JOSEPH: DOES GOD REALLY CARE IF I SUFFER

           (Genesis 37:25-35)

…We live in a hurting world where man is not his “brother’s keeper.”  Men and women’s INDIFFERENCE to those suffering, grieving, and hurting is chilling.  Unfortunately, this indifference does not stop outside the church!

                …A number of years ago, a woman was attacked and killed in New York City while 30 people heard her

                cries and watched the tragedy unfold and did nothing!

                …In the Midwest, a woman had a baby on the sidewalk of a poor area while a dozen people watched from

                inside a cozy corner tavern and did not bring her in.  They did nothing to help her.

…This morning we will see the cruelty of Joseph’s brothers, who were indifferent to the cries of their brother.  This account is rich in comfort for us, who like Joseph, may have suffered much injustice and indifference.  And more, that we too, like Joseph, will learn to keep our eyes on the Lord at such times, for He hears our cries, and will rescue us in His perfect time.

THREE EPISODES OF INDIFFERENCE REMINDING US OF MAN’S HEARTLESS CRUELTY TO HIS FELLOW MAN. Yet, God’s providence overrules evil!!

I.      Joseph’s Brothers Refused To Hear His Cries From The Pit. (v.24a)             

                …Their indifference here is shocking.

                A.            Nothing is said in this chapter of Joseph’s cry and complaint.  So, we must put his despairing

                                begging cries into the white space between verses 24 and 25. 

                                1.             We can do this because in the midst of a scene 22 years later, out of the cemetery

                                                of their minds, the brothers remembered this moment and confessed.  (42:21)

                                2.             They remembered him begging for his life.  It would have taken only fractions of a

                                                second for their ears to hear his cries…but it took 22 years for their hearts to hear.

                B.             While Joseph was in the pit, begging for his life, they sat down and had lunch.  (v. 25a)

                                …this is one of the most hardhearted stories in the Bible. 

                                …As they ate, some believe that they taunted him…”what do your dreams say now?”

                                …One of the worse things about being in TROUBLE as Joseph was, is to find that no one cares…

                                  Lose your money, position, job, reputation, and appearance and immediately people will pass by…

                                …There are times when God’s will for us leads us through deep sorrow…you are not forgotten!

II.     Joseph’s Brothers Callously Sold Him Into Slavery.  (vv 25b-28)

                …Their desire to get rid of him is appalling.

                A.            As they were eating their meal, they saw a caravan of Arabs who were the “sailors of the

                                desert,” passing by.  (v. 25)

                                …God’s wonderful hand of providence was going to overrule their desire to kill him!!!!

                B.             Judah makes one of the most despicable speeches in the Bible.  (vv 26-27)

                                …”What will we gain if we kill our brother?  Come, let’s sell him for money…after all he is our…”

                C.             So they sold him for silver, and watched him shackled to the long line of other slaves and

                                disappear over the horizon.   “With friends (brothers) like these who needs enemies?”

III.    Joseph’s Brothers Let Their Father Nearly Die From Grief Rather Than Tell

        Him The Truth About Joseph’s Whereabouts.  (vv.29-35)

                …They were coldly indifferent to their father broken heart.

                A.            The oldest son, Reuben, had been away and was planning on rescuing his brother from the pit. 

                                …His plan is foiled.   What Joseph needed was an upfront ally.  He needed someone to stand

                                beside him and fight off the brothers.  Not a secret plan.  We need the same…  (vv 29-30)

                B.             All the brothers plot to deceive their dad and send him the bloodied coat.  The “deceiver is

                                deceived.”   The fruit does not fall far from the tree.  Not a overt lie, but still sin. (vv31-33)

                C.             Only Jacob, his father, is found to really grieve for him.  (vv 34-35)    The brothers did not

                                grieve for him, nor the Ishmaelites, nor the world.  Only his father!   Our heavenly Father cares

                                for us in a far deeper way than any human father could:   He is never indifferent to us. 

                                1.             He indeed cares for us, even when others don’t.  (Matthew 6:26,28,30) (1 Peter 5:7)

                                2.             He comforts us in sorrow, even when others are cruel and mocking us.  (Psalm 23:4)

                                3.             He also preserves us and reaches out to save us in His own time. 

LESSONS FOR OUR LIVES: