To Encourage You

Genesis 49:22 “Joseph is a fruitful bough, a fruitful bough by a spring; his branches run over the wall.”

Are there any Bible characters that you especially look up to? Are there any of whom you’ve thought “I want to be like that person”?  I can think of quite a few of them, for there are some wonderful examples for us throughout God’s Word. These were people like the great prophet Elijah “with a nature like ours” (James 5:17), yet who did incredible things because of their relationship with God. 

One of my Bible heroes is Joseph.  Recently I read a sermon by C.H. Spurgeon on the verse above that gave some wonderful insights into Joseph’s life. They are words from his father Jacob’s blessing upon his sons before his death. From a young age this son of Jacob had a remarkable relationship with his Lord.  Though his brothers all schemed to put him to death, Joseph held firm to his relationship with the Lord and followed Him come what may. He was sold into slavery in Egypt, then bought by Potiphar, who was one of Pharaoh’s officers. We are told that this idolater “saw that the Lord was with him (i.e., Joseph) and that the Lord caused all that he did to succeed in his hands. So Joseph found favor in his sight and attended him, and he made him overseer of his house and put him in charge of all that he had. From the time that he made him overseer in his house and over all that he had, the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; the blessing of the Lord was on all that he had, in house and field” (Genesis 39:3-5). 

You see, as the verse above tells us, “Joseph was a fruitful bough by a spring; his branches r(an) over the wall.” In other words, Joseph’s life bore fruit unto God because he drew deeply from the living water of God through his deep and abiding relationship with Him.  And his branches “ran over the wall,” i.e., he blessed others whom God had placed in his life, such as Potiphar. Then, when Joseph was falsely accused of sexual assault by Potiphar’s wife and ended up in prison, he nevertheless prospered even there. He still trusted his Lord. He still drank deeply from this well of living water, no matter what his circumstances, and no matter that there was no one else in his life to encourage him to do so.  He was resolute, trusting in and loving his Lord.  And so, even in prison, we are told that “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). 

Isn’t that incredible? What a heart for God Joseph had!  Eventually, in God’s providence, Joseph was freed from prison and rose in rank to be second only to Pharaoh. His wisdom in managing Egypt’s storage of grain in preparation for a great seven-year famine led to the saving of many lives throughout not only Egypt, but into the surrounding areas to include his father Jacob and his brothers who had sold him into slavery in the first place.  God’s hand was on Joseph in each and every circumstance, as Joseph drew deep from this living well of God’s spirit as he served and worshipped Him throughout his life in good times and in bad, though he was so often all by himself in this devotion. 

Joseph: what a pillar he is in God’s Word. What an example he is of those described in Psalm 1 whose “delight is in the law of the Lord, and on (whose) law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.” 

May God help us as believers to follow the example of Joseph, who drew deep from the One who is the Spring of Living Water, no matter what others around him did, and because of that, bore fruit to the glory of God and blessed so many others whom God had placed in his life.