💥 Joseph: It began with the 17 year old Joseph being sold into slavery by his brothers and being taken down into Egypt where Joseph will rise to rule over Egypt, 2nd to Pharaoh.

 

The brothers hate and envy Joseph when they see the love Israel (Jacob) has for Joseph:

Genesis 37

1 And Jacob dwelt in the land wherein his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan.

2 These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren; and the lad was with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives: and Joseph brought unto his father their evil report.

3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age (the child of his beloved wife, Rachel): and he made him a coat of many colours.

4 And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him.

5 And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and they hated him yet the more.

6 And he said unto them, Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed: 7 For, behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf.

8 And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words.

9 And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me.

10 And he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth?

11 And his brethren envied him; but his father observed the saying.

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The brothers sell Joseph into slavery and Joseph is taken down into Egypt.  He is only 17 years old.

Potiphar, the captain of Pharaoh's guard, buys the 17 year old Joseph and he becomes ruler over Potiphar's house.

Potiphar sees that everything Joseph does prospers for God is with Joseph.

Genesis 39

1 And Joseph was brought down to Egypt; and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him of the hands of the Ishmeelites, which had brought him down thither.

(Joseph was 17 when Potiphar bought him.  By the time Joseph was 30, he was 2nd in command, only to Pharaoh in Egypt.  How is this possible?)

2 And the LORD was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian.

(If God be for us, who can be against us?)  Romans 8:31  

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Is God with us in what we do?  

Moses said, If YOU are with me, I will go ... if not, I won't go.  The apostle Paul said:  I can do all things through Christ (the Word) which strengtheneth me.  Phil. 4:13.

We must have confidence that God approves what we are doing for then God will be with us!  If we are not comfortable in that which we have planned, and we pray, and are still not comfortable, then don't do that.  Seek God and change the plan!

3 And his master saw that the LORD was with him, and that the LORD made all that he did to prosper in his hand.

Potiphar put Joseph as ruler over his house.

5 And it came to pass from the time that he had made him overseer in his house, and over all that he had, that the LORD blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake; and the blessing of the LORD was upon all that he had in the house, and in the field.

7 And it came to pass after these things, that his master's wife cast her eyes upon Joseph; and she said, Lie with me.

8 But he (Joseph) refused, and said unto his master's wife, Behold, my master wotteth not what is with me in the house, and he hath committed all that he hath to my hand;   9 There is none greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back any thing from me but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?

(She kept after Joseph.)

10 And it came to pass, as she spake to Joseph day by day, that he hearkened not unto her, to lie by her, or to be with her.

11 And it came to pass about this time, that Joseph went into the house to do his business; and there was none of the men of the house there within.

12 And she caught him by his garment, saying, Lie with me: and he left his garment in her hand, and fled, and got him out.

Potiphar's wife bears false witness against Joseph, first to the men of the house and then to her husband Potiphar.  Potiphar becomes very angry and casts Joseph into the king's dungeon.

In prison, the head of the prison, has favor on Joseph.

21 But the LORD was with Joseph, and shewed him mercy, and gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison.

22 And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph's hand all the prisoners that were in the prison; and whatsoever they did there, he (Joseph) was the doer of it.

23 The keeper of the prison looked not to any thing that was under his hand; because the LORD was with him, and that which he did, the LORD made it to prosper.

(The same is true today with the elect of God who are chosen by God who follow God obeying God's word.)

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Genesis 40

1 And it came to pass after these things, that the butler of the king of Egypt and his baker had offended their lord the king of Egypt.

2 And Pharaoh was wroth against two of his officers, against the chief of the butlers, and against the chief of the bakers.

Pharaoh put them into the prison where Joseph cared for the prisoners.

One day Joseph saw them looking sad.  He asked what was wrong.  The chief butler told Joseph he had a disturbing dream.  Joseph said God interpreted dreams.  So he confided in Joseph and Joseph told him what his dream meant.  In 3 days the head butler would be restored by Pharaoh to head butler.

And Joseph said:  But think on me when it shall be well with thee, and shew kindness, I pray thee, unto me, and make mention of me unto Pharaoh, and bring me out of this house:  15 For indeed I was stolen away out of the land of the Hebrews: and here also have I done nothing that they should put me into the dungeon.

16 When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was good, he said unto Joseph, I also was in my dream, and, behold, I had three white baskets on my head:

17 And in the uppermost basket there was of all manner of bakemeats for Pharaoh; and the birds did eat them out of the basket upon my head.

18 And Joseph answered and said, This is the interpretation thereof: The three baskets are three days: 19 Yet within three days shall Pharaoh lift up thy head from off thee, and shall hang thee on a tree; and the birds shall eat thy flesh from off thee.

The interpretations were of God and came to pass.  Pharaoh freed the head butler and restored him to his previous job and Pharaoh cut off the head of the chief baker in 3 days.

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But the chief butler forgot Joseph and failed to mention him to Pharaoh until 2 years later.  When Pharaoh had some disturbing dreams and his magicians could not interpret his dreams, then the head butler remembered the young Hebrew who in prison interpreted dreams.

Genesis 41

9 Then spake the chief butler unto Pharaoh, saying, I do remember my faults this day:

10 Pharaoh was wroth with his servants, and put me in ward in the captain of the guard's house, both me and the chief baker: 11 And we dreamed a dream in one night, I and he; we dreamed each man according to the interpretation of his dream.

12 And there was there with us a young man, an Hebrew, servant to the captain of the guard; and we told him, and he interpreted to us our dreams; to each man according to his dream he did interpret.

13 And it came to pass, as he interpreted to us, so it was; me he restored unto mine office, and him he hanged.

14 Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they brought him hastily out of the dungeon: and he shaved himself, and changed his raiment, and came in unto Pharaoh.

15 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I have dreamed a dream, and there is none that can interpret it: and I have heard say of thee, that thou canst understand a dream to interpret it.

16 And Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, It is not in me: God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace.

Joseph gave God's interpretation to Pharaoh.  

There would be 7 years of plenty followed 7 years of famine which would eat up the plenty.

Then Joseph gave Pharaoh God's wisdom in what to do about these dreams:

28 This is the thing which I have spoken unto Pharaoh: What God is about to do HE sheweth unto Pharaoh.

29 Behold, there come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt: 30 And there shall arise after them seven years of famine; and all the plenty shall be forgotten in the land of Egypt; and the famine shall consume the land; 31 And the plenty shall not be known in the land by reason of that famine following; for it shall be very grievous.

32 And for that the dream was doubled unto Pharaoh twice; it is because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass.

The wisdom concerning what to do:

33 Now therefore let Pharaoh look out a man discreet and wise, and set him over the land of Egypt. 

34 Let Pharaoh do this, and let him appoint officers over the land, and take up the fifth part of the land of Egypt in the seven plenteous years. 35 And let them gather all the food of those good years that come, and lay up corn under the hand of Pharaoh, and let them keep food in the cities. 36 And that food shall be for store to the land against the seven years of famine, which shall be in the land of Egypt; that the land perish not through the famine.

37 And the thing was good in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of all his servants.

38 And Pharaoh said unto his servants, Can we find such a one as this is, a man in whom the Spirit of God is?

39 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Forasmuch as God hath shewed thee all this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou art:

40 Thou shalt be over my house, and according unto thy word shall all my people be ruled: only in the throne will I be greater than thou.

(God enables Joseph to rise from slavery and prison to being 2nd in command to Pharaoh and over the entire land of Egypt.)

46 And Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went throughout all the land of Egypt.

47 And in the seven plenteous years the earth brought forth by handfuls. 48And he gathered up all the food of the seven years, which were in the land of Egypt, and laid up the food in the cities: the food of the field, which was round about every city, laid he up in the same. 49And Joseph gathered corn as the sand of the sea, very much, until he left numbering; for it was without number.

50 And unto Joseph were born two sons before the years of famine came, which Asenath the daughter of Potipherah priest of On bare unto him. 51 And Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh: For God, said he, hath made me forget all my toil, and all my father's house.

52 And the name of the second called he Ephraim: For God hath caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction.

(This is going to be another story where the elder will serve the younger.)

53 And the seven years of plenteousness, that was in the land of Egypt, were ended.

54 And the seven years of dearth began to come, according as Joseph had said: and the dearth was in all lands; but in all the land of Egypt there was bread. (Because of the wisdom God gave Joseph.)

(The famine was all over the earth.  The children of Israel would come into Egypt to buy corn because of the famine.  They were sent to Joseph but they did not recognize Joseph.  Joseph did recognize his brothers.  He arranged a plan whereby they will have to return to his father Israel and bring his younger brother, Benjamin, down to Egypt.  Then his father comes down to Egypt because he had learned that Joseph lives in Egypt and rules over Egypt.  Joseph arranged for "Israel" and his brothers to live in the land of Goshen separate from the Egyptians for the children of Israel would not associate with Gentiles!)

After the children of Israel move to Egypt and after a number of years their father Israel dies, the brothers are terrified of Joseph concerning what he might do against them for selling him into slavery.

Genesis 50

19 And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God?

20 But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.

21  Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them.

They stayed in Egypt and multiplied in Egypt for 400 years serving the Egyptians, fulfilling what God told Abraham in Genesis.

Genesis 15

And HE (God) said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;

14 And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.  (Moses being chosen of God to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt.  Ex. 1)

(Joseph and Moses overcame each problem through God, overcoming through God.

Jesus says:

Revelation 3:5  He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before MY Father, and before HIS angels.

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