Joseph Endured His Trials

Jacob's sons were, in order of birth, Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, and Benjamin.


Joseph's older brothers had great hostility toward him.  Joseph was his father's favorite son.  The coat of many colors signified more than just a gift. Possibly the coat signified that Joseph held the birthright which is normally held by the first born.  There were four first born sons in the family.  Joseph's dreams, the sheaves and the sun, the moon, and the stars, foreshadowed Joseph's future over them.  This must have increased their resentment towards him.


Joseph went through many trials.  There must have been so much hostility towards him by his brothers that he was constantly in the midst of contention. They stripped him of his coat, threw him into a pit, and even plotted to kill him.  Joseph's brothers sold him as a slave.  Yet, during each trial, Joseph always did the right thing for the right reason.  He turned all of his trials into something great.  In the end, he did not blame his brothers for what they had done to him.  He believed it happened to serve the Lord's plan.  He was able to be preserved to help many people as he reigned in Egypt.  What a great example Joseph is to each of us.


Several times in Genesis, chapter 39, the phrase, "the Lord was with Joseph," appeared.  Joseph chose to be morally clean.  That is shown in his refusal to lie with Potiphar's wife.  The Lord was constantly with Joseph because he was constantly making right choices.  There was never bitterness towards the Lord for the trials he had endured.  How many of us have become bitter and offended over a time we felt we had been slighted, real or imagined?  Joseph was wrongfully thrown into prison.  Yet he remained righteous, he was faithful, and he was not bitter.  And the Lord was always with Joseph.