Joseph (Used By God) Part 1

Did God place a calling on your life? Of course, he did, God placed a calling on each one of our individual lives for his grand plan and glory. This is one of the most basic teachings of the bible. Joseph at age 17 was having dreams and these dreams were pieces of the calling God placed on his life. What can we learn about Joseph and his life in this story of the bible as it relates to God’s calling on our lives in the 21st century?

Hated

Joseph was hated by his brothers, mainly because of the dreams he was having. He kept having dreams that his family would bow to him and that he would rule over them one day. Since Joseph was the youngest brother, this was a huge disrespect for him to be dreaming about or even saying. In that culture, older folks rule over younger folks, not the other way around, so that is why the hate existed. That is not the root of the hate though. Right in verse 2, it gives us a clue. Joseph apparently had had issues with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his stepbrothers. It says that “Joseph brought bad reports of them to their father”. So right there we could see where the root of the anger was coming from. Joseph was ratting his brothers out to his father. What made the anger grow was that Jacob treated Joseph a little more special than he did the other sons. This could be because Joseph was the youngest son or could be that Joseph was the Son of Rachel, the wife that Jacob loved. His love for Rachel extended towards the Sons of Rachel and since Joseph was the youngest, he got special treatment. 

Christian Viewpoint

It’s important that as we walk with God that we don’t favor people over others, that we see everyone from the King to the Homeless all the same. We also need to address any bitterness we may have against other people, especially if it happens to be family members. 

Plot to Kill Joseph

It is pretty cool how all things work together for good for those called by God, according to his will. Joseph was sent from the Valley of Hebrew to Shechem to check on his brothers, to actually be redirected to Dothan. When he gets to Dothan, his brothers plot to kill him and instead the firstborn son Reuben sets up a plan to try to rescue Joseph, but it doesn’t work all the way. When Reuben wasn’t looking, Judah convinced the brothers to sell Joseph, to make money off of him, and take him out of their lives. From Dothan, Joseph ends up traveling with the Ishmaelites to Egypt, where he is sold to Potipher, the Captain of the Guards.

Right about now, Joseph is confused. God placed this calling on his life to be a Ruler, instead of being a ruler, he is a slave. Do you feel like God placed a calling on your life and you look around and wonder how is any of this going to get you to the great calling God placed in your heart? Joseph must have been thinking that same thing. Life seemed to be weird. Every direction you end up in another turn in the road and before you know it you’re no longer where you started and you feel like you’re in a place that you never been, kind of like Joseph. He was not expecting to end up in the hands of the Captain of the Guard of the most powerful nation on earth in his own day. But here is the weird part, being sold 2 times was part of God’s plan for his life, in order for Joseph to fulfill the plan God had for him. So not sure what you’re going through, but know that in all these crazy moments in life that things seem not to be going your way, God is weaving together his plan and positioning you exactly where he is calling you to be.