When Genesis 39:2 says, “The Lord was with Joseph,” what obvious signs, fruits or evidence began to show up in Joseph’s life, that also show what God values too?
Well, first of all, whatever “the Lord being with Joseph” did for him, it was noticeable to the Egyptian “captain of the guard” who bought him (1). Verse 3 even states that Potiphar (the Egyptian captain) “saw that the Lord was with Joseph,” and so obviously did he see it that he “put Joseph in charge of his household, and entrusted everything he owned to Joseph’s care” (4) – to the point that there was “no one in Potiphar’s household greater than Joseph” (9).
So what the Lord being with Joseph did was make him utterly trustworthy, which was exactly what was needed in serving a man of Potiphar’s stature as “one of Pharaoh’s officials” (1). Joseph had to be a man of exceptional integrity – utterly reliable, honest, principled,“without spot and blameless” – as Peter would say (2 Peter 3:14).
But what was God’s point in telling this story about Joseph, and in such detail too? Well in Genesis 45:8 it was also in God’s plan to make Joseph “father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt.” So God was training Joseph up to be a top ranking government official, or in our terms, a skilled and highly respected politician. And clearly the quality God values for such a position is integrity.
Which gives us a clue as to what he values in those he’s training for his own government and kingdom, the politicians of the future. And judging by what God did in Joseph’s life to get him to that point, it’s going to involve two things: some serious testing, but God “showing his kindness and granting his favour” too, Genesis 39:21.
The result being verse 3, “the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in everything he did.” Which ties in nicely with 1 Corinthians 1:5, that “in Jesus we (too) have been enriched in every way – in all our speaking and in all our knowledge,” so that our training to become skilled and highly respected members of God’s government will be successful too. It will involve some serious testing of our integrity, just as it did for King David, but “David shepherded Israel with integrity of heart: with skillful hands he led them,” Psalm 78:72. So did Joseph in Egypt – as we see when his integrity was sorely tested and his response was: “How could I do such a wicked thing” against God?….(next blog)
Buck To Basics 