PREACHER: REV. DR. WILLY MUTISO.
TEXT: GENESIS 37 : 12 – 35.
INTRODUCTION:
Have you ever experienced the heartbreak of a shattered dream? Everything was full throttle and then things did not work out as expected. Maybe it was a child that did not turn out as envisioned. Maybe it was a financial setback, or a marriage that did not go as you had dreamed.
When our dreams are shattered, they often leave us devastated, confused, and upset. At times one might think that God has forgotten His promises to us.
I wonder if Joseph felt the events in his life were contrary to his dreams (Gen. 37:5-10). Life can be incredibly unfair at times. Our dreams can be put to the test. Life does not go the way we think it should go. Sin is harsh when it is allowed to reign in hearts and lives. If the dreams you have actually are from God, then God is always in control. He will bring it to pass. At times, God makes our dreams to die and then brings them back to life. Let us learn:
1. Jacob’s demand (37:12-14).
A. His command: go and see if your brothers and the flocks are well.
1. They were in Shechem where Simeon and Levi murdered an entire village to avenge the rape of their sister Dinah (Gen. 34:1-31).
2. Jacob’s sons had proven that they were not trustworthy – their father was worried.
B. His confusion.
.Jacob was not in touch with events in his family (v.4).
.Parents should pay attention to what is happening in the lives of their children.
.You need to know who their friends are (1 Cor. 15:33).
.You need to know how they spend their time and money.
.Children will demand their privacy. But as long as they live with you, their business is your business.
II. Joseph’s devotion (v.13,17).
A. It was immediate – he obeyed, knowing the risk.
. Joseph is a type of Jesus Christ – Christ knew the risk.
. The future is hidden from our knowledge.
B. It was insistent.
. He did not find his brothers in Shechem – he followed them to Dothan.
. Jesus Christ came to seek us (Luke 19:10).
III: The brothers’ depravity (v.18-30).
A. The brothers’ plot (v.18-20).
.They saw him from afar – they hated him.
.They planned to kill him. Sin grows into greater sin.
.They ridiculed him: “This dreamer!”
.He suffered in his father’s house.
.Jesus Christ came to “His own” (John 1:11). They rejected Him.
.Today, get rid of “all the foxes that spoil the vines” (Song 2:15).
B.Reuben’s proposal (v.21-25).
.Reuben vacillates from one position to another (Gen. 49:4).
.He was firstborn. Jacob had, however, crowned Joseph leader.
.He intended to rescue Joseph when the others were not around.
C. Judah’s plan (v.25-28).
.They throw their brother into the pit and then sit down for lunch.
.Joseph cried out, but they turned a deaf ear.
.Joseph later is sold for 20 pieces of silver to the Ishmaelites.
.Jesus Christ was sold for 30 pieces by His brothers.
D.Reuben’s panic (v.29-30).
.Reuben returns to find Joseph sold.
.He is out of fellowship with his father for adultery with Bilhah.
IV: Jacob’s despair (v.31-35).
A.The brothers’ scheme (v.31).
B. The brothers’ severity (v.32).
.The blood-stained coat.
C. Jacob’s sorrow (v.33-35).
.Jacob declares to mourn forever.
D. The brothers’ shame (v.35).
. They comforted their father; no one told him the truth.
. At the end, their father lived in grief everyday.
. They lived in guilt until they faced their brother many years later.
CONCLUSION:
Joseph is gone; sold as a slave. Jacob is heartbroken and inconsolable. The brothers are guilty of terrible sin. But behind it all, God is working both to will and to accomplish His purpose (Rom. 8:28; Psa. 37:23; Job. 23:10).
Are your dreams shattered? Are you going to mourn like Jacob or are you going to cling to the promises of God? Bring your shattered dreams to God. They threw Christ into the pit of death, they buried Him, three days later He rose from the dead. He fulfilled your dreams and mine too. Come to Him today.
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