Life refined II

Gen 37:2 Joseph, a young man of seventeen, was tending the flocks with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives, and he brought their father a bad report about them.

Gen 37: 26 Judah said to his brothers, "What will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? 27 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. 28 So when the Midianite merchants came by, his brothers pulled Joseph up out of the cistern and sold him for twenty shekels [b] of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt.

Gen 37: 39 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one so discerning and wise as you. 40 You shall be in charge of my palace, and all my people are to submit to your orders. Only with respect to the throne will I be greater than you." 41 So Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I hereby put you in charge of the whole land of Egypt." 42 Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his finger and put it on Joseph's finger. He dressed him in robes of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck. 43 He had him ride in a chariot as his second-in-command, [c] and men shouted before him, "Make way [d] !" Thus he put him in charge of the whole land of Egypt.

Life Refined part 2 – From 17 to 37

Joseph was 17 years old when he was sold as a slave and only at around 37 years old did he met his brother who sold him as slave. God took 20 years to fulfill the prophecy given to Joseph or on a flip side, it took God 20 years to refine Joseph. Though it took a long time, God eventually fulfilled what he had promised to Joseph when he was 17.


The thing about Joseph was he never once gave up on God no matter the situation, he remained upright , righteous, faithful. He refused to be tempted instead ran away from Potiphar’s wife. He never once complained and remained faithful even when thrown to prison. And in prison he was put in charge of the prison cells. Clearly the hand of God was with him.

The thing that stood out for me for Joseph was that he was a responsible and hardworking person. He spoke this very well in Gen 39: 8 But he refused. "With me in charge," he told her, "my master does not concern himself with anything in the house; everything he owns he has entrusted to my care. Here we catch a glimpse of the type of men Joseph was - trustable, full of integrity and righteous.

The character of Joseph reminds me of the man in Psalm 1:1-3.
1. Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, not sits in the seat of scoffers;
2. but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on His law he meditates day and night.
3. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.

But what kept him going was his hope in God. and Joseph is going to need those deep roots of faith to get him through the harsh winds of strife that lie ahead. And the most important thing was his close relationship with God. How do I know, well he was able to interpret the dreams of the baker and cupbearer and as well that of pharaoh and as he said only God could give such interpretation not him.

Therefore I come to a conclusion during more than 10 years of hardship, he stood firm in the Lord. Choosing to walk in God’s path rather than his own, what about us, would we remain faithful to the one and only true God?

Remember God may never be early in his promise but he is never late. God is always right on time.