JOSEPH: PRINCE OF EGYPT - FOUR

Fourth installment of my 'Joseph Series'. The first three can be found in my articles. It is my prayer that those who read will find wisdom, instruction and revelation therein.

FOUR

PRISON

And so for the second time in his life, Joseph’s trajectory of favor and success nosedived owing to the activity of bad actors in the same household. He was having a good run of success in Potiphar’s household until the mistress of the house intervened. Earlier in his father’s house, his brothers truncated his status of beloved and favorite son. The latter action demoted him from son to slave. The former from favored slave and administrative virtuoso to convict and sex offender. No matter his faults, it is clear that Joseph did not deserve the fate his brothers condemned him to. As regarding his master’s wife, Joseph was entirely innocent. One might wonder what impact these cumulative setbacks had on his mind.

One might wonder still why someone who enjoyed the blessing of God’s presence and who prioritized his relationship with God as much as Joseph did, would come to such a pass. It might be that a walk with God is not a defense against challenges and downturns in fortune. Perhaps, such close fellowship makes dislocation and reversals inevitable. The argument may be advanced that the fulfillment of destiny is a function of navigating such highly disruptive challenges successfully. In this perspective, such grave difficulties are an integral part of the process, the very building blocks for the ultimate realization of what has been prior ordained.

It would seem then that as a matter of spiritual progression and destiny fulfillment, Joseph had outgrown the relative comfort of Potiphar’s house. It was time to position him closer to that, which was foretold. The august venue for this strategic assignation was prison. This is bearing in mind of course that the only way a righteous and law-abiding person like Joseph will end up as a convict, is if he was framed. I know, the logic is not comforting. However as events would prove, it was ultimately effective.

The actual prison where Joseph served time was not just any random sort. The seniority of Potiphar’s position in the kingdom gave him the rare privilege and use of the royal prison. This was the place where Pharaoh’s prisoners were kept. It also served as a jail for royal officials of different stripes who displeased Pharaoh. The conditions there may not have been ideal but they were most probably not horrid either, given the designation of the prison and the status of those who were held there. Whatever the relative comfort though, it was a place of confinement.

But then, Joseph was in a state of personal and professional crisis, and physical confinement, as regards a matter in which he had been falsely accused. The stress, anger, anxiety and self-pity are enough to overburden most people and mar them permanently. Grave situations of this sort also precipitate a crisis of faith, particularly for those whose relationship with God is merely transactional. Once certain closely held assumptions attaching to personal or professional success are threatened or challenged, the whole edifice comes crashing down. However, where the foundation is made of sterner stuff, another level of spiritual endeavor is usually in the offing.

So, it was that even in prison, the presence of God was with Joseph. There is nowhere God’s presence will not go if there is a willing vessel. In that dark hour, his relationship with God remained strong and consistent. It did not wither or dissipate under those trying and testing conditions. This then is the essence of spiritual maturity. Whether he was a favored slave and the administrator of his master’s estate, or whether he was prisoner, falsely accused, having lost his personal freedom and professional success, Joseph’s relationship and fellowship with God remained in place. It is the principle of Job. The Lord gives and takes away, blessed be His name.

Just as remarkably, Joseph’s administrative acumen emerged yet again and took center stage. In spite of the controversy surrounding him, Joseph found favor with the warden of the royal prison. If favor were solely a matter of reputation, Joseph would have been a pariah. This should encourage those who have suffered assaults of reputation and the maligning of character. No matter the level of damage to your reputation, be assured that with God, even those who are meant to punish you will favor you. Indeed, Joseph quickly achieved the same administrative feat and attained the same favored status as he did in Potiphar’s household, in prison. So durable and adaptable was the Lord’s favor and his organizational capacity.

The like for like similarity of achievement and attainment makes it seem as if Potiphar and the warden of Pharaoh’s prison were the same person. Similarly, it would seem like Potiphar’s household and the royal prison were similar organizational entities. It would seem also that administrative skills effective in a quasi-royal household, was eminently transferrable to a prison. And yet, the differences between the two places and situations could not have been more pronounced.

First, Potiphar’s house was a private home. The royal prison was a public institution. This would have had profound implications for the disposition of either man. Potiphar could be liberal, mercurial or capricious in his home as his was the final word. The prison warden ran the prison at Pharaoh’s pleasure and was obliged to be more conservative and cautious, at least relatively. Second, the security arrangement in a prison, just one administrative variable out of several others, makes it a totally different organizational animal from a private household. Third, the disposition of criminals or prison inmates, it is safe to assume, would differ from that of members of a family and their household staff.

Even so, despite the weight and stress of being falsely accused, and the radical difference between Potiphar’s household and Pharaoh’s prison, Joseph obtained the favor of the warden of the royal prison and by his leave became the prison Top Dog. Just like Potiphar, the warden left the entire organization in Joseph’s care. So thoroughgoing was his confidence in Joseph’s competence. And so, because of God’s guidance, Joseph’s particular administrative skills became the vocational equivalent of an all terrain vehicle. A highly adjustable, highly variable, highly effective, eminently transferrable and excellent set of skills.

WRITTEN BY Ebere Nwankpa