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Joseph – Genesis 40:1–23

Sunday, January 28: Joseph

Genesis 40:1–23

It was only when I lay there on rotting prison straw that I sensed within myself the first stirring of good. Gradually, it was disclosed to me that the line separating good and evil passes not through states, nor between classes, nor between political parties either, but right through every human heart. So, bless you prison for having been in my life.
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

So far in our study of Joseph’s life, he has received undeserved treatment by a family of envious brothers who threw him into a pit, then sold him as slave. Later, he became the innocent victim of untrue accusations by Potiphar’s wife. Finally, as we left him last week, he found himself in circumstances of the worst possible kind – incarceration in an ancient world prison.

Joseph had to be thinking what we would be thinking, “Where is God in all of this? I can see God in the good things and even in the questions, but rotting away in dirty, stinking, rat-infested prison – this is ridiculous!” When you are in a dark and starless dungeon you want to shout, “God, where are you?”

Last week Matt showed us the answer. “The Lord was with Joseph.” (Gen. 39:21) This week, however, we discover that the Lord was not only with Joseph, he was at work in his life, using this prison experience to prepare him for his future. See you on Sunday!