Magdy Samuel

Serialized Articles From:
"Whom shall I fear"

Last Published Devotions

Chapter 2: 6

Example from the Bible
Joseph and the Shepherd - The Rock of Ages


On Joseph’s path to glory, he passed through three houses filled with turmoil and changes:  the House of Jacob, the House of Potiphar, and the House of Imprisonment.
 

In the House of Jacob, Joseph suffered the loss of his mother at an early age, and the favoritism his father showed Joseph caused his brothers to envy and loath him. He experienced deep suffering when he was thrown by their hands into the well, and then sold as a slave to the Ishmaelites, who took him with them to Egypt.
 

In the House of Potiphar, he worked as a slave for Potiphar.  When the situation stabilized and his master made Joseph overseer of his whole household, Potiphar’s wife sought to seduce him to evil. When Joseph resisted and overcame evil, she slandered him and was able to convince her husband of it. Potiphar anger was aroused against Joseph, and he was sent to prison.

In the House of Imprisonment, Joseph lived as an inmate, restricted, deprived of freedom. When the situation improved and he was able to explain the dream of the chief cupbearer, Joseph waited for him to mention him to the Pharaoh, but the cupbearer did not mention him, but forgot him.

 

 In these three houses, 
    amidst waves of hatred and envy, 
    and evil and slander and oppression, 
    and imprisonment, abandonment and disregard;
Was Joseph forgotten by the Lord and deprived of His shepherd care?!
No, my dear brother!

 

The Lord was with Joseph in the three houses, and he was a successful man. And the LORD caused all he did to prosper in his hand.

 

In the House of Jacob, despite the evil and loathing of his brothers, the Lord was able to care for him, protecting from murder and death, allowing him to be sold to the Ishmaelites, using Ruben and Judah.

 

In House of Potiphar, the Lord made his work successful and gave him grace in the eyes of his master. And He protected Joseph from falling into evil with Potiphar’s wife. And He allowed Joseph to go to prison, which was in fact, a tunnel passage leading to glory.

In the House of Imprisonment also, he found favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph’s hand all the prisoners.  God also gave Joseph the insight to explain the dream of the Chief cupbearer.  And He caused the Chief cupbearer to forget Joseph for two years, and then to remember him at the suitable time appointed by God.  If Joseph had left the prison prior to that time, he would have lived wandering and homeless.

 

Thus, God used all that happened in the three houses to bring Joseph to the House of Pharaoh. In the House of Pharaoh, the Lord gave him wisdom and insight to explain the dream of Pharaoh and the knowledge of what to do in the years of plenty and the years of famine, and Joseph became the second-in-command in the land of Egypt. The Lord also used the famine to bring his brothers to him, and to lead their hearts to repentance.
 

From the life of Joseph we can see that: our lives are not in the hands of men to do with as they please. But our lives are in hands of the almighty and awesome God Who shepherds and cares for us.
 

If the hand of the Lord does not seem clear in the scenes of our lives, He is working behind the scenes for our good.
 

Trust that no matter how high the waves and the tumult around us, in the end, they will not do anything in our lives other than God’s Will“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God” (Romans 8: 28).  Joseph was aware of this when he said to his brothers:  “do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life… So now it was not you who sent me here, but God” (Genesis 45: 5, 8). “You meant evil against me; but God meant it for good” (Genesis 50: 20).
 

At the end of his days, Jacob realized this wondrous Shepherd-care of Joseph, when he said:  “Joseph is a fruitful bough, a fruitful bough by a well; His branches run over the wall.  The archers have bitterly grieved him, Shot at him and hated him. But his bow remained in strength. And the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the Mighty God of Jacob (From there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel), By the God of your father who will help you, And by the Almighty who will bless you With blessings of heaven above, Blessings of the deep that lies beneath, blessings of the breasts and of the womb” (Genesis 49: 22-25).


In Jacob’s blessing for Joseph, we see that he did not say of Joseph, "his branches hit the wall," but “his branches run over the wall”. Each wall or barrier in the life of Joseph did not stop his growth and success, but the Lord lifted him above all the barriers. The secret of Joseph's power was not in himself, but the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel.

 

My dear reader…  The secret of our strength is not in the power of our hands, but in the strength of the Shepherd who carries us and leads us.

No matter what man may do to you, this is the will of God in your life.

 

Magdy Samuel