The actual story spans twelve chapters at the end of Genesis (chapter 38 is a side story involving Joseph's brother Judah). That's a lot! And there is so much truth about God's love and purposes packed into those twelve chapters.
The Story
"Now Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more..." (Genesis 37:5).
Joseph is seventeen when the story starts. He is the son of Jacob, or Israel as he is now named, along with eleven others from various wives. Joseph is the son of Rebekah, Israel's favorite wife, and he is Israel's favorite son.
Israel gives Joseph a coat of many colors, making his brothers jealous. It is now obvious that their father loves Joseph more. To make matters worse, Joseph has dreams of his brothers bowing down to him and tells his brothers about these dreams (seriously, not the smartest move).
Their jealousy drives them to throw him into a pit, intending to leave him there. They were originally going to kill them, but Reuben, the oldest, convinces them otherwise. Handily, a caravan comes along on their way to Egypt. Judah, the ringleader of this cruel plot, hastily sells Joseph to them in order to get rid of him.
Then they go home and convince their father that Joseph has been killed by wild animals.
Welcome to Egypt!
Joseph is now a slave to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh's officers. It seems that things could not get any worse, but then they do. Potiphar's wife gets Joseph arrested for something he didn't do, and he ends up in prison for two years.
While in prison, he successfully interprets the dreams of two fellow prisoners. This leads one of them to remember him when Pharaoh has a dream that no one can interpret. Joseph is released from prison and successfully interprets the dream to mean that there are seven years of plenty coming followed by seven years of famine.
So now everything is looking up: Joseph is elevated to a status only lower than Pharaoh himself and told to oversee the storing of food for the years of famine. He is given a daughter of a priest to marry and fine clothing and jewelry.
The Brothers Return
With the famine ravaging the land, Joseph's brothers come to Egypt to get food to take home. Joseph recognizes them, but they do not recognize him. After fooling with them a bit, accusing them of being spies and stealing from Egypt (he is human, after all, and probably can't resist the opportunity), he finally reveals himself to them.
Oh, and one of the things he does to test them is threaten to keep Benjamin (his father's other favorite) in custody in Egypt. Guess who offers to stay in his place? Judah, the same one who had the idea to sell Joseph in the first place. He has obviously had a major change of heart. (Genesis 44:18-34)
When he reveals himself to them, they are obviously incredibly scared. I mean, here is the brother who they sold into slavery, in a position to make their life absolutely miserable. But Joseph shows incredible grace and mercy by not being angry with them at all, simply happy to see them, and asking them to move their families to Egypt.
This is where the classic lesson of Joseph is mentioned: "So it was not you who sent me here, but God (45:8a)".
What We Can Learn
- God works everything, even evil, for good. Yes, this is the oft-repeated lesson of Joseph, but it is incredibly important to remember when you are going through a hard time. God is ultimately in control.
- You are exactly where you are supposed to be. Whether it seems like it or not, there is a reason for you to be where you are at this exact moment, something that God wants you to do.
- Forgiveness is a beautiful thing. Think about how much more suffering and unhappiness there could have been if Joseph had decided to be bitter and get revenge. Forgiveness is ultimately the simpler, easier choice.
What do you think? Do you like the story of Joseph? Do you agree with the lessons I have drawn from it? What other stories would you like to see discussed? Tell me in the comments!
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