9/17/11
Greetings, I often hear talk about a “Joseph generation”. This is phraseology amongst Christians which describes a group of individuals that God is raising up to have the attributes modeled by the biblical Joseph. The story of Joseph is found in the latter part of the book of Genesis.
Joseph’s father was Jacob (whose name was later changed to Israel). Joseph was one of twelve sons sired by his father. The offspring of these sons became the twelve tribes of Israel. Several things set Joseph apart from his other brothers. For one, he was the son of his father’s old age (Genesis 37:3). Two, he was the first born of his mother Rachel. This is the wife that Jacob wound up working fourteen years for! When Rachel died giving birth to Joseph’s younger brother Benjamin it set Joseph apart even more (Genesis 35:16-20).
Joseph’s favor began with his father. As the story of Joseph continues we find that favor was with him no matter where he went. When was sold to an Egyptian slave owner he had favor and even when he was falsely accused by the Egyptian’s wife and sent to prison he found favor. The verses below show the favor he had with his father, the favor he had with his Egyptian master, and the favor that he had with the warden of the prison.
“Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children because he was the son of his old age, and he made him a [distinctive] long tunic with sleeves.” (Genesis 37:3 AMP)
“But the Lord was with Joseph, and he [though a slave] was a successful and prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian.” (Genesis 39:2 AMP)
“But the Lord was with Joseph, and showed him mercy and loving-kindness and gave him favor in the sight of the warden of the prison.” (Genesis 39:23 AMP)
The favor that began with his father followed him into every situation and circumstance. Joseph was also granted prophetic insight that unfortunately ignited violent opposition from his brothers. When he was seventeen years old he dreamed dreams and began to “cast the vision” before he had time to process it and communicate it out of a right spirit. Though the dreams were true, the implications were too much for his brothers to handle. Both of his dreams prophesied that the day would come when his father and brothers would all stand before him and bow (Genesis 37:7-10).
The reason why Joseph ended up becoming the slave of an Egyptian (and ultimately put in jail) was because his brothers not only rejected him but conspired against him. They threw him into a pit and then sold him to slave traders and told Jacob that he was dead! Sounds pretty terrible right?
I acknowledge that there is a generation in the earth today that carries the mantle of Joseph. They are going to excel in business. They are going to bring enormous amounts of wealth into the kingdom. They will have wisdom beyond their years and operate according to prophetic clarity. They will have enormous amounts of favor and they will be great assets in the hands of God.
However, before all of this is true the Joseph generation will be rejected, kicked out, given the left foot of ministry, declared a “threat,” and told that they are bringing division to the established order of things. They are going to be betrayed by those closest to them, they will find themselves isolated, and in some cases seemingly left without hope. As a matter of fact, some of the very people that preach and prophesy about a coming “Joseph Revolution” are guilty of suppressing and rejecting the “Josephs” that God has sent them.
The mantle of favor and excellence that is upon the Joseph generation is awe-inspiring. However, arising Josephs will find the most immediate and painful opposition from the very spiritual family that they belong to. This should come as no surprise.
The good news is that the day finally came when Joseph was released from prison and brought before the Egyptian Pharaoh. He was presented before Pharaoh in order to decipher Pharaoh’s dreams. After being told the dreams, the Lord revealed to Joseph that there would be seven years of plenty followed by seven years of famine. After Joseph interpreted the dreams he was made second in the kingdom of Egypt and put in charge of preparations for the coming seven years of famine.
Sure enough the famine came and eventually left Jacob and his household without food. When they realized that they were out of food they sought to purchase some from Egypt (as many other people were doing). In order to do this, they had to go through Joseph. To make a long story short, the day came when Joseph’s dreams were fulfilled. However, when it became understood that God had allowed for everything to happen—unity was reestablished between Joseph and his family.
“And he fell on his brother Benjamin's neck and wept, and Benjamin wept on his neck. Moreover, he kissed all his brothers and wept upon them; and after that his brothers conversed with him.” (Genesis 45:14-15 AMP)
Not only was unity established, but provisions were made that would not have come about any other way. The entire tribe of Israel was permitted to move into the land of Goshen and live on Egypt’s resources for the duration of the famine. Moreover, his whole family received favor from the Egyptian government.
When we are talking about a Joseph generation we are essentially saying that the anointing and mantle that rested upon the historical Joseph is now being placed upon an entire group of people within God’s kingdom. While it is true that this mantle comes with favor, prophetic clarity, an anointing to produce wealth, and an assortment of other benefits and blessings, it also comes with a price and a mandatory period of testing. Many that have a “Joseph mantle” will face rejection, persecution, and opposition. Nonetheless, in the end God will work all things to the good of those that love him and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). He will work through the adverse circumstances that His Josephs experience and use them to create provisions for His body that would otherwise not occur. In the end, one of the most powerful ramifications of the Joseph revolution will be the unity that manifests as a result.
Discussion
1. What do people mean when they make reference to a Joseph generation?
2. What are the benefits of being part of the Joseph generation?
3. What are the burdens of being part of the Joseph generation?
4. Why will the Joseph generation produce unity?
5. Do you see yourself as part of the Joseph generation?
