Dr. Goodluck Ofoegbu Prof. Oby Ofoegbu Banking Blessings Ministry San Antonio, Texas USA
Dr. Goodluck Ofoegbu
Prof. Oby Ofoegbu
Banking Blessings Ministry
San Antonio, Texas
USA
What We Will Learn
Example on God messaging a child
In “normal” parental interaction
Based on testimony from life of Joseph
Father sent him on errand
To check on senior brothers in the field
Led him to relocate family to Egypt
Where they prospered and multiplied
Genesis 37 through 47 SelectionsJoseph Sent on Mission—Messaging Child through Parent
Messaging Child
via Normal Parental Interaction
Parent passes information to child
Instruction
Advice
Request
Other parent-child interaction
Not known to parent or child
That the information is message from God
Example from life of JosephJoseph Sent on Mission—Messaging Child through Parent
Israel Sends Joseph
on Errand
Joseph was about 17 years old
Lived with family in Valley of Hebron
Senior brothers tending flock in Shechem
Father (Israel) sent Joseph
To go and check on his brothers
Joseph accepted task
Performed task with diligence
Genesis 37:12–17
Joseph Sent on Mission—Messaging Child through Parent
Joseph Sent on Mission—Messaging Child through Parent
Genesis 37 (NKJV)
12 Then his brothers went to feed their
father's flock in Shechem.
13 And Israel said to Joseph, “Are not your
brothers feeding the flock in Shechem?
Come, I will send you to them.”
So he said to him, “Here I am.”
Joseph Sent on Mission—Messaging Child through Parent
Genesis 37 (NKJV)
14 Then he said to him, “Please go and see if it is well with your brothers and well with the flocks, and bring back word to me.” So he sent him out of the Valley of Hebron, and he went to Shechem.
15 Now a certain man found him, and there
he was, wandering in the field. And the man
asked him, saying, “What are you seeking?”
Joseph Sent on Mission—Messaging Child through Parent
Genesis 37 (NKJV)
16 So he said, “I am seeking my brothers.
Please tell me where they are feeding their
flocks.”
17 And the man said, “They have departed
from here, for I heard them say, ‘Let us go to
Dothan.’ ” So Joseph went after his brothers
and found them in Dothan.
Joseph stayed on mission
Until he accomplished the objective
Joseph Sold to Slavery
Brothers conspired to kill Joseph
But held him in a dry well
Sold him to merchants travelling to Egypt
God protected him through the experience
Reuben convinced them to hold him
They chose a dry well
Judah convinced them to sell him
Genesis 37:18–28
Joseph Sent on Mission—Messaging Child through Parent
Joseph Sent on Mission—Messaging Child through Parent
Genesis 37 (NIV)
18 But they saw him in the distance, and
before he reached them, they plotted to kill
him.
19 “Here comes that dreamer!” they said to
each other.
20 “Come now, let’s kill him and throw him
into one of these cisterns and say that a
ferocious animal devoured him. Then we’ll
see what comes of his dreams.”
Joseph Sent on Mission—Messaging Child through Parent
Genesis 37 (NIV)
21 When Reuben heard this, he tried to
rescue him from their hands. “Let’s not take
his life,” he said.
22 “Don’t shed any blood. Throw him into this
cistern here in the wilderness, but don’t lay a
hand on him.” Reuben said this to rescue him
from them and take him back to his father.
Joseph Sent on Mission—Messaging Child through Parent
Genesis 37 (NIV)
23 So when Joseph came to his brothers,
they stripped him of his robe—the ornate
robe he was wearing—
24 and they took him and threw him into the
cistern. The cistern was empty; there was no
water in it.
Joseph Sent on Mission—Messaging Child through Parent
Genesis 37 (NIV)
25 As they sat down to eat their meal, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelitescoming from Gilead. Their camels were loaded with spices, balm and myrrh, and they were on their way to take them down to Egypt.
26 Judah said to his brothers, “What will we
gain if we kill our brother and cover up his
blood?
Joseph Sent on Mission—Messaging Child through Parent
Genesis 37 (NIV)
27 Come, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites and
not lay our hands on him; after all, he is our
brother, our own flesh and blood.” His
brothers agreed.
28 So when the Midianite merchants came
by, his brothers pulled Joseph up out of the
cistern and sold him for twenty shekels of
silver to the Ishmaelites, who took him to
Egypt.
Slave in Charge
At Potiphar’s house as slave
Joseph distinguished himself
His interactions radiated Godliness
Potiphar placed him in charge
But wife framed him for illicit attention
Imprisoned without trial
Genesis 39:1–20
[1–7 and 17–20 read in session]Joseph Sent on Mission—Messaging Child through Parent
Joseph Sent on Mission—Messaging Child through Parent
Genesis 39 (NKJV)
1 Now Joseph had been taken down to
Egypt. And Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh,
captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him
from the Ishmaelites who had taken him
down there.
Getting to Potiphar’s house→ Act of God
Except for Joseph’s earlier contribution
In finding his brothers at Dothan
Joseph Sent on Mission—Messaging Child through Parent
Genesis 39 (NKJV)
2 The Lord was with Joseph, and he was a
successful man; and he was in the house of
his master the Egyptian.
3 And his master saw that the Lord was with
him and that the Lord made all he did to
prosper in his hand.
Radiated Godliness through interactions
Attentive, engaged, and obedient
Successful
Joseph Sent on Mission—Messaging Child through Parent
Genesis 39 (NKJV)
4 So Joseph found favor in his sight, and served him. Then he made him overseer of his house, and all that he had he put under his authority.
Joseph’s Godliness
Endeared him to Potiphar
Servant and Household Charge d’Affaires
Joseph Sent on Mission—Messaging Child through Parent
Genesis 39 (NKJV)
5 So it was, from the time that he had made
him overseer of his house and all that he had,
that the Lord blessed the Egyptian's house
for Joseph's sake; and the blessing of the
Lord was on all that he had in the house and
in the field.
Joseph Sent on Mission—Messaging Child through Parent
Genesis 39 (NKJV)
6 Thus he left all that he had in Joseph's
hand, and he did not know what he had
except for the bread which he ate.
Now Joseph was handsome in form and
appearance.
7 And it came to pass after these things that
his master's wife cast longing eyes on
Joseph, and she said, “Lie with me.”
Joseph Sent on Mission—Messaging Child through Parent
Genesis 39 (NKJV)
17 Then she spoke to him with words like
these, saying, “The Hebrew servant whom
you brought to us came in to me to mock me;
18 so it happened, as I lifted my voice and
cried out, that he left his garment with me and
fled outside.”
Potiphar’s wife framed Joseph
For illicit attention
Joseph Sent on Mission—Messaging Child through Parent
Genesis 39 (NKJV)
19 So it was, when his master heard the
words which his wife spoke to him, saying,
“Your servant did to me after this manner,”
that his anger was aroused.
20 Then Joseph's master took him and put
him into the prison, a place where the king's
prisoners were confined. And he was there in
the prison.
Dream Interpreter
Joseph placed in charge of all prisoners
He interpreted dream for Pharaoh’s staff
And for Pharaoh two years later
Appointed to 2nd highest office in Egypt
To run famine survival program for Egypt
Grain collection, storage, and distribution
Genesis 39(19–23), 40, & 41
[Not read in session]
Joseph Sent on Mission—Messaging Child through Parent
Joseph and Brothers
Meet Again
Severe famine
In Egypt and neighboring lands
Brought Joseph’s brothers to Egypt
He recognized them but they didn’t
First verified their repentance
Revealed himself in forgiving them
God sent me to prepare a place for you
Genesis 41–45 [45:4–8 read in session]Joseph Sent on Mission—Messaging Child through Parent
Joseph Sent on Mission—Messaging Child through Parent
Genesis 45 (NKJV)
4 And Joseph said to his brothers, “Please
come near to me.” So they came near. Then
he said: “I am Joseph your brother, whom you
sold into Egypt.
5 But now, do not therefore be grieved or
angry with yourselves because you sold me
here; for God sent me before you to preserve
life.
Joseph Sent on Mission—Messaging Child through Parent
Genesis 45 (NKJV)
6 For these two years the famine has been in
the land, and there are still five years in which
there will be neither plowing nor harvesting.
God sent me to Egypt ahead of you
To prepare for you
A refuge from this great famine
Joseph Sent on Mission—Messaging Child through Parent
Genesis 45 (NKJV)
7 And God sent me before you to preserve a
posterity for you in the earth, and to save
your lives by a great deliverance.
8 So now it was not you who sent me here,
but God; and He has made me a father to
Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler
throughout all the land of Egypt.
What We Learned
By asking Joseph to go and check on his
brothers grazing the flock in Shechem
Israel delivered to him a message from God
To set out on a mission to Egypt
To prepare a refuge from the great famine
Where the budding family of the Messiah
Will prosper and multiply
Joseph accepted and fulfilled the mission
Joseph Sent on Mission—Messaging Child through Parent