“Joseph, being seventeen years old […] had a dream. […] Joseph was thirty years old when he entered the service of Pharaoh king of Egypt.” —Genesis 37:2, 5; 41:46
God’s plans usually don’t operate on our timing. We impatient people long for things to happen immediately. As soon as we have an idea of how we’d like things to go, we’re ready to launch into the novelty, eager for this next best thing to settle into our lives.
But the story of Joseph in Genesis is an excellent example of how God’s timing is better than ours.
When Joseph becomes a central player in the greater story of the Bible, he’s seventeen years old. He’s the eleventh son of Jacob, his father’s favorite, and his brothers’ nemesis. At some point, he begins having dreams, dreams that point to his future elevation over his brothers. They will bow down to him, and he will rule over them.
Not particularly fond of Joseph’s predictions, his brothers decide to resolve the matter by selling him into slavery. Joseph is taken to Egypt and bought by the captain of the guard, where he rises to success as his master’s steward. But then when he’s unjustly accused, he’s thrown into prison.
Even in prison, though, Joseph remains faithful to God, and because he stays dedicated to good service, he becomes the jailer’s second-in-command. This puts him in contact with two of Pharaoh’s servants, which eventually gains him an audience with that powerful ruler of Egypt himself.
All of this takes thirteen years. And the story’s not over yet! A period of seven years passes after this, during which Joseph becomes the second most powerful man in Egypt as he readies the land for a terrible seven-year famine that is fast approaching. His brothers come to him shortly after the famine begins, seeking food.
It is then that Joseph’s dreams come true. Unaware of who he is, Joseph’s brothers bow down before him, humbling themselves in his presence as they acknowledge his lordship over them.
Everything happened exactly as God had said it would! It was at least twenty years in the making, but in His perfect timing God carried out His plans.
He always does.
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