Joseph: A Man with Divine Assignment

Bible Passage: Gen 37–50

Gen 50:20 “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives”

I. God chose Joseph to be the bridge between Genesis and Exodus—“Exodus” the greatest prototype of God’s redemptive story

1. God wanted Joseph to be in Egypt for two purposes

a. First, God wanted to save people of Egypt from a seven-year famine
b. Second, more importantly, along with the people of Egypt, Jacob and his children would be saved from the seven-year family

2. Joseph’s story (Gen 37-50) explains how the children of Jacob, i.e., the people of Israel, ended up in Egypt

II. Joseph lived consciously of God’s assignment in his life

1. Gen 37:5-8 Joseph had a dream … He shared it with his brothers, “Listen to this dream I had: We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it. His brothers said to him, “Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us?”
2. Gen 37:9-10 He had another dream, and he shared it to his brothers. “Listen,” he said, “I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” When he told his father as well as his brothers, his father rebuked him and said, “What is this dream you had? Will your mother and I and your brothers come and bow down to the ground before you?”

III. Joseph faced trials when he was living conscious of the divine assignment in his life

1. Gen 37:4 & 8 they [his brothers] hated him and could not speak a kind word to him
2. Gen 37:11 his brothers were jealous of him
3. Gen 37:18 they [his brothers] saw him in the distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him
4. Gen 37:22-24 They throw Joseph into a cistern in the wilderness … the cistern was empty—there was no water in it
5. Gen 37:28 they [his brothers] sold him for twenty shekels of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt
6. Living with divine assignment did not give Joseph protection from sibling hatred, jealousy, and plots to be killed
7. These trials appear to have been permitted by God who was moving from Canaan to Egypt, Joseph’s God-assigned destination
8. These trials moved Joseph towards God’s assignment

IV. Things became worse when the young handsome well-built Joseph was in Potiphar’s house

1. Temptation for adultery

a. Gen 39:7 his master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, “Come to bed with me!”; But he refused
b. Gen 39:10 she spoke to Joseph day after day, but he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her
c. Gen 39:11-12 One day he went into the house to attend to his duties, and none of the household servants was inside. She caught him by his cloak and said, “Come to bed with me!” But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house

2. False accusations and imprisonment

a. Gen 39:19 When his master heard the story his wife told him, saying, “This is how your slave treated me,” he burned with anger
b. Gen 39:20 Joseph’s master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined

3. Joseph’s response to Potiphar’s wife

a. Gen 39:9 How could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?”
b. Gen 39:8 How could I be unfaithful to my master who is favorable to me? (paraphrase)
c. Joseph demonstrated Gospel-centered behavior, and he did not jeopardize God-assigned destination for momentary pleasures
d. When Jesus set His goal on the cross, Satan tried to distract Him by offering short cut methods so that he could prevent Jesus from going to the Cross

4. What sustained Joseph during his trials?

a. Gen 39:2 The LORD was with Joseph so that he prospered
b. Gen 39:3 When his master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD gave him success in everything he did, Joseph found favor in his eyes
c. Gen 39:5-6 From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the LORD blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of the LORD was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field. So Potiphar left everything he had in Joseph’s care
d.Gen 39:20-21 while Joseph was there in the prison, the LORD was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden
e. Gen 41:38 Pharoah words about Joseph “one in whom is the Spirit of God”
f. God did not remove trials and temptations away from Joseph, but He blessed Him with His presence and favor
g. God’s assignment comes with God’s enablement (Subash)

5. The fulfillment of the dream

a. Gen 42:5 they [Joseph’s brothers] bowed down to him with their faces to the ground
b. Gen 43:26 When Joseph came home, they presented to him the gifts they had brought into the house, and they bowed down before him to the ground
c. Gen 45:4-5 I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you

6. Joseph’s view of his situations: hatred, jealousy, imprisonment, and death plots

a. Gen 45:5-7 It was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance
b. Gen 45:8 “So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt
c. Gen 45:11 I will provide for you there, because five years of famine are still to come
d. Gen 45:14-15 Then he threw his arms around his brother Benjamin and wept, and Benjamin embraced him, weeping. And he kissed all his brothers and wept over them. Afterward his brothers talked with him
e. Gen 50:20-21 You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.” And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them

7. Joseph responded to his brothers with kindness contrary to the way they treated him

a. Gen 42:25 Joseph gave orders to fill their bags with grain, to put each man’s silver back in his sack, and to give them provisions for their journey
b. Gen 43:16 he said to the steward of his house, “Take these men to my house, slaughter an animal and prepare a meal; they are to eat with me at noon”
c. Gen 43:24 The steward took the men into Joseph’s house, gave them water to wash their feet and provided fodder for their donkeys
d. Gen 43:34 they feasted and drank freely with him

V. Principles

1. God may allow trials to happen to believers, but He also gives grace to face them
2. Often God uses trials in believers to advance His purposes; believers must not let trials keep them away from advancing God’s purposes
3. Believers must avoid developing hatred towards those who perpetrate evil against them because they can become missional moments
4. Believers must see life-events from God’s perspective—only in retrospect do we understand the reason for certain situations
5. God makes some people do heavy lifting for the welfare of others—vicarious suffering

VI. Joseph is “a type” of Jesus who faced hatred, trials, and death for the benefit of others

1. Jesus was rejected by His own (John 1:11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him; cf. John 7:5 his own brothers did not believe in him)
2. Jesus was betrayed by His own (Matt 26:15 What are you willing to give me if I deliver him over to you?” So they counted out for him thirty pieces of silver)
3. Jesus was exalted by His Father (Phil 2:5-11)

Takeaway:

Live consciously of your divine assignment and demonstrate your relationship with the Father in your day-to-day decisions