In Part 1 of THE FIVE COATS OF JOSEPH, we examined two types of apparel worn by Joseph and their spiritual significance.
In today’s discourse, we examine a third. When Joseph arrived in Eqypt, he was sold to a military intelligence officer & head of internal security services, Potiphar. Captain Poty was married to a devious, lecherous, lascivious and salacious woman – a racist and anti-Semite. Remember when Joseph refused to have sex with her and she reported him to her husband? She told her servants, “See, he (that is her husband) has brought among US A HEBREW TO LAUGH AT US.” And she used the same racist tone in reporting the issue to her husband. The first time Joseph was called handsome was in Egypt. He was never called handsome in Canaan. It’s not on record. Right in the midst of all his trials God made his handsomeness known. Why, you ask. When we’re going through trials such compliments serve to lift us up. Compliments are post cards of encouragement from God. May your beauty shine through your trials and may you receive encouragement in trouble. May the world see you and acknowledge you’re goodly and highly favoured of God.
Dreams have always been a problem for humans, singular or collective. They have always associated dreams with omens. The moment you begin to dream, to signify a desire to move up in life the world comes after you. You don’t need to realize the dream. Dreaming is enough. They hated Joseph not because he realized his dreams but just because he dared to dream. Sometimes those around us can’t see what is in us. The brothers of Joseph never saw the value of his talent. The family of Jesus never appreciated his gifts either.
When Mrs. Potiphar made a desperate grab for Joseph, the Bible says he left his garment in her hands. And for the third time we see Joseph’s apparel playing what would be a defining role in his life. The first time his jacket marked him out in life. The second time his jacket became evidence of his supposed death. And in this third instance his garment became the icon of his temptation. Once you begin to distinguish yourself in life Satan is going to send temptation your way. You see, as far as Mrs. Potiphar was concerned Joseph had reached the pinnacle of his career as a slave. He was never going to stop being a slave. He could be a favoured slave, a senior slave, an administrative slave or an intelligent slave but he was still a slave, would always be a slave. Mrs. Potiphar accused the young man of attempted rape, mockery and aggravated assault.
Joseph was sent to prison without trial, or fair hearing. That spelt the end of his life. But I want you to see two levels of reality going on here. On the surface things were going down for Joseph. His situation was going from bad to worse. He was moving from frying pan to fire. His brothers had buried him in a hole, then he was sold into slavery, and now he’s in a dungeon. But there was another reality playing out behind the scenes. As things were getting worse for Joseph God was moving him closer to his destiny. The worse things got on the surface, the closer to destiny he was.
You see, without being sold to the Ishmaelites he wouldn’t have landed in Captain Potiphar’s house. If Mrs. Potiphar hadn’t lied against him he wouldn’t have landed in prison. And if he hadn’t been sent to jail he wouldn’t have met the government official who mentioned him to Pharaoh. Stop looking at just one set of realities. There are two realities. There’s all the trial and all the difficulties of your life. Then there’s God behind the scene using those trials as raw materials of your transportation to destiny. The refrain of your heart ought to be, “All things are working together for my good.” Which means you have to trust God that he knows what he’s doing. And that somehow, somehow, he’ll bring you into Pharaoh’s court. How God does his thing is his business. Your business is faith in his word. God is orchestrating a coincidence of wonderful circumstances to deliver your destiny. Trust your God and his word! He always delivers.
What we call trials are actually transportation vehicles of destiny. In this wise, it’s important for you to understand the dreams of Joseph. Let me show you a common misconception. Joseph had two dreams. In the first dream he had, he and his brothers were binding sheaves in the field and his sheaf stood up while his brothers’ sheaves gathered round his sheaf and bowed down to it. The interpretation of that dream was obvious. And it happened exactly in that manner. His brothers bowed down to him when they came to buy grain in Egypt during the great famine. But the second dream is generally misinterpreted because we don’t interrogate it. His family made the mistake as well. They misinterpreted the dream. In the second dream, the sun, the moon and eleven stars bowed down to Joseph. This dream didn’t go down well with his family at all, and that includes his father. They read it that he was saying in effect that his entire family was going to bow down to him. They assumed the sun was his father, the moon his mother, and the stars his brothers. His father actually took offence. Did this dream come to pass or not? The answer is yes. Did his father and mother bow down to him? The answer is no! His father never bowed to him and his mother was dead by the time the dream came to pass. The eleven stars were his brothers no doubt, but the sun and the moon were not his father and mother. The Egyptians worshipped the sun god, Ra. He was their primary god and considered the king of the gods. To him was ascribed all creation. They also worshipped the moon god, Khonsu. In other words, Ra was a pretender to the throne of God the Father while Khonsu was a pretender to the deity of Jesus. These pretenders were going to bow to the wisdom of God personified in Jesus and manifested through Joseph. At that precious name every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that he is Lord. The people were commanded to bow the knee every time Joseph rode in his motorcade, sorry chariots. It wasn’t Joseph they were bowing to. It was the Lord Jesus Christ who was with Joseph.
If you want the systems of this world to bow down to you get God on your side. Moses didn’t face the Egyptian army. He couldn’t. He faced the gods behind the throne. This is a great lesson for us. Your neighbor is not the problem, neither is your mother-in-law the problem. Face the powers behind the problem, stop fighting humans. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places (Ephesians 6:12). The weapons of our warfare are not carnal. They are mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds (2 Cor 10:4).
#Illuminare – THE FIVE COATS OF JOSEPH Part 3
© Leke Alder | talk2me@lekealder.com