Good morning! Welcome to the 3^rd Sunday of Advent. Maybe you’ve heard of the “Tale of Two Cities”? Wonderful book! Well, today we examine the tale of the two Josephs! An even better story – because it’s true! And this story tells us much about God, about ourselves, and about the struggles we face through the changes of our lives.

 

 

The name “Joseph” means, “the Lord increases” or “the Lord blesses, enlarges, fills my emptiness”.  OT Joseph was the great-grandson of Abraham. His father was Jacob. Joseph grew up in a messed up home. His father had 12 sons and one daughter through 4 women and they all lived together in a jealous chaotic mess. But that’s another story.

 

Joseph was the first born of Jacob’s favorite wife, actually the only wife he really ever wanted, but as I said, that’s another story. Consequently, Joseph was his father’s favorite and the other 10 half-brothers resented it!

 

When Joseph was a teenager, he began having dreams. Strange dreams about his brothers bowing down to him, even about his father and mother bowing down to him. When he told his family, they scorned him. Finally one day when Joseph was sent out with a message from dad to the older boys, who were camped out tending the flocks, they snapped. 

 

They stripped him of the special robe his father had given him and sold him as a slave to a caravan of traders on their way to Egypt. 

 

Imagine for a moment that an angel appeared to Joseph and interpreted his dream. “Hey, little Joe! God has a special job for you. He’s going to use you in a marvelous way. He’s going to use you to save your whole family! Because of you, your family is going to become a mighty nation. The Savior of the whole world will come from your family, and you are going to play a key role in making this possible. So no matter what happens, remember, the LORD will be with you!”

How would you respond to a message like that? OK, why not! Sounds good to me!

 

Let’s fast forward 1800 years to the message the angel brought to the NT Joseph… “Hey Joe, son of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” Mt 1:20-21

How would you respond to the angel’s message? Uh, OK, I guess so, I’ll do my best.  

 

Both of these stories connect back to the promise God made to Abraham. “I’m going to bless you, I’m going to make you a blessing, and through you all the world will be blessed.” 

How would you respond to God’s promise to bless you and make you a blessing to the whole world? Sure, I guess so, sounds ok to me! How’s all this going to take place?

 

Are you sure you want to know? Well, let’s go back to OT Joseph. Your brothers are going to strip you of your robe, throw you in a cistern, and sell you as a slave to Egypt. As far as your father knows you’ll be dead, you’re inheritance will be gone. In Egypt you will be falsely accused and thrown in prison for 10 years – but don’t worry! “The Lord will be with you.”

 

How about NT Joseph? What will he face on his “blessed to be blessing” road? By the way, Joseph, scandal is going to rock your world. Your reputation will be trashed. People will believe Mary’s pregnancy is your fault. Some will scorn you because you lowered yourself to shelter this adulterous woman. You will be misunderstood and falsely accused – but don’t worry! The Lord will be with you.

 

 

 

I wonder if the two Josephs, living 1800 years apart, wondered “God, are you sure you know what you’re doing? Are you really going to be with me? And if you are, why will it be so hard?

 

I’ve wondered that as I’ve make my way through the changes and the challenges of my life. Are you really here, Lord?

 

Was the Lord with OT Joseph in that cistern? In those shackles on the way to Egypt, his heart broken by the rejection of his brothers, grieving for his father and everything he knew for sure? Was the Lord with him in that Egyptian prison, falsely accused, not knowing if he would live or die? How do we know for sure if the Lord is really with us?

 

 Was the Lord with NT Joseph as he listened to Mary cry as she gave birth in the stable? As he did his best to protect her and the newborn as they fled through the desert night on their way to Egypt? As they tried to find a place to live once they got there? As he searched for a job in a foreign land? As they returned to Nazareth and attempted to rebuild their business, relationships, and reputations? Was the Lord there? How do we know?

 

Because the Lord brought to completion what he had promised. OT Joseph didn’t know why God allowed him to suffer all that he did until the very end. NT Joseph knew God was up to something but he had no idea what the journey ahead might hold for him. Yet God’s plan for both of them was accomplished even though Satan did his best to prevent it.

 

The journey on the way to the fulfillment of God’s plan to bless you and make you a blessing will most assuredly pass through many difficult places – but God will accomplish that which he has purposed if we will obey and follow him.

 

It was 25 years after his brothers sold him into slavery that OT Joseph realized the fulfillment of God’s purpose through him. A famine forced people from around the Mediterranean basin to travel to Egypt to buy the wheat that Joseph had stored up for just such a time.

 

What a shock it must have been to find his brothers standing before his throne asking to buy grain. You can find the story of this amazing meeting in chapters 40-45 of Genesis. The key, however, is found in Joseph’s amazing discovery of God’s purpose in his life.

 

When his brothers find out its Joseph on the throne they are terrified. But whatever revenge Joseph may have held in his heart, it’s wiped out in the realization that a God thing is happening here.

 

Joseph says to his terrified brothers. “Come near to me, I am you brother, Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt. And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because 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… So it was not you who sent me here, but God.” Gen 45:4-8

 

There are many more lessons that could be pulled out of these two stories. How OT Joseph illustrates what Jesus did for us in the giving of his life for our salvation. How NT Joseph empties himself by giving up his rights and privileges, his very life to provide that fatherly role of protector provider to prepare the way for the coming of the Savior.

 

But here’s the lesson I want you to take home today. God has called you, just as he called the two Josephs to play a part in the salvation of the world. He has blessed you to be a blessing. You may or may not see the fulfillment of the blessing he intends to bring through you. One Joseph did, one Joseph didn’t. What matters is that we are faithful to the call we’ve received.

 

Your journey to that blessing almost certainly will take you through difficult places. You will find your own strength, wisdom, and faith insufficient to see you through. But if you will seek to obey and follow that particular call the Lord has given you, you will not be alone. No matter how deep the struggle, how overwhelming the obstacles, the Lord will be with you.

 

I don’t think either Joseph would have volunteered for the job if they had known ahead of time what would be involved. And I’m sure neither one would have changed anything once the journey was over and they were able to look back and see what God had done.

 

May the same be true for you in the unique call God has placed on your life whether its loving your spouse, raising your kids, or finding your way through the changes and challenges of life.

 

Whatever your battle today, these Josephs would understand. So did the Apostle Paul. I want to close with a few words of encouragement from Rom 8…

We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who are called according to his purpose Rom 8:28   Not all things are good, but God is with us. He is on our side and will never abandon us. He is at work redeeming and transforming every circumstance, no matter how evil or unfair, so that his sovereign will is ultimately accomplished.Trust him.

Rom 8:31 What, then, shall we say in response to this? (meaning the troubles of our lives) If God is for us, who can be against us? Rom 8:31 God refuses to allow sin - either my own or the sin of others, to have the final authority in my life. Frustration, yes – futility, no! Praise him!

 

The Lord was with Joseph and Joseph, not because of any special gift within them, but because he chooses ordinary people to bring to completion his extraordinary work of redemption and salvation.

 

On their journey of faith, they both faced extraordinary challenges, challenges for which they had no resources within themselves. But the Lord was with them, bringing to completion the good work that he had already set in place from eternity. 

 

And you and I are just as much a part of God’s plan as they were. We are not only recipients of his love and grace in Jesus; we’ve been called to prepare the way for the coming of the Savior to others. Would you pray with me?