Everything is Against Me - Pastor Tom Loghry
When trouble arises in Jacobs life, he is led to despair. As humans, we often find ourselves in similar situations, but God promises that though we face trouble, he has already overcome.
Transcript:
Good morning. So Pharaoh said to Joseph, I hereby put you in charge of the whole land of Egypt. Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his finger and put it on Joseph's finger. He dressed him in robes of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck. He had him ride in a chariot as his second in command, and people shouted before him, Make way!
Thus he put him in charge of the whole land of Egypt. Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, I am Pharaoh, but without your word, no one will lift a hand or foot in all of Egypt.
Sometimes things just go your way. I had a moment like that on Monday. I arrived early at James's school for pick up, and so I figured I'd just go down the street and wait at a park and do some studying until I needed to go get him. After a bit of time, things got interesting. I heard sounds of yelling in the distance, and I just kind of figured it was someone out in their yard, you know, enjoying some horseplay or something.
I thought that until a police officer showed up and dashed into the woods with a man I presume called the police. I had a few minutes before I needed to leave and so I figured I'd just wait. I was a bit curious about what was going on. Before I knew it, another policeman pulled up and, and parked right behind my car.
And other police officers besides showed up on the scene. It suddenly dawned on me that I wasn't going to be pulling out to pick up James anytime soon. I figured I should begin walking the mile to pick him up. So I got out of my car, approached the street. But as soon as I stepped up onto the sidewalk, I heard a friendly holler across the street.
My grandma just so happened to be at the intersection and was offering me a ride. So I was very elated, you know, praising God, because he provides when we least expect it. But sometimes things don't seem to go our way. Last Christmas was very hard on me. I was sick with some sort of cold. You all will probably remember that.
That's why you gave me cough drops. I was sick with this terrible cold, and then my grandfather passed away. I was an emotional wreck, but I was also a physical wreck. I was getting sicker and sicker, as sick as I'd ever been. And I was later diagnosed with some form of bronchitis and had to get antibiotics and an inhaler.
It was a difficult season. It felt like nothing was going my way. It can feel like God is absent in those times. The words of Psalm 22, the words of Christ come to our lips. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me. Has he? Has he forsaken us in those times? Or is it that our eyes cannot see what he sees? As we continue Joseph's story this morning, I want you to put yourself, not in Joseph's shoes, but in the shoes of his father and brothers.
In your imagination, limit yourself to what they see, to what they know at this moment in the story. But before we get to them, we orient ourselves by getting a fuller picture of Joseph's new status as second in command of Egypt. And we're picking up in Genesis 41, verse 41. Nick read those verses for us.
And in these verses, we learn how Joseph has been raised to this position of great authority, second in command of Egypt. And he has all the symbols of authority given to him. He is given Pharaoh's signet ring, so that basically Joseph can sign off. They would make a mark with this ring. He can sign off on whatever needs to be done, and he has the authority of Pharaoh standing behind him.
He is dressed in new clothing, robes of fine linen. He has a gold chain put around his neck, signifying that he is a very important person. He's given a chariot. Not everyone had chariots back in that day. A chariot was basically a limo, the limo of its time. And so, Joseph is now riding in style, and there's men, servants, going before him saying, make way.
He was basically given secret service officers.
Altogether, he is given such authority that Pharaoh says, without your word, no one will lift hand or foot in all of Egypt. Now, in addition to these symbols of authority that Joseph is given, being raised to this position, which is just astounding, from being a slave, being a prisoner, and now he's in second command.
He also receives a new name. And begins a new life. Continuing on in verse 45. It says, Pharaoh gave Joseph the name Zaphenath-Paneah. And gave him Asenath, daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, to be his wife. And Joseph went throughout the land of Egypt. Joseph was thirty years old when he entered the service of Pharaoh, king of Egypt.
And Joseph went out from Pharaoh's presence and traveled throughout Egypt. Now, this name that Joseph is given, commentators are not exactly sure what it means. One suggestion is that the name means, the one who knows. Which would make sense since he, he is known for his ability to interpret dreams.
He's known for his wisdom. In any case, he's beginning a new life. And, he gets himself a wife. Who is the daughter of Potiphera, who is a priest of On, so he marries into a very important priestly caste within Egypt. He's married into a very influential family. And, he's still pretty much a young man.
He's 30 years old. But think about everything that he's experienced. Remember, he was sold off into slavery at the age of 17. Imagine all the things that he experienced over those 13 years. Being a slave. Being in prison. And now he's been raised to this position. And so, now that he's got this start in life, he begins to get to work.
Continuing on in verse 47. It says, During the seven years of abundance, the land produced plentifully. Joseph collected all the food produced in those seven years of abundance in Egypt and stored it in the cities. In each city he put the food grown in the fields surrounding it. Joseph stored up huge quantities of grain like the sand of the sea.
It was so much that he stopped keeping records because it was beyond measure. So, if, you'll recall, the reason why Joseph has been put into this position, the reason why he is collecting this grain is because he interpreted Pharaoh's dream in which Pharaoh was warned by God that there would be seven years of great abundance, followed by seven years of famine.
So during the seven years of abundance, there's this need to store up food so that Egypt would have enough for when those years of famine came. And so that's what Joseph is doing. He has a plan. He goes to each city and from the surrounding areas, they collect the food from the surrounding area into that city.
And it was so much that grain was like sand in Egypt. So, the land of Egypt is experiencing fruit, agricultural fruitfulness. But Joseph is also enjoying fruitfulness in other ways in his life. Continuing on in verse 50, it says, Before the years of famine came, two sons were born to Joseph by Asenath, daughter of Potiphera, priest of On.
Joseph named his firstborn Manasseh and said, It is because God has made me forget all my trouble in all my father's household. The second son he named Ephraim and said, It is because God has made me fruitful.
It's so interesting, we kind of get a little bit of insight here into, kind of, Joseph's emotions, given everything that has transpired. You'll recall that when he was in prison and he was requesting that the cupbearer would plead his case with Pharaoh, he was telling him about how much injustice he suffered in his life.
And now that he's in this much different place where now he has a family, he's being blessed with children, he's just so grateful. He's giving praise to God. And he's not even anticipating, at this point, any possibility of being reconciled to his family. You know, he says, in naming his son Manasseh, he says, Because God's made me forget all my trouble and all my father's household.
He's like, good enough, I'm glad to just forget them. They sold me into slavery. He's just grateful for how far God has brought him thus far. But there is going to be more to come here. Now, following the seven years of abundance, seven years of famine likewise arrive. Continuing on in verse 53. It says, The seven years of abundance in Egypt came to an end.
And the seven years of famine began, just as Joseph had said. There was famine in all the other lands, but in the whole land of Egypt there was food. When all Egypt began to feel the famine, the people cried to Pharaoh for food. Then Pharaoh told all the Egyptians, go to Joseph and do what he tells you.
When the famine had spread over the whole country, Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold grain to the Egyptians, for the famine was severe throughout Egypt. And all the world came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph, because the famine was severe everywhere. So this famine that the people are suffering under is very significant.
It's not only striking Egypt. It's striking all the surrounding lands. And we can only imagine how many people would have died had not Pharaoh been warned to save up food during those seven years of abundance. Now the manner in which Joseph went about collecting that food is they basically put a 20 percent tax on all the produce.
They gathered in 20 percent of the produce into these storehouses. And then out of that abundance, they actually sold it back to the people. So, Joseph has been a very great blessing to Pharaoh in everything that's transpired here, because Pharaoh is becoming wealthy, and in fact, as they bring in other people from other countries seeking food, Egypt is getting wealthy as they're able to be basically a breadbasket for the area in this great time of need.
Now, it's at this point, in the midst of this famine, Joseph's father and Joseph's brothers are brought back into the story. So again, I want you to put yourselves in their shoes as things unfold. Continuing on in chapter 42, verse 1. It says, When Jacob learned that there was grain in Egypt, he said to his sons, Why do you just keep looking at each other?
He continued, I have heard that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us so that we may live and not die. Then ten of Joseph's brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt. But Jacob did not send Benjamin, Joseph's brother, with the others because he was afraid that harm might come to him.
So Israel's sons were among those who went to buy grain, for there was famine in the land of Canaan also. So, Canaan is among these lands in which the famine is bad. The favorite, my favorite comment here is just, Jacob speaking to his sons saying, Why do you keep just looking at each other? He's kind of, he's like, Get doing something.
And so he sends his, his ten sons, but no Benjamin because, remember Joseph and Benjamin were born to Rachel. And Rachel was, Joseph's favorite wife. And, Joseph was his favorite son, and he already lost Joseph. And now he is fearful of losing Benjamin in some way. And so he says, the ten of you can handle this, I'm just gonna send you.
And, as they go to Egypt, they encounter their long lost brother, Joseph. Continuing on in verse six. It says, Now Joseph was the governor of the land, the person who sold grain to all its people. So when Joseph's brothers arrived, they bowed down to him with their faces to the ground. As soon as Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he pretended to be a stranger and spoke harshly to them.
Where do you come from? he asked. From the land of Canaan, they replied, to buy food. Now, just kind of take a pause here. Just It's, notice how everything is coming together here. It's, it's so crazy that they are encountering Joseph in these circumstances. And it's so crazy that they don't even notice any sort of striking resemblance in this man to their brother.
For the, you know, first point, it's been 13 years. He probably looks a little bit different. But he certainly looks different, given that he's in all this royal garb, he's in this position of authority. They assumed, at best, he was still a slave. At worst, he was dead. So, but Joseph recognizes them. He knows exactly who they are.
And he takes notice of the situation here and just how profoundly it fulfills what God had revealed to him. Continuing on in verse eight says, although Joseph recognized his brothers, they did not recognize him. Then he remembered his dreams about them and said to them, you are spies. You've come to see where our land is unprotected.
No, my lord, they answered. Your servants have come to buy food. We are all sons of one man. Your servants are honest men, not spies. No, he said to them, you have come to see where our land is unprotected. But they replied, your servants were twelve brothers, the son of one man who lives in the land of Canaan.
The youngest is now with our father, and one is no more.
So Joseph recognizes his brothers, and he recognizes the situation in which they are bowing down before him, is fulfilling the dream that he had, where he dreamed that before his sheaf of wheat, all his brother's sheaves of wheat would bow down. He's like, wow, this is getting crazy. He was grateful for this, being raised up to this position of authority, but now, to see all this coming together, one can only imagine everything that's going through his mind.
Rather than just coming right out and saying, hey, I'm your brother, though, he does this interesting move of accusing his brothers of being spies. Now you might wonder, why is he doing this? Well, kind of reading between the lines here, it seems as though he's trying to set up a test. He's trying to discern the sorts of men that his brothers are now 13 years later.
So, continuing on in verse 14. He continues to insist, saying, It is just as I told you, you are spies. And this is how you will be tested. As surely as Pharaoh lives, you will not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here. Send one of your number to get your brother. The rest of you will be kept in prison so that your words may be tested to see if you are telling the truth.
If you are not, then surely as Pharaoh lives, you are spies. So, the test that Joseph is setting up here, is he wants to confirm that his younger brother is still alive. And besides just confirming that he's alive, he probably also just genuinely wants to see his brother Benjamin. And, he's interested to see how his brothers are going to respond under duress.
He initially says that, you know, the rest of you, most of you can stay in prison. Nine of you can stay in prison here and send one back to fetch this other brother. And, continuing on in verse 17, it says that he kept all of them in custody for three days. On the third day, Joseph said to them, Do this and you will live, for I fear God.
Now, if you are honest men, let one of your brothers stay here in prison, while the rest of you go and take grain back for your starving households. But you must bring your youngest brother to me, so that your words may be verified, and that you may not die. This they proceeded to do. So the brothers agree on this arrangement that one of them is going to stay behind in prison, the rest of them are going to go back, in theory, to bring back Benjamin.
Now, we can kind of see the test that Joseph is putting them to here, in that, they're going to leave one brother behind, and so there's this question of, are they going to just let him rot away in prison, or are they going to come back to get him? It's an interesting dilemma that they're kind of placed in, and they begin to feel the weight of that dilemma, because they know that their father does not want Benjamin to go to Egypt, and so in verse 21, they say 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. That's why this distress has come on us. Reuben replied, didn't I tell you not to sin against the boy? But you wouldn't listen! Now we must give an accounting for his blood.
They did not realize that Joseph could understand them since he was using an interpreter. He turned away from them and began to weep, but then came back and spoke to them again. He had Simeon taken from them and bound before their eyes. So the brothers interpretation of all this misfortune that they're experiencing is that God is cursing us because of our sinfulness.
God is cursing us because of the way in which we betrayed our brother, selling him into slavery. Now, as Joseph hears them, it's so interesting that he went to such lengths to kind of cover his identity that he used an interpreter, even when he didn't need to use an interpreter. When Joseph hears what they're saying, it moves his heart.
And he began, it moves his heart to hear their regret. And so he begins weeping. But he hides his tears, so they're not like, why is this guy crying? He doesn't want to give it away at this, at this point. So they do have one of their brothers remain behind, and that brother is Simeon. And so, with Simeon imprisoned, the rest of them make their way back, bringing grain that is given to them, and, as they've purchased it.
Now in verse 25, we see how that transaction goes down. It says, Joseph gave orders to fill their bags with grain, to put each man's silver back in his sack, and to give them provisions for their journey. After this was done for them, they loaded their grain on their donkeys and left. At the place where they stopped for the night, one of them opened his sack to get feed for his donkey, and he saw his silver in the mouth of his sack.
My silver has been returned, he said to his brothers. Here it is in my sack. Their hearts sank, and they turned to each other trembling and said, What is this that God has done to us? So, their line here is that, again, Joseph wasn't giving them grain out of charity. They purchased this grain with their own silver, but Joseph put their silver back in the sack.
And one of them discovers it and is like, Again, kind of, oh man, we're under a curse here. What is God, what is God doing to us? Now we kind of wonder, what is Joseph doing here? Again, I think he's, he's putting them to a test. He's putting them to a test to see, are they honest? Are they going to bring this silver back, or are they just going to keep it to themselves?
Continuing on in verse 29, it says when they came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan, they told him all that had happened to them. They said, the man who is lord over the land spoke harshly to us and treated us as though we were spying on the land. But we said to him, we are honest men.
We are not spies. We are twelve brothers, sons of one, sons of one father. One is no more, and the youngest is now with our father in Canaan. And then, in verses 33 through 35, Um, they continue to summarize more of what transpired. But in verse 35, they come to discover that all of them have silver in their sacks of grain.
And when they, it says, when they and their father saw the money pouches, they were all frightened. And this leads Jacob to his own response of despair at everything that's transpired. In verse 36 it says, their father Jacob said to them, you have deprived me of my children. Joseph is no more and Simeon is no more, and now you want to take Benjamin. Everything is against me. Then Reuben said to his father, you may put both my sons to death if I do not bring him back to you. Entrust him to my care, and I will bring him back. But Jacob said, My son will not go down there with you. His brother is dead, and he is the only one left.
If harm comes to him on the journey you are taking, you will bring my gray head down to the grave in sorrow.
Jacob has suffered some real loss in the life of his family. Thirteen years prior, he had lost Joseph, and he assumed that he was dead because the brothers made it look like Joseph had been killed by a wild animal. Now, his other son, Simeon, is imprisoned in Egypt. And it seems Jacob figures he's as good as dead.
And this leads him to exclaim, in verse 36, Everything is against me. Everything is against me. A very human moment, I think a lot of us can relate to, where you just, misfortune stacks upon itself, and eventually we just are put in this place of just saying, Everything feels like it's against me. And yet, we know, we understand that what Jacob cannot see is that God is bringing all things together so that his family might be restored to him.
Now, So, Reuben is really desiring to get back, to get Simeon back, and he's willing to even offer his own sons, the life of his own sons, in the case that he wouldn't bring Benjamin back alive. But, now, you wouldn't think Jacob would want to lose his grandsons, either. But whatever the case, you know, this is at least Reuben indicating how serious he is in his commitment that I'm gonna bring Benjamin back just as I would seek out, you know, the safety of the lives of my own sons.
It's not enough for Jacob. He's like, I can't take any more grief. If I lose anything else, if I lose anyone else, I'm just gonna go down to the grave as a, as a sorry man. So he, he says no. He rebuffs. He says we're not going to do this. Nonetheless, Jacob's fears could not stop the reality of famine. And so in chapter 43, verse one, it says, now the famine was still severe in the land. So when they had eaten all the grain they had brought from Egypt, their father said to them, go back and buy us a little more food. But Judah said to him, the man warned us solemnly, you'll not see my face again unless your brother is with you. If you'll send our brother along with us, we'll go down and buy food for you.
But if you'll not send him, we will not go down because the man said to us, you'll not see my face again unless your brother is with you. It's just interesting to see here, how Judah really steps up to the front here, kind of in a, as a spokesman. And this is anticipating the role that Judah, the tribe of Judah, is going to play in the life of Israel, as the tribe from which the kings of Israel would come.
This promised line of David. Jacob really wants him to go back to Egypt to get food. But Judah says, hey, the deal is we have to bring Benjamin. There's no getting food unless we bring him with us. So in verse 6, it says Israel, now remember Israel is just an alternative name for Jacob. It's the name that Jacob received from God, means struggling with God.
He says, again, just a very human moment, why did you bring this trouble on me by telling the man you had another brother? And they replied, The man questioned us closely about ourselves and our family. Is your father still living, he asked us. Do you have another brother? We simply answered his questions.
How were we to know he would say, Bring your brother down here. You can kind of empathize with the brothers here. It's like, this is a super random request this guy made of us that we would bring our younger brother. You can't be mad at us that we told him about our family when he was accusing us of being spies.
They couldn't have anticipated this was going to happen. So then Judah again, steps to the front. Verse eight says, then, then Judah said to Israel, his father, send the boy along with me and we'll go at once so that we and you and our children may live and not die. I myself will guarantee his safety. You can hold me personally responsible for him if I do not bring him back to you and set him before you.
I'll bear the blame before you all my life. As it is, we had, if we had not delayed, we could have gone and returned twice. So, Judah steps up as a leader and says, I'm going to take on responsibility. I will bear the blame if Benjamin is not brought back. So between Judah's leadership and also I think the reality of the situation, the need of food, and also the fact that with Judah taking on responsibility, maybe that meant something more.
Because Reuben was the firstborn, but Reuben had already betrayed Jacob by cheating with one of Jacob's wives. And also the fact that he was kind of in charge, and on his watch, Joseph got killed. So between Judah kind of stepping to the fore as this new leader in the situation, Jacob concedes. Verse 11 says, then their father Israel said to them, if it must be, then do this.
Put some of the best products of the land in your bags and take them down to the man as a gift, a little balm and a little honey. Some spices and myrrh, some, some pistachio nuts and almonds. Take double the amount of silver with you, for you must return the silver that was put back into the mouth of your sacks.
Perhaps it was a mistake. Take your brother also and go back to the man at once, and may God Almighty grant you mercy before the man so that he will let your other brother and Benjamin come back with you. As for me, if I'm bereaved, I am bereaved. So Jacob says, Listen, we gotta make sure that this guy's gonna be happy when you show up.
Take gifts, bring enough silver so that you can return the silver that he gave you. That was, or that seemed, by some mistake, ended up in your sacks, enough to buy more grain. And then, he basically just is throwing himself, his family, upon God's mercy. So that, this man in Egypt, this man in second command, would allow Simeon and Benjamin to come back.
And he's kind of just resigned himself to whatever will happen. He's just like, if I'm gonna be bereaved, I'm gonna be bereaved.
Standing in the shoes of Jacob and his sons, not knowing what Joseph knows and what we know, we can imagine that we too might feel like everything is going against us. We can imagine reflecting on our past sins, wondering if God is now cursing us for what we did wrong in our lives. As we look at the story, we know that while everything seems to be going against them, God is actually working out everything for the blessings of Jacob and his family.
Joseph trusted God in his hardships, but his family is struggling with the difficulties they are facing. The reality for both is that God has not abandoned them.
We also will sometimes feel forsaken. Like everything is against us. Unless you are dealing with the direct consequences of something you did wrong, though, you should not imagine that God is punishing you because of your past. God gives us grace in Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 5 verses 17-19a says, Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come.
The old is gone, the new is here. All this is from God who reconciled to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation. That God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people's sins against them. If God was interested in holding our sins against us, He wouldn't have ever sent Jesus in the first place.
God sent his son in order that we might receive mercy from him. Jesus knows what it's like to feel alone. He knows what it's like to feel abandoned, like everything is going against you. You can't feel any more rejected than he did when he was hanging on that cross. His comfort was the truth, the reality, that despite his terrible circumstances, the Father was with him.
He tells his disciples in John 16 this, A time is coming, and in fact has come when you will be scattered, each to your own home. You will leave me all alone, yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me. I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble, but take heart.
I have overcome the world. Jesus knew rejection. He knew trouble. But he has overcome. You and I are not promised a trouble free life. Jesus, in fact, assures us that things will be stacked against us. But He is our encouragement. Jesus is our encouragement because He has overcome. And because Jesus has overcome, so shall we.
Our comfort is this truth. So that in Jesus, even against all odds, we can have peace in Him. Let's pray.
Dear Father,
We can empathize so much with the emotional experiences of Jacob and his sons. Not understanding the trouble that they're suffering. Feeling as though rather than being blessed, they're being cursed. Father, we, we admit that there's times in which we do feel forsaken. As though we call out and you're not listening.
Father, our prayer this morning is that you would strengthen our faith. So that we would have confidence that even in the face of trouble, even when it seems like everything is going against us, that we would know that you are working out all things for our good. For the good of those who love you. That we would trust in your promise of blessing because we are now counted among the people of God.
We are counted among the children of Abraham because we have been saved by Jesus Christ.
Help us to proceed in faith to walk in the peace that you give to those who trust in you. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Hey there, Pastor Tom here. I hope you enjoyed this sermon I offered to Rockland Community Church. Rockland Community Church is located at 212 Rockland Road in North Scituate, Rhode Island, just around the bend from the Scituate Public High School. We invite you to join us in person or virtually this Sunday as we continue our series entitled Israel Arises. It's our joy to welcome you into our community.
Intro/Outro Song
Title: River Meditation
Artist: Jason Shaw
Source:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58
License:(CC BY 3.0 US)