Hebrews 11:22 "By faith Joseph, when his end was near spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions about his bones."
The Bible dictionary tells us that Joseph means - May he [the Lord] add. This was Rachel's prayer at his birth. Rachel was not able to have a child, but the Lord answered her prayer and gave her a son.
Let's look at scripture:
Genesis 30:22-24 Then God remembered Rachel, he listened to her and opened her womb. She became pregnant and gave birth to a son and said, "God has taken away my disgrace. She named him Joseph and said, "May the Lord add to me another son.".
Now in reading Genesis chapter 37 we find that jealously stimulates many an evil act. Joseph was innocent, and totally naive. We look at Joseph, and are amazed that he never suspected his honest report of his brother's failings his father's open favoritism, and his narration of his dreams, would make his brothers jealous. Many recorded that Joseph's dreams in scripture were prophetic revelations from God. (Joseph was only 17.) It is often a quality of the virtuous to expect others to be as generous and good as they are. But, this was not the case with Joseph's brothers. His brothers were so jealous that they wanted to get rid of him, so they sold him into slavery. Joseph was Christ like, an innocent person who suffered because of the wickedness of others and through whom the chosen people were delivered from certain death.
But lets read on . . .Joseph was put in charge over Potiphar's house - Genesis 39:1-6
Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. Potiphar, an Egyptain who was one of Pharoah's officials, the captain of the guard, bought him from the Ishmaelite who had taken him there. The Lord was with Joseph and he prospered and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. 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 and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household and he entrusted to his care everything he owned. 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 house and in the field. So he left in Joseph's care everything he had, with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate.
So scripture shows us that Joseph became a supervisor of his master's estate. But the key thing that scripture brings out that I want to draw your attention to is this. God acts for us, whether we are in prison or stand before world rulers.
Okay, lets journey a little farther. Where we will find out that Joseph was accused of a crime he did not do. [Genesis 39:7-18] Now Joseph resists his masters' wife to seduce him, and she falsely accuses him and Joseph is thrown into prison...
Genesis 39:19-23 When his master heard the story his wife told him saying, "This is how your slave treated me, he burned with anger. Joseph's master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king's prisoners were confined. But 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. So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison and he was made responsible for all that was done there. The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph's care because the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.
Wow! There, again, God was with Joseph watching over him even tho he had been falsely accused; God made away for Joseph. In all the scripture we have read thus far plainly shows us that God is with us in every circumstance and frees us to keep on doing our best however great our setbacks are. Joseph's faithfulness prepared him for all his sudden advancements he experienced. So if we can't be faithful in small things we cannot expect great things to follow. Proving our faithfulness in small things is the very best preparation for greatness.
Lets see how well we can remember what we studied.
1 - What does "Joseph" mean?
2 - Why was Joseph's brothers jealous of him?
3 - What did they do to Joseph?
4 - Why was Joseph successful?
5 - Whose house did Joseph live in when he was a slave?
6 - Why did Potiphar become angry with Joseph?
7 - What did Potiphar do to Joseph out of anger?
8 - Who was put in charge of the prisoners?
9 - Was God with Joseph in prison?
10 - Do you believe Joseph was Christ like?
I hope you have a great day! 'Til next time, God bless you, and remember, whenever we do something kind for someone, we also do it for Christ. "Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me." Matthew 25:40
Deb Gonser