Joseph proved himself to be a trustworthy man, not just once but again and again. Whether Joseph was a young man with this much character before he was sold or not is up to interpretation. Either way, his trials as a slave in no way diminished the man God was molding him to be. In coming into Potiphar's household, Potiphar was savvy enough to realize that the hand of the Lord was upon Joseph, and he entrusted Joseph with his entire estate. It says that everything prospered, and that Potiphar did not worry. Not only did God bless Joseph, but he proved to be worthy of the blessing by being a good administrator. Not only this, but Joseph proved he could be trusted with Potiphar's own wife, refusing and even fleeing from her enticements. A pity Potiphar's wife could not be trusted so far. Even after his imprisonment, the Lord was with Joseph: the keeper in the prison trusted Joseph with administrative duties once again. And here again, his jailer trusted Joseph: he didn't worry about anything under Joseph's care.
That is a huge thing to say about someone, don't you think? Even today, in the corporate world, in our jobs, how much oversight are we given to make sure we are doing a good job? How many people experience job reviews and have checks in the system to show that they are being productive and working hard? Today's byword in business is productivity. How many feel that their bosses and their bosses' bosses really trust them to get their work done, be responsible with company capital and resources? How well I remember inventory time at the bookstore and when the regional managers came in to poke their noses through everything and then disappear for another six months! As little as they were present, I would have hoped they'd trust us more than they did... As hard as I worked, I would have liked to think I proved my own worthiness. Joseph, though, was certainly trusted and counted worthy. His overseers were never concerned in the slightest over his dealings. What is more, in the end, Joseph would be the vessel that God would work through: both for Israel and his family, for the future generations, and for the rest of the "known world" at that time in providing for Egypt. Joseph had proved that God could entrust him with that, as well.
Tomorrow's Reading: Genesis 41:1-40
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