Joseph
· Dreamed a dream
· Betrayed by those closet to him
· Sold into slavery
o Ishmaelites were the ones that saved, I mean bought him
§ Ishmael was the “mistake” of Abraham
§ God can turn out mistakes into a blessing
Entire nation was brought into Egypt and lived there for 400 years
There was no hint of bondage or cruelty at first
· Genesis 50:13 For his sons carried him into the land of Canaan, and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, which Abraham bought with the field for a possession of a buryingplace of Ephron the Hittite, before Mamre. KJV
· It seemed that as long as Joseph was alive there was a “staying of the hand of the enemy”
· Similar to the story of the 3 Hebrew children in Daniel, Daniel did not seem to be in the picture at the time King Nebuchadnezzar threw them into the furnace, Chapter 2 closes with their promotion because of Daniel and Chapter three, which has no mention of Daniel at all, opens with a trap set to kill them! Daniel comes back “on scene” in Chapter 4 to declare King Nebuchadnezzar will lose his kingdom and go mad for a period of seven years. Chapter 4 closes with his sanity returned and him giving praise to God – Chapter 05 opens with him calling on Daniel again, after he had come to his senses and after a period of time somehow again forgetting God.
Genesis 50:24 - Exodus 1:1
24 And Joseph said unto his brethren, I die: and God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land unto the land which he sware to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.
25 And Joseph took an oath of the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry up my bones from hence.
26 So Joseph died, being an hundred and ten years old: and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt. KJV
· He was relying on a promise that was made to his grandfather, there was a time when generations knew, remembered and counted on the Promises of God!
Bondage Begins
· Exodus 1:6 And Joseph died, and all his brethren, and all that generation. 7 And the children of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and waxed exceeding mighty; and the land was filled with them. 8 Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph. 9 And he said unto his people, Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we: 10 Come on, let us deal wisely with them; lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there falleth out any war, they join also unto our enemies, and fight against us, and so get them up out of the land. 11 Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh treasure cities, Pithom and Raamses. 12 But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they were grieved because of the children of Israel. 13 And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigour: 14 And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in morter, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field: all their service, wherein they made them serve, was with rigour KJV
Odd Place To Find Hope
· In The Old Testament hope came from a full coffin – in the New Testament hope came from an empty tomb.
· The cemetery can become a place of hope – just depends on what window you are looking in from.
Joseph KNEW God would come for his people!
· His faith said this even when things in Egypt were still good . . .
· His faith in this outlived him hundreds of years and was burned into his people’s hearts.
· Somebody knew where to find that coffin. Stories had been told. Faith had been stirred. A man who had been dead for centuries would not be left behind when Israel was delivered from Egypt!
Israel was stronger than it’s enemies but remained in bondage to them
· Their hearts were not right before the Lord.
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