Garry concluded his series on Joseph this morning, looking at Genesis 50:22-26. The story of Joseph starts with a dream, a promise. At times, Joseph was unable to do anything at all to fulfil this dream; he was (more often than not!) powerless. The one thing which becomes apparent as we look over his life, however, is God’s faithfulness. God’s plans, shaped by love, were brought about by His faithfulness. Paul reminds us that ‘God is faithful’ (1 Cor 1:9); He is characterised by consistency and reliability. If He has promised something, it’s as good as already done.
In the Bible, we see how others were promised things, but they did not necessarily wait for God to fulfil that promise (the most obvious example is Sarai, who persuaded Abram to sleep with Hagar in order to get the promised heir, see Gen 16.) God ultimately worked a miracle through her own body by giving Isaac as the promised son. Joseph could do nothing about the dream he had had, but he trusted God to do what He had said would happen.
Joseph’s life shows us what human faithfulness and consistency look like. He endured much over many years, but remained God-honouring in everythig he did. Paul reminds us that God’s people should be faithful (1 Cor 4:2). We are called to obey the last thing God spoke to us faithfully, as the faithful servant reminds us (see Matt 25:21). Faithfulness is more important than any apparent success or failure (after all, Joseph in prison did not look as though he was doing very well!) God requires faithfulness despite how things may look, despite setbacks and apparent failure. To be successful is ultimately to do the will of God and to be faithful. Joseph was a faithful man who followed a faithful God – may the same be said of us too.