Joseph, the son of Jacob and Rachel, once dreamt that together with his brothers, "we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf" (The King JamesVersion, Genesis 37:7). In another dream, he saw the "sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me" (The King James Version, Genesis 37:9). These pronouncements deeply angered his brothers as they thought Joseph arrogant for even saying those words. Out of jealousy, his brothers plotted to kill him, but finally decided to sell him to passing Egyptians in exchange for silver. And that began his ordeal as a slave and a prisoner forcefully separated from his father and younger brother, Benjamin. He would later be released from prison and lead a life of plenty as one of the trusted people of the Pharaoh.
With the trials that Joseph went through and considering the kind of person that he was – a person of integrity, trustworthy, industrious, and obedient, the question whether he deserves his fate, that is, separation from his family, his brothers' treatment, and life as a slave and prisoner needs to be answered. Since he was born, Joseph had always sided with the good, ensuring that he was a good and obedient son to his parents. Evidence that he was highly favored over the other brothers is that Jacob gave him a colorful robe while the others were given regular, simple robes. Furthermore, he was tasked to tend over the sheep, which is usually a job assigned to the eldest and most trustworthy person in the lot. He may have boasted about his dreams to his brothers, which made them see him as arrogant, but in general, he was a good person. Was being Jacob's favorite son reason enough for him to suffer? No. Does having indirect "authority" over his brothers and the sheep enough grounds for suffering? No. Does he deserve the sufferings caused by his brothers? No. Joseph was a good man and he did not deserve any of those anguish and misery, but they were all necessary to bring forth God's plan for deliverance. It was His way of keeping Joseph near Him, to make him mature enough to handle and understand what was about to come.
It may seem odd that someone who has a close covenant with God should undergo such trails in life. However, this is exactly the reason why he had to go through what he went through – so that he can show God how deep his faith is in Him. That no matter what happens in his life, he will always have the heart to serve humanity and put God's plans in action. And thus, what seemed to be the end of the world for Joseph was actually an instrument that God used to bring him and his family to their salvation, including their future generations.
Even Joseph's brothers had to deal with guilt for what they did to their brother. Even though they were all together in conspiring about Joseph's death and eventual trading to the Ishmaelites, this false unity is only brought about by their common hatred for Joseph and not because of unity among the brothers (having come from different mothers). Even this is part of God's plan to bring "nations" together with Joseph leading them the way to greatness.
Why did God let them experience all these sufferings when He is capable of putting things in the proper perspective and at whatever timings He wants to? The reason is He wants people to put their faith in Him and concentrate and trust God that He will deliver His people as promised.
What kind of God then is Joseph's God? Based on how Joseph's story turns out, his God is a merciful and compassionate God. He has the foresight to know what the future brings and yet, He lets his people decide what to do and lets them fail if they have to. This is because He wants them to learn about trust, strength, and obedience that He will always provide for His people's needs. A forgiving father, God extended mercy to his people and which, in turn, Joseph also extended to his brothers even after all the things that they did to him.
He is not an impulsive God who will make His followers suffer without reason. Even before the time of famine in Egypt, God gave signs through Joseph about the possibilities of starvation and deprivation in the land. As such, it is then the people's responsibility to prepare and heed the warnings.
Although Joseph's brothers meant to harm him, Joseph's Hebrew God had better things planned for all of them. It must have not looked that way for Joseph at the beginning, but despite his destitutions, he remained steadfast, learned the value of humility, and faced his challenges bravely.
Joseph's story is a story about jealousy, treachery, and unfaithfulness. But all these change after 13 years when it becomes a narrative about forgiveness, love, humility, and restitution of faith. In the end, despite what each of them has experienced, they all ended up better off than when the story began.
Works Cited
The King James Version Bible. bible.com. Lifechurch.tv, 2012. Web. 11 Novemver 2012
< https://www.bible.com/bible/1/gen.37.kjv>.
