Joseph: Faithfully Submitting to God’s Purpose

Introduction

When we last met we learned about Josiah, the king who was faithful to God despite his father’s and grandfather’s example. At age sixteen he decided that he would follow God and do what God said and went on to lead the people of Judah back to God.

That got me thinking about the stories of other young people in the Bible. For the rest of this year we will look at the stories of young people who chose to live for God and find out what we can learn from them about living holy and faithful lives for God.

Tonight we begin with the story of Joseph…

Son of favour to Slave

Genesis 37:1-36

God brings about calamity in Joseph’s life and he has no way of knowing what God has in plan

When we are introduced to Joseph he is seventeen years old and he has been out with his brothers looking after the family sheep. He returns to Dad and tattles on them. The reality is that their Dad loved Joseph more than all of them, he was a clear favourite. The reason was because he was the long awaited son of his favourite wife. I often joke with Tracy and tell her she’s my favourite wife but this was no joke, Jacob had four wives and he clearly loved Rachel more than the others. He had loved Rachel from the moment he met her and had arranged to marry her after working for her father for seven years. After marrying her and lifting the veil he found out to his surprise that he had atually married Lea, her older sister. Their father had tricked him but he agreed to work another seven years in order to marry Rachel. The story gets more complicated because both women were competing for Jacob’s love and each ended up giving him their servant girls as wives in order to bear him sons. Eventually after 10 sons from his other wives, Rachel finally gave birth to a strapping baby boy and they named him Joseph. Rachel had a second son but died as she gave birth to him and he was named Benjamin.

Back to our story. Joseph is clearly loved more than his older brothers and to make things worse Jacob gave him a special, colourful coat.

His brothers hated him and could not speak peacefully to him.

To make matters even worse, Joseph had these dreams which he shared with his brothers. The one was of them bindind sheaves of wheat in the field when all his brothers sheves gathered around and bowed down to his sheaf. He had another dream where the sun, moon and stars were bowing down to him. His brothers asked him, “what, do you think you’re going to reign or rule over us?” They hated him even more because of his dreams.

Joseph seemed oblivious to the growing hatred in his brothers because when his dad sent him off to see how they were doing looking after the flock a far way off, he went off without any sense of the impending danger.

When his brothers saw him, they plotted to kill him. Thankfully there was some sense among the brothers, even if it wasn’t much and they didn’t kill him but threw him into a pit. While they ate the lunch with Joseph in the pit a group of traders came buy. They sold Joseph to these Midianite traders for 20 pieces of silver and Joseph was taken to Egypt.

Immediately if we’re paying attention we can see that God is working in Joseph’s life. He is hated by his brothers who conspire to kill him but God interenes and saves him from death by orchestrating his sale to passing traders. While Joseph is unaware of God’s plan, we see God moving Joseph to Egypt because He has an important task for him.

Unwaveringly Loyal then Unfairly Locked up

Genesis 39:1-20

Joseph is faithful in his new found situation even though it is far from ideal. He is apart from his family, he doesn’t know if his father even knows if he is alive, his brothers clearly hate him and have rejected him. He is in the lowest position he can find himself in society, he is someones propertyJoseph is sold to Potiphar as a slave

When Joseph gets to Egypt, he is bought by Potiphar, an Egyptian who is the captain of Pharoah’s guard.

Imagine for a moment that you are Joseph. You’re hated by your brothers so much that they sold you as a slave but had been fully intent on killing you. You now find yourself in a foreign land with no options. You are sold to be someone’s property. From the favourite in a wealthy family who is getting more than anyone else to a slave with no options. He didn’t even know if his father knew if he was alive or not (he didn’t because the brothers had led Jacob to believe that Joseph had been killed by a wild animal).

What would you have done? I’m pretty sure my first question would have been, “God, where are you and what are you doing? I’ve loved you and served you and what has that gotten me? You’ve taken away everything and left me as a slave.”

But we don’t see Joseph reacting like that. Instead we see Joseph living faithfully and God was with Joseph. Potiphar saw that God was with him and gave him success in everything he did so he put him in charge of everything he had.

Joseph’s faithfulness in serving God resulted in God blessing the work of his hands. But he wasn’t the direct recipient of that blessing, his master was. So his master puts him in charge of everything he owned and was no longer concerned about anything except the food he ate.

At this time Joseph is proably around twenty years old. He is working hard at physical labour so he has a six-pack to die for and the bible tells us he was quite the looker (Gen 39:6b). So much so that he soon caught the eye of Potpher’s wife. She works hard to get him to sleep with her but he refuses. He told her that while Potiphar had given him access to everything that didn’t include her because she was his wife. He also pointed out that to sleep with her would be a great wickedness and sin against God (Gen 39:9). While she kept trying day after day, he continued to refuse.

Joseph had boundaries. He knew clearly what was right and what was wrong and he refused to cross that line. He knew that when Potiphar put him in charge of everything that couldn’t possibly include his wife. Joseph knew God expects that sexual relationships are only for one man and one woman within the bounds of marriage (Gen 2:24; 1 Cor 7:2). Joseph made his position clear and then maintained a healthy distance (Gen 39:10).

But one day he found himself alone in the house with her and she came onto him a lot stronger. He didn’t just stand there but fled from the temptation (1 Cor 6:18). She grabbed him but he left his cloak in her hand and ran.

Joseph did the right thing. Joseph honoured and did things God’s way but that didn’t mean things went well for him. Potiphar’s wife, probably embarased and angry at being so totally rejected falsely accuses Joseph of coming on to her and basically accuses him of attempted rape.

Joseph honored God and got thrown into prison for his troubles.

Possibly deal with the fact that a slave charged with rape and adultery would easily have lost his life but God spared him (Potiphar may not have fully believed his wife) and he was jailed instead of executed. God again spared his life.

Optimistic but Overlooked

Genesis 39:21-40:22

Joseph’s situation has gone from bad to worse. He now finds himself wrongly imprisoned. He has been faithful to God’s commands and is paying a price. Yet he remains faithful. His faithfulness grants him some favour but he remains in prison even after providing other prisoners with God’s interpretation of their dreams.

Let’s take a moment again to think what it must be like to be Joseph. You find yourself sitting in prison for doing exactly what God calls you to do. You fled from temptation only to be falsely accussed of exactly what you didn’t want to do and now you’re paying the price.

What would you do? I know what I’d do…

Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen. Nobody knows my sorrow :-(

But Joseph doesn’t feel sorry for himself and sing a mornful tune. He continues to live in faith trusting that, while he cannot yet see it, God has a purpose behind what he’s going through. He recognises that his role is to continue living God’s way in faith.

God was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favour in the eyes of the prison warden (Gen 39:21). It wasn’t long and Joseph again found himself in a position of trust and authority, this time over everything within the prison. God honoured Joseph’s faitfulness by making sure that whatever he did, succeeded.

After some time two of Pharoah’s trusted servants find themselves in prison where Joseph was confined. Pharoah probably found himself with un upset stomach or a bit of food poisoning and threw his cupbearer and baker into prison until he could figure out who was to blame. One morning as Joseph is attending to them he finds the two troubled because each had had a dream and they didn’t know what they meant. Joseph points out that God is the one who can interpret dreams (Gen 40:8) and then offers to intercede for them.

Joseph listens to the cupbearer’s dream and tells him that God has revealed that in three days Pharoah would restore him to his position. Joseph takes the opportunity to ask the cup bearer to remember him and mention him to Pharoah because he was wrongly taken from his home and did nothing to deserve being in prison (Gen 40:15).

The baker hears the good news the cup bearer received and hopefully tells his dream. Unfortunately his interpretation wasn’t good news. In three days he would be hanged.

Three days later was Pharoah’s birthday and he held a feast. At the feast the cupbearer was restored to his position and the baker was hanged just as Joseph had interpreted from their dreams.

But the cupbearer did not remember Joseph.

Remembered and Raised Up

Genesis 41:1-57

Finally things turn for Joseph and he is taken before Pharoah to interpret his dreams. He takes no credit but points to God as the interpreter of dreams. He is given a position of authority and is finally able to see the good God has been working all along.

Joseph is left in prison another two years, completely forgotten by everyone. Despite his continued faithfulness to God Joseph’s troubles continue to drag on. But there is no indication that Joseph allowed himself to become bitter or resentful. Joseph held on to the belief that God would be faithful to his promises.

Then one day Pharoah has two dreams. Pharoah was troubled by the dreams and called for the magicians and wise men looking for an interpretation but none of them could tell him what they meant. Then the cupbearer realised he had completely forgotten about Joseph in prison. He told Pharoah about this young man who had correctly interpreted his and the bakers dreams. Pharoah sent for Joseph and he was quickly made presentable and brought before Pharoah.

Pharoah told Joseph that he had these two dreams that no one else could interpret but he had heard that Joseph could interpret them. Joseph answered Pharoah saying he wasn’t able to interpret dreams but that God would provide him with an interpretation (Gen 41:16).

Pharoah tells Joseph his dreams of seven plump cows standing on the banks of the Nile when seven ugly and thin cows come up, eat the plump cows but remain poor and ugly as if they hadn’t eaten anything at all. He also dreamed about seven ears of wheat growing on a single stalk. Seven withered and thin ears sprouted after them and then swalled the good ears.

Joseph said that God had revealed to Pharoah what He was going to do. God was going to provide Egypt with seven years of great plenty followed by seven years of severe famine. The famine would be so great that the years of plenty would be completely forgotten. Joseph also told Pharoah that because he had received two dreams, this mean that God had declared this a sure thing and it would soon come about. Joseph took the opportunity to advise Pharoah that he should act on this news by appointing someone with wisdom to gather food during the time of plenty and store it up as provision for the time of famine.

There was no hint that Joseph expected that he should be that person but Pharoah recognised that God was with Joseph and that he was the obvious choice for the role (Gen 41:38).

Joseph had been placed over all of Potiphar’s house. Then he had been given leadership over the entire prison. Now Pharoah placed Joseph second in command over the entire land of Egypt.

Joseph was thirty years old when he entered Pharoah’s service. It had been thirteen years since his brothers sold hiim into slavery. For almost half his life he had been a slave or in prison. Finally we see God’s plan becoming clear.

Reunited in Forgiveness

Genesis 42:1-50:26

Joseph is confronted with his brothers and needs to make a choice whether to exact his revenge or forgive them. He puts them through a series of tests and then forgives them.

Our story now moves back to Joseph’s family in Canaan. The famine is in full swing and food is beginning to run out. Jacob heard that there was food for sale in Egypt and sends his sons to go and buy some.

When Joseph’s brothers arive to buy bread, who do they bow down to but Joseph himself, the one who is in charge of selling the food stored up in Egypt.

Joseph recognised his brothers and as they bowed down to him he immediatly rememberd his dreams (Gen 42:9). Joseph was faced with a choice. Was he going to exact revenge against his brothers for what they had done to him all those years ago or was he going to forgive them.

Joseph puts his brothers through a few tests to see if his brothers have changed. Are they the same selfish men who would sell their brother because he annoyed them? Have they learned any lessons during this time he’s been gone. He gets them to bring Benjamin to Egypt to see how they have treated the new favourite. The brothers show they have changed through a willingness to lay down their lives for their brother and spare their father further heartache

Eventually Joseph reveals himself to his brothers and completely forgives them for what they did. Even after their father dies and the brothers are scared that Joseph has only been nice to them for the sake of their father, Joseph again confirms his forgiveness.

Genesis 50:20 ESV

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 didn’t pretend like what his brothers had done was okay, he pointed out that their actions were based on evil intention, but he also acknowledged God’s soverignty in everything that had happened to him. God had used their evil intentions for the good of Josphe, his family, the land of Egypt and others.

The lesson we can learn from Joseph’s forgiveness is that it is not up to us to exact revenge or to demand payment for others’ sins. If we recognise God’s sovereignty to use others’ wrongs for good, then we also need to recognise God’s sovereignty to bring about justice in the end.

When Joseph was confronted by Potiphar’s wife he declared that to sin was to sin against God. All sin is against God, even when we wrong others or are wronged by others. We don’t need to deal with those things because God will.

Romans 12:17–19 ESV

17 Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. 18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”

Conclusion

Joseph provides us with a wonderful model for faithful living. His life that began as the favourite is plunged into many trials that go on for years. Through all those trials he remains devoted to God. When he is confronted with sexual temptation he remains pure recognising his sin would affect more than just himself and would be against God Himself. Despite his faithfulness he finds himself wrongly imprisoned. While there he continues to trust God and tells Pharoah’s servants that their dream interpretations belong to God. when he is eventually brought before Pharoah, he doesn’t point to his own abilities but to God’s power. Finally, when he is reunited with his brothers, he doesn’t exact revenge but forgives them and points to God’s plan.

To remain faithful, we need to be full of faith. We need to have faith that God is who He says He is. We need to have faith that God will do what He says He will do. And we need to have faith that His way is always best—even when our circumstances are less than we might prefer. Stories like Joseph’s can help us with our faith. Joseph’s story is complete and we can see that in the end God did do what was ultimately best for Joseph and for his family and for the nation of Israel. Your story is not complete. Until it is complete you may not know what God is doing through your life but Joseph’s story shows us that God is always working behind the scenes.