SOLD, SAD, AND SAFE

GENESIS 37:18-36
18 When they saw him from a distance and before he came close to them, they plotted against him to put him to death.
19 They said to one another, “Here comes this dreamer!
20 “Now then, come and let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits; and we will say, ‘A wild beast devoured him.’ Then let us see what will become of his dreams!”
21 But Reuben heard this and rescued him out of their hands and said, “Let us not take his life.”
22 Reuben further said to them, “Shed no blood. Throw him into this pit that is in the wilderness, but do not lay hands on him”—that he might rescue him out of their hands, to restore him to his father.
23 So it came about, when Joseph reached his brothers, that they stripped Joseph of his tunic, the varicolored tunic that was on him;
24 and they took him and threw him into the pit. Now the pit was empty, without any water in it.
25 Then they sat down to eat a meal. And as they raised their eyes and looked, behold, a caravan of Ishmaelites was coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing aromatic gum and balm and myrrh, on their way to bring them down to Egypt.
26 Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is it for us to kill our brother and cover up his blood?
27Come and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.” And his brothers listened to him.
28 Then some Midianite traders passed by, so they pulled him up and lifted Joseph out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. Thus they brought Joseph into Egypt.
29 Now Reuben returned to the pit, and behold, Joseph was not in the pit; so he tore his garments.
30 He returned to his brothers and said, “The boy is not there; as for me, where am I to go?”
31 So they took Joseph’s tunic, and slaughtered a male goat and dipped the tunic in the blood;
32 and they sent the varicolored tunic and brought it to their father and said, “We found this; please examine it to see whether it is your son’s tunic or not.”
33 Then he examined it and said, “It is my son’s tunic. A wild beast has devoured him; Joseph has surely been torn to pieces!”
34 So Jacob tore his clothes, and put sackcloth on his loins and mourned for his son many days.
35 Then all his sons and all his daughters arose to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. And he said, “Surely I will go down to Sheol in mourning for my son.” So his father wept for him.
36 Meanwhile, the Midianites sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, Pharaoh’s officer, the captain of the bodyguard.  

 GENESIS 42: 21
21 Then they said to one another, “Truly we are guilty concerning our brother, because we saw the distress of his soul when he pleaded with us, yet we would not listen; therefore this distress has come upon us.”

EPHESIANS 5: 3-4
3 But immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints;
4and there must be no filthiness and silly talk, or coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks.

GENESIS 39: 2-6
2 The Lord was with Joseph, so he became a successful man. And he was in the house of his master, the Egyptian.
3 Now his master saw that the Lord was with him and how the Lord caused all that he did to prosper in his hand.
4 So Joseph found favor in his sight and became his personal servant; and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he owned he put in his charge.
5 It came about that from the time he made him overseer in his house and over all that he owned, the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house on account of Joseph; thus the Lord’s blessing was upon all that he owned, in the house and in the field.
6 So he left everything he owned in Joseph’s charge; and with him there he did not concern himself with anything except the food which he ate. Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance.

A NEW COAT,BIG DREAMS, AND A LONG TRIP

GENESIS 30:22-24

22 Then God remembered Rachel, and God gave heed to her and opened her womb.
23 So she conceived and bore a son and said, “God has taken away my reproach.”
24 She named him Joseph, saying, “May the Lord give me another son.”

GENESIS 33:1-7
1Then Jacob lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, Esau was coming, and four hundred men with him. So he divided the children among Leah and Rachel and the two maids. 
2 He put the maids and their children in front, and Leah and her children next, and Rachel and Joseph last. 3 But he himself passed on ahead of them and bowed down to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother.

GENESIS 35:23-26
23 the sons of Leah: Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn, then Simeon and Levi and Judah and Issachar and Zebulun;
24 the sons of Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin; 25 and the sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s maid: Dan and Naphtali;
26 and the sons of Zilpah, Leah’s maid: Gad and Asher. These are the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Paddan-aram.

GENESIS 37:2
2 These are the records of the generations of Jacob. Joseph, when seventeen years of age, was pasturing the flock with his brothers while he was still a youth, along with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives. And Joseph brought back a bad report about them to their father

GENESIS 37:1-3
1 Now Jacob lived in the land where his father had sojourned, in the land of Canaan.
2 These are the records of the generations of Jacob. Joseph, when seventeen years of age, was pasturing the flock with his brothers while he was still a youth, along with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives. And Joseph brought back a bad report about them to their father.
3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his sons, because he was the son of his old age; and he made him a varicolored tunic.

GENESIS 35:16-19
16 Then they journeyed from Bethel; and when there was still some distance to go to Ephrath, Rachel began to give birth and she suffered severe labor.
17 When she was in severe labor the midwife said to her, “Do not fear, for now you have another son.”
18 It came about as her soul was departing (for she died), that she named him Ben-oni; but his father called him Benjamin.
19 So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).

GENESIS 37:4 
4His brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers; and so they hated him and could not speak to him on friendly terms.

GENESIS 37:8
 8 Then his brothers said to him, “Are you actually going to reign over us? Or are you really going to rule over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.

GENESIS 37:12-20
12 Then his brothers went to pasture their father’s flock in Shechem.
13 Israel said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers pasturing the flock in Shechem? Come, and I will send you to them.” And he said to him, “I will go.” 
14 Then he said to him, “Go now and see about the welfare of your brothers and the welfare of the flock, and bring word back to me.” So he sent him from the valley of Hebron, and he came to Shechem. 15 A man found him, and behold, he was wandering in the field; and the man asked him, “What are you looking for?”
16 He said, “I am looking for my brothers; please tell me where they are pasturing the flock.”
17 Then the man said, “They have moved from here; for I heard them say, ‘Let us go to Dothan.’ ” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan.
18 When they saw him from a distance and before he came close to them, they plotted against him to put him to death.
19 They said to one another, “Here comes this dreamer!
20 “Now then, come and let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits; and we will say, ‘A wild beast devoured him.’ Then let us see what will become of his dreams

A KINGDOM WITHIN

weltanschauung

PRONUNCIATION:  (VELT-ahn-shou-oong)

MEANING:  noun: World view; philosophy of life; a framework through which to interpret the world.

ETYMOLOGY:  From German Weltanschauung (world view), from Welt (world) + Anschauung (perception).
 　

PHILIPPIANS 3:7-14
7 But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ.

8 More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ,

9 and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith,

10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death;

11 in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.

12 Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.

13 Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, 

14  I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

THE BEATITUDES

Matthew 5:3-12
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 
4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
5 “Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.
6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.  10 “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.

12 “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Joe's information

Beatitudes: Meaning -

The word ‘Beatitudes’ in not found in the english bible. It comes from the latin word ‘Beatus’, which means happy or blessed. It is usually referred to the eight state of blessedness, Jesus preached on the sermon on the mount, recorded in Matthew 5:3-12. Some what similar list is also mentioned in Luke 6:20-23. However, these two list of beatitudes differs a bit from each other.

THE SERVANTS MIND

Matthew 20: 25-28
25 But Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them.
26 “It is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant,

27 and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave;

28  just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

 Matthew 25: 14-30
14 “For it is just like a man about to go on a journey, who called his own slaves and entrusted his possessions to them.

15 “To one he gave five talents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability; and he went on his journey.

16 “Immediately the one who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and gained five more talents.

17 “In the same manner the one who had received the two talents gained two more.

18 “But he who received the one talent went away, and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.

 19 “Now after a long time the master of those slaves ^*came and ^*settled accounts with them.

20 “The one who had received the five talents came up and brought five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you entrusted five talents to me. See, I have gained five more talents.’

21 “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ 22 “Also the one who had received the two and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’

 24 “And the one also who had received the one talent came up and said, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you scattered no seed.

25 ‘And I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.’

26 “But his master answered and said to him, ‘You wicked, lazy slave, you knew that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I scattered no seed.

27 ‘Then you ought to have put my money in the bank, and on my arrival I would have received my money back with interest.  
28 ‘Therefore take away the talent from him, and give it to the one who has the ten talents.’

29 “For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away.

30 “Throw out the worthless slave into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FOR JOE

The context of this parable is the return of Christ.  The wealthy “master” is the Lord Jesus Christ whose “journey” refers to his departure to heaven after his resurrection.  The“servants” represent initially the 12 disciples and later all believers of every generation.  The “talents” symbolize all gifts, both natural and spiritual, which he “entrusts” or loans to his servants.  Different servants receive different gifts and different opportunities.  The master’s return “after a long time” refers to the end of this age of grace during which the servants should faithfully use their talents for Christ’s service.

The “settling of accounts” takes place at the “judgment seat of Christ” when the service of believers will be evaluated (Romans 14:12; 1 Corinthians 5:10).  The test is faithfulness or unfaithfulness, not popularity or apparent success.  Many will be commended but some will be condemned.  Degrees of punishment and reward are based upon privilege and opportunity, and our stewardship of them.

ABILITY (verses 14-15)

A talent represents any kind of resource (such as money) or ability (for example public speaking or any spiritual gift) or opportunity for service that we have.  God sovereignly distributes his gifts unequally according to his grace.  Paul wrote to the Corinthian believers, “There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit.  There are different kinds of service… All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.” (1 Corinthians 12:4 –5, 11).  The Holy Spirit gives each Christian one or more gifts “as he wills.” (Verse 11 RSV)  Each believer has a different endowment of gifts.  The apostle Peter makes the same point: “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.”  (1 Peter 4:10)  God’s gifts should be used for the welfare of the whole church and not used selfishly or for self-promotion.

The phrase “each according to his ability” indicates that the amounts given were in keeping with the abilities of the servants.  No matter how much or how little we have, we must always recognize that we are responsible to him for what he has given.  There is no ground for pride in those who have been given five talents and no cause for envy or discontent in those who have received one talent.  It is unwise to compare ourselves with others.  Possibly one-talent people, who use their talent, do most Christian work.

.RESPONSIBILITY (16-18)

“At once” indicates that the good servants promptly put the money to work.  The expected return was in proportion to the amount entrusted.  The response of the first two servants illustrates what Jesus required, an unhesitating and fruitful obedience from his disciples.  The two “trustworthy” (NEB) servants received the same commendation from the master, although their original responsibility was different, and their achievement was different.

But one servant, unwilling to work or take risks, simply dug a hole and buried the money.  This was safer than the deposit systems of the time. (In Luke’s parable, the money of the third servant is hidden in a piece of cloth.)  He decided to “play it safe” rather than serve the master.

ACCOUNTABILITY (verses 19-25)

The Day of Judgment is depicted as a master investigating his servants’ accounts (c.f. 18:23).  The accounting begins “after a long time” which implies that the fulfillment of the kingdom will be delayed.  “Settled accounts” (verse 19 NIV) is a commercial term.  The first servant, who doubled his five talents, is praised for his faithfulness and given two things: increased responsibility and a share in his master’s “joy”.  The second servant has also been faithful with what has been given him and hears the same words as his more able fellow servant.  The same commendation of “Well done” (verses 21 and 23) suggests that we will be rewarded by how well we have used our talents, rather than on the basis of how much service we have done.

The master rewards his slaves generously.  In heaven, God honours the earthly service of Christians by giving them more service.  The reward for good work is more work and increased responsibility.

THE EXCUSES OF THE THIRD SERVANT WERE NOT ACCEPTED

The emphasis in this story is on the third character that the master called “wicked, lazy and useless.”  He accused his master of being a “hard” man who exploited the labour of others (“harvesting where you have not sown”), and putting the servant in a difficult position.  Should he take the risk of trying to increase the one talent entrusted to him, he would see little of the profit.  If he failed and lost everything, he would experience the master’s wrath.  However, he misjudged his master’s character and distrusted himself; he did not understand his master’s generosity.  Perhaps he was annoyed at having been given much less than the other two.  In effect he did not care what happened to his master’s property.

CONDEMNATION (26-30)

The master condemned the servant as “wicked and lazy” on the basis of the servant’s own words.  If the master was so hard and grasping, should not the servant have put the money where it would have been relatively safe, earned interest, and required no work?  There is a definite contrast between the third servant and the first two servants whose loyalty and works indicate their relationship of trust with their master.  The third slave had no works, which in the NT is the same as having no saving faith.  James says, “Faith without deeds is dead.” (2:26)

The talent entrusted to this wicked servant was taken from him and given to the servant with ten talents.  The wicked servant was considered “worthless” (NIV) or “useless”(NEB) or “unprofitable” (KJV) for to fail to use what God has entrusted to us is a serious sin.  Having neglected opportunity, he was deprived of further opportunity (c.f. Matthew 13:12).  God is not a kindly father figure who tolerates laziness and disobedience; Jesus said that the servant’s laziness was wickedness.  God is not a hard taskmaster but his grace does not tolerate irresponsibility.