WHY GOD LEADS THROUGH A LONGER ROUTE Pt.7

TO WRITE DIVINE EXAMINATIONS

The opening text is talking about Joseph. We all know the story of his life. He was specially loved by his father because he was the first son of his late favourite wife-
Rachel. His father sowed a cloth of many colours for him and that drew the ire of his brothers. At age 17, he had a dream about his glorious future but that led to bitter jealousy from his brothers. They saw him as a threat and they connived to sell him into slavery. In slavery, he was favoured but not without its challenges. His master's wife tried to seduce him into sexual immorality but he fled. He was framed up and sentenced to jail. I know you're conversant with his story but there are certain things I want us to examine. It took 13 solid years for Joseph's dreams to be fulfilled but in-between, he sat for divine examinations. The opening text says "the word of the LORD tried him". That was a character test. God led him through a longer route before getting to the throne.

Do you know that Joseph would have halted his journey to greatness if he had failed Mrs Potiphar's test? If he had agreed to her advances, he would have enjoyed the goodies from the Potiphars but he would have remained a chief slave. The temptation to sleep with his master's wife was a test of character and self control. The plan of God for Joseph was great, he was destined to get to a place where women will run after him even if he didn't beckon on them. Joseph proved to God that he won't abuse greatness to indulge in sexual immorality. He had only one wife(Arsenath), which is God's order for marriage. It is not uncommon to see men of great destiny writing the test of a course titled "Sexual Purity 101". David failed when he wrote this test, he messed up with Bathsheba and even killed her husband because he wanted to cover his immoral deeds. Samson didn't just fail, he was advised to withdraw because his performance was woeful. He had very bad C.G.P.A. I'm using academic terms to describe these events.

Not only did Joseph pass the test of " Sexual Purity 101", he also passed the test of "Forgiveness And Love 101". How did I know? When he met his brothers, he said, "But don’t be upset, and don’t be angry with yourselves for selling me to this place. It was God who sent me here ahead of you to preserve your lives."( Genesis 45:5 NLT). Joseph could have been vindictive, he had the power to deal with his treacherous brothers but he didn't. On your journey to the promised land, you may be betrayed, backstabbed, treated harshly and dealt with. Do not think of revenging when you arrive at the promise land. Bitterness and anger is not permitted where God is taking you to. Recognize that you're in a phase of life where you're writing divine examinations you mustn't fail. You can delay your stay on the longer route if you don't learn your lessons on time and pass your examinations. In God's training school, people repeat classes, I hope that won't be your story.