Week 10: There is A Blessing In Betrayal (Part 2)

Scripture: Genesis 45:1-8

Then Joseph could no longer control himself before all those who stood by him, and he cried out, “Send everyone away from me.” So no one stayed with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers. And he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard it. Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?” But his brothers could not answer him, so dismayed were they at his presence. Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come closer to me.” And they came closer. He said, “I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. And now do not be distressed, or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life. For the famine has been in the land these two years; and there are five more years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. So it was not you who sent me here, but God; he has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt.

There is A Blessing in Betrayal

Betrayal is something that we all have experienced throughout our lives, and we have all handled it differently. Some of us have responded with revenge, others harbored their feelings, while some just try to let it go. No matter which of those categories you fall into, there is an underlying question of “why would they do that to me?”. This question is a difficult question to bear because betrayal comes from people who are close enough to you to hurt you. It causes you to question morals and other actions. It causes you to be confused and left with questions that to some extent you don’t really want the answer to. But I’ve found that betrayal is often a tool God uses to push us to the fullest potential of who he wants us to be. It was Soren Kierkegaard who once stated that "Though Life can only be understood backwards; it must be lived forwards"; suggesting that we won’ understand it while we are going through but a time will come where it all makes sense. That when we look back over our lives and begin to think things over, we can truly say that we’ve been blessed and have a testimony!

Though that’s some good news for someone in the audience, I realized some people are going through some stuff right now that doesn’t make any sense to them. Someone is trying to figure out: Why would this person who I put my trust and confidence in betray me? I thought this person loved me, why would they hurt me? I thought I could depend on them, I thought I could trust them; why would they do that to me? And if that’s you, I thought I should let you know that you are not alone. Someone in your section has either participated in an act of betrayal, been hurt by betrayal or is overcoming betrayal. Betrayal is some common in our human nature, that throughout the bible there are many betrayals.

1.      Adam and Eve Betrayed God by eating the fruit

2.      Cain betrayed Abel by killing him

3.      Sarah betrayed Abraham by not believing she could bear a child

4.      Abraham betrayed Ishmael and Hagar by kicking them out of the house

5.      Lot’s Wife betrayed him by looking back at Sodom and Gomorra

6.      Jacob and his Mother betrayed Esau by stealing the birthright

7.      Joseph’s Brother betrayed him by selling him into slavery

8.      Rahab betrays her nation with a Scarlet Rope

9.      Delilah betrayed Samson by using his secret against him

10.  Saul betrayed David by trying to kill him

11.  David betrayed Uriah by stealing his wife and killing him

12.  Mary and Martha thought Jesus betrayed them when he didn’t come to heal Lazarus

13.  John-Mark betrays Paul when he leaves the ministry and returns home

14.  Peter betrays Jesus when he denies Christ

15.  Judas Betrayed Jesus with a Holy Kiss!

So my brother and my sister; if you feel betrayed YOU ARE NOT ALONE! The issue with us is that we often think that life ends at the betrayal. Because we are so hurt by the situation, we don’t see what the future could hold. We want it to end now. We don’t want to experience any more pain. We would do anything for it to stop because our world seemingly can’t go on beyond this betrayal but if you look back and think about the last time someone betrayed you, you’ll realized you are better, and stronger because you overcame it. Betrayal does not dictate the end; it narrates the beginning of a new journey in Christ. When my sister, Charryse, shared part 1 with  you she reminded you that God can use your most painful experiences to help others overcome; and we see that in the life of Joseph.  In every shift of the Joseph story, there was some form of betrayal. Joseph was the favorite son of Jacob as he was born through the womb of Rachel, his true love. Because he is favored by Jacob, he is hated by his brothers. He has a dream where he is exalted above his family and they bow to him; which makes his brothers hate him more. In an attempt to kill his dreams, his brothers wanted to kill him but decided to sell him into slavery instead. They sold him to an Ishmaelite (in short, one of their cousins), who would in-turn sell him to Potiphar. But, that was last week’s sermon, so I’m going to move on.

Joseph gets into Potiphar’s house and becomes the governor of all of his possessions and land. The only thing he doesn’t have authority to have is Potiphar’s wife. Potiphar’s wife wanted to get a piece of Joseph but he didn’t yield to the temptation. Even though he didn’t yield, he was penalized for raping her, after she accused Joseph to Potiphar. Joseph has been betrayed again and is in prison. As he is in prison with no expected release date, he forms relationships with two of the Pharaoh’s workers (the cupbearer and the baker). One of which (the cupbearer) would be restored to their rightful place, while the other (the baker) would be put to death. Joseph asked that the cupbearer would remember him and speak good of him to pharaoh, in an attempt to be released from prison. He was betrayed yet again, as the cupbearer forgot all about him. He forgot about him until 2 years later when Pharaoh has a dream. All of the wise men, and all of the magicians and none of them were able to decipher the meaning of his dreams.

No one could interpret it because it was given to Pharaoh by God, and only a person who was connected to God could interpret it. This is proof that God will create an issue that only you can solve to elevate you. Joseph is brought out of the prison, cleaned up and brought to Pharaoh. Pharaoh tells Joseph the dream and then Joseph interprets it, with hopes of giving Pharaoh some peace. The dream was a revelation on how to deal with an upcoming famine, which caused Pharaoh to elevate Joseph to the seat of Governor to ensure that the plan of God is executed properly. Joseph works well throughout this season, as the dream promised 7 years of plenty followed by 7 years of lack or famine. During this time, Joseph stores away some of the grain and corn that is grown to ensure for provision in the famine. When the famine begins, he was prepared for it and what appears as a dry place for everyone in the Egyptian region, is a fruitful ground for Joseph. Joseph’s story is shaping up pretty nice at this point, as it has in times before.

This is normally the part of the story where he is betrayed again and falls on his face, but instead the story takes a turn in another direction as people in the region have to come out to Egypt for food. As he is selling the food to the people, he recognizes something in the distance. He sees the faces of the 10 men who have caused him the most pain in his life. We have to realize that had it not been for them selling him into slavery, he wouldn’t have experienced any of the other betrayals and subsequent blessings he had experienced. So he treats them a bit harshly, and causes them to fear for their lives. They find themselves pleading for forgiveness for a crime they didn’t commit, similar to the way Joseph pleaded with his brothers to set him free. He asks them to bring their other brother, his baby brother Benjamin. And when they all come back gathered in the same room, Joseph reveals something to them that they couldn’t believe.

Remember Who You Are

Joseph was his father’s favorite child, and was also favored by the Lord. He was the one who was given a dream about the future of his family but throughout the different things he had to remember who he was. After being sold into slavery, after being falsely accused and thrown in jail, after being forgotten in jail, after being Pharaoh’s dream interpreter, and finally being elevated to the governor of Egypt; he remembers who he is. In Genesis 41:45 Pharaoh gives joseph a new name to give a reflection of the elevation he had received. His new name is Zaphnath-Paaneah, and people knew to call him that all the way throughout the time of plenty. He had, in a sense, become Zaphnath-Paaneah. I like the name Zaphnath-Paaneah, because in the Egyptian language it means God Speaks. But when Joseph saw his brothers, he no longer was Zaphnath-Paaneah; he was Joseph. When he put his workers out of his presence, he revealed that he was Joseph. They were not related to Zaphnath-Paaneah; they were the brothers of Joseph. Joseph means God will add. Both of these names were fitting to him, but the reason why he had to remember who he was, is because throughout all of the stuff he went through, God continued to add. God didn’t just speak, God also added. And the reason why most of us can’t see the blessing in betrayal is because when we got betrayed, we stopped looking for God to add to the story.

Rewrite the Narrative

            When Joseph is the faced with his brothers, Joseph immediately rewrites the narrative of what happened to him. We will never realize the magnitude of the blessings that are found in betrayal because we keep giving our betrayers power over us. We talk about them every day, we think about them every day, we think about what they did every day, we get upset when we hear their names, we speak ill of them to others every day, we can’t think a good thought about them because we have a hatred and animosity towards them. We need to learn how to view our betrayers how Joseph saw his brothers. He owned the reality that God took part in the process, and God intended for this to happen. It was not their doing that Got him to Egypt but God’s will! God sent him to Egypt to make provision before the famine would take place. He remembered the pain he felt but he didn’t let that dictate the way he saw the story. Don’t ever let the way you remember the pain dictate how you tell the story. If God didn’t allow it, they couldn’t have hurt you; so stop letting them be the lead in your life’s story. See the role of God in the story, and rewrite the narrative centered around the hand of God. Because God was with you all along. I know that because:

I’ve seen the lightning flashing,

And heard the thunder roll;

I’ve felt sin’s breakers dashing,

Trying to conquer my soul;

I’ve heard the voice of Jesus,

Telling me still to fight on;

He promised never to leave me,

Never to leave me alone.