JACOB’S FAMILY HISTORY

(INTRO) THE STORY OF OUR FAMILY (Me/We)

[1]WELCOME: Good morning everybody! If you’re new with us on campus or just now joining us online, my name is Nic Cook. Thank you so much for choosing to set aside this time to come and hear from God, experience his presence, and be with his people. We’re kicking off a new short teaching SERIES: called PEAKS AND VALLEYS. We’re going to be going through the life of Joseph as it’s shown to us in the book of Genesis. Life is full of highs and lows. Even as we come out of Easter, we can see the highest of highs and the lowest of lows all in a period of three days. Good Friday takes us through the valley of the shadow of death and Easter gives us hope as high and strong as the mountains. God gave us his words in the bible to show us how to respond whether we’re on the mountain or in the valleys. As we’ll see, at one point Joseph is on the top of the pile, king of the hill, then in the next he’s on the bottom, in a pit and forgotten, then he’s on the top again. [2]And when we experience the roller coaster of life’s events, we are called to reflect on two questions… (1) How did I get here? And (2) Where is God in all this? And the answer to How did I get here, often involves talking about

· THE STORY OF OUR FAMILY: The experiences we have when we are young in our families have a profound effect on the decisions we make whether consciously or unconsciously. [3]For example, Benjamin Franklin. He was one of the five people who helped draft the Declaration of Independence that created America. Did you know that he was basically a slave to his older brother? He was forced to work for his brother, who thought him incompetent and regularly beat him. He then pretended to write letters about social issues under the name of a fake widow named “Silence Dogood” that his brother loved and printed. When his brother found out it was him, he beat him. So, Benjamin Franklin ran away and broke his contract. Eventually he started his own printing company and become known for his hatred of Tyranny. Later He said it was his relationship with his brother that made him hat authoritarian rule. The family he was part of him led him to become part of helping establish a new nation. Their experiences in their families shaped their story. But their stories were part of a larger story. And the story of Joseph is no different. Joseph was shaped by his family. But God was also at work to weave his story into something larger. We can also see how our stories are shaped by our families; how did we get where we are. But additionally, we need to see that our stories are part of a bigger story. [4]So as we look at [Gen. 37:1-11] We’re going to ask two questions about the peaks and valleys in life. (1) How did we get here? and (2) where is God at work?

(TEACH/APP) FAVORITISM, DECEIT, AND CYCLES (God)

[5]A BREIF FAMILY HISTORY OF JACOB: Verse 1 mentions Joseph’s father Jacob. For us to truly understand what is going to happen in the life of Joseph, we have to look at the family he grew up in. Let’s talk about good ol’ Jacob. Jacob is the son of a man named Isaac. Isaac was the son of a man named Abraham. Now remember that God had chosen Abraham and told him that he would use him as part of his plan. Through Abrahams family the entire world would be blessed. Well here we are 3 generations later with Abraham’s grandson Jacob. God is still at work in this family, and what a family it is! The drama begins when Isaac and Rebecca have twin boys, Esau and Jacob. We see that Isaac shows favoritism to Esau and Rebecca…[6]

SHOWS FAVORITISM: to Jacob. Jacob grew up in a home where he knew he wasn’t the favorite. He grew up knowing his Dad loved him but somehow felt like he was less than his twin brother to his dad. He grew up in a home where because of a matter of minutes during birth, he would receive less money and lower esteem and position in his home. However, he was clever. The word used to describe him in [Gen. 25:27] says he was “a quiet man.” But that word can also mean complete or refined. So a possible translation could be “Jacob was a refined, organized, man with administrative gifts who tended flocks.” Additionally, he was his mom’s favorite. We see that he probably got his cleverness and penchant for…[7]

DECPEPTION: from his mom, Rebecca. They cook up a plan to cheat Esau. It works and Jacob gets the rights, privileges, and honor of the firstborn son. But instead, it backfires and ends up causing him to run for his life so that Esau doesn’t…[8]

KILL HIM: The favoritism, the jealousy, the deception, all lead to a place where brother wanted to kill brother. Jacob’s deception doesn’t just lead to him having to run for his life, but ultimately we see that…

THE DECIEVER GETS DECIEVED: Jacob ends up running to his uncle Laban’s house and falling in love with Laban’s youngest daughter. Laban is his uncle, who is his mother’s brother. Apparently lying and deceiving run in Rebecca and Laban’s family too! Because Laban ends up tricking Jacob into marrying his first daughter Leah. Jacob is furious with getting lied to, but he loves Rachel, so he ends up marrying them both. He marries two sisters! What could possibly go wrong? The mistakes and failings of his mother and father, became the patterns he starts to live out for himself. [9]THE THINGS THAT HE PICKED UP FROM HIS FAMILY, BECAME THE THINGS HE PASSED DOWN TO HIS FAMILY AS WELL. He grew up knowing favoritism and that worked its way into his marriages. Jacob had two wives named Leah and Rachel. He married sisters!

THE CYCLE CONTINUES: His wives end up competing for the love and affection of Jacob. Leah bears the first four children. She has the honor of having the children that will lead the family. But she doesn’t have the honor of feeling the devotion of Jacob. Then Rachel gets jealous that she hasn’t had any children of her own, so she gives her servant to Jacob to have kids with. That servant gives birth to two boys. Then Leah does the same thing because she hadn’t been able to have any more children. That servant has two children. Then Leah is able to have 2 more sons. Then Rachel was finally able to have a son, whom she named Joseph. Later, she has one more son who she dies giving birth to named Benjamin. 12 children in all. It’s from this family that the Jewish people all descend from. They become the original 12 families.

In the middle of this family is a dynamic of jealousy, favoritism. The wives knew who their husband favored. The kids knew which mom that he favored. Which also meant that the kids knew which of them their father favored. As we’re growing up, we get our sense of value and significance from our families. It’s in our families that we learn that we’re loved, we’re noticed, we’re special, we’re wanted, and we’re needed. We also can get the opposite messages. I’m not loved as much as, or I’m not as special as, no one even cares if I’m around. Or we can believe the opposite extreme. I’m better than, I’m more important than, I can get away with… Jacob picked up these same messages from his parents, and then passed them on to his own family. And the cycle continues. So, when we get to Genesis 37 and start looking at the life of Joseph, we are stepping into the middle of a family story that is filled with dynamics that have been passed down from one generation to the next. And [10]

JOSEPH IS ON HIS WAY TO CONTINUING THE CYCLE OF SINFULNESS: Growing up, I had always felt like the story was about this great young man named Joseph who was treated unfairly by his brothers. Chances are most Jewish people would have felt this way too. They knew about the famous Joseph who God had made a ruler in Egypt. But the story actually shows us a young man who is on a course to repeat his father’s mistakes. [11]In [37:2-3] we see that Joseph is out with his brothers from Bilhah and Zilpah, his dads third and fourth wives. And it says that he came back and gave a “bad report” about them. The literal translation is “an evil, untrue report.” It seems like 17-year-old Joseph has learned how to lie and spin things like his mother and father already to make sure he looks good, and his brothers look bad. So, we have a young man who has been the apple of his father’s eye. The first son of his father’s favorite and adored wife. And he has already been elevated above his older brothers. Not only do we know that because of what we know from earlier in the story, but we see that in [Gen. 37:3] He was wearing a robe that had been made for him by his father. While it’s translated as a “robe of many colors” the original language is hard to translate. Another potential translation would be “a robe with long sleeves.” The idea here is that if you were going to work, you didn’t want long sleeves. But if you were going to manage, you weren’t worried about sleeves getting in your way.” The coat is a matter of saying “I’m a manager, not a laborer.” APPARENTLY, HE HAD AUTHORITY, BUT LACKED INTEGRITY! What’s interesting is that…[12]

(JC) GOD KNOWS THIS AND STILL PLANS TO USE HIM []

GOD’S SHARES HIS DREAMS WITH JOSEPH: In [Gen. 37:5-11], we’re told that Joseph has two dreams. In these dreams, God shows him images of bundles of wheat gathered by his brothers all bowing down to him his bundle of wheat and of the sun moon and stars all bowing down to him. Now, before we even look at how Joseph handled this message from God, I think it’s important to not miss that fact that GOD IS PLANNING ON WORKING IN THIS YOUNG MAN’S LIFE. Not because he’s humble, not because he has done anything to deserve it. Simply because God is good and has decided to include Joseph in his plans. This is such beautiful news for two reasons…[13]

· GOD LOVES MESSED UP PEOPLE FROM MESSED UP FAMILIES: If you are a parent this morning, this is great news. No matter how hard you try to be a good parent, you will make mistakes. No matter how well you do, your children will also make mistakes. Sometimes those mistakes are small, and sometimes they are large and painful. God won’t look at you and your family and say, “well, they’re too far gone, I can’t do anything in that situation!” The truth is that the families that admit they need God’s help, are usually the ones that God does his most miraculous work through. It’s also beautiful because… [14]

· GOD IS ABLE TO BREAK THE CYCLES OF SIN: We do not have to be slaves to the cycles and patterns we have grown up in. God is able to open our eyes to the dysfunction we have been shaped by and then give us the power to change through his Holy Spirit. We are not doomed to become our parents. Our children are not doomed to repeat our mistakes. Individuals, families, and communities don’t have to stay the way they are. Now, Joseph didn’t wake up one day and say, you know what? I want to break the cycles of sin in my family and to deal with the sinful and unhealthy patterns I have in my life. No, he went through…[15]

A PROCESS THAT INCLUDED TRANSFORMATIVE PAIN

JOSEPH’S PRIDE AND ARROGANCE + HIS FAMILIES BROKENNESS= was an equation that equaled some pretty nasty consequences. Did Joseph deserve the magnitude of what was going to happen to him? Of course not! His brothers wanting to murder him and eventually sell him into slavery was an indication of the sinfulness in them that they were responsible for. However, did Joseph play a role in his own pain? I think so. And sometimes, when we’re in the middle of a mess, we often blame others or God. But we often need to step back and ask those two questions we started with: how did I get here? And where is God at work in all this? God, can you help me see where I’m repeating patterns that keep causing me pain? God, can you do the work in me that needs doing so that I can overcome sin and become more like you? While I don’t believe God CAUSED the pain that Joseph experienced, he USED IT to make Joseph into the man he needed to be in order to save thousands of lives later, including those of the family that hated him. The boy who was arrogant, deceitful, and headed towards following in his father, and his grandfather’s footsteps, became the man of integrity and strength that was able to love, forgive, and provide for his family and untold others. [16]

I want to wrap up this morning with two quick next steps.

GET AN OUTSIDE PERSPECTIVE: Seeing our cycles is just as hard as breaking them. Usually for us to break our cycles, we have to be aware of them. Often times, we have to experience enough pain to take notice that the same things keep happening in our lives repeatedly and decide to do some digging. And when we find ourselves in a place where relationships are breaking, and pain is flaring, I have found that it’s time to…

· SEEK GODLY COUNSEL & COUNSELORS: We need people in our lives that can see what we can’t. Sometimes this person is the close friend who knows us, loves us, but will tell it like it is, even if it hurts. We also need people who are trained to ask the questions about us and our families that we’ve not thought to ask. People who have taken time to get training in identifying the things that shape us negatively and give us practical steps in growing in self-awareness and interpersonal communication. People who take their faith in Jesus and integrate it with the best of counseling practices. People that God can use to help us break the cycle of sin in our families. If you are in that place today, in a relationship, in your marriage, with your kids, we want to help. Joe our student pastor is a fantastic counselor. We can also recommend two counseling centers: Living Hope and Truth in Love Counseling. I myself regularly see a counselor and they have literally been a life-saver for me over the past 5 years. Lastly, if you’re feeling like you’re broken and dysfunctional, you need to know that…

· YOU ARE WELCOME IN THE FAMILY OF JESUS! When you open the story of the life of Jesus written by Matthew, he starts out with a list of names of the people. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Josephs brother Judah, and on down the list, they are all people that God chose to include in his family. They were messes! But they were loved! They were valuable to God, each and every one. And we are no different. We all bring our backgrounds, our brokenness to the God who says we are loved, valuable, and wanted. And through Jesus we are invited to become sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, in the greatest family ever! The family that welcomes the dysfunctional and the weird.

Let’s pray!