Page 73 - Gods Plan of the Ages

them.

Genesis 37:13
Israel said to Joseph, "Are not your brothers pasturing the flock in Shechem? Come, and
I will send you to them." And he said to him, "I will go."

Joseph was eager to do the will of his father. In like manner, those who will receive the
right of the firstborn are eager to do the will of Yahweh. Joseph's brothers were envious of
him and treated him shamefully. They sold him as a slave into Egypt. In Egypt Joseph faced
temptation akin to that of his elder brother Reuben, yet Joseph's response was very
different.

Genesis 39:7-10
It came about after these events that his master's wife looked with desire at Joseph, and
she said, "Lie with me." But he refused and said to his master's wife, "Behold, with me
here, my master does not concern himself with anything in the house, and he has put all
that he owns in my charge. There is no one greater in this house than I, and he has
withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do this
great evil and sin against God?" As she spoke to Joseph day after day, he did not listen to
her to lie beside her or be with her.

Consider the situation in which Joseph found himself. God had given Joseph dreams
when he was seventeen years old of being promoted above his brothers. Yet, Joseph found
his experiences taking him lower, rather than higher. Joseph's brothers continued living as
the free sons of a wealthy father, while Joseph was a slave in a foreign land. Joseph must
have been tempted to believe that Yahweh had abandoned him. He might have given into
self-pity, reasoning that there was little reason to resist the advances of this Egyptian
woman. After all, he must have been very lonely in this foreign land, and here was one
manifesting a desire to be with him, even if it was in an illicit manner.
Joseph did not give in to such unworthy thoughts. He remained faithful in his
commitment to honor God, and to not defile his master's wife. Had he done so, he too
would have been disqualified for the right of the firstborn. By manifesting self-control
Joseph distinguished himself among his brethren. Self-control is at the very heart of that
which is needed to qualify as an overcomer in Christ and attain to the first resurrection. The
last of the fruit of the Spirit named, which encapsulates all the rest, is self-control.

Galatians 5:22-25
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to
Christ Yahshua have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the
Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.

To attain to the first resurrection, a Christian must overcome the sinful passions and
desires of the flesh. It is only those who overcome who will be counted worthy of that
resurrection. Joseph was elevated to the throne of Egypt. In a similar manner, those who
distinguish themselves among their brethren will be granted to sit with Christ on His
throne.