My pastor is a lot better at coming up with titles than I am, so I’m going to borrow his! There really is a connection to them, but for now…
We’re in the book of Genesis 37:12-36. Many of you have probably heard about Jacob’s family. The 12 tribes of Israel are named after them. But their family was just as messed up as the rest of us, maybe more so.
Actions have consequences. We see that between Jacob and his sons because he plays favorites. He loves Joseph more than the others because he is the only one from his favorite wife. When Joseph shares his dream of the other brothers bowing down to him, twice, that pretty much sets the scene for what’s to come. Jacob could have headed it off but he won’t confront the issue. Instead, he sends Joseph to Schechem to check on his brothers. Shechem was not a safe place for them to go because Simeon and Levi had killed the men from there to avenge their sister’s rape.
When Joseph finds his brothers, who had moved on to Dothan, they see him coming and devise a plan to kill him so that his dreams can’t come true. They were going to throw his remains into a cistern nearby.
Reuben, hearing of their plan, tried to rescue Joseph from his brothers and suggested they not kill him, just throw him in the cistern. His plan was to come back later and save Joseph to win his father’s favor.
If this doesn’t seem callous enough, they sit down beside the cistern where they just threw Joseph to eat their lunch. Then they saw some Ischmaelites coming in a caravan on their way to Egypt to sell their spices and other goods. Judah suggested to his brothers that instead of killing him, why didn’t they sell him to the Ischmaelites and make some money, after all he was their flesh and blood. So they sold him for twenty shekels of silver to the Ischmaelites who took him to Egypt.
When Reuben returned, he was upset to see Joseph gone. There went his plan to get on dad’s good side. So they took Joseph’s coat of many colors back to their father so he could identify it as Joseph’s. They covered it with blood from a goat that they killed and let Jacob draw his own conclusion.
Jacob came to the conclusion that they were hoping for, but I wonder if maybe Jacob blamed himself somewhat because he had sent Joseph to check on them.
The Ischmaelites sold Joseph to Potiphar, the captain of the guard, one of Pharaoh’s officials.
Why does any of this matter? Because sin has consequences, an equal and opposite reaction. The first sin is the hardest, but it’s like a snowball that gets bigger as it rolls down the hill. Sin leads to more sin. The deception increases and the hole gets deeper as the sins must continue to cover up the first sin. The lies grow!
It is a big jump from Dad likes you best to wanting to kill him. To top it all off they let Jacob think that he’s dead.
Sin that we try to cover over with lies become part of us.
What you’ve been waiting for…how does this all tie to the title of today’s post?
Why do people hate Caitlyn Clark so much? She’s the reason the WNBA is getting so much attention right now. They are flying to games instead of riding buses and the Fever’s stands are filled with fans. I’ve even heard several men recently discussing how much more they enjoyed watching the Women’s NCAA tournament than the men’s.
Tonto gets blamed for stealing because he’s an “injun”. When the Lone Ranger straightens him out, he apologizes, but still calls him an “injun”. We’re all racist.
Pride Month – We Christians get a bad name when we judge others for their sins, but can’t see our own sins for the plank in our eye. God loves all his children and we’re called to do the same. It doesn’t mean we have to understand them. Treat them as you would want to be treated. It doesn’t mean we let anyone cause us to change our beliefs for theirs. What would Jesus do? Would he call them names and harass them? Certainly not! Anyone who has a relationship with Jesus knows he didn’t live like that nor would he want us to. Just love them and let him do the rest. Changing hearts is God’s job.
And what about the Fabulous Coat? Don’t show favoritism the way Jacob did. It caused jealousy and hatred amongst his own family.
When we sin, it never turns out like we thought it would.
As believers we are called to stand up to sin. Evil wins because we don’t do anything about it.
WE HAVE TO BE BETTER…DO BETTER!!
Sin is serious. It has consequences.
But there is beauty in Joseph’s story because we can see God’s plan. He plays the long game. The sovereignty of God is there. He’s present even in our pain.
Life is not fair. Take comfort in knowing that. But, there are no coincidences.
THE TAKEAWAY FROM THIS SERMON:
- GUARD YOUR HEART AGAINST JEALOUSY
- GOD’S PLAN IS BETTER
- WE ARE CALLED TO TRUST IN GOD’S PLAN
God’s got this.
Think before you act.
We have a God who is bigger than our circumstances.
Thanks for reading!
In Faith,
Pam
Where God Leads 
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