Living for God in a Dysfunctional World

Lessons from the Life of Joseph

Introduction

The story of Joseph is a story of a life lived under the providential care of God, because of a whole-hearted co-operation in His higher purposes. It is an inspiring story in its own right, but has an added dimension since it prefigures the story of Jesus of Nazareth. While the life of Jesus is unique and cannot be mirrored exactly by any other person, nevertheless the elements of similarity enable us to see that there have been those individuals that have lived in the will of God, and this in turn, encourages us to seek to live lives more like the Saviour.

Joseph’s life was not easy, punctuated as it was with setbacks. He was rejected, sold as a slave, falsely accused and imprisoned before being elevated to high office. In the larger purposes of God, he was the instrument used to preserve the family, which carried the seed of the future Saviour of the world. This elect family had to be protected from losing its identity among the nations of Canaan. It would have been so easy for them to be assimilated as the example of Judah testifies, for he took a Canaanite wife. At the time of Joseph, the family of Jacob were only few in number, and although the land of Canaan had been promised to them under the Covenant that God ‘cut’ with Abraham, it could not yet be theirs, because the sin of the inhabitants had not, at that time, ripened. The tenancy of Canaan was only forfeited when its inhabitants descended into idolatry and wickedness. For the nations of Canaan at the time of Jacob, that was not yet fully the case (cf. Gen.15:16). But they would suffer judgement for gross iniquity some four centuries after Joseph’s elevation. In the meantime God was working out His purposes through the family of Jacob.

Jacob, from his earliest days, was something of a wheeler/dealer. He lived up to his name ‘supplanter’, and obtained both the birthright and the blessing of the firstborn by dubious means. He, in turn, was victim to the dubious practices of Laban, when he was working for a bride. Having laboured for seven years for Rachel he was duped into marrying Leah. So he worked for another seven years for Rachel. But the beautiful Rachel could have no children, while Leah was very fruitful – bearing six sons for Jacob. Leah took every opportunity to remind Rachel that it would be her sons who would be heirs to Jacob, and continue the blood-line. Her son Reuben, was the first born – He will have the double portion and the blessing. This blood-line, you will remember, is the one under the Abrahamic covenant that is destined to bring blessing to all nations. But God, using His telescope with a long lens, could see there was trouble on the horizon. When this dysfunctional family returned from Haran to Canaan, as they must, they would easily be absorbed into the nations that occupied the territory. God needed a plan - He had a plan – He always has a plan - the family of Jacob should journey to Egypt, there to grow into a great nation (Gen. 46:3); a nation that could be a channel of blessing to the world. In Egypt, there would be space for them to grow, and they would remain safe from being integrated because Egyptian culture did not look favourably on shepherds.  

The Birth of Joseph

But God’s plan needed a catalyst – it needed a man.

As a Noah was needed to preserve both humanity and the animal kingdom when the earth was flooded;

as a Moses was needed to lead Israel out of Egypt;

as a David was needed to establish the kingdom of Israel;

so a Joseph was needed to take them down to Egypt.

So God intervened in the affairs of this family: “Then God remembered Rachel, and God listened to her and opened her womb. And she conceived and bore a son, and said, ‘God has taken away my reproach.’ So she called his name Joseph, and said, ‘The Lord shall add to me another son’” (Gen. 30:22–24). Miraculously, a son was born to a woman that was barren. In this dysfunctional family, God has ensured that there will be one who will not only take a stand for Him, but also be a willing instrument to fulfil His purposes.

Because of the circumstances of his birth, he is named Joseph; a name which can carry two meanings –‘remover’ and ‘increaser’. ‘Remover’ because Rachel was initially thought to be barren but with the birth of Joseph she said, “God has taken away my reproach”: ‘Increaser’ because she expected more children, “The Lord shall add to me another son”. Both meanings are prophetic: ‘remover’ because the ministry of Joseph will mean the family of Jacob being removed from Canaan to live in Egypt; and ‘increaser’ because that same ministry will allow them to be fruitful, multiply and increase greatly.

So, in less than perfect circumstances, the birth of Joseph took place. He was born into a dysfunctional family with squabbling between the four wives of Jacob, and quarrelling amongst the children. This aggravation increased when Jacob showed favouritism towards Joseph, dressing him in a coat that implied nobility and authority. Jacob should have known better inasmuch as the favouritism his father Isaac, showed to his brother Esau, caused him many difficulties. Joseph’s brothers ‘could not speak peaceably to him’ (Gen.37:4), that is, offer him the accepted salutation, ‘Shalom’ or ‘Peace be with you’. That this family is dysfunctional is not unexpected – historically they come from a line of dysfunctional families - there was feuding between Ishmael and Isaac and then between Esau and Jacob; so this quarrelling between Joseph and his brothers should come as no surprise. The aggravation in the family was compounded when Joseph revealed that he had received dreams which indicated that he would have authority and be a ruler. The first dream suggested he would have supremacy over his brothers; and the second, while confirming the first, also implied authority over the house of Israel. For this his brothers hated him all the more. At that time he was just about 17 years of age.

Joseph’s Rejection

The key incident takes place far from home. There were occasions when the sons of Jacob were away from home for long periods of time because they had to travel further afield to pasture the family flocks. At these times Jacob kept Joseph near to him, partly because he was young and partly because he was his favourite. But needing to hear news of his sons, and Joseph now being more than 17, he sent him out to find them and return with tidings. Jacob did not see his own flesh and blood as being a threat to Joseph. Joseph, well aware of the animosity of his brothers, nevertheless was obedient to his father. His compliance to his father’s will is seen in the use of the word ‘Hineni’, which means ‘I am ready and willing to do what you ask’. This is the same word that Abraham used to respond to God, when his name was called (Gen.22:1), before he was asked to offer Isaac on the altar; and it was the word that Abraham used in response to the Lord when he was restrained from completing the sacrifice of his son (Gen. 22:11). Joseph said it to his father - ‘Hineni’. Like Abraham and Joseph we need to cultivate the use of the word ‘Hineni’.

Joseph started out on his journey. Little did he know that it would be many years before he would see his father or his younger brother Benjamin again. Joseph first travelled some sixty miles to Shechem, the last known location of the flocks of Jacob; but they had moved on, and Joseph was at a loss to know what next to do. Fortunately, a “man” rescued him from his bewilderment. The unidentified “man” who informed Joseph that his brothers had moved on to Dothan reminds us of the “man” with whom Jacob had wrestled (Gen. 32:24–32). Jewish tradition considers him an angel in the form of a man. Whoever this man was, his intervention was providential, for he directed him to Dothan, the exact location where he found his brothers. Whether the ‘man’ is an angel or a human, the unseen hand of the Lord is apparent here. He directed Joseph to discover his brothers so that the divine plan for the salvation of Jacob and many people (Gen.50:20) might be realized, although it will mean a troubling time for the house of Jacob. The question has been asked, ‘where are Joseph’s custodial angels who might have saved him from his brothers, as they did when his father Jacob was protected from Esau (32:1ff)?’ Luther has commented, “In such danger we see the deepest silence of God and the angels … But behold how much good God draws forth from this.”

That Joseph needed the protection of God is clear. The devil’s strategy is always ‘deception with a view to destruction’. ‘Deception’ because the Bible says he is the father of lies; and ‘destruction’ because he is also described as a murderer from the beginning. This is the witness of the One that really knows, Jesus the Son of God: “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it” (John 8:44). Always on the lookout to do mischief, he is a ‘roaring lion seeking whom he may devour’. When they saw him coming a long way off, they began to plot against him. “Then they said to one another, “Look, this dreamer is coming! Come therefore, let us now kill him and cast him into some pit; and we shall say, ‘Some wild beast has devoured him.’ We shall see what will become of his dreams!” ” (Gen. 37:19–20) Thus the purpose of the plot is revealed – it was to make sure his dreams did not come true. Little did they know that they were fighting against the will of God, and although they mean it for harm, God meant it for good.