods to sell. Judah, who like his descendants has an eye to making a profit, comes up with the idea of selling Joseph as a slave. After all, if they do that they won't be guilty of his murder, and the chance of their being found out is extremely remote.

So Joseph is sold as a slave. His coat is covered in blood and in due course taken back to Jacob. You could say that the brothers didn’t lie, but their deception was as bad as if they had. Their father is devastated. He had lost Rachel, now he has lost her firstborn son. He refuses to be comforted.

What a catalogue of disasters: favouritism, jealousy, hatred, deceit, and now inconsolable grief. Yet for some folk today, this is the sort of reality that they experience. We can as outside observers see how the characters in that story brought the tragic consequences on themselves. But whether human pain and grief is self-inflicted or not, it can be a terrible burden to bear. We live in a suffering world, just like the family of Jacob.

But that is not the end of the story. In fact this really seems to be the turning point. Joseph is taken to Egypt where he is sold as a slave. That must have been a rude awakening for the favourite of the family. But no doubt it was an experience in which he learnt important lessons. He is deprived of the privileges that he was accustomed to, but one thing that he could not be taken away from him, was his faith in God. He found that his faith sustained him.

As a slave of Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh’s guard, he excelled. His master found he was competent, and that he could be trusted. He was soon in charge of all Potiphar’s household affairs, his master was confident that everything was safe in Joseph’s hands. But a trial was in store for Joseph. The mistress of the house took a fancy to him. She decided she wanted him as a toy-boy. Joseph acted honourably and sensibly. He told her, in case she didn’t understand already that what she was suggesting was out of order. In fact he pointed out a fact that people in their passions often want to forget; adultery is a sin against God.

Joseph refused her advances, and avoided her company. Hell hath no fury like a woman spurned. She made false accusation of rape against him. Joseph found himself in the king’s prison. That experience of injustice, of being the victim of lies would have made many people extremely bitter, but Joseph’s faith overcame that temptation. He earned respect and trust, even in prison.

There came a time when he was able to interpret the dreams of two of his fellow inmates. Both the king’s butler and baker who were in prison had dreams. Joseph interpreted them correctly. The butler, whose release was imminent promised to help Joseph on his release, but promptly forgot to do so, once he was back in his job at the royal palace.

Joseph discovered that people often let you down, that sometimes our trials go on and on and on. But yet he kept faith with God. Two years later the King had a dream. He was standing by the River Nile and seven beautiful plump cows came out of the river and started to graze. Then seven thin emaciated cows came from the river and ate the fat cows.

Pharaoh wondered what the dream meant. He went to sleep and dreamt again, this time seven thin ears of wheat ate up seven fat ears. In the morning he sent for the wise men and magicians, he wanted to know what the dreams meant; but no one could tell him. Then the butler remembered Joseph. Pharaoh sent to the prison and had him brought.

Joseph was able to tell the king the message from God contained in his dreams. There would be seven years of plenty with abundant crops, followed by seven years of drought. God had warned Pharaoh so that his kingdom might prepare in the good years. Joseph, now 30 years old is put in charge of preparation for the famine and made second ruler of Egypt. Preparations begin, storehouses are built, and corn is stored for the future.

Joseph marries and has two sons. His first son he named Manasseh, as is usual in the bible names have significance. Manasseh means forget. He named his son that because he said that God had enabled him to forget all his trouble and his father’s house. Joseph had found that God enabled him to put the past behind him. He was able to be free of the pain and the hurts. So many of us need to let God do that for us too, so that we can live to the full in the present.

Then in due course, the famine begins to bite. Back in the land of Canaan Jacob and his family feel the pinch. But they have heard that there is grain in Egypt. So Jacob’s brothers, all except his brother Benjamin whom Jacob will not allow out of his sight head for Egypt to buy corn. In due course they come before Joseph. For over twenty years they have maintained that deceit in their family regarding what had happened to Joseph.
But deceit is not something that is easy to live with. Their guilty secret still haunted them. Joseph recognises them. They have no idea who he is, but he tests them. He probes them to see how honest they are. He probes then to see their strength of character, their loyalty to each other and to their father.

He discovers that they have developed character and integrity. In the end he reveals the truth to them. At the end of the book of Genesis there is a very profound sentence that he speaks that reveals the reality of God’s grace and mercy to sinful human beings. He says to his brothers ‘you intended to harm me, but God meant it for good.’

You see God sees all that goes on among his children, he sees our wrong motives, he sees our sinful actions. He even sees the terrible lies that people sometimes tell. Yet in his grace and mercy he takes all these things and makes them work out for good.

We have come to our last study in the Old Testament for a while. Some Christians think the Old Testament unnecessary I remember thinking it myself when I first became a Christian. I told my minister that I had got a New Testament and didn’t need the Old Testament. But the Old Testament is the scripture of the early church. It shows us the dealings of God the Father with his people of old. But he is the same God who has revealed himself to us in Jesus. The same God who was with Joseph can be with each one of us by the help of the Holy Spirit.

The same God, who works for good with all who love him, continues to work out his purposes in the world, and bring his blessings to others through his people. May he continue to bring the message of peace and reconciliation through his son to the world here today through his people at Clarence Road.

Amen.

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