"From the Pit to the Pinnacle"
By Dr. Mickey Anders
First Christian Church
Pikeville, Kentucky
August 8, 1999
Life is filled with ups and downs, or maybe downs and ups. That has certainly been the case with the characters we find repeatedly in the Bible.
Most of us can identify with these downs and ups of life and have found favorite quotes that help us cope. Maybe you like the Arabian proverb, "All sunshine makes a desert." I have always liked Vance Havner's famous line, "The difficulties of life are intended to make us better, not bitter." Many women prefer the following lesson from the kitchen, "We must learn from tea; its real strength comes out when it gets into hot water."
Today's Scripture introduces Jacob's favorite son - Joseph. The rest of Genesis is dominated by stories about Joseph. For the next two Sunday's we will look briefly at the events of his life. We will find that he was thrown to the depths twice, but each time he climbed out of the pit and made it to the pinnacle.
Joseph was the eleventh son of Jacob and the firstborn of Rachel, his favorite wife. Verse three makes it plain that Jacob spoiled this young child. He showed favoritism to him, even making him an expensive coat. The King James Version describes it as "the coat of many colors," but most modern translations translate the key Hebrew word differently and call it a "coat with sleeves."
Favoritism has shown up before in the patriarchal families. Remember that Isaac preferred Esau and his home-cooking, while his wife Rebekkah preferred Jacob with his smooth skin. Like so many families today, this one failed to learn from its painful mistakes. The favoritism Jacob showed to Joseph created the atmosphere of jealousy and anger that lead to Joseph's first "pit-fall."
The Bible makes it clear that Joseph was a tattle-tell as well. He spied on his brothers. When they did not do something right with the flocks, he told his father. We can only imagine how his brothers felt about this favorite son who didn't have to work, but spent his time trying to catch them in mistakes.
In today's Scripture lesson, we skipped verses 5-11, which describe Joseph's dreams which further inflamed relationships with his brothers. In his dreams Joseph sees his brothers and the heavens bowing down to him - the older brothers serving the younger.
Add all these factors together, and we don't have to wonder why his brothers hated him.
On this occasion, the brothers are tending the flocks near Shechem when Jacob sends Joseph to the brothers to see how things are going. When Joseph arrives in Shechem, he cannot find his brothers. He sees another man who tells him that his brothers had left earlier to go to Dothan. Shepherds had to move often to find the best grass for their sheep. So Joseph heads toward Dothan and danger.
His brothers look out across the fields and see Joseph coming. His coat no doubt identifies him at a distance. The brothers quickly put their heads together and come up with a plan to kill Joseph. One of the brothers, Reuben, convinces the brothers not to kill Joseph, but to put him in a pit in the ground. They strip him of his hated special coat, and then begin to debate their plan.
That's when a caravan of Arab traders passes by on the major caravan route that went to Egypt, and a new idea strikes them. They decide to sell Joseph as a slave to the traders and devise a cover story to tell their father. They agreed to say that Joseph has been killed by wild animals.
We can only imagine what an impact this tragic turn of events had on Joseph. Here he was a cocky young man, full of himself and convinced by his doting father that he was destined to be the head of the entire estate. The Bible makes it clear that Joseph was an unusually handsome young man. In 39:6, the Bible says, "Now Joseph was handsome and good looking." I picture him as looking like the late John F. Kennedy Jr. - just too handsome for his own good.
But now this child of promise is betrayed by his own brothers. He finds himself fearing for his life in the pit of despair. Can you identify with this sudden turn of events?
Then he is sold into slavery in a strange and foreign land. We can only imagine the psychological impact of this turn of events. But somehow Joseph overcame his despair.
As a slave in his new home, he rises quickly through the ranks of the servants and becomes very successful in the house of his master. Chapter 39, verse 2 records, "The LORD was with Joseph, and he became a successful man... in the house of his Egyptian master."
But at the pinnacle of his success, he gets thrown into the pit again. Because of his extraordinary good looks, Potiphar's wife takes a liking to him. She makes a pass at him, and continues to over a period of time. To his credit, Joseph repeatedly resists. Finally, in anger at his rejection, she accuses him of attacking her, and Joseph winds up in prison - in the pit again.
But again Joseph rises from the pit to the pinnacle. Genesis 39:21 says, "But the LORD was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love; he gave him favor in the sight of the chief jailer." By chapter 41, Joseph has again risen to the pinnacle of power in Egypt. Twice, Joseph rose from the pit to the pinnacle.
Like us, Joseph reaches for inspiring phrases to explain his good fortune.
He named his firstborn son Manasseh, "For," he said, "God has made me forget
all my hardship and all my father's house." And his second son he named
Ephraim, "For God has made me fruitful in the land of my misfortunes."
Joseph is a fascinating character because he didn't let the disappointing
turns of life get him down.
We all start life with expectations of good and happy things happening to us. Each of us has different kinds of expectations, but we each expect life to be good for us. But without fail, disappointments come our way sooner or later.
The real question of life is how we will handle the pitfalls of life. Joseph provides an excellent model. He shows us that God can be with us even in the pit and lead us to the pinnacle again.
In fact, some would argue that the difficulties of life are the very parts of life that make us great. Scott Peck, author of The Road Less Traveled, said, "It is in this whole process of meeting and solving problems that life has meaning." The famous preacher of the past century Charles Spurgeon once said, "Many men owe the grandeur of their lives to their tremendous difficulties."
The difficulties of life are meant to rouse, not discourage. Great trials seem to be a necessary preparation for great duties. That was certainly the case for Joseph.
Maya Angelou writes about overcoming the heritage of slavery and prejudice in her moving poem entitled, Still I Rise. Her words could well have been written by Joseph, a slave in Egypt. I wonder if you can face your own difficulties with this kind of confidence.
"You may write me down in history.
With your bitter, twisted lies.
You may trod me in the very dirt.
But still, like dust, I'll rise.
"Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
'Cause I walk like I've got oil wells,
Pumping in my living room.
"Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides.
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I'll rise.
"Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops.
Weakened by my soulful cries.
"Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don't you take it awful hard.
'Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines,
Diggin' in my own backyard.
"You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness.
But still, like air, I'll rise...
"Out of the huts of history's shame
I rise
"Up from a past that's rooted in pain
I rise
"I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
"Into a daybreak that's wondrously clear
I rise
"Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
"I rise
"I rise
"I rise."
This poem seems to capture the spirit of Joseph. I wonder if you have that kind of confidence that you can rise in spite of the pitfalls of life.
Two other Scriptures challenge us to have this spirit of boldness as well. Romans 8:15-17 says, "For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, "Abba! Father!" it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ."
When our problems threaten to get us down, we need to remember this proclamation that we are not slaves, but children of God.
One other favorite passage is 2 Timothy 1:6-7, which says, "For this reason I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of my hands; for God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline."
When we face the pitfalls of life confident that God has not given us
a spirit of cowardice, but a spirit of power, love, and self-discipline,
then we too can rise from the pit to the pinnacle.