Joseph—the ending and the takeaways
Last time on Choosing Peace, we unpacked the second half of our key verse from Joseph’s life.
“As for you, you meant evil against me, but God turned it into good in order to bring about this present result….”
Genesis 50:20a-b, New Heart English Bible
Today, in the final post about the epic life of Joseph, we’ll wrap up his story. Get ready to read about a sister and brother, a beautiful sunrise, and the Newsboys.
God’s sovereign timing
Why did the Holy Spirit lead me to begin writing about the story of Joseph last November? Because it was the right time. The current events featured in many posts aligned perfectly with Joseph’s story—false accusations, DEI and more. The California wildfires and the Laken Riley Act in part 7. The Daniel Penny trial in part 5. The ICE raids in part 8. The phenomenal PBD podcast about trafficking in part 10.
We received Her Majesty’s one-and-only manifesto—her attack letter—in early March, right on time. What a perfect example of how God uses a person’s evil to accomplish the Lord’s good.
Back in November, I had no earthly idea what was coming—in Joseph’s story, in the world, in our story. But God knew it all.
How has God shown his sovereign timing in your life in recent years? Who did he bring or keep in your life who played an important role in your healing or sanctification or in revealing truth to you? Pray and thank the Lord for his goodness.
The end of Joseph’s story
Let’s take a look at the last paragraph in the book of Genesis and wrap up Joseph’s story.
So Joseph lived in Egypt, he, and his father’s household. And Joseph lived one hundred ten years. Joseph saw [his son] Ephraim’s descendants to the third generation…. And Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die, but God will surely take care of you and bring you up out of this land to the land which he promised to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.” Then Joseph made the sons of Israel take an oath, saying, “God will surely take care of you. Then you must carry up my bones from here.” So Joseph died, being one hundred ten years old, and they embalmed him and placed him in a coffin in Egypt.
Genesis 50:22-23a, 24-26, New Heart English Bible
Joseph told his brothers in verse 24 above that he wanted to be brought out of Egypt when God brought his people out of Egypt. That is remarkable. During the Exodus, Moses brought Joseph’s bones with them to honor this oath. (See the Bible timeline for more.) Joseph’s remains traveled with the Israelites throughout the Exodus and their 40 years of wandering in the desert. I had no idea!
More than 400 years after Joseph’s death, Joshua—Moses’ successor—brought Joseph’s remains into The Promised Land with the Israelites. Joseph was finally laid to rest in the cave of Machpelah with his father Jacob and his *Aunt Leah; his grandparents Isaac and Rebekah; and his great-grandparents Abraham and Sarah. Fascinating.
Joseph’s story ended when the Israelites entered The Promised Land—
when God fulfilled his covenant with Abraham.
*Joseph’s mother Rachel died suddenly and was buried as they sojourned to Bethlehem. (Details at the end of part 2.)
What I learned
What did I learn from Joseph’s life? I learned about generational curses and blessings. I learned about Joseph’s father Jacob’s remarkable encounters with God, Most High. I learned about the importance of Joseph’s long season of preparation—his 13 years in slavery and prison. I learned about the long-term impact of the sin of parental favoritism on his brothers. (See part 3 and 10.) I learned about Joseph’s kindness to his brothers, even though most of them had no clue who he was.
What a rich story. What remarkable lives.
What did you learn?
Let’s unpack the first item in my What I Learned list above.
Generational curses and blessings
The curse of control
Jacob’s mother Rebekah gave us a vivid picture of an Old Testamen control freak. They’re the same today. Exactly the same. Dig into part 3 to unpack what Rebekah did, and consider part 15 to understand the deeper sowing and reaping in her life. The first book of the Bible tells us clearly about the danger and generational impact of control freaks. Who knew?
While writing part 3, I was shocked to learn that Jacob was in his 70s when he served as Rebekah, The Mastermind’s accomplice and stole his twin brother Esau’s blessing. I presumed all these years that Jacob and Esau were young men at the time. Anyway, Jacob ran for his life, and—true to form—Rebekah told him exactly where to go. Jacob found love and started his own family. That was not what Rebekah had in mind.
What Rebekah meant for evil, God used for good.
While writing part 15, I remembered that control freaks sow chaos, confusion and fear; and I acknowledged that they reap the same things. Seeing that reality play out in Rebekah’s life helped solidify those concepts for me.
The transformation, transmitting and transporting of generational curses and sins
Sometimes generational curses and sins are eventually transformed. They’re conquered or laid down. Most of the time, they’re transmitted—passed on. And other times, they transport someone to a different location or reality—as they did in Joseph’s life.
Learning to say no
Due to Rebekah’s controlling nature, God led Jacob to the place where he could conquer a controlling adversary—his father-in-law Laban. After 20 difficult years, Jacob finally told Laban no; he meant it; and they never saw each other again. Laban’s manipulation, theft and control over Jacob and his family ended. Jacob was victorious.
Jacob drew the line in the right place. He detailed what Laban had done and he said, basically: “This is not okay. We are finished.” (See part 2 for more.)
God transformed the generational curse of control
into the blessings of boundaries and freedom.
Jacob’s weakness became his strength.
What Laban meant for evil, God used for good.
I found a major lesson on boundaries in the first book of the Bible. I’ll say it again. Who knew?
Did I mention that Rebekah and Laban were sister and brother? Both of them were Class-A Control Freaks. That reminds me of my mother-in-law Delia and her brother, Uncle Henry. I digress.
Your world
Do you know a control freak? Have you seen God use that person’s evil for good? If not, you may be pleasantly surprised as the story unfolds, if you remain privy to some of the details. The target’s weakness may be transformed into strength. Peaceful Reader—just like Jacob, your weakness can be transformed into your strength. And, rest assured, the control freak or other type of saboteur/attacker will reap what he or she has sown. On that, you can rely.
Passing and transporting
Jacob’s parents, Isaac and Rebekah, passed down the sin of parental favoritism, which Jacob passed down to his children. Jacob gave Joseph, his favorite son, a fancy robe or coat of many colors and allowed him to check on his brothers sometimes when they were tending the flocks. Joseph was given preferential treatment and authority over his 10 older brothers. They hated him, were jealous of him, and plotted his murder before opting to sell him into slavery instead. (To dig into the sin of parental favoritism, see part 3 and part 10.)
Parental favoritism fueled Joseph’s story
and transported him to Egypt.
God used something very evil
to accomplish something VERY GOOD.
How the story began
From the first post about Joseph:
Many of the sins listed [in part 1] resurfaced directly in Joseph’s life. He experienced The Ripple Effect.
Parental favoritism ♦ Foolishness ♦ Hatred
Jealousy ♦ Plotting murder ♦ Violence
Slavery ♦ Lying ♦ Deception ♦ Lust
But the evil things done to Joseph did not crush him. Joseph was forged into a remarkable leader who changed the world. His story will speak many truths to us about God’s presence and power during hardships. About God’s sovereignty. About God’s plan.
Why did the sins of Joseph’s grandparents, parents and siblings resurface in his life?
Walk slowly through part 1 to explore the answer to that last question. I explored how my parents’ sins resurfaced in my life, and I challenged my Peaceful Readers to explore this important issue too.
Key thought from part 1
When I wrote this sentence last November, I did not comprehend how it applied to this epic story.
Despite the vast Sin Lists [in part 1], 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.
Finding mercy
Where did I find God’s mercy in Joseph’s story?
(1) In God’s deep love for Jacob, despite his many flaws.
(2) In the transforming work he did in Joseph’s brother Judah’s heart.
(3) In the kindness and mercy Joseph showed to his brothers after their father Jacob died—when his older brothers finally asked Joseph to forgive them for selling him into slavery—almost 40 years after the fact. Joseph’s deep reverence and love for God allowed him to show mercy to the 10 brothers who treated him so egregiously and violently.
Joseph understood how God used their evil for good.
Here’s another example of God’s mercy. God answered Rachel’s prayers for children. Can you think of more examples of God’s mercy in Joseph’s story, his ancestors’ stories and/or his brothers’ stories?
How about your story? How has God shown his mercy toward you and those you love? How has he been patient with you?
The transmitting and declaring of generational blessings
Review the section called Similar Roads in part 4, which details the remarkable similarities between Jacob’s and Joseph’s hardships and blessings.
Abiding with the Lord
Also, see the section called Reverent Submission in part 11, where I listed ample evidence of Joseph’s close relationship with God, documented in Genesis, chapters 39 thru 43. (There are more examples afterwards.)
Joseph’s life embodied the greatest blessings—
knowing God and experiencing his presence.
These blessings—the greatest blessings—give God’s children peace during storms and perspective in the ups and downs of life. Knowing God and experiencing his presence can also give us deep peace, faith and hope about eternity.
Kathleen
When my new mom Kathleen died two weeks ago, I knew where she was—in the eternal presence of God Almighty and her Savior, Jesus Christ.
Kathleen lived with one of her daughters on the lake near St. Matt’s, the church where I work and where God brought Kathleen and me together. Brandon and I keep our sailboat in a slip on the same lake. On Kathleen’s final morning, I woke up early. I woke Brandon up and we went for an early sail before the Texas heat rolled in. We experienced this beautiful sunrise as we floated near Kathleen for the last time before we join her in glory.
Hand in hand
I miss her sparkling eyes and our sweet prayer time together. But I know we’ll be together again for all eternity. I believe she’ll be one of the saints who’ll greet me when I arrive. We’ll walk and feast and worship and laugh together, hand in hand. It will be glorious. Kathleen recommended one of my favorite books, Imagine Heaven. And now, she’s there!
Thank you, Lord, for Kathleen—my new mom. Her love blesses me still…. Her abiding joy in Christ will always be a generational blessing to me. She used to say, “I adopted you.” In the heavenly places and in our hearts, she did. Thanks be to God.
After I wrote about Kathleen, I grabbed an afghan out of my blanket stash—one my real mom knitted for me years ago. And I thanked God for her too. That felt good. So did the afghan.
Blessings declared
Before speaking his official end-of-life blessings to his 12 sons, Jacob (AKA Israel) spoke private blessings to Joseph’s sons.
Prophesies
Then Israel said to Joseph, “Look, I am about to die, but God will be with you, and God will bring you back from this land to the land of your fathers.”
Genesis 48:21, New Heart English Bible
I had totally forgotten that prophesy: “God will bring you back.” Yes, it took more than 400 years. God raised up and used two of his mighty men—Moses and Joshua—to bring it to pass. Amazing.
From part 15:
Farewell blessings
Next, Israel gathered his 12 sons together so he could pronounce a blessing over each one of them. These blessings were also prophesies. Three of his sons received the rebuke they deserved, yet the Bible tells us that these blessings were all suitable. Israel spoke rightly. He knew each son’s character and the Holy Spirit gave him the right words to prophesy.
Joseph’s blessing
In part 15, I dug into Israel’s blessings over 5 of his 12 sons. His blessing to Joseph was truly glorious, and ended like this:
The blessings of your father are greater than the blessings of the ancient mountains, and the bounty of the everlasting hills. They will be on the head of Joseph, and on the brow of the prince among his brothers.
Genesis 49:26, New Heart English Bible
The key verse
“As for you, you meant evil against me, but God turned it into good in order to bring about this present result….”
Genesis 50:20a-b, New Heart English Bible
The truth of Joseph’s key verse
In part 5, the post about false accusations, I shared how God used people’s evil for my good.
Changed
Dealing with years of lies told by relatives like Pam, The Punisher and Her Majesty changed me from a weak people-pleaser into a strong truth-seeker and truth-speaker….
I give God all the glory for the many ways he’s taught me and strengthened me. He worked all things for my good.
In many ways, I’m like Joseph’s father Jacob. He needed a lot of work and so did I. The strengthening process took many years. (See part 3.)
As I look back, I can truthfully say: The pain was all worth it.
In the last post, I explored how the key verse applied to the attack letter we received from my sociopathic mother-in-law. God turned Her Majesty’s manifesto into good for us too. He sure did.
Your turn
Think about one of the worst events, seasons or chapters of your life. How has God used it for your good? What did God do with it? If you’re in the middle of this season, you may not be able to see what God is doing with it yet. Get out your journal or a piece of paper and do some reflecting. Close your eyes and ask God to show you how he has used man’s evil for your good in various circumstances or seasons. Write down your thoughts and what the Lord reveals to you.
Transformation—or not
If that makes no sense to you, pray and ask God to transform your pain into his purpose. Pray, listen to the still, small voice of the Holy Spirit, and obey. Read your Bible faithfully.
Here’s the thing. We must acknowledge our own role in this process.
Do you know someone who’s rejecting God’s truth? God’s healing? God’s nearness? God’s purpose? A relative from my childhood gives us a poignant example.
The photo and the focus
My grandmother’s sister, Aunt Greta, was dumped by her husband, Edgar, The Preacher. He had an affair and married a much younger woman in their church. Aunt Greta rejected the truth. She kept her ex-husband’s photo on her bedroom wall and lived in the past—thinking he was a great guy. He wasn’t. Aunt Greta thought being Edgar, The Preacher’s wife was the most important thing about her life. It wasn’t.
From part 4 of Grieving Divorce:
Honoring the dishonorable
Keeping Edgar, The Preacher’s big, handsome, professional photo on her wall in a place of honor kept the lies alive. It kept the sickness alive. To show honor to the dishonorable is to live a lie—every day. It is sick to surround yourself with lies, wrongly thinking that the lies will somehow rewrite the story and turn the lies into the truth. And they don’t. Lies, when stared at long enough, do not morph into the truth.
Read more about Aunt Greta, including her excuse for why Edgar, The Preacher cheated on her, humiliated her, and divorced her. What was her excuse for his evil against her and the church he was responsible for protecting and serving?
Living in denial
In the Grieving series, I asked this important question: “Do all people benefit from their trials?” We know the answer to that one: Obviously not. If you or someone you know is living in the past or has difficulty seeing and accepting the truth, explore part 3 of The Post-Trauma Transformation and this post about The Healing Journey.
Peaceful Readers, I can definitely sympathize with these difficulties. For decades, I was quite the pro at living in denial. To explore The Four Flavors of Denial, start reading here.
Speaking of evil and denial, let’s take a look at some current events.
Attempts to right some serious wrongs—or not
From Epstein to sports to education to a government asset to music, interesting things are going on. Let’s hit some highlights.
Gaslighting the world about Epstein
This week, President Trump and his team started lying—hard core—about Jeffrey Epstein, the client list, the crimes; and some of We The People are livid. Why in the world would this administration cover up a well-known and well-documented pedophile/blackmail ring? Brandon suspects it has to do with getting enough votes for The One, Big, Beautiful Bill—the biggest tax cut in U.S. history—which passed in the House last week. In other words, maybe certain politicians made a deal: “You’ll get my vote if you bury this Epstein thing.”
When I opened a YouTube page this morning, I saw a podcast titled: “I Found Out Where the Files REALLY Are | ‘This is NOT Over….’” I’d never heard of Benny Johnson or The Benny Show, but with more than 5 million subscribers, he’s doing really well. I started watching the 31-minute video. Jackpot.
First, you’ll absolutely crack up over the video at the very beginning, featuring Marvel movie footage with Epstein-specific messages. It’s hilarious and to-the-point. I greatly appreciated Benny’s candor and emotion, his obvious contacts, and the information he presented. Highly recommended. Will this case stay buried for 50+ years until some other president opts to release the files—long enough for all the guilty parties to be dead? Highly likely.
Men competing in women’s sports
Watch this 5-minute segment from Sky News Australia about the recent University of Pennsylvania decision to strip transgender swimmer “Lia”—I mean William—Thomas of his women’s swimming medals and titles due to pressure from the Trump administration. A man competed in women’s swimming and won a national title. Not okay. Ever.
I greatly appreciate the work done by President Trump and his administration to achieve this important victory.
Do you remember the man who won a gold medal in women’s boxing at the Paris Olympics? This post includes that disturbing story, plus gender and LGBTQ resources.
Teaching LGBTQ ideology to children in public schools
A recent Supreme Court decision allows parents to opt their children out of LGBTQ content in public school. The “school curriculums” revealed in this 16-minute Thomas Sowell video will absolutely disgust you. This excellent video clarifies parental authority per the constitution, and clearly demonstrates the tactics of the evil orchestrators of family destruction, bent on usurping all parental authority.
Father Daniel and I discussed this Supreme Court decision at work on Tuesday. I basically said: “People who feel justified in teaching little children about “My Two Dads” will not honor or give proper notice for parental consent.” In other words, the people pushing this agenda have gotten away with this evil for years and they won’t stop, regardless of the order of the Supreme Court. The indoctrination agenda has not changed. I can hear the schools’ excuses now: “Oh, we put that written notice in Caleb’s backpack. Didn’t you see it? He must have lost it.”
Mind control
Thomas Sowell explains these issues masterfully. Leftists believe the state—the government—has the right to mold your child morally-speaking—and that you, the parent, do not. They want to own your child’s mind and use your child to push their extremely-disturbing Marxist agenda. Beware. For more on this subject, watch the documentary Beneath Sheep’s Clothing.
I write frequently about the sin of control. The left’s “public education” agenda demonstrates nefarious mind control orchestrated by none other than Satan himself. Protect your children.
Alternatives
The Lord led us to enroll our son in a private Christian school from pre-K thru grade 12. We had no idea what would transpire in public education during his lifetime. We thank God for protecting Logan and his peers.
Not sure about your choices and alternatives? A few years ago, my pal Charlene invited me to our local theater to watch Kirk Cameron’s documentary, The Homeschool Awakening. I highly recommend it. This documentary will open your eyes to a better way, the history of public education and much more. What you may consider impossible is actually quite possible.
Looking at them, Jesus said, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
Matthew 19:26, World English Bible
Elon—the bullet We The People dodged
Watch the Elon Musk segment from 39:30 to 57:31 in this recent Candace Owens podcast with guest Ian Carroll. Apparently, many people’s favorite billionaire sued the founder of Tesla so he could call himself a co-founder. He also hired someone to get some epic score on a video game so he could claim to be a genius. Why did Elon work so hard to get a temporary position in the federal government? He wanted our data to fuel his AI (Artificial Intelligence) plans. Yikes. Elon pushed for a specific person to get the top position at NASA and went ballistic when someone else was selected. Why did he care? He wanted all the data NASA keeps on U.S. citizens. And then there’s the drug use, the fight outside the oval office, and his failure to deliver what he promised at DOGE. Hmmmm.
Also, watch from 1:08:00 to 1:13:20 as Candace Owens and Ian Carroll respond to an important comment that involves transhumanism and fertility. Candace related: “The war on fertility is real.” And Elon is involved. Don’t miss this segment.
Now Elon’s starting a new political party. Ridiculous. What a disturbed individual—and a total fraud.
The “Christian” music industry—dangerous ideology, dangerous people
Speaking of frauds, this one may shock you. Are you sitting down? In part 13, I included the Candace Owens podcast about Justin Bieber and the mob-run music industry. The “Christian” music industry is largely the same.
The label and the flag
In this 12-minute podcast, Brylan Riggs describes the music industry as “the modern-day mob.” Many Christian artists are signed to Sparrow Records, which is owned by the same parent company that owns Taylor Swift and satanic pop artists who conduct seances at their concerts. The “Christian” artists signed to Sparrow won’t speak about sin and are big fans of the rainbow flag. In fact, they’re squeaky-clean spokespeople, don’t you know. Or are they?
What they knew
Let’s consider Michael Tait, the lead singer for Newsboys, a very popular band in the Christian circuit. What’s going on? Oh, alcohol and cocaine addiction. Homosexuality. Sexual assault. The usual. Michael Tait quit the band and went to rehab earlier this year, knowing that his escapades had caught up with him and would be public fodder before long.
You may find this 15-minute Bryan Riggs podcast a little disturbing: “Famous Christian Musician Caught on Camera and could go to PRISON after this….” Mr. Tait’s band mates swore publicly that they had no idea those things were going on. According to another popular “Christian” artist: “Everyone knew.”
What we saw
The 15-minute video mentioned above includes hotel footage of Michael Tait and a male lighting technician doing some strange groping in the hallway. You’ll see Michael Tait popping in and out of a hotel room. Why? He drugged a woman’s drink and watched the lighting technician sexually assault her. Later we see her collapsing in the hallway. Apparently, this was a common occurrence. While Mr. Tait’s confession detailed here sounded good, it conveniently left out everything he did that could land him in prison—which is where he belongs.
Michael Tait was a vicious sexual predator for decades—and the “Christian” music industry funded his worldwide travel, giving him access to unlimited victims. He sang to them about God’s goodness and then ruined them. One by one.
Canceled vs. rejected
The Newsboys were dumped by their record label. The largest Christian radio syndicate will not play any of their music. Tour dates have been canceled. They’ve basically been canceled. Do I feel sorry for them? No, I don’t. The left “cancels” people who disagree with them. That’s wrong because it’s a free speech issue. The Newsboys weren’t dumped because of their online commentaries. They’re history because they were frauds, liars, and their front-man was and may still be extremely dangerous. I would not put my worst enemy in a room with Michael Tait, and—believe me—that’s saying a lot.
Michael Tait committed heinous crimes and “everyone knew” what he was into. I reject the Newsboys and their music. Call it canceling if you like. I featured one of their songs at the end of the post published two years ago today—the first post zeroing in on denial. How poetic. I replaced their song. Buh-bye.
Safe options
Brylan Riggs has been warning his viewers about the “Christian” music industry for a long time. Apparently, behavior like Michael Tait’s is commonplace. Beware.
Some safe Christian music options, at this time, include Sovereign Grace, CityAlight, and Keith and Kristyn Getty. Personally, I prefer silence or peaceful instrumental music.
Peaceful Readers, things aren’t always what they seem to be. Sometimes we have to dig deep for the truth or what’s hidden below the surface.
Joseph in archaeology
Speaking of digging, my Brandon is a fan of biblical archaeology videos, and I’ve enjoyed watching them with him lately. I hope you enjoy some of these archaeology videos about Joseph.
♦ “Israel” inscribed on a massive stone by an Egyptian pharaoh (6 minutes)
♦ Joseph’s statue and palace in Egypt (4 minutes)
♦ The storehouses for the grain (6 minutes)
♦ Israelites in Goshen (9 minutes)
Includes a grave, pottery and weapons
What I found
Here on Choosing Peace, I called the story of Joseph and his family “The Gift of the Bible.” What gifts did I find?
Exploring Joseph’s and his family’s hard, wonderful, shocking, remarkable stories truly blessed me. I learned so much—about them and myself. I found my family’s generational curses and blessings. I understand myself and my history in a deeper way. In part 12, I wrote about the highlights of my life and how I came full circle. Hard things were transformed into good things. Very good things. I challenged my Peaceful Readers to identify their own highlights and more. I hope you dug deep too. See part 12 if you missed it.
Also, this rich story reminds me of the depth of the Bible itself. God shows us so many things in his word. Do we take the time to look, to linger, to think about the truths being revealed? Joseph’s story encourages me to slow down. To wait. To think more. To close my eyes and ask the Lord, “What are you showing me?”
The prince
Shortly before he died, Jacob spoke blessings over his 12 sons—the heads of the tribes of Israel. Jacob called Joseph “the prince among his brothers.” Before his death, Moses blessed the people of Israel, tribe by tribe. Joseph was again called “the prince among his brothers”—this time, among thousands.
Most princes are born into their position; precious few are elevated to such royalty. Joseph wasn’t born a prince, but he became one— refined and elevated by God Almighty through harsh trials.
Who is our prince? In the beautiful prophesy in Isaiah, Jesus is called the “Prince of Peace.” In the book of Acts, he’s called “the Prince of life” and “a Prince and a Savior.”
This brief, thought-provoking article, “The Wonderful Similarities Between Joseph and Jesus,” will bless you deeply. I think it’ll make you smile. The author lists 18 similarities. I’d like to add one. #19: Both Joseph and Jesus were taken to Egypt. After you read the author’s list, see if you can think of another similarity or two. It’s interesting to ponder….
Thank you for joining me for this journey through
the remarkable life of Joseph—
the prince among his brothers.
Coming next: I may write about mirror verses—Old Testament and New Testament verses teaching us the same things. We’ll see. The Lord will let me know where to head next.
Until next time, thanks for reading and for Choosing Peace.
Truth from The Word: Psalm 25:4-10
Song: “All I Have Is Christ” by Sovereign Grace Music
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