Joseph: A Character Model In Different Life Experiences (Genesis 37,39,40)

Joseph: A Character Model In Different Life Experiences (Genesis 37,39,40)

Collin Leong. 6 November 2015

If anyone had an excuse to become a hardened, bitter, unforgiving, pessimistic and reclusive man, it would be Joseph.  Coming from a dysfunctional family with a father with 4 wives, 10 older brothers who had committed unspeakable acts, being bullied and rejected by them (no thanks to Jacob’s show of favoritism to him), thrown in a pit, sold to traders, slaved in Egypt, falsely accused and chained up in prison, and then forgotten by someone he helped. 

Yet Joseph turned out to be someone who rose above every attack, every unfairness, and every temptation to become a beloved leader who saved tens of thousands of lives in Egypt and beyond.  So, let’s stop our self-pity right now, sit up and learn something from Joseph. 

As a recap, we know that God build and tests our character through trials. And in many cases, he gives his servant a vision (or a dream in Joseph’s case), and then kills it - because the vessel of that vision first need to be cleansed and purified. This happened to Abraham, Moses, David, and even Jesus' disciples.  It’s when we learn to focus on God, and not on the vision (or our own ambitions), does God begin to turn Faith into Hope, and Hope into Love -  the ultimate “divine nature” that He desires us to have. Then when the vision is finally fulfilled, we know it’s not of our own talents, gifts or capabilities but all is because of God, by God, and for God. 

That’s what Joseph had to go through. Compared to his forefathers Abraham and Jacob who had also went through that process, what a fast learner Joseph was and how almost-perfect was his response to every situation! From a spoilt-brat of 17 to a mature, upright man within a few years! Let’s take a look at his life timeline before we consider the applications to our lives:

1. <17>  Grew up in a dysfunctional family – potentially spoiled by favouritism (not his fault), but did not deserve death or slavery! (Father was 108; Oldest brother was 31; Youngest brother 11; Mother passed away when Joseph was only 6 years old.)
2. <17> Loyal to father, but terrible relationship with siblings. Joseph chose to stand alone than to collaborate in questionable deeds.
3. <17> Gift of prophecy – unashamed as a messenger of God’s word for him and his family, but much to learn in terms of graceful speech.
4. <18?>  Sold to Potiphar as a slave;  Rose to become head of all the household servants <22?>
5. <24?> Seduced by Potiphar’s wife; wrongly accused and thrown into prison
6. <26?> Promoted by jailer to be a prefect of the prisoners
7. <28>  Interpreted the dreams of the butler and baker – befriended those in lowest places.
8. <30>  Appeared before Pharaoh and interpreted his dream – credited God for his gifts.
9. <30>  Worked for Pharaoh and managed a project that would save tens of thousands of lives - doing good for his captor nation. (Never thought of escaping and going home?)
10. <35>  Became a father – passed on his faith to his 2 children (Manasseh & Ephraim)
11. <38>  Dealt with his brothers – with creativity, compassion and forgiveness
12. <39>  Reunion with his father – unashamed of his family and provided for their livelihood
13. <56> Father died – kept his vow and buried Jacob in Canaan.
14. <110> Joseph died – buried back home in Shechem (Josh 24:32), prophesied about the exodus.

Around 1700 years later, Paul inscribed Joseph in the Hall of Faith (Heb 11:22): “By faith Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the exodus of the sons of Israel, and gave orders concerning his bones.” 

Joseph had a gift of prophecy and prophesied that the Israelites will one day leave Egypt en-masse. It's a natural tendency for people with prophetic gifts to speak their mind straightforwardly; and at 17, he was unrefined, undiplomatic and blunt when sharing his vision with his family. It reminds us to “season our words with grace” even when we are telling the truth to others – such as sharing the gospel with our pre-believing family members who may find it offensive or even insulting.  It also appears that at 17 he probably have not learned how to interpret dreams yet, and that gift grew more powerful while serving as a slave and in prison – no doubt by growing closer to God in his difficult times.

We need to continue to practice our gifts even when at first it brought us rejection and embarrassment. A God-given gift need to be used with Godly Character in order to be effective and powerful. Joseph learnt that quickly, and so should we.

Application Exercise:

The following table divides Joseph’s life experiences into 8 phases. You can add on your observations on what he went through and how he responded in each situation. More importantly, how would we have responded in our own life situations today? How should we change our behaviour and develop the “divine character” as God brings us through those hard times? 

Concluding Observations:

1.  The more the sufferings, the closer Joseph gets to God. Others began to see that he has the Spirit of God. (Potiphar – Gen 39:3;  Pharaoh – Gen 41:38)

2. Indeed, “The Lord was with Joseph” was mentioned 6 times in Ch. 39 – God took personal care to test and build Joseph’s character.  

3. Joseph learned humility and always give credit to God for his gifts and abilities (Gen 41:16)

4. At the end, God actually gave Joseph much much more than his teenage dreams. But by then, the dreams don't matter anymore. He came to realise that possessing the One who fulfill dreams is infinitely better than possessing the dreams themselves. You can say Joseph found the real meaning of 1 Corinthians 13:1-13. (Try pretending to be the 50 year old Joseph and read this Corinthian passage)

5. Take Away: When we are hurting, the way out is not escape, but endurance. “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” James 1:2-4