Our current unit of study focuses on the life of Joseph, helping us avoid common pitfalls of life as we know it and live it today.  Joseph lived approximately 1800 years on the OTHER side of the cross of Calvary, nearly four thousand years ago.  Honestly, not too many things have changed.  Human nature is human nature and trials are trials.

 Well, I actually typed “trials are trails” and had to correct my spelling error.  I love it when the Lord whacks me on the head to make sure I am stopping to stare at a glaring truth!  That’s when I decided to repeat the mistake.  This IS the focus of these lessons!  For those who follow hard after the Lord and His plans for life, trials take you down one of two trails:  failure or followship.   You can’t choose your trial.  You CAN choose your trail. 

 First, we saw Joseph’s response to the betrayal of his brothers.  Then, we witnessed his reaction to the temptation of Mrs. Potiphar’s day-after-day advances for his full attention.  Here, we observe his actions toward the injustice of his incarceration in the king’s special prison in Egypt after being wrongly accused of rape.

 Pitfalls befall all of us.  The common denominator is the presence of God Who loves us and and Who is never NOT working out His plan, helping us bring order out of our chaos. 

 Stripped of his beautiful coat, Joseph arrived in Egypt only to be sold as a slave to Potiphar, officer of Pharaoh’s personal bodyguard.  He becomes the faithful steward of all affairs of Potiphar’s household.  The Lord was “with Joseph.” Everything he touched prospered.  Danger alert:  Potiphar’s wife wanted Joseph to touch her!  Her wretched daily advances sent him running, leaving her holding his garment in her hand.  She accused him of a crime he did not commit.  Potiphar put him behind bars. 

 Injustice is as universally pervasive and painful as betrayal and temptation.  Our study directs us to point to Joseph and his method of handling these pitfalls.  When he was betrayed and sold into slavery, he worked daily to be the best house steward in Egypt.  When he was tempted, he stood firm against it and fled, refusing to sin against the Lord of his life.  When he landed in prison unjustly, Joseph once again watched the Lord make a way for him to rise to the top like the cream of the crop through faithful service. 

 Joseph could have spent his time staring out the window, counting his prison stripes instead of his blessings.  He surely felt just as alone as he had felt on the camel caravan ride to Egypt.   He must have been deeply pained to know that Potiphar’s trust in him was now dashed in pieces.  I’m certain Joseph felt God had forgotten the dreams He had given him back in Hebron.  He was 17 when he arrived in Egypt and served in the house of Potiphar.  He would be in prison until he was 30.  For 13 years, Joseph watched and waited and faithfully served his TRUE Master.  Psalm 105:16-24 provides a few more details of this story.  He even spent time in chains and fetters. 

 Continually, we read that God was WITH Joseph.  We love reading those words in scripture.  Joseph tasted that truth in REAL time, savoring the blessed assurance.  In the midst of it all, I’m certain the future appeared bleak.   

 Shortly, delightedly, the Chief Jailer noted the servant attitude and the stellar efficiency displayed by Joseph.  He placed him as trustee of all prisoners.  Two prisoners arrived from Pharaoh’s personal household, Chief CupBearer and Chief Baker.  Joseph noticed that they were troubled.  Dreams needed to be interpreted for them.  God, Revealer of Dreams, gave interpretation through Joseph:  the Baker would die, the CupBearer would live. 

 At age 28, Joseph would continue to be forgotten and abandoned.  Two years later, Pharaoh would summon Joseph to interpret the dream outlining the future of Egypt, keeping God’s covenant with Israel.  Joseph walked right over the inserted puzzle piece of injustice straight into Pharaoh’s throne room.