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Although he seemed to get the "shaft" before he got the "gold mine", when Joseph was finally remembered from down in "Cell Block C", he quickly rose to the top & became the guy who saved the day, which was at the time, the known modern world! So let's look at some things this week about his life from Genesis 37-50. Read those chapters throughout the week if you can. This Scriptural account distinguishes Joseph as the one God used to "DELIVER His people TO Egypt, before Moses was used to DELIVER His people FROM Egypt" nearly 400 years later. The "SITUATIONAL SEASONS" of his life... 1...FAVORED to a FAULT (Genesis 37) Unfortunately, Jacob, Joseph's father played favorites. His father, Isaac did, too. You'd think he would've known better. It never works out good when parents play favorites & give "preferential treatment". Joseph was the first of two sons born to Jacob's "favorite wife", Rachel, later in life. And after Joseph's "only other full brother", Benjamin was born, their mother died in childbirth. That type of trauma marks a family deeply. The strong bond, Joseph and his brother Benjamin had was not existent with his half brothers. Remember, Jacob knew exactly what it felt like to NOT be the favorite from his father, Isaac. Maybe that played a part as well. When the Bible says "sin visits the 3rd & 4th generations" with what we might call "a recycling of dysfunction", I think we can see the "power of modeling" is far more life-shaping than a few fleeting "teachable moments". For us as people of "finishing well age", we learned years ago that the values our kids and grandkids develop are more "CAUGHT than TAUGHT"! To quote the Cowardly Lion, "Ain't it the truth, ain't it the truth!" 2...DESPISED for a REASON (still in 37) So the groundwork has been laid for a bad relationship between Joseph, the favorite son & his older half brothers. They had different Moms, different mannerisms, & different looks, which all added up to potential resentment. And it didn't help that Joseph was "exempt" from getting dirty by wearing that "ornate, set-him-apart, too cool for school, multicolored coat"! Nor did it help that he was in charge of "quality control" as the youngest, overseeing his brothers and their work ethic! Nobody likes a tattletale, whose ONLY job is to make sure they do THEIR job! In chapter 37:4, the NLT describes the essence of how they related to him, saying, his brothers hated him because "their father loved him more than the rest of them & they couldn't say a kind word to him." It's hard to look at spiritual stories like this when we see similar patterns reflected sometimes in families around us. And what it goes on repented and then resolved, we see things played out further as in our next "situational season". 3...GIFTED with a DREAM (yep, stuck in 37) Joseph was a dreamer. They weren't dreams of his aspirations, but rather they were like a "futuristic prophecy" God was giving him. But when the crowd is already hostile, what type of response would you expect when explaining the essence of your dream in which, they're all going to bow down to you? Now please notice that Joseph gets dreams as a "double feature". That experience will serve him well in the future as he one day will talk with Pharaoh about HIS back-to-back" dreams! Joseph's first dream was about sheaves of grain with the others bowing down to his. And the second was similar with the sun, moon & stars all bowing as well. Even his father, Isaac had a bit of a problem with that one! With all these negative and problematic elements in this dysfunctional family accumulating, this next season for Joseph should come as no surprise. 4...ABUSED & ABANDONED (we finally get to finish chapter 37!) Even though the oldest of the sons, Reuben, had secretly planned to come back and rescue Joseph from the pit, he could never have anticipated the "impulsive gesture" of his brothers selling Joseph into slavery as an option. Through the years, our military and psychological experts have discovered a lot of about "PTSD". Many people have suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, without it being recognized at the time. And if not dealt with, it can become "the gift that keeps on giving". Joseph had to experience a lot of the effects of this type of emotional trauma. Later on as his brothers reflected on the pain they had caused him, they had great remorse for the way they'd abandoned him. In Genesis 42:21, the brothers acknowledged to one another their feeling of now "being punished for the way they had treated Joseph long ago, recalling how he had begged for his life, but they didn't listen". They had lived with the torment of the guilt of what they had done all those years ago. It's the haunting sense of "the other shoes gonna fall sometime", when we look over our shoulder, expecting on receiving side of what goes around, comes around. The sword-wielding of shameful deeds has a tendency to "cut both ways". God doesn't want us to live in the "exhausting drama of broken relationships". But that type of healing can only truly begin when we are reconciled to Him through a saving relationship with His Son, Jesus! 5...PROMOTED but Wrongly ACCUSED (go straight to chapter 39, but 38 is a heck of a side story!) So Joseph is sold into slavery to a traveling group of Ishmaelite. And he gets picked up on the slave block by a "mover and shaker" named Potiphar. God blessed Joseph in such a favoring way, he's promoted over everything in the household. Unfortunately, "the cougar comes out" in Potiphar's wife, who finds Joseph way too attractive. And since she had no morals to fall back on, she attempts to SEduce him & then REduce him to a prison sentence. She fabricates a story about him being a sexual predator attempting to violate her, which her husband bought hook, line, and sinker. Please notice one of the key phrases in the story is Joseph's response to her and resisting her advances. He said, "how could I sin against God in doing this?" Joseph was amazing. He never blamed or forsook the God who saw him through every unjust and undeserved circumstance that came to him! 6...Helpful but Quickly FORGOTTEN (Gen 40) So while in prison, the warden sees his integrity and promotes Joseph. A pattern seems to be developing here! Two inmates confide in Joseph, the up-and-coming prison guard. They're amazed at his accuracy in dream interpretation! Joseph doesn't claim any credit, but always attributes God for any good thing that happens. The Cup Bearer for pharaoh gets his job back, but the Chief Baker gets the gallows! So much for being the "cake boss" for the ruler of Egypt! You would think the Cup Bearer, having such access to Pharaoh would share this info about Joseph and his amazing gift, but no! He forgets about him for two years! Especially when Joseph's final words to him were, "please remember me when my prediction comes true and get me out of here!" Out of sight...out of mind. 7...RECOGNIZED & APPOINTED (Gen 41) When Pharaoh dreams his two dreams and his experts can't interpret them, the cup bearer has his memory jogged. And after cleaning Joseph up and making him presentable, they bring him to meet with Pharaoh. Once again, he acknowledges that God is the source of his wisdom and interpretive power. And oh my, is Pharaoh ever blown away with the presence of God in Joseph! As he unpacks God's "sure to happen because it's a double feature" plan, the King of Egypt hears the accurate & symbolic representation of his dreams of "7 skinny cows eating seven fat ones" and yet remaining skinny. Follow that with a similar dream of "heads of grain" and the idea of a "worldwide famine that you better prepare for or die" makes total sense to him! Joseph convinces Pharaoh he's the one who could lead Egypt through the next 14 years, so he gets a ring, necklace, chariot, and a wife. He is now second in command. That's a big jump from being the lead prison guard only a few moments ago! 8...STRATEGIC as a STEWARD (unveiled in 41 & recorded in detail in chapter 47) And Joseph has the perfect strategy! You gotta save a lotta grain or you'll never survive the famine of the second seven year period! He goes out amongst the people, and ensures his plan is being followed. What an incredible leader Joseph was! So much so, that Pharaoh declares that "the God of Joseph is the only true God!" Isn't it amazing when the wisdom and love of God shows through His people's lives, how easy it is for the world to see who God really is! It reminds me of a verse in 1 Peter 2, where we are told we are "a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, & certainly a people belonging to God"! Peter encourages all New Testament believers (then & now) to "live such good lives among the pagans that though they accuse us of doing wrong, they will see our good deeds and glorify God on the day He visits us." That means unbelievers will become believers by the "testimony of God's love that's seen in our lives". Now I don't mean for us to feel any undue pressure, but that thought alone makes me want to do everything I can to finish well! Because if we finish well together, God will certainly use our lives to draw others to Him! 9...RECONCILED to his FAMILY (beginning in chapter 42, becoming climactic in 45 & lived out the rest of the book of Genesis) Now it gets tearful. I would encourage you if you're following along, to read the rest of Genesis in "one setting". It's like watching a TV show you've recorded and skipping through the commercials. You feel the emotion of it more without the interruptions. Joseph lets his brothers "feel the error of their ways" as the pressure rests on them as the resentful brothers that they were. And as his brothers come and bow before him now, fulfilling that dream he had at 17 years of age, Joseph sees the gracious hand of God, which has held him close all these years. When he was in the pit. When he traveled as a slave. When he was promoted and when he was demoted. Whether in prison or in the palace, Joseph felt the presence and protection of God Almighty. Now he sees his family being spared. He remembers his brothers all too well and now "holds their feet to the fire" about getting his full brother Benjamin and his aging father Jacob to Egypt to live out their final days. 10...DEFINING the MOMENT (particularly in chapter 50) 70 of Jacob's family (the whole Hebrew nation at this point) have all come to Egypt after the dramatic recognition and reconciliation of Joseph and all his brothers. The scene is deeply touching like the story of the Prodigal Son's return where the loving Father "strikes up the band the fires up the barbecue". So all is now well. Pharaoh is blessed by Jacob, who lives out his days. Joseph is allowed to close his father's eyes in death. The Egyptians grieve & honor along with Joseph and his family because they realized if God would not have brought him to them, they would've died in the famine! It really strikes me as I try to live in the consciousness of Genesis 12:1-3, as God tells Abraham of His initial intent of "blessing all the nations through him." That promise was being lived out right before Joseph's eyes. And as Joseph's life ends as well, seemingly earlier than his brothers, he said, "There'll come a time when God takes our people back to the promised land. So don't leave my bones here, make sure and take them back with you! And they did. After 400 years of slavery & 10 plagues & a Passover later, the bones of Joseph marked, "RETURN TO CANAAN" made the trip And if we could back up for just a moment, did you notice after Jacob dies, that Joseph's brothers "relapse into a moment of paranoia."? They still felt guilty. And they humbly approach Joseph saying, "Dad told us when he's gone that he wants you to be nice to us". Actually, they were much more "contrite" than that. They begged his forgiveness because they had treated him so cruelly. True repentance & heartbreak are such a part of reconciliation, aren't they? And Joseph's response is "tattoo worthy" as far as Scriptures go. He said, "Am I in the place of God? What you did to me, you meant for harm, but God used it in the saving of many lives!" And therein, my friends, is the PROVIDENTIAL PERSPECTIVE of the godly man Joseph! Through seemingly no fault of his own, he realized God chose to send him AHEAD to Egypt in order to save his family. What a "Messianic Shadow" of Jesus willingly being sent to us! Joseph articulated his faith so well! He saw the hand of God working "for the good of His people" in spite of the unjust consequences that he at times had to inherit and endure. Can you see God's hand in your life? Can you see what He has spared you from? Perhaps what He's called you to do next? And will you and I help each other "finish well together" as we try to represent Him as holy and just, yet gracious & loving in this season of our lives? CONCLUDING thoughts on Joseph's Life... He GRIEVED the loss of his family.... He NEVER LIED or was self-promoting... He always gave GOD the CREDIT... He never sought REVENGE... He RESPECTED the Ruler of his Day... He Learned to "WALK like an Egyptian".... (you knew I'd say it at some point!) He let God BLESS the nations THRU him... He believed in the "RETURN PROMISE"... enough to make a special request of a "burial transfer". May the LORD make it a great week for us as we do OUR PART in cooperating with Him in that! And let's keep those families in our prayers we've heard about on the news concerning the plane crashes in Washington DC and Philadelphia. I hope you join us next week with Valentine's Day around the corner as we take a look at 1st Corinthians 13 (& actually some of both letters Paul wrote to that church) with a devotional entitled, "LOVE HANDLES"! Praying we all will Finish Well, george
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