Faithful Responsibility: Four Values of Joeseph’s Responsibilty (Genesis 39-50)
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What does it mean to be responsible?
What does it mean to be responsible?
The Bible emphasizes the significance of both individual and collective responsibility. Personal responsibility entails taking charge of one's obligations and fulfilling them with honesty and sincerity (Proverbs 28:13; Gal 6:5). Collective responsibility involves safeguarding and taking care of those in your church, community, and home (Luke 10:30-37; 1 Tim 5:8; Gal 6:2). At Litchfield Christian School, we hope to instill in our students the biblical principle of responsibility, encouraging them to uphold integrity and foster harmony with God and their fellow image bearers. Joseph is an example of such responsibility.
A Summary of Joseph’s Story
A Summary of Joseph’s Story
Joseph is the favourite son of the patriarch Jacob, and his jealous brothers sell him into slavery in Biblical Egypt, where he eventually ends up incarcerated. After correctly interpreting the dreams of Pharaoh, however, he rises to second-in-command in Egypt and saves Egypt during a famine. The story of Joseph teaches four values of faithful God-honoring responsibility.
God-honoring responsibility values honesty.
God-honoring responsibility values honesty.
God-honoring honesty aims to convey truth. Truth is an essential aspect of God’s own nature and purposes, and is required of those whom he calls to be his people.
The Bible says that the Lord our God is a true God who speaks truth. The prophet Jeremiah says,
10 But the Lord is the true God; he is the living God and the everlasting King. At his wrath the earth quakes, and the nations cannot endure his indignation.
Through prophet Isaiah, the Lord says,
19 I did not speak in secret, in a land of darkness; I did not say to the offspring of Jacob, ‘Seek me in vain.’ I the Lord speak the truth; I declare what is right.
David responds to the Lord with gratitude for after the Lord makes a covenant with him promising to always have a son on the throne. David says of the the Lord,
28 And now, O Lord God, you are God, and your words are true, and you have promised this good thing to your servant.
God is a God of truth and honesty. He requires his servants to be truth and honest. Someone once rightly said,
The men who trust God are the men who can be trusted.
Anonymous
Joseph was a man of integrity because he trusted in the one true God and could, therefore, be trusted. He lived to honor God in Potiphar’s house, and God’s favor was with him. Joseph prospered so much that Potiphar gave him the responsibility of overseeing everything in his house. Potiphar knew that God was with Joseph and that he could be trusted with his most valuable possessions (Gen 39:2-6).
However, Joseph's integrity was tested when Potiphar's wife wanted to have an inappropriate relationship with him. What does a responsible honest man or woman of God who do when they are faced with such temptation? They trust the Lord and refuse to sin. Joseph’s says to her,
8 But he refused. “Look,” he said to his master’s wife, “with me here my master does not concern himself with anything in his house, and he has put all that he owns under my authority. 9 No one in this house is greater than I am. He has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. So how could I do this immense evil, and how could I sin against God?”
And when she persisted, Joseph ran from her as far as he could. He wanted nothing to do with her unfaithfulness (Gen 39:12).
Joseph's dedication to honesty stemmed from his devotion to God's commands. He demonstrated his trustworthiness by safeguarding Potiphar's valuable possessions and refusing to betray his trust. Joseph trusted God and therefore could be trusted. Because he could be trusted, God honored him with great responsibility.
God-honoring responsibility values compassion.
God-honoring responsibility values compassion.
The Baker Encyclopedia says compassion is a quality of showing kindness or favor, of being gracious, or of having pity or mercy with the desire to act on someones behalf. The Bible describes God valuing compassion. The psalmist says,
13 As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.
Furthermore, the Lord’s compassion is experienced by all his creation.
9 The Lord is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made.
You will notice, if you read the Old Testament, that God’s compassion was never stagnant or limited to his feelings. He was always compelled
to act, even when his people would not listen to him. God demonstrated his compassion for his people in spite of their rebellions
23 But the Lord was gracious to them and had compassion on them, and he turned toward them, because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and would not destroy them, nor has he cast them from his presence until now.
38 Yet he, being compassionate, atoned for their iniquity and did not destroy them; he restrained his anger often and did not stir up all his wrath.
In Genesis 43, Joseph show’s God honoring compassion to his brothers. The famine was so sever it reached their land. Jacob sent his sons to Egypt looking for food. Joseph recognized his brothers, but did not reveal himself. He invited them to his house. He fed them dinner. He refunded all of the money that was paid for the grain. And when his brothers bowed their heads to him in gratitude and he saw his brother Benjamin, Joseph
30 Then Joseph hurried out, for his compassion grew warm for his brother, and he sought a place to weep. And he entered his chamber and wept there.
Furthermore, when Joseph reveals himself to his brothers, he does not give them what they deserve for the wickedness. He hugs and weeps over them. How does Joseph show such compassion to his brothers who wanted him dead? Joesph trusted the Lord.
Later in the story, Jacob, their father is about to die, they are worried that Joseph will seek revenge for their violence toward him. They come to him and plead for mercy. Joseph reveals his trust in the Lord.
19 But Joseph said to them, “Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? 20 As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.
Joseph’s compassion was God-honoring because he trusted the soverign goodness of God.
God-honoring responsibility values justice.
God-honoring responsibility values justice.
Justice is the moral righteousness of God. His justice is revealed in his laws and expressed in his judicial acts. God’s commands and judgments meet perfect standards of justice, and his apportioning of punishments and rewards is also perfectly just.
Justice is a chief attribute of God. The Bible says of God’s justice,
17 The Lord is righteous in all his ways and faithful in all his acts.
and
7 For the Lord is righteous; he loves righteous deeds. The upright will see his face.
Job says of the Lord
12 Indeed, it is true that God does not act wickedly and the Almighty does not pervert justice.
Stephen Mott rightly notes that “Justice is fundamentally a relational concept: it exists when things are in their right or proper relationship.”
How did Joseph demonstrate responsibility and uphold God-honoring justice? We have already seen an example of Joseph's response to Potiphar's wife. A key characteristic of justice is upholding truth and integrity. Joseph did the right thing, even when it cost him his freedom and high position. We also see Joseph valuing God-honoring justice when he is left in charge of Potiphar's house and when he is in prison. He is fair in his dealings with other servants and prisoners. While in prison, he interprets the dreams of a cupbearer and a baker and tells them the truth. The cupbearer will be restored, but the baker will be handed over to death. When he stands before Pharaoh, he tells him the truth, even though it would have been tough to tell the King of Egypt that God was bringing a famine. When he was put in charge of storing grain and selling it to the people during the famine, Joseph dealt justly with everyone who came to him for food, with no corruption found in him. Joseph could be responsible for much because he loved God-honoring justice.
God-honoring responsibility values courage.
God-honoring responsibility values courage.
Courage is a virtue that empowers an individual to fulfill their responsibilities even in the face of danger and fearful situations. It's important to note that courage doesn't mean the absence of fear but rather the ability to overcome fear and hopelessness to fulfill one's duty. Biblical courage teaches us that God never abandons His people. God says to Joshua just before he was to start the conquest,
9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
The Lord promises through the prophet Isaiah,
10 fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
He offers His goodness to those who have the courage to wait for him and follow His ways (Psalm 27:13-14).
God gives strength to his people. He enables them to be courageous through his gift of faith. God proves himself faithful to his promises and enables his people to trust him in everyday life. Joseph is someone God gifted with faith to be courageous.
The Lord was with Joseph (Gen 39:2). He was with Joseph when he promised him through dreams that he would be raised up as a great leader for his people. The Lord was with Joseph when he was despised by his brothers, beaten, and thrown into a pit to die, and eventually sold as a slave to Potiphar. The Lord was with Joseph when he was falsely accused of rape by Potiphar’s wife and sent to prison. The Lord was with Joseph when he was forgotten by the Cup Bearer and remained in prison for two more years. The Lord was with Joseph when he stood before Pharaoh to interpret the dreams that no other wise man could interpret. The Lord was with Joseph when he was put second in command and oversaw providing, storing, and selling grain to the people who were suffering in the famine. The Lord was with Joseph when he was reunited with his family after years of exile.
Joseph’s faith never wavered. He did not let his circumstances define who he was, and he did not allow himself to live as a victim of injustice. He was a courageous man who trusted the Lord, and God delivered Joseph from his suffering and raised him up to be a deliverer of his people God-honoring responsibility is exemplified in Jesus
As good as Joseph was with his God-honoring responsibility, he still fell short. He was not perfect in all his ways. Joseph’s example of responsibility points us to someone who is the perfect picture of God-honoring responsibility; Jesus.
Jesus shows us perfect God-honoring responsibility through his life, death, and resurrection. Jesus took responsibility for sinners like you and I.
The Bible says,
21 He made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Jesus was perfect in his love and obedience to the Father, something Joseph, as well as you and I, are not. Jesus is the perfect way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). Jesus looked upon us with compassion. He went to the cross to uphold the Father’s perfect justice, and for the joy set before him, he courageously endured the cross for our sake.
Even though he was undeserving of the cross, He chose to take responsibility for you and I. The Father has given him as a gift to you if you will receive him by faith. To do so you must take responsibility for your sin. You must repent, confess your sin, and trust in Jesus as your Savior. That is a God-honoring responsibility, and God will grant you forgiveness and his salvation. He will empower you with His Spirit to take God-honoring responsibility for your church, community, and home.
