A Bible Biography

Substantial evidence of the inspiration of the Bible is how it portrays people.  Unlike biographies that we see written today, the Bible honestly reveals the human qualities of its subjects; the good and the bad. 

Take, for example, Joseph, who was one of twelve brothers all of whom were shepherds and sons of their wealthy father, Jacob.  When we first meet Joseph, he was a spoiled, seventeen-year-old rich kid.  Joseph was spoiled because he was daddy’s favorite, born of father’s most loved, but now deceased wife, Rebecca

Joseph's Future

We know God had grand plans for Joseph because He gave him dreams that revealed future events to him.  All of these dreams seemed to indicate his father and brothers would someday be subservient to him.  Joseph, very unwisely, chose to share these dreams with his brothers and father.  Not surprisingly, they were not pleased with Joseph.  

Fueling the growing problem was Jacob’s apparent favoring of Joseph by providing him with an extraordinary and colorful coat.  It’s not difficult to understand his brother’s resentment.  In short order, their resentment grew to hate.

On one occasion, the eleven brothers took their enormous flock of livestock some distance away from the encampment to find new grazing land.  Having been gone for some time, Jacob, being unaware of the antagonism of the eleven brothers toward Joseph, decided to send him to see his brothers and make sure they were all doing well.

A Turn of Events

After several days of travel, Joseph finally found his brothers.  They saw an opportunity to rid themselves of a significant irritant.  They took Joseph and sold him as a slave to a passing caravan headed to Egypt.  

But how would they explain this to their father?  Not a problem for a creative and resourceful group of brothers.  Since Joseph had been wearing the colorful coat given to him by their dad, they just killed one of the animals in the flock, dipped the coat in the blood and took it to their father.  There were no testing labs back then so they didn't worry about their father testing to see if the blood was really Joseph's.

The story they created and took to dad went something like this.  We found this coat.  You may wish to look and it and see if it belongs to Joseph.  Sounds pretty innocent, right?

You might be able to imagine Jacob’s reaction.  He was inconsolable.  His brothers knew it would not be pretty, but even they did not expect it to be this bad. 

A Turning Point

Meanwhile, Joseph was on his way to Egypt.  He was no longer the cherished son of a pampering father.  He was now a slave at the bottom of the food chain.  

How do you and I react when we suddenly find ourselves in a critical situation?  It can be a terrible struggle, can it not?  Suddenly, life seems so much less attractive.  Hope seems to disappear in a fleeting mist.

I imagine this was when Joseph experienced a full refocus of his life.  He realized his father could not protect him from all the evils of the world.  Joseph now came to see only his heavenly Father could empower him to live above them.  It was on this journey he determined to commit his future to the One who would always sustain him.  

Why not read the full story yourself?  You can do so in Genesis 39 to 49, the chapters at end of the book.

Return to Senior Healthy Lifestyles home page

Please share your thoughts and any response you may have in the form below.

Return to SeniorHealthyLifestyles.com

Bible Study Guides

It Is Written

Amazing Facts

Authentic