Week Seven Joseph Bible History Overview PREPARED BY

Week Seven - Joseph Bible History Overview PREPARED BY KELLY BOYD

Bee. P SLo. Wly, Ja. Ke Ca. RRie. S Co. Coa! If we remove the vowels, the consonants form the first letter of each period.

Bee. P SLo. Wly, Ja. Ke Ca. RRie. S Co. Coa! B eginnings C aptivity P atriarchs R eturn S lavery R estoration L aw S ilence W anderings C hrist J udges C onsummation K ings

Genesis 37 -50 THE LIFE OF JOSEPH

Joseph The remainder of the book of Genesis, chapters 37 - 50, basically tells us of the life of a great man of faith, Joseph. Unlike his father, Joseph’s faith was firmly established at a young age, and continued throughout his lifetime. Here we see a man who would not give in to temptation no matter how much personal gain he might get from it, or even to save his own neck. Joseph definitely knew “That in all things God works for the good of those who love Him” and “If God be for us, who can be against us? ” Romans 8: 28, 31

Joseph’s Early Years in Canaan Joseph was definitely Jacob’s favorite son, and he made this quite clear to his brothers. He made them angry by giving a bad report about them to their father, and then there were the dreams! Even Jacob was irritated by the suggestion that the whole family would someday bow down to Joseph, and his brothers were filled with hatred for him.

Joseph’s Early Years in Canaan This all came to a head when Jacob sent Joseph to “check up on” his brothers near Dothan, and they saw the opportunity to get even. They knew that their father would never find out what they had done, but Reuben, the oldest, talked them out of killing him. They stripped him of his robe and threw him into a cistern.

Joseph’s Early Years in Canaan But while Reuben was away, Judah hatched a plan to sell Joseph to some Midiannite traders, so at the age of 17 Joseph became a slave in Egypt. To cover up their act, the brothers dipped Joseph’s coat in goats blood and told their father that he had been killed by a lion. “In all things God works for the good of those who love him”.

Joseph in Potiphar’s Household Potiphar, the captain of Pharaoh’s palace guard, bought Joseph from the Midiannites when they arrived in Egypt. Potiphar soon saw that God was with Joseph and blessed everything that he did, so he put him in charge of his whole house and entrusted to him everything he owned. Everything, of course, except his wife.

Joseph in Potiphar’s Household But she had other ideas. She noticed this rising young man’s handsome features and tried to entice him into bed with her. He refused, saying “How could I do this wicked thing and sin against God? ” 39: 9. She, however, didn’t give up, and one day when they were alone in the house she made her move. She grabbed Joseph by his cloak and said “Lie with me!”.

Joseph in Potiphar’s Household This time he ran, and she was humiliated. She told Potiphar that Joseph had assaulted her, and he had him arrested and imprisoned. “If God is for us, who can be against us? ”

Joseph in Prison The conditions in this prison were no doubt disgusting. But, the Lord was still with Joseph, and showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the jailor. The warden put him in charge of all the prisoners, and he had full responsibility for everything.

Joseph in Prison While in prison, Joseph interpreted the dreams of two of Pharaoh’s servants who were there. As a result, one of these men was to receive his position back as chief cup bearer to Pharaoh. Joseph asked this man to remember him and tell Pharaoh of the injustice he had suffered, but he forgot. “In all things God works for the good of those who love Him. ”

Joseph Becomes High Egyptian Official Some 2 years later, when Joseph was still in prison, Pharaoh had dreams that no one could interpret. Suddenly the cup bearer remembered Joseph. Quickly Joseph was cleaned up and brought from the dungeon. Joseph interpreted the dream but was careful to give God the credit. There would be seven years of plenty followed by seven years of famine.

Joseph Becomes High Egyptian Official But Joseph didn’t stop there! In the boldness of the Spirit he declared what ought to be done about it! Pharaoh was so impressed with the wisdom of this prisoner that he put him in charge of the preparations, gave him his daughter as a wife, and made him second only to Pharaoh in the kingdom. “If God is for us, who can be against us? ”

Joseph Supervises the Famine Relief During the seven years of abundance, Joseph collected and stored the extra grain in each of the towns from the surrounding fields. These underground granaries have been found by archaeologists. Once the famine came, the people came to Joseph to buy grain, from all over the world. First, they used their money, then they traded their livestock, and finally they sold themselves and their land to Pharaoh.

Joseph Supervises the Famine Relief We can see here that it was God who made Egypt the richest and most powerful nation on earth. He had a plan to pass that wealth on to his chosen people someday. We’ll see the fulfillment of that plan in the book of Exodus. “In all things God works for the good of those who love Him. ”

The Israelites Move to Egypt During the famine, the only place that had food was Egypt. Jacob and his family in Canaan also ran out of food, and he sent his sons to Egypt to buy some. When they arrived in Egypt, Joseph immediately recognized his brothers, but because of his clothing and manner, they didn’t know him. After some testing on his part, to see if they had changed, he revealed himself to them. He had forgiven them. He said, “it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. ”.

The Israelites Move to Egypt Joseph longed to see his father, so he sent them back to fetch the rest of the family. When Jacob (now Israel) found out that his son Joseph was alive, he was overwhelmed, and decided to go to Egypt to be with his son. After the wonderful reunion, they were given the best of the land to settle in and raise their children and flocks. They lived there peacefully for hundreds of years. “If God is for us, who can be against us? ”

Jacob Adopts Joseph’s Sons Joseph was still Jacob’s favorite son, and so when he was about to die, he adopted Joseph’s sons Manasseh and Ephraim. This was so that Joseph would receive a double portion in place of Reuben, the first born, who defiled his father’s bed (Gen. 35: 22). Later when the Israelites entered the Promised Land, the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh received portions along with the tribes of Jacob’s other sons. They became part of the 12 tribes of Israel. “In all things God works for the good of those who love Him. ”

Jacob Blesses His Sons Before Jacob died, he called his sons to him and said, “Gather ‘round so I can tell you what will happen in the days ahead. ” As Isaac had blessed Jacob, so Jacob now does for his sons. One important verse to remember is 49: 28, where it says “giving each the blessing appropriate to him”. These prophesies were a direct result of the lives that each of them had lived. The first three received negative blessings, which they deserved for the lives they had led.

Jacob Blesses His Sons The next son, Judah, received a good blessing. Not only physically, but also spiritually, because his line would be the Messianic line. The rest of his sons received the blessing they deserved as well. “If God be for us, who can be against us? ”.

Conclusion to Genesis In Genesis 49: 29 to 50: 26 we see the deaths of both Jacob and Joseph. Jacob’s body was taken back to Canaan and buried in the cave of Machpelah with Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebekah and Leah. The covenant with the patriarchs was still in full force, because Joseph said “God will surely come to your aid and take you up out of this land to the land He promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob”. (50: 24)

Looking at Joseph’s Faith “How could I do such a wicked thing, and sin against God? ” How are we doing at resisting the pressure in our culture to sin? What is your focus? Joseph’s focus was on God, not himself. He had good reason to hate his brothers, and plenty of opportunity for revenge. But he forgave them. As Potiphar’s steward, Joseph could have easily stolen, and likely gotten away with it. But he wouldn’t do it, it was wrong. How about you?

Looking at Joseph’s Faith How do you handle your disappointments? Imagine being sold as a slave, falsely imprisoned, languishing for years while you waited for God to deliver you. Would you have given up? Joseph didn’t! Finally, Joseph is out of prison and second only to Pharaoh, the most powerful ruler in the world of that day. Time to look out for number one, right? Settle old scores, firm up the power base? Instead, he sets out to save the nation, not himself. And look at the success he became in the process.

Looking at Joseph’s Faith Why did God not intervene in all of Joseph’s troubles? Simply because God doesn’t always work this way. It is possible that a decision honoring God will turn into catastrophe. We know this by studying great men of faith throughout history, like John the Baptist, Stephen, and the apostle Paul. As we “walk with God”, we may be slandered, reviled and persecuted. Focused on God, these things actually can be seen as great honors! (Acts 5: 41). They don’t defeat us, but rather are a source of joy and great reward.

Seeing Christ in This Passage Joseph’s life in many ways parallels the life of Christ. Sent into Egypt to prepare the coming of the 12 tribes Jesus was sent to Egypt to escape Herod He has gone ahead to heaven to prepare a place for us Beloved of his father Rejected by his brethren Sold for pieces of silver In Jacob’s mind, he was dead and brought back to life Suffering servant changed to triumphant king Forgave his brothers and saved them from death Genesis 49: 10 refers to Christ being of Judah’s line

Next Week Read Exodus chapters 1 -3 and 12.