What we have learned God is omnipotent, sovereign LORD God is good, full of grace and mercy God has a redemptive purpose

What Satan wants us to believe God is not good God is not able God is whimsical at best, evil in the extreme Life has no real purpose

“To have hopes raised and then dashed is a familiar human experience…” (New Bible Commentary)

Our experience Satan seems to win the eye-test Our mind and hearts are conflicted Life is trouble and toil Headwaters become muddy waters Nothing clears the waters like the life of Joseph

Psalm 105:1-10 Oh give thanks to the Lord, call upon His name; Make known His deeds among the peoples. Sing to Him, sing praises to Him; Speak of all His wonders. Glory in His holy name; Let the heart of those who seek the Lord be glad.

Seek the Lord and His strength; Seek His face continually Seek the Lord and His strength; Seek His face continually. Remember His wonders which He has done, His marvels and the judgments uttered by His mouth, O seed of Abraham, His servant, O sons of Jacob, His chosen ones! He is the Lord our God; His judgments are in all the earth.

He has remembered His covenant forever, The word which He commanded to a thousand generations, The covenant which He made with Abraham, And His oath to Isaac. Then He confirmed it to Jacob for a statute, To Israel as an everlasting covenant,

Psalm 105:16-24 And He called for a famine upon the land; He broke the whole staff of bread. He sent a man before them, Joseph, who was sold as a slave. They afflicted his feet with fetters, He himself was laid in irons; Until the time that his word came to pass, The word of the Lord tested him.

The king sent and released him, The ruler of peoples, and set him free The king sent and released him, The ruler of peoples, and set him free. He made him lord of his house And ruler over all his possessions, To imprison his princes at will, That he might teach his elders wisdom.

Israel also came into Egypt; Thus Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham Israel also came into Egypt; Thus Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham. And He caused His people to be very fruitful, And made them stronger than their adversaries. New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. LaHabra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995

“…the dramatic element begins to predominate “…the dramatic element begins to predominate...truth is stranger than fiction. The drama…is…nothing other than the unusual display of divine providence, which shines forth more brilliantly here than perhaps anywhere else in sacred history…

God’s providence watched over the chosen race as it was about to go into the depths of national enslavement.” (Leupold, pg. 949)

The Life of Joseph Despised and rejected…Genesis 37 Favored by Jacob (37:3) Despised by his brothers (37:4) Favored by God (37:5-11) Sold as a slave (37:23-28)

“So the divided family was shattered and seemed hopeless “So the divided family was shattered and seemed hopeless...Genesis expects its readers to…keep wondering how the discrepancy between Joseph’s situation as a slave and what the dreams predict will be resolved.” (New Bible Commentary)

The Life of Joseph Enslaved Unjustly imprisoned (39:7-23) Sold into Egypt (37:36) Prosperous and favored slave (39:1-5) Unjustly imprisoned (39:7-23) God was “with him” God prospered him

“The reader is reminded that ‘the LORD was with’ Joseph but that did not prevent his unjust treatment; nor did his unjust treatment mean that God was unjust or unable to take care of His servant.” (New Bible Commentary)

The Life of Joseph Exalted in power (Genesis 41-50) From slave to prisoner to man in command The slave became the savior The rejected became the redeemer The despised became the deliverer

Thirteen years of slavery and imprisonment came to an abrupt end Thirteen years of slavery and imprisonment came to an abrupt end. Joseph was whipped out of prison and into the Pharaoh's presence…the once brash teenager who so riled his family had become the essence of tact and wisdom.

The vale of tears had proved to be the valley of soul-making, and at last it starts to become apparent why Joseph had been allowed to suffer in this way. God's control of events became evident…” (New Bible Commentary)

Joseph points to Jesus Despised and rejected by His own The Suffering Servant Unjustly accused and convicted Exalted in power Savior, Redeemer, and Deliverer

Where do the waters flow? Don’t believe the “eye-test” Don’t put God on a timetable God’s will for you is always much bigger than you God authors the story, God controls the outcome