Good morning and happy Friday. The weekend is upon us, only one more weekend after this left in August and then September will be here. It seems like it was just yesterday that we were ringing in the new year of 2019 and here we’re almost in September. I’m always excited for September because it means 2 things. Our wedding anniversary and the State Fair of Texas. Anybody for a Fletcher’s corny dog?
This morning we have a real treat, we start the story of Joseph. The story of Joseph is one of my favorites in God’s Word, if not my single favorite. From here on through the rest of Genesis, our central figure will be Joseph. More time is given to Joseph in Genesis than to Abraham, Isaac or to anyone else. Since so much time is given to Joseph by God, we should definitely take the time to study his character and his story carefully.
The beginnings of Joseph’s story is one of irony. Think way back to when Esau and Jacob were just teens. Jacob had favored Esau and Rachel had favored Jacob, a family divided by favoritism. This treatment can destroy families and destroy it does. Jacob feels he has to trick the family birthright from his father as he no doubt feels a void where his father’s unbiased love should reside. Rachel helps Jacob trick Isaac and as a result Jacob’s life spirals out of control from there. It’s assumed that Jacob was about 108 years old as his son Joseph’s story starts out here in chapter 36, although sadly with age did not come wisdom. Jacob is playing favorites with his children just as his dear old dad Isaac had done so long ago.
The figure of Joseph is one of beauty. He is a dreamer, he has a pure heart, he loves the Lord and he never loses sight of that. His life moves from valleys to peaks, from prison to throne rooms, but his love for the Lord never waivers. He is an example that I constantly draw upon for inspiration, courage and focus. But out of the story this morning what struck me was not Joseph centric, but my focus fell upon his brothers. What struck me was the potential evil that lies within the human heart. What powerful evil lies within our hearts, always right there under the surface, ready to be unleashed.
It seems there is no doubt that at 17 years old Joseph could be seen as a little obnoxious. Here he is strutting around in his colorful coat of many colors that clearly displays his father’s favoritism, and then he starts spouting off to his brothers about his dreams of them one day bowing down to him in deference. Clearly this type of behavior is not going to win any popularity contests with older brothers, but what it does is show us the evil that lies within the human heart.
We’re told that because of the favoritism and the preferential coat, that his brothers “hated him and could not speak peacefully to him.” (Gen 37:4) After his first dream was announced to them “they hated him even more.” (Gen 37:5) And then after the dream was divulged “they hated him even more.” (Gen 37:8) Folks, that’s a lot of hate. Hate piled on top of hate.
Later on, we see this multiplicity of hate materialize as they fake his death, throw him in a pit to leave him for dead and eventually sell him into slavery to get rid of him forever. This started me thinking about hate and the human heart. We all have the same human heart. I mean they might vary slightly in size, but they are all the same in their construction. A fleshly muscle full of valves, aortas, ventricles, and veins. But what lies within that heart is as vastly different as the dark of night and the light of day. Why?
What we see in the brother’s hearts is not just a single layer of evil but something that is capable of growing. Out hearts are capable of loving more and more, but they are also capable of hating more and more. We see hate grow in their hearts until murder becomes an option. After the hateful heart considers murder, it’s only a matter of time before it becomes a choice and then a possibility.
In my own life I’ve seen people hate. I’ve seen their hate grow over time, just as in our story today. But what I’ve noticed about these hearts is where the hate originates and who holds the burden of the hate. Think about it this way. If I were out camping for a week and decided to start a fire and keep it going for the entire week, the burden and responsibility would of course fall upon me. I would first have to gather the wood, the fuel for the fire. You see fire consumes. You have to feed it, constantly. To gather the fuel for the fire takes constant time, effort and focus. Then you must tend the fire. You see, even after I spend all the time gathering the wood, I can’t just toss it to the side of the fire. I also can’t just toss it all on at once, I’d have a bonfire, but it would soon burn all my fuel too quickly. You have to carefully tend the fire and add a few pieces carefully at a time. You have to add just the right size at just the right time to keep that fire burning brightly and consistently. You see a fire is a process. It takes time, effort, patience and purpose. Folks, this is hate in the human heart. When you carry hate in your heart, it is no accident. To carry that hate, to carry that grudge, you have to attend to it as you would a fire. Constantly searching for fuel to add to the fire. If left alone, grudges and hate will eventually expire, you have to keep adding to it if you want it to continue to burn. The process of maintaining that fire of hate and anger will cost you. Cost you greatly indeed.
I’ve seen people maintain their fires for years. Year after year of carefully and methodically gathering their wood and then carefully placing it on their fire. Unwilling to let the fire die down, much less extinguish. It troubles my soul to see these lives spending so much time and effort to hate. And the irony of the situation? The belief is that the hate will somehow hurt the other person. But in reality, the burden of the hate is upon the one that carries the fire. I’ve heard it said that hate is like you drinking the poison and expecting the other person to die. So true.
So why the big differences in hearts? How can two hearts be so different? Well, I can only surmise one answer. It’s what lies within those hearts. Or better put, what is present in one and what is void in another. You see a heart that is full of Christ is full of love. A heart that is void of Christ is open to hate. There is no other scenario. You can’t have a little Christ in your heart, and you can’t have a little hate in your heart. It’s one or the other.
I pray today that the fire that burns in your heart is one that burns for Jesus Christ. That you have accepted Christ as your Savior and as a result His deep love resides within you. If you don’t know the love and peace of Jesus, you can today. It’s simple, it’s free, it’s a gift from God. Simply ask Jesus to come into your heart and change it today. You don’t have to tend the fire of hate, anger and animosity any longer. Instead you can be warmed by the love of Jesus. The greatest love the world will ever know. The love of a Savior that came to this planet and died on a Cross and rose three days later so that we could live forever with Him. Stop the hate and start the love. Jesus is the way.
There is a world of hate out there today. Go out and share the Love…share Jesus.
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