Over the past number of weeks, we have been journeying through the narrative of Joseph in our podcast teachings. There has been an abundance of spiritually rich insights that we have gained while studying the life of Joseph, all of which have prompted me to write this blog post; one that will hopefully serve as a thorough reflection on everything discussed in our podcast bible studies, concerning the biblical figure who saved the entire line of Israel.

The Scriptures make it very clear that Joseph was the favorite son of his father Jacob (Gen. 37:3-4). Joseph was born from Rachel, the wife that Jacob preferred over Leah the first woman he married (Gen. 29:30, 30:25); and this can perhaps attest as to why Jacob favored Joseph over his other sons. The only other son that seemed to receive this similar favoritism was Benjamin, who was also a son of Rachel; whom passed away while giving birth to him (Gen. 35:16-18).

It is fascinating how transparent the Bible is concerning the dangers of favoritism in families. The book of Genesis in particular gives us a very dour view, into the long lasting dysfunction that often times results from parents favoring one of their children over another. Jacob’s parents Isaac and Rebecca were both guilty of this sin, with Isaac favoring Esau, and Rebecca favoring Jacob (Gen. 25:28). This resulted in great deceit and betrayal taking place within that family; culminating with Esau vowing to kill his brother Jacob for stealing his birthright blessing (Gen. 27:41).

We see that Jacob very much adopted the same behavior of his parents, favoring Joseph over all his other sons. Much like what happened with his brother Esau, the favoritism that Jacob showed to Joseph, resulted in great betrayal and wickedness taking place within his family. After plotting to kill their younger brother Joseph, due to the great jealously and resentment that they had for him, Jacob’s sons made the decision to instead sell Joseph to a group of Ishmeelites (Gen. 37:25-28). Away Jospeh went, though he passionately cried out to his brothers, pleading with them that they would change their minds (Gen. 42:21). Soon afterwards, Joseph ends up in Egypt, and is purchased by Potiphar; an officer of Pharaoh, and a captain of the guard within the land (Gen. 39:1).

Though Joseph’s circumstances seemed dire, and hopeless, we read on multiple occasions throughout the text, that God had His divine hand over him. The Scriptures state that, “the Lord was this Joseph”; a reminder which is given to us after he is purchased as a slave by Potiphar, and then again after he is falsely accused by his master’s wife, and sent to prison (Gen. 39:2, 21-23). From the outset, it might seem quite perplexing for the Scriptures to state that God was with Joseph, since his circumstances seemed to indicate otherwise. Yet, the Bible affirms to us in many portions of the Scripture that God’s ways are not our ways. Though we may be discouraged at our present circumstances, the Lord can see the bigger picture; as Romans 8:28 tells us, “All things work together for good, to them that love God, to them who are called according to His purposes” (KJV).

Joseph was one who understood that a bigger picture was in play. He may not have necessarily known the specifics of what God would one day use him for, however he did have an understanding that the Lord had a plan and purpose for his life. When he was a young teenager prior to being sold into slavery, he received a couple of very prophetic dreams from the Lord (Gen. 37:5-7). Though the dreams were no doubt mysterious in their symbology, they nevertheless appeared to indicate to Joseph that one day his brothers and even his own father would bow down to him. I believe that throughout all the hardship and calamity that Jospeh experienced, he never forgot about these dreams that the Lord gave to him when he was a teenager. Perhaps these dreams that were given to Him by the Lord, served as an anchor for him to hold onto, when the storms in life were pressing hard upon him.

Ultimately, what matters to us readers of the narrative, is that Joseph remained a godly man throughout every season of his life; both in times of blessing, and in times of difficulty. Within the thirteen chapters that make up the story of Joseph’s life, we see that he demonstrated three attributes which I believe us Christians should follow after when facing difficult seasons in life. These three attributes are: faith, obedience, and forgiveness.

The first attribute being faith, is something that we see Joseph demonstrating in pretty much everything that he did. Jacob no doubt raised all of his sons upon the statutes of Jehovah, and it appears that Joseph in particular had a very strong foundation established upon the truths of God. All of his motivations and decisions relied upon faith in his Lord. Even while spending time in the depths of the Egyptian prison, we see that his faith in God remained, as he boldly told the other prisoners about God’s sovereign power, and abilities (Gen. 40:8).

No matter what came his way, Joseph never cracked. He no doubt experienced disappointment, and pain, but he still kept control of his actions and godly character. This is a great lesson for us, concerning the importance of establishing a firm foundation upon the things of God; especially in the incredibly stressful times that we are living in. Establishing a firm foundation upon God’s Word, through Scripture reading and prayer, will make all the difference for when future storms come your way in life. The Scriptures affirm in the New Testament, that those who have not built a foundation upon solid ground, will be wiped away during these storms, but those who have established their lives upon solid rock, will stand firm (Matt. 7:24-27).

Joseph’s faith in the one true God of Heaven and Earth, is what prompted him to demonstrate the other two attributes of obedience and forgiveness. His obedience to God is demonstrated in a number of areas in the narrative, with one of the most significant examples being his response to Potiphar’s wife. The Scriptures tell us that day after day, Potiphar’s wife tried so hard to convince him to come to bed with her (Gen. 39:10). All of this culminated with Joseph fleeing from her presence, in order to resist her sexual advances (Gen. 39:12). But before it got to this point, we see that Joseph did affirm to Potiphar’s wife that he did not wish to engage in such promiscuous behavior, because it would be unpleasing to the Lord. He specifically tells her in Genesis 39:9, “how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?” (KJV); demonstrating his submission and obedience to the Lord.

As I said in my podcast teaching on this passage, I think that we should give Joseph a lot of credit for resisting this particular temptation, especially considering everything that he had been through up to this point. Joseph was betrayed by his own brothers, who sold him as a slave; basically robbing him of his entire life. By the time he was serving as a slave in Potiphar’s house, he had experienced great devastations on the level that most of us will never experience in our lives.

With all of this in mind, he could have easily succumbed to the advances of Potiphar’s wife— perhaps even trying to rationalize it in his mind, or make excuses. He could have told God, “I’ve been through so much pain and difficulty at this point in my life; why can’t I just enjoy a pleasurable experience with this woman?” There are so many Christian men in America, and throughout the world, who succumb to the temptation of pornography, after coming home from a stressful and tiring day at work. Looking for a way to relieve the stress that is burdening them from their jobs, these men compromise with the devil’s advances, and pollute their minds for a temporary pleasure, and stress relief. Joseph’s burdens were far greater than what most working class men have to manage in their everyday lives, and he still resisted lustful temptation when under such pressures. In this, we see that he was fully obedient to the Lord, in every season of his life; both during seasons of blessing, and seasons of trial. And this is such a terrific example for us to follow after in life.

Finally, a third attribute displayed by Joseph, which we as Christians can learn a great lesson from, was that of forgiveness. Years after Joseph was sold into Egypt, his brothers traveled to the Egyptian land to buy food, during the great famine that had come over the lands (Gen. 42:3). By this time, many events had taken place in the life of Joseph, as he was now second in command over all of Egypt; and was in charge of all duties pertaining to providing food for people during the great famine. When his brothers stood before him, he recognized them immediately, yet made himself unrecognizable to them (Gen. 42:7). Joseph then put his brothers through a serious of tests, in order to see whether or not they were the same brutal men that they once were, many years before. He wanted to see if their hearts had changed, over the passing of time.

After testing the integrity of his brothers, there came a point where Joseph realized that they did in fact have changed hearts. It appears that Jospeh came to this realization when he saw that Judah was willing to sacrifice himself, for the sake of letting Benjamin go free (Gen. 44:33). Upon coming to this realization, Joseph could not hold back his emotions, and thus he revealed to his brothers that he was their long lost brother whom they sold into slavery many years before. The Scriptures indicate that Joseph’s brothers were overcome with great fear, once realizing that their younger brother whom they betrayed long ago, was now one of the chief rulers in Egypt (Gen. 45:3). And if you really think about it, Joseph could have easily ordered his brothers to be locked away in prison, or even put to death. Yet in two very striking instances, we see that Joseph exhibits great forgiveness towards his brothers, and is ready to mend the deep wounds that they created between him and them, many years before.

The first instance was immediately after he revealed himself to them, and they were bewildered and overwhelmed with fear. In order to comfort and assure them, he tells his brothers, “But now, do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life” (Gen. 45:5, KJV).

The second time, was a little bit later, and after his father Jacob passed away. His brothers began to again develop fear that their brother would seek out vengeance for what they once did to him (Gen. 50:15). Upon becoming aware of their fear, Joseph sought to give them further assurance that he was not intending to harm them in any way for the sin they committed against him, many years ago. He tells them in chapter 50 of Genesis, “But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive” (Gen. 50:20, KJV).

Here, we see that Joseph affirms that it was ultimately God’s divine will for him to come out to Egypt. He recognized that if he never was sold into slavery by his brothers, then he would have never become second in command over Egypt; and therefore him and his family would have eventually died in the great famine that would come over all the lands. Remember, it was because of Joseph’s leadership in Egypt, that most of the people throughout all the lands were able to survive the famine; including his own family who were located in the land of Canaan. If Joseph never became ruler in Egypt, then the great famine would have wiped out many groups of people, including his family; the descendants of Abraham. Because of God’s divine will, Joseph became ruler in Egypt, and thus the Messianic line of Abraham, that would eventually lead to the birth of Jesus Christ, was saved from the devastation of the great famine.

We see that Joseph very clearly understood that God had used the great sin that his brothers had committed against him, to accomplish incredible things that were according to His will. Thus, he was able to forgive his brothers, knowing that God used their betrayal of him, for wonderful things that none of them could have once imagined. In our own lives, though it may hurt greatly when a person commits a sin against us; we must always remember that God allowed it to happen to us for a reason. Sometimes God allows people to commit very heavy trespasses towards us, and these type of heavier sins that are done to us, can be especially hard to cope with emotionally, mentally, and spiritually.

However, we ultimately need to keep our trust in the truth that is given to us in Romans 8:28, that God does work out all the things that we experience in life, for our own good, as long as we love Him, and are called according to His purposes. If we can keep our faith in this promise, then I believe that we will be able to better handle the trespasses that are committed against us in this life by other people; even those who have done some real wicked things against us.

So with all these things in mind, it is clear that the story of Jospeh is filled with wonderful lessons for how we should live out the Christian life; in both the good seasons, and seasons of hardship that we often face. It is my opinion, that God did eventually bring to pass all of the magnificent things that He intended for Joseph’s life, because Joseph kept his faith in him despite all of the trials that came his way for many years. God does give us free will in this life to choose whether or not we will stay by His side through the challenges that are sure to come our way at some point in time. And if we remain faithful and obedient to him in all things, there are guaranteed blessings both in this life, and the life to come. Let us move forward throughout the rest of 2020, “toward the mark for the prize of the high calling in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:14, KJV).