When we read the story of Joseph, we see that there are repetitive events in his life. These cycles are not there just for our entertainment. They are there to show us something bigger -- much bigger.
Let’s pull out the high level events and see if we can detect a pattern:
Joseph’s garment -- ripped off of him by his brothers..
He’s then thrown into a pit.
False evidence was then generated to deceive Ya’akov (blood on the garment).
He’s shipped off to Potifar’s house in Egypt.
He rises to 2nd in command in Potifar’s house -- only Potifar is above him.
Had this not happened, his brothers would have died in the famine.
Joseph’s garment -- ripped off of him by Potifar’s wife.
He’s then thrown into a dungeon.
False evidence generated to deceive Potifar.
He’s shipped off to prison.
He rises to 2nd in command in the prison -- only the prison guard is above him.
Had this not happened, Potifar’s wife would have died in the famine
Joseph’s garment -- taken off by himself to face Pharaoh
He’s then placed into Pharaoh’s court.
True evidence shown to relieve Pharaoh (interpretation of dreams).
Groundhog Day is over!
He rises to 2nd in command in Egypt -- only Pharaoh is above him.
Had this not happened, Pharaoh would have died in the famine.
Despite all of the injustices Joseph experienced, he remained faithful and reverent of Abba.
Even after being forgotten by someone whose life he saved.
Let’s think a little about that cupbearer in chapter 40.
While he was in prison, he was very humble and attentive.
But as soon as he was delivered, he immediately forgot about the one that made his deliverance possible.
How often do we forget someone that has not only brought life into our lives but helped us not enter into death?
Are we all so selfish?
“Oh yeah, God did this great thing once upon a time but what has He done for me lately?”
And we only pull the stories of Him helping us out when we’ve been cornered into recognizing what He has done for us.
Like right now. You are likely aware of things He has done for you only because you read the above few lines.
Will you be thanking Him later today, as well? Tomorrow? Next year?
Not likely.
We tend to not keep it on the forefront of our minds daily let alone hourly.
We tend to look at our lives in an instant and ask Him to somehow deliver us again from some turmoil, injustice, unfairness, or lack -- today. If we don’t need deliverance from something, we likely don’t call upon His name.
What about when He delivered you from death?
Do you think you could keep that in mind daily, hourly, moment by moment?
Nevermind the time He paid your electric bill or healed your body from a cold or made an uncomfortable situation disappear.
Do we only need to acknowledge Him when we are in trouble?
What about when life is great?
We may find time to thank Him for those blessings.
What about when life is average?
Not only do we not thank Him, we tend to not even think about Him.
No wonder He wants us to experience trials.
That seems to be the only way we spend time with Him.
Now we move on to the bigger picture. The same principle that cycled itself in Joseph’s life is seen again with the Messiah.
Jesus(Yeshua)'s garments -- ripped off of Him by the Romans, the Jews, and us.
He was then thrown into the grave.
False evidence was generated to deceive the earth.
He’s shipped off to the right hand of the Father.
He rises to 2nd in command in Abba’s house.
Had this not happened, every household would die at the End of the Age.
Despite all of the injustices Yeshua experienced, He remained faithful and reverent of Abba.
On the good days, on the bad days, and on the average days, He sought His Father.
If only we had the capacity to live such a life. If only we were thrown into a pit. If only we were thrown into a dungeon. If only…
There is still one piece to the story that still needs to be addressed -- the dreams.
We see that Joseph’s family did indeed bow to him after all. The dream he received when he was a prideful young man turned out to be true -- he just wasn’t ready for what all that entailed. His pride had to be removed for him to humbly serve all of humanity.
And once his brothers bowed to him, he broke. The thing he thought he wanted all these years, he got. And it was too much for him to bear. It is highly unlikely he would have had so much compassion for his brothers had he not been thrown into the pit and then the dungeon.
If only we had the capacity to live such a life. If only we were thrown into a pit. If only we were thrown into a dungeon. If only…
Was this dream also fulfilled with the Messiah?
In the Book of Revelation, the sun, moon, and stars all bow to His will. The changes in their behaviors are the signs that the end is upon us.
In His resurrection, we see that Yeshua’s bundle of wheat did stand on its own.
The remaining bundles all bowed to the one standing bundle.
We are that wheat -- the wheat that will be separated from the tares.
He was the first to be resurrected and we are to prostrate ourselves before Him.
The Messiah is the fulfillment of the dreams given to Joseph.
This leaves us with a few questions to ponder for ourselves:
How do I walk each and every day with faith while injustices rule the earth?
Do I actually see an alternative reality in my everyday life?
What will it take for me to walk in the fullness of who He is, not who I currently am?
Do I need to be put in a pit?
Do I need to be put in a dungeon?
We believe the hard days are in the pit but maybe it is our average days that keep us in bondage.
Good days have us praise Abba. Hard days have us call upon a deliverer. While average days are wasted without Him at all.
Am I looking for someone to put in a good word to get me out of a tough situation -- so I can forget the one that delivered me?
If we could drop the scales from our eyes we would see clearly that we are oftentimes held in bondage by the monotony of life. Just getting through and getting by.
Is that why I was saved? To just get by without Him?
I believe I was called to a much higher position so why not enter into the fullness of your salvation each and every day.
That way Abba can trust me as 2nd in command to the Messiah to lead many into life.
If only I had the capacity to live such a life. If only I were thrown into a pit. If only I were thrown into a dungeon. If only…