Genesis 40:1-23

Genesis Study 122

THE CUPBEARER AND THE BAKER

Genesis 40:1-23
Key verse 40:8
"'We both had dreams,' they answered, 'but there is no one to interpret them." Then Joseph said to them, 'Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell me your dreams.'"

Last week we studied that Joseph was imprisoned without guilt. He could have been a slave of hatred and anger. But the Lord was with him. Then Joseph could serve the prisoners with God's love and kindness. Soon the prison was turned into the house of God. So the prison warden put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners. As for Joseph, promotion and recognition were not his life goal. All he wanted was to know more about God and serve others with God's love and kindness. This made his life truly successful.

Look at verses 1 to 3. Some time later, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker of the king of Egypt were put in prison. The cupbearer was not a bartender. He was one of the high officials of Egypt. He tested the king's drink to see if it was poisoned. The baker did the same job with the king's food. So the king appointed the most trustworthy people as his cupbearer and baker. They were also the king's advisers. They were in the most secure position. Everyone envied them. They were a role model for the youths of the kingdom. But one day the king was angry with them and put them in prison. They fell from the top of the kingdom to the bottom of it. Did it happen only to these two officials? We heard many similar stories. Last week there was a military coup in Thailand while its Prime Minister was in U.S. Then the Prime Minister said, "I came to U.S. as the Prime Minister. But I'm leaving as an unemployed." No matter how much we have secured our lives, anything can happen today or tomorrow. The one whom we trust today can betray us tomorrow.
How then can we truly secure our lives? We learn the secret from Joseph. Being betrayed by his brothers and falsely accused by Potiphar's wife, he lost everything. But he did not lose the Lord. Then the Lord always granted him true freedom in his heart and true success in his life. This is the reason why we study the Bible.

Look at verses 4 to 8. The captain of the guard assigned the two officials to Joseph, and he attended them. After some time, the each of the two men had a dream the same night. They sensed something was about to happen. But they did not know how to interpret their dreams. They asked other prisoners. But no one could help them. When Joseph came to them the next morning, he saw that they were dejected. So he asked them, "Why are your faces so sad today?" Here we see three people—Joseph, the cupbearer and the baker. All of them were in the same prison. And each of them has his own dream. But Joseph was having a radiant face while the two officials were having dark and gloomy faces. It was because Joseph alone knew the meaning of his dream. He knew someday he would surely be a leader of his generation. This made his face shine even in the dark prison cell.
Whenever people think about their future their faces become dark and gloomy. In order to make their future bright, some people save their money in the bank. Some invest in mutual fund or real estates or life insurance. Some go for higher studies if possible in abroad. Some go on making friends. Some go to fortune tellers. But still our future remains uncertain. It is because what holds our future is not money or degree or friends or luck. It is the Lord who holds our future. If we really want to make our future bright, we should come back to the One who holds our future. In this passage God revealed the future of Joseph and the two officials through the dreams. But now he reveals our future through this book. It tells us not just the future of 60 years or 100 years. It tells us the future of our eternity. It secures our lives forever. This is the reason why we study the Bible.
In verse 8, the two officials replied to Joseph, "We both had dreams, but there is no one to interpret them." Then Joseph said to them, "Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell me your dreams." The two officials sought interpretations among men. But the dreams came from God not from men. So the interpretations belonged to God. Joseph could interpret their dreams because he himself turned to the Lord. When we humbly turn to the Lord, he reveals to us the meaning of each verse in the Bible.

Look at verses 9 to 15. The chief cupbearer told Joseph his dream, "In my dream I saw a vine in front of me, and on the vine were three branches. As soon as it budded, it blossomed, and its clusters ripened into grapes. Pharaoh's cup was in my hand, and I took the grapes, squeezed them into Pharaoh's cup and put the cup in his hand." "This is what it means," Joseph said to him. "The three branches are three days. Within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your position, and you will put Pharaoh's cup in his hand, just as you used to do when you were his cupbearer." Usually fortune tellers use very vague terms and put a very long term. It is because they do not know what they are saying. But Joseph's interpretation was very clear and would be confirmed in three days. He knew what he was saying. It was because God revealed to him the meaning of the dream. As for the cupbearer his dream was a very good dream. His life would be spared. He would be rescued from the prison. He would restore his position. But when he did not know its meaning, the dream made him only dejected.
In the Bible God has given us a far greater dream through Jesus Christ—a dream to be forgiven, a dream to be rescued from the eternal judgment of God, a dream to become God's children and live with him forever in his everlasting kingdom. Such a wonderful dream is already given to everyone. But is this dream clear to everyone? Is this dream clear to you? Does this dream make your faces radiant and your hearts leap for joy? If not, let us humbly ask God to reveal its true meaning in our hearts.
In verses 14 and 15, Joseph said to the cupbearer, "But when all goes well with you, remember me and show me kindness; mention me to Pharaoh and get me out of this prison. For I was forcibly carried off from the land of the Hebrews, and even here I have done nothing to deserve being put in a dungeon." He did not accuse his brothers or Potiphar's wife. However for a moment he relied on the cupbearer and Pharaoh. But it would be the Lord who would rescue him from the dungeon and fulfil his dream. Joseph needed to learn that God who works in his time.

Look at verses 16 to 19. When the chief baker saw that Joseph had given a favourable interpretation, he said to Joseph, "I too had a dream: On my head were three baskets of bread. In the top basket were all kinds of baked goods for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating them out of the basket on my head." "This is what it means," Joseph said. "The three baskets are three days. Within three days Pharaoh will lift off your head and hang you on a tree. And the birds will eat away your flesh." The chief baker had a terrible dream. It must have been very hard for Joseph to tell the truth. But he told the truth so that the chief baker might be ready for his death. I believe Joseph must have told him about life after death, "Sir, listen to me. You will die in three days. But this is not an end. One day all men should rise again to receive God's final judgment. You didn't know the true God who created the world and gave you life. Instead of serving him you served idols and yourself. Please repent of your sins. God will forgive you and take you to his everlasting kingdom."
The Bible gives us not only the dream of eternal salvation but also the dream of eternal judgment. It is written, "Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment." (Hebrews 9:27) "But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars--their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulphur. This is the second death." (Revelation 21:8) Without taking this message seriously we cannot take the message of salvation from our hearts. Without fearing God's judgment our faith in his salvation is nothing but a lie. I humbly pray God may make this message clear to us so that we may deeply receive Jesus Christ. The Bible says, "Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God" (John 1:12)

Look at verses 20 to 23. Now the third day was Pharaoh's birthday, and he gave a feast for all his officials. He lifted up the heads of the chief cupbearer and the chief baker in the presence of his officials: He restored the chief cupbearer to his position, so that he once again put the cup into Pharaoh's hand, but he hanged the chief baker, just as Joseph had said to them in his interpretation. The chief cupbearer, however, did not remember Joseph; he forgot him. Our worldly dreams hardly come true. But all God's dreams surely come true. The two officials' dreams were fulfilled in three days. Joseph's dreams would be fulfilled in thirteen plus nine years. We don't know when our dreams to pioneer all South Indian campuses will come true. But we believe in God. He will fulfil the dream. We have a dream to live with him forever in his kingdom. God will fulfil it. May God make the meaning of his dreams clear to us and to all campus students!

Genesis 39:1-23

Genesis Study 121

THE LORD WAS WITH JOSEPH

Genesis 39:1-23
Key verse 39:23
"The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph's care, because the LORD was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did."

Last week we studied that the God of Judah is the God of hope. In him we have hope to be forgiven and raised as a source of blessing for this generation. Today we want to study how the Lord guided Joseph in Egypt.

Look at verses 1 to 6a. Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. While entering the country he saw enormous pyramids and the giant Nile. He also saw the slaves suffering under the whips of Egypt. He was then brought to a slave market. Chains and shackles were all around from his neck to ankles. Potiphar, an Egyptian who was one of Pharaoh's officials, the captain of the guard, bought him. He had hard eyes. He looked sharp and fierce. Entering his master's house, Joseph saw many soldiers around. He also saw the prisoners being tortured and screaming in pain. No one smiled. No one talked. The house was the house of death.
But ever since Joseph entered the house things began to change. He carried out his tasks with a sense of ownership—"This is my master's house. But this is my house too." He washed the soldiers' uniforms as if they were his own uniforms. He cleaned the prison cells as if they were his own rooms. People began to like him. One day his master called him to his office and said, "Joseph. You are supposed to be a slave. However I see leadership quality in you. In fact I see a God in you. Your God gives you success in everything you do. So now I put you in charge of my household. I entrust to your care everything I have." This was quite news to the people in the palace. Since then the Lord blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of the Lord was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field. The servants worked with a sense of ownership. The soldiers were loyal to their master. The prisoners repented of their guilt. The harvest was abundant and the house was filled with laughter. Potiphar was awarded as the best official in Egypt.
All the miracles happened when the Lord was with Joseph. Being with Joseph, the Lord did not rescue him from the physical slavery. Instead he rescued him from spiritual slavery. Without the Lord Joseph could have been a slave of sorrow and bitterness. But the Lord was with him. The Lord helped him remember his dreams. According to the dreams someday Joseph would surely meet his family. And his life would never end in slavery. Someday he would surely be a leader to serve his generation. This helped Joseph take every hardship as leadership training. He served everyone and every task not before men but before the Lord.

Look at verses 6b to 20a. Now Joseph was well-built and handsome. We remember how beautiful his grandmother and his mother were. Joseph had many other good qualities such as loyalty to his master, intelligence to his works, kind heart to the people and pure heart to the Lord. But his master's wife, Mrs. Potiphar, took notice of him only because of his well-built body and handsome look. She said to him, "Come to bed with me!" She considered him as her plaything. The temptation was hard to overcome. Joseph was a young man in his twenties. He was deserted by his family members. Moreover it was a command from his mistress. And it was a common practice in those days. No one would know what happened.
But he refused. "With me in charge," he told her, "my master does not concern himself with anything in the house; everything he owns he has entrusted to my care. No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?" Joseph remained faithful to the Lord and his master to the end. He feared the Lord's judgment more than Mrs. Potiphar's revenge. The lady was the freest woman in the house. But she was enslaved by her lust. On the contrary slave Joseph had freedom to refuse the temptation. Mrs. Potiphar might have thought she was seeking another kind of love. But Joseph called it a wicked thing against God.
Love and lust share many common points. They have strong affection. They give emotional excitement. They are ready to sacrifice anything. And they have four alphabets starting with "L". But they are completely different in many more points. Lust desires to please myself but love desires to please God and others. Lust comes from my sinful nature but love comes from God. Lust is short sighted. It sees only today's momentary pleasure. But love is farsighted. It sees the future. In fact true love sees eternity. Lust makes one's heart dirtier and dirtier. But love makes one's heart purer and purer. Relationship built on lust surely breaks but relationship built on love lasts forever. Lust blinds our minds but love makes us wise and discerning. Being loved by God, Joseph learned how to practice true love. His refusal was the expression of his true love.
But Mrs. Potiphar was so blind by her lust that she spoke to Joseph day after day. Joseph refused to go to bed with her or even be with her. He gave no chance for her to tempt him. He knew his weakness as a human being. His life was the practice of 2 Timothy 2:22, "Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, and along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart." How could Joseph live a pure life before the Lord? Somewhere in the Bible it is written, "How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word." (Psalm 119:9) The God-given dreams were the word of God to Joseph. He could not exchange such a wonderful promise for a temporary pleasure. Temptation was so strong. But the power of God's word was stronger. So he could grow as a leader with purity.
Let's read verses 11 and 12. "One day he went into the house to attend to his duties, and none of the household servants was inside. She caught him by his cloak and said, 'Come to bed with me!' But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house." Joseph did not compromise to the end. By looking at Joseph's decision of faith, God should have richly rewarded him. But what happened? Mrs. Potiphar falsely accused him. Mr. Potiphar did not give Joseph a chance to speak. He believed his wife's words. Joseph was considered as the dirtiest criminal. He was confined in prison. Why didn't God defend his cause? In human point of view Joseph fell to the bottom of the world. But in God's point of view, he was elevated to a higher leadership training course. From a school of leadership training, Joseph entered the University of leadership training. There would be many more tough subjects. But when he mastered them he would be raised as a great leader of the generation. Most of the time we are at the bottom of our spiritual lives because of our own laziness and compromise. At that time we must deeply repent. But sometimes in spite of our hard spiritual struggle things get worse. At that time we should not be discouraged. God is testing our faith. He is moulding us inner beings. Job said, "But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold." (Job 23:10) The temperature to extract gold is much higher than the temperature to extract iron. God increased the degree of hardships in Joseph's life in order to mould a golden leadership in him.

Look at verses 20b to 23. Some may think Joseph would be at the dark corner of his prison cell sobbing and pulling his hair. In the prison political criminals are considered as ministers and swindlers as professors and burglars as engineers. But rapists are considered as good for nothing. Joseph was despised even by the criminals. Overcoming his bitterness against Mrs. Potiphar might be harder than overcoming her temptation. But the Lord was with him. He hated no one. He complained nothing. He accepted the situation as a necessary step to grow as a true leader. In the prison he met the worst people of Egypt. No one cared for them. They were the waste of the society. They deserved only punishment. But Joseph cared for them. He served each of them with God's love. He kept on them tell them, "God loves you. God has a great hope on you." He accepted all the prisoners as his sheep. The prison became his mission field. The prison warden was deeply moved by Joseph and made him in charge of the prison. The Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did. Every night Mr. Potiphar and Mrs. Potiphar fought. But the prison was filled with laughter. When the Lord put Joseph in prison, he also went down to the prison to be with him. It means when we are at the bottom of our lives we are not alone. Even our beloved ones may misunderstand us and despise us. But the Lord is with us. He takes care of us until we go through his training. He goes into the prison together with us and walks out of the prison together with us. He never let his people suffer alone. He suffers together with us and shares his glory together with us. We see so many temptations and hardships around us. We may be at the bottom of our lives. But the God of Joseph is with us. People around us today are God's trainers. And the situation we are facing today is God's training field. May God bless us to receive his training with hope and thanksgiving.

Genesis 38:1-30

Genesis Study 120

JUDAH AND TAMAR

Genesis 38:1-30
Key verse 38:26
"Judah recognized them and said, 'She is more righteous than I, since I wouldn't give her to my son Shelah.' And he did not sleep with her again."

Last week we studied about Joseph, a young man of seventeen, who received God's dreams. In today's passage we will study about Judah, a young man of twenty, who had earthly dreams.

Look at verses 1 to 5. Here we read Judah's compromising life. He was the one who sold Joseph for twenty shekels of silver. His brother began a slavery life in Egypt. At that time, he left his brothers and went down to stay with a man of Adullam named Hirah. We don't know why he suddenly left his father's house. While selling his richly ornamented brother Judah might have expected only happy days. But what filled his heart was guilty conscience that hunted him down day and night. It was best time for him to come to the Lord and seek his forgiveness. But Judah sought advice from his Canaanite friend and pleasure from a Canaanite woman. There he met the daughter of a Canaanite man named Shua. He knew she was an idol worshipper. But as for him seeking pleasure was more important than his identity as God's chosen people. So he married her and lay with her; she became pregnant and gave birth to a son, who was named Er which means "watcher". She conceived again and gave birth to a son and named him Onan which means "vigorous". She gave birth to still another son and named him Shelah which means "weapon". From the names of his sons we can read Judah's dream. He wanted to be powerful and prosperous on the earth.
Look at verses 6 to 11. Here we read the tragedy of Judah's family. Judah got a wife for Er, his firstborn, and her name was Tamar which means "palm tree". Her parents might have expected her to be fruitful like a palm tree. She was also a Canaanite. She too was worshiping idols. However somehow through her father-in-law she heard about the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. Judah was a spoiled Bible teacher. But amazingly Tamar was growing as a pure woman of faith. Er, Judah's firstborn and Tamar's husband, was wicked in the Lord's sight. Er used to see many big idols of Canaanite gods whereas the Lord seemed to be his father's family god. Moreover he saw his father being unfaithful to his own god. So he intentionally defiled the name of the Lord. Then the Lord put him to death. This was shocking to Judah. It was time for him to repent and bring up his sons in the fear of the Lord. But his only concern was to produce his descendants as early as possible. So he said to Onan, his second son, "Lie with your brother's wife and fulfil your duty to her as a brother-in-law to produce offspring for your brother." The tragedy was more shocking to Tamar because Er was her husband. Through this event she began to fear the Lord all the more. She realized that the Lord was not a small family god but a great God who holds the lives of all living beings. Even though her family was living a compromising life, she saw it from God's point of view. It was God's chosen family. She eagerly hoped bear a God-fearing seed. But Onan knew that he offspring would not be his. The son born through Tamar would bear his elder brother's name and take the birthright. He would be the head of the family next to Judah. Onan could not accept it. So whenever he lay with Tamar, he intentionally avoided making her pregnant. No one knew what he did except Tamar. But the Lord knew it. His act was wicked in the Lord's sight; so he put him to death also. Judah was again shocked. But he did not repent. He was only busy to protect his third son Shelah. He then said to Tamar, "Live as a widow in your father's house until my son grows up." For he thought, "He may die too, just like his brothers." He thought Tamar was responsible for the death of his two sons. He considered her as a source of curse. But the tragedy made Tamar fear the Lord all the more. She realized that the Lord knows even the most secret sins we have committed and surely punishes them. During her widow's life she did not run after another man. Instead she prayed for the salvation of her father's house and the repentance of her father-in-law's house.
Look at verses 12 to 23. Here we see Judah's sin and Tamar's faith. In Egypt Joseph was undergoing physical slavery. But in the Promised Land Judah was undergoing spiritual slavery. After a long time Judah's wife also died. Now he had only one son left. It was time for him to go back to Hebron where his God-fearing father was living. But he went up to Timnah, to the men who were shearing his sheep. He was busy with his business. When Tamar was told, "Your father-in-law is on his way to Timnah to shear his sheep," she took off her widow's clothes, covered herself with a veil to disguise herself, and then sat down at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah. It is not easy to understand Tamar's act. She disguised herself as a shrine prostitute to lie with his father-in-law. Why did she do that? The Bible says, for she saw that, though Shelah had now grown up, she had not been given to him as his wife. In fear of losing his son, Judah determined not to give Tamar to Shelah. But this would cut off the family line of his firstborn. And this was against God's will. As a woman Tamar had a dream to live as a wife of one husband and build her sweet home. But she put God's will ahead of her human desire. She sacrificed her human dignity in order to serve God's will.
While Tamar was so much struggling before the Lord what did Judah do? When he saw her, he thought she was a prostitute, for she had covered her face. Not realizing that she was his daughter-in-law, he went over to her by roadside and said, "Come now, let me sleep with you." If we read further, he thought she was a shrine prostitute. As God's chosen people to sleep with a shrine prostitute is not only physical adultery but also spiritual adultery. But he did not mind if he could satisfy his flesh desire. "And what will you give me to sleep with you?" she asked. He promised to offer her a young goat. "Will you give me something as a pledge until you send it?" she asked. At her request Judah gave her his seal and its cord, and the staff in his hand. The seal bears his name as God's chosen people and the staff bears his mission as a good shepherd. But he sold them for momentary pleasure. After this Tamar ook off her veil and put on her widow's clothes again. Once her pregnancy is known to the people, something terrible might come upon her life. But she entrusted her life in the Lord's hand and kept on praying.
Meanwhile Judah sent the young goat by his friend in order to get his pledge back from the woman, but he did not find her. Then Judah said, "Let her keep what she has, or we will be come a laughingstock. After all, I did send her this young goat, but you didn't find her." He feared people's words more than the Lord. He tried to cover up his sin of adultery with one young goat. But his sin is recorded in the Bible and read by every generation. Like his two sons he also deserved to be put death. But in his great mercy God let Tamar bear his offspring through whom Jesus Christ would come to the world. If Jesus was born in the line of Joseph, it sounds somewhat reasonable. But he was born in the line of Judah who was the worst among Jacob's sons. God chose Judah to be the ancestor of Jesus. It was because Jesus would come to save the sinners like him. And it was because Jesus would come to raise such sinners as a source of blessing for all mankind. If the God of Joseph gives us a vision, the God of Judah gives us a hope. In him even the worst sinner has a hope to be saved and be raised as a source of blessing.
Look at verses 24 to 30. Here Tamar bore twin sons to Judah. About three months later Judah was told, "Your daughter-in-law Tamar is guilty of prostitution, and as a result she is now pregnant." Judah said, "Bring her out and have her burned to death!" He knew the guilty of prostitution deserved death penalty. In such case he was the first person to be burned alive. But he thought what he did was not known to the people whereas Tamar's sin was obvious. As she was being brought out, she sent a message to her father-in-law. "I am pregnant by the man who owns these," she said. And she added, "See if you recognize whose seal and cord and staff these are." She could have revealed Judah's sin in public and defend herself. But she did not do that. She silently bore her father-in-law's weakness. Judah recognized the pledge and said, "She is more righteous than I, since I wouldn't give her to my son Shelah." For the first time he found himself as a sinner before God. Even though Tamar was a Gentile woman, she grew to be a great woman of faith. On the contrary, even though Judah was God’s chosen people, he became worse than the Canaanites. He only deserved to be burnt alive. But now he confessed his sin and repented before God. After this he did not sleep with his daughter-in-law again. God accepted his repentance. Tamar bore Judah twin boys—Perez and Zerah. Jesus was born in the line of Perez. So the names of Judah and Tamar were recorded in the genealogy of Jesus Christ. God raised them as a source of blessing. This chapter is one of the darkest chapters in Genesis. But God's grace and Tamar's faith made this chapter one of the most graceful chapters in the Bible. May God raise many beautiful women of faith like Tamar in our time.

Genesis 37:1-36

Genesis Study 119

JOSEPH'S DREAMS

Genesis 37:1-36
Key Verse 37:9
"Then he had another dream, and he told it to his brothers. 'Listen,' he said, 'I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.'"

Until last week we had studied about Jacob. He was a selfish and deceptive man. But the God of Bethel changed him into a true Israel. From this week onwards, we are going to study about Joseph. He is known as the fruit of Genesis. He is also known as the shadow of Christ. In the beginning God had created Adam and Eve in his own image. But they lost the image of God because of their sins. However Joseph's life reflects the lost image of God. Through Joseph we can learn what kind of people God wants us to be. We may think it is next to impossible to be like Joseph. But at the beginning Joseph was not different from us. However God moulded him to be a great leader of his generation. Displaying Joseph's life in the Bible God is saying to us, "Do you see this man? I'm going to make you like him."

Look at verses 1 and 2a. Jacob lived in the land where his father had stayed that was Hebron in Canaan. In the previous chapter we read the account of Esau. The names of many people are mentioned there. The account ends with the names of rulers, kings and chiefs. In today's passage we read the account of Jacob. But it does not narrate many names. It focuses on a young man of seventeen whose name was Joseph. Esau's history was the history of people who had power. But Jacob's history was the history of one man who had God's dream.
Look at verses 2b to 4. Joseph was tending the flocks with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives. He did two things—one, tending the flocks and the other, bringing his father a bad report about them. "Father, two days ago Dan and Naphtali killed one of the sheep and ate it. Last night Gad and Asher went to a pub with Canaanite girls." The four brothers considered Joseph as a spy. But Israel loved him more than any of his other sons. Joseph was his second last son among the twelve. And he was the first son of his beloved wife Rachel. Unlike other sons Joseph did not have his mother. And unlike them he did not speak a lie. All these things made Jacob love Joseph all the more. He made a richly ornamented robe for him. With this Joseph looked like a prince. When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him. The richly ornamented robe made Joseph think he was very special.
Look at verses 5 to 11. Joseph had two dreams. He said to his brothers, "Listen to this dream I had: We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it." Joseph knew what this dream meant. And his brothers also knew why he was telling them about the dream. They said to him, "Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us?" Joseph did not say, "No, my brothers. I don't mean that. It is just a dream." Instead he kept silent. In fact when he narrated the dream he was telling them, "Brothers, you do not accept our father's wish to make me a leader of this household. But you see even God has confirmed it through the dream. You must accept it." But they hated him all the more because of his dream and what he had said.
Then Joseph had another dream, and he told it to his brothers. "Listen," he said, "I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me." When he told his father as well as his brothers, his father rebuked him and said, "What is this dream you had? Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow down to the ground before you?" The dream Joseph had was too hard to digest even for his father. His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind to digest it slowly and steadily. I don't think Joseph also fully digested the dream he had. We can see his excitement. We can feel his eagerness to be a great leader as early as possible. But he did not know what it really meant to be a leader.
The Lord gave Joseph the dreams because his generation desperately needed a true leader. How were the leaders of that generation? Pharaoh the king of Egypt took Sarah to be his wife because she was very beautiful. Abimelech the king of Palestine did the same. The kings of Mesopotamia colonized the people of Canaan to extend their power and wealth. And when the Canaanites rebelled they destroyed the nations. The kings of Sodom and Gomorrah indulged themselves in extreme violence and sexual immorality. Shechem the son of a tribal leader violated Dinah for his momentary pleasure. The leaders of that generation worshipped power, fame, wealth and flesh desire as their gods. And their people blindly followed them. God's terrible wrath was impending over the whole world. God had great pity on them. He wanted to save them from his judgment. For this he needed one true leader. So he gave Joseph the dreams to be a true leader.
Who is a true leader? The best explanation we can hear from Jesus. He had twelve spiritual sons. James and John had a dream to be great leaders. So they asked him, "Teacher, let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory." This made other ten disciples burned with anger. Then Jesus called them together and said, "You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man (that is Jesus Christ) did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." (Mark 10:35-45) Jesus could be the best leader ever in history because he became a servant of all mankind. He is God Most High. He created the heavens and the earth. He is the only true God whom all mankind must worship. But he left his glory in heaven and was born as a poorest baby in a manger. He washed the smelly feet of his disciples. He washed our dirty sins with his precious blood. In order to serve our perishing souls he was mocked, beaten and nailed to the cross. When Jesus served the sinners even unto death, God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name. Everyone wants to be a leader. No one wants to be a servant. But true leadership comes from servantship. A leader is one who leads others. And a true leader is one who leads people to the true God. He can do it only when he serves them with love and truth.
Somewhere in the Bible Jesus explained about servantship as follows: "Suppose one of you had a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Would he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, 'Come along now and sit down to eat'? Would he not rather say, 'Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink'? Would he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, 'We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.'" (Luke 17:7-10) It is not easy to serve others wish such attitude. Especially when they are younger than us or when we are tired it is very difficult. But by serving others to the end with humility we grow to be true leaders. In today's passage Joseph received the great dreams. But the dreams came true when he learned servantship through so many hardships at least for thirteen long years.
Look at verses 12 to 36. In this passage Joseph was sold as a slave by his own brothers. His father said to him, "Go and see if all is well with your brothers and with the flocks, and bring word back to me." Jacob had concern on his other sons. At this time Joseph was not tending the flocks in the field. Instead he was working at home as his father's secretary. At his father's request, he went to see his brothers. He was still wearing the richly ornamented robe. He went to his brothers not as their co-worker but as their superintendent. When his brothers saw him in the distance, they plotted to kill him. "Here comes that dreamer!" They said to each other. "Come now, let's kill him and throw him into one of the cisterns and say that a ferocious animal devoured him. Then we'll see what comes of his dreams." They did not accept Joseph's dreams as God's will. They stripped him of his robe—the richly ornamented robe he was wearing—and they took him and threw him into the cistern. Later they sold him for twenty shekels of silver to the Midianites. And the Midianites sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, the captain of the guard.
God granted Joseph the dreams to be a great leader. But in reality he became a slave. His richly ornamented robe was replaced with rags. His father's special love was replaced with his master's scolding. He was put in such misery by his own brothers. He could have committed suicide or become insane. But God's dream kept him alive. God's dream gave him light. God's dream let him know the true meaning of all the hardships. God's dream moulded him step by step.
Everyone has his own dream. But very few has God's dream. Our own dreams keep on changing according to situations. We have already dropped so many dreams. Even if some of them come true its excitement lasts very short. But the dreams given by God are different. They never change. Even if we give them up, God never gives them up. He renews his dreams again in our hearts. And he trains and moulds us until his dreams come true in our lives. When our hearts are filled with worldly dreams there is no room for God to give us his wonderful dreams. At the age of seventeen Joseph received a dream to be a true leader for his generation. I pray we may throw away all our worldly dreams and fill our hearts with God's wonderful dreams. May God teach us his servantship and grow us as true leaders of this generation! India dreams to be a rich nation. But may India dream to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation!

Genesis 35:1-36:43

Genesis Study 118

GO UP TO BETHEL

Genesis 35:1-36:43
Key Verse 35:1
"Then God said to Jacob, 'Go up to Bethel and settle there, and build an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you were fleeing from your brother Esau.'"

Last week we studied about Jacob at Shechem. There he sought prosperity and comfortable life. But contrary to his hope, his only daughter was defiled and his sons became murderers. They killed every male in the city in retaliation of their sister's disgrace. Next morning the news captured a headline in Canaan Times: "The twelve sons of a foreigner annihilated and looted Shechem". The Canaanites and the Perizzites held an emergency meeting. In chapter 33, just four hundred men of Esau were more than enough to terrify Jacob. But now the natives could easily muster more than forty thousand soldiers against Jacob's tiny household. Both spiritually and physically it was the highest crisis in Jacob's entire life. How could he come out of this crisis? How did God help him?

Look at verse 1. Then God said to Jacob, "Go up to Bethel and settle there, and build an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you were fleeing from your brother Esau." Bethel means house of God. Jacob did not deserve to come back to God after living such a long years of compromise. But God graciously invited him: "Come to me. Live with me in my house. Build an altar there to me, and I will build you up." After Dinah's tragedy Leah did not talk to Jacob for she was disappointed with him. His sons did not show respect for him. Most of all Jacob lost all hope upon himself. But God still loved him and had great hope on him. No matter how much we have compromised with the world, this morning the Lord invites us again: "Come to me. Live with me in my house. Build an altar there to me, and I will build you up."
Look at verses 2 to 5. Jacob did not say to his household, "Hurry. Pack everything. We are moving up to Bethel." Instead he said to all who were with him, "Get rid of the foreign gods you have with you, and purify yourselves and change your clothes. Then come, let us go up to Bethel, where I will build an altar to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and who has been with me wherever I have gone." Jacob knew this was not an ordinary migration. His household was about to enter the house of the Most Holy God. So he made three preparations.
Firstly, He got rid of all foreign gods from among his household. He made no exception. His wife Rachel also had to throw away her foreign gods. In fact Jacob himself threw away the god of wealth, success and fame from his heart. While worshipping both the Lord and foreign gods, they expected a double blessing. But such compromise brought only God's wrath. Now Jacob eagerly hoped to build a God-fearing household.
Secondly, he purified his household. So far he did not concern about their inner purity. He was just happy when his daughter Dinah was selected as Miss Shechem. He was also excited when his sons won the Shechem cup cricket match. He boasted about his children who were studying in Shechem National University. But now he realized that without inner purity, they would be prostitutes and murderers. One man of impure heart brings thousand troubles. But one man of pure heart brings million blessings from God. In the past Jacob ran after talented servants. But now he seeks one man and one woman of pure heart. God's blessing flows through such people.
Thirdly, he ordered his household to change their clothes. Some were wearing hippie style clothes, some zippie style, some yuppie style, some punky style and some Hollywood style. One's dress style reflects the life style he or she cherishes. So Jacob told his household to wear decent clothes and live as holy children of God.
How did they respond to Jacob's direction? They gave him all the foreign gods they had and the rings in their ears. They desired to live a new life. Jacob buried them under the oak at Shechem. Then they set out. Old Jacob was buried under the oak and New Israel was moving forward to the house of God. In this way they prepared God's dwelling place in their hearts. The terror of God fell upon the towns all around them so that no one pursued them. In God's eyes one repented soul is more precious than the whole world.

Look at verses 6 to 10. Finally Jacob and all the people with him came to Bethel. The thirty years long journey ended here. Jacob built an altar to the Lord and called the place El Bethel which means God of Bethel. More than the place itself, God of that place was his prime concern. Then God appeared to him again and blessed him. God said to him, "Your name is Jacob, but you will no longer be called Jacob; your name will be Israel." So he named him Israel. His name had been changed into Israel ten years ago. But he had been living as Jacob which means deceiver. His settlement at Shechem was a kind of deception to God. He hardly remembered God during his thirty years journey. He called on the name of the Lord only when he was desperate. But God remembered him always. He watched over his every step. In fact the Lord gave him every breath he took in each moment. At last the Lord brought him back to Bethel as he had promised. But it was no more deceptive Jacob but new Israel. After thirty years shepherding God had changed one hopeless man into a God-fearing man. God is doing the same job for each of us. The way how we treat God is so selfish and deceptive. But God will never give us up. He will train us until we are completely broken down and until our old-selves are buried under the oak at Shechem. Then finally he will change us into true Israels.
Look at verses 11 and 12. God said to Jacob, "I am God Almighty; be fruitful and increase in number. A nation and a community of nations will come from you, and kings will come from your body. The land I gave to Abraham and Isaac I also give to you, and I will give this land to your descendants after you." God's ultimate goal was to raise numerous God-fearing people through one man Jacob. It was impossible for Jacob to change himself. But it was possible with God. He changed selfish and deceptive Jacob into sacrificial and truthful Israel. The same God would multiply true Israels all over the world. First he will change us into true Israels. And then he will fill all Indian campuses with true Israels.
Look at verses 14 and 15. Jacob set up a stone pillar at the place where God had talked with him, and he poured out a drink offering on it; he also poured oil on it. Jacob had been living for his own success and fame. He even utilized God for this selfish purpose. But from now on he decided to pour out his whole life for the glory of God. From a self-centred person he became a God-centred person.
Look at verses 16 to 29. Even after receiving God’s great blessings, Jacob was not free from many earthly trials. He had to face the death of his mother's nurse, the death of his beloved wife Rachel, the death of his father and the immoral sin of his first son Reuben. But he overcame all sorrows by holding the promise of God. On her death bed Rachel named her son Ben-Oni which means son of my trouble. But Jacob changed it into Benjamin which means son of my right hand. He believed God would bless his son according to his promise.

In chapter 36, we see the account of Esau. His descendants increased greatly in number and in wealth. They had their own land and their own kingdom. However they did not have one thing that was the promise of God. Eventually their kingdom disappeared in history. They exist no more. On the contrary Jacob's descendants were very few in number. They did not have their own land for more than four hundred years. However they had the promise of God. At the end they inherited every good thing from God. Many people want to hold what is visible right now. For this they fight a dog fight with others. But true Israels are those who hold the promise of God. For this they fight a good fight against their doubt and earthly desires. God will surely bless them. And he will bring his blessing to all nations through them. May God bless us to up to the promise of God and grow as true Isreals.