Enslaved and Forgotten - Pt 6

But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. And the keeper of the prison put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners who were in the prison. Whatever was done there, he was the one who did it. The keeper of the prison paid no attention to anything that was in Joseph's charge, because the Lord was with him. And whatever he did, the Lord made it succeed. (Genesis 39:21-23 ESV).

Yesterday we saw the pattern that good often comes through suffering. Today we see a second truth: the story of Joseph and the terrible betrayal and evil of his brothers prepare us to see Jesus not just because of the general pattern that God’s saving victory for his people often comes through suffering and sin, but more specifically, in this case, because the very one who is suffering and being sinned against is so righteous. Joseph stands out in this story for his amazing constancy and faithfulness to every relationship. Even in undeserved exile, he’s faithful to Potiphar and he is faithful to the jailer. He is a righteous man, even when there seems to be no reason to be so. The keeper of the prison put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners who were in the prison. Whatever was done there, he was the one who did it. And what was Joseph’s reward? He was lied about by Potiphar’s wife, and the cupbearer of Pharaoh, whose dream Joseph interpreted, thanklessly forgot about him in prison for two years after the dreams. So the point of all this is not just that there is sin and suffering and that God is at work in it to save his people. More specifically, the point is that the righteous one, even though mistreated for so long, is finally vindicated by God. Even though others have rejected this righteous stone, God makes him the cornerstone (cf. Matthew 21:42). His vindication becomes the very means of the salvation of his persecutors. Jesus Christ is the final and ultimate and perfect righteous one (cf. Acts 7:52). It looked to others as if his life was going so badly that he must be a sinner. But in the end, all the sin against him, and all the suffering he endured in perfect righteousness, led to his vindication and, because of it, to our salvation. If Joseph is amazing in his steadfastness, Jesus is exponentially more amazing, because he experienced exponentially more suffering and did not deserve it at all. He was perfectly steadfast, faithful, and righteous through it all. This offers us an incredible encouragement. He loved us so much that he willingly endured the rejection, pain, and death on our behalf. Will he withhold any good thing from us? Spurgeon had it right… kiss the waves that throw us against the Rock of Ages!