We Are Saved to Save
“Then Joseph said to his brothers, ‘Come close to me.’ When they had done so, he said, ‘I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you.” -Genesis 45:4-5
I remember seeing the musical, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, with my dad when I was a little girl. I’d heard the story of Joseph and his coat of many colors dozens of times in Sunday school, but seeing it brought to life on stage with bright costumes and a wide range of musical genres was mesmerizing. I always thought the story of Joseph, a young man favored by his father and resented by his brothers, was about remaining steadfast amid adversity, and about God rewarding the faithful. Poor Joseph was thrown in a pit and sold into slavery by his own family, just for bragging about his dreams. Later he was falsely imprisoned for a crime he didn’t commit. But with God’s help, he always came out on top. Reading through Joseph’s story in Genesis recently had me seeing a bigger picture though, one not just focused on Joseph, but on all his supporting characters. God used the people around Joseph just as much as He used Joseph himself. Those people thought they were merely saving Joseph, but because they saved Joseph, Joseph saved others. Like his coat of many colors, Joseph’s story is an intricate weaving of threads.
The story begins with God saving Joseph and He uses Joseph’s brother, Reuben, to do it. The rest of the brothers have an idea to kill Joseph, throw his body into a cistern, and leave him for dead. They’ll lie to their father and say Joseph was attacked by wild animals. “When Reuben heard this, he tried to rescue him from their hands. ‘Let’s not take his life,’ he said. ‘Don’t shed any blood. Throw him into this cistern here in the wilderness, but don’t lay a hand on him.’ Reuben said this to rescue him from them and take him back to his father” (Genesis 37:21-22). The others listened to Reuben, and they threw Joseph in the cistern but spared him his life.
After being pulled out of the cistern only to be sold into slavery behind Reuben’s back, Joseph prospers as the head of household for Pharaoh’s captain of the guard (Genesis 39:1-2). However, he is later imprisoned when his master’s wife falsely accuses him of attempted rape. Yet even in prison, the Lord shows favor on Joseph and gives him success in all he does (Genesis 39:21-23). While there he meets Pharaoh’s cupbearer, who is soon set free. Two years go by and the cupbearer suddenly remembers Joseph. He tells Pharaoh that Joseph can help interpret dreams and Joseph is quickly summoned (Genesis 41:9-14). God uses the cupbearer to save Joseph from prison.
By interpreting Pharoah’s dreams, Joseph predicts the upcoming years of feast and famine over all of Egypt. He then comes up with a plan to store up food for the country, so that when the famine strikes, there will be enough to go around. Pharoah puts Joseph in charge of executing the plan, and God uses Joseph, newly rescued from prison, to save the people of Egypt.
The final scene of the story is the most beautiful part. Joseph’s long-lost brothers, the very same ones who sold him into slavery, come in search of food for their families. The famine has ravaged their region and they are starving to the point of death. Joseph recognizes them and is so overcome with emotion that he exits the room to weep (Genesis 43:30). He chooses to extend mercy and forgiveness. He says, “do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you” (Genesis 45:5).
Why did God use others to save Joseph so many times? Joseph knew exactly why. He understood that every obstacle in his life happened so that his life could be spared time and time again, and it wasn’t so that he could enjoy prosperity or lord it over others: it was so he could save lives. It would have been easy for Joseph to simply sit back and enjoy the favor of God while serving in Pharoah’s household or under the prison warden. God was making him successful in all he did. Yet Joseph never took his favor and fortune for granted, but instead he used his gifts to help meet the needs of others. He didn’t serve himself with his salvation; he used his salvation to serve. When he faced trials, and there were many, he didn’t stop to ask God “Why?” but instead he asked “Who?” He encountered those who needed to be saved, and he used his God-given gifts to save them.
Study & Reflection: What are you doing with your salvation? Are you basking in the reward of your blessings, enjoying your prosperity, or are you looking for opportunities to extend the gift of your salvation to those around you? Stop to consider why the Lord has saved you, and why you’ve experienced adversity. Consider who might be saved because of it.
Prayer: Father, thank you for saving us. Thank you for using others in our lives to bring us out of darkness. Thank you for this reminder that our salvation is a gift we aren’t meant to keep to ourselves. Forgive us for the ways we take our salvation for granted. Show us opportunities to save others, that they might join us in Your heavenly kingdom. When we walk through trials in this life, help us not to ask “Why?” but to ask “Who?" as in, “Who can I save with the gifts you’ve given me, and who can benefit from the trial You’re carrying me through?” Continue to weave our stories in an intricate and beautiful tapestry. Amen.