“As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive.” -Genesis 50:20 NASB1995
Here is a perfect example of God taking something horrible and completely turning it around for His good. This passage is Joesph talking to his brothers who threw him in a pit before proceeding to sell him into slavery. The took his coat that his father made, dipped it in animal blood and told his father that they ‘found’ it that way. So there was no one else to know to come looking for him. Joseph was then taken to Egypt. It wouldn’t surprise me if he had to walk that entire way. Probably was even forced to help his captors with things as they traveled. Upon arrival in Egypt, Joesph was sold again into a man’s household. There he had to work while having to face the pain and knowledge of his brothers betrayal. It’s difficult to say if he had any way of knowing that no one was coming to look for him. As well as grieving for the family that he thought he knew, missing his father and other people he cared about at the same time. All while already grieving his deceased mother; no matter how long it had been, you can’t tell me that he did not long for her comfort during this time.
Despite all of of this inner turmoil, demonstrated his worth through his work and his values repeatedly. To the point where the master of the house promoted him to a high rank. That must have felt like God was finally remembering him and rewarding him for his faithfulness at the time. But then, Joesph is accosted by his master’s wife, who desires him to betray her husband by sleeping with her. When he chooses to follow an honorable path and resists her advances, she grabs his clothes in an effort to force him to stay with her. When her flees her intentions and leaves the garment behind, she chooses to reward his nobility with further betrayal and tells her husband that it was Joesph who actually tried to make a more on her. The husband, taking the side of his wife, as he should have been able to do, has Joesph thrown into prison for attacking his wife.
I can’t even imagine how Joesph must have felt at this point after everything he had been through. It sounds like it would have been more than enough to have traumatized anybody. Yet somehow, Joesph kept pushing through. He continued to help people and to be a light in a dark place. Even after those same people continued to betray him. He interpreted a dream for the king’s cupbearer that the king would restore him to his position. (That I totally don’t get. If you were so mad as to have the guy thrown into prison, how could you then trust him after that not to poisen you or at least not spit in your drink after that? That’s a question for a different day I think.) All Joesph asked of this guy was that he would remember him to the Pharaoh so that Pharaoh would do something about his wrongful imprisonment. Yet, as soon as the cupbearer was free, he forgot all about his promise to Joesph. For two years. Until the king had a dream with no interpretation that greatly unsettled him. Then the cupbearer remembered Joesph and mentioned what Joesph had done to the king.
I think about those two extra years of waiting and how hard that must have been for Joesph. Knowing that there was someone on the outside who knew the truth, who was in a position to try and help him and yet he was still there. For two years. I wonder, at that point, was he still holding onto the hope that he would be set free, or had he resigned himself to his situation? In that type of situation, I imagine that he might have still been holding onto to the hope that eventually God would do something, but I doubt he was still expecting the cup bearer to be an instrument in his release.
Little did Joesph know during this time, that God already had a plan. God already knew the exact place and time when Joesph would be needed most. A moment when a situation arose when He could move through Joseph’s life to save so many people that would have otherwise died. God worked through each and every negative situation in Joesph’s life to bring him to the right place at the right time. He allowed Joesph to be sold by his brothers at such a time that Potiphar would be seeking out a slave at his house. He utilized the skills and talents that Joesph had to further develop the knowledge about running and organizing a large estate. Skills that Joesph would need later for the role that God was calling him to. God allowed Potiphar’s wife to make the accusations that would lead to Joesph being put into prison for more than 2 years. Because God needed Joesph to be in the prison just at that time when the cupbearer was in prison so that when the moment was right, the cupbearer would be in the perfect position to suggest that the Pharaoh might be helped by the same man who had helped him with his dream interpretation.
I wonder if Joesph ever had a moment after he was released from prison, along this journey to becoming a top powerful figure in Egypt, where he suddenly saw how all of the pieces come together. We know he recognized that God had brought him to Egypt for good. We also know that this knowledge brought him peace after everything that his brothers had done and brought him to. But I just wonder, was it a slow dawning process, or was there a defining moment when Joesph’s eyes were opened and he truly saw how God had worked to bring an abundance of good for this time, this place and these people?
I think if there ever was a lightbulb moment or moments for Joesph, one of these moments would have been the moment that Joesph recognized that the men bowing in front of him were his brothers. What a impossible moment in his life. I can’t even imagine what kinds of mixed feelings could have arisen in that moment for Joesph. Shock, I imagine would have been the first and foremost feeling to hit him. Followed by the old anger of their betrayal and maybe even a sudden urge to punish them for what they had done. And yet probably also a hunger for his family, for his past. Here was a key to his past, to his father. Was it really any wonder that his voice was gruff when he spoke to them? It was probably covering up all of the emotions running rampant inside of him. Then the dawning realization that his brothers had begun to fulfill the dream that he had had when he was just a youth by bowing down to him. I feel like that must have been an overwhelming moment in Joseph’s life. His anger and accusations come across like a coping mechanism as he tries to figure out what to do next in this situation. Should he reveal himself to them right away? They clearly do not recognize him. Should he wait?? Should he go with his probable instinct to just throw them in prison for awhile so they can see for themselves how unpleasant that is?! I imagine that Joesph must have been praying in his heart while he was throwing out these accusations. It’s interesting though, because in a way, what we see is that love won out. Because after all of the emotions running through him, the one that became a driving force was his desire to see his little brother. To see him with his own eyes and know that he was ok.
Image created by Mel Seeley in collaboration with ChatGPT
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