A\nlittle innocent boasting put Joseph on his older brothers’ hit list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One\nof twelve sons born to Jacob (son of Isaac and grandson of Abraham), Joseph\nbecame his father’s favorite without even trying. He was born when Jacob was\nold, the son of his beloved wife Rachel, who died after giving birth to her\nsecond child, Benjamin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After\nJacob made Joseph an ornamental coat, his older sons hated the boy because\ntheir father loved him most. The family dynamics went further downhill when\nJoseph related his two strange dreams implying the brothers would someday bow\ndown to him. That incident was the straw that broke the camel’s back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jacob\nsent Joseph\u2014just seventeen\u2014to check on the older boys, who were off grazing\nsheep. They saw that annoying dreamer coming and plotted to kill him. Reuben,\nwho seems to have had a soft spot in his heart, suggested throwing his little\nbrother in a pit. He intended to rescue him later, but the plan changed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Seeing\na caravan of Ishmaelite merchants headed to Egypt, the brothers sold Joseph for\ntwenty pieces of silver. To explain his disappearance, they killed a young\ngoat, dipped Joseph’s coat in the blood, and took it to their father, who\nconcluded a beast had devoured his beloved son. Grief overwhelmed him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The\nsuspense escalates like a made-for-television movie. Watch these clips.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Potiphar,\nan officer of the king, bought Joseph and put his new servant to work in his\nhouse. He soon recognized the Lord gave the young man success in everything he\ndid, and he placed Joseph in charge of his entire household.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Potiphar’s\nwife had a lust problem and went after Joseph, enticing him, “Lie with\nme.” Although he refused to betray his master and commit a grievous sin\ntoward God, the woman pursued him daily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One\nday when no other servants were in the house, she caught Joseph by his cloak\nand persisted, “Lie with me.” He ran out, leaving the garment in her\nhands. She showed it to her husband and lied, accusing Joseph of trying to take\nadvantage of her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Believing\nthe story, Potiphar had Joseph thrown in prison; but even there, God gave him\nfavor. The warden put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners. When the pharaoh’s\nbutler and baker landed in prison for offending the king, both had a mysterious\ndream the same night. Joseph\u2014relying on God\u2014explained the meaning: in three\ndays, the butler would be released and restored to his position; the baker\nwould be put to death. That’s exactly what happened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Joseph\nhad asked the butler to mention him to Pharaoh and get him out of prison, but\nhe forgot (see Genesis 37-40).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Intermission.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nJoseph prospered in prison. That happens only in the movies and the sovereignty of God. <\/a><\/span>Click To Tweet<\/a><\/span>\n\n\n\n I love this story because it shows the Director’s creativity. Who knows what would have happened to Joseph if the Ishmaelite caravan hadn’t arrived? As for prospering in prison\u2014that happens only in the movies. And the sovereignty of God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Don’t\nyou think it’s about time Joseph got a break? I’ve read the script, and we’re\nabout to see an astonishing turn of events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To be continued.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n (Adapted from Cabbages and Kings–Reflections on Living Abundantly in Christ)<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u00a9 Dianne Barker 2019 <\/p>\n\n\n\n Have you been in an impossible situation and seen the hand of God work it out? Tell me about it. And please share this with your friends! <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A little innocent boasting put Joseph on his older brothers’ hit list. One of twelve sons born to Jacob (son of Isaac and grandson of Abraham), Joseph became his father’s favorite without even trying. He was born when Jacob was old, the son of his beloved wife Rachel, who died after giving birth to her […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3],"tags":[9,327,324,326,325],"class_list":["post-914","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general","tag-dianne-barker","tag-jacob","tag-joseph-prospered-in-an-unlikely-place","tag-phtiphar","tag-sovereignty-of-god"],"yoast_head":"\n