When We Are Troubled God Is Still at Work

“Come now, let’s kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns and say that a ferocious animal devoured him. Then we’ll see what comes of his dreams.” - Genesis 37:20

The events in the life of Joseph, as recounted in Genesis 37, show God at work in the midst of an angry, disjointed family. This is a family where one son, the youngest, is favored and elevated above the others. Joseph received preferential treatment from his father Jacob, and even received special clothing as a visual reminder that he is set apart and unique in the family. It is no wonder that his brothers harbored a deep jealousy toward him, and this passage is a reminder of how such jealousy can give way to hatred.

This hatred leads Joesph’s brothers to a place where they consider killing him off in the wilderness. They end up deciding it is better to at least make some money from their brother, and sell him off into slavery. To cover up their actions, they dip his unique coat in goat’s blood, and let on that he must have been killed by wild animals (Genesis 37:18-33). This is a mess of a family, and not anywhere near a role model of Godliness and unity. Yet this is where God chooses to do his redemptive work.

A Vision from God

“Judah said to his brothers, ‘What will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? Come, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him; after all, he is our brother, our own flesh and blood.’ His brothers agreed”. - Genesis 37:26-27

This animosity between brothers is further exacerbated by a vision from God given to Jospeh in a set of dreams. Both dreams presented the idea that Joseph would be greater than all his brothers. The dream suggests that all of the family, including his parents, would bow down to Joseph in the future. Unfortunately, instead of encouraging Joseph and learning more about what these dreams may have meant, they were embittered and angered by it. To a group of older brothers, who already felt Joesph received too much attention, this was beyond insulting. To them, it merely appeared offensive and egotistical.  

In an attempt to shut down that plan, and be done with Joseph for good, the brothers inadvertently played right into the vision, and set in motion a series of events that would fulfill the vision perfectly. What they meant as a solution to ‘get rid’ of Joseph for good only worked as a catalyst for his vision.

Meanwhile...

“Meanwhile, the Midianites sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard”. - Genesis 37:36

Perhaps the most important verse in this passage is the last one. The seemingly tacked-on ‘meanwhile...’. ‘meanwhile’ serves as a foreshadowing of what is to come, and a reminder that behind the pain and anger, Joseph’s story is only beginning.   

What his brothers meant for evil, God was using for good. The chapter ends with Joseph in slavery, being taken to Egypt and sold as a servant. In fact, chapter 38 has no mention of Joseph at all. Is we were reading Genesis through for the first time, we could easily think that this plan to get rid of Joseph had worked as planned - Jospeh rides off to Egypt, enslaved, and then the narrative continues without him.  

But in chapter 39 he reappears as the focus. God was still going to use this for good. This act of attempting to silence Joesph would eventually give him one of the greatest voices on Earth. This would place Joseph exactly where he needed to be, and this trial would ultimately build his faith and fortitude.  

A Dream Fulfilled

“Now Joseph was the governor of the land, the person who sold grain to all its people. So when Joseph’s brothers arrived, they bowed down to him with their faces to the ground.” - Genesis 42:6

A lot happens between Joseph being taken to Egypt in chapter 37, and his brothers bowing down before him in chapter 42. Joseph has been wrongly accused, imprisoned, brought before pharaoh to interpret a dream, and has now been given authority over the land in the midst of a devastating famine. There is much more to his story after chapter 42, but this is the moment the initial dreams are fulfilled.

Joseph’s brothers had no idea who he was, or that their evil plan had been used by God to bring about the solution to the famine. Joseph was used by God to ensure people had food in these lean years, and God also used him to bring healing and hope to his family that had been broken for so long.

Our lives do not end with slavery. It is for freedom that we have been set free (Galatians 5:1), and no situation, no matter how painful, can thwart the plans God has for us. We are not promised a perfect life, but we are promised that He is faithful and working in the midst of it. In the ‘meanwhile’.

When our lives feel broken and irrevocably lost, we can take hope, and embrace the freedom that is ours in Christ. For we can be assured that God is at work in the ‘meanwhiles’ of our life.

Photo Credit: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/interstid

Jason Soroski is a homeschool dad and member of the worship team at matthias lot church in St. Charles, MO. He spends his free time hanging out with his family, exploring new places, and writing about the experiences. Connect on Facebook or at JasonSoroski.net.