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Have you ever looked at the back of a piece of embroidery? It's a mess: knots, loose threads, colours going everywhere. You can't tell what it's meant to be. Then you turn it over, and there's a beautiful picture. The messy threads were making something all along.
Sometimes life looks like the back of that embroidery. Joseph's life certainly did. In this final stop on our walk through Genesis, we follow Joseph from favourite son to slave to ruler of Egypt, and find out who was holding the needle the whole time.
What you'll learn
- How God kept his promise through a very messy family
- The ups and downs of Joseph's life, and who was with him through all of it
- What Joseph meant when he told his brothers that God intended their evil for good, and how his story points to Jesus
A messy family
Before we get to Joseph, look at his family. Abraham's son Isaac and his wife Rebekah each had a favourite son: Isaac loved Esau, Rebekah loved Jacob (25:28). Jacob tricked his brother, and then fooled his blind father using goat skins and his brother's clothes (27:1–29). On the run, Jacob met God in a dream, and God passed Abraham's promise on to him (28:10–15). Later, God renamed him Israel (32:28).
Jacob had twelve sons, and he loved one of them, Joseph, more than all the others (37:3). What keeps happening in this family? Favourites, tricks and jealousy. And what does God keep doing? Keeping his promise anyway.
From favourite son to slave
Jacob gives Joseph a special coat, and Joseph tells his brothers about two dreams in which they all bow down to him. Who made things worse here: Jacob, Joseph or the brothers? Honestly, all of them!
The brothers' hatred (37:4) and jealousy (37:11) grow into a plan to kill him. It's just like Cain: sin crouching at the door. Reuben tries to rescue Joseph (37:21–22), and Judah suggests selling him instead, for twenty pieces of silver (37:26–28). Joseph is taken to Egypt as a slave.
Then the brothers dip Joseph's coat in goat's blood to fool their father into thinking he's dead (37:31–33). Have we seen a goat and some clothing used to trick a father before? Yes: Jacob did it to Isaac! The deceiver is now deceived.
Here's something strange: God isn't mentioned anywhere in Genesis 37. Does that mean he isn't there?
Joseph's rollercoaster
| Event | Where | Up or down? |
|---|---|---|
| Sold as a slave in Egypt | 37:36 | Down |
| Put in charge of Potiphar's house | 39:1–6 | Up |
| Falsely accused and thrown in prison | 39:7–20 | Down |
| Put in charge in the prison; explains dreams | 39:21–40:23 | Up, then forgotten |
| Explains Pharaoh's dreams; made ruler of Egypt | 41:1–45 | Up |
| His brothers come to buy food and bow down to him | 42:6 | His dream comes true |
| Reveals who he is and brings the family to Egypt | 45:1–15 | The family is saved |
One line keeps appearing in Joseph's story: the LORD was with Joseph (39:2, 39:21). God was there all along, even in the prison.
God meant it for good
Years later, Jacob dies. The brothers are terrified that Joseph will finally take revenge. But Joseph says:
"As for you, what you intended against me for evil, God intended for good, in order to accomplish a day like this—to preserve the lives of many people." (Genesis 50:20)
Notice what Joseph does:
- He doesn't pretend it didn't happen. He names it: what they did was evil.
- But he sees the bigger picture: God was at work through it to save many lives.
- He refuses to take God's place (50:19). Revenge belongs to God, not to him.
- He doesn't just forgive. He promises to provide for them and their children (50:21).
Be careful, though. This verse doesn't say "everything happens for a reason", or that evil is secretly good. It says God is bigger than evil and can bring good out of it. Joseph waited many years to see that, and there may be things we won't understand in this life. And forgiving someone never means pretending it didn't hurt, staying somewhere unsafe, or keeping harm a secret. If something like that is happening to you, tell a trusted adult.
Where's the grace?
God was with Joseph in every up and down, and through the brothers' evil he saved many lives, including theirs.
Key words
- Favouritism: treating one person better than others.
- Jealousy: being upset that someone else has something you want.
- Forgive: to let go of the right to get even.
How this points to Jesus
Joseph's story is a picture of a much bigger one. At Pentecost, Peter told the crowd that people put Jesus to death, and yet it was all part of God's plan, and God raised him up (Acts 2:23–24). The cross is the biggest example of people meaning evil and God bringing good.
| Joseph | Jesus |
|---|---|
| Loved by his father | God's beloved Son |
| Rejected by his brothers | Rejected by his own people (John 1:11) |
| Sold for pieces of silver (37:28) | Betrayed for pieces of silver (Matthew 26:15) |
| Suffered for wrongs he didn't do | Died for sins he didn't commit |
| Raised to the highest place in Egypt | Raised from the dead to the highest place (Philippians 2:9) |
| Forgave his brothers and saved many lives | Forgives and saves people from every nation |
Genesis ends with Joseph's coffin in Egypt (50:26), but also with a promise: God will come to help his people and bring them to the land he promised Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (50:24). The story isn't over.
Think about it
Does Genesis 50:20 mean that what the brothers did was OK?Show answer
No. Joseph clearly calls it evil. The point is that God is bigger than their evil and was able to bring good out of it.
Is God mentioned anywhere in Genesis 37? What does that tell us?Show answer
No, but he was still at work. Later we learn the LORD was with Joseph, which shows that God can be at work even when we can't see him.
How does God keep his promises through messy people?Show answer
He keeps working through their mistakes and even their sin, as he did with Abraham, Jacob and Joseph's brothers. The promise depends on God's faithfulness, not on people being perfect.
Take it further
Look back over Genesis: Creation, the Fall, the Flood, Babel, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph. Pick one person and think about how God kept his promise through them, mess and all. Your worksheet helps you trace Joseph's rollercoaster and see how his story points to Jesus.
If you'd like to, you could pray: God, thank you that you are at work even when life looks like a mess. Thank you that you turned the cross into the greatest good. Help me to trust you in hard times and to forgive like Joseph did. Amen.