Think About Your Thinking – Lesson 3
What Were They Thinking?!
By Glennys Elliott
As we think within our hearts, that is who we are.
Paraphrased from Proverbs 23:7
“The Lord our God is one Lord, and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all you mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:29b-31 NASB (Deuteronomy 6:4-5; Luke 10:27; 1 Timothy 1:5)
Lesson 3
Read about the life of Joseph-Genesis 37-50
In Lesson 3 we are going to look at the life of Joseph.
So much could be said about the story of Joseph that we could spend several lessons on just him alone. As you read about the life of Joseph, start to focus on his thought process and the choices he made. In addition, think about his story, who God created him to be, and how that impacted his relationships.
The scripture above from Mark 12 verifies that we are created for loving relationships.
- God created nature and human beings for relationship.
- Creation and humanity revolve around relationship.
- Relationships are foundational to all that is and all that we are.
Everything about us revolves around relationship.
The first relationship that we are given information about is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. They were together at creation. Creation had relationship with God, He created it. Then, God created man to have relationship with Him and with creation. After man, God created woman. Woman was to have a relationship with her husband, with the creation, and most importantly, with God.
Not only do our thoughts determine who we are, but our thoughts also impact all our relationships. First, we think, then we make a choice about what to say and/or do. The objective of these lessons is to help us have our thoughts shaped by God’s word which in turn shapes the way we respond to events and people in our lives.
“For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:3-5
Have you ever said, “What were you thinking?” Perhaps you told your child not to do something and he/she did it anyway. Possibly something was broken, a sibling was hit, or the child hurt themselves, and you say, “What were you thinking?” In the workplace a foolish or careless mistake is made, and the boss says, “What were you thinking?”
In Lesson 1 we focused on the story of Adam and Eve. Think about how Eve’s choices and interaction/relationship with the serpent changed her relationship with God. Then, Adam ate of the fruit as well, and their relationship with God was forever changed. What were they thinking?
In Lesson 2 we focused on the story of Abraham. Think about how his choices and interaction/relationship with others had an impact on the events of his life. He told Pharaoh and Abimelech that Sarah was his sister. If these two powerful men found out that she was his wife, he might have been killed. He willingly slept with Hagar, at his wife’s suggestion, to have a child. Did Abraham really think that God needed his help? What was he thinking? However, Abraham came through in the end when he was going to sacrifice his one and only son, Isaac. He reasoned that if he sacrificed Isaac, God would just raise him from the dead. Abraham reached the point of trusting God even when it did not make sense to his human understanding. If his promised offspring would come through Isaac, it was the only faith-based way to represent the situation
In Lesson 3 as we focus on the life of Joseph we see that his responses to the events of his life are much different than those of Adam and Eve, and Abraham.
As you read about the life of Joseph, are we given any information about his disobedience to his father Jacob/Israel or to his heavenly Father God? Think about his responses to life events and to the relationships in his life.
When Joseph was 17, he tattled on his older brothers to his father. He was Jacob’s favorite son and Joseph had dreams that predicted he would rule over his brothers in the future and they would bow down to him. All these things lead his older brothers to be jealous of Joseph and to hate him.
In Genesis 37:10-11, when Joseph told them his dream his father rebuked him but kept the matter in his mind. However, for his brothers, the dream just caused more jealousy. Do you see how differently their father reacted to Joseph’s dream compared to the brothers?
When the brothers got an opportunity to get rid of Joseph, Reuben was the only one that did not want him dead (Chapter 37:12-35).
Think about the different relationships and the thought processes involved in this situation.
The brothers, except for Reuben, were representing the situation dictated by jealousy and hatred. “Let us see what will become of his dreams.” The brothers encouraged each other in their hatred for Joseph, and this gave them reason to justify getting rid of him. There is no indication that they cared about what it would do to their father. Reuben had the plan to go back and rescue Joseph and return him to his father. He may have been jealous and hated Joseph, but he knew it was wrong to kill and he was thinking about his father. Reuben convinced his brothers to spare the life of Joseph.
What are some of the different relationship dynamics that stand out to you in this situation?
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The brothers hated Joseph, but do you think they also resented their father’s partiality to the point of not caring how the loss of Joseph would affect him? In chapter 37:35, we are told that all his sons and daughters tried to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted and wept for his son Joseph. What were they thinking?
This story gives us a picture of human behavior in how we think, respond, and interact within our relationships. Even though we are in a different time in history and on a different place on the planet, we are the same basic people that God created in the beginning. We have the same minds and hearts, the same emotions and desires, and the same propensity to sin. We are no different today and this story is meant to help us learn from the lives of God’s people in the Bible. The life of Joseph is a great example of how he endured horrible events in his life yet remained faithful in his responses.
As the story continues, Joseph was sold into slavery and taken to Egypt. Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s officials and captain of the guard, bought Joseph. Here we see how the rest of the story will go. No matter what Joseph did, even being put into prison, the Lord was with him and gave him success at all he did. Even though Egypt was a pagan culture, the Egyptians acknowledged that Joseph’s God was with him (39:2; 41:38).
As with Joseph, even though we live in a sinful and corrupt world, there should be something about our lives that stands out to non-believers.
“But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of the slander” (1 Peter 3:15-16).
Joseph and Potiphar’s wife (Ch 39): Not only was God with Joseph and made him successful in all he did, he was also well-built and handsome. He had every reason to be arrogant and boastful. However, when faced with repeated attempts of seduction by Potiphar’s wife, he still did what was right. “How could I do such a great evil and sin against God?” (39:9). He was reasoning/representing the situation as God intended, even to the point of being falsely accused and thrown into prison. That is what he was thinking.
How often do we allow our minds to focus on the worldly temptations, doing things on our own might and intellect, and forget to acknowledge all that God has done for us?
“Therefore, do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So, we fix our eyes not on what is seen but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary but what in unseen is eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18).
Joseph in prison: While in prison (39:21-23), the Lord was with him and gave him success in whatever he did. There the warden made Joseph responsible for all that was done and paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s care.
Joseph interpreting dreams (Ch 40): The cupbearer and the baker angered the king and were put in prison. The warden assigned Joseph to attend to them. The two men had a dream on the same night, but each had a different meaning. When asked to interpret their dreams Joseph acknowledged that it was God who interpreted dreams not him. He could have easily taken credit for the interpretation himself. The baker’s dream indicated that he was to die, and the cupbearer’s dream indicated that he would be released from prison. Both interpretations came true. Prior to the cupbearer’s release, Joseph asked the him to mention him to Pharaoh and get him out of prison. However, the cupbearer did not do so at the time of his release.
Joseph’s authority: This is where the rest of the story takes place. The Pharaoh had 2 dreams that none of his wise men could interpret. Finally, the cupbearer told Pharaoh about Joseph. Joseph was taken to Pharaoh and when asked to interpret the dreams, he once again acknowledged that it was God that interpreted dreams. The dreams predicted seven years of abundance and then seven years of severe drought and famine. In Ch. 41:39-40, Pharaoh believed the interpretation and said to Joseph, “Since God had made all this known to you, there is no one so discerning and wise as you. You shall be in charge of my palace, and all my people are to submit to your orders. Only with respect to the throne will I be greater than you.”
From slave to being the second most powerful man in Egypt, and he was not even an Egyptian. Only God can orchestrate such an amazing chain of events. We have the very same God that Joseph had. Do we believe, trust, and rely on God’s sovereignty to represent the events of our lives as Joseph did?
“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen” (Ephesians 3:20-21).
As predicted, the events of the next 14 years were exactly as Joseph had interpreted.
Joseph and his brothers: Back in the land of Canaan there was also famine. Jacob heard that there was grain to buy in Egypt. He sent all his sons, except Benjamin, to Egypt to buy grain. Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him. Why would they think that the brother they sold to the Ishmaelites would be a powerful man in Egypt? Joseph spoke the Egyptian language and was dressed in fine Egyptian clothing. He most likely had makeup on his face.
I will not go into all the demands that Joseph put on his brothers before he finally revealed his identity. Why do you think he kept his brothers going back and forth from Egypt to Canaan?
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After revealing himself, he told his brothers not to be worried or angry with themselves for selling him to get him out of their lives. Joseph could have laughed at them and reminded them that he dreamed about this very moment in time. He could have denied them food, or even had them killed. On the contrary, he told them that God had sent him ahead of them to preserve life and to establish them as a remnant within the land and to keep them alive during the famine. Once again, Joseph acknowledges God’s plan for his life. “It was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household, and ruler over all the land of Egypt” (45: 7-8). That is what he was thinking.
Finally, Joseph was reunited with his father and brothers and moved them to Goshen. Joseph’s family were shepherds and that was an occupation that was disgusting to the Egyptians. Goshen was near Joseph and good grazing land but somewhat removed from close proximity to Pharaoh. Pharaoh had such respect for Joseph that when he found out that his brothers were shepherds, he put them in charge of his livestock.
After a time in Goshen, Jacob died. Joseph’s brothers were then fearful that without their father, Joseph might take revenge for the evil that they had done to him. However, once again, Joseph was representing the events of his life through his trust in God’s plan. This is what he was thinking.
“Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You planned evil against me; God planned it for good to bring about the present result—the survival of many people” (50:19-20).
Joseph died at the age of 110. He was embalmed and would stay in Egypt until his body was carried by Moses and the Israelites to the promised land (Exodus 13:19; Joshua 24:32).
Did Joseph ever sin against God? We are not given those details.
Did Joseph have any human emotions? He wept when he saw his brothers for the first time in many years.
In Chapter 41:51-52 we see the meaning of the names that Joseph gave his 2 sons. Manasseh means, “God has made me forget all my hardship in my father’s house.” Ephraim means, “God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction.” Surely these names reflected the essence of Joseph’s life, from slave, to prisoner, to second in command over all of Egypt.
Teacher’s Note– I like to provide a visual, hands on object to emphasize a point. I will call these objects symbols.
For this lesson I wrapped a plastic knife, fork, and spoon in a paper napkin. I put a note, tied with ribbon, on each set.
The scripture is, “For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope” (Romans 15:4). Scripture is sufficient for all the events of our lives; the Bible is not a buffet. We cannot pick and chose what we want to believe nor what we want to apply to our lives.
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