The Two Josephs of the Bible

There are a lot of people in the Bible that I’d love to spend an afternoon with and have a good chat. Ruth, Gideon, Jeremiah, Peter, Timothy . . . But two I often think about are Joseph and Joseph.

Let’s look first at Old Testament Joseph’s story. We’re told he was the favoured son in the family. How did he carry that? He told his father and brothers about dreams he’d had that seemed to indicate he was headed for a place of leadership even within his family. Was he oblivious to the envy of his brothers? Was he conceited and unconcerned with their reaction to his dreams?  We don’t know, but we do know he drew his brothers’ ire.
Then one day, while he was minding his own business, doing as he was asked, his brothers conspired against him, leapt upon him, threw him into a pit, discussed killing him, and ended up selling him to some passing merchants. 
What were his thoughts through all this? When he was in the pit, did he get annoyed? Did he call out, “Hey, come on, guys! Let me out. This isn’t funny; there are scorpions down here. Hey! Are you listening?” Was he angry? As time passed, did he become worried? Could he hear his brothers discussing what to do with him?

When he was sold, he must have realized things were getting serious. This was not a passing sibling spat. Did he scan the desert for dust clouds of the rescue party for the first few days? Why wasn’t his dad coming through for him? Was this an elaborate lesson? Would these guys in the caravan sell him to cousin Laban to dust him off and return him home?
As the caravan neared Egypt and no rescue party arrived, his hopes must have fallen. And as his hopes fell, I imagine fear rose.
In Egypt, he was sold as a house slave to a wealthy family. As slave positions go, that’s not a bad one. It’s easier than being an agricultural or builder slave, and there’s a chance of interesting work and some level of relationship with the family you serve.

 Things went well at first. Joseph served with integrity and skill. He trusted God despite all he’d been through, the complete upset of all his plans.
While he gained the trust and confidence of his master, he drew a different kind of admiration from his master’s wife. His integrity and determination to keep serving the God he’d known all his life led him to refuse her advances. She, unable to have her way, falsely accused him of attacking her, and he was thrown into prison. There he drew the respect of people around him again. Two of his fellow prisoners had strange dreams, and he was able to interpret them –  but his service was repaid with ingratitude for a long time. Still, Joseph continued to serve and to trust. His faith was eventually rewarded and the result of all this hardship saved his family and the nation they would become.

Now consider the other Joseph - the New Testament Joseph. Like his Old Testament namesake, Joseph of Nazareth was serving and minding his own business, when all his expectations and the future he’d looked for were upset. He was betrothed to a woman for whom he cared. Then, without warning, rumours flew, tongues wagged. He wondered, learned with a troubled heart, the truth that his bride-to-be was carrying a child -- and not his. He made the hard decision to break the engagement -- but quietly, to spare Mary, despite everything.

Then, he had a dream. Yes, God allowed all this upset — in fact, He caused it — but not in the way he'd thought.
And Joseph, with integrity and trust, continued to serve quietly and faithfully. He married Mary, raised Jesus, taught him his trade, provided for him. Joseph went where and when God called him. His journeys also took him to Egypt and back. His obedience also saved his family and the nation they would become — “a kingdom and priests to serve our God.”

There are interesting parallels between the two Josephs of the Bible. Both displayed integrity throughout their lives. Both trusted God despite very challenging circumstances. Both had significant dreams. Both lived in obedience to God’s call on their lives. Both faced total upsets followed by incredible roles in God’s salvation story.
I expect in some ways, we can all relate to these Joseph stories. We’ve probably all had major upsets: medical test results — ours or a loved one’s — that we haven’t wanted, the sudden or needless death of a friend or family member, becoming one of the cut-backs at a job you relied on, the souring of a friendship, a relationship broken. And we spend a few days thinking, “No, there must be some mistake. Where’s the rescue party? Is this happening? God, what about ‘He’s got the whole world in His hands’?”

The immensity of the hardship fills more and more of your vision, and what’s been lost is clear, while the future is NOT.
Like the broken-hearted father in Mark 9, we say, “Lord, I do believe. Only help me in my unbelief.” Through stubbornness or long habit or a brokenness so complete we don’t know what else to do, we keep serving. Trusting and doubting, hoping and waiting for the other shoe to drop, we stumble or shuffle or crawl or walk, clinging to obedience. 

In times like those, I feel like I’m walking with God, holding his hand, but glancing sideways in doubt – “I trust you, but….”
I’ve had a few upsets that changed my life’s direction - a death, a shattered dream, a health scare or two. I found I stayed with God because the dark was scarier without Him than with Him. If He was the author of the pain and fear, He must also be the one who can finish the story in a better way. God allowed this storm, but He can calm it.

Our life upsets are not likely to save your family or your nation — though they might! But we can still learn from Joseph and Joseph. Walk in trust, walk in obedience, walk with God.  We can’t see the end; we can’t see how God will or can redeem, but we know He is good and faithful. Now we see as through a glass darkly, but then we will know fully, even as we are fully known.