Joseph—favor with the master
In part 1, we looked at the Sin Lists of Joseph’s grandparents, parents and brothers—some parts familiar and others very surprising. I also wrote: “Despite the vast Sin Lists above, including rape and mass murder, God’s faithfulness and mercy persist as the most important aspects of the back-story, the side-story and Joseph’s story.” You may be wondering, When are we getting to the good stuff—God’s faithfulness and mercy?
The almighty undercurrent
God’s mighty hand on Joseph will become abundantly clear today, and we’ll explore how God’s faithfulness was shown to his father Jacob too. In addition to The Ripple Effect of sin in Joseph’s family, a beautiful and strong undercurrent of the Lord’s love and favor persisted. Reflect on Jacob’s beautiful prayer featured in part 2.
A gorgeous, peaceful baroque-era piece by Italian composer and violinist Arcangelo Corelli depicts, to me, both the glory and peace of God’s presence. You may recognize it from the scene in my favorite movie, Master and Commander, when men carry the ship’s injured doctor onto the Galapagos Islands—a place he’s longed to see. I could listen to Corelli’s famous Adagio all day long. What does the Italian title—“Fatto per la Notte di Natale”—mean? Made for Christmas Eve. No wonder it’s so glorious and gentle. That reminds me of one of my favorite books, Gentle and Lowly by Dane Ortlund.
Joseph’s story—birth thru 17
Last time on Choosing Peace, at the end of part 3, Joseph was being taken to Egypt by slave traders at the tender age of 17. What big milestones in Joseph’s life do we know so far?
Life on the farm
Joseph was born at the end of his father Jacob’s 14 years of indentured servitude in exchange for Laban’s two daughters in marriage. Joseph’s birth was a sort of exclamation mark. “It’s over! We can leave and be on our own now.” More importantly, Joseph was the first child born to Jacob’s beloved Rachel. And Joseph was Jacob’s favorite son.
Laban told Jacob to name his price and asked him to keep working for him, so Jacob did—for six more years. The Lord blessed Jacob richly, and he amassed vast flocks. Laban’s lies and manipulation continued and their relationship got more strained. At the 20-year mark, God told Jacob to go back home to his people.
When Joseph was 6 years old, the family left Grandpa Laban’s Big Farm. (See part 2.)
Highs and lows
Then the family sojourned in the land of Canaan, settling in various places. As they journeyed toward Bethlehem, Joseph’s mother Rachel died giving birth to Benjamin. Based on details in Genesis 46 (when Benjamin traveled with 10 sons of his own—and Joseph was 39 years old), we’ll estimate that Benjamin was roughly 8 to 12 years younger than Joseph—give or take.
Joseph was likely between 8 and 12 years old when his mom died suddenly.
What a major loss.
When Joseph was older, Jacob gave his favorite son a unique, beautiful “coat of many colors.” Joseph’s older brothers hated him. After Joseph told them about his two dreams where they were bowing down to him, they were done with him, big-time. They plotted his murder, but opted to sell him instead. Benjamin was probably between 5 and 9 years old when Joseph was sold into slavery. Their father Jacob was told that Joseph was mauled by a wild animal. (Details in part 3.) The Big Family Secret—that Joseph’s 10 adult brothers sold him into slavery—would not have been told to little 5- to 9-year-old Benjamin.
Ages and stages
As I started to consider these time frames, one thing that surprised me was how young Joseph’s brothers were when they sold him into slavery. Here’s the breakdown.
The starting point: Jacob ran for his life from his twin brother Esau.
♦ Why? Because Jacob stole Esau’s blessing.
♦ Jacob arrived at Laban’s farm and fell in love with Rachel.
Year 7 at Laban’s farm: Jacob’s wedding.
♦ Laban tricked Jacob and gave him Leah instead of Rachel. (Was it the wine, the veil or both?)
Year 7 plus 1 week: Jacob’s second wedding.
♦ This time, Jacob married his beloved Rachel, the one who was promised to him.
♦ In exchange for Rachel, Jacob had to work 7 more years for Laban. Excuse me?
Year 7—plus 9 months: Family time.
♦ Leah was fertile and immediately started having boys.
♦ Reuben was her first-born son.
Late in year 7 to late in year 13: “Be fruitful and multiply” was heartily obeyed.
♦ In 6 years, Jacob fathered 11 children—10 boys and 1 girl.
♦ Leah gave birth to 6 boys and 1 girl.
♦ Clearly, Leah experienced back-to-back pregnancies, some of them 9 months apart.
♦ During a period of time when Leah wasn’t getting pregnant, she gave Jacob her servant to procreate with.
♦ Rachel did likewise.
♦ The concubines each had 2 boys.
Year 14: Joseph’s birth.
♦ Jacob’s 14 years of servitude to Laban were finally done.
♦ Reuben, born in year 7—plus 9 months, was about 6 years older than Joseph.
When Joseph was sold into slavery at age 17, his oldest brother Reuben was only 23. Joseph had 10 brothers between 18 and 23 years of age. That blows my mind. Large and/or multi-generational households were common then and for many centuries afterwards.
Then things changed—in so many ways. Peaceful Readers, it’s time for an important detour into current events.
The childbirth drop
Consider this dramatic change in the United States. Around 1800, women gave birth to an average of 7 to 8 children (not counting miscarriages and stillbirths). By 1930, the number fell to between 2 and 3 children. Recently, it has settled at 2 children. See this U.S. Fertility Rates report. (I didn’t read the whole thing.)
While most Americans aren’t interested in having 7 or 8 children, why have so many couples struggled with infertility—Brandon and myself included? Consider this podcast from Roman Balmakov at Facts Matter: “New Pesticide ‘Linked to Reproductive Issues’ Found in 80% of Americans.” Peruse my Documentaries page and view Food Inc. and The Human Experiment. Very eye-opening. Bottom line: (1) United States food, hygiene products and pharmaceuticals are populated by a vast array of harmful chemicals. (2) Costly infertility treatments net big money for the medical establishment. (3) The globalists have spoken quite publicly about their goal of population reduction.
We can do the math.
Thankfully, We The People are much more aware of these issues than we were before the 2020 plandemic (not a typo). We woke up.
The MAHAs vs. the globalístas
Yes, I like to call the globalists “globalístas.” When I think of globalists, I think of your Klaus Schwab, World Economic Forum types—high-brow, rich, Nazi-like social scientists. When I think of globalístas, I think of Argentinian drug lords—violent thugs. And that’s really what the globalists are, isn’t it? Violent thugs hiding in exclusive conferences at luxurious resorts behind group-speak and pie charts? Yes, indeed. The globalístas are the most violent, insidious puppet-masters imaginable. Evil, satanic mass murderers.
MAHA and RFK
Watch this recent Liz Wheeler podcast about MAHA—Make America Healthy Again, which is highly sought after and eagerly anticipated, especially with Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. nominated by president-elect Trump as the future Secretary of Health and Human Services. Liz Wheeler’s phenomenal food and health Wish List at the end of the podcast states what every MAHA citizen desires—MAHA peeps being the non-globalístas.
Here are some important takeaways from this must-see podcast. Did you know that 10,000 chemicals found in U.S. foods have been banned in Europe? Did you know that some U.S. food coloring is made from crude oil? Did you know that 80% of pediatrician revenues come from vaccine appointments? Did you know that Big Pharma wrote Stanford Medical School’s curriculum, and their dean was an opioid specialist? Are your eyes bugging out? Mine sure were. Watch the whole podcast for much more.
While Brandon and I were talking about these issues on Saturday, he reminded me of some stories from his life on the farm in Sociopathville. Was he impacted by dangerous chemicals back in the 70s and 80s? You betcha.
Pesticides
Brandon worked and ran around on their farm. “Nobody cared where I was or what I was doing.”
Paralyzed
One day when he was 10 to 12 years old, Brandon found one of their barn cats dead in a chemical spreader. I’ll call the cat Tom. Brandon saw some loose pesticide granules at the bottom of the spreader. When he reached in to pick Tom up, the cat was warm. Then Brandon realized Tom was still breathing. He brought the paralyzed cat inside. After Brandon told his parents where he found Tom, they took him to the vet, who couldn’t really do anything to help. He advised using a feeding tube because Tom couldn’t swallow. It was a “wait and see” situation. After Tom improved some, they transitioned to syringe-style feeding. About a week after Brandon found the paralyzed cat, Tom could use his front legs, but not his back ones. Eventually he recovered. We don’t know how long Tom lived or what he actually died from, in the end.
Finding Tom paralyzed in the pesticide spreader taught Brandon this important truth: “Chemicals do crap to you.” But we’ve all been so programmed about how helpful the chemicals are. New! Life-saving! Revolutionary!
Sprayed
As long as he could remember, Brandon loved airplanes. When the crop dusters would spray pesticides over large areas, Brandon would run toward them. When he was old enough to ride a dirt bike, he’d rush over to where they were. It was special to be close to the planes dropping dangerous chemicals all over the fields. You could call it DDT and Me. Read about DDT’s impact on our fertility, animals and the environment. Although DDT was banned in 1972, it is extremely hard to eradicate—persisting in the environment and traveling great distances by air. Was DDT’s replacement any better? Properly tested? “Developed” for our good? Don’t get me started on that. Remember—the Roman Balmakov podcast recommended above is all about a “new pesticide” that clearly compromises our fertility and is found pervasively in our food.
The globalístas research, develop and market
their “new and improved” pesticides,
products and pharmaceuticals to accomplish
their #1 goal—population reduction.
The pharmaceutical
When Brandon was a teenager, he was prescribed Accutane to cure his acne. One of the common side effects is “difficulty with moving.” Translation: “You won’t be able to move very well, but your skin will look better.” How utterly fabulous. Scroll down to the side effects on this Mayo Clinic web page. The length of this section alone will shock you. As you read it, your jaw will drop to the floor.
From star to outcast
During his sophomore year in high school, Brandon was “Daddy’s Little Football Star.” He played both ways and never left the field—playing center on offense and linebacker on defense. He was “country strong” from daily manual labor on the farm. Brandon was sometimes the defensive captain. “The next year, I couldn’t even stay on the practice field.” After he started taking Accutane, he lost his strength. “Difficulty with moving”—one of Accutane’s myriad of side effects—was no joke. With his strength seriously compromised, he couldn’t run well, so Brandon quit football.
Andrew, Brandon’s dad and vice principal, called him out of class and into his office. He called Brandon “a quitter” and accused him of having a bad attitude. Things escalated into a fist fight, and despite his compromised strength, Brandon “planted him in a bookshelf and got out of there.” With Andrew being a sociopath, finding out the truth, caring about his son, and helping his son were foreign—nay, inconceivable—concepts that were completely outside his wheelhouse. As Brandon and I discussed this chapter of his life, he related: “My dad couldn’t accept that I had physically degraded.”
Dropping out
After his dad’s Olympic marathon-styled Silent Treatment that lasted many months, Brandon dropped out of high school the summer before his senior year. He was experiencing serious side effects from Accutane, was severely emotionally abused—completely rejected by his dad, and was thoroughly ostracized by the football team—guys he thought were his friends.
Destruction
Did a doctor-prescribed pharmaceutical play a destructive role in Brandon’s life? Absolutely. He was injured physically, emotionally, socially and educationally. Were there any long-term effects from the Accutane? Brandon related, “My skin has never been the same.” To this day, his skin is more sensitive to sunburning. While on Accutane, his entire scalp would get sunburned, plus underneath his fingernails. Accutane made his eyes and skin extremely sensitive to the sun—not good for a farm kid who played football—or anyone who spends time outside.
Brandon got off Accutane and eventually recovered, for the most part, but others weren’t as fortunate. While Brandon was in college, he found out about young men taking Accutane who committed suicide.
Do you know anyone who’s been injured by Big Pharma via a medication or vaccine?
Beware, MAHA ones. Be oh-so-careful. Be wise.
Let’s get back to Joseph’s story.
Joseph, the Egyptian slave
Blessing and favor
Pharoah’s officer, Potiphar—captain of the guard—bought Joseph from the slave traders. I’ve styled in italics the phrases I’d like us to focus on.
And the LORD was with Joseph, and he became a successful man. And his master saw that God was with him, and that God made everything that he did to succeed…. So Joseph found favor in the sight of his master, and attended him, and he made him overseer of his house, and all that he had he put under his authority. And it came about that from the time that he made him overseer of his household and over all that he had, that the LORD blessed the Egyptian’s house because of Joseph; and the blessing of the LORD was on all that he had, in the house and in the field.
Genesis 39:2a, 3-5, New Heart English Bible
These verses emphasize repeatedly the Lord’s hand of blessing and favor on Joseph and how God’s presence was noticed by Joseph’s master—an Egyptian who didn’t know God. (This mirrors the favor Esther would later find with King Xerxes, who made her his queen.)
Status and life changes
Joseph’s extreme success, blessing and favor took place while he was a slave. One day he was living his comfortable life—and the next day, he found himself in a slave caravan headed to a foreign country where he knew not a soul. Slavery was forced on him very traumatically and suddenly. Can we even begin to remotely comprehend any of that? Joseph went from a position of high esteem—his father’s favorite—to a position of extremely low esteem—being literally for sale, like a can of beans. But what did God do? He raised Joseph up even in his lowly status to a position of esteem in an important household. Remarkable.
Joseph experienced major life changes in a relatively short period of time.
♦ Status quo at home…
♦ Loved and hated…
♦ Trauma…
♦ Loss of status/favor…
♦ Limbo/the unknown…
♦ New surroundings…
♦ New normal…
♦ Blessings evident to self and others…
Do some of those realities feel familiar? I’ve experienced them all. Interestingly enough, my least favorite item in that list is Limbo/the unknown. Which one is hardest for you?
Generational blessings
We know about The Ripple Effect of sin from generation to generation, but what about generational blessings? How did Joseph’s favor resemble some of his dad’s experiences with God?
The Lord’s presence, protection, provision and purpose
Let’s look at part of Jacob’s story in Genesis 31:3-13. We find (1) the Lord speaking to Jacob and telling him what to do, (2) assuring Jacob that God would be with him (v. 3); (3) Jacob telling his wives that God had been with him (v. 5); (4) Jacob recounting how God protected him from the harm his father-in-law Laban intended to do to him (v. 7); (5) God’s justice and (6) his provision in removing wealth from Laban and giving it to Jacob (v. 9); (7) “the angel of God” speaking to Jacob in a dream, with (8) Jacob responding in humility: “Here I am!” (v. 11); (9) the angel telling Jacob that God saw everything Laban did to him (v. 12); (10) God confirming who he is, (11) acknowledging Jacob’s worship (setting up a pillar, anointing it and making a vow to God), and then (12) confirming and restating his instruction to Jacob to leave Laban’s farm and return to the land of his people (v. 13).
Speaking, seeing, sending
In summary, God talked and Jacob listened. Jacob spoke truths about God to his wives, acknowledging God’s presence, protection and provision. God came to Jacob in a dream and Jacob responded as the Lord’s servant. In the dream, the angel of God confirmed that God saw every evil thing Laban did to Jacob. Then, God’s identity and relationship with Jacob were confirmed before God restated his instruction: “Go home.”
God spoke his core message to Jacob:
“I am with you.”
Similar roads
How were Joseph’s challenges and blessings similar to those of his father Jacob?
Jacob’s journey
Jacob was an indentured servant for 14 years before becoming a mistreated employee for 6 years. In the midst of long-term hardship, the Lord protected him and blessed him with wisdom, opportunity, family and wealth. The Lord saw Jacob’s mistreatment, enacted justice, and said, “Enough is enough.” Most importantly, the Lord was with him.
For more about Jacob’s amazing relationship with God, see Genesis 32:1-2; Genesis 32:9-12; Genesis 32:24-30; Genesis 35:1-7; and Genesis 35:9-15.
Joseph’s journey
Similarly, Joseph found himself in the position of a slave in a foreign land. Joseph was purchased by a master who gave him the opportunity to learn and lead. God blessed Joseph with immense favor and success in all that he did. Most importantly, the Lord was with him.
The parallels
Aren’t those parallels amazing? God chose Jacob, and God chose Joseph. He didn’t give them ease. They experienced the presence and power of God, especially during their hardships. Can you relate to that? I sure can.
Eventually, Jacob was given justice and release from a type of bondage. Joseph would eventually experience release and justice too; but like his father, it took many years, twists and turns.
Your turn
In part 1, we reflected on our ancestors’ Sin Lists and how their sins may have replayed in our lives. Have any aspects of your parents’ or grandparents’ blessings replayed in your life? Protection and provision, perhaps? Even if your parents and grandparents weren’t Christians, can you see the Lord’s hand on their lives for some greater purpose? Close your eyes and think about some of the big milestones in your mom’s and dad’s lives—plus your grandparents. What comes to mind? What do you remember? Do you see any generational blessings? If not, what do you see? If appropriate, have you seen justice or release?
We’ve seen generational blessings, justice and release. Thanks be to God.
The light and the song
Even in the midst of extreme darkness on the farm—with violent, evil sociopaths for parents, the Lord sustained Brandon and saved his life on many occasions. In a scary, hopeless, dark place, the light of God couldn’t be hidden. Brandon lived. Brandon was given a patient Christian wife. Brandon was called. And Brandon was chosen.
The “Silent Night” music video below depicts the light of Jesus coming into the world in a beautiful way. I hope a fresh experience with one of my favorite Christmas carols will bless you richly today.
Coming next: Watch the battle between good and evil, including the devastating effect of false accusations.
Until next time, thanks for reading and for Choosing Peace.
Truth from The Word: Luke 2:8-20
Song: “Silent Night” by Bravely Gray
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