Good, Wise, Mysterious Ways
Sermon Recording
Sermon Outline
Speaker: Rev. Scott Strickman
Sermon Series: The Joseph Stories
Genesis 49:28-50:14 (ESV)
28 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel. This is what their father said to them as he blessed them, blessing each with the blessing suitable to him. 29 Then he commanded them and said to them, “I am to be gathered to my people; bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, 30 in the cave that is in the field at Machpelah, to the east of Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite to possess as a burying place. 31 There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife. There they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife, and there I buried Leah— 32 the field and the cave that is in it were bought from the Hittites.” 33 When Jacob finished commanding his sons, he drew up his feet into the bed and breathed his last and was gathered to his people.
50:1 Then Joseph fell on his father's face and wept over him and kissed him. 2 And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father. So the physicians embalmed Israel. 3 Forty days were required for it, for that is how many are required for embalming. And the Egyptians wept for him seventy days.
4 And when the days of weeping for him were past, Joseph spoke to the household of Pharaoh, saying, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, please speak in the ears of Pharaoh, saying, 5 ‘My father made me swear, saying, “I am about to die: in my tomb that I hewed out for myself in the land of Canaan, there shall you bury me.” Now therefore, let me please go up and bury my father. Then I will return.’” 6 And Pharaoh answered, “Go up, and bury your father, as he made you swear.” 7 So Joseph went up to bury his father. With him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his household, and all the elders of the land of Egypt, 8 as well as all the household of Joseph, his brothers, and his father's household. Only their children, their flocks, and their herds were left in the land of Goshen. 9 And there went up with him both chariots and horsemen. It was a very great company. 10 When they came to the threshing floor of Atad, which is beyond the Jordan, they lamented there with a very great and grievous lamentation, and he made a mourning for his father seven days. 11 When the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning on the threshing floor of Atad, they said, “This is a grievous mourning by the Egyptians.” Therefore the place was named Abel-mizraim; it is beyond the Jordan. 12 Thus his sons did for him as he had commanded them, 13 for his sons carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave of the field at Machpelah, to the east of Mamre, which Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite to possess as a burying place. 14 After he had buried his father, Joseph returned to Egypt with his brothers and all who had gone up with him to bury his father.
Sermon Outline
Life doesn’t always go as we expect or desire, but those who take hold of the gospel (the good news) trust God’s goodness and wisdom and are sustained until clarity about God’s provision can be recognized.
1. God doing something different
49:29-32 “bury me with my fathers in the cave… There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife. There they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife, and there I buried Leah”
2. God doing something for others
50:7-11 “With him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his household, and all the elders of the land of Egypt… ‘This is a grievous mourning by the Egyptians’.”
v5 “let me please go up and bury my father”
3. God doing something particular
49:33 “breathed his last and was gathered to his people.”
Jeremiah 31:15, Matthew 2:18
Prayer of Confession
Our wise and sustaining Father, we remember, now, your wisdom and goodness. We confess our forgetfulness and how we take you for granted. We become overwhelmed by what we see and lose confidence in you and your promises. We act foolishly, doing what you warn us not to do. We are prone to fear, not faith; resentment, not hope; confusion, not confidence; self serving choices, not love. Forgive us our offenses. Deal kindly with us, through Jesus Christ who gave himself so we can have life in him. Thank you for your wise and patient dealings with us. Amen.
Questions for Reflection
What kinds of thoughts or feelings do you typically have when things don’t go as you want or expect?
What is most difficult for you in facing disappointment?
What temptations do you face in extended periods of disappointment?
What are some of the things that God might be doing in or through you in these times? If you imagine the possibilities of God’s good purposes, what kinds of things may be typical (in general)? Brainstorm some examples.
How can a mission mind-set help you make the most of difficult periods? If it is possible that a difficulty you are going through might be connected to something God is doing in others (through you), how does that dictate what you might think or do as you go through such a period?
Do you have confidence that God is good and wise? Why or why not?
How can the death and resurrection of Jesus provide evidence of God’s goodness and wisdom for you?
What helps you patiently and faithfully endure hard periods? What, in Christ, gives you strength and focus?