“Don’t be upset, and don’t be angry with yourselves for selling me to this place. It was God who sent me here ahead of you to preserve your lives.” Genesis 45:5
Joseph was the eleventh son born to the family of Jacob. Eleventh! In the ancient world, being that far down in the birth order made you a nobody. It was the firstborn who got all the parental favor and inherited wealth. But Joseph had one thing going for him: he was the first-born son of Jacob’s favorite wife.
When Joseph was still a youth, his proud father presented him with an expensive coat, which went to Joseph’s head. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the firstborn, Reuben, got overlooked for the coat. Joseph also loved to tell his brothers about dreams he had dreams that implied the subservience of his brothers to him, the eleventh son.
God had plans for Joseph—not just plans like what school to go to or who to marry but plans to save his family from starvation and annihilation. However, Joseph needed some preparation in order to fulfill what God had in store for him. This preparation involved being a servant-boy for a rich Egyptian and then being thrown in jail, where he helped out some prisoners. One of those prisoners got Joseph noticed by the Pharaoh.
Joseph wised up and recognized the influence and direction of his life by God—things he probably would not have seen in his earlier, boastful youth. The rescue of his brothers set up the growth of a family into a nation through which God worked.
During Lent, we are given the opportunity to reflect on our relationship with God and consider whether we, like Joseph, stand in the future that God has prepared for us.
Prayer: O God who led Israel through Egypt, the wilderness, and exile, may we trust you and follow you all our lives. And may our lives be a blessing to others as Joseph’s was to his brothers. For you and in you we pray. Amen.
Comments
So often our preparation looks like frustration to us. I need a better perspective. Thank you