October 15, 2004
Genesis 37 & 39
WHAT AM I DOING IN THE PITS?
Erma Bombeck, the American humorist and writer, once wrote a book entitled: IF LIFE IS A BOWL OF CHERRIES, WHAT AM I DOING IN THE PITS?
This is a question that Joseph could well have asked as he surveyed his life from the age of 17 to approximately 30. His life, while starting off happily enough, soon descended in a series of unexpected disasters.
In Genesis 37, the writer turns his focus from Jacob to Jacob’s family, his sons. There are 12 of them now, comprised of offspring from 4 different women. As we might have predicted, knowing the history of the family, relationships in the home are a seething hotbed of jealousy and competition.
The writer picks up the story when Joseph was 17 years old. We are told that Jacob or Israel loved Joseph more than all his other sons. This in itself is a recipe for disaster. But not only that, Jacob clearly communicated this favoritism by making Joseph a special coat. This is translated in the KJV as a coat of many colors. The Hebrew word that is used is rather ambiguous. The root word actually refers to the extremities – in other words, a robe that extended to the hands and feet. Thus it was a robe of office or authority, not a robe from working in, but a ceremonial robe worn by someone important. These implications were not missed by his brothers. We are told that his brothers hated him so much that they could not speak a peaceable word to him.
So far, the problem has been caused by Jacob. But as we move through the story, we see that Joseph did a number of things to make matters worse. First, when he was out working with his brothers herding the sheep, he brought back a bad report about them. In other words he was a snitch. He told on them. Now, I come from a family of 5 boys. One of the quickest ways to alienate the other brothers was to tell on them. But that is exactly what Joseph did.
Not only that, but Joseph had a dream. In his dream, all the brothers were out harvesting wheat and binding sheaves of the grain, and laying them on the ground. Suddenly, Joseph’s sheaf stood upright and all the other sheaves gathered around and bowed down to it. Joseph seems to have taken great delight in narrating this dream to his brothers. When he did, their hatred grew. Will you actually rule over us? They asked.
Then Joseph had another dream. In this dream, Joseph said, “The sun moon and star and 11 stars were bowing down to me.”
This dream he also told to his father. This was too much even for him. We’re told that he sharply rebuked Joseph. “Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow down to the ground before you?” And so their hatred and jealousy grew.
One day, all the brothers were away herding Jacob’s flocks except Joseph and Benjamin. Jacob summons Joseph and sends him out to check on the brothers and the flocks. Under the circumstances, this was not a wise thing to do. But apparently Jacob was not aware of the intensity of the brothers’ hatred toward Joseph. Nor was Joseph for that matter, because he apparently went willingly enough. In fact, he even went wearing his special ceremonial robe.
Now things get really ugly. The brothers see him coming in the distance. “Here comes that dreamer! Come now, let’s kill him and throw him in one of these pits or cisterns.” Jealousy and hatred had hardened into murder in their hearts. But apparently, not all the brothers are of the same mind. We’re told that Reuben, the oldest, spoke up to rescue him from the others. He suggests that they just throw him into one of the pits and leave him there. He said this with the intent of returning later to rescue him and take him back to his father.
When Joseph arrives, the brothers attack him. The first thing they do is strip him of the hated robe, the badge of his favored status. Then they throw him in a dry cistern. To show how hard and calloused their hearts are, they then sit down to eat their mid-day meal. While they’re eating, they see a caravan of traders passing by on their way to Egypt. Reuben apparently is not with them at this time, but now, Judah, one of the other brothers is also having pangs of conscience of a sort.
“Listen,” he says, “if we just leave Joseph to die, we gain nothing. Plus we have his blood on our hands. But if we sell him to these traders, we make a profit, and we’re still rid of him.”
They approve the plan and within moments the deed is done. The bargain is struck for 20 pieces of silver, Joseph is pulled out of the cistern, and he’s on his way to Egypt, tied to the back of camel.
Later Reuben returns to complete his rescue of Joseph only to find the cistern empty. He is distraught, but because he is implicated along with the others, they sit down to plan the cover-up. They kill a goat, and sprinkle the blood liberally on Joseph’s robe. They then take the coat to Jacob and say, “We found this. Is this Joseph’s robe?”
Of course Jacob recognizes it and is devastated by grief. He is so broken by the loss of his son, that all of his sons and daughters rise up to try and comfort him. Can you imagine the feelings of guilt and hypocrisy and shame they must have felt as they tried to comfort their weeping father, knowing that they were the cause of his sorrow?
Meanwhile, we’re told, Joseph is taken to Egypt and sold to Potiphar, an official in Pharaoh’s court. Well, I don’t know about you, but I think that is quite a pit (both literal and metaphorical) that Joseph has fallen into. From being the favorite son in a wealthy family, he’s thrown into a pit to die. Then he’s dragged out and sold as a slave. Within days he finds himself in Egypt.
The text in these chapters does not give us any real insight into his state of mind or the trauma he experienced. But later in the story, we are given a clue. Later when the brothers are themselves in trouble in Egypt, listen to their words to one another: “Surely we are being punished because of our brother. We saw how distressed he was when he pleaded with us for his life, but we would not listen;” Can you picture it? Apparently it was a scene that had haunted these brothers for over 20 years!
It’s hard to imagine just how traumatized Joseph must have felt. But you’ve probably all heard the old joke: They said to me: “Cheer up. Things could be worse.” So I cheered up, and sure enough, things got worse.
Well that’s kind of what happened to Joseph. First of all, though, things did get better. Joseph worked for Potiphar, and everything he did, God blessed. In fact God blessed him so abundantly that Potiphar soon made him his chief steward, in charge of everything he owned. Trouble was brewing on the horizon, however.
The trouble comes in the form of Potiphar’s wife. She is bored, looking for some excitement in her life. Possible she’s feeling ignored by her husband who is always away at the Pharaoh’s court. In search of diversion, her eyes fall on Joseph, who, we are told, was well-built and handsome. Still in his late teens, he would make a great afternoon’s entertainment. So she boldly and shamelessly propositions him. Joseph, however, refuses. His answer is in fact a classic model for resisting temptation. He begins by saying: “I can’t betray my master’s trust.” But then he cuts to the bottom line: “How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?”
We’re told that this went on day after day, with Potiphar’s wife pursuing Joseph and Joseph refusing. Then one day, when the other men were all out of the house, she becomes more aggressive. She catches hold of his robe and tries to pull him into bed. He leaves his robe in her hand and flees out of the house.
Out of spite and to protect her own reputation, she calls the other men of the house, shows them Joseph’s cloak, and accuses him of attempted rape. She keeps his cloak in her hand and tells the same story to Potiphar when he returns home. In a fury he has Joseph arrested and thrown into prison. Once again, Joseph finds himself in the pits. In fact, later on Joseph refers to the prison as a pit, using the very same Hebrew word that is used of the pit into which he was thrown in chapter 37.
What’s going on? What am I doing in the pits? We can certainly understand why Joseph may have asked that question, can’t we? Maybe you’ve asked that question yourself. You’ve been going along, doing your best, doing what you thought you should be doing. Maybe you’ve even gone out of your way to do the right thing, to serve God or to stand up for his standards. Then suddenly, without warning, life kicks you in the teeth. You’re down in a pit, and it hurts and it’s hard, and above all, it isn’t fair! What am I doing in the pits?
I would like to suggest this morning that that is the wrong question to ask. Or maybe it’s not so much the wrong question, as there is another question we should ask first.
Here it is: WHAT IS GOD DOING IN THE PITS?
When life is tough and we’re down in a pit, instead of asking: What am I doing here? I think it is more helpful to ask: God, what are you doing?
When we turn that question around and we look at Joseph’s life from this perspective, we see 4 different things that God was doing in the pits.
I’ve said before in our tracing the lives of the patriarchs, that the main character in the unfolding story is God. He is carrying out his plan for the salvation of the world, through Abraham and his descendants. At this junction in the story, God faced a particularly interesting set of problems. He had a large extended family that was about to multiply and explode into a nation. As such it faced several critical threats. One was the threat of syncretism and assimilation into the unbelieving nations around them. This tendency to adopt the practices of their neighbors has already been amply demonstrated. The other threat was as they grew larger, they would become a threat to the other nations around. What was to keep them from being wiped out by larger nations, before they were big enough to defend themselves? What God needed was a kind of national womb where the Israelites could develop safely but without being contaminated by heathen customs. God was developing that place in the land of Egypt. Not only that, but there was coming a time of terrible drought on the earth. Where would they be able to survive this threat?
All of this was being considered in God’s plan for his people. Later on, when Joseph thinks back, he has this to say to his brothers in 45:5-7: It was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.
God always works according to his plan, to accomplish his purposes. That’s what God was doing in the pits of Joseph’s life. He was fulfilling his plan to place Joseph in the right place at the right time to accomplish his purpose.
One of the bedrock beliefs of the Christian faith is the belief that God is sovereign. That he is in control. That everything is unfolding according to his purpose. We may not know or understand the details of that purpose now. But someday we will, if not in this life, in heaven.
This may sound like a rather remarkable thing to say in light of what happened to Joseph. But it is an important insight. The degree of our trauma or suffering is always carefully controlled and limited by God. The plans of evil men are not permitted to overflow their boundaries. Joseph’s brothers conspired to murder him. That was what was in their hearts. But God delivered Joseph from their intent, first through Reuben and then through Judah.
When we fall into a pit, keep this in mind. God is with us in the pit. He will not allow anything to happen to us that is outside of his will for us and outside of his ability to sustain us through. God will send a Reuben or a Judah into our lives to soften the blow and to turn aside the evil that others might intend.
Again, this may sound contradictory. But it’s clear in the text. When he was pressed into slavery in Potiphar’s house, God blessed him and blessed Potiphar because of him. Joseph’s promotion in Potiphar’s house came straight from the blessing of God. This blessing continued when Joseph found himself in prison. The end of chapter 39 tells us that God blessed Joseph in prison and the prison keeper put Joseph in charge of the whole prison.
Friends, God can bless us anywhere. Whether it’s in a hard job or in a difficult marriage, or in a hospital bed, or in jail. God can bless us anywhere he puts us. We are so quick to pray: “God, get me out of here.” Why not first pray: “God, bless me while I’m here”?
God had a job for Joseph to do. He was preparing him to be the prime minister of all of Egypt. That is quite a leap for a 17 year old lad whose job experience consisted of herding his father’s sheep. But God gave Joseph valuable job experience, first of all managing a wealthy Egyptian household, and then overseeing a large prison. It was administrative and management experience that would stand him in good stead when his promotion came.
But even more than professional or career development, I think God was concerned about character development. When we first meet Joseph in chapter 37, he has a rather cocky, “look at me” attitude. He seems to relish the idea of being a ruler over his own family. I think he displays some rather unpleasant qualities, especially when he wears his special robe to go looking for his brothers in the field. Take a man with that kind of attitude and then give him unlimited power and what do you get? But after his years in Potiphar’s house and then in jail, all that cockiness and arrogance is gone. He displays the humility and godliness of the true servant-leader that God desired him to be.
So when you find yourself in one of life’s pits, don’t immediately ask. What am I doing here? Ask first of all: What is God doing here? The answer may well fall in one or more of these areas: He may be fulfilling his plan. He will protect you as his child. He may be intending to bless you. He may be preparing you for something he has for you to do.
Then I think we are ready to ask the question: WHAT AM I DOING IN THE PITS?
Only here again, I would reframe the question just a bit. Usually we ask that question in the sense of “Why am I here? I shouldn’t be here. Get me out of here.”
I remember once our family was driving in Alaska, going from our home near Anchorage to White Horse in Yukon Territory in Canada. I was driving and our two small boys were sleeping in the back. We hit a patch of black ice. The car spun out of control and then slid into a snow filled ditch beside the road. After the car came to a stop, we sat there in stunned silence for a minute or so. Then our son Drew, who was about 4 at the time spoke up from the back seat. “Daddy, you drove us in the ditch! Mommy never goes in the ditch when she drives. You should let Mommy drive.”
Sometimes, that’s how we respond to our crises isn’t it? God, you drove me in a ditch. Get me out of here. Either that or let someone else drive for a while. What am I doing in the pits?
But there’s another way to ask that question. Since I’m in the pits, what am I doing here? What should I be doing here? What do you want me to do here?
From Joseph’s example, I would suggest three answers to that question.
This is often the most difficult thing to do when we are in the pit, isn’t it? We’re not really given much of a clue as to what went on in Joseph’s heart and mind as he followed that camel caravan to Egypt, or stood on the auction block as a slave, or heard the prison doors slam behind him. But we know that he came through these experiences with his faith and trust in God intact.
There may be times that our faith wavers and despair threatens to overwhelm us. But the message and challenge of Scripture is always the same. Trust God. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. How often we need those words from Proverbs 3:5. Trust him. He hasn’t left you. He is working.
We know that Joseph prospered in Potiphar’s house and even in prison because God blessed him. But could God have blessed him if he had a bad attitude? If he worked reluctantly, or shirked his responsibilities? If he had slumped about in despair? Joseph worked faithfully. Whatever he found to do, he did it well. The end of chapter 39 says that whatever happened in the prison happened because Joseph did it. This not only won him the favor of his superiors, but also enabled him to learn and grow in his abilities and experience, ready for the promotions the awaited him. Whatever pit you find yourself in, find your task and work at it faithfully.
Self-pity is a great incubator for sin. “Poor me. I’m down in this pit through no fault of my own. Who can blame me if I take my comfort where I can find it? Others have cheated me. Who can blame me for cheating others? God hasn’t been faithful to me by keeping me out of this terrible place, so why should I be faithful to him?” The excuses go on and on.
Joseph’s words are a clear trumpet blast, calling us to fidelity to God’s standards: How can I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?
All sin is first and foremost against God. What ever others have done to us that might seem to justify our actions, all sin is ultimately against God. And it is a wicked thing. We tend to minimize it. But sin is always a slap in the face of God and his holiness.
No pit or set of negative circumstances is an excuse for sin. Whatever else you do and don’t do in the pits, avoid sin.
Well, I hope you’re not in the pits this morning. But if you are, what are you doing there? Take a page from Joseph’s book. Follow his example. Trust God. Practice faithfulness. Avoid sin.