Genesis 45:1-13    OT p. 41 or 61

[1] Then Joseph could no longer control himself before all those who stood by him, and he cried out, "Send everyone away from me." So no one stayed with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers.

[2] And he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard it.

[3] Joseph said to his brothers, "I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?" But his brothers could not answer him, so dismayed were they at his presence.

[4] Then Joseph said to his brothers, "Come closer to me." And they came closer. He said, "I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt.

[5] And now do not be distressed, or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life.

[6] For the famine has been in the land these two years; and there are five more years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest.

[7] God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors.

[8] So it was not you who sent me here, but God; he has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt.

[9] Hurry and go up to my father and say to him, 'Thus says your son Joseph, God has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me, do not delay.

[10] You shall settle in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near me, you and your children and your children's children, as well as your flocks, your herds, and all that you have.

[11] I will provide for you there--since there are five more years of famine to come--so that you and your household, and all that you have, will not come to poverty.'

[12] And now your eyes and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see that it is my own mouth that speaks to you.

[13] You must tell my father how greatly I am honored in Egypt, and all that you have seen. Hurry and bring my father down here." [NRSV]

Genesis 28:10-22    OT p. 24 or 36

[10] Jacob left Beer-sheba and went toward Haran.

[11] He came to a certain place and stayed there for the night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place.

[12] And he dreamed that there was a ladder set up on the earth, the top of it reaching to heaven; and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.

[13] And the Lord stood beside him and said, "I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring;

[14] and your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and all the families of the earth shall be blessed in you and in your offspring.

[15] Know that I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you."

[16] Then Jacob woke from his sleep and said, "Surely the Lord is in this place--and I did not know it!"

[17] And he was afraid, and said, "How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven."

[18] So Jacob rose early in the morning, and he took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up for a pillar and poured oil on the top of it.

[19] He called that place Bethel; but the name of the city was Luz at the first.

[20] Then Jacob made a vow, saying, "If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear,

[21] so that I come again to my father's house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God,

[22] and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God's house; and of all that you give me I will surely give one tenth to you." [NRSV]

INTRODUCTION:

The readings from this week reminded me of the 1981 hit by the Country Western artist John Anderson. The song title says is all. "I'm Just An Old Chunk of Coal (But I'm Gonna Be A Diamond Someday). All of the characters in our readings this weak seem to fit that description don't they? They are all just old chunks of coal. Or at best rough cut diamonds. There doesn't seem to be a redeeming quality in the whole lot of them.

I read a story about a jetliner that had just taken off. All the passengers had settled down. In the first-class section a man sat next to a well-dressed matronly woman who was wearing a stunning diamond pendant. He said to her, "Excuse me, but I couldn't help noticing that beautiful necklace. It's the most exquisite stone I've ever seen."

She responded, "Well, thank you. It's the Klopman diamond, you know."

He looked puzzled, and said, "I'm sorry, but I don't think I have ever heard of it."

She said: "Well, it's a lot like the Hope diamond. It's not as large, of course, but the clarity and beauty of the Klopman are the absolute equal. And, just like the Hope diamond, it comes with a curse for the person wearing it."

He couldn't resist that, so he said, "That's amazing! What kind of curse?"

She grinned and said: "Mr. Klopman!" (1)

After reading all the stuff that happened in our readings from Genesis this week, I'm tempted to say that the Hope God instilled through the promises made to Jacob came with a curse as well, Jacob and his descendants. Fortunately, as we read, we discover that it's not Jacob and his descendants who are in charge, even though they think they are. The one in charge of the promise and the destiny of the promise made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is God. And that's what these passages are all about.

God is in charge. We look at the characters that God chose to be the instruments and recipients of God's promises and we can't fathom why God chose them. I even have a hard time understanding why God chose ME for ministry. There are so many others who are much more capable. And there certainly had to be others more capable and moldable than this whole clan?

But then that's the point. If God had used the most capable; if God had chosen those who were "practically perfect in every way" like Mary Poppins, then who would have gotten the glory? But to take the least likely, the coal and rough cut ordinary people of the world and make them into the diamonds of the Kingdom, now that's something else.

And you see, none of what happened would have happened had God not been involved. Leading these folks looked about as easy as herding cats. No matter how much God was involved in their lives, at some point, they all got eaten up with a sudden case of the dumbs. And yet, no matter how dumb they got, no matter what stupid mistakes they made or how far away from God's plan they drifted, God was always able to bring God's plan back on course. It may have taken a convoluted journey but God steered it back on course.

How? Why? Because our God is a GOD OF THE FUTURE, a GOD OF GRACE, and a GOD OF REDEMPTION.

I. GOD OF THE FUTURE:

A. God is a GOD OF THE FUTURE. God knew that Abraham and his descendants were going to need help. God knew what they were like and what they were going to be like. Yet despite that, listen to the promise God makes to Jacob during his dream in Genesis 28:15 "Know that I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you."

As a GOD OF THE FUTURE, God always has our best interest at heart. God made promises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. And then God went about God's work making those promises a reality. The only problem was, that those to whom the promises were made, kept getting in the way. They would set out on the faith journey carefully planned by God's Promise Travel Agency. But then they kept taking wrong turns. They kept trying to take short cuts and side trips that had nothing to do with the actual journey God had sent them on. And as a consequence they kept getting lost.

Jacob, his uncle, and even his children are like the elderly woman whose husband wanted her to have her portrait painted. After several heated discussions, she finally agreed. On the first day of the sitting, she told the artist: "Paint me with diamond earrings, a diamond necklace, emerald bracelets, a ruby broach, and gold Rolex."

The artist objected, "But you are not wearing any of those things."

"I know," she said. "It's just in case I should die before my husband. I'm sure he will remarry right away, and I want his new wife to go crazy looking for the jewelry." (2)

Jacob, his uncle, his children, his wives, all had their own agenda. It wasn't enough to follow God's agenda, they each had their own and it always got them in trouble.

B. And then they had to deal with the consequences. You see, even though God is a God of the future, God didn't let them off the hook for their actions. They might take the side trip or a route of their own choosing but doing so had repercussions.

The fallout from Jacob tricking his brother out of his birthright and tricking his father into giving him Essau's blessing followed and haunted him in everything else he did in his life. It's just like Paul will say later in Galatians 6:7: "Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for you reap whatever you sow." The street version is equally as true: "What goes down, comes around." And boy did it.

Jacob got his comeuppance when he met his uncle Laban didn't he? It was love at first sight when Jacob saw Rachel. And Laban saw it in Jacob's eyes. Laban knew that Jacob would agree to almost anything to marry his daughter. So, Laban exacted seven years of service and hard work from Jacob.

Seven years. Seven years of seeing Rachel every day. Seven years of flirting and expectation. Seven years of waiting and anticipating. And on the first morning of the honeymoon, Jacob discovered he had been tricked. It's not the younger daughter, Rachel, whom he married, it's the older daughter Leah. He's been hornswaggled in the same manner that he hornswaggled his father and brother.

And on it goes in Jacob's life. The deal he dealt his own family keeps coming back to haunt him. And yet through it all, through all these detours caused by Jacob trying to set the course of his journey with God, God is faithful. And God directs the outcome, so that the promise God made for the future, can be realized and fulfilled. Because God is a GOD OF THE FUTURE.

II. GOD OF GRACE:

A. And as we've seen with how God treated Jacob and his family, even though they messed things up royally, God is a GOD OF GRACE. In everything that Jacob messes up; in everything one of his family members messes up; God's presence and God's Prevenient Grace can be seen at work.

Prevenient Grace is a Wesleyan concept that describes God's Grace at work in our lives before we're even aware of the presence of God. It is God leading us into a a relationship with God. It's God working out God's plan for us before we're aware of the plan. It's God going before us and preparing the way.

Our God is a GOD OF GRACE. And Grace is about God, it's not about us. It's not about who deserves it. The truth is that NONE of us deserve it. None of us are ever good enough to deserve God's Grace. None of us can even earn God's Grace. Grace is an unearned gift from God.

And don't you think Jacob and all of his family gave thanks to God for God's Grace? As these passages show us, God takes and uses the worst of us, the weak, the foolish, the inept, the corrupt, the bumblers, the connivers, the tricksters and jokesters. God uses the worst of us to show us how powerful God is. God can use the worst reprobate and sinner on earth for God's glory. And if God can use Jake the Snake for good or Peter of the foot in mouth disease then God can surely use you and me. And that's what Grace is all about. Grace is about God.

B. During a medieval battle a king was saved by an ordinary soldier. After the victory the king called the soldier and his family to the castle. There the King presented him with the King's very own prized goblet which was adorned with diamonds and rubies. Upon seeing the exquisite goblet the soldier said, "My Lord, this is too great a gift for me to receive."

To which the king replied, "It may be too great a gift for you to receive, but it is not too great a gift for me to give." (3)

We know what a gift like that feels like don't we? That's what the gift of salvation is all about. What Christ did for us on the cross is so much more than we deserve. We've done nothing in comparison to what He did for us. Yet, because of God's greatness, because of God's love for us, God offers us the precious gift of salvation through Jesus.

We don't deserve it. But then that's the point of Grace. Grace is a gift from God. And it's about God. Our God is a GOD OF GRACE .

III. GOD OF REDEMPTION:

A. And as a result our God is a GOD OF REDEMPTION. God can and does use our worst for God's good. Look at Tamar. How much more of a soap opera do we need? One son, Tamar's husband Er, was wicked in God's sight and before the marriage can bring children into the world, God takes Er out of the picture. So, as was the custom, the next brother was supposed to take this woman as his wife, have children but raise them as his brother's. But Onan refused. Judah then orders her to live as a widow. But when Judah's wife died. Tamar, in a round of trickery, seduces him and bears him twins.

We question why God was so harsh with Tamar's husband and his brother. And we wonder how God could have let all this happen. But then we see just how much a GOD OF THE FUTURE, a GOD OF GRACE and a GOD OF REDEMPTION our God really is. Who would have thought anything good could come out of such a relationship. And yet God redeems both Tamar and Judah and her offspring. As we read about her in the lineage of Jesus. Our God is a GOD OF REDEMPTION who can and does use anything for God's good.

B. There was once a king who owned a diamond of which he was very proud. It was the most beautiful diamond in all the country and had no equal anywhere. By accident, one day this beautiful and costly diamond sustained a deep scratch. The king was broken hearted and distressed. The king called in the most skilled diamond cutters and offered them a great reward if they could remove the imperfection from the treasured jewel. None could repair the blemish.

After some time, a gifted lapidary came to the king and promised to make the rare diamond even more beautiful than it had been before the mishap. The king was impressed by his confidence and entrusted his precious stone to this man's care. The man kept his word. He was unable to erase the scratch, but instead had etched onto the stone the image of a delicate rosebud, using the scratch as the stem. The diamond was redeemed.

Our God is a GOD OF REDEMPTION who takes our flaws and imperfections and uses them for God's glory. This is what Joseph realized when his brothers came to Egypt during the famine. Out of their jealousy for Joseph, they had sold him into slavery and told their father he was dead. Yet out of that horrible deed, God used Joseph to save his family from the famine. And would eventually raise up Moses to lead the people to the Promised Land.

And in Genesis 45:5-8 "And now do not be distressed, or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life. For the famine has been in the land these two years; and there are five more years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. So it was not you who sent me here, but God."

God's grace is active in all aspects of our lives. Sometimes God has to reroute our journey because of side trips and detours we take but God's Grace IS active in our lives. God is a GOD OF REDEMPTION.

CONCLUSION:

An old Broom Hilda cartoon shows Broom Hilda's troll-like, naive, innocent little friend Irwin putting on a long-tailed formal tuxedo jacket. He picks up a conductor's baton and walks into the woods alone.

Irwin steps up on a fallen tree trunk and begins to wave his arms as if to conduct. There are no musicians, only rocks, trees and flowers. But he's persistent and pretty soon, musical notes pour from the rocks, trees and flowers and fill the panel. Finally, Irwin turns and confidently says to the reader, "It's all in there; you just have to work at getting it out." (5)

That's what God does with us. And that's what we see God doing in the lives of the Biblical characters. There were leaders and men and women of faith in each of these individuals. There were people through whom God's promises would grow and prosper. There were people whose very lives would someday be an inspiration to our faith.

With some of them, though, God had to work at getting it out. With some of us, God still has a lot of work to do in order to get out of us what God created us to be.

God is a GOD OF THE FUTURE, a GOD OF GRACE, and a GOD OF REDEMPTION. Through God's Grace, our worst is Redeemed and God uses it to lead us into the Future which God has in mind for each of us. God has a spiritual journey in mind for you. Don't worry if you've accepted the Journey but have stumbled along the way, we all have. Don't worry if you've chosen to take side trips. Even if they weren't the greatest side trips in the world. God will get you back. God promised to be with you always.

You might be an old lump of coal, but God promised to make a diamond out of you some day.

1. Parables, Etc. (Platteville, Colorado: Saratoga Press), July 1982

2. The Pastor's Story File (Platteville, Colorado: Saratoga Press), August 1998

3. The Pastor's Story File (Platteville, Colorado: Saratoga Press), November 1992

4. The Pastor's Story File (Platteville, Colorado: Saratoga Press), November 1991 The Maggid of Dubnov, 18th century, Lithuania

5. Broom Hilda by Russell Myers