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Monday, February 16 2009
The life of Joseph, the son of Jacob / Israel, was filled with extremes. He began as his father's favored son, from which his jealous brothers sold him as a slave into Egypt (see Joseph's Coat Of Jealousy).
"37:28 Then there passed by Midianites merchantmen; and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmeelites for twenty pieces of silver: and they brought Joseph into Egypt." (Genesis 37:28 KJV)"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." (Genesis 39:1 KJV)
"God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive"
Unrealized at the time by all involved, it was actually the LORD (i.e. Christ - see 'Before Abraham Was, I AM') that arranged Joseph's entry into Egypt, as was later made known to Joseph, who thereafter made it known to the treacherous brothers that sold him away i.e. "50:20 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" (Genesis 50:20 KJV). Even as a slave to Potiphar in Goshen, Joseph was blessed by the LORD.
"39:2 And the LORD was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. 39:3 And his master saw that the LORD was with him, and that the LORD made all that he did to prosper in his hand. 39:4 And Joseph found grace in his sight, and he served him: and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put into his hand." (Genesis 39:2-4 KJV)
Joseph's apparent problems did not end however. He would soon be thrown into prison after a false accusation by his master's immoral wife.
"39:7 And it came to pass after these things, that his master's wife cast her eyes upon Joseph; and she said, Lie with me.39:8 But he 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; 39:9 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? 39:10 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." (Genesis 39:7-10 KJV)
"39:11 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. 39:12 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. 39:13 And it came to pass, when she saw that he had left his garment in her hand, and was fled forth, 39:14 That she called unto the men of her house, and spake unto them, saying, See, he hath brought in an Hebrew unto us to mock us; he came in unto me to lie with me, and I cried with a loud voice: 39:15 And it came to pass, when he heard that I lifted up my voice and cried, that he left his garment with me, and fled, and got him out." (Genesis 39:11-15 KJV)
"39:19 And it came to pass, when his master heard the words of his wife, which she spake unto him, saying, After this manner did thy servant to me; that his wrath was kindled. 39:20 And Joseph's master took him, and put him into the prison, a place where the king's prisoners were bound: and he was there in the prison." (Genesis 39:19-20 KJV)
But again, the LORD caused Joseph to rise in stature, even in prison. The LORD allowed Joseph to be thrown into prison because, with the LORD's help, Joseph would rise to become the Prime Minister of Egypt, second only to the Pharaoh himself, thereby fulfilling the reason that the LORD had Joseph's brothers deliver him into Egypt in the first place (see Joseph's Dreams).
"39:21 But the LORD was with Joseph, and showed him mercy, and gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison. 39:22 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 was the doer of it. 39:23 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." (Genesis 39:21-23 KJV)
Fact Finder: As stated in Genesis 37:28 (quoted above), Joseph was sold to Midianites who took him as a slave to Egypt. Over four centuries later, was a Midianite a key ally (and father in law) to Moses at the time of the Exodus when the Israelites were liberated from slavery?
See Jethro of Midian
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This Day In History, February 16
374: The ninth recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet.
1349: Jews were expelled from Burgsdorf, Switzerland.
1559: Pope Paul IV called for the overthrow of any king who opposed the Church of Rome's doctrines (see Emperors and Popes).
1771: Astronomer Charles Messier presented his original list of 45 M-objects to the French Academy.
1808: France invaded Spain during the Peninsular War.
1918: Lithuania proclaimed its independence from Russia.
1937: Nylon was first developed by Wallace Carothers and his U.S. research team at Dupont.
1940: The British destroyer HMS Cossack rescued British seamen from a German prison ship, the Altmark, in a Norwegian fjord.
1944: The Japanese naval base at Truk, Caroline Islands, was bombed by Allied aircraft, destroying 201 planes.
1956: Britain abolished the death penalty.
1959: Fidel Castro was sworn in as prime minister of Cuba after leading a guerrilla campaign that ousted right-wing dictator Fulgencio Batista on New Year's Day.
1960: The U.S. nuclear submarine Triton set off on its under water round-the-world trip.
1987: The trial of John Demjanjuk, accused of being "Ivan the Terrible" of the Treblinka death camp, began in Israel.
