Joseph can’t seem to catch a break, can he?
We go from one of the most obscure, least talked about chapters in Genesis to one of the most famous ones.
Two things the Biblical writer doesn’t want us to miss here today:
First, the LORD was with Joseph (v. 2).
But the LORD was with Joseph (v. 21).
because the LORD was with him (v. 23).
Do you see that? The word with just might be the biggest, most significant word in all of the Bible.
God was with Abraham (21:22). God was with Isaac (26:3). God was with Jacob (28:15). And now God is with Joseph. What’s different here, unlike Isaac and Jacob who had direct encounters with God, we’re simply told that God is with Joseph. Maybe Joseph knows. Maybe he doesn’t. But everybody around him seems to know.
That’s pretty interesting.
Secondly, because God is with Joseph, no matter how bad things get, good things happen to Joseph and those around Joseph.
he became a successful man (v. 3).
the LORD blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake (v. 5).
the LORD… gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison (v. 21).
whatever he did, the LORD made it succeed (v. 23).
And this is important because of the first thing God ever tells Abraham back in Genesis 12—I will bless you, and you will be a blessing to all nations. It’s the Redemption Story. Through this family, God is saving the world.
This story shows that Joseph is different from Reuben and Judah because he says “no” to sexual temptation when it falls in his lap. It also shows that he’s different from Simeon and Levi because rather than raging against injustice, he’s faithful to God and God makes good things happen.
So who around you is getting blessed today because God has blessed you?
What about you? What do you see?
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