Joseph is a very important character in the bible and is the link between Abraham, Issac and Jacob in Canaan, to the later liberation of the Israelite's from slavery in Egypt and the formation of the twelve tribes. Joseph was the eleventh of Jacob’s twelve sons and Rachel’s firstborn, Jacob was also known as Israel. Joseph was said to be Jacobs favourite, maybe because he was born when Jacob was very old.
The bible accounts of Joseph and his family resonate because they include squabbles which are common to most families with sibling rivalry and jealousy being a common thread. Josephs brothers were very irritated by their fathers favouritism particularly his gift of a highly ornamented robe which has recently been popularised as a coat of many colours. Joseph also interpreted his own dreams which seemed to belittle his brothers and made Joseph seem superior to them. So the brothers decided to strip him of his coat, kill him and throw him into the cistern but Joseph was spared death by the intervention of the eldest son Reuben but the brothers sold him instead to passing traders for twenty pieces of silver. The brothers being responsible for Joseph had to answer to their father, so put goat’s blood on Josephs coat and showed it to Jacob, who then believed him to be dead.
Joseph eventually ended up in Egypt where he had mixed fortunes being there at the time of the middle kingdom when there was a great expansion of palace, temple and tomb building. Joseph was sold as a slave to Potiphar one of Pharaohs officials. He quickly gained responsibility because he was very able and the Lord was with him and he gained great success. Potiphar’s wife tried to seduce Joseph but he refused to have sex with her for fear of sinning against God, so she accused him of rape leading to Joseph being thrown into prison.
Dreams and visions were seen as very significant in Old Testament times and understanding them was deemed very important, so God blessed Joseph even when he was in prison because of his ability to interpret the dreams of his fellow prisoners. These included those of the chief cup bearer and chief baker through which Joseph found favour with Pharaoh when he later predicted the coming years of abundance and famine. As a result Pharaoh made him Chief Minister in order to prepare Egypt for the predicted time of famine. Joseph ensured that the store houses were full of grain during the seven years of plenty as the Nile delta was very fertile before the very severe famine struck. This was thirteen years after Joseph had arrived as a slave in Egypt and it was at this time Joseph had two sons Ephrahim and Manasseh.
Later Joseph’s brothers came to Egypt to buy food which was common at that time in periods of famine. When they saw Joseph they did not recognise him as it had been twenty years since they last met. Joseph did not receive them kindly at first accusing them of being spies but after the brothers pleaded that they only wanted to buy grain for the family he softened. Even so Joseph bound Simeon as a hostage as he demanded that Benjamin his full brother be brought back to him. Joseph sent the brothers back to Canaan loaded with grain and secretly placed their money back in their sacks. On their return they told their father all that had happened including the return of the money. When they returned to Egypt for more grain they took Benjamin with them. Joseph then tests his brothers by planting a silver cup on Benjamin to find out if they will risk danger to save their youngest brother and when Judah offers to take the punishment for what seemed like Benjamin’s crime Joseph prepares a feast for them as he eventually and tearfully reveals who he is, reassuring them that he had forgiven them and asked for the whole family including his father to join him in Egypt.
After this the house of Israel acquired many blessings and possessions and before Jacob died he blessed Joseph. Joseph lived till he was 110 and asked before he died that when the Israelite's left the land of Egypt they would take his bones back to Canaan. At the time of the Exodus the Israelite's remembered this oath and Moses took Josephs bones and buried them at Shechem. The accounts of Joseph in the bible illustrate the human problem of envy, temptation and vindictiveness but also despite serious sins being committed that there can be forgiveness and reconciliation. The overarching theme is that God is sovereign and that he intervenes in order to correct wrongdoing and will bring things back in line with his plan. His plan to liberate the Israelite's from slavery in Egypt and return them to the land he had promised, a land into which Jesus would be born. Christians often look to this story seeing Joseph as a pointer to both the suffering and forgiving aspects in the life of Jesus. The story also demonstrates that when things go wrong, our faith if like Joseph’s help us to retain confidence and trust in God, in the knowledge that God is guiding events and will redeem us in the end. This is the hope he has given us in Jesus.