This is a pic from several years back but will always be one of my favorites!

Genesis 37 

Joseph, Lesson 1 

Now Jacob lived in the land where his father had sojourned, in the land of Canaan. These are the records of the generation of Jacob…now Israel loved Joseph more than all his sons… Genesis 37:1-3 

As we approach chapter 37, the book of Genesis has unfolded the stories of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Jacob, also called by the name of Israel, had twelve sons and lived in Hebron which is part of Canaan. Joseph is the youngest of the twelve. Canaan is the promised land that God pledged to Abraham but Jacob’s residence was that of an alien-resident of Canaan. Israel did not yet have “possession” of the land. 

The promise of the land is an important part of the covenant God made with Abraham. From a spiritual sense, the wandering of the Israelites through foreign countries along with their future in residence in Egypt, and then ultimately, wandering in the wilderness, pictures our lives on earth as aliens with our ultimate destination being that of heaven. 

Learning Alert 

As we read the journey of the Israelite’s, and especially Joseph, as a resident-aliens of Egypt, a key point of our devotional study will be to learn from the life they live in foreign lands. How do they live as aliens as they journey through life, knowing their destination is ultimately the promised land. Our citizenship is heaven. This world is not our home. We will learn from the story of Joseph what the apostle Peter taught many years later in the New Testament. 

How then should we live? 

Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul. (Peter gets right to the point). Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation. (Our good behavior in this foreign land Honors God!) 

Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to a king as one in authority, or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right. (We are not to live as rebels and revolutionaries). For such is the will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men. Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bond slaves of God. (Live in the freedom of Christ while also exercising submission to earthly authorities). 

Honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king. I Peter 2:11-17 

We will find that Joseph isn’t perfect, but we will learn much from him that will align very well with what Peter is teaching in the New Testament.  Joseph, is in a sense a picture of the example of Christ. He is one who is lives righteously in a foreign land, falsely accused, bears the ridicule and punishment silently, trusts in God and ultimately saves his people. For Joseph, he saves his family from famine. For Jesus, He saves us from our sin. 

We will learn from Joseph, but our ultimate example is Jesus. For this lesson, let’s go back to the rest of the teaching of Peter on this subject when he writes: 

For you have been called for this purpose, (to honor all people, fear God, submit to earthly authority), since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth; and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously. I Peter 2:21-23 

Father, this lesson today reminds us of how we are to live; to love, to serve, to submit, for Your glory and to honor Your name. Simple but not always easy. We sometimes feel like You are far away and have abandoned us to fend for ourselves. When we fend for ourselves, we sometimes slip into defiance and focus on OUR RIGHTS. Our time in glory is coming someday when we enter the promised land. But for now, may we instead, follow the example of Jesus and entrust our lives, our loved ones, and our souls to You, our Father, who will never leave us or forsake us. Amen!