Joseph was the most loved of his father's children. He enjoyed his father's pampering and attention and these fueled hatred from his brothers. They hated him and could not speak peacably with him (Genesis 37)
Joseph later had a dream which he shared with his brothers and they hated him even more because they interpreted it as him reigning over them. They named him 'the dreamer' and were bent on not making that dream a reality so they planned to kill him. They said to one another "come now,... let us kill him... and we shall see what will become of his dreams! (Genesis 37 verse 19-20)
There came a day when Joseph went to see his brothers where they were feeding their flock. They started ploting his death as they saw him approaching them and as he came unto them, the first thing they took away from him was the one thing that reminded him of his father's love, his coat of many colours.
He was cast into the pit and later sold to the Ish-me-eli-tes for twenty pieces of silver and that was the beginning of his journey into Egypt.His brothers thought that was the end of his dreams, they thought it was a case of 'grace-to-grass'. They had striped him of his clothes, sold him to strangers as a slave, and he had been taken, bound, to a strange land.
Fast forward to 13 years later, Joseph interpreted Pharaoh's dream and through that, Pharaoh set him over all the land of Egypt. His brothers later traveled to Egypt in search of corn and got the shock of their lives the moment Joseph revealed his identity! The same Joseph they thought at best will live the rest of his life as a slave, now in charge of the whole of Egypt!
... and when Joseph had proved his brothers hearts, seeing that they were remorseful, this is what he said to them "..be not grieved or angry with yourselves, that you sold me hither, for God did send me before you to preserve life". It was indeed a case of Men's grass, God's grace!
What is that situation that men have put you in today, thinking that they are hindering, delaying or limiting you? God has a surprise for them! Joseph's brothers thought things were going according to 'their' plans, they were wrong! it was God's plan all the way. God only used them to move Joseph forward. Only Joseph could have hindered himself if he had chosen to remain bitter but we know that he was not.
Dreams got him into Egypt, in chains and dreams lifted him to a place of honor, in charge of all of Egypt. He had travelled from grass to grace.
Joseph is actually one of my best references in the Bible, because there are many virtues to learn from him.
ReplyDeleteFirst, he was quite opened/free/transparent with his brothers and shared (even his dreams) freely with them - here you probably may say he had no tact, but to me I like the fact that he wasn't thinking evil of his brothers and expected the best from them.
He wasn't given to murmuring. I never read that he was questioning God on his predicament, even though it seemed he was journeying down a tunnel from being a 'pampered favourite child' to a slave and then to a prisoner.
He was surprisingly hardworking, so much so that Portiphar put him in cahrge of all without caring, though he didnt seem to be doing much whilst with his father.
He was quite disciplined, fleeing all appearance of evil.
He helped others freely utilizing his gifts by interpreting dreams for his prisoner colleagues.
He trusted God all through his travails and kept returning the Glory to God in respect his dreams and interpretation gift.
He was quite forgiving.
He received God's favour. Little wonder he moved from grass to GRACE!
It is true, there are so many lessons to learn from Joseph. He had a pure heart towards his brothers and people around him, he showed love, respect and responsibility at every opportunity. He chose to keep his values and not wrong Potiphar by sleeping with Mrs. Potiphar and I like what you said about forgiveness, indeed, he was forgiving. Thanks for the comment, very insightful.
DeleteIts encouraging to read about the story of Joeseph everytime, and it reveals different things each time. In addition to this it shows also that our God has a plan for our lives Jer 29:11.
ReplyDeleteGod indeed has a plan for us all, I think it also means that things don't have to go our way, things have to go God's way. It's the only way we can arrive at a safe destination.
Deletefrom this sharing i have learnt that the enemy always attacks any thing that points to God's love in our lives.However it is goodnews to know that he can only go as far.Nothing can seperate us from the love of christ and the things which are seen are temporal hence our destiny in him always carries a heavier weight of Glory.Thank you for this sharing.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely! it's good to know that every time the devil comes at us, his strategy expires real fast because the Lord is with us. The keeper of Israel, who never sleeps or slumbers. Thanks for the comment.
DeleteJoseph was stripped off everything that makes him who he was-his honour, love from his family, his covering(clothing), his freedom and more. But like Job, he regain all!
ReplyDeleteTherefore his word is confirmed that says "Though our beginning is small, our ending will be great". He is specialized in doing new things.
Amen sis. Thanks for the comment.
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