This is the first in a two-part series (this post and the next) on Joseph, one of the AllStars in my bible Superbowl league. His story runs from Genesis 37 to the end. Yes, it does sound long (lucky you, I’ve summarised) but I tell you once you start reading, you will get so caught up in the narrative that you won’t be able to stop. Everyone, Christian, Muslim, Atheist, Taoist, should read this story because more than being a bible story, it is a testament to the virtue of character and principle, two characteristics that are powerful enough to change the world.

Honestly, there are some Bible characters that I absolutely adore. Joseph is one…and not only because the Bible describes him as a, “Reallll realll foiiiiine maaaaaaannn!” *Ahem* So not in those exact words, but it does say that Joseph was ,“a strikingly handsome man” or, “Joseph was handsome and well built” (Genesis 39:7).

In addition to his hotness, Joseph appeals to me because of his humility and heart for God. People often consider David, the one who sought after God’s heart earnestly but I love Joseph because he did the same thing, just in a quieter and more steadfast fashion. In some ways, in Joseph, I am reminded of my daddy. You know, my dad’s approach to God is so full of humility and surrender that it really inspires me. I think of God as my friend; the one I can complain to and make demands of and get mad at. My dad on the other hand, sees God as his master. He worships God with a reverence that can only come from a revelation of God’s majesty, there’s an awe, a silent, implacable respect for God. He asks God for things of course, but when God doesn’t do what my dad wants, he accepts that God is sovereign and can do as He wants….while I sulk and/or run into the sunset screaming.

I am very inspired by Joseph’s faithful and steady character and I love that God’s reward to Joseph wasn’t originally wealth or healing or anything material; it was His presence. I am learning that God’s presence is the reward of worship. “The Lord was with Joseph and he succeeded in everything he did.” Genesis 39:2…”The Lord was with him and caused everything he did to succeed.”

I can’t talk enough about this story of Joseph! Forgive me but I am just so fascinated by the story of a young Hebrew man whose only sin was naïveté. I mean, there are so many lessons from the story of Joesph. For one thing, Joseph ended up being traded by his BROTHERS!!! Wow, heartbreak to the nth power. If my sisters hurt me like that, I don’t even know what I would do. And what made them angry enough to sell their younger brother to slave traders? His crime was in telling them his dreams.

Personally either Joseph was just annoying by nature and was trying to make them jealous- possible but I hope not- or he was actually just really naïve and thought everyone wished him well. Important lesson numero uno, YOUR DREAM BELONGS TO YOU!!! Don’t bother telling every Tombara, Dickson and Harrieta what God has placed in your heart because for one thing, they wont get it and for another, if they did get it, it wouldn’t be a dream anymore…everyone would be doing it!Duh! So no one has to agree with you, the only confirmation you need for any dream is God’s and often you know that God has stamped His assent when you feel a deep abiding peace on that decision even when there is obvious turbulence surrounding your dream.

Another interesting thing is that Joseph could have, but didn’t rely on his good looks or gamble on his obvious intellect and charm, all the glory that anyone could ascribe to Joseph was linked back to God. Like, he was that obvious in his worship and love for God…not by shouting but by a steady diligence, faithfulness and integrity. His spirit of excellence was clear; palace or prison, the guy was consistent. “The Lord was with Joseph, so he succeeded in everything he did as he served in the home of his Egyptian master. Potiphar noticed this and realised that the Lord was with Joseph, giving him success in everything he did.” And in prison, it is said that, “….before long, the warden put joseph in charge of …everything that happened in the prison. The warden had no more worries, because joseph took care of everything. The Lord was with him and gave him success in everything he did.”

Sometimes when we think of Joseph, we think the entire tale happened in a week. Family betrayal Monday, slave market Wednesday, Potiphar’s house Wednesday night-Friday morning, prison Saturday, palace Sunday. Praise God for victory! Can I just say that this story did not happen over a week or two, or even over a period of 50 weeks. These were YEARS of hardship. Think about it, by the time Joseph was being sold into slavery, his first brother- Reuben-hadn’t even gotten married and there were 10 other sons between them! I know this because if you keep reading the story in Genesis, it mentions Reuben’s marriage. So at this point, his brothers were still boys really, just a group of rowdy teens and young adults still being sent to the field to shepherd their dad’s sheep.

So Joseph himself was most likely a teenager (which would explain the naivete/ annoying little brother syndrome in happily telling the others about his about the entire family bowing down to worship him, without realising the implications of his chatterboxing). He would have been young, between 12-14 if that. So imagine his fear when he was thrown into a pit by his own brothers to be left to die, or when he was sold as a slave and forced to travel with the motley crew of traders across the desert by camel, trust and believe that that journey would not have taken one week! Add all the time at the slave market, being stripped and publicly inspected?! You have to remember that Joseph was actually a rich kid from a sheltered home. Read it, Jacob was a very wealthy man…and I’m not talking new money, this one is old wealth not even riches! Joseph’s granddaddy and great-granddaddy were ballers! What do you know about that Abraham and Isaac money?! #RacksOnRacksOnRacks! Me, I know myself, I’d have already died on the journey to Egypt, immediate, forced death! I will just mentally order my inner faculties and organs to spontaneously collapse. #iCant.

So slave market, then servant at Potiphar’s. #GoodTimes. Then off to prison for being a hottie and refusing to sleep with your madam. Yarrrrr, let me just say for the record that by now I would have given God a wide berth….I mean no good deed goes unpunished right?! *hiss*
But no, Joseph was faithful and still trusted God regardless and I swear that is so beautiful to see. For me it doesn’t take anything to wash my hands off of God. “Eh, I asked you to help me pass an exam and you allowed me barely graze the pass mark?!! Nice one God, now leave me alone while I ignore you and sulk.”

Yeah, that’s more my style.