Season 4 Genesis 37:31-36 (Sue Wiberg)
To watch the replay of this bible study please visit:
OR
Delivering us even in the face of deception: the enemy’s, others, and our own!
Who are you God and what are you like? The One who takes our sin upon Himself and pays the full price to set us free from sin. There is no deception in Him at all. He is Faithful!!!
Presuppose the goodness of God!
Seeing Jesus through the lens of Joseph.
Vs. 31-32 Brothers killing a goat and dipping robe in the blood. Blood of goat, not lamb. Yet they were shepherding sheep! Vs. 13 Where did they get the goat? Jeremiah 23-God’s heart is lamenting what the leaders of Israel have done to His sheep. This is the picture of:
Vs. 1 “What sorrow awaits the leaders of my people—the shepherds of my sheep—for they have destroyed and scattered the very ones they were expected to care for,” says the Lord. 2 Therefore, this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to these shepherds: “Instead of caring for my flock and leading them to safety, you have deserted them and driven them to destruction. Now I will pour out judgment on you for the evil you have done to them. 3 But I will gather together the remnant of my flock from the countries where I have driven them. I will bring them back to their own sheepfold, and they will be fruitful and increase in number. 4 Then I will appoint responsible shepherds who will care for them, and they will never be afraid again. Not a single one will be lost or missing. I, the Lord, have spoken!
5 “For the time is coming,”
says the Lord,
“when I will raise up a righteous descendant[a]
from King David’s line.
He will be a King who rules with wisdom.
He will do what is just and right throughout the land.
6 And this will be his name:
‘The Lord Is Our Righteousness.’[b]
In that day Judah will be saved,
and Israel will live in safety.
Go to deception of brothers first.
Vs. 32 Look what we found-deception—sent the robe to father.
The robe that represented all of their deep hurt!!! Hurt people, hurt people. Shame right there. Shame leads to deception. Enemy loves us to take shame, then we operate out of deception, his language.
Deception. Deceiving to make themselves appear to be something else. Deception comes out of shame. Deception is hiding. In shame, we hide from ourselves and others. Ultimately God.
Def of Deceive- causes someone to believe something that is not true, typically to gain some personal advantage.
Brothers using deception, appearing to be concerned for Jacob and their brother. But the hurt of rejection was in their heart. Hurt that brought shame, that conceived plans to hide from harm, brought deception and more harm.
Deception is about appearance. Smoke and mirrors. Creating the illusion of who we are to others to get acceptance, approval, love, whatever our heart is trying to fill desire with. Jacob deceived his father with the skins of a goat. It appeared to be something he wasn’t, his brother.
Jacob’s sons are now trying to appear to be concerned for their father, which they are not.
Our Father is never deceived!!! And He never deceives anyone. 1 Peter2:21-22 below.
God knows what is in our hearts and calls us to Him.
Hosea 12:5-8 the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies,
the Lord is his name!
6 So now, come back to your God.
Act with love and justice,
and always depend on him.
7 But no, the people are like crafty merchants
selling from dishonest scales—
they love to cheat.
8 Israel boasts, “I am rich!
I’ve made a fortune all by myself!
No one has caught me cheating!
My record is spotless!”
Read Hosea 14: I was on the road to Assyria trying to save myself.
Think we are protecting ourselves in deception and end up in slavery. Repentance and confession are where God brings us into the freedom Jesus paid for!
Galatians 6:7: Do not be deceived (misled): God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. NIV
Do not be misled-you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. And praise God for that. He calls us out to rescue us!!!
Isa 50:6 I offered my back to those who beat me
and my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard.
I did not hide my face
from mockery and spitting.
It’s no coincidence that satan is called the deceiver!
Gen 3:13 The serpent deceived me, and I ate.
He tries to deceive us to sin, that it will fill desire. Attempts to get us to live in deception, that it’s no big deal, nothing here to see.
Jeremiah 17:9: “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things,
and desperately wicked.
Who really knows how bad it is?
James 1:13-16 And remember, when you are being tempted, do not say, “God is tempting me.” God is never tempted to do wrong,[a] and he never tempts anyone else. 14 Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. 15 These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death. 16 So don’t be misled (deceived), my dear brothers and sisters.
1John 1:8-9 If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling (deceiving) ourselves and not living in the truth. 9 But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.
In the same way, God cannot be mocked that He will forgive us!!!! The enemy would try to deceive us that our sin is too much or God does not want to forgive us. If we don’t believe God’s forgiveness is enough and for us, too, we are mocking God.
God’s answer to deception. Back to the blood of the goat.
Day of Atonement, Leviticus 16. Two goats. One is sacrificed, death as a payment for sin. Blood sprinkled on the altar, etc.
The other goat is sent away, carrying the sin of Israel, a scapegoat. Goat of departure. Sin is placed on that goat, and it is completely removed.
Both goats point to the Messiah, who came to take away the sin of the world. He paid the price for sin by His perfect death, and He completely removed sin from us by taking it fully on Himself. He was sent outside the camp, outside the city’s walls, carrying all sin, and died on that cross.
This is Our Jesus, whose blood was shed to pay for our sin even as we were breathing out murderous threats against Him, angry.
Paid for the brothers/us even as they were killing Him. Brothers picture of us and putting their sin on Joseph, who was sent away. Who made the way for them to live, just like Jesus.
1 Peter 2:21-25 For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered[a] for you. He is your example, and you must follow in his steps.
22 He never sinned,
nor ever deceived anyone.[b]
23 He did not retaliate when he was insulted,
nor threaten revenge when he suffered.
He left his case in the hands of God,
who always judges fairly.
24 He personally carried our sins
in his body on the cross
so that we can be dead to sin
and live for what is right.
By his wounds
you are healed.
25 Once you were like sheep
who wandered away.
But now you have turned to your Shepherd,
the Guardian of your souls.
Romans 5:6-11 When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. 7 Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. 8 But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. 9 And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation. 10 For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. 11 So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.
Romans 3:25-36 For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, 26 for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he makes sinners right in his sight when they believe in Jesus.
1 John 2:2 He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world.
1 John 4:10 This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.
Scapegoat-brothers also point to how the enemy uses this to get us to blame others for everything wrong in our lives. We are putting all sin on them when we are not taking responsibility for our part. In Jesus, we can forgive others and ourselves and not scapegoat others or ourselves. Jesus is the only One who can fulfill this role!!!
Vs. 33 Jacob said it was Joseph and concluded that a wild animal must have found him and torn him to pieces.
Sons didn’t say that, but Jacob came to that conclusion. The deceiver had been deceived.
It seems like fear that had already been put in his head by the enemy has now come to be. Enemy plants and knows our fears!!! He plays upon our fears to see through his lens!!! But God! Flips deception on the enemy’s head and uses it for good!!! The enemy deceived, thinking he would win. Never!!!!
Vs. 20, the brothers had planned to tell Jacob that a wild animal had eaten him.
And Jacob comes to think that without them saying it.
And brothers acting in line with the enemy have become that wild animal!
Vs. 34 Jacob tears his clothes and is dressed in burlap. Absolute grief and despair that his worst fear has come true. Burlap was a sign of mourning. He mourned deeply for a long time!
Grief at the death of a son!!! Oh Lord, help us walk through this as you desire!!!! So many are grieving the loss of children and loved ones. You are the Father that gave His Son for all of us!!!
Vs. 35 His family tried to comfort him. Interesting, how could the sons who sold Joseph and caused this grief now be trying to comfort Jacob?! They would have told him the truth if they truly wanted to comfort Jacob.
The enemy tries to get us to cover sin with more sin, deception/lies. That is his native language.
God gives us opportunities to step into the light. This was an opportunity. He knew they wouldn’t do it, but it will not be wasted!
Jacob proclaims he will go to his grave, mourning his son, proclaiming that nothing or no one will ever change his heart about this deep mourning. Whoa? Is it possible to have a heart open to receive from God in such a deep place of grief and mourning?
We know that God does flip the script in this story. I believe we will always grieve on this side of heaven, but we can know that God flips the script on this story for the loved ones we have lost. We can have joy in our hearts even with grief, knowing God has our loved ones!!!
Vs. 36 Meanwhile. Love that. Meanwhile, God is still working on the rescue!!! Still working to bring us to Him!!! Always!!! Joseph is sold to Potiphar, officer of Pharoah. Someone in a high place in the government that has an impact on many people. The traders Joseph sold to were selling expensive goods and would be selling to people of wealth and position. God’s plan was always in action!