Joseph in Egypt

The unfortunate events that occurred in Joseph's life during Genesis 39 were things that would make most people miserable, but he trusted in God's plan for him. Here's what we can learn from Joseph.

The story of Joseph in Egypt is one that gives us a lot of lessons for today's struggles. How he deals with hardships results in prosperity and power, but only because he trusted in God. As we read Genesis, we see many people betray, lie, and tempt Joseph... Yet he continues to work hard towards where the Lord wants him to be.

The Backstory:

To get everybody caught up on what I am talking about, let me introduce you to Joseph. Joseph was a member of a family with 11 siblings, but his father loved him more than any of the other children. Joseph's brothers were always jealous of his favoritism by their father, and had grown very tired of it. Joseph began to get dreams that he believed to be symbolic of what will happen to him in the future: he would soon reign over Egypt. By this time, his brothers grew so angry with Joseph and his dreams that they wanted to get rid of him. This brings us to Genesis 39.

Here's the story of times that seemed to be against him, but throughout it all God was on his side.

Betrayal.

As Joseph's brothers resented him, they decided to sell him to Ishmaelite traders and tell their father that he died on a journey. Joseph was taken to live under Potiphar, the captain of guards for the Pharaoh. His own siblings took him to be sold as a slave because they disliked him so much, yet Joseph knew there was a reason for it. Although Joseph felt betrayed by his family, he made sure that he did what he needed to in the situation that he was given. Potiphar began to notice that something was different with Joseph, and that he had the Lord with him. In fact, in Genesis 39 alone, the Bible explains that the Lord was with him five times! Joseph succeeded in everything he did, so Potiphar put him in charge of the entire household and everything that Potiphar owned.

"The LORD was with Joseph, so he succeeded in everything he did as he served in the home of his Egyptian master." Genesis 39:2

Temptation and Lies

As Joseph became more favored in Potiphar's household, Potiphar's wife began to lust Joseph. She asked him to sleep with her, but he refused. Potiphar's wife was persistent in hopes of sleeping with Joseph, and began to constantly pressure him. One day, she grabbed him by the cloak and physically tried to get him, but Joseph fled and left his coat. Potiphar's wife was embarrassed that he refused to sleep with her, so she decided to put Joseph in jail by lying to Potiphar. She showed Joseph's robe to Potiphar and said that he tried to rape her. Furious, Potiphar put Joseph in prison. As Joseph was in prison, the Lord mad him a favorite among the prison warden. The warden grew fond of Joseph, and put him in charge of all other prisoners and everything that happened in the prison.

"But the LORD was with Joseph in the prison and showed him his faithful love. And the LORD made Joseph a favorite with the prison warden." Genesis 39:21

A Learning Moment for Us:

If you were in Joseph's position, what would you do? I know a lot of us would want revenge to their siblings if they were betrayed, would be tempted to sleep with somebody's wife, and be filled with hatred if they were imprisoned. But Joseph does the thing that would be hardest for us in every circumstance. Joseph's story is a wonderful example of the faith that we can have in God and what God will bless us with. If I could sum it up to three points, here's the main things we can take away from this story:

1. God has a plan for you.

Before you were born, God already knew what impact you would have on the world. You were made to do something that you may not even know yet. A lot of times, God's plan includes a lot of moments in life that we really won't expect. These moments are made to shape us and bring us to special moments that we were made for. As Joseph was sold as a slave and later imprisoned in Egypt, it allowed him to be there in the future to explain dreams to the Pharaoh and eventually become the ruler of Egypt. If Joseph did not go through those rigid moments, he would not have been granted the eventual reign of all of Egypt. When we have unexpected moments that may seem like they ruin our lives, remember that our planned futures may not be the same future that God planned for us. The end of one journey may be the beginning of something greater that God has planned.

2. God is always with you.

I think it is so cool how often the Bible emphasizes that the Lord is with Joseph throughout everything. During Genesis 39, there is a lot of emphasis on the good that God created even during Joseph's difficult times. There are five verses that explain how the Lord was with Joseph, but there are many other verses that show the blessings that were given. Here are the five literal affirmations that were in Genesis 39:

"The LORD was with Joseph, so he succeeded in everything he did as he served in the home of his Egyptian master." Genesis 39:2

"Potiphar noticed this and realized that the LORD was with Joseph, giving him success in everything he did." Genesis 39:3

"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." Genesis 39:5

"But the LORD was with Joseph in the prison and showed him his faithful love. And the LORD made Joseph a favorite with the prison warden." Genesis 39:21

"The warden had no more worries, because Joseph took care of everything. The LORD was with him and caused everything he did to succeed." Genesis 39:23

These affirmations are here to remind us of the same thing. In every aspect of our lives, we should remember that God is always beside us. As we go through hard times, our faith will lead us to better times. Knowing that we have the Lord with us means that we have full trust in the plans that He has for us.

3. Your attitude during hardships will show to those surrounding you.

Whether you are going through hard times or not, your attitude is always noticed. Everywhere he ended up, people noticed that something was different with Joseph. He had a light that followed him because of his faith and trust in God's plan. Joseph could've easily given up and been miserable in any of his situations, but his faithful attitude was noticed. Trust me, people will notice a positive attitude. If you are a light in all of the negativity around you, you will stand out and people will gravitate towards you. If we trust that points #1 and #2 are true, then we will be able to stay positive during our own hardships. What God wants most is for His kingdom to spread, and with a good attitude you will find people approaching you with interest in your mindset.

Joseph ended up helping the people of Egypt through seven years of famine when he ruled the land. His persistence in trusting God's plan resulted in the assistance through a long famine... Which is what God wanted Joseph to do all along. It is not easy to trust in God when times get hard in life, but that is why we are merely human. We tend to want to do everything our own way because we know best. Joseph's story reminds us that God is who will help get us to where we are supposed to be no matter what, that he will always be with us, and that we can be examples of the Lord's promises and blessings.