Today, we are interviewing someone with an intimidating background of achievements. Spiritually, he was a giant among mortals. He was also a political Colossus in Egypt. The path to his greatness was rough, strewn with a hateful crowd of jealous step-brothers, an angry sex-crazed housewife and a forgetful benefactor of his God-given prophetic abilities. Yet, God blended all these adversities together to make him a Prime Minister in a strange land. We have with us today, Joseph, the beloved of his father, Jacob, one of the three patriarchs of Israel.
Shepherd Heart: Thank you for honouring our invitation Sir.
Joseph: Thank you for having me.
Shepherd Heart: I must confess that I feel intimidated by your background. Would you be kind enough to tell our readers a little bit about yourself?
Joseph: Sure. I am the great-grandson of Abraham and second to the last son of Jacob, one of the twins born to Isaac and Rebecca. I was born in Haran, Mesopotamia to my father, Jacob and mother, Rachael. At age six, my father relocated to the land of Canaan and eventually settled in Hebron. When I was about seventeen years old, my hateful and jealous step-brothers sold me to Arab slave traders who took me to Egypt. There, I was purchased by Potiphar, a high ranking official of Pharaoh. I was blessed by the LORD in my captivity and He also granted me favour with my master. I was in-charge of all his businesses and home until his wife tried to seduce me and I fled, leaving my robe in her hands. She later used this as an evidence to accuse me of trying to rape her. Sadly, her husband believed her and I was thrown into jail. There, God also gave me favour with the jail keeper who left the administration of the facility in my care. It was through this that I ministered hope to other inmates of the prison. Two of them later had dreams which I interpreted correctly. In His time, God used one of them to bring me to the attention of Pharaoh who had a dream that none of his magicians could interpret. God gave me the ability to help Pharaoh to know the calamity, specifically famine that would befall his people in a set time in future. My interpretation of the dream and the counsel I gave Pharaoh on how to avert the calamity catapulted me from prison to Pharaoh’s Deputy. That’s my story in a nutshell.
Shepherd Heart: Some of us on this side of heaven have blamed you for unnecessarily antagonising your step-brothers by telling them about your dreams. With the benefit of a hindsight, would you have shared the dreams with them if you knew what this would cost you?
Joseph: That is a tough question. Much as I thank God for making me a ‘saviour’ to Pharaoh, Egyptians and other foreigners that were affected by the famine, including my own family, I would willingly have given up all that to spend quality time with my father who loved me more than life itself. Of course, you and I know that God had destined me to be the Prime Minister of Egypt. My step-brothers were simple the means through which He actualised His plans. Psalm 119:91 asserts that all things serve God’s purposes. If we yield ourselves willingly, we enjoy the blessings that come from obedience.
Shepherd Heart: What was the nature of your relationship with Benjamin, your junior brother before both of you were separated by the action of your step-brothers?
Joseph: Benjamin and I were quite close. That was to be expected since we were siblings. Also, the death of our mother drew us closer. Apart from my father, losing the friendship and fellowship of Benjamin affected me greatly in Egypt. I shed many bitter tears in my captivity and even after I was elevated to the position of Prime Minister. Nothing could replace the joys of fellowshipping with my family.
Shepherd Heart: Those of us who have read the book of Genesis know what became of you in Egypt. At the time you were in captivity, did you wonder how the dreams you saw in Hebron would play out?
Joseph: Of course I did. They were also the source of my hope in God’s providence. I knew that these were not ordinary dreams. I had a feeling that God would put me in a place of authority that would be helpful to my family. None of the dreams I had in Hebron featured other characters, except my family and I. Certainly, I was not expecting to end up as a Prime Minister in Egypt.
Shepherd Heart: As I mentioned in my introduction, you were a spiritual giant despite the fact that you had no access to the word of God in written form. How were you able to communicate with Him?
Joseph: People of our days had more practical relationships with God. Our lives revolved around Him. Your generation has many things to entertain humans. You have books, cyber space and billions of information at your disposal. We had nothing to distract us from our relationship with God. Consequently, we spent more quality time with Him. Let me tell you a secret about God. He loves to fellowship with humans. He also loves to be chased. Go after Him with all your heart and soul. He says in Jeremiah 29:13, “If you look for Me wholeheartedly, you will find Me”. The same charge was given to the children of Israel in Deuteronomy 4:29, “But if from there you will seek the LORD your God, you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul”.
Shepherd Heart: Our greatest challenge in understanding the will of God and relating with Him as a Father is the ugly things He allows to happen to us. As someone who went through unexplainable pains despite your close relationship with Him, how should we process this side of His character?
Joseph: First and foremost, you must settle it in your heart that He does not mean you any harm. He said in Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the thoughts I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you and expected end”. If you want to relate with God effectively, the starting point should be knowing who He is; His character and what makes Him happy. Notice that it was Moses who asked the LORD to reveal Himself to him. That showed the extent of his affection for God. As a human, you want to know more about the people you love. That is why you spend quality time with them. What did God say to Moses about Himself or more specifically His character? Exodus 34:6-7 state: “The LORD passed in front of him (Moses) and proclaimed, ‘The LORD- the LORD is a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger and abounding in faithful love to a thousand generations, forgiving iniquity, rebellion, and sin. But He will not leave the guilty unpunished, bringing the consequences of the fathers’ iniquity on the children and grandchildren to the third and fourth generation”. He also revealed Himself to humans in Jeremiah 9:23-24, “This is what the LORD says, ‘Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, nor the strong man in his strength, nor the wealthy man in his riches. But let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD, who exercises loving devotion, justice and righteousness on the earth- for I delight in these things, declares the LORD”.
Shepherd Heart: Well-spoken Sir. Some of us would love to know why you did not bother to contact your family after you became Prime Minister with all the powers attached to your office. Hebron could not have been such a great distance from Egypt if your half-brothers were able to visit your location to buy wheat. What prevented you from travelling to Hebron in search of them?
Joseph: It was not God’s plan for me to look for them. It was not out of malice, nor did it cross my mind. I guess God wanted everything done at the appointed time and for His glory. Come to think of it, I do not believe that taking matters into my own hands would have produced the same dramatic results that their reconnecting with me in Egypt did.
Shepherd Heart: Did you ever hope to see them again?
Joseph: Frankly, I nursed the hope. However, I was too busy serving the Pharaoh and my God that I did not have time to sit down and moan my fate. I was also a married man with a wife and children to care for. Did I forget my family? Certainly not. The names I gave to my children clearly showed where my heart was in Egypt. My firstborn, Manasseh meant “It is because God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father’s household”. The second child was named Ephraim, meaning, “God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction”.
Shepherd Heart: Many people in our generation are being told by church leaders that embracing God translates to easy and trouble-free life. What is your advice to such believers?
Joseph: No man who encountered God in my generation had an easy life. My great-grandfather Abraham waited twenty-five years for Isaac. Even my father Jacob had his share of troubles. People who want to have trouble-free life should create their own god. Even Yeshua warned His followers that they would have troubles in the world. A trouble-free life signposts total control by the devil and his demons. Why would they attack a person that is already in their pockets or someone that is totally yielded to their will? In 1 Peter 4:13, believers are charged to rejoice when they partake of the sufferings of Messiah . A similar exhortation was given by Paul in Romans 5:3, “Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. Essentially, Paul is saying, “Don’t waste your sufferings. Know that God has allowed you to go through them to produce godly character in you and to lead you to His blessed hope. In fact, Lamentations 3:33 explained that God does not willingly afflict the sons of men. According to Hebrews 12:10, He disciplines them so that they can share in His holiness.
Shepherd Heart: You are in a better position to encourage those questioning the love of God because you are an overcomer. It is true that yielding to God’s discipline is a healthy spiritual exercise. It does not however minimise the pains we experience while waiting for relief.
Joseph: God is not unmindful of the pains and anguish humans are experiencing in a world that has turned upside down in a very negative way. What He desires is trust in His providence and faithfulness. He always comes through for those who wait patiently for Him
Shepherd Heart: Thank you very much Sir for the wise counsel. We did not expect anything less from you.
Joseph: The pleasure is mine. Thanks once again for having me.