“Joseph is a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine near a spring, whose branches climb over a wall. With bitterness archers attacked him; they shot at him with hostility. 24 But his bow remained steady, his strong arms stayed limber, because of the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob, because of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel, 25 because of your father’s God, who helps you, because of the Almighty, who blesses you with blessings of the skies above, blessings of the deep springs below, blessings of the breast and womb. 26 Your father’s blessings are greater than the blessings of the ancient mountains, than the bounty of the age-old hills. Let all these rest on the head of Joseph, on the brow of the prince among his brothers. (Genesis 49:22-26)
So far, we have looked at:
· 1st born Reuben. Turbulent in character lacking self-control and lacking in command to protect his younger brothers thus losing his father's trust.
· 2nd and 3rd born Simeon and Levi. Lacking wisdom and having an untamed anger. Vengeful with devastating aftermath.
· 4th born Judah. A leader, protector, negotiator, mediator and reconciler. He had the gift of persuasion and knew the right buttons to press. He was a royalty and he lived and acted like it.
· 5th born Dan (Bilha’s 1st son). A judge. Endowed with strength but misused it. Later on restored.
· 6th born Naphtali (Bilha’s 2nd son). Signified triumph over struggle. He was disobedient in executing God’s command just like Zebulun. Despite their ups and downs, they received a blessing from the Lord.
· 7th born Gad (Zilpha’s 1st son). A fortune. Received a greater inheritance. Tenacious in pursuit of the enemy killing everyone of them and going the extra mile to help other tribes.
· 8th born Asher (Zilpha’s 2nd son). His name meant happy. Destined for greatness through favor, Asher compromised by living with Canaanites and was hesitant in fighting against evil. However, conviction triumphed over compromise.
· 9th born Issachar (Leah’s 5th son). Described as a rawboned donkey. Languid, laid back, permissive and submissive to force labor. A portrayal of compromise at its highest.
· 10th born Zebulun (Leahs 6th son). A haven of rest for voyagers battered by life's storms. He was a safe harbor for those tossed by the strong winds in the seas. He also portrayed a conduit for the great commission, being the port of entry exit to other nations.
Today we examine Joseph. He was the first son of Rachel. The birth of Joseph was against a backdrop of defeat, deflation, despair and disgrace. Rachel almost had exclusive rights to Jacob but she had no sons of her own to show for it. Watching her sister Leah cuddle and nurse 5 sons of her own must have hurt. Perhaps she may have been tempted by the baby traders of the kayole of those days. The prospect of selecting between “mahindi ama maharagwe” was enticing for a woman so barren.
But she chose to wait on God and bang! came Joseph. Rachel’s relief was punctuated by her exclamation at his birth, “God has taken away my disgrace.” She named him Joseph, and said, “May the Lord add to me another son.” (Genesis 30:23-24). She had sunk to the lowest D of the Ds. But before she could dig deeper, God heard her.
The name Joseph means “May Yahweh add”. Despair turned to delight and dream again. She could dream again of being a mother to her own children. Jacob meanwhile calls Joseph a fruitful vine near a spring. Joseph a son born of a near-to-fruitless womb is considered a fruitful vine and boy wasn’t he fruitful? While his mother endured the Ds, Joseph put up with the Ps. He was put in a Pit by his brothers. For a moment, the crops bowing and the star shining brightest seemed to be just but bedroom stories with no futuristic implications. Fate sealed, rot in the pit or get mauled by an animal.
Right? Wrong. Enter the Ishmaelite traders and Joseph is Pulled from the pit and sold as a slave. Oh? Maybe, just maybe the dream is still alive after all. He will escape his brothers torture and hopefully serve as a prince in a distant land. Not so fast Joseph. Behold Potiphar’s wife awaits lusting after his 6-pack. But Joseph doesn’t want to wreck his Purity and so he opts for Prison.
Dreamt big as a boy. Loved by his dad and given a glittering robe. Thrown in a cistern and thinking his dream is obliterated. Then just when he thought the dream is back on track, Potiphar’s household banish him to rot in the Kamiti of Egypt. Alone in a foreign country, in prison without possibility of parole. Is this the dream? Why wouldn’t God have allowed his brothers to kill him. That would have been a better ending than this. Not so fast Jose, behold you are not the only dreamer. There are many in Egypt and they cannot interpret their own dreams.
So thanks to a restless night for the king characterized by a 7 year food security strategy packaged in a dream, Joseph is fished out of his prison cell into the king’s Palace. Finally, everything comes together. Pit, Pull, Purity, Prison and Palace. God had it all figured out.
Listen to what his father says in verse 23, “With bitterness archers attacked him; they shot at him with hostility. But his bow remained steady, his strong arms stayed limber, because of the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob, because of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel”. Joseph was betrayed, hurt by his brothers’ rejection but he focused on his purpose rather than on his detractors. He had the opportunity to sort his brothers out but he chose not to. It wasn’t necessary. God had already dealt with them.
In the end, Jacob blesses Joseph with double blessings. Blessings of skies above and of the deep springs below. Joseph received a double portion of blessings. There is no tribe called Joseph. His sons (Ephraim and Manasseh) each had a share in the tribal lineage thus in a way fulfilling the line “Let all these rest on the head of Joseph, on the brow of the prince among his brothers”.
Joshua the man who led Israel to cross Jordan into the promised land was from the tribe of Ephraim. Gideon, the mighty warrior, was from the tribe of Manasseh. Jephthah described in the annals of the heroes of faith came from the tribe of Manasseh and he is seen leading the Israelites victoriously over the Ammonites.
You have a dream or had a dream. The Ds or Ps of life have battered you to the point of decimation or pulverization. The dream has been wrecked by disappointments one after another. You may be on the brink of total collapse. No job, your son is out of school, incessant illnesses, perhaps you have lived a life of broken relationships one after another and you wonder whether you will ever get married. Perhaps you are married and like Rachel you think you will never cuddle a child. May be in your family there is a litany of misfortunes one after another. All these have blurred your ability to see God’s plan for your life clearly.
May power of the Mighty One of Jacob, the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel sustain you so that your bow remains steady, your strong arms stay limber. Behold the blessings yonder awaits. Do not abort your dream in the pit joblessness, compromise of purity, prison of victim mentality because the palace is just over the horizon. If you are edging closer to the palace, led not pride consume you, remember what it has taken and who has made it happen for the journey to the palace.
Though you may be in the pit, you are a prince not a parking boy / girl. Think like a prince and let God arise and lead you to your destiny.
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