This week as we continue on our Quest, we see once again how God is fulfilling His covenant with His people. Each week as I read the text, I am awestruck by how God works in and through the hopes and dreams, struggles and failures of the people in the book of Genesis. Even though they lived long ago in a very different time and place, we can still relate to their struggles and clearly see God’s hand in the ordinary and the extraordinary events of their lives. This week we are focused on the life of Joseph.
We begin by learning of the young life of one of Jacobs’s sons, Joseph, living in the land of Canaan. In fact, he is Jacobs’s favorite son because he had been born to him in his old age. Jacob demonstrated his love for this son when he presented him with a beautiful, ornate robe. Not surprisingly, Joseph’s brothers were jealous of him because of this special relationship with their father. It did not help matters when Joseph shared the dream where he saw his brothers bow down to him in submission. In their anger, Joseph’s brothers contemplate killing him but ultimately decide instead to sell him to a caravan of traders on their way to Egypt.
In Egypt Joseph is purchased by Potiphar, the captain of Pharaoh’s guards. Joseph is put in charge of the entire household and is quite successful. However, Potiphar’s wife falsely accuses Joseph of assaulting her, which leads to his imprisonment. While Joseph is in prison, God gives him the ability to interpret the dreams of others prisoners. When Joseph is invited to interpret the dreams of the Pharaoh, he explains that “God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do.” The land of Egypt is heading for a great famine. But before it arrives, the Pharaoh should store away a surplus of grain so that everyone may survive.
Pharaoh then puts Joseph in charge of this work, and God blesses his efforts as Joseph prepares Egypt for the coming famine. When the famine does arrive, people from many lands come to buy grain, including Joseph’s own family from Canaan. This event leads Joseph to a meeting his brothers, who had sold him into slavery, and the eventual reunification of his family.
The story of Joseph is one where we see God working in and through the lives of this family in order to bring about His plan for His people. We see God in both the good and bad times of Joseph’s life. We know that God was with Joseph when he was at the bottom of a cistern and also when he was at the right hand of Pharaoh. Joseph recognized God’s sovereign hand in his life, even as he forgave his brothers saying, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done.” In the life of Joseph, we see a clear example of how God works through all things for the good of those who are called to His purposes (Romans 8:28). We also see a foreshadowing of Jesus Christ when He overcame the evil of the world to bring salvation to His people.