Today’s story is about a shepherd in the pit and the prison - Joseph
Joseph was the 11th son of Jacob (that we learned about yesterday). Joseph was very special to his father because he was born in Jacob’s old age. Jacob favored Joseph and gave him a coat of many colors. Joseph was special to his father, but he was also special for another reason – he could interpret dreams. One day, Joseph told his brothers about a dream he had. Joseph interpreted the dream to mean that one day, his brothers would all bow down to him. This made Joseph’s 10 older brothers very angry. They were also jealous of their father’s love for Joseph and the blatant favoritism Jacob showed Joseph.
One day, Jacob sent Joseph out to check on his other sons who were keeping the sheep. When Joseph’s brothers saw him coming, they thought it was the perfect opportunity to get rid of him. They wanted to kill him, but instead, they threw him into a pit until they could figure out what to do with him.
26 Then Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? 27 Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.” And his brothers listened to him. 28 Then Midianite traders passed by. And they drew Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekel of silver. They took Joseph to Egypt. –Genesis 37:26-28
What a horrible and cruel thing to do! His brothers tore Joseph’s multi-colored coat and put goat’s blood on it, to make it look like Joseph had been killed by a wild animal. They took the coat back to Jacob and told him that Joseph was dead. Jacob was completely inconsolable. As Jacob mourned for the son he thought he had lost:
36 ... the Midianites had sold him [Joseph] in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard.—Genesis 37:36
2 The LORD was with Joseph, and he became a successful man, and he was in the house of his Egyptian master.3 His master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD caused all that he did to succeed in his hands. 4 So Joseph found favor in his sight and attended him, and he made him overseer of his house and put him in charge of all that he had. 5 From the time that he made him overseer in his house and over all that he had, the LORD blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake; the blessing of the LORD was on all that he had, in house and field. –Genesis 39:2-5
Although Joseph had been wrongly sold into slavery, God blessed Joseph’s circumstances. As long as Joseph believed in God, God blessed Joseph wherever he went. Potiphar was good to Joseph, but Potiphar’s wife was not so nice. She thought Joseph was very handsome, and when she made an inappropriate pass at Joseph, he turned her down. Potiphar’s wife was embarrassed so she made up a lie against Joseph, and Potiphar put Joseph in prison!
19 As soon as his master heard the words that his wife spoke to him, “This is the way your servant treated me,” his anger was kindled. 20 And Joseph's master took him and put him into the prison, the place where the king's prisoners were confined, and he was there in prison. 21 But the LORD was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. 22 And the keeper of the prison put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners who were in the prison. Whatever was done there, he was the one who did it. – Genesis 39:19-22
While Joseph was in prison, he interpreted a dream for the cupbearer of the Pharaoh, who was imprisoned there. Later, Pharaoh had a series of dreams that troubled him. Nobody could interpret the dreams. The cupbearer remembered Joseph and his special abilities. The cupbearer told Pharaoh about Joseph, and Joseph was brought in to interpret the Pharaoh’s dreams. Joseph interpreted that there would be seven years of plenty and then seven years of great famine. He also suggested that Pharaoh appoint someone to oversee the food in the land. Pharaoh was so impressed with Joseph and his intuition, that he appointed Joseph as the overseer over all of Egypt:
40 You shall be over my house, and all my people shall order themselves as you command. Only as regards the throne will I be greater than you.” 41 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.” –Genesis 41:40-41
So many people in Joseph's life sought to harm him. Joseph's brothers sold him into slavery and Potiphar's wife concocted an elaborate lie that put him prison. But do you know what is interesting about both of those situations? Since Joseph continued to praise God in his turmoil, God made Joseph prosper in his hardships.
Sometimes we can't help what other people inflict on us. We can't help what other people say about us, and we can't always help what other people do to us, but what we can help, is how we treat our relationship with God during those trials. God was faithful to Joseph after his enslavement. He showed favor to Joseph and he became the head of Potiphar's house. God was faithful to Joseph in prison, and he became an overseer there. Then, as providence would have it, Joseph was in the position to be able to interpret the dream of the Pharaoh. Because of this, Pharaoh set Joseph as governor of Egypt.
Today, think about how you treat your relationship with God when trials arise. Do you blame God, or do you run to him? Do you trust that God is always with you, even in your darkest hours? The next time you encounter a trial, remember how God was faithful to Joseph. He will be faithful to you too. The next time someone does something to you that you can't help, remember that God is a friend, and he is there to turn to. Turn to God, don't turn on him.
Dear Lord, sometimes when life gets crazy, I blame you. Sometimes the only time I seek you is when I'm upset. Help me to remember that you are there in the good and the bad times. You were faithful to Joseph when he went through horrible trials. I know you are faithful to me too. Forgive me for blaming you when things don't always go well. Help me to also remember that when I'm going through something, you may have a better plan for me on the other side of it. Give me the courage to get through the hard times in life, and help me to know in my heart that you are indeed always there with me. In Jesus' name, Amen.
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