Genesis From 30,000 Feet
“Joseph: The Pain of Preparation”
Genesis 39: 1-5 “When Joseph was taken to Egypt by the Ishmaelite traders, he was purchased by Potiphar, an Egyptian officer. Potiphar was captain of the guard for Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. 2 The Lord was with Joseph, so he succeeded in everything he did as he served in the home of his Egyptian master. 3 Potiphar noticed this and realized that the Lord was with Joseph, giving him success in everything he did. 4 This pleased Potiphar, so he soon made Joseph his personal attendant. He put him in charge of his entire household and everything he owned. 5 From the day Joseph was put in charge of his master’s household and property, the Lord began to bless Potiphar’s household for Joseph’s sake. All his household affairs ran smoothly, and his crops and livestock flourished.”
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Now last time we explored Joseph’s bitter betrayal at the hands of his 11 brothers. We also noted that the Bible says, “…he (God) sent Joseph as a slave to Egypt to save his people from starvation.”
That’s why I’m calling this series Genesis from 30,000 feet. Not only does this mean we’re dealing with large sections of Genesis at once, but also that Genesis clearly reveals the Sovereignty of God at work as His plan of salvation began to unfold, beginning with the call of Abraham.
We see God ordering the steps of the Patriarchs even when they weren’t aware of it, and establishing their descendants as a nation, guiding them down through time in order to bring to pass the arrival of His Son, Jesus Christ through the tribe of Judah.
So one key takeaway lesson we learn from their story is that there are 2 ways to look at events happening around us, and in the stories of Scripture–through our natural eyes, or through the lens of God’s sovereignty at work in and through all things!
Our God is a sovereign God or He’s not God at all!
The Sovereignty of God means He is in total control of His universe.
Now, does this mean He causes everything that happens? No. God has given to mankind free will, the ability to make decisions for bad or for good. Does this mean God is NOT in control? No. Because even when man makes free-will bad decisions, they are allowed by God. They flow through His permissive will.
Why God allows some of the terrible things that happen in our world is hidden away in His inscrutable mind. Paul wrote:
Romans 11:33 “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!”
So there is God’s permissive will, and there is His determined will. For instance, it was God’s determined will to send His Son into the world to die for our sins. Scripture says,
1 Pet 1:18-20 “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; 19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: 20 Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,”
Now, here’s what we see with Joseph. When God does permit evil to take place, He can and does work it to serve His purposes. As Joseph later told his brothers,
Gen 50:20 “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.”
So God’s sovereignty rules over all things, and His ultimate purpose and plans will come to pass!
Listen to what God spoke through the Prophet Isaiah, “I am the Lord, and there is no other…I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster (through His judgments, as with Sodom and Gomorrah); I, the Lord, do all these things.”–45:6-7
And further, “I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me. 10 I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.'”–46:9-10
The psalmist wrote, “But our God is in heaven; He does whatever He pleases.”
The Apostle Paul wrote that God, “…makes everything work out according to his plan.”–Eph 1:11
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And in a particularly outstanding way, God’s sovereignty is revealed in the story of Joseph! Because we see that, once sold into slavery and purchased by Potiphar, “The Lord was with Joseph, so he succeeded in everything he did as he served in the home of his Egyptian master. 3 Potiphar noticed this and realized that the Lord was with him…”
So God’s favor was on Joseph in an obvious way, even to the pagan Potiphar!
Now, since God is in sovereign control of all things, why didn’t He just deliver Joseph and send him back home? Why leave him in Potiphar’s house?
From 30,000 feet, viewing his plight through the eyes of God’s Sovereignty, God was preparing him for a promotion and purpose he could never have imagined. He would one day rule over all of Egypt second only to Pharaoh, and would be the instrument of saving the Messianic lineage, his family, from dying by starvation, thus securing the coming of Christ through Judah!
So here’s the thing–wherever you are as God’s child, whatever you’re experiencing in life, you can view your trials and troubles through your natural eyes, or from the view of God’s sovereignty. And the view from sovereignty says, God is using all things to prepare you for your next level, and to work into you the character and likeness of Jesus!
Look how what Joseph was learning was God’s preparation for his greatest purpose.
FIRST, he was learning that in the midst of great trials, God was WITH HIM. The favor of God was obvious, and Joseph was learning to lean on it.
SECOND, he was learning management. It says that Potiphar, “made him overseer of his house, and al that he had he put under his authority.”–39:4 This was a microcosm of what he would one day do on a grand scale!
THIRD, he was learning how to serve as second in charge under a powerful man. Potiphar “put all that he had under Joseph’s authority.” Joseph learned to serve the wishes of a man with great possessions and power, just as Pharaoh would one day be.
Was his preparation easy? No. Joseph was in a strange land with a people of strange, unfamiliar customs and language. Yet God was undeniably with him, and he recognized it!
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Now, you probably know what happens next. The Bible says that Joseph was “a very handsome and well-built young man.”–39:6 NLT
And this did not go unnoticed by Potiphar’s wife. She began each and every day to tempt him to commit adultery with her. Joseph refused. She kept coming at him and he kept refusing. Then one day she got particularly aggressive and grabbed him, so he fled out the door.
You know what they say about a scorned woman! Potiphar’s wife made up a complete lie, accused him of assault, and Potiphar threw him into prison.
Here is where another powerful takeaway comes before us. Joseph was slandered, his reputation soiled, and his freedom taken away FOR DOING THE RIGHT THING!
How did he handle that? What was his response? It is not recorded that he screamed out his innocence, or fought back, or grew bitter against God, or gave up his dreams. We are left to assume that he trusted his reputation and future to God.
And the text shows him receiving God’s favor once again, this time in jail. And the very same doors opened for him to continue in Holy Ghost school. It says,
“But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him MERCY, and he gave him FAVOR in the sight of the keeper of the prison. And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph’s hand all the prisoners who were in the prison; whatever they did there, it was his doing….and whatever he did, the Lord made it prosper.”–39:21-23
So Joseph is learning the same lessons in a different setting.
ONE, he’s learning to trust in the mercy and favor of God, no matter what he’s going through.
TWO, he’s learning management over a large organization.
THIRD, he’s learning to be second in command under a powerful man–the keeper of the prison.
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But there’s one more key lesson Joseph is learning–how to operate in his spiritual gift. God had always spoken to Joseph in dreams. By the sovereignty of God, two of Pharaoh’s chief men were thrown into prison–the chief butler and the chief baker. God gave each of them a dream they didn’t understand. Next morning Joseph asked them why they were so down. They told him their dream.
The chief butler went first, and Joseph interpreted his dream to mean that he would soon be freed and restored to his position.
The chief baker went next, and Joseph interpreted it to mean he would be hanged. Both interpretations came to pass. As the chief butler was being released, Joseph said, “Remember me when it is well with you….make mention of me to Pharaoh, and get me out of this house.”–40:14
Now what we see here is Joseph has realized somewhere along the way that he has a gift to interpret dreams from God. But the chief butler forgot him for two full years! It wasn’t God’s time yet.
Nevertheless, when both interpretations came to pass, Joseph realized beyond doubt that God had given him a gift, a gift that would soon open the door for him to step into an unbelievable promotion.
NEXT TIME: From Pit to the Pinnacle of Promotion!