Through Joseph's story we get a glimpse of Jesus.
3 Jacob loved Joseph more than any of
his other children because Joseph had been born to him in his old age. So one
day Jacob had a special gift made for Joseph— a beautiful robe.
4 But his brothers hated Joseph
because their father loved him more than the rest of them. They couldn’t say a
kind word to him.
One night Joseph had a dream, and when he told his brothers about it, they
hated him more than ever.
We have learned a lot about God in the recent post in
the book of Genesis, we have seen through the life of Jacob that God is in control and that
he takes care of his people. We have seen God
promise,
prepare,
prosper
and
provide
for his people despite the mistakes that they make.
The blessings of the birthright were taken from Reuben because he sinned
against his father but instead of the next oldest, the son that received
the rights was the second to the last born son. Maybe Joseph was chosen
because he is the first born son of Rachel, the wife that Jacob thought
that he married at his first wedding, or maybe it was just because Jacob
liked him more.
You may come to the conclusion that Joseph is a spoiled brat because of
the favoritism, it seems that the fancy coat may have been a symbol of
Jacob's decision to give the birthright to Joseph, Jacob has put his son
in a situation that is very similar to the situation in his parents
home.
Favoritism destroyed Jacob's family and he was forced to run away from
home because of it. Jacob was forced to run from Esau but Joseph would
have to leave by force because his brothers were ruthless. It seems that
his brothers were as immoral as the Canaanites that were around them.
(Genesis 37:1-4) Joseph's willingness to inform his father about his
brothers may have been the motivation for sending him to check on them
while they were away from home. (Genesis 37:12-14)
It seems that Joseph is headed for greatness, he has the birthright,
instead of the clothing of a shepherd he has the fancy coat that a ruler
would wear and to top it all off he has God given dreams predicting his
rise to a powerful position. What could go wrong?
Betrayed By His Family
Genesis 37:18-36
Joseph’s older brothers are a bunch of rowdy guys who slaughtered a whole
village because one guy raped their sister. The Canaanite moms in the
household, the maids of Rachel and Leah, may have had a very negative
influence on all of the brothers. The family tree can be seem
here.
God's people have always had a difficult time being in this world but not
of it. You could speculate that the slavery in Egypt was God's way of
separating his people from the Canaanites until the day of judgment when
the Canaanites would be destroyed.
How could God use his people to judge the Canaanites if his people looked
just like them?
Betrayed By The World
Genesis 39:1-23
What looks like the obvious conclusion may be the furthest from the
truth. In this situation, Potiphar thought that he had been betrayed by
Joseph when in fact it was his wife that betrayed both of them.
Joseph was about eleven years old when his sister was raped. This may have
been part of the reason that he had such an intense reaction to the advances
of Potiphar's wife. Joseph knew the devastating effects that sexual sin
could have and he didn't want any part of it.
Betrayed By A Friend
Genesis 40:1-23
The only thing that Joseph asked the cupbearer to do when his dream came
true was to put in a good word for him. This guys life was spared and he
couldn't remember the guy that predicted that it would happen.
Joseph was always the favorite, it make me think that he really wasn't a
spoiled brat, he went from being a favorite in his father's house to being a
favorite in Potiphar's house and then he became a favorite with the prison
warden. Spoiled brats don't usually have that much success at making friends
and influencing people.
But having man's favor doesn't last when you are living for God. If Joseph
had shared the values of his brothers or Potiphar's wife things would have
gone much better for him from man's perspective.
Genesis 39:2, 21 The Lord was with Joseph
But even if man turned against him, Joseph knew that he was in the presence
of God which resulted in receiving the blessings of God. Living for God
proves to be the best way even if it means living in a situation that looks
like you are being punished. The difficulty we encounter may make us
question God's presence and we may forget that his presence is always
accompanied with his blessings.
2 Timothy 3:12 Yes, and everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.
Through Joseph's story we get a glimpse of Jesus. The dearly loved son was a
shepherd of his fathers flocks, he was sent to his brothers that hated him,
they took his robe and sold him for the price of a slave. The father suffered
the loss of his favorite son because the son was wrongly accused. The son was
placed with two other prisoners which included one that was saved and the
other one lost.
I know you may be disappointed where you are. I know you may be unhappy where you are, but I want you to look beyond where you are and thank God for where He's going to take you.-Tony Evans
Joseph would overcome it all to become God's man that was prepared for God's
purpose but for now he is still in prison. This story bothers us because we
want good things to happen to good people but the reality is that God is using
the good and the bad to shape us and most importantly to accomplish his
purpose.
Thank you Lord for your interest in me and allowing me to be a part of your
plans. Help me to realize that you are working all thing for my good and for
your glory.
