JOSEPH, A FRUITFUL BOUGH

Joseph of the Bible is probably most famously known today as “Joseph the Dreamer.” But more than being just a dreamer, Joseph was also described as a “fruitful bough (branch)” by his father, Jacob.

“Joseph is a fruitful bough,
A fruitful bough by a well;
His branches run over the wall.”
Genesis 49:22

But what does it mean to be fruitful?

A person is said to be fruitful if he bears the fruits of the Holy Spirit such as love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).

A person is also said to be fruitful if he bears good fruits or brings excellent results in his workplace, community, family, or ministry.

Joseph was described as a “fruitful bough” because he was so fruitful both in character and in his calling as a leader in Egypt.

1. Joseph was fruitful in character

We can read in Genesis 39:1-6 that when Joseph had been taken down to Egypt as a slave, Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, bought him and made him the overseer of his house. He found favour in the sight of his master and he was given authority over the things that Potiphar had.

But not long after these things happened, he started to battle with temptations. How did Joseph respond?

He said “no.”

In Genesis 39:7-9, his master’s wife cast longing eyes on him and asked him to lie with her but he refused. He said no right away.

We also go through different temptations in life. The enemy tries to confuse us and presents sin before us as something good. In order to overcome this deception from the enemy, we need to recognize sin for what it truly is. The fear of the Lord comes when we call sin a sin. And once we recognize sin, the quicker we are able to declare “no” to sin and the greater chance we have at victory.

He said “no” some more.

Potiphar’s wife spoke to Joseph day by day but he did not heed or agree to lie with her or be with her (Genesis 39:10).

Temptation will not go without a fight. Joseph had to fight the same battle every day. He had to say no to Potiphar’s wife day by day.

The same goes with us, our battle against sin is not a one-off thing. We can’t expect to win it overnight. Temptation will keep lurking around us every day and we have to learn to also say “no” to it day by day.

He ran.

We can read in Genesis 39:11-12 that the attempt of Potiphar’s wife to get Joseph’s attention has gotten more aggressive. This time she grabbed his garment, forcing him to lie with her. But he fled and ran away.

When the temptation got stronger, Joseph also took a stronger response. When the temptation was only through speech, Joseph spoke against it. But when the temptation was through action, he did not try to speak the temptation away. He acted.

Just like Joseph, we should not just simply stand evil to his face. We need to purposely run away from it.

There was a survey done in 1992 where Discipleship Journal readers were asked about their greatest spiritual challenge. Most of them said that temptations were more potent when they had neglected their time with God (81%) and when they were physically tired (57%).

In contrast, resisting temptation was accomplished by prayer (84%), avoiding compromising situations (76%), Bible study (66%), and being accountable to someone (52%).

Based on this survey, we would notice that sin came when the respondents were passive in their walk with God. But when they were active in pursuing the Lord, sin was overcome. Let us be active against sin so that we may win over it completely!

2. Joseph was fruitful in his calling because of the favour of the Lord.

We can read in the account of Joseph’s life in Egypt that he was always under the authority of somebody else. He was under the authority of Potiphar (Genesis 39:4), the keeper of the prison (Genesis 39:22), and Pharaoh (Genesis 41:40). But because the Lord was with him in all those times, he found favor in the eyes of his authorities. He was always entrusted with everything that his leaders had.

But why was the Lord with Joseph?

He had a call from God and he walked uprightly before God. From the beginning, Joseph was called to be a mighty man of God. He was destined to rule over his brothers and play an important role in the survival of Egypt and Israel. The enemy knew this so he tried so hard to strip Joseph of his calling.

The enemy threw everything at Joseph. He experienced delays, setbacks, hurdles, and threats but Joseph was never robbed off his destiny because he walked uprightly with God.

It is the same with us. There will also be threats that would want to take away our calling from God. The enemy will try desperately to steal our destiny from us but the Lord will do everything in His power to protect us. He will never forsake us as we walk uprightly with Him.

3. Joseph was fruitful in his calling because he had great wisdom.

We can read in Genesis 41:40 that Pharaoh set Joseph over all his house and over all the people in Egypt. It was during this time when the whole nation experienced severe famine. But with the wisdom that Joseph was given, he was able to save millions of people and caused the nation to survive seven years of famine.

How important it is that we gain heavenly wisdom as well. Today, the world is facing increasingly more and more complex problems requiring a great amount of wisdom.

Companies are challenged to thrive in a fast-changing culture in an environment of tremendous uncertainty. Governments are pressed to fight wars, plagues, poverty, and social ills like never before.

The Church is also called to shine forth its light and to fulfill the great commission in a time of gross darkness. On a personal level, we all also need wisdom in our jobs, in raising up our families, and in doing our ministries.

So how do we gain wisdom? 

Proverbs 9:10 says that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. When we have the fear of the Lord, we will speak the truth, depart from evil, and seek peace in our lives (Psalms 34:11-14).

God granted Joseph wisdom because of his faith and fear of the Lord. 

He demonstrated his faith and confidence in the Lord when he did not shy away from interpreting the baker and butler’s dreams as well as Pharaoh’s. He knew that he needed wisdom and so he asked the Lord in faith and it was given to him.

Conclusion

Truly, Joseph was not just a mere “dreamer.” His dreams became a reality! From a rejected brother, slave, and prisoner, he became a “fruitful bough” as a leader in Egypt.

As Christians, we are also called to be “fruitful boughs.” 

However, bearing abundant fruit just like Joseph may seem like an impossible dream especially if we are not anywhere near producing even good results in our workplace or families today.

But if God could make a prisoner like Joseph exceedingly fruitful in character and excellent in wisdom, then He can surely do the same for us if we walk uprightly with Him and put our faith in Him.

Source:
Discipleship Journal. “Temptation.” Sermon Illustrations, November/December 1992, www.sermonillustrations.com/a-z/t/temptation.htm. Accessed October 2017.