Hi everyone!! I’m so happy to be writing tonight. I pray that what I write speaks to at least one person who passes through here. I know that what I’m going to write about really spoke to me.
So, as of January 10 (last Sunday) I am doing a challenge to read the Bible in a year. It’s actually amazing the way that God works things out. I had to teach children’s church last week and so I was not able to sit in the service. As a result, I went and visited a church (the message was exactly what I needed to hear, btw) and at the church the Pastor was talking about a book that they sold called a “Life Book”. This book gives you pieces of scripture to read and then walks you through how to write about the scripture and all that cool stuff. Recently I had been really interested in how to really read and study the Bible. I never really know what to read or how to go about it. I would kind of just open the Bible and read anything. This book gives me scripture everyday. In all, I read about 4 chapters from different books each day.
These past two days I have been reading in Genesis and it actually brought me to the story of Joseph. Now, I have read and heard the story of Joseph a bunch of times. All while I was growing up I knew about his coat of many colors and how his brothers planned against him, but I never truly looked into it. I have learned multiple lessons through this story but for right now I am only going to be sharing one. This mainly focuses on the first part of Joseph’s story. It is spread throughout many chapters in Genesis so I’m going to be jumping around a little bit.
To start off I just wanted to point out that God knows all of things that He is going to do with your life way before you’re even born. In Genesis 35:11 God told Jacob (Joseph’s dad) to be fruitful and multiply, that many kings shall come from his body. God had a plan for Joseph.
It says in the Bible that Joseph was Jacob’s favorite son because he was his son of old age. Jacob even made Joseph a tunic of many colors. Of course, Joseph’s brother hated him because of this. Joseph then had two dreams, both dreams indicating that his brothers, mother and father would one day bow down to him. Of course his brothers now hated and envied him even more. (Genesis 37:3-11)
Now Joseph’s brothers were in the field and his father sent him to go check on them. When he was walking toward them they saw him and they started to plot against him. They wanted to kill him, but Reuben his brother thought that the should instead throw him into a pit in the wilderness (this was so that he could then return and take his brother back to his father). So they stripped him of his tunic of many colors and threw him in the pit. While they were eating in the field they saw Midianites and decided that it would be an even better idea to sell their brothers into the slavery of those men. So they did, for 20 shekels of silver. They then dipped his tunic in goats blood and took it to their father which then assumed that a wild beast eaten Joseph. The Midianites then sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and captain of the guard. (Genesis 37:12-34)
Joseph then worked for his master and the Lord blessed him abundantly. His master’s wife started to like Joseph though, so she asked him to sleep with her and he said no. He ended up running from her at one point and when he left he left his garment in her hand. Not having done anything of course, but because she was an evil woman she told her husband, his master, that he slept with her. His master then threw him into prison and there also the Lord blessed him immensely, to the point in which they basically put him in charge of the prisoners. (Genesis 39)
While he was in prison, Pharaoh put two of his officers into prison. The chief butler and the chief baker. They both had dreams that Joseph (really the Lord through him) interpreted for them and it turned out that his interpretation was correct. The chief butler then, just as Joseph said, left prison and dwelled among Pharaoh and the chief baker was hung just as his dream indicated. Pharaoh then had two dreams and called everyone that he thought could interpret them but they couldn’t so the chief bulter remembered Joseph and told Pharaoh about him and how his interpretation came true. Pharaoh had him come and interpret his dreams which indicated a great multitude of food for 7 years and a great famine the 7 following years. Pharaoh at this point had to select a wise and discerning man to set over the land of Egypt so that he could collect all the food and produce to last for the 7 years of famine. He decided to choose Joseph. He said: 39 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Inasmuch as God has shown you all this, there is no one as discerning and wise as you. 40 You shall be over my house, and all my people shall be ruled according to your word; only in regard to the throne will I be greater than you.”41 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.” (Genesis 41:1-41)
I think that those last verses that I shared with you have to be my favorite. As I sat there and read this story I was just in shock. Joseph went through torture, being sold into slavery, not once but twice. He was then lied about and thrown into prison, but if these things wouldn’t have happened He would have never been put to rule over the land. All those things had to happen in order for him to end up where he did.
God was with him during these times. I was sure to mention that he was blessed. God blessed him as a slave, He blessed him as a prisoner and although I am sure Joseph was emotionally drained being put through so much, he put his faith in God knowing that where God was leading him was way better than where he was a that moment.
And with this, I want to encourage you. Whatever you’re going through now, whether it be the desert where everything is dry and God is being silent, or isolation from your friends because you’re a Jesus freak, just remember that you are one step closer to where God is leading you.
Be blessed, Be encouraged
-Valerie