josephlesson3

JOSEPH ~ Lesson 3

Joseph has come through the years of adversity to the place of usefulness in the service of the Lord. The seven years of plentiful harvests have ended. Famine is now widespread in Egypt and surrounding countries. But, thanks to the foresight given to Joseph by the Lord, in Egypt …

Pharaoh has entrusted Joseph with the responsibility of distributing the stored grain to hungry people.

At last the seven years of plenty came to an end. Then the seven years of famine began, just as Joseph had predicted. There were crop failures in all the surrounding countries too, but in Egypt there was plenty of grain in the storehouses. Throughout the land of Egypt the people began to starve. They pleaded with Pharaoh for food, and he told them, “Go to Joseph and do whatever he tells you.” (Genesis 41:53-55).

The storehouses filled with grain picture for us the abundant provision Christ has for us. He has the only food that is able to satisfy the hunger of people in the grip of famine, “… not a famine of bread and water but of hearing the words of the LORD.” (Amos 8:11b).

This spiritual hunger remains when trying to fill the emptiness from other sources.

Don’t let anyone lead you astray with empty philosophy and high sounding nonsense that comes from human thinking and from the evil powers of this world and not from Christ. For in Christ the fullness of God lives in a human body, and you are complete through your union with Christ. He is the Lord over every ruler and authority in the universe. (Colossians 2:8-10).

Christ gives us of himself, a fullness filling the emptiness of the inner self. His offer is …

“I am the bread of life. No one who comes to me will ever be hungry again. Those who believe in me will never thirst.” (John 6:35).

Paul writes of the fullness of assurance he desires the new Christians in Colosse and other places to experience …

My goal is that they will be encouraged and knit together by strong ties of love. I want them to have full confidence because they have complete understanding of God’s secret plan, which is Christ himself. In him lie all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge …

And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to live in obedience to him. Let your roots grow down into him and draw up nourishment from him, so you will grow in faith, strong and vigorous in the truth you were taught. Let your lives overflow with thanksgiving for all he has done.” (Colossians 2:2-3, 6-7).

In his letter to the Christians in Ephesus Paul writes of his prayers that they too will experience the fullness that comes with the understanding of all that God has done for them in Christ.

Ever since I first heard of your strong faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for Christians everywhere, I have never stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly, asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding so that you might grow in your knowledge of God. I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the wonderful future he has promised to those he has called. I want you to realize what a rich and glorious inheritance he has given to his people. (Ephesians 1:15-18).

Blessings piling up to such an extent that it sometimes seems that we just can’t take anymore in. As the Lord says, “… a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in!” (Malachi 3:10b). It is the fullness of blessing that comes from Christ’s own fullness of grace and truth.

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth …

From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another.” (John 1:14, 16 NIV).

The Lord gives us a full measure of the energy we need to live out each day. Making real to us today the blessing Moses gave to Asher so long ago. “The bolts of your gates will be iron and bronze, and your strength will equal your days.” (Deuteronomy 33:25). Paul prayed that Christians may know the fullness of this inner strength, “filled with the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

When I think of the wisdom and scope of God’s plan, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from his glorious unlimited resources he will give you mighty inner strength through his Holy Spirit. And I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts as you trust in him. May your roots go down deep into the soil of God’s marvellous love. And May you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love really is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is so great you will never fully understand it. Then you will be filled with the fullness of life and power that comes from God. (Ephesians 3:14-19).

Jesus promised the fullness of joy to those who follow him. To all his disciples he says …

“I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. When you obey me, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father and remain in his love. I have told you this so that you will be filled with joy. Yes, your joy will overflow.” (John 15:9-11).

Jesus explained to his disciples that when he left them after his mission on earth was accomplished and he was no longer present with them in a visible form, he would return to be with them and in them in the person of the Holy Spirit. Thus his presence would continue with them until he returned in person at the end of the age.

“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counsellor who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit who leads into all truth. The world at large cannot receive him because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognise him. But you do, because he lives with you now and later will be in you. No I will not abandon you as orphans—I will come to you.” (John 14:15-18).

This promise became a reality for the disciples seven weeks after Jesus’ resurrection.

On the day of Pentecost, seven weeks after Jesus’ resurrection, the believers were meeting together in one place. Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm in the skies above them, and it filled the house where they were meeting. Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability. (Acts 2:1-4).

They were then able to share with others the fullness of blessing they enjoyed. Barnabas for example …

Barnabas was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and strong in faith. And large numbers of people were brought to the Lord.

Then Barnabas went on to Tarsus to find Saul. When he found him, he brought him back to Antioch. Both of them stayed there with the church for a full year, teaching a great number of people. (It was there at Antioch that the believers were first called Christians.) (Acts 11:24-26).

And some were to experience martyrdom, but in the fullness of their faith. Stephen for example, was one of those who died during the persecution of the church instigated by Paul before his conversion to the Christian faith.

But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed steadily upward into heaven and saw the glory of God, and he saw Jesus standing in the place of honour at God’s right hand …

And as they stoned him, Stephen prayed, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.’ And he fell to his knees, shouting, ‘Lord, don’t charge them with this sin!’ And with that he died. (Acts 7:55, 59-60).

Just as Pharaoh entrusted Joseph with the full storehouses of Egypt so has the Lord entrusted us with the fullness of blessing we have received from him. That blessing is stored up in our hearts, like the grain in the storehouse. Just as it was for Mary who “… quietly treasured these things in her heart and thought about them often.” (Luke 2:19).

We now have a responsibility to share the content of our storehouse with others. Jude wrote of it as “… the faith that was once entrusted to the saints.” (Jude, vs. 3, NIV). Paul speaks of it as “… the glorious Good News entrusted to me by our blessed God.” (1 Timothy 1:11b). He saw it as a sacred trust which he took seriously. To the church in Corinth he wrote …

So then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the secret things of God. Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.” (1 Corinthians 4:1-2 NIV).

You yourselves know dear brothers and sisters, that our visit to you was not a failure. You know how badly we had been treated at Philippi just before we came to know you and how much we suffered there. Yet our God gave us the courage to declare his Good News to you boldly, even though we were surrounded by many who opposed us. So you can see that we were not preaching with any deceit or impure purposes or trickery.

For we speak as messengers who have been approved by God to be entrusted with the Good News. (1 Thessalonians 2:1-4a).

The word is parathēkē, (παραθηκη) which means a deposit committed to someone’s trust. A man might deposit something with a friend to be kept for his children or his loved ones; he might deposit his valuables in a temple for safe keeping, for the temples were the banks of the ancient world. In each case the thing deposited was a parathēkē. In the ancient world there was no more sacred duty than the safe-guarding of such a deposit and the returning of it when in due time it was claimed.

Notice that accountability is a component in the meaning of the word. Jesus focussed on this aspect of the meaning in a story[2] he told his disciples. A property owner entrusted his property and money to his servants while he was away for some time. They were to watch over all his affairs and invest the money wisely. They would be accountable to him. Some earned his wrath, others his praise when he returned. Jesus concludes his story with this warning.

After a long time their master returned from his trip and called them to give an account of how they had used his money …

To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But those who are unfaithful, even what little they have will be taken away. (Matthew 25:19, 29).

The storehouse itself is fragile and needs to be cared for. Like clay pots, the container is subject to breakage. Paul acknowledges this …

We don’t go around preaching about ourselves; we preach Christ Jesus, the Lord. All we say about ourselves is that we are your servants because of what Jesus has done for us. For God who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made us understand that this light is the brightness of the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.

But this precious treasure—this light and power that shine within us—is held in perishable containers, that is, in our weak bodies. So everyone can see that our glorious power is from God and is not our own.” (2 Corinthians 4:5-7).

The contents must also be carefully guarded, lest other substances become mixed with the grain, or vermin find a way to get in and devour the grain. Like the foxes the young women were warned about in another word picture. “Quick! Catch all the little foxes before they ruin the vineyard of your love, for the grapevines are all in blossom.” (Song of Songs 2:15). In both of his letters to Timothy, Paul reminded the young pastor to carefully guard what the Lord had given him.

Timothy, guard what God has entrusted to you. Avoid godless, foolish discussions with those who oppose you with their so-called knowledge. Some people have wandered from the faith by following such foolishness. (1 Timothy 6:20-21).

Hold on to the pattern of right teaching you learned from me. And remember to live in the faith and love that you have in Christ Jesus. With the help of the Holy Spirit who lives within us, carefully guard what has been entrusted to you.” (2 Timothy 1:13-14).

Storehouse filled? Don’t let the grain just sit there! It might go stale if left in the storehouse! Share it with others!

With Egypt and surrounding countries in the grip of famine it was now time for Joseph to open the storehouses.

So with severe famine everywhere in the land, Joseph opened up the storehouses and sold grain to the Egyptians. And people from surrounding lands also came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph because the famine was severe throughout the world. (Genesis 41:56-57).

Just as Joseph opened up the storehouses of Egypt so God’s people have been called to share with all people the fullness they have received from him. The people of Israel were first entrusted with this responsibility. Paul reminded his readers of this when he wrote of the advantages of being a Jew. “… the Jews were entrusted with the whole revelation of God.” (Romans 3:2). But they have failed to share what they had received with the world. They have refused to open the storehouse and have hidden the key. As Jesus said to the religious leaders …

“How terrible it will be for you experts in religious law! For you hide the key to knowledge from the people. You don’t enter the Kingdom yourselves, and you prevent others from entering.” (Luke 11:52).

Because of their disobedience Jesus passed the responsibility to open the storehouse to the world’s people on to his disciples. When Peter acknowledged Jesus to be the Messiah, Jesus said to him …

You are blessed, Simon son of John, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being. Now I say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it. And I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. Whatever you lock on earth will be locked in heaven, and whatever you open on earth will be opened in heaven. (Matthew 16:17-19).

The final instruction Jesus left with his disciples was to pass on to all people the news of the fullness they had received from him.

Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given complete authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20).

There comes to mind something Jesus said to his disciples when teaching them about the Kingdom of Heaven.

“Every teacher of religious law who has become a disciple in the Kingdom of Heaven is like a person who brings out of the storehouse the new teachings as well as the old.” (Matthew 13:52).

[1] Barclay, William. THE DAILY STUDY BIBLE. The Letters To Timothy, Titus, & Philemon. Edinburgh: Saint Andrew Press. 1987. p. 151.
[2] Matthew 25:14-30.