Joseph: The Godly and Spiritual Man Till Death
Text: Gen. 30:22-24; 37:3-11; 39:1-12; 50:15-26 Memory
verse: By faith Joseph, when he died, made mention of the
departing of children of Israel; and gave commandments
concerning his bones - Heb. 11:22. Introduction: Joseph as
he manifested the gifts and fruit of the spirit is our focus
in this lesson, yet not Joseph ordinarily but we shall see
Jesus in Joseph. One of the problems facing Christians today
is routine godliness. That is being godly in morning, noon
and night of one's life. Being godly when things are
promising, when all hope seems lost and when life is
abundant. Being godly when the weather is fine and when is
rough: when the road is smooth and straight and when is
thorny and crooked. Being godly when things are easy and
when it is hard; when at home and when in a strange land.
This is exactly what happened in Joseph's life. He was a man
of routine godliness. May you receive the same grace as we
study in Jesus name.
1. THE EARLY LIFE OF JOSEPH Joseph was the son of Jacob and
Rachael Gen. 30:22-24 and he is the favourite of this
father, being the son of his old age, but this paternal
partiality caused family problem that Joseph was hated by
his brethren Gen. 37:3,4. Not withstanding at this early age
God had been dealing with Joseph. Having been introduced to
the way of God by his parent, he must have learnt godly
fear, and being sincere to God and others. In his teenage
godliness it was easy for God to show him secrets of his
future promotion. Gen. 37:5-11; Ps. 25:14; Pro. 3:32.
Instead of his brethren emulating his godliness and
sincerity they envied him and this led to their selling him
into Egypt Gen. 37:12-28; 35:1-4. We must note that
godliness will bring God closer to us but ungodliness will
let us far away from Him. Let us be sure that men's envy and
hatred against the righteous will never diminish any of
God's purpose over him, rather they will only help it to
fulfillment. Yet, ask yourself, when it is good for other
spiritually or materially, when others give testimony of
prosperity or spiritual growth, do you rejoice or get
irritated? Check yourself. Psalm 25:14. Can you notice how
the gifts and fruit of the spirit manifested in the life of
Joseph? Discuss these manifestations viz-a-viz your
understanding of the spiritual gifts and fruit.
2. HIS LIFE IN A FOREIGN LAND Being sold into Egypt, yet
Joseph maintained his godliness as a slave under a master,
as a prisoner under keeper of the prison, as co-prisoners,
as a dream interpreter, as a traditional ruler in a strange
land Gen. 41:39-50. He kept his godliness untainted in a
strange land by being faithful in hard places Gen. 39:1-6;
by resisting temptation Gen. 39:7-12; by being unruffled in
suffering for righteousness sake Gen. 39:13-23; by being
unspoiled by sudden prosperity Gen. 41:14-16. Except by the
grace of God no one can go through all these different
situations carnally and not murmur nor blaspheme God. Praise
God that He is the God of all grace and He will give grace
in abundance for those who will approach his throne of mercy
for life of total consecration and holiness. Joseph was
totally dependent on God even in adverse circumstances which
was proved by his calmness, hope and replics to inquirers
Gen. 39:20; 40:8,14; 41:16 Joseph here is an example of
believers in the world, whether at home or on traveling or
in a strange land, entirely we need to maintain our
godliness and not compromise our faith. And whatever betides
this side of heaven we should keep trusting God and His word
for he never fails. Zeph. 3:5. He manifested his God-given
gifts even in a strange land. You cannot be limited if God
is with you. Can a believer loose his gift and fruit because
of pressure and circumstances? Discuss.
3. STEPS TO HONOUR AND HIS CHRIST-LIKE SPIRIT In a foreign
land Joseph's dreams came true, God being faithful to him.
Not withstanding, does the honour just come over-night? No.
There are seven steps that led to Joseph's honour and they
are (i) Godly influence, Gen. 39:2-5 (ii) Business fidelity,
Gen. 39:5,6 (iii) Resistance of temptation, Gen. 39:7-9 (iv)
Divine favour, Gen. 39:2 (v) Providential circumstances,
Gen. 40:5-8 (vi) Honouring God, Gen. 41:16 (vii) Divine
revelations, Gen. 41:25-36. All these steps both divine and
human led to Joseph's honour and these still occur today. In
his Christ-like Spirit Joseph manifested forgiving Spirit to
his brethren. Gen. 50:19-21; upon all his honour he
manifested filial devotion just as Christ does for God. Gen.
46:29; lastly, despite all evil done against him by his
brethren he returned good for evil Gen. 50:19-21. Scarcely
can any one produce this type of fruit if God has not
bestowed grace on him, yet the grace is available for us
today. Do you notice love, joy, peace, longsuffering,
gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance before
his promotion? You may not be promoted until you use these
fruit components. Pray for your fruit to mature, ripe and be
edible. What about his humility? To what extent can we
demonstrate humility in the phase of promotion?
4. HIS DEATH-BED FAITH To confirm his life-long goodliness,
at his death Joseph still demonstrated faith in God,
believing that what He says He's able to accomplish (his
life being an example) "he took an oath of the children of
Isreal saying God will surely visit you and ye shall carry
up my bones from hence" Gen. 50:25. This shows that Joseph
died in faith as his ancestors Heb. 11:8-13. Being in the
faith today is a thing not to boast of but being in the
faith till death or rapture that matters most. Joseph left a
good example to emulate. Joseph died with prophesy in his
mouth. You must continue asking for and sustaining your
God-given gifts.
Conclusion: Here we see Joseph, a man of godliness from
youth to old age and to death. In his life he demonstrated
dependence on God, faithfulness, holiness and other
Christ-like Spirit. Do you like this man, Joseph? Without
Bible Study, no prayer meeting or Sunday service yet, he
took his stand in a strange land and make it to the end.
Present day believers will have no excuse on the last day
for any compromising and ungodly life lived under whatever
pressure or in any environment they meet themselves. For a
life of routine godliness, God is telling every Christian
"my grace is sufficient for thee". Ask yourself, will I be
in the fold till death?
Rev Debo Adeyemo
