Joseph in the School of Life and Ministry
January 22, 2012
Genesis 35:16-18: Then they moved on from Bethel. While they were still some distance from Ephrath, Rachel began to give birth and had great difficulty. And as she was having great difficulty in childbirth, the midwife said to her, “Don’t despair, for you have another son.” As she breathed her last—for she was dying—she named her son Ben-Oni. But his father named him Benjamin.(NIV)
Background: Genesis 35-41
Benjamin was Joseph’s little brother, but in many ways, his name was a template for Joseph’s life. The sons of our sorrow become the sons of our strength through the transforming power of God in our lives. In his father’s house, Joseph learned these lessons:
1. To shepherd sheep – Thus he learned the basic laws of leadership.
2. To dream great dreams … and yet, one more …
3. To be in the pits of rejection and despair … and still not to surrender ones dreams.
In Potipher’s House, he learned these lessons:
1. To manage a great business and the people in that business.
2. Agricultural principles which would later be employed to save an entire region from famine.
3. To resist temptation with integrity and yet, one more …
4. Not to be concerned that someone else received the credit and benefits of his work.
In jail, he used and developed all the lessons he had previously learned and more:
1. To manage people who did not want to be managed.
2. To make the best of a bad situation without growing bitter.
3. To help other people understand their dreams, and yet, one more …
4. To deliver bad news honestly and promptly.
All of these lessons brought him to Pharaoh’s house where God could use all these lessons and here he learned one more:
• How to speak truth to power with courage.
As a result, he was able to exercise the greatest leadership skill of his life: INFLUENCE! And, by exercising influence, he was able to lead a nation and, indeed, many nations, through a time of famine.
© 2012, Thomas B. Sims