Have you ever made plans that ended up failing? I have. Have you ever been headed towards a destination just to have so many roadblocks arise that you begin to question if you will ever reach the destination? Then consider the life of Joseph.
I have been thinking about the life of Joseph and reflecting on a plan that looks like it has no way of succeeding.
Genesis has a long narrative about the life of Joseph. When you read the Old Testament narratives you need to keep in mind the big picture. Keep asking yourself, “what is the main idea? What is the central theme of this story?” By keeping this in mind the “big picture” jumps off the page and the point hits home.
The story of Joseph begins in Genesis 37 and continues to the end of Genesis. It is a large section of scripture. Actually, the story goes back even further to the covenant God made with Abraham found in Genesis 12 and 15. In that covenant God promised something to Abraham. God promised three things; a land, a nation, a blessing. This is critical to understanding the “big picture” of the Bible because it is the beginning of God’s plan of redemption.
God made a promise and God had a plan. The land would be the Promised Land. The nation would be a land filled with His people. And the blessing would be on Abraham and his descendants including a blessing for all the people. The blessing of redemption.
But, there was a problem right from the outset of this promise. Abraham had no land. He was a sojourner in a land not his own. Abraham had no people. He and his wife Sarah were barren.. He had a promise of a blessing, but it had not been actualized just yet. So already the story in Genesis is providing some road blocks on the highway of God’s plan.
Now, fast forward to Joseph. Abraham did have children. He had a son named Isaac. Isaac had a son named Jacob and Jacob had 12 sons, one of whom was Joseph.
Joseph was the second youngest(Benjamin was the youngest) of the 12 brothers. Although this is a fairly low position in birth rank, he was the most loved by his father. His father even gave Joseph a prized multi-colored coat. The rest of the brothers did not appreciate little Joseph’s favored status.
Keep in mind the problem. They were living in Canaan, but their land was still not fully theirs. They had some people, but that would soon be in jeopardy. Where is this blessing? Maybe God’s plan is in trouble?...
Then things get worse. Joseph has a dream from the Lord that informs him that all of his brothers will bow down to him. Joseph finds out that he will rule over his brothers. This would be highly unusual for the second youngest child. In a moment of foolishness he tells his older brothers his dream and they are not happy. They are waiting for the right moment to take him out.
The moment comes when all of the boys are out in the fields. The brothers decide to pounce on Joseph. They are just about to kill him, but Reuben intercedes on his behalf and his life is spared. They throw him into a cistern. A caravan of Egyptians come by and the sell their brother Joseph as a slave to the Egyptians.
There is no way Joseph is going to rule over these brothers. Another plan is thwarted. (don’t get ahead of the story)
Now Joseph is a slave in an official’s house. But, he is highly favored by this official and is put in charge of the entire household. It seems that things might be looking up. Then a lying tramp gets in the way. Potiphar’s wife attempts to seduce Joseph, but because Joseph is righteous he flees the temptation.
The wife is probably embarrassed and angry. She concocts a story and implicates Joseph. The Egyptian official is enraged and has Joseph thrown into the king’s prison.
Things have gone from bad to worse. Joseph has gone from a slave to an outright prisoner. There is no way things are going to work out.
You know what happens next. Joseph has a connection with God and the Pharaoh needs an interpretation of a dream. God gives it to Joseph and Joseph gives it to the Pharaoh. There will be 7 years of plenty followed by 7 years of famine that will be extremely severe. The Pharaoh is so impressed that Joseph is second in command of all of Egypt.
This famine is incredibly hard. It reaches even to Joseph’s homeland in Canaan. The very lives of his family are threatened as they are starving and need food.
The people are in trouble of losing their very existence. The land is in serious trouble because of the famine. How in the world could there be a blessing from God?
The family goes down to Egypt because a wise official has saved a surplus of food. Jacob and the rest of Joseph’s brothers go to buy food from the Egyptian official. They don’t know that this official is Joseph.
The story goes on and eventually Joseph and his family are reunited. The entire clan of Jacob including their possessions and livestock are given the fertile region of Goshen to settle in during this famine. They are saved.
Amazing! As the story unfolds we are led to follow this tragic course of a plan gone wrong. Failure after failure, hindrance after hindrance gets in the way of this particular plan. Or does it? In the end we are shown the power of God. His plan was never in danger of failure. His plan was working the entire time. The people were saved, the land was preserved, the blessing was flowing.
"Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand." (Proverbs 19:21, ESV)
It is comforting to know that our God is bigger than any obstacle that life throws our way. My plans don’t always work out. God’s plans never fail.
I guess that means that the best course of action is to place my life in His hands, not in mine. Are you willing to do the same?
Bonus points: what is the connection with the picture?
