areliablefaith

Genesis 38-40, The LORD Was With Him. It would have been easy for Joseph to give up and throw the towel in at numerous points along the way. In yesterday’s reading his brothers first sought to kill him but were turned away at the last minute by the oldest brother, Reuben, and they sold him into slavery instead. Today we see him serving as a slave for a decade before he is lied about and thrown into prison. He had taken the high moral ground with his master’s wife only to have her turn on him when he wouldn’t have sex with her. Talk about being punished for doing the right thing. And then in prison, he interprets the dreams of two of the king’s servants only to have them forget him when they have a chance to put in a good word for him. (I guess we can give the baker a pass since the interpretation he got coming true wasn’t exactly memorable in a positive way!)

Jacob / Israel, Joseph’s father, had a number of occasions through the years where the LORD spoke to him to direct his steps. We don’t get that kind of insight into Joseph. Scripture doesn’t describe God speaking to him in the same way. What we do see is the phrase “the LORD was with him” four times in today’s reading and then we see both natural and supernatural gifting that sets Joseph apart from others. Joseph’s actions are primarily on the up and up. We don’t see the deception and manipulation that characterized his father’s life as a young man. Instead, he is the recipient of “harm” because of deception and manipulation. What is beautiful to see, and a character trait to emulate, is that he did not stop trusting in the LORD who was with him. Even in the “unfair” situations he kept finding himself, he continued to rely on the LORD who was with him. And in the readings thus far, God has already used him to bless others. I can’t wait to see what the LORD does next with this kind of faith.

LORD, Joseph’s faith is impressive. I can only imagine the times he was mistreated and the temptation to despair. Yet you remained with him and he continued to put his trust in you. I can picture the head jailer remembering Joseph’s comments about you leading him to bring the cupbearer and baker to Joseph so that you could provide the interpretation of their dreams. LORD, help us to have such faith. A faith that endures adversity.  A faith that paints a picture of you because of how we live and the words we speak. And may others be blessed in coming to know you because we freely shared the LORD who is with us.