The example of Joseph

The example of Joseph

Joseph was not just a child much loved by his father but by God as well. While he was really young, God gave him dreams which predicted what he is going to be later. That means a man above his brothers. It is really possible that the devil knew the plans that God had for Joseph or else that God is going to use him mightily. One point is sure: His brothers allowed themselves to be used by the devil when they sold their own orphan brother.

The attitude of a normal man who find himself far from home and far from those dreams that let him believed that he will lead will be to be into a great anger against the God of his fathers, to damn Him and take his life into his hands. On the contrary, Joseph continues to be a just man and the Lord was with him. Living with Potiphar where he ascended from the role of a slave to the one of a steward of the house, the Lord blessed Him and Potiphar through him. At this moment of glory, Joseph don’t say to himself that he has reached the peak of the glory and it is better for him to forget this God who has allowed that he becomes separated from his father and his younger brother. On the contrary, he continues to be faithful to him and refuses the advances of his master’s wife because he does not want to sin against God.

 Genesis 39 : 9 No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?"

By showing a so great faithfulness to the Lord, instead of blessing him promptly, the Lord does nothing else than to allow his servant to be put in jail for a fault he did not commit.

 At this moment again, Joseph has all the rights on a human’s point of view to become depressive and damn God. It is amazing to realize that here he is going more far from the prophecies of the dreams he had when he was living with his father. And in addition to this he was just having a good position at Potiphar’s place that he find himself in prison for a crime he did not commit. Someone may really ask what does God finally want from him? What does life expect from him? Sold by his own brothers, and in prison for a non committed crime. “Where is the God of his fathers? Is he asleep?” Someone may understand that God behaves like that if Joseph had sinned; but never! Never was he unfaithful to the God of his fathers!

 I have the impression that it is someone like us who observe the situation who will ask those questions but it seems that it is not the concern of Joseph to ask such questions. On the contrary, as nothing happened, as he has not being hurt, he continues to love God in prison and God continues to bless him.

 In jail, Joseph did not become cold because of trials, Slaves in Egypt , he is not cold with them and in return, they are not also cold with him. The fact that he is interested about the bad mood of the Egyptians prisoners shows his opened heart and that he did not pity himself despite the fact that his situation was not enviable. Here, Joseph uses the gift that God gave him and he did not glorify himself. He still remains confident to the God of his fathers despite the fact that He has not saved him from the catastrophic situations which happened to him.

 Although life has not being particularly, easy for Joseph, he never allowed trials to destroy him or to prevent him to continue to believe that he can reach a great target. Most of the time when life is a succession of trials, we may devalue ourselves and our ambitions are just at the level of our actual social status. We don’t have big dream anymore and we may say to ourselves: “what is the aim to have more if it is to lose again?” But the reaction of Joseph is totally different because he says to the chief cupbearer to whom he interpreted the dream: Genesis 40: 14 But when all goes well with you, remember me and show me kindness; mention me to pharaoh and get me out of this prison.

 Joseph’s target is so high: Pharaoh! We realize through this that he is not afraid to ascend more and fall as it happened to him later and as we know the more the ascension is great, the more the fall is dangerous.

 The fact that he targeted Pharaoh was anyway at his advantage since he finally found himself in front of Pharaoh. In front of Pharaoh, he has the courage to speak about God. Someone may understand that he talks about God to Potiphar’s wife and to the prisoners but not to Pharaoh the keeper of Egyptian’s gods who is also considered as a god himself. This attitude proves that he has a lot of courage and he really depends on his God. Normally, someone in face of such a situation will say : «This is the chance of my life and I don’t have to lose it.«  And we don’t need to be clever to understand that speak about God to Pharaoh and showing him his dependence to God may compromise the chance of our life. But Joseph has another point of view and he has the guts to say to pharaoh: "I cannot do it," Joseph replied to Pharaoh, "but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires." Genesis 41: 16

 And the result is: God lifts him up and pharaoh makes an interesting remark by saying:

 Genesis 41: So Pharaoh asked them, "Can we find anyone like this man, one in whom is the spirit of God?"  I won’t be surprise that it was the first time that Pharaoh talks about: “God” instead of “the god of” of “a god”, acknowledging by this confession the existence of one God among others and then his gods.

 When we read all this, someone may say that Joseph did not suffer from the exile, and from the fact that he has been sold by his brothers. Someone may really think that he does not suffer anymore but it is not true. The names of his children express the state of his heart and also his attitude when he sees his brothers. He had never forgotten. Let us read: Genesis 42: 9 Then he remembered his dreams about them and said to them, "You are spies! You have come to see where our land is unprotected."

 And:

18 On the third day, Joseph said to them, "Do this and you will live, for I fear God: 19 If you are honest men, let one of your brothers stay here in prison, while the rest of you go and take grain back for your starving households. 20 But you must bring your youngest brother to me, so that your words may be verified and that you may not die." This they proceeded to do.

And in the last reference, it appears that he keeps himself to revenge against his brothers because he fears God.

Joseph kept himself to come into a great anger against God because he knew that his brothers were the one responsible of the fact that he was sold and not God. But the fact that despite the trials he remained faithful to God gave the possibility to God to raise him and to change the evil deeds of his brothers into a good one; not just for him, but for his family for Egypt and for the glory of God.

Eugenie L.