the life of Joseph is a compelling source of encouragement for Christians who find themselves confronted with the pressures of daily living. Joseph's message to them is clear: look to God's promises and draw strength from them. God can, through these promises, enable us to endure the arrows of affliction that fly our way and even to respond with the arrows of kindness, patience and faith. But Joseph not only demonstrated what it means to live in dependence on God's Word, he also clearly foreshadowed the life and work of the Lord Jesus Christ in a way that provides further confirmation of the utter reliability of god's Word and his promises.

In his suffering and eventual exaltation to a position where he was able to 'save many people alive', Joseph points us to the Saviour who willingly endured a far greater humiliation in order to save his people.