Today’s reading: Genesis 45:16-28
The life story of Joseph is primarily focused on accounts involving Joseph and his immediate family. But God has also included in his recorded story some key interactions with other people, one of those being in Genesis 45:16-28. In this passage we get a more in-depth look at the relationship between Joseph and Pharaoh, and from it we can draw some helpful lessons in the area of working relationships outside of the family (employer/employee, owner/worker, teacher/student, etc.).
Pharaoh respected and liked Joseph. We even pick up a sense of friendship between these two men from the text. And although we’re not privy to all of the details, I believe we can infer that the healthy and pleasant state of this relationship was largely due to Joseph being a consistently good, wise and diligent worker. So when Joseph’s family comes into the picture, Pharaoh embraces them like he has Joseph. He’s welcoming and extremely generous toward them, providing for them and offering to give them the choicest land in Egypt. The interactions between Pharaoh and Joseph truly provide us with a picture of what a healthy working relationship can look like from both sides of the equation.
What stood out to you about working relationships from the interaction between Pharaoh and Joseph in this chapter? What’s one thing from this account that you can use to strengthen and improve your current working relationships? Tami
Source: Tami’s Blog
