Living in the Image of God M06S06
We learn from the life of Joseph (the 11th son of Israel) that understanding the communal purpose of individual blessing may entail lengthy and at times complicated human interactions with careful attention to the living experience of others. Joseph was blessed that he could bless his extended family. From a lowly position in his family in Canaan, he progressed to a position of highest executive authority in Egypt, second only to Pharaoh. He performed his responsibilities and accomplished the direct goals of his position. However, he did not know the purpose of his position and power in relation to his extended family in Canaan, until his brothers arrived in Egypt to buy food. Through lengthy and complicated interactions with them, he later understood that his individual blessing was a means to a great purpose for his extended family. He used his position in Egypt and good relationship with Pharaoh to protect his family (the young nation of Israel) from a severe and lengthy famine that ravaged the world. The events convey a message that understanding the communal purpose of your individual blessing would require human interactions with others, including sensitivity to needs of others; compassion; and a discerning mind to recognize when and how to intervene in events around you.
This bible study uses the life of Joseph (the 11th son of Israel) to learn that understanding the communal purpose of individual blessing may entail lengthy and at times complicated human interactions with careful attention to the living experience of others. Interactions with other people provide opportunities to understand them better, understand their needs and what you could do to alleviate the needs, and recognize when and how to intervene as determined by your capabilities and assessment of their capability to receive and positively utilize any favors extended to them.
The bible account of Joseph from his childhood in Canaan through the relocation of his extended family to Egypt tells of his incidental rise from a lowly position in his family in Canaan, through a position of highest executive authority in Egypt, second only to Pharaoh. He was appointed to the position to run a program of grain collection and preservation during a period of abundance, and distribution during a following period of severe famine. The appointment was based on his interpretation of Pharaoh’s dreams regarding a seven-year period of abundance followed by a seven-year period of severe famine. He performed his responsibilities and accomplished the direct goals of his position. He had great power and personal wealth in Egypt but did not know the purpose of his position and power in relation to his extended family in Canaan, until his brothers arrived in Egypt to buy food.
Through lengthy and complicated interactions with them, he later understood their need and what he could do to alleviate the need. He understood how to harness his individual blessing to benefit his extended family. He used his position in Egypt and good relationship with Pharaoh to protect his family (the young nation of Israel) from the famine. The bible declares his understanding as follows [Genesis 45:4–7]: “Then Joseph said to his brothers, ‘Come close to me.’ When they had done so, he said, ‘I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will be no plowing and reaping. But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.’”
The life of Joseph and his interactions with his brothers in Egypt convey a message that understanding the communal purpose of your individual blessing could entail lengthy and at times complicated human interactions with others. The interactions would require sensitivity to needs around you; compassion, that is seeking to do something to alleviate the suffering of others; and a discerning mind to recognize those that could be relied upon to utilize positively the blessing extended to them, in order to prioritize to reach those more likely to advance the fulfillment of God’s purpose.
Journey to Egypt
Joseph’s journey to Egypt began with his father sending him to visit with his brothers that were tending their father’s flocks near Shechem. His father said to him “Go and see if all is well with your brothers and with the flocks, and bring word back to me.” [Genesis 37:14]. When his brothers saw him coming, they plotted to kill him [Genesis 37:19–20]: “‘Here comes that dreamer!’ they said to each other. ‘Come now, let’s kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns and say that a ferocious animal devoured him. Then we’ll see what comes of his dreams.’” However, they did not kill him because Reuben convinced them to spare his life and throw him into a dry well instead. Later, they pulled him out of the well and sold him to Ishmaelite merchants that were travelling to Egypt: “So when the Midianite merchants came by, his brothers pulled Joseph up out of the cistern and sold him for twenty shekels of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt” [Genesis 37:28].
Early Years in Egypt
In Egypt, the Ishmaelite merchants sold Joseph to Potiphar, the captain of Pharaoh’s guard. Joseph prospered in the house of Potiphar but later got into trouble because of a false accusation against him by Potiphar’s wife. Potiphar believed his wife and put Joseph in prison: “Joseph’s master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined” [Genesis 39:20].
Joseph’s experience in the prison provided opportunity for him to receive his individual blessing. The opportunity arose through his encounter with two members of Pharaoh’s staff that were jailed in the same prison [Genesis 40:2–4]: “Pharaoh was angry with his two officials, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker, and put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the same prison where Joseph was confined. The captain of the guard assigned them to Joseph, and he attended them.” He later interpreted dreams for the two of them and the dreams materialized exactly as he had interpreted them [Genesis 40:20–22]: “Now the third day was Pharaoh’s birthday, and he gave a feast for all his officials. He lifted up the heads of the chief cupbearer and the chief baker in the presence of his officials: He restored the chief cupbearer to his position, so that he once again put the cup into Pharaoh’s hand—but he impaled the chief baker, just as Joseph had said to them in his interpretation.” Joseph’s capability to interpret dreams became evident in this prison encounter and would take him to Pharaoh later.
Service and Promise
Approximately two years after the prison encounter with Pharaoh’s cupbearer, Joseph was taken from jail to interpret dreams for Pharaoh. His interpretation of Pharaoh’s dream presented Joseph to be an inevitable partner for Pharaoh toward sustained prosperity for Egypt. Based on his interpretation of Pharaoh’s dreams, he predicted an impending seven years of abundant harvest followed by seven years of severe famine. Also, he proposed a program to Pharaoh for collection and preservation of grains all over Egypt during the seven years of abundance, to be used during the seven years of famine: “This food should be held in reserve for the country, to be used during the seven years of famine that will come upon Egypt, so that the country may not be ruined by the famine” [Genesis 41:36]. Pharaoh appointed him to the highest administrative position in Egypt, with executive authority second only to Pharaoh’s [Genesis 41:39-40]: “Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one so discerning and wise as you. You shall be in charge of my palace, and all my people are to submit to your orders. Only with respect to the throne will I be greater than you.’”
Individual Blessing and Communal Purpose
The appointment of Joseph to the highest administrative position in Egypt was a blessing to him as an individual. The appointment conferred him with executive authority over all Egypt except “with respect to the throne.” He was to use his office to develop abundant food reserve in Egypt to protect the country against the impending famine. Regarding his extended family in Canaan, the communal purpose of his blessing was to prepare a place for them in Egypt and relocate them there to protect them from the famine and for them to prosper during their sojourn in Egypt.
He was not at any time told that his blessing had a communal purpose regarding his extended family in Canaan. The blessing was for him as an individual. He had full ownership and authority to use the blessing as he pleased. He later understood what he could do for his extended family after his brothers came to Egypt to but food and he put them through complicated tests to determine how they would relate to their family going forward.
We can learn from the events that individual blessing comes with a communal purpose that often is not known a priori by the individual recipient. The recipient has full ownership and authority over the blessing.
Summary of What We Learned
We learned from the life of Joseph (the 11th son of Israel) that understanding the communal purpose of individual blessing may entail lengthy and at times complicated human interactions with careful attention to the living experience of others. Joseph was blessed that he could bless his extended family. From a lowly position in his family in Canaan, he progressed to the highest administrative position in Egypt, with executive authority second only to Pharaoh. He performed his responsibilities and accomplished the direct goals of his position. However, he did not know the purpose of his position and power in relation to his extended family in Canaan, until his brothers arrived in Egypt to buy food.
Through lengthy and complicated interactions with them, he later understood that his individual blessing was a means to a great purpose for his extended family. He used his position in Egypt and good relationship with Pharaoh to protect his family (the young nation of Isreal) from a severe and lengthy famine that ravaged the world. The events convey a message that understanding the communal purpose of your individual blessing would require human interactions with others, including sensitivity to needs of others; compassion; and a discerning mind to recognize when and how to intervene in events around you.