Previously, in GodlyLeadership 2, I indicated I will want us to study the life of a young man—Joseph—who
models Godly leadership. This will be the first post in a series of post in which I will be sharing my thoughts on Godly Leadership from the life of JosephThese are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren; and the lad was with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives: and Joseph brought unto his father their evil report. (Genesis 37:2-3)
Genesis
37:2 is a very unusual scripture because usually, when scriptures speak about
generations, it begins with birth rank—from firstborns down to the last in
birth. But the description of the generation of Jacob started with the story of
a seventeen year old—one of the youngest in the family. This seventeen year old
was Joseph, loved and pampered by Jacob, the Father of Israel.
Let me explain a few points that I believe are
relevant to godly leadership with particular interest in why a seventeen year
old will get such enormous attention from Genesis 37 to the end of Genesis
1. God Has A Specific
Assignment For Everyone
The attention was placed on Joseph because it
was time for a promise of God to be fulfilled and Joseph was the man
responsible for the fulfillment of that prophecy—the fulfillment of the
prophecy was his assignment. What prophecy am I talking about? Examine the
scriptures below
Genesis 15
· 13:And he[God] said unto Abram, Know of a
surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and
shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years.
· 14: And also that nation, whom they shall
serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.
If you look closely at the scriptures above, it gives an indication that Genesis 37 which introduced Joseph was a crucial moment because God was
starting the process of fulfilling his promises to Abraham in Genesis 15. So in
Genesis 37:2, it was important scriptures place attention on Joseph because he
was part of God’s grand plan. He wasn’t just seventeen, he wasn’t just Jacob’s
son; He was God’s elect for an assignment.
Note that it was through
Joseph that the whole nation Israel eventually went into slavery. So I can say
that the fulfillment of Genesis 15:13 was a specific assignment for Joseph.
Examine vs 14 also and you will realise that was also a specific assignment for
Moses ―to take the Isralites out of Egypt.
Clearly, God has an assignment for every single
individual on earth and the fulfillment of that assignment places a person into
a leadership role. So
leadership I can say is a fulfillment of a God given assignment and God‘s will
for a person. Joseph was young, He was only seventeen, but because he was a
part of God‘s agenda for the period under consideration, God had to bypass all
the others and zoom attention on Joseph. When
it’s your moment, age rank and the standards of human beings doesn't
matter—God‘s timing is the most important factor in leadership.
2. God Will
Always Fulfill His Word
The assignment Joseph was about
to fulfill i.e. mentioned in Genesis 15:13 earlier, was a prophecy given to
Abraham many years before Joseph was born, but when the time was due, God began
to work towards the fulfillment of that promise. Do you carry a promise of God? Don't lose
heart, “For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall
speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come,
it will not tarry“ (Habakkuk 2:3). God’s
words are trustworthy; they won’t fail See Hebrews 6.
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