Fit For Service (Part 7a-Joseph)

This is week eleven of our study: Fit for Service.  Today we will begin looking at the life of Joseph to see what made him usable by God. 

First Joseph was long suffering/patient. 

Age 17: God began giving Joseph dreams.  Genesis 37:5, Now Joseph had a dream and he told it to his brothers, and they hated him still more. (AMPC)  

Age 17: His brothers sold him to caravan of Ishmaelites and into a life of slavery. Genesis 37:27, Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites [and Midianites, these mixed Arabians who are approaching], and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother and our flesh. And his brothers consented. (AMPC) 

Age 17-25: Joseph served in Egypt in the house of Potiphar. Genesis 39:2, But the Lord was with Joseph, and he [though a slave] was a successful and prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. (AMPC) 

Age 25: Joseph was falsely accused and put into prison. Genesis 39:19-20, And Joseph’s master took him and put him in the prison, a place where the state prisoners were confined; so he was there in the prison. (AMPC) 

Age 25-28: Joseph was in prison. Genesis 39:2, But the Lord was with Joseph, and showed him mercy and loving-kindness and gave him favor in the sight of the warden of the prison. (AMPC) 

Age 28: Joseph interprets dreams for the king’s butler and the baker.  Genesis 40:7-8, So he asked Pharaoh’s officers who were in custody with him in his master’s house, Why do you look so dejected and sad today? (AMPC)

And they said to him, We have dreamed dreams, and there is no one to interpret them. And Joseph said to them, Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell me [your dreams], I pray you. (AMPC) 

Age 30: Joseph interprets dreams for Pharaoh. Genesis 41:1 & 25, After two full years, Pharaoh dreamed that he stood by the river [Nile].  25 Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, The [two] dreams are one; God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do. (AMPC)

Age 38: Joseph’s dreams come to pass. Genesis 42:6, Now Joseph was the governor over the land, and he it was who sold to all the people of the land; and Joseph’s [half] brothers came and bowed themselves down before him with their faces to the ground. (AMPC) 

Age 39: Joseph sees his father for the first time in 22 years.  Genesis 46:29, Then Joseph made ready his chariot and went up to meet Israel his father in Goshen; and he presented himself and gave distinct evidence of himself to him [that he was Joseph], and [each] fell on the [other’s] neck and wept on his neck a good while. (AMPC) 

Throughout the 22 years between Joseph’s dreams and their total fulfillment, Joseph was faithful to God and walked in patience.  He could have grumbled and complained when he was sold into slavery. He could have yielded to the lust of his flesh when Potiphar’s wife gave him an opportunity. He could have fallen into unbelief after being put into prison.  He could have given up on the hope of ever seeing his dreams fulfilled.  But he did not! He held on and waited patiently for God to come through.   

How often are we tempted to grumble and complain, give into our flesh, fall into unbelief, or give up while we wait for the promises of God to manifest in our lives?  While all of these are natural human reactions, we are called to walk in the spirit.  We are not to react to things the way the world does.  Hebrews 6:15, Then Abraham waited patiently, and he received what God had promised. (NLT) We, like Joseph and Abraham, are to wait patiently for God’s promises to be fulfilled.   

Second, Joseph exhibited self-control. 

Genesis 39:7-12, and Potiphar’s wife soon began to look at him lustfully. “Come and sleep with me,” she demanded. 

But Joseph refused. “Look,” he told her, “my master trusts me with everything in his entire household. No one here has more authority than I do. He has held back nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How could I do such a wicked thing? It would be a great sin against God.” 

She kept putting pressure on Joseph day after day, but he refused to sleep with her, and he kept out of her way as much as possible. One day, however, no one else was around when he went in to do his work. She came and grabbed him by his cloak, demanding, “Come on, sleep with me!” Joseph tore himself away, but he left his cloak in her hand as he ran from the house.  (NLT) 

Merriam Webster online dictionary defines self-control as: restraint exercised over one's own impulses, emotions, or desires. 

Talk about coming from a dysfunctional family.  Joseph had been sold into slavery by his brothers and given up for dead by his father.  He was probably lonely and here was someone paying attention to him.  Someone seeing him after all his loss and grief. How tempting would it have been to just give in? To allow himself to feel loved? We know that prior to the attempt in the verses above, Potiphar’s wife had tried to seduce Joseph on other occasions.  Each time Joseph had demonstrated self-control and resisted her advances.   

In verses 8-9, Joseph gives his reason for declining her advances and demonstrating self-control.  

But Joseph refused. “Look,” he told her, “my master trusts me with everything in his entire household. No one here has more authority than I do. He has held back nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How could I do such a wicked thing? It would be a great sin against God.” (NLT) 

When we give into our fleshly desires rather than obedience and self-control, we are sinning against God.  In Psalms 51:4, David writes, Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge. (NIV) 

Joseph knew the danger and ran out of the house rather than staying and giving in. Do we demonstrate self-control when our desires conflict with God’s Word?  Do we stop and consider the consequences?  Do we put honoring God above having our own way?  Self-control is our choice.  God’s grace is always sufficient, and His strength is made perfect in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9). We are not in this alone!!! Remember if we submit to God and resist the devil he has to flee.  (James 4:7) 

Third, Joseph was trustworthy. 

Genesis 39:1-6a, When Joseph was taken to Egypt by the Ishmaelite traders, he was purchased by Potiphar, an Egyptian officer. Potiphar was captain of the guard for Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. 

The Lord was with Joseph, so he succeeded in everything he did as he served in the home of his Egyptian master. Potiphar noticed this and realized that the Lord was with Joseph, giving him success in everything he did. This pleased Potiphar, so he soon made Joseph his personal attendant. He put him in charge of his entire household and everything he owned. 5 From the day Joseph was put in charge of his master’s household and property, the Lord began to bless Potiphar’s household for Joseph’s sake. All his household affairs ran smoothly, and his crops and livestock flourished. So Potiphar gave Joseph complete administrative responsibility over everything he owned. With Joseph there, he didn’t worry about a thing—except what kind of food to eat! (NLT) 

Genesis 39:21-23, But the Lord was with Joseph in the prison and showed him his faithful love. And the Lord made Joseph a favorite with the prison warden. Before long, the warden put Joseph in charge of all the other prisoners and over everything that happened in the prison. The warden had no more worries, because Joseph took care of everything. The Lord was with him and caused everything he did to succeed. (NLT) 

Genesis 41:41-44, Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I hereby put you in charge of the entire land of Egypt.” Then Pharaoh removed his signet ring from his hand and placed it on Joseph’s finger. He dressed him in fine linen clothing and hung a gold chain around his neck. Then he had Joseph ride in the chariot reserved for his second-in-command. And wherever Joseph went, the command was shouted, “Kneel down!” So Pharaoh put Joseph in charge of all Egypt. And Pharaoh said to him, “I am Pharaoh, but no one will lift a hand or foot in the entire land of Egypt without your approval.” 

Dictionary.com defines trustworthy as: deserving of trust or confidence; dependable; reliable.   

Through all his difficulties, Joseph proved himself to be trustworthy.  He managed the affairs of Potiphar, the prison warden, and Pharaoh with care and integrity. It would have been easy for Joseph to be resentful toward those in authority over him, however, as we saw in number 2 above, Joseph chose to honor God by walking in a trustworthy manner. 

From our study today we know that Joseph was long suffering/patient, he exhibited self-control and was trustworthy. 

Heavenly Father, I ask you to speak to our hearts today.  May we learn to walk patiently without growing weary. May we exhibit self-control, honoring you in all our choices. I ask you to teach our hearts how to be trustworthy in all that you have given us to do.