Leadership qualities of Joseph that can transform your life

Joseph:

Every Christian will pass through one form of suffering or another and Joseph in the Old Testament is not an exception. He went through a series of test and temptation during his lifetime; yet he remained steadfast in his faith in God.

Joseph is the 11^th son of Jacob out of 12 brothers. He is so loved by his father because he was born when his father was in his old age. When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated the young innocent boy (Joseph). Meanwhile, his dad made a special coat for him.

According to the Bible (Genesis 37), Joseph is a dreamer boy (and also an excellent interpreter of dreams). This gift of his further made him an object of envy and hate among his brothers.

Out of envy, his brothers decided to kill him but God saved his life through one of them named Reuben. Reuben is the firstborn of Jacob's 12 children.

Note: Envy as a capital sin is always accompanied with many other sins, for instance, lies and hatred.

Joseph was stripped of his coat, put into a dry well and later sold to some merchant men. His brothers conspired to lie against him by staining his coat in the blood of a goat, while presenting it to their father. Their father became heart broken because he believed his favorite son “Joseph” had been killed by a wild animal. With this very act, Joseph knew he had been betrayed by those he loved.

Please read on Beauty of Suffering here

Joseph was sold to some merchants and later became a slave in Egypt (after the merchant men sold him to Potipher, an officer of Pharaoh and captain of the guard in Egypt). Joseph was diligent in all he did and his actions prospered the house of Potipher.

Please read on the True meaning of Honesty here

By looks, Joseph is a handsome young man and Potipher’s wife could not take her seductive eyes off him. She made a series of sexual advances to Joseph but he clearly refused her in all the attempts she had made. Joseph showed discipline and fear of the Lord during this period of temptation.

After failed attempts to seduce Joseph, she finally got hold of a piece of Joseph’s garment when Joseph ran away from her sexual seduction. She became furious, perhaps afraid that Joseph might report her to Potipher, her husband. She therefore lied to Potipher that Joseph attempted to seduce her and she ran away grabbing a piece of Joseph’s clothing. She showed Potipher the cloth as a proof of her lies. For this reason, Potipher imprisoned Joseph.

Joseph had always prospered every where he found himself, and the prison is not an exception. Even in the prison, the warden promoted him by putting him in charge of all the prisoners.

Please read on the Attribute and Benefits of Honesty here

While in prison, the chief butler and the chief baker had a dream. They explained their dreams to Joseph, both of which Joseph correctly interpreted.

To the chief butler, he interpreted that:

Pharaoh will return him to his previous position.

To the chief baker, he interpreted that:

He will be hung to death and the birds will eat his remains.

However, he told the butler to remember him when he regains his freedom.

His interpretation of both dreams came to pass.

Pharaoh, the king of Egypt had two dreams that were mysterious to him. He sent for all his magicians to interpret the dreams but none was able. He was told about Joseph, the great interpreter of dreams (perhaps by the released chief Butler). Pharaoh ordered men to bring forth Joseph. He narrated his dreams to Joseph:

I saw seven fat, beautiful cows. Then I saw seven very thin and bony cows. And the thin ones ate up the fat cows.

In my second dream I saw seven heads of full, ripe grain growing on one stalk. Then I saw seven thin, dried-out heads of grain. And the thin heads of grain began to swallow up the seven good heads of grain

Joseph interpreted both dreams thus:

The two dreams have got the same meaning.

The seven fat cows and the seven full heads of grain mean seven years, and the seven thin cows and the seven thin heads of grain mean seven more years.

There will be seven years of plenty (when a lot of food will grow in Egypt). Then there will be seven years of famine (when there will very little food).

Joseph advised Pharaoh to create a great store of food during the time of plenty so as to compensate for the lack of food in the time of famine. Joseph was elevated to oversee this office, making him the second in command throughout Egypt.

God used Joseph to save and prosper Egypt through the gift of interpreting dreams. When the time of famine came, the Land of Egypt had enough food in store.

The other sons of Jacob came to Egypt to get food from the man in charge “Joseph”. Joseph showed compassion and mercy towards them. (He repaid their evil with good). God used him to save their lives; after which he was restored back to his father Jacob who is a very old man by now.

Please read on the God's Mercy and Compassion here

Qualities of Joseph that made him a leader in Egypt

From the summary of the above story, some of Joseph's qualities were highlighted in darkred.

Below are some other qualities of Joseph that made him a great leader in Egypt:

• Discipline: Joseph had every chance to commit sin with the King’s wife when he was tempted. However, because he had discipline over his body, he said no and eventually had himself imprisoned.

• Faithfulness: Joseph is a man of great faith. He believed completely in God and would rather suffer his body than to gratify it in adultery.
  He also proved his faith in Potipher’s business, showing that he can be trusted.
  Please read on Consequences of Adam and Eve's Unfaithfulness here

• Humility: Even though he was the 11^th child of his father’s old age, he remained humble to his brothers when they hated him. His humility is one virtue that made him a great leader in Egypt.
  Please read on the Early years of Jesus here

• Gracious: Joseph was gracious to his brothers who betrayed him. He showed compassion and mercy in their time of greatest need. He gave them food and forgave them during the time of severe famine.

• Selfless: He gave his time to the service of others, interpreting dreams and helping them to successfully manage their affairs. This made him promoted in every situation he found himself, whether as a slave, a prisoner or a free man.

Some more qualities of Joseph includes:

• Hardworking
• Fear of the Lord
• Interpreter of Dreams
• Merciful and Compassionate
• Patience