Out of all of the people in the Bible, Joseph resembles the Lord Jesus the most.
He was sold with pieces of silver, he feeds the hungry, he is loved by his father, and much more.
The most famous quote of his life is, “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive.” (Genesis 50:20).
There are two major views on this story.
The Calvinism/Determinism belief states that all things are in the control of the God - every good deed, every molecule, and even every sin.
They believe that since God decreed for Joseph’s brothers to sell him into slavery, then it is ok for God to decree sin.
I believe that the Scriptures teach us something different.
It is the devil that is here to steal kill and destroy, God is the one who gives life and life more abundantly.
Evil can be done by men but God can turn any situation around.
For Joseph to be second in command in Egypt, God could’ve done something else to get him there.
Joseph was already interpreting dreams - God could have given him a dream to go to Egypt, then we meet up with the Pharaoh and Joseph interprets the dream becoming second in command.
In other words, God did not need Joseph’s brothers to sin.
God will work with whatever we have.
We may be a broken pot, but it is the lord that can restore us and mold us.
We must be willing.
The heroes in the Bible are great because they had faith in God.
The clay cannot be hard and stiff: It must be moldable and flexible.
Eric Greitens once said, “Many of life’s annoyances just have to be ignored.
“That doesn’t mean that we suppress, ignore, or deny every pain.
“Serious pain has to be confronted.
“But one mark of resilience is learning to tell which pain deserves our attention.
“Paying attention to every pain, all the time, doesn’t lead to resilience.
“It usually just leads to whining.”
It is good to recognize some pain, but we must continue on and remember that God gives us strength.
In fact, when we are joyful, even bad circumstances we receive strength from the Lord.
If you are ever sick, put on some good comedy, as you laugh you will be strengthened.
1 John 2:16 says, “The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life - comes not from the Father but from the world.”
Notice that God does not take responsibility for our sins and actions.
These things come from the world.
God is the one who gives good gifts to us.
God has not predetermined people to betray us, to hurt us, or to be mean to us.
God uses the evil deeds of men for his glory.
