Reflection: Joseph and an uncertain future Further reading Genesis 37:12-35
Joseph was the youngest of Jacob’s sons and his favourite. He doesn’t hide it and gifts him with an extraordinary, multi-coloured coat. Joseph’s brothers don’t hide their jealousy and disdain either. Families are complicated.
At 17, Joseph had a strong prophetic gift. Though he may have wielded it with a degree of immaturity, his ‘predictions’ all proved true in the end.
Joseph’s brothers hated him even before he had wild dreams about them, and they hated him more when he shared those!
Joseph’s brothers set out to remove him from their lives. And they took a cruel step when they resolved to sell their brother into slavery.
Discarded and despised, Joseph experienced a sharp turn. But if we read on, we see that God does not abandon Joseph. He was young, yet God had a plan for his long life. Injustice and exploitation stood in the way momentarily – but God was always, and is always, at work.
Either from the bottom of a cistern, or tied to the Midianite caravan, Joseph could not have seen the future God had in store for him. He’d know betrayal and hopelessness, yet God used him at just the right time to save his people from famine.
When we look out at our world, young people are at risk and injustice seems to target children. But we call to mind the closing statements of the book of Genesis (50:20) ‘You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good.’ We look to our good God whose eye is always on children, and on their future. His plan is always for good, reaching to the generations to come.
Question: Families are complicated. How is God working in yours? Or how do you hope he will?
Prayer: God of restoration, there is no brokenness so big you cannot heal. There is no harm you cannot turn into good. We look to you, believing that your plans for our broken world are always good. Amen.