The story of Joseph is my very favorite story of unending perseverance. Through every trial Joseph never lost faith in God. I would like to think that I would respond the same, but I’m fairly confident I would fall miserably short. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that if I had been put in the same situation as Joseph at the age of 17, I would have failed miserably. How about you?

In Genesis 37, the Bible tells of Joseph sharing his dream with his brothers that they would bow down to him. I have read commentary on these scriptures that Joseph brought this demise on himself by sharing his dream. The thought behind this is that clearly Joseph was pompous in character and deserved to be knocked down a couple pegs from his self-imposed high and mighty stature. Their father, Jacob, favoring him only added fuel to the fire. I don’t see it that way. For starters, it was a dream. Therfore, to believe that it was prophetic would mean that his brothers believed he was a prophet, which they clearly did not. So they were simply upset that the little brother dreamt that he would rule over them and had the AUDACITY to share that dream with them.

Perhaps, I have a different perspective because I actually have a 17 year old son. He is a pretty, mild mannered kid who doesn’t go about ruffling feathers for fun, but I can guarantee that if he had a dream that he was ruling over his older sister that it would be the first thing to come out of his mouth in the morning. I think it would be for any 17 year old. Unfortunately for Jospeh, this was the last straw for his brothers. They set out to kill him, but before they could murder him, the opportunity presented itself to financially prosper instead and sell him into slavery. They had their money and made up a false story to their father that Joseph had been killed.

Joseph’s entry into slavery begins by being bought by Potiphar. Over time Joseph earned Potiphar’s trust and was put in charge of his household. Just as Joesph’s life seemed to be improving, Potiphar’s wife tried to seduce him. When Joseph denied her, she fasely accused him of attempted rape and he was imprisoned for years. He was 30 years old when he was allowed to serve the King of Egypt and no longer be imprisoned. Joseph interpreted a dream that no other could and was instantly put in charge of Egypt. Under Joseph’s hands, Egypt stored up resources to prepare for the prophecied future famine. When the surrounding lands fell into famine, his brothers came to Egypt in desperation looking for food.

Genesis 45:4-8 Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come close to me.” When they had done so, he said, “I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will be no plowing and reaping. But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt.”

After many years the opportunity presents itself for Joseph to finally confronts his brothers. I can’t even imagine what must have been going through his mind. After all that he had gone through because of the actions of his brothers. This is an incredible example of showing us how to respond to other who have caused us undeserved hardships. However, Joesph tells them not to be distressed (Genesis 45: 8) It was not you who sent me here, but God. THIS STATEMENT IS AMAZING!

This is why I love reading the story of Joseph over and over again. This is a testament to how we SHOULD be thinking through injustice. How I wish I COULD think through injustice. How I NEED to think through injustice. It is amazing to me that through all the injustice that started at the tender age of 17; Joseph had faith through it all. He never lost hope and always believed that God had purpose in his placement, timing and suffering. Would you have been so faithful? I’m not sure that I would have been. 

I always love when I see “but God”. It is said that every time you say “but” it nullifies everything you said before it. For example, “I will never yell at you again, but if you didn’t talk to me that way it wouldn’t have happened.” The “but” erases your entire “apology”. So when I see “but God” it reminds me that God erases everything before, it is nullified. It is just like it never happened and it becomes literally irrelevant. (Genesis 45: 8) It was not you who sent me here, but God.

Joseph is an excellent example of how we can always trust in our Lord through every unjust circumstance. God has purpose in it all. We should always remember that God is greater than every injustice and persecution that we are going through today or might withstand in the future.

Romans 8:35-39 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.