What do you do when everything goes wrong and life isn’t fair? Thousands of years ago a boy was born to a nomadic Middle Eastern family. His father, Jacob, had more than a dozen children from two wives and two concubines, and his most recent son to be born was named Joseph. Perhaps because he was the youngest, his father favored Joseph. And that favoritism nurtured resentment among his brothers.
When a caravan of traders came by, the brothers sold Joseph into slavery, telling their father that he had been killed by a wild animal. When the caravan arrived in Egypt, Joseph was sold to Potipher, the captain of Pharaoh’s palace guard.
Joseph suffered the hard life of a slave but he didn’t complain. He honored God and faithfully served Potipher. God blessed Joseph and gave him success. Potipher promoted Joseph to the position of top slave in charge of his estate. But things got worse again when Joseph was falsely accused and put in prison. Two years later, in a dramatic turn of events, Joseph was able to interpret two dreams for the Pharaoh that none of the other wise men in Egypt had been able to do. Joseph spoke with stunning clarity, giving the credit for his wisdom to God. As a result, Pharaoh believed him and promoted Joseph to the position of Prime Minister.
Joseph experienced a life of extremes: hardship, good fortune, imprisonment, release and promotion. Yet he never lost sight of the fact that God is in control.
Related Scripture: Genesis 39:1-23
© 2007 Leith Anderson
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