The Lord Was With Joseph
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בייה Genesis 39 The Lord was with Joseph Ha Torah returns to the narrative of seventeen-year-old Joseph, which began in (Genesis 37). The phraseology is interesting. Who is narrating the story? (Genesis 37.25 – 28) says, ‘And [Joseph’s brothers] sat down to eat bread; and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and, behold, a company of Ishmaelite’s came from Gilead with their camels bearing gum, balm, and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt. And Judah said to his brothers, What profit is it if we slay our brother and conceal his blood? Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother and our flesh. And his brothers were content. Then there, passed by Midianite merchants, and they drew and lifted up Joseph out from the pit and sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. They brought Joseph to Egypt.’ (Genesis 37.36) says, ‘And the Midianites sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and captain of the guard.’ (Genesis 39.2) says, ‘And Joseph was brought down to Egypt; and Potiphar, an officer / eunuch, of Pharaoh, captain of the guard / prison an Egyptian, bought [Joseph] from the hand of the Ishmaelites, who had brought him down there.’ It may appear like there is a mistake in the narrative. However, the narrative reflects what Judah said and thought. The narrative is not confirming the accuracy of Judah’s comments. The narrative affirms Judah’s confused state of mind, which bears out in (Genesis 38). The next portion of our discussion is our theme. The Lord was with Joseph.Dear ones, some teach that when God is with us, we are in a safe zone. We cannot be touched. That is based on Job, where Satan said to the Lord, You made a hedge around him, around his house, and around all that he has on every side. Observing the Mitzvot of Ha Torah is wise and profitable. On the other hand, Abraham was tried ten times. There is a balance discussed in (Genesis 39) that may be challenging for us to understand. (Genesis 39.2 – 4) says, ‘And the Lord was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. And his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord made all that he did to prosper in his hand.’ STOP! THINK! Joseph was a prince of Jacob who was hated, humiliated, and embarrassed by his brothers. He was kidnapped, stripped of his prestigious colorful coat, thrown into a well with vipers, sold to Ishmaelite merchants for 20 pieces of silver, transported down to Egypt, and sold to a wealthy eunuch as a slave to serve him. Yet despite all of this Torah states,’ the Lord was with him.’ How is that? What did the Ishmaelites share with the Captain of the Guard to interst him into purchasing Joseph? (Genesis 39.4) says, ‘And Joseph found grace in the sight [of the Captain of the Guard], and [Joseph] served him; and he made [Joseph] overseer over his house, and all that he had he put into [Joseph’s] hand.’ What caused the Captain of the Guard to trust Joseph immediately with great responsibility? The Ishmaelites knew Joseph and his brothers. The children of Israel were NOT strangers to them. They were acquainted with their great wealth. Perhaps the fine wool long-sleeved embroidered tunic of many colors that annunciated Joseph’s wisdom, leadership, and designation as heir to Israel had already spread among other communities. Maybe it was Joseph’s manicured look In comparison to his brothers. It could have been his eloquent communication. Ha Torah says, ‘Joseph found grace in the sight [of the Captain of the Guard].’ (Genesis 39.5 – 6) says, ‘And it came to pass from the time that he had made him overseer in his house, and over all that he had, that the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; and the blessing of the Lord was upon all that he had in the house, and in the field. And he left all that he had in Joseph’s hand; and did not know what he had, except for the bread he ate. And Joseph was handsome and good-looking. If we continued further into Genesis 39, we would notice that Joseph brought several issues on himself. Most of us do that occasionally, so we may think it is not a big deal. However, it is a massive deal for a Tzaddik of Joseph’s caliber. So when we study Ha Torah, it is good to remember that there is a difference between the Abraham’s, Joseph’s, and Moses’s from us. We should factor that into our studies. So even though we may think things should be perfect because the Lord is with us we know it may be amidst challenging situations. It is not wrong to hope for things to be good. So hope but be prepared because we do not know what situation we may find ourselves in. May we have beauty, love, and joy in our daily walk, and may we stay within Torah’s guidelines. May we bring peace and healing to our world. May this coming Sabbath and every Sabbath be a blessed Day. Good Sabbath! Dr. Akiva Gamliel Belk, ‘George’ |
