• REJECTION

Joseph experienced rejection – his brothers rejected him. God had given Joseph two dreams and as a result his brothers turned on him and rejected him.  His father, who dearly loved him, had given him and coat of many colors. As a result of this favour, his brothers hated and rejected him.  He was rejected for things that He had no control over.

• ABANDONMENT

His brothers, who hated and rejected him, decided to get rid of him. They despised him to such a degree that they conceived a plan to get rid of him. They could find not good in Joseph, in fact between all 11 brothers they could not find enough reason to spare his life.  So they came up with a plan to throw Joseph in a pit and leave him to die. Completely alone, abandoned and helpless. To make matter worse they then sold him into slavery.

• INJUSTICE

Even in Joseph’s time of slavery he had favour.  Just think of the injustice of going from the son of a well known Jewish family to the slave of a foreigner.  He was still a slave. He was not master of his own destiny. He belonged to someone else and could not do as he pleased. His freedom, his future, his destiny had all been stolen from him by those closest to him.  But Joseph overcame injustice.  He become Potifer’s slave and eventually ran Potifer’s entire household. Potifer was influential and a powerful man and this gave Joseph position and influence.  Joseph ended up with great authority and responsibility.

•  TEMPTATIONS AND FALSE ACCUSATIONS

Things just seemed to get worse.  Potifer’s wife began to desire Joseph.  She tried to seduce him and he was not prepared to give in to her advances.  One day she called him into her room and began to tempt him again.  He refused and she grabbed his robe as he ran out and screamed to the other servants to alert them and then began to falsely accuse Joseph of something he had specifically not done.  As a result of these accusations he was removed from his responsible position and thrown into prison.

• FORGOTTEN

Joseph was left to rot in prison.  After all who cares for a slave prisoner who has violated the wife of one of the country’s dignitaries?  Year after year in prison for something he is not guilty of. This is a breading ground for hatred, bitterness, dismay, despair, depression and suicidal thoughts. Things even got worse.  One day a fellow prisoner, who had once worked for the King, had a dream. Joseph was able to translate his dream and the translation showed that he would be released from prison and return to the palace in three days. Joseph asked this man to remember him and put in a good word for him when he got back to the palace.  For whatever reason, when this man was released, he completely forgot about Joseph and he spend another two years waiting for nothing.

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