S2Ep4 - Joseph: Integrity in the Dark

Integrity in the dark can feel like a bitter brew — but Joseph shows what it looks like to stay faithful when no one’s watching. This episode follows his story through temptation, injustice, and the pit, revealing how God can still be working even when life doesn’t add up.

Stay up to date by following us on your favorite social networks.

Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube

Have questions or comments? Email us at contact@kingofkings.org. 

Thanks for listening!

Transcript

Intro And The Unfairness Question

SPEAKER_00 0:01

You're listening to Coffee Break Theology, a King of Kings podcast.

SPEAKER_01 0:12

All right, we're back. Hey, episode four. Godly Masculinity. I'm Marcus. He's GG.

SPEAKER_02 0:20

Come on. Have you ever experienced doing the right thing and still got punished for it? You know, something that you had, some some like righteous indignation or something. You just knew it was right, and yet you got in trouble. Oh, absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 0:37

Absolutely. All the time. All the time. Growing up, I was a kid. I had plenty of righteous indignation. I said it's not fair all the time. I have three siblings, two brothers. I thought I was almost always, almost always, not always, almost always, wrongfully accused and punished. Uh we used to just blame each other for everything. So I mean, we all got a fair piece of it, but but I was pretty much the one who was perfect. If you just ask them, they'll agree with that. Yeah, we'll ask Jill. Don't ask her.

SPEAKER_02 1:11

So kids all the time say that the same thing, right? But so do so do we as adults. Yep. Right. Like we always are. And the funny thing is we cry this, it's unfair, even when we are punished fairly. Yeah. I mean, I um our version of fair isn't necessarily the same as God's. I always like to say when my kids say that's not fair, I always say fairness went out in the with the Garden of Eden. Like, I mean, that's where we lost it, right? And and God actually, what I love is that God can use unfair circumstances um to bring about a greater good than we could ever even imagine. Absolutely.

Joseph’s Integrity In Hard Places

SPEAKER_01 1:49

Uh so we're talking about Joseph. Yeah, and and God absolutely used all the unfair circumstances in his life that we'll get to to bring out a greater good. Um, but Joseph, a lot is going on here. Uh he's betrayed by his brothers, right? They don't like him, they don't like the way that he's treated as the favorite. They they they plot to kill him, they end up just selling him into slavery. He's falsely accused in this new place that he's at, and he and he's thrown in jail for it. Um he's later released and he rises to prominence, but it it just doesn't seem like it adds up. Like all the things that lead up to his rise don't add up at all. Right. And it's weird to say that, but it's it's hard to to define fairness. It's hard to define, you know, fair or unfair. It doesn't really matter which way you go with it. It's just like, man, I does it really matter all that much? I don't know. But he still lives with integrity through it all. Right. No matter what happens to him, he's still doing the right thing. Right. Because he's got that relationship with God and God was with him. Right.

SPEAKER_02 2:50

Yeah, and and there's, you know, despite this horrible fact that he's sold by his brothers into a foreign land, um, Joseph lives with God's command to do the right thing. And and he's blessed by God. Right. And what I love too is Joseph does the right thing even when others aren't looking, even even behind the scenes, right? And so, so he finds favor with uh you know his owner, he finds favor in the land, he finds favor everywhere. But for Joseph, like I mean, Satan was attacking, the temptation just kept ramping up and ramping up and ramping up upon him, and and and even with with uh his owner's wife, right? Right, and so she lures him uh with lust and pleasure from Genesis 39. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 3:37

And instead of giving in, he resists, right? You know, it the ramping up of that. I mean, it's wild to think like how how often it it came at him.

SPEAKER_03 3:47

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 3:50

But he resists, right? Um, it probably would have been easy to give in. You know, it's a prominent woman seeking him out, yeah. Um hard to resist, especially since resisting might mean that you're gonna offend her or even um you know, lose favor with with her husband, his owner. Um, but he does give reason to why. Yeah, because he he he says no, he resists, and he says, I don't want to offend my master.

SPEAKER_03 4:17

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 4:18

But then he takes it the next step. He takes it to the underlying thing that allows him to resist. Yeah, I don't want to offend God. God commands me to stay away and avoid this sin.

SPEAKER_03 4:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 4:27

So that's why I'm doing it. I'm not offending God.

SPEAKER_02 4:30

I think where I really admire Joseph and where we've kind of used this term this season of trying to be uncommon, yeah, is you know, Joseph's had everything go against him in a way. I mean, you know, he saw this great dream, his brothers got jealous, they threw him into a pit, left him to die, he gets sold into slavery, right? And then he goes into slavery. I I think the common man would have said, you know what, life's just terrible. I'm gonna start actually doing what I want to do. Like, there's there's no fun in what what's happening where I'm trying to do the right things. Exactly. So, what's the point of all this? And and I I mean, I've heard I've heard so often times where like you just get beaten down so much, you just kind of go, forget it. Yep, like now I'm gonna do what I want to do and at least have a momentary moment of and and here, right, where he's got this opportunity, um, and and maybe even would have got away with it, sure, right? Like, he resists and says no. And um and and that's it. And Luther talks about this too, right? God, God wishes in in the sixth commandment, right? Um, you shall um shall not commit adultery, right? God wishes the heart to be pure and chaste. Um, this not only applies in our outward behavior, um, but it also applies in our thoughts and our desires. And so um, and and Joseph's kind of leaving living that example for us uh way ahead.

SPEAKER_01 6:02

Absolutely. Um he was young, he was far from home, he had nobody around him to hold him accountable.

SPEAKER_03 6:08

Right.

SPEAKER_01 6:08

He he was he was out, he was on his own, except he wasn't. Yeah, he resisted because he wasn't alone, because God was with him. Yeah, um, but he also he does this, he resists her day after day. We don't know how long that went on, but it it seems like it would be a long time. Day after day, yeah, he said, even by myself out here alone, God's with me. I have the the the strength and the capability to say no.

Resisting Temptation When Alone

SPEAKER_02 6:35

Yeah. And this is this is really the true measure. And I would say this is this is for men and women. Yep. Right? The measure of character is what do you do when the crowd is is is is watching, but no one is. Yeah. Right? Like it's it's easy to do, it's easy to to um, you know, help someone when you see everyone else wanting and and watching what you're doing. Right. It's it's hard to do that when no one's watching, right? And so um that's the that's a measure of true character, and that's a that's a manly, a godly man, manly thing to do, and a god, godly womanly thing to do as well. Absolutely. Yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 7:14

Let's let's back up just a little bit. Yeah. Um, to when his brothers were they threw him in the pit, they were mad at him. Right. Um, their dad, Jacob, you can't seem to refrain from making sure everybody knows that he's his favorite. And if you ask your parents who the favorite was, usually they'll tell you nobody was. I say it depends on the day. Uh I like that man.

SPEAKER_02 7:34

Times Macy's been my favorite, at times Tessa's been my favorite, and at times neither have been my favorite. Exactly.

SPEAKER_01 7:39

I would agree with that. But so so Joseph is treated as the favorite. His brothers are mad at him, they throw him in a pit, they debated about killing him. Yeah, that's where he's sitting right now.

SPEAKER_02 7:48

I mean, I I just like it's just one of those hard things to even imagine. Like, talk about dysfunctional family. This is the 2020 family, right? Yeah. Um, on that show. So, so at least one brother came and had some sense. Yeah, like one brother stopped it, right? They're plotting Joseph's death, like they're heading down. It's not theory, it's not hi, I just wish he were dead, right? It's like, hey guys, I think we can actually do this, right?

SPEAKER_01 8:15

Yeah, let's throw some animal's blood on his coat or tell dad he got mauled by a bear or something.

SPEAKER_02 8:20

Right. They were there, yeah. And then Ruben, um, who by the way, the Ruben sandwich is not named after, and Ruben sandwich uh invented here in Omaha. Um, but anyways, Ruben plots to save his brother's life, yeah, right. And so before he could, they decided to make a little money um by selling him into slavery. Still not a great thing. Yeah, like I mean, this is not like a hey brothers, good job. You you did a little better than what you were gonna do, yeah, but he's alive. Exactly. And God is the architect of that, and so got God really saved him. Once again, God comes in with a salvation moment. Yep.

SPEAKER_01 8:55

So having gone through that little story, let's fast forward back to him resisting Potiphar's wife. Yeah, it's like we're playing pickleball back. We are back and water. Love it. I could I could take you, I think. I got I got a I got a mean backhand. Yeah. Tomorrow we'll do it.

SPEAKER_02 9:09

All right.

SPEAKER_01 9:10

So he he resisted his his his owner's wife, his master's wife. Uh his integrity flowed from knowing God's presence was real.

SPEAKER_03 9:17

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 9:17

God had saved him in the pit. And and somehow he knew that. Uh he felt God's presence. So while he's being tempted, God's presence is real to him still at that time. So it gives him the feeling that even being wrongly thrown into a pit and sold, God was with him, God brought him through, God was the architect, like you said. Um, Genesis says the Lord was with Joseph. He says that multiple times throughout this whole account.

Betrayed By Brothers In The Pit

SPEAKER_02 9:42

That's right. And Joseph, Joseph knew God. He walked with him every day, he felt his presence. Um, and so even when he was wrongly accused, he was rightly let off the hook, right?

SPEAKER_01 9:55

Yeah, no, he wasn't wrong. Uh talk about a major letdown, though. Like we just you set that up, like, yeah, I did the right thing. I I'm not I'm not getting in trouble for this. No, all he does is the right thing. Yeah, that's all he does over and over and over. And how does he get repaid? You're in prison. Yeah, in the clink. Nah, nice work. Yeah. Uh but guess what? Genesis says it again, the Lord was with Joseph. Right. So even in prison, even after this, even continuing on with this theme, God is still there. Yeah, the Lord is still with Joseph. Um, so as you hear that, it seems like there's a major comeback coming for him. It feels like it's just leading up. Like if this was a movie, this would be the the theme song, this would be the ramping up of of good things to come. And you can sense that when you watch it.

SPEAKER_02 10:42

Um I just hear Mark Zender right now saying, in your setback is your comeback. Exactly. Right.

SPEAKER_01 10:48

That was awesome. Um, but yeah, God keeps allowing me to be put down, but he's he's at work, he's he's the archetype, uh, the architect in this situation, yeah, and a greater good is coming. You can feel it.

SPEAKER_02 11:00

So so think about this with our own lives, right? Like, I think I think sometimes it feels like we're constantly being thrown in the pit. Yep, we're constantly being thrown in jail, we're constantly saying, I'm doing all the right things, and nothing good is coming out of that. We're we're right, we're we're looking at it and we're asking the question sometimes, like, does my obedience even matter to God? Does God even see me what and what's happening? And yes, it absolutely matters to him. And not only does he see us, but he wants to lift us out of that, but it's gonna be in his time and his ways for an even greater good than what we can see. And and so, so we don't we don't always have any idea of what God has in store for us. Yeah and since God's a good God, it's gonna be a good thing he has in store for us.

SPEAKER_01 11:49

There's a book by uh forget the author, maybe J.I. Packer. It's an old book. Yeah, it's called All Things Are Done for Our Good. And it talks about Romans 8.28. Yeah, for God works for the good of everyone who loves him. And he says, All good things work for your good. That's an easy one to understand. But he says, All bad things, not some bad things, not a few bad things, but all bad things work for your good. God is at work to bring about a greater good no matter of the circumstances. Trust comes back into play in this. Because if it were up to us, like like Joseph, all these bad things are happening to you, dude. Just just do whatever you want. Yeah. Why why are you trusting a God who keeps letting you down? Does he even exist? Like, is he even real? Joseph knows he is, he has that faith. Um but yeah, so Joseph spends 13 years in prison for something he didn't even do, a crime he did not commit in a land he didn't come to on his own behalf. After being betrayed by his family, all his brothers betrayed him. Like there's so many layers to this that it's like, Joseph, this is none of this is your fault. And you're getting 13 years in prison? I can't imagine. But he remains faithful to God. Yeah, he felt the presence of God with him. His integrity was not contingent on a blessing that he was receiving. Um bad things are happening to him. A rightful ruling wouldn't wasn't even the thing that made it contingent. He was faithful even in the midst of all the bad things, all the letdowns, all the all the wrongful accusations, everything. Thirteen years in prison. Can you imagine that?

SPEAKER_02 13:27

No, no, I can't. And and 13 years like to continue in your obedience, to continue in your faithfulness, right? Um yeah, that that's such a measure of character and integrity. Right. Um, really well done. Absolutely. And so then he's released, God raises him up to prominence, he becomes a second in charge and command of all of Egypt. And then we begin to see God's purpose and his time, his will, and his ways, um, obscured for so long, right? Um, that the the from the pit to the foreign land to prison, but now the veil is lifted. Right. And we get to see it. Because God's favors on Joseph as he prepares Egypt for famine, uh, one in which his own family would be struggling to survive.

SPEAKER_03 14:20

Yeah.

Prison Setbacks And Trusting God

SPEAKER_02 14:20

And so they come, they come to Egypt to buy food, and it's none other than their own brother, right, uh, who they sold into slavery, uh, who is going to provide for them.

SPEAKER_01 14:31

Right. And I think as these things are happening, I think you know, he could rises to prominence. Joseph starts to realize God's at work here. He sees his brothers coming, he sees everybody coming to Egypt. He he he provided the way for Egypt to survive by storing up food for those seven years, and then the seven years of drought, he sees everybody coming to him. He's like, I think I know what's going on here. God, you're using me. Um, so his brothers come, he calls him over and he tells them over and over, like, God, God lifted me up. Yeah, God orchestrated this outcome. Yeah. So that you guys might be saved. This was all God's work. This is not me.

SPEAKER_03 15:10

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 15:11

And that's that's what I love, right? Another, I mean, I I've said this, like another mark of leadership, another mark of character, um, manly and womanly, right, is is you want to cast praise and accept blame. Yeah. And so, so this is he's casting praise here um for for God. He could have easily said, I'm gonna save you. I'm the one you owe me, but he doesn't. He gives it all to God on this. And and that just again tells who he is. So, so even this after their father dies, right? The brothers worry, is Joseph now gonna take revenge? Like, like he's not he did he protect us because he didn't want to shame us in front of dad because we know dad thought he was the favorite, right? Um, and and so Joseph again responds with great integrity. And I love this in Genesis 50. You you meant evil against me. So, so he didn't he didn't behide hide behind the truth, right? He didn't say, you know what, like what you did stunk or it was okay, don't worry about it. He tells him, he goes, Listen, you meant evil against me. Yep, but God, again, casting praise, God did it for good um to bring about that many people would be kept alive as they are today.

SPEAKER_01 16:27

Yeah, and and the the God orchestrating this is beautifully represented. Pastor Joe B Martin. Oh, I love that guy out of Jacksonville, Florida. Yeah, amazing church. He is awesome, yeah. Um, but he says this if and he's not this is not his quote, he gets it from somebody else. Um actually biblical as well. But he says, if God wills it for you, nothing can stop it from happening. And if he doesn't have it for you, nothing you do will obtain it. Yeah, that that's wild to think about. That is Christ is God's in control. He's not we're not puppets, yeah, but he is in control.

SPEAKER_03 17:00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 17:00

Um, so obedience is our calling, he's gonna take care of the results. It's not about it's not about us and and and like Joseph, cast the praise elsewhere. Yeah. And that's the thing.

SPEAKER_02 17:10

God the God calls us to integrity. Yeah, um, he commands us to purity, yep. Right. And in Joseph, he did have huge plans for him, right? Um, God made him into the man that he had in mind for him when he created him, when he formed and fashioned him in the womb. And for me, I always remember God's gonna do the same thing for us. Yeah, like always the same thing for us.

Prominence Without Revenge

SPEAKER_01 17:34

And just like he's gonna do that for us, have purpose for us, he's he's got he has the same callings as Joseph had. Yeah, we're still called to integrity in every area of our life. Yes. Um, he calls us to that. Lust, lust is definitely, I mean, that's the easy one to think about when you think about men and what they struggle with. Yeah, lust is really hard. Yeah, I struggle with it. Yeah, it's it's one of those things that it's just a daily thing. Yeah. Um, part of it is how we were wired, part of it is just the way things work.

SPEAKER_03 18:01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 18:02

Um, but we struggle with it.

SPEAKER_03 18:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 18:04

Um, so what do we do with that? Well, we don't hide it. Yeah, we should expose it. Yeah. Expose the sin, bring it out into the light because it can't stay in the light.

SPEAKER_03 18:12

Right.

SPEAKER_01 18:12

Darkness has no way of staying alive in the light. Yeah. So expose it. And with the help of the Holy Spirit and maybe a a confidant or a friend, right? You know, a pastor, counselor, something like that, God can bring you through that. Yeah. He's faithful in that.

SPEAKER_02 18:26

Yeah. And I I would want to give a uh give just a plea out there to men, especially. And I think also, too, if you have young men like a teenager or something like that, if you have an addiction or a struggle or compulsion to pornography um and and to your phone, um, come come to the we have a counseling center, the core counseling. They can get you in. There, there are plenty of openings. We also have the ability, if you need, if you need some scholarship that's that's done in a confidential, um and a private way. And so, so I would I would invite you to to deal with that, um, and and to work on that because God's got so much more for you, and and He He does not want you to stay shackled um to that that pain or that addiction. And so, so there is greater greater freedom for you.

SPEAKER_01 19:17

And it's crazy too, because the devil tempts you in that way, right? The devil knows that's what you struggle with. The devil is is attacking you all the time with temptation. Yep. And then it it's a double-edged sword with him because you give in. Yeah, and then the devil turns around and says, look at what you did. Yeah, that's terrible.

Lust, Porn, Help, And Boundaries

SPEAKER_02 19:34

Yeah, and that's the that's the important part, right? When we fail, this does not define us, right? Right? We are not when we fail, it's not that we're evil or we're bad or we'll never be good. Yeah, right. We take it to God, we repent from it, we remember our identity, which comes from our baptism, that we're children of God, holy and loved and and cared for. So he has that purpose for us, and we get to walk with him in that. And we see that in Joseph.

SPEAKER_01 20:01

Absolutely. Um, so your challenge this week put one new boundary in place to protect that purity.

SPEAKER_03 20:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 20:09

Uh it takes work. Yeah. You have to ahead of time decide that this is what you're gonna do. In the moment, it's too hard. So put that boundary in place to protect your purity, uh, whether that's a tech safeguard, uh, accountability conversation with a friend, um, or change your routine. If you need to stop looking at screens, stop looking at screens. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Don't do it in your room. Right. Like it's just something that you you just change.

SPEAKER_03 20:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 20:31

Uh, so review all the areas of your life. Are you showing integrity or is there a need for repentance? Find community, and and that community is there to help you.

SPEAKER_03 20:40

Right.

SPEAKER_01 20:41

To help you fight sin, to help you kill sin, to help you get rid of it.

SPEAKER_03 20:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 20:44

Yeah, that's good.

SPEAKER_02 20:45

So, godly men, guard guard your hearts as fiercely as you guard your reputations.

SPEAKER_01 20:52

Yeah, absolutely. Uh, next week, another one. It's a good one. Hello, Moses and a bush on fire. Ah, here we go. We'll see here we go. See you then.

SPEAKER_00 21:02

Thanks for listening to Coffee Break Theology. Be sure to tune in next time and remember to check out our other podcast series available on every major podcast listening service.