Ask Joseph
July 11, 2011 (Monday)
One of the most inspirational Bible stories is that of Joseph. He was the eleventh of Jacob’s twelve sons. When he was a teenager, his jealous brothers sold him into slavery, reporting to their father that he had been killed by a wild animal. The slave caravan to which he was sold made its way to Egypt, where Joseph was assigned duties in the household of an important Egyptian.
He was a handsome young man, and his master’s wife tried to seduce him. He refused, giving as his reason his devotion to God. Her advances rejected, she screamed that she had been attacked, and, although falsely accused, Joseph was put in prison. While there, he interpreted the dreams of Pharaoh’s butler and chef. Later, Pharaoh himself had a recurring, troubling dream which no one could interpret. One of his servants who had been in prison with Joseph, told Pharaoh about Joseph’s ability to interpret dreams. Joseph was summoned.
Joseph interpreted the dream of Pharaoh to be a warning of an awful famine which would be preceded by years of bumper crops, whereupon Pharaoh made him Prime Minister of Egypt and Administrator of a food distribution program in which grain would be stored in the good years and distributed during the ensuing famine.
The famine did arrive, and covered that part of the world, affecting even Jacob and his sons. Jacob sent his sons to Egypt to get the grain. Joseph recognized them, and after a series of meetings revealed himself to them. He spoke of their mistreatment of him, but said, “You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good.” Jacob and his sons were then relocated to a choice section of Egypt where they and their descendants lived for hundreds of years.
What New Testament verse do you think of when you think of Joseph’s statement? I think of Romans 8:28, “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”