Study of Joseph: Week 5

As you read through these chapters, you see the line of Jacob. There are many names, but every name in the Bible is there for a reason, read through them and pay attention to those you may recognize. In chapter 49 you will read through the 12 sons of Jacob and how they are placed in the lineage at Jacob’s death. These verses tell us how the tribes will disperse and who they will become. This is vital to know as you study the Old Testament. Look at their descendants and their prophecies, God can surprise you in the small details of His Word.

A miracle had happened. It took many years to see the miracle and God’s plan, but we have finally made it to the point where everything is revealed. Joseph’s brothers are forgiven for their cruelty towards him and in the next few chapters we see Jacob’s family is restored.

Genesis 46:3 shows us that God came to Jacob in a vision at night and gave him confidence that picking up and going to Egypt was the right thing to do. God assures Jacob that this is where He is going to make him into a great nation and that He will never leave him. God says to him, “I will go down to Egypt with you, and I will surely bring you back again.” By this time Jacob was no spring chicken. He reveals to Pharaoh that he is 130 years old. He knows his time of death is not far away and the thought of dying and being buried in Egypt is unbearable for him. God knows our fears and what keeps us from following Him wholeheartedly. God tells Jacob that He will bring him back to Canaan, his hometown. He is taking away Jacob’s fear of not being buried next to his father and grandfather. He wants to be buried with his people and we see at the end of Genesis 47 that Joseph swears he will carry his father out of Egypt to bury him.

After God shows Jacob that once again he can trust Him, Jacob heads off to Egypt with his entire family and everything he owns.

What fears keep you from changing the path you want to go down to the path God is leading you to?

How has God given you confidence in what He is doing in your life?

We may still struggle with this story and wonder why Joseph had to suffer all those years the way he did. We may ask ourselves, “Could things not be accomplished without us having to struggle?” Many of us wonder why life has to be so hard. The story of Joseph’s life is just a story if we don’t see the big picture and the main reason for the story. The first big picture is that Joseph had to go through the hardships of life so that he could become the man God had created him to be. Life does not come easy; accomplishments do not come easy. We have to grow, mature, and learn so that we can be better. God knew Joseph’s heart. He knew what he could handle and also knew where he would fail. God does not place us in positions without equipping us to succeed. We may question ourselves, but if we place our desires at the feet of God, He will make a way. Next, we see a family line that not only survived because of Joseph’s suffering, failures, and accomplishments, but they also scattered across the nation to spread the lineage of God’s people. Joseph was used by God to save His people from starvation and death. I know some of us don’t like the thought of being used, but there is no better life to live than a life that is used by God to extend His Kingdom. God does not need us to accomplish His will, He chooses to include us. He shares His power with us through the Holy Spirit and includes us in His great plans. What a blessing that is. The last part of the big picture is that through one of Jacob’s son’s lineage, the line of Judah, came Jesus Christ. Through Joseph’s brothers’ evil deeds, Potiphar's wife’s false accusations, the cupbearer’s neglect, and seven years of famine came the life of Jesus. If Joseph was not molded into the person he became when he met the Pharaoh, he would not be ready to save God’s people the way he did, and the line of Judah would not have extended to many generations. You see, great things come from our suffering. It takes our patience, us adapting to God’s will, the willingness to serve, and God’s perfect timing to accomplish miraculous things. God sees the big picture; He knows the end of the story.

One commentator says, “Joseph had no doubts that God would keep his promise and one day bring the Israelites back to their homeland. What a tremendous example! The secret of that kind of faith is a lifetime of trusting God. Your faith is like a muscle—it grows with exercise, gaining strength over time. After a lifetime of exercising, trust, your faith can be as strong as Joseph’s. Then at your death, you can be confident that God will fulfill all his promises to you and to all those faithful to him who may live after you.” The work God does through Joseph’s life sets the stage for what is about to happen. God was ready to begin growing Jacob’s family into a great nation. He was going to lead them out of Egypt and bring them into the land He had promised them. Joseph knew that God would deliver His promises. He was an example to God’s people that He can be trusted, and that faith is needed in the journey. God’s promises can always be trusted. He is faithful to the end, and we can trust that He is working in every aspect of our lives, the good and the bad.

Joseph recognized that the world is full of evil, but God can use all things for our good and His glory.

Where in your life do you need to trust God?

What promise of God sustains you through your hard times?

Our hope lies in the trust that is built. Our trust leads us to God’s promises and what is to come. Life may be hard right now, but there is a light at the end of our tunnel. God sees us and knows exactly what we are going through. He sent His Son down to earth so that He can relate to us, and we can relate to Him through His sufferings, even to death on a cross. He knows and even sympathizes with us, but He also knows what is best. He is walking right next to us and reminding us we are not alone. He will see us through to the other side. Keep your eyes focused on Him and make the choice to adapt to His will.