How many times have we asked this question when some adversity has come knocking on our door and entered to our utter dismay? How many times has someone asked us this question?
Joseph of old certainly could have been asking himself or somebody this question. It all started with family favoritism. The Bible tells us that Joseph was hated by his older brothers because their father Jacob favored him over them. Genesis 37:3-4 says, “Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age. Also he made him a tunic of many colors. But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peaceably to him.”
His brothers’ utter contempt for him served as fertile ground for what they did. On one occasion Jacob sent Joseph to look for his brothers. Away from the protection of his father, Joseph’s brothers took full advantage of this unhealthy family atmosphere and how they felt about him. When they saw him coming, they conspired to kill him.
Reuben talked them down from this murderous plot with the intention of delivering Joseph out of their hands and returning him to his father (Genesis 38:21-22). Judah also agreed that Joseph should not be killed, but suggested that he be sold for profit (Genesis 38:25-28). Speaking of his ordeal, Psalm 105:17-18 records, “He [God] sent a man before them – Joseph – who was sold as a slave. They hurt his feet with fetters, he was laid in irons.”
Their actions are reminiscent of what happened to Jesus following His arrest. Matthew 27:18 says, “For he [Pilate] knew that because of envy they had delivered Him.” Joseph’s brothers stripped him of his tunic and threw him into a pit. A slight parallel is also seen between Joseph and Jesus after Joseph was thrown into the pit. Genesis 37:25 reads, “And they [Joseph’s brothers] sat down to eat a meal.” Matthew 27:36 reads, “Sitting down, they [the soldiers] kept watch over Him there.” The indifferent and callous behavior demonstrated in both accounts speaks volumes!
What the brothers had sown they began to reap in ways they could not have possibly imagined! They had no way of knowing that God had used their act of vengeance to bring Joseph to a position of prestige and power. They had stood before Joseph asking for food because of the great famine in the land of Egypt and Canaan, not knowing who he was! Joseph had accused them of being spies and put them all in prison for three days.
Genesis 42:21-22 records their recognition of guilt for what had happened to them. “Then they said to one another, ‘We are truly guilty concerning our brother, for we saw the anguish of his soul when he pleaded with us, and we would not hear; therefore this distress has come upon us.’ And Reuben answered them saying, ‘Did I not speak to you, saying, Do not sin against the boy; and you would not listen? Therefore behold, his blood is now required of us.’” We need to understand that we can be sure our sins will find us out (Numbers 32:23)!
As this drama drew to a close in Genesis 50, Jacob was dead and Joseph was still in power. His brothers were now afraid that he would take vengeance on them for what they had done to him as a young man. Joseph’s growth and maturity was evident as he had been perfected through his experience. His faith had been tested. He certainly had appreciated how God had blessed him. He had learned to comfort others. He had learned to trust God. In Genesis 50:20-21 one reads, “Joseph said to them, ‘Do not be afraid, for am I in the place of God? But as for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive. Now therefore, do not be afraid; I will provide for you and your little ones.’ And he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.”
In this account one of the many messages from God is a life lived in faith and obedience does not equal being exempt from sufferings, fiery trials, and afflictions! Most of us do not have a problem appreciating the outcome of Joseph’s horrifying ordeal. Our problem is accepting what happened to him in between being sold at the age of 17 and coming to power at the age of 30. His faith was tested to the zenith those 13 years in between! It’s the in between where we must ensure that we deal with others as Joseph did. First Peter 4:12-13 puts it like this: “Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy.” Joseph was able to endure through his obedient, submissive and trusting faith in his God!
Furthermore, God allowed His Son to suffer. He had no sin, and no guile was found in His mouth. “Though He was a Son, He learned obedience by the things which He suffered” (Hebrews 5:8). Notice the verse says our Lord learned obedience by the things which He suffered, not the things He enjoyed. We as heirs and joint heirs with Jesus Christ will learn obedience in exactly the same way. God’s purpose always is to prepare us for heaven!
