Michelle
This passage tells of Joseph gaining favor with Pharaoh and becoming in charge of all of Egypt. He is brought in to interpret Pharaoh's dream as the cup bearer finally remembered him and suggested he be brought for this task. In 42, Joseph's dream from youth comes to fruition in that his brother's are brought before him and are now bowing and asking for something from him, not knowing of course who it is. I can't tell if he is being deceitful toward his brother for malicious reasons or not. I don't remember the rest of this story and haven't read ahead, but it doesn't feel like it's from a bad place. As before we see that Joseph is still in favor with God and continues to prosper no matter his position or place in life. He seems to find ways to make the best of whatever situation he is in. And in this time, if I remember correctly, most Pharisees are not very accepting of those that are believers. So it is a blessing that this Pharaoh is accepting of his beliefs and trusts him with everything he has. There is a devotional attached to Gen 41 that talks of God's silent work. It says that he is silently working. "Joseph could have grown bitter and inflamed by the dreadful circumstances of his life. Sold into slavery by his family, sent to prison for refusing to sin." We see that his circumstances changed after these events, and even during these events, he did not despair, he kept the faith and prospered in his situation only to then have his circumstances changed even more for the better. This does make me think we need to have this same attitude. I can admit this is not a normal attitude I have when things are not going my way. I have a short fuse and get irritated and frustrated very easily when life throws me curve balls. More so as I have gotten older. But I think this says we need to keep the faith and know that God is working on us and in ways we cannot see. We just need to turn to him and he will lead us in the way we should go.
This psalm seems to be one of praise and guidance, stating "I put my trust in you...Show me your ways, teach me your paths, guide me in your truth and teach me...Do not remember the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways (forgive me is what I read here)". It feels like he is asking for guidance for the righteous path and saying he is trusting God to lead him. I think sometimes I don't ask this but have more of an expectation, if that makes sense. I guess because I can't or don't always see or understand how I am being guided is why this is difficult to me. Probably why I wish I could understand my dreams more. I don't know how to discern God's voice from the one in my head most of the time, but I know he comes to me in dreams, but they are often very confusing or I just wake up with various feelings and can't figure it out. Maybe I am not putting my trust fully in God and that is why it is all jumbled. I am not sure.
Julie
I think this passage does show the righteousness of Joseph. Regardless of all that his family and the Pharoah's wife have put him through he does not appear to be vindictive or out for revenge. I do think he is trying to make his brothers sweat. I also do not recall exactly how this story plays out, but I agree that I don't believe that Joseph is going to be malicious as he was not malicious when other did not live up to their word with him. He does seem to be accepting of his current circumstances, regardless of how he got there and moves through with trust in the Lord.
This Psalm shows trust in the Lord and help with suffering at the hand of others. I found it interesting that they say this lament does not end positively as most of the others do, but it does not really explain what exactly is meant by that.
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