“I just know that this means that there’s someone better out there for you,” Becky said to me as we stood in the church parking lot. A week before, I had informed my congregation that my husband and I were divorcing. I’m sure she intended to encourage me, but in that moment her words seemed flippant and out of touch. She was jumping ahead of me and assuming that everything would turn out alright.
With the benefit of hindsight, Joseph tells his brothers, “And now do not be distressed, or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life.” At this moment Joseph is at the pinnacle of his career. He is the head of Pharaoh’s household. He is respected and powerful. Timing is everything.
The writer of Joseph’s story goes to great lengths to be sure we know that God is with Joseph at every turn. Every downturn changes course and goes up. Over and over again we read, “The Lord was with him and made him prosper.” But does Joseph see it that way all along? Does he see God at work when his brothers, after conspiring to kill him, give in to Reuben’s squeamishness and throw him in a pit instead? Does he see God at work when he works his fingers raw hunting for a handhold in attempt after attempt to climb out? Does he see God at work when he is sold into slavery, or when he is falsely accused of sexual assault? When he is imprisoned? We have very little insight into Joseph’s inner world.
