ENTRY FIVE – JANUARY 18, 2008

5 – Joseph in Egypt Genesis 39-50

As we finish our study of the patriarchs, we will focus on Joseph in Egypt. This entry covers four days worth of reading, and discusses issues like FORGIVENESS, SPIRITUAL THINKING, INTEGRITY at WORK, GRACE, GENEROSITY, and of course, more PARENTING ISSUES.

Gen 39 Joseph was amazing!! Despite all that had been done “to him”, Joseph kept to his values and the Lord was with him. He allowed God to work in him, which caught the attention of his boss (much like the prophet Daniel during the exile many centuries later). This is an upward call for all of us who work or study – are we shining at work? Do others around us see our attitude and get inspired? I know of one Christian who was retrenched during an economic downturn, but was immediately offered a job by someone else also leaving the company. When the Christian asked, “Why me?” his colleague replied, “Because I have never worked with someone who was so humble.” Now THAT is a great example!

Look at how Joseph handled himself in the midst of almost unbearable temptation! He fled the scene! He did what Paul would later advise Timothy, “Flee the evil desires of youth!” or as we might say to a friend in temptation, “Get the heck out of there!”

Have you ever done the right thing for God, and then had something bad happen? There are few things that rankle more than being falsely accused, but that’s just what happened to Joseph! Oh, the temptation to blame it all on God! But he kept his spiritual integrity, and was blessed even in jail. (If you haven’t seen the Dreamworks movie about Joseph which was their follow up to the “Prince of Egypt”, you MUST see it! Watch it for a bible talk or over several days for a family devo and then do some spiritual “movie therapy”!) More cynical types tend to say nowadays, “No good deed goes unpunished.” With spiritual eyes, Joseph was able to wait on God, and even help others.

Joseph was pure, spiritually minded, godly, and on top of that, he was handsome. Some of you may be thinking, “Wow, I hope I find a guy/girl like that!” As the Proverbs say, “Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting, but a woman (or man) who fears the Lord is to be praised.” It’s not what’s on the outside that is important –we’ll read about Absalom in later chapters – he was the most handsome of all of King David’s sons, but he was rotten on the inside. When you are thinking of who you want to marry, looks and attraction will matter to an extent, but for your sake I hope they aren’t the number one pull factor…sorry, couldn’t help but throw that in!

Gen 40 Do the right thing no matter what the reward. You not only please God, but you also may get blessed in the future - after all, God is always watching!! And when you are practicing doing the right thing no matter what, you are training your character, so that when God calls, you will be ready!

Gen 41 Don’t you know when Joseph was shaving and getting changed that his knees were shaking and he was praying (while trying not to cut himself!) and saying, “God, what on earth do you have planned now?!” If you close your eyes and put yourself at the scene, you can actually feel Joseph’s heart pounding! I bet he could hardly contain himself when the Pharaoh was recounting his dream. Joseph continued to be spiritual after he was given a high position. He even honoured God with the names of his two sons. He is truly a living example of the lyrics from "Humble Yourself in the Sight of the Lord, and He will Lift you Up!!"

Gen 42 Now if you think the last chapter was emotional, what about this one – he sees his brothers for the first time in over twenty years! The part where Reuben spoke up about how they shouldn’t have treated Joseph badly 20 years earlier, thinking that Joseph couldn’t understand them, and then Joseph turned away and wept – oh, it Kills Me every time I read it! Joseph had a plan to help his family prosper physically and spiritually…

Gen 43 It is obvious that the guilt the sons of Jacob felt over selling Joseph off twenty years before had caused them to not only be miserable but to fear God and start to be men of their word. A warning to all of us who are prone to giving into our anger and doing rash acts – the consequences can be grave, and last far longer than you would ever imagine. Not to mention you may not sleep so well afterwards…Joseph’s emotion at seeing the only other son of his mother is very touching. He must have given up hope of ever seeing them again, and now he was able to meet all of his brothers! And he wasn’t planning revenge, but blessings…What a heart…

Gen 44 This time the brothers really proved their repentance. Judah took responsibility – he was the one who had suggested selling Joseph 20 years earlier, and now he showed true sacrifice and love for his father by pleading for Benjamin’s safety and volunteering to put himself in Benjamin’s place. My eyes are watering…

Gen 45 This part always makes me cry! Joseph couldn’t hold back his emotions anymore. He revealed everything and had true forgiveness - he was even comforting his "former enemies" (his brothers)! Don’t you know that his servants were totally confused by this point! He helped them to have spiritual understanding of how God had been planning things ahead for years. What a family reunion! Verse 24 always makes me laugh – when his brothers were going back to Canaan to get their families, Joseph couldn’t help but throw in, “Don’t quarrel on the way!”

Gen 46 As if to make Jacob feel better about the long journey he was about to take, God spoke directly to the aging patriarch one last time and told him that Joseph would be with him when he died. Then they arrived in Egypt, and bible says that Joseph “threw his arms around his father and wept for a long time.” This is so touching - imagine how Joseph felt when he saw his father after thinking he would never see him again for the past twenty-two years!

Gen 47 Joseph introduced his new world to his old, and God blessed the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, just as he promised he would.

Gen 48 Jacob, about to die, gave the blessings of the father to Joseph’s two sons. For more understanding of how blessings relate to parenting, read the Smalley and Trent book called The Blessing.

Gen 49 Jacob also gave specific blessings to his own sons, and told them that he had been aware of some of their sins even though he hadn’t done anything about them at the time. Unfortunately, this is rather a negative example for parenting – what good do you do your children by sweeping things under the rug and not dealing withtheir issues right away? Praise God that we live in a different era and know more about what to do then Jacob.

Gen 50 Jacob had demanded to be buried in Canaan, for he knew that ultimately, that was the “Promised Land”. Joseph wanted the same. He lived to be 110, continuing to show grace and forgiveness, and manifest a spiritual outlook on life. May we live life the way Joseph did, whether we live to 110 or half that age. I hope you feel as inspired as I do! (Next entry on Jan 22)

karenlouis@seachurches.org