Joseph in Egypt

Choice 3 –

A.  Birth Order for Jacob’s sons: 

1. Reuben

2. Simeon

3. Levi

4. Judah

5. Dan

6. Naphtali

7. Gad

8. Asher

9. Issachar

10.  Zebulun

11. Joseph

12.  Benjamin

B.  Jacob was so obvious about his favoritism of Joseph.  In all reality, I think most of us would feel envy if our parents were very clear in their preference for one of our siblings over ourselves.  No one likes being told by a person that they like someone else best, especially if that person is a parent. 

  I’m sure it didn’t help the envy situation when Joseph told his brothers that one day they would bow down in front of him either.  (My older brothers never liked it when I told them that either.  Ha ha)

C.  Challenges: 

--Joseph’s father shows him favoritism by giving a gift (this causes envy from brothers)

--Joseph has a dream that he will lead his 10 older brothers one day (this causes anger from brothers towards him)

--Joseph is sent to check on brothers and is “stript” of his coat, and thrown in a pit

--Joseph is sold to Ishmaelites as a slave

--Joseph is forced to leave his home and his family.

--Joseph is sold by the Midianites to Potiphar in Egypt

     I’m sure Joseph became frustrated at times.  Though it doesn’t say that he did, one could sense that weariness he must have been experiencing when he pleaded with the Butler in prison, to not forget about him, and remember what he had done for him. 

    Not many young people today face being sold into slavery and sent to Egypt.  However, I think it’s very easy for envy and hatred to abound among family and friends.  With all of the materialistic aspects of our lives, who’s to say that envy won’t be aimed in their direction because they have something that someone else doesn’t. 

  Another similar challenge is the need to stand alone in one’s beliefs.  When Joseph was sold into Egypt, he was suddenly a lone boy without friends or family, and had to not only decide what he believed, but be convicted enough to those beliefs to not be swayed by any outside influences.

D.    

*The phrase “The Lord was with Joseph” continued throughout chapter 39, because Joseph continued to make choices that would keep that very spirit close to him.  I would guess that Joseph had made the decision when he was young to be morally clean.  I say this, because he is described as not even swaying a little bit, and that is generally associated with decisions that have already been decided before they take place.

* In verse 21-23 of chapter 39, the Lord shows that he was still nearby helping Joseph gain favour in the sigh of the prison keeper, thus putting him in a position to lay the proper steps to rise above his situation.  By this appointment, he was able to meet all the other prisoners, and thus learn of the dreams that he was able to interpret (In Chapter 40).

*Some of the things that impressed me the most about Joseph, is that he never became bitter at God despite the longevity of his trials and severity of them.  He was thrust into a very difficult position and at such a young age.  Many of us endure strife or disharmony with our families, but Joseph’s family was downright dysfunctional.  I don’t do well when I can tell someone is angry with me, or doesn’t like me.

   I’m sure he felt that he had absolutely no one, since even his own siblings did not want him near.  However, these are the times when an ordinary person would become bitter, and embrace the bitter side of life.  Joseph did not, and continued to seek out the Lord’s comfort and seek for the Lord’s approval.  At a young age, he understood that the Lord’s approval mattered more than any one else’s.  It mattered more than his brothers, a pretty girls, a disheartened baker, etc. 

                It was because of his quest for the Lord’s approval, that the Lord was able to use him as an instrument to save thousands of lives later on, including his own family who had betrayed him. 

                If nothing else, I think this is a wonderful reminder to all of us, to take our bad circumstances, and try to handle them in a way that we know would be pleasing to our Heavenly Father.  It is in this, that we will gain the most satisfaction, and the greatest eternal rewards.

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