Joseph as a pretty remarkable guy–on that we can all agree. Though his first appearance in scripture reveals him as a blabbermouth wearing a colorful coat, he ends up being one the heroes of history and one of the most Christlike characters in the whole Old Testament. His life gives us a brief but telling glimpse at what ministry means and the training that God uses to prepare us for His work.
Joseph’s dream in Genesis 37 was essentially God revealing, in advance, that his brothers would eventually be submitting to the leadership of their brother. Of course it was foolish of Joseph to tell them this. This is akin to you approaching one of your co-workers tomorrow and telling them that you had had a dream that you would soon be their boss. Not a good strategy. But Joseph does and soon learns the hard way the value of keeping things to oneself. He’s sold as a slave and winds up in Potipher’s house in Egypt.
So Joseph is destined to be a leader. His training? Check it out:
- Betrayal (Gen 37): Joseph first learns a little bit about human nature, the hard way. He learns about jealousy and hatred (which we saw last week), and about the harsh reality that it takes very little for people to turn on you. You can go from hero to hated in an alarmingly short amount of time.
- Slavery (Gen 37): Instead of killing Joseph, his brothers just sell him to a band of Midianites as a slave, who then sold him in Egypt to Potipher, an officer of Pharoah. In a matter of moments he went from seeing himself as the up and coming ruler of all to the low and forsaken slave of all.
- Temptation (Gen 39): Since Joseph was handsome (v.6), his master’s wife went after him and sought to seduce him, even going so far as to tempt him daily, “Lie with me,” not just once but day after day. I can only imagine that the wife of Potipher (who could have any woman he wanted) was probably a hotty. And Joseph was young and single and the temptation was right in front of him, literally beckoning him, every single day. And yet He resisted. How? Because he rightly knew the nature of sin, that it is against God that we sin (v.9).
- Wrongfully Accused (Gen 39): What reward does Joseph get for his firm resolve and upstanding morals? Potipher’s wife lies about him, and he is thrown in prison. *It’s worth noting that at about this place along the journey is when I would throw in the towel. It would seem that no matter what he does it never works out. What good is it to be faithful to God? Yes, Joseph doesn’t. Because true leaders don’t.
- Forgotten (Gen 40): By God’s power, Joseph is able to interpret the cupbearer’s and cheif baker’s dreams while they were in prison. Though the chief cupbearer promised to remember Joseph when he was released from prison. Yet, verse 23 tells us, “Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.” After all the excitement, all the hope, all the anticipation of freedom, after all that is built up in Joseph’s mind–he is once again forgotten. For two more years nothing happens. It would seem that hope is lost.
And after all this time, probably some 13 years or so, Joseph is finally elevated to leadership, after successfully interpreting Pharoah’s disturbing dreams (Gen 41). He then is able to prepare the land for famine, receive his brothers, and through this miraculous turn of events, save the entire nation of Israel through his leadership. It is a remarkable story of suffering, God’s providence, and the tenacity and perseverance of the man Joseph. Of course Joseph’s forgiveness of his brothers is another post altogether. What always amazes me is that way that God prepares Joseph for his enormous call into leadership–through betrayal, betrayal, temptation, wrongful accusation, and the pain of being forgotten. He prepared him through broken dreams, deferred hope, incredible disappointment. But the man that came through the 13 years of trial became a man who had the integrity and wisdom to preserve an entire nation–God’s nation. Our Savior was born of this nation. How thankful are we that Joseph endured his special 13-year training?
Joseph was aware of this. After all this had happened, he clearly recognized God’s hand in it all. In 45:5 he says, “God sent me before you to preserve life…So it was not you who sent me here but God.” Wow. No blame. No anger. No resentment. The calm and confident knowledge that nothing befalls us but that has been sovereignly allowed by our loving God. The knowledge that, as a leader, he was sent ahead to make the way for his family. Going before is rarely easy, but what glorious results for those who do it well.
Psalm 105 gives a great commentary on this story. Speaking of Joseph it says,
“[God] send a man ahead of them, Joseph who was sold as a slave. His feet were hurt with fetters; his neck was put in a collar of iron; until what He said came to pass, the word of the LORD tested him.” (17-19)
Until God’s prophetic word came to pass, the word of the Lord tested him. Jeff and I discovered this verse about seven years ago and have held it dear ever since. If God speaks something to us that we know is from Him, it tests us until it comes to pass. We are tested in our faith–will we believe what God says?
And for all of us, who know that God has called us to something, some task or dream or place of leadership (we all are called to something!), are we prepared for the “training” that God may have for us? Though I loved going through seminary, it is not sitting in a classroom the prepares one for ministry–it is the opportunity to trust God in the hard times, the betrayal, the times spent in a “prison” of waiting, the feeling forgotten.
What are you going through right now? How might God be using it as training for the future good works He has prepared in advance for you to do? How might you be “going ahead” of others in order to prepare the way for them? How can you be faithful, today, to God’s word, no matter how hard it is to see? I pray we are encouraged and challenged by the life of Joseph, to bear our training well.