Dwelling in the Circumstances
Life Outside the Green Grass...
The Life of Joseph
Genesis 37-50
For those of us that make New Year’s resolutions to read our bible all the way through, we have probably at the very least made it through the book of Genesis quite a few times. Today I want to talk about the life of one of the characters in this book. Today, we’ll talk about Joseph. For those that are familiar with Joseph, they will know that he lived a life full of obstacles. He often found himself in circumstances that would have many of us begging the question - where is God? How could God let this happen to me? Sometimes we get so wrapped up in these questions, we get so focused on these questions that we completely miss what God has for us right where we are at.
Sometimes we get so focused on the circumstances that we find ourselves in that we completely miss out on what God has in store for us right where we are at. Let’s go ahead and take a look at Joseph. The story of Joseph can be found in Genesis in the books 37-50.
The first that we hear of Joseph is in Genesis 30:24, where he is born to Jacob and Rachel. We don’t really hear much else about him until we come to Genesis 37, which is where his story really begins. Joseph was the youngest of Jacob’s sons and was currently living at home along with 3 stepmothers and 6 stepbrothers. Quite the full house, right?
Joseph starts out this story with 3 strikes against him:
First, in Chapter 37, verse 2, we read:
Joseph, a young man of seventeen, was tending the flocks with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives, and he brought their father a bad report about them.
We don’t know the circumstances behind this; we can look at this as Joseph acting with completely integrity, regardless of the consequences. However, I don’t know how many of you have brothers and sisters, but most don’t look kindly upon a tattle tale. Strike 1
Next, in verses 3-4, we read:
Now Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons, because he had been born to him in his old age; and he made a richly ornamented robe for him. When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him.
Being mom or dad’s favorite is never looked upon well by your siblings; Strike 2.
Finally, in verses 5-8, we read:
Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more. He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had: We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it.” His brothers said to him, “Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us?” And they hated him all the more because of his dream and what he had said.
Here Joseph is telling them of a dream that he has that reveals that one day he will rule over them - his older brothers - a big Strike 3!
At the same time, Joseph must be feeling pretty good, right? Based on the dreams that God had sent him, it looked like he was going to lead a pretty good life. So, life is going good.
One day, Joseph’s brothers are out shepherding their flocks in Dothan when Jacob sends Joseph out to meet them. Verse 18 tells us that when the brothers saw Joseph approaching, they plotted to kill him.
They threw him into a cistern and planned to let him die there.
Next, when they saw a caravan of traders passing through, they decided to sell him instead so his blood wouldn’t be on their hands and they would make a bit of a profit from the deal.
The traders then take Joseph on to Egypt, where in verse 36 we find that he is sold to a man named Potiphar.
Now, Potiphar wasn’t just any old Egyptian, either; verse 36 also tells us that he was one of Pharaoh’s officials - in fact, he was the captain of the guard.
Okay, so here we have Joseph, living life pretty good; his dad treasures him above all his brothers, even so far as to give him a richly ornamented robe. His dreams then have him one day ruling over his brothers and family. Not a bad deal, right? In fact, everything was going great for him until that fateful day with his brothers. Next thing you know, he finds himself sold as a slave to some stranger in a strange land. Kind of a 180 degree turn for his life in the blink of an eye, right? Put yourself in his shoes and think about how you would feel at this point and what your reaction might have been.
Here is where we really start to see the character of Joseph and how God continues to be with him even in his circumstances. The beginning of Genesis 39 tells the story of how God blessed Potiphar’s household because of Joseph’s commitment to God. In other words, Joseph didn’t dwell in the circumstances he found himself in. He continued to follow God and through that obedience, he was put in charge of Potiphar’s household.
Verse 39:6 tells us this:
So Potiphar left everything he had in Joseph’s care; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate.
The captain of the guard for the Pharaoh leaves a foreigner, one that worships a foreign God, completely in charge of his household. All because of Joseph’s ability to see past his circumstances and continue serving God.
Things once again appear to be going good, but then Joseph hits another big snag. Potiphar’s wife has taken quite a liking to Joseph. She attempts multiple times to seduce him, but he refuses each time. One day, she tries again when no witnesses are in the house and he once again refuses her advances. In fact, he leaves in such a hurry that he leaves his cloak behind. The wife lies and tells Potiphar that Joseph tried to have his way with her, Potiphar gets upset, and Joseph quickly finds himself in prison.
While this is once again an opportunity for Joseph to give up, he doesn’t and God is still with him. In fact, the warden was so impressed with Joseph that he put Joseph in charge of all the people held in prison.
Not bad, right? Things going pretty good again. Sure, he’s in prison, but he is in charge of all prisoners and the warden trusts him completely.
Next, the Pharaoh’s cupbearer and baker have dreams that Joseph interprets.
He interprets both dreams and the only thing that he asks of the cupbearer is that he remember Joseph and see what he can do about having Pharaoh release him from prison. The cupbearer is released from prison, yet completely forgets about Joseph.
In fact, scripture tells us that Joseph is in prison for 2 years beyond that. We don’t hear anything about what happens with Joseph during those 2 years, but based on his previous behavior, I have a hard time believing that he spent those 2 years completely turned away from God while he sat there in prison. What would you or I have done in his shoes? After all, he has done nothing at all to deserve being sold off as a slave, much less being imprisoned for well over 2 years.
It is only when Pharaoh himself has a strange dream that needs interpreting does the cupbearer remember about Joseph in prison. Pharaoh quickly calls for Joseph to be released from prison and brought to him. He asks Joseph if he will be able to interpret his dream, and I love Joseph’s response.
In Chapter 41, verse 16, Joseph says this:
“I cannot do it,” Joseph replied to Pharaoh, “but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires.”
After everything Joseph’s been through, he has a chance to stand before Pharaoh and amaze him with what he can do and he still gives credit to God. We all know that it is God that is working through this, but how often in our day-to-day lives do we remember to give Him the credit?
So Pharaoh tells Joseph the dream, and Joseph tells him what it means - that Egypt will see 7 years of abundance followed by 7 years of famine.
Joseph then doesn’t hesitate, but goes on to lay out a plan for Pharaoh for how best to prepare for the famine.
Pretty bold, right? Would we have that same boldness in front of Pharaoh after all Joseph’s been through? Would we be that confident in God after all of that?
After Pharaoh hears the plan, he likes it so much that he puts Joseph in charge of all of Egypt. Chapter 41:41-44 says this:
So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I hereby put you in charge of the whole land of Egypt.” Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his finger and put it on Joseph’s finger. He dressed him in robes of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck. He had him ride in a chariot as his second-in-command, and people shouted before him, “Make way!” Thus he put him in charge of the whole land of Egypt.
Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh, but without your word no one will lift hand or foot in all Egypt.”
Why is this important? God has raised Joseph up to a position in Egypt that will allow Joseph, later on, to save his family (Israel) from the same famine that Egypt experiences. As his brothers throw themselves on his mercy, Joseph says one of the most famous lines in the bible:
Genesis 50:20:
You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.
We do not understand God’s ways, and we often struggle with trying to understand why God allows us to go through the situations we find ourselves in. Sometimes we think we know exactly what He wants from us and as we move in that direction, circumstances change and we find ourselves lost, alone, confused, hurt, you name it.
The question is, what will we do at that point? Will we give up? Will we turn our backs on God? Or will we move forward knowing that in our uncertainty, in our hurt, in our suffering, in our confusions that God can use all of that for something great?
When thinking about this, I am reminded of Proverbs 16:9, which says:
In their hearts human beings plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps
We may have great ideas and great plans for our lives, but what will we do when our life does a 180 and things don’t like we thought they would?
My prayer... my hope... is that we continue to remember that God is with us and can do great things through us right where we are at and under whatever circumstances that we find ourselves in. My prayer is that we don’t focus so much on the circumstances that we find ourselves in that we miss out on what God has for us right here and now.
Let’s pray...
