Joseph is one of my favorite characters in the Bible. Alistair Begg writes in The Hand of God that his story is a tale of jealousy, deceit, slavery, misrepresentation, injustice, lust, rivalry, and forgiveness. It is also a wonderful example of how God worked in Joseph’s life through all of its ups and downs. Alistair Begg tells us that Joseph was a life-sized illustration of Romans 8:28.

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

We are introduced to Joseph in Genesis 37:2 when he was only 17 years old. His father Jacob favored Joseph more than his other sons. Because of this, and poor judgement by Joseph in sharing a dream he had about his brothers bowing down to him, his brothers were jealous of him and hated him.  This resulted in them selling him into slavery (Genesis 37:28).

Begg tells us that there is no ideal place to serve God except the place in which He has set you down. Continue reading →