June 8 & 9 The Reality of Adversity

¹² His brothers had gone to pasture their father’s flocks at Shechem. ¹³ Israel said to Joseph, “Your brothers, you know, are pasturing the flocks at Shechem. Get ready. I’m sending you to them.” “I’m ready,” Joseph replied. ¹⁴ Then Israel said to him, “Go and see how your brothers and the flocks are doing, and bring word back to me.” So he sent him from the Hebron Valley, and he went to Shechem.  ¹⁵ A man found him there, wandering in the field, and asked him, “What are you looking for?”  ¹⁶ “I’m looking for my brothers,” Joseph said. “Can you tell me where they are pasturing their flocks?”  ¹⁷ “They’ve moved on from here,” the man said. “I heard them say, ‘Let’s go to Dothan.’” So Joseph set out after his brothers and found them at Dothan.  ¹⁸ They saw him in the distance, and before he had reached them, they plotted to kill him.  ¹⁹ They said to one another, “Oh, look, here comes that dream expert!  ²⁰ So now, come on, let’s kill him and throw him into one of the pits.  We can say that a vicious animal ate him. Then we’ll see what becomes of his dreams!”  ²¹ When Reuben heard this, he tried to save him from them.  He said, “Let’s not take his life.”  ²² Reuben also said to them, “Don’t shed blood. Throw him into this pit in the wilderness, but don’t lay a hand on him”—intending to rescue him from them and return him to his father.  ²³ When Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped off Joseph’s robe, the long-sleeved robe that he had on.  ²⁴ Then they took him and threw him into the pit. The pit was empty, without water.  ²⁵ They sat down to eat a meal, and when they looked up, there was a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead.  Their camels were carrying aromatic gum, balsam, and resin, going down to Egypt.  ²⁶ Judah said to his brothers, “What do we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood?  ²⁷ Come on, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay a hand on him, for he is our brother, our own flesh,” and his brothers agreed.  ²⁸ When Midianite traders passed by, his brothers pulled Joseph out of the pit and sold him for twenty pieces of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took Joseph to Egypt.  ²⁹ When Reuben returned to the pit and saw that Joseph was not there, he tore his clothes. ³⁰ He went back to his brothers and said, “The boy is gone! What am I going to do?”  ³¹ So they took Joseph’s robe, slaughtered a male goat, and dipped the robe in its blood.  ³² They sent the long-sleeved robe to their father and said, “We found this. Examine it. Is it your son’s robe or not?”  ³³ His father recognized it. “It is my son’s robe,” he said. “A vicious animal has devoured him. Joseph has been torn to pieces!”  ³⁴ Then Jacob tore his clothes, put sackcloth around his waist, and mourned for his son many days.  ³⁵ All his sons and daughters tried to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. “No,” he said. “I will go down to Sheol to my son, mourning.” And his father wept for him.  ³⁶ Meanwhile, the Midianites sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and the captain of the guards.
Genesis 37:12-36 (CSB)

1. Remember there is always a purpose for adversity.

²⁰So now, come on, let’s kill him and throw him into one of the pits. We can say that a vicious animal ate him. Then we’ll see what becomes of his dreams!”
Genesis 37:20 (CSB)

¹⁹They said to one another, “Oh, look, here comes that dream expert!
Genesis 37:19 (CSB)

⁹“The patriarchs became jealous of Joseph and sold him into Egypt, but God was with him.
Acts 7:9 (CSB)

²⁰So now, come on, let’s kill him and throw him into one of the pits. We can say that a vicious animal ate him. Then we’ll see what becomes of his dreams!”
Genesis 37:20 (CSB)

³¹So they took Joseph’s robe, slaughtered a male goat, and dipped the robe in its blood. ³²They sent the long-sleeved robe to their father and said, “We found this. Examine it. Is it your son’s robe or not?” ³³His father recognized it. “It is my son’s robe,” he said. “A vicious animal has devoured him. Joseph has been torn to pieces!” ³⁴Then Jacob tore his clothes, put sackcloth around his waist, and mourned for his son many days. ³⁵All his sons and daughters tried to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. “No,” he said. “I will go down to Sheol to my son, mourning.” And his father wept for him.
Genesis 37:31-35 (CSB)

³⁹Those who passed by were yelling insults at him, shaking their heads ⁴⁰and saying, “You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross!” ⁴¹In the same way the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him and said, ⁴²“He saved others, but he cannot save himself! He is the King of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. ⁴³He trusts in God; let God rescue him now—if he takes pleasure in him! For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ ”
Matthew 27:39-43 (CSB)

²⁵They sat down to eat a meal, and when they looked up, there was a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were carrying aromatic gum, balsam, and resin, going down to Egypt. ²⁶Judah said to his brothers, “What do we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? ²⁷Come on, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay a hand on him, for he is our brother, our own flesh,” and his brothers agreed.
Genesis 37:25-27 (CSB)

2. Realize that adversity reveals the truth about me.

3. Realize that adversity reveals the truth about others.

⁸It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in humanity.
Psalm 118:8 (CSB)

4. Realize that adversity is limited by God

5. Realize that adversity accomplishes God’s will

²²Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never allow the righteous to be shaken.
Psalm 55:22 (CSB)

²³For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took bread, ²⁴and when he had given thanks, broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” ²⁵In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, and said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” ²⁶For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
1 Corinthians 11:23-26 (CSB)