Joseph
is the eleventh son of Jacob and the eldest of the two sons of Rachel; Gen:
30:24; and his name means “God-adds”.
The story of Joseph is one
of the best known tales in the Bible. The events of Joseph's life are also found
in the Torah. Today it is perhaps most associated with the West End and Sunday
school. Written down by scribes about 1000 years after the events supposedly
took place, it is often thought that the story may have some historical
tradition, but with a healthy portion of dramatic license. Egyptologists,
however, have uncovered some intriguing evidence. The story begins in Canaan -
modern day Palestine, Syria and Israel - around 1600 to 1700 BC. Joseph was
11th of 12 sons of a wealthy nomad Jacob and his second wife Rachel. His story
is told in the book of Genesis 37-50.1
Joseph (Hebrew: יוֹסֵף , Standard Yosef Tiberian Yôsēp̄; "May Yahweh add";[1] Arabic: يوسف, Yūsuf)
is an important person in the Hebrew Bible: his story connects the story of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in Canaan
to the subsequent story of the liberation of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt.
The Book of Genesis tells that Joseph was the 11th of Jacob's 12 sons
and Rachel's
firstborn,[2] and tells
how Joseph came to be sold into slavery by his jealous brothers, and rose to
become the second most powerful man in Egypt next to Pharaoh. When
famine struck Canaan, Jacob (Joseph's father) and Joseph's brothers came to the Land of Goshen in Egypt.2
Genesis 37: 1-4
·
Joseph
was seventeen years old and was a shepherd. He did
not participate in his brothers’ misconducts and he brought reports of their
mischief to his father.
·
He was
the favorite of Jacob and his father loved him more than all his brothers. Jacob made
a coat of many colors for him and his brothers hated him for this reason and
they were envious of Joseph.
·
Joseph
was rather naive to tell his dreams to his brothers about his future supremacy
and his brothers’ submission to him. That intensified their hatred towards him. So, when the opportunity came at Dothan, they planned to kill him. But Rueben tried to rescue him by persuading them not to kill him. His brothers sold him to the caravan of Ishmaelite on their travel to Egypt. His life was changed in a moment, from being the beloved son to the slave in an unknown land, Egypt.
If we read Genesis 37:1-50; we understand that as a young shepherd,
Joseph brought bad reports about his brothers to his father. Jacob his father
loved Joseph as his favorite son and this overt favoritism towards Joseph
brought his older brothers to resent him. His older brothers’ continuous
resentment towards Joseph spiraled towards hatred and to the point of cruel
dealings towards Joseph. Joseph’s continuous dreams and prophetic visions were a
source of contempt to his family. Joseph exposed to his family the dream that
he will be ruling over his family and this brought a huge concern for his
brothers and they plotted to kill him; Gen: 37:11-15. God was with Joseph and
He used Reuben, to object the murder, and instead Joseph was sold as a slave to
a high ranking Potiphar. Joseph’s own brothers deceived their father and made
him to believe that his favorite son was slained by wild beasts; Gen: 37:18-35.
This is a cruel real narrative but we see the Hand of God throughout and is a
narrative to marvel how God fulfills His purposes. Probably at this point Joseph knew the pain of mental and spiritual woundedness. Just like the life of Job, here the scene through the story of Joseph is opened for us to see the Divine purposes in the whole matter of Joseph’s following afflictions seen in the story. There is a drastic change in his life, from a favorite son of his father to be the slave of high influential Potiphar.
One can safely assume that portions of his nature and character which could have remained undeveloped at home will be developed when he is far away from the comfort zone of his home. God can use adverse circumstances as means of developing godly character in any person’s life. God had great work for Joseph to do and He has taken him to be under the influence of Potiphar. In the following chapters we see that Joseph under the influence of highly civilized people and learning about arts, law, and government unlike the prospects in Canaan.
Life application
It is a great comfort to know that God is able to rule over all that is evil and fulfill His purposes in a person’s life if we are in His will. God is able to use the evil which men do in such a way to defeat their plans and bring forth that is good. Selfishness can be like a manure or a fertilized soil in which all wrong things and evil passions flourish. Envy is a non-organic illness which is diabolical because envy offers nothing but torment; other sins may yield some short term pleasure but who can stand before envy? If a crime is committed when one is envious this could eventually bring lifelong sorrow to the one who commits and also to many other persons. Sins are social and crime begets crime; envy, hatred, resentment, fear, bitterness, lying, murder, and unkindness are all seen in the above story. The inspiration and encouragement we see for our disappointing hours are there seen in the life of Joseph. Joseph could see no other way in his captivity as a slave which could work for him; but he was faithful for his master and for His God. Explore with me the life of Joseph in the second part.
End Notes:
The Bible tells us that Joseph and
Benjamin are the sons of Jacob's second ... However some new scientific
evidence helps to support the case of a
historical Joseph.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_(son_of_Jacob)
For the New Testament Joseph, ... There have been many
attempts to trace the story's redaction history
... In the Bible, Joseph discloses himself to his ...
Website References:
1. What should we learn from the life of Joseph?
... as we learn from the
account of Joseph’s life, by remaining faithful and
accepting that God is ultimately in charge, we can be confident that God will reward ...
How many of life’s lessons have you ... Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have
dreamed: For, behold, we were
... I produced a series called Lessons
from Joseph.
What should we learn from the life
of Jacob? ... What should we learn from the life of
Joseph? What should we learn from the life of Elisha?
bibleseo.com/old-testament/joseph-bible-character-study
What can we learn about Joseph
in the bible? ... Lessons learnt
from Life of Joseph: God’s plans and purpose are
greater and better than ours!
tafj.org/2009/12/24/lessons-from-the-life-of-joseph
Lessons From The Life Of Joseph. As we
consider ... viewpoints are opportunities for us to learn from ... the life of
Joseph, we will find our
hearts ...
The
Bible tells us
that Joseph and Benjamin are the
sons of Jacob's second ... However some new scientific evidence helps to
support the case of a historical
Joseph.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_(son_of_Jacob)
For the New Testament Joseph, ... There have been many
attempts to trace the story's redaction history
... In the Bible, Joseph discloses himself to his ...
Book
References:
1. Allender, Dan and
Tremper Longman III. Intimate Allies. Carol Stream.: Tyndale House
publishers, 1995.
2. Jay E. Adams. Critical Stages of Biblical
Counseling, Finishing Well, Breaking Through, Getting Started. New Jersey: Zondervan, 2002.
3. Jay E. Adams. How to Help People Change, The Four-step Biblical Process. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1986.
4. John F. MacArthur, JR. Wayne A. Mack & The Master’s College Faculty. Introduction To Biblical Counseling, A Basic Guide To The Principles And Practice Of Counseling. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1994.
5. Jay E. Adams. Lectures on Counseling. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1978, p.192-203.
3. Jay E. Adams. How to Help People Change, The Four-step Biblical Process. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1986.
4. John F. MacArthur, JR. Wayne A. Mack & The Master’s College Faculty. Introduction To Biblical Counseling, A Basic Guide To The Principles And Practice Of Counseling. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1994.
5. Jay E. Adams. Lectures on Counseling. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1978, p.192-203.
6. The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Women of
Destiny Bible. Women Mentoring women Through the Scriptures, A Spirit Filled
Life Bible. Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1982.
7. Allender, Dan and Tremper Longman III. Intimate Allies. Carol Stream: Tyndale House publishers, 1995; pgs, 301, 346.
7. Allender, Dan and Tremper Longman III. Intimate Allies. Carol Stream: Tyndale House publishers, 1995; pgs, 301, 346.
8. Allender, Dan and
Tremper Longman III. Intimate Allies. Carol Stream: Tyndale House
publishers, 1995; pg331.
9. David A. Norris. Lasting Success; Quality
Decisions, Relationships and Untamed Emotions. Ames, Iowa: Alpha
Heartland Press, 2003.
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