Scripture: Genesis 39:1-6, “A Tale of Two Brothers”
INTRODUCTION
We begin our study today with taking up where we left off. Joseph, having dreamed that he would be in a place of leadership, communicated his dreams to his family members. His brothers, driven by rage and jealousy, wanted to kill the teenager, but rather sold him into slavery. We now come to Genesis chapter 38. Genesis 38 and 39 are tales of two brothers: Judah and Joseph.
I. JUDAH WAS A MAN MOTIVATED BY SELFISH AMBITION.
We don’t know much about Judah up to this point. He is the son of Leah. He was also against the idea of killing Joseph at the time of the hijacking of Joseph. Genesis 37:26 And Judah said to his brothers, "What profit is it for us to kill our brother and cover up his blood? 27 "Come and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him; for he is our brother, our own flesh." And his brothers listened to him.
Judah commits immorality with a Canaanite woman. This was against God’s plan, as God’s people are to be careful who they marry. Although Judah would produce the line of David, and the line of Jesus, John Calvin states concerning this chapter, It’s glorious nobility is not here celebrated, but the greatest disgrace of the family is exposed. What is here related,… ought to coming the minds of the sons of Judah, with shame. Shua, and has three sons: Er, Onan, and Shelah. Each of them are evil, as we see in verse seven: Genesis 38:7 reads: But Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the LORD, and the LORD killed him. That’s something awesome about God’s ways. He never slights sin. He has judged it in the past; and He most certainly will judge it in the future. That’s what makes Jesus’ death so valuable to you and me.
You may be wondering about this strange arrangement in the Scriptures about one marrying his brother’s wife. It is called Levirite marriage, and was a provision for widows in the Old Testament. Deuteronomy 25:5-6 tell us: If brothers dwell together, and one of them dies and has no son, the widow of the dead man shall not be married to a stranger outside the family; her husband's brother shall go in to her, take her as his wife, and perform the duty of a husband's brother to her. 6 "And it shall be that the firstborn son which she bears will succeed to the name of his dead brother, that his name may not be blotted out of Israel.
Because Onan refused to obey God and wasted his seed on the ground, God judge him with death, as well.
Then Judah, being controlled by his sexual impulses, seeks out an outlet in this mysterious woman by the city gates. Although he does not know it, the woman is Tamar, his daughter-in-law. She conceives and gives birth to twins. During the rendezvous, Tamar steals some of Judah’s personal possessions, so as to identify the man she consummated with. When the elders in the city were ready to judge Tamar, Judah was found out. Genesis 38:26: So Judah acknowledged (his possessions) and said, "She has been more righteous than I, because I did not give her to Shelah my son." And he never knew her again.
Although God did not encourage the meandering of Judah, the Lord nevertheless used it to fulfill His purposes. We are told that it is through the line of Judah that David was born, and eventually Jesus Christ. Since Judah initially married a Canaanite woman. His offspring with Shua would not be the line of David, and thus Christ. But Tamar, on the other hand, is considered righteous. Her twins, Perez and Zerah, would carry the line of Christ.
II. JOSEPH WAS A MAN MOTIVATED BY LOVE FOR GOD AND OBEDIENCE TO HIS WAYS.
The story of Joseph though is in stark contrast. Unlike Judah, Joseph’s main objective in life was to live obediently, come what may. To outside eyes, Joseph’s life thus far would appear God-cursed! Disdained by his father, hated by his brothers, beaten and thrown into a pit, eventually sold into slavery. But what happens? From the very
beginning, God turns the tide. Genesis 39:1 Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt; and Potiphar, an Egyptian officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the bodyguard, bought him from the Ishmaelites, who had taken him down there. 2 And the LORD was with Joseph, so he became a successful man. And he was in the house of his master, the Egyptian. 3 Now his master saw that the LORD was with him and how the LORD caused all that he did to prosper in his hand.
Within these short verses, no less than four times do we see it mentioned that God blesses Joseph, or blesses Potiphar on account of Joseph. And in this instance, we see that Joseph’s prosperity was because of God’s blessing.
There are some in Christian circles who will tend to teach that prosperity and blessing go hand in hand. That unless you are serving God, you will not be blessed; and if you’re not rich, healthy or whatever, you are out of God’s will. Often times called the “Health and Wealth Gospel.” But if you look into Joseph’s life, you’ll see that his outward circumstances up to the time he moved in with Potiphar, tell a different story. Sometimes we wonder if God notices our hardships. The answer is, yes He does.
What’s even more interesting is the testimony that Joseph’s life provided Potiphar. Notice verse three: Now his master saw that the LORD was with him and how the LORD caused all that he did to prosper in his hand. Old Testament scholar John Sailhamer writes, “Such a thematic introduction alerts the reader to the underlying lessons intended throughout the narrative. This is not a story of the success of Joseph, but rather of God’s faithfulness to his promises.”
|
