Betrayed by his brothers, forgotten in prison, and still trusting God.
Appears in Genesis 30:22–24 (birth), Genesis 37–50.
Joseph was Jacob's favorite son, and everyone knew it. His father gave him an ornate robe, and Joseph had dreams of his family bowing down to him, and he told them about it. His brothers hated him. One day they threw him into a pit and sold him to traders for twenty pieces of silver.
In Egypt, Joseph worked as a slave in Potiphar's house, was falsely accused by Potiphar's wife, and ended up in prison for something he didn't do. Through all of it, the text keeps repeating one line: the LORD was with Joseph. Years later, God gave him the meaning of Pharaoh's dreams, and Joseph went from prisoner to second in command of Egypt in a single day.
When famine hit, his brothers came to Egypt to buy food and bowed before a brother they didn't recognize. Joseph had the power to get even. Instead, he forgave them.
Joseph wasn't a perfect teenager. At 17 he brought a bad report about his brothers to their father (37:2) and told them, twice, about dreams of them bowing to him (37:5–11). His family was a mess too: Jacob openly loved him more than the others (37:3). And when his brothers finally showed up in Egypt, Joseph didn't forgive them on the spot. He accused them of being spies and kept Simeon in prison while he tested them (Genesis 42). Forgiveness took time, even for Joseph.
Loved by his father and rejected by his brothers. Sold for silver. Suffered for something he didn't do. Raised up to the right hand of the throne. And then he saved the very people who betrayed him.
Joseph spent years as a slave and a prisoner before any of it made sense. What helps you keep trusting God in a season that doesn't make sense yet?
Reading plan: Joseph: From the Pit to the Palace (Joseph in 14 days)