Joseph: The Epitome of Steadfastness
Study Text: Genesis 37: 1 - 11
Introduction:
- The life of Joseph is an amazing story, and a godly example of steadfastness in a life of righteousness during the time of life challenges.
- After many unexpected difficult situations, and several years of toil and affliction, he remained steadfast and faithful to God, and God blessed Joseph in an unimaginable way, he became the second most powerful man in Egypt (Genesis 41:41-44).
- Whatever affliction you are going through right now, you can follow the example of Joseph in his steadfastness and faithfulness unto God, and the God of Joseph will come through for you.
- We shall be looking at the life of Joseph under eight subheadings:
1. The Profile of Joseph
2. The Preference for Joseph
3. The Persecution of Joseph
4. The Purity of Joseph
5. The Punishment of Joseph
6. The Promotion of Joseph
7. The Power Working with Joseph
8. The Profitable Lessons from the Life of Joseph
1. The Profile of Joseph:
- The book of Genesis tells the history of one family, beginning with Abraham, Isaac and following down to his grandchildren - the sons of Jacob, who is also called Israel.
- Among the twelve children of Jacob, one child stood out, favoured by their father, and blessed by God. His name was Joseph, and his story is one of the most popular in the Bible.
- Joseph was born into a family of 10 older brothers and a younger brother.
- His father, Jacob, had two wives, but Joseph was the firstborn of Rachel, the true love of Jacob’s life (Genesis 29:30).
- Sadly, Joseph’s mother died when his younger brother Benjamin was born (Genesis 35:17-19).
- As most people know, Joseph was Jacob’s favourite son. This caused his brothers to envy and dislike him (Genesis 37:2-3).
2. The Preference for Joseph:
- Most people know that Joseph was well-loved by his father Jacob, as evidenced by the gift of the many coloured-coat.
- Beyond being the son of his father’s favourite wife, Rachel, the Bible shows how obedient to his father Joseph was.
- Being seventeen, Joseph was not yet sent to tend the sheep with his brothers, but Jacob did send him to go check on his ten older brothers in Shechem.
- When Joseph arrived, they were not there. They had traveled another twelve miles away to Dothan. Rather than returning to his father, Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan. Genesis 37:17.
- Moreover, apart from the fact that Joseph will not join his brothers in doing what is bad and unacceptable in the sight of God, he will always give their evil reports to their father.
- These qualities made him stand distinct from among the twelve sons of Jacob, and received preferential treatment from their father.
3. The Persecution of Joseph:
- It all began because of the preferential treatment and favour Joseph received from their father Jacob, over all the other sons. (Genesis 37: 3, 4)
- Joseph’s troubles reached a new level when he was 17. After a series of dreams showed that God would elevate Joseph over his brothers, his brothers’ dislike for him took a darker turn.
- The envy and hatred that was simmering in the hearts of his brothers had now reached boiling point with trouble about to burst. (Genesis 37: 8, 11).
- After a while, the brothers got their opportunity for revenge and initially planned to kill Joseph (Genesis 37:18-20).
- But, thanks to the intervention of Reuben (37:21-22) and Judah (37:26-27), they put him in a cistern and decided to sell him off as a slave.
- Eventually they sold him off to a band of Midianite merchants who in turn sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, the captain of Pharaoh’s guard.
- As a result of his brothers’ rejection and betrayal, Joseph had lost all his rights, and was now a slave. One can only imagine the pain and loneliness this young man went through.
- God however was with Joseph and gave him favour with Potiphar, who began to see the unique faith, wisdom and skills this young Hebrew slave possessed ( Genesis 39:2-4).
4. The Purity of Joseph:
- Potiphar now put Joseph in charge of his entire household and of everything he owned. God in turn blessed Potiphar’s household in abundance, because of Joseph.
- As Joseph began to prosper in Potiphar’s household, a new and serious challenge was building up. Potiphar’s wife began to get attracted to the handsome Joseph and tried to seduce him. Soon, he was facing consistent sexual harassment at the workplace ( Genesis 39: 6 - 10).
- Eventually, when she thought she had trapped him into a compromising situation, Joseph ran away, because he did not want to hurt God. He was steadfast in righteousness, rather than enjoying the pleasure of sin for a while. ( Genesis 39:8-9).
5. The Punishment of Joseph:
- As a result of the unwillingness of Joseph to be involved in sexual immortality, Potiphar’s wife exacted her full revenge on him through false accusation. (Genesis 39:13-19).
- Because of her false accusation, Joseph was unjustly thrown into prison. Despite that, he did not regret his steadfastness for God, but remained faithful unto God even in the prison.
- Character assassination is one of the most difficult challenges a person can face. It is also amazing how such false accusations can spread so fast beyond remedy.
- We did not find Joseph grumbling or complaining in all these challenges. Instead, he trusted in the Lord and the Bible says that the Lord was with Joseph and made him to prosper in the midst of his affliction ( Genesis 39:20-21).
6. The Promotion of Joseph:
- Joseph now found favour with the prison warden, who in turn made him the chief overseer for all operations and control in the prison. ( Genesis 39:21-23)
- The king’s chief cupbearer and chief baker were thrown into the same prison as Joseph for what could have been a possible assassination attempt on the king (Genesis 40:1-3).
- They thus came under Joseph’s influence. Later, they both had dreams and when they were troubled over the dreams, Joseph interpreted them accurately (Genesis 40: 4-19).
- The end result was that the chief cupbearer was restored back to his position, while the chief baker was executed, exactly as Joseph predicted.
- Joseph pleaded with the chief cupbearer to speak to the king on his behalf, once he is released, stating his innocence to the accusation brought against him.
- Sadly, the chief cupbearer, however, did not remember Joseph; he forgot him.
- Do you feel that maybe the Lord has forgotten you? Be patient and keep trusting the Lord as Joseph did, and He will lift you up at the right time. He will never forget you.
- Pharaoh had a couple of bad dreams two years later and none of his wise men could interpret the dreams, then, the chief cupbearer’s memory came alive again (Genesis 41:9-13).
- This resulted in him recommending Joseph’s ability to interpret dreams to the king.
- After interpreting the king’s dreams accurately, Joseph was released from prison and promoted to the second highest position in Egypt, at the age of 30.
- He was also assigned the huge task of saving the nation of Egypt and the surrounding world from the famine that was about to break out (Genesis 41:37-40).
- Foreshadowing the undeserved grace that Jesus would bring centuries later, Joseph did not hold a grudge against all the people who maltreated him, but ready and waiting with open arms, calling for those who needed forgiveness to accept it.
- It is a great model for believer’s today who may be struggling with forgiveness and dealing with someone with an unrepentant spirit. Patience and grace are important, as Joseph illustrated.
7. The Power Working with Joseph
- As Joseph mentioned to his brothers in 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 can see the power working with him from the onset.
- God can do the same for you and for me and truly make all things to work out for our good, if we remain steadfast in His righteousness. Romans 8:28
- Joseph heard from God. He had a purpose, or a vision, for his life, even if it was not received by others. You were created for a divine purpose as well. God may not speak to you through a dream, but if you will become determined to know His plan for your life, He will reveal it to you.
- Joseph’s vision kept him on track during very difficult times and when faced with great temptation. Your God-given dream, or purpose, will inspire you, motivate you, and help you to remain steadfast in the midst of challenges and difficult situations.
- Joseph understood that what God had spoken to him and declared about him was true no matter what the circumstances indicated.
- God’s Word declares that Joseph was “a prosperous man.” This was at a time in his life when He was serving as a slave.
- God views prosperity much differently than we do. Material things are not indicative of prosperity. True prosperity is knowing that God is with you.
- True prosperity is keeping His vision alive in your heart. True prosperity is not wealth itself but God’s favour, anointing, and power that work in your life to obtain it. Deuteronomy 8:18
- Joseph believed he was prosperous because he knew prosperity came from God, not man. He had an image on the inside that was not affected by circumstance, and it enabled Joseph to operate in faith.
- If Joseph could do it, so can you. You have the same power dwelling on the inside of you that raised Jesus from the dead.
- Joseph was able to maintain his integrity because he was not concerned with what man thought. He did not consider the benefits or consequences of his actions based on what Potiphar, his master, might do. He had the fear of God ruling his heart and his life. Genesis 39:9.
- His main concern was what God would think. He understood that he was accountable to God and that the fulfillment of his dream was completely dependent upon God.
- Joseph lived a God-dependent life, and he lived it in the midst of great adversity. He knew his future rested in the hands of the Lord. Psalm 75:6-7
- It’s important to understand that Joseph had either been serving as a slave or was imprisoned for seventeen years after the time that his purpose was revealed and before it was fulfilled.
- Joseph remained dependent on God, and he never lost his way in the midst of life challenges. He kept his God-given vision alive, served others wholeheartedly, and remained totally dependent on God.
- Even with extreme wealth and power at his disposal, Joseph waited on the Lord and watched in faith as He brought the dream to fulfillment. Genesis 43:26
8. The Profitable Lessons from the Life of Joseph:
1. Joseph’s story shows God can work with young people.
- Joseph was only 17 years old when we see God working in his life. His life became a powerful example of how a godly person can overcome adversities.
- Many of the great heroes of faith were young when God began working powerfully with them: David, Esther, Josiah, Timothy.
- Their lives were a powerful example of courage and faith.
Joseph and these other examples show that God does work in the lives of young people, if they are willing to yield themselves to Him.
2. Joseph obeyed God’s commandments.
- Joseph served Potiphar well with hard work, skill and honesty—and God blessed everything he was involved in.
- Joseph continuously rejected all the advances of the wife of Portiphar, and called adultery what it was: “great wickedness, and sin against God” (Genesis 39:9).
- Just like Joseph, Christians today must not allow themselves to be drawn astray by the temptations of the Devil, but to remain faithful unto God and steadfast in His righteousness. (1 Thessalonians 4:3, 1 Corinthians 6:18).
- His obedience, integrity and hard work paid off everywhere he found himself. Even when he was in the worst possible situations, Joseph consistently continued to make good choices according to the will of God.
3. The story of Joseph’s brothers shows that God will bring every sin to light.
- They thought that their sin against their brother was buried in the past, never to come up again. But things would transpire quite differently.
- Joseph eventually put them in prison. There they started to recognize that their troubles resulted from what they had done to Joseph years earlier.
- In all this, Joseph continued to show integrity, not seeking vengeance on his brothers. This is a valuable lesson for Christians today (Romans 12:17).
- A lesson for us is that we should acknowledge our sins before God, before they painfully find us out. And we must work to overcome them and change our lives instead of trying to ignore and bury our sins.
4. Joseph’s story shows that evil can be turned to good.
- God sent Joseph before them to save them from a terrible famine that was coming. (Genesis 50:20).
- Many evils are inflicted in this world, but God has set a plan in motion that will turn evil into good: (Romans 8:28).
- Despite everything he went through, Joseph’s suffering turned out for good. He didn’t allow his experiences to lead him away from the way of life he knew was right.
- Whether you are looking for a lesson for a youth, a young adult, or someone well over middle age, part of what makes Joseph’s life useful for learning virtue is that it follows him from a young age until his death, and even beyond.
- Each facet of his life holds pertinent lessons about steadfastness, conduct, righteousness, and faithful living according to God’s Word.
Conclusion:
- In the storms of life, in the darkest moments, cling to God’s promises, knowing His sovereign plan involves the “Valley of the Shadow of Death” (Psalm 23:4), but He is with His children.
- Joseph shows how to glorify God in the dark places, and how to credit Him for carrying His followers through those places.
- It can seem like living up to the life of Joseph is impossible, but God calls us all to different destinations.
- While most people will not be the leaders of great countries or mighty empires, Joseph walked with the Lord, and his character - the virtues he lived by - are attainable for the believer who walks with the Lord.
- Learning from the Biblical example of Joseph, can bring believers closer to their Lord. Partner a study of Joseph with prayer during times of difficulty, and seek God’s will, and see what other lessons can be gleaned from this remarkable man from history.
- Joseph never quit on the Lord. He never stopped believing, he never stopped trusting, he never stopped dreaming until the Lord brought to pass everything in his life that God wanted to do.
- Through it all, Joseph never wavered, he never compromised and he never flinched at what the Lord allowed in his life. As a result, he won the victory and so can you - 1 Corinthians 15:58.
- Sometimes it may look like the world and the flesh and the devil is winning. But remember with God on your side, you will always win because He has a special plan for you.
- So, keep dreaming, keep trusting, keep serving because God is preparing a great victory for you to enjoy. He truly has something special for you.
