“The Mysterious Man.” Sounds like the title of a Nancy Drew mystery.
I love a good Bible story. Each one was chosen—handpicked—by God to be included in the canon, the authoritative list of books accepted as Holy Scripture. Every character, every plot, every detail has a purpose. Even stories that are repeated, as in the Gospels, are retold for a REASON.
My all-time favorite story in the Old Testament is the story of Joseph. It’s probably YOURS, too—it’s everybody’s favorite. What’s NOT to love about a tale of dreams, devotion, deceit—sibling rivalry, patience, diligence, fortitude—revenge, reversal, redemption, reunion—forgiveness and salvation? There are just so many reasons to love it! Maybe more than we think, because EVERY time we read it, we see something more.
Recently, it dawned on me that the whole series of events in Joseph’s amazing pit-to-palace life was a long string of “coincidences.” Of course, most good stories have at least one unexpected, unplanned event that alters the plot and trajectory of the main character’s life. It might be a new conflict, revelation, or improbable opportunity that redirects the story to an unforeseen conclusion. However, the story of Joseph hasn’t just ONE hairpin turn along its route—it is a long series of them. A perfect example of divine synchronicity.
For example, if you remember, Joseph was promoted to the second most powerful position in the known WORLD at that time—next only to the Pharoah of Egypt. How did this diminutive Hebrew boy from nowhere end up THERE at the top of the world?
Bear with me—let’s work our way BACKWARD in the story. Consider:
- IF God had not granted Joseph, as he stood before Pharoah, a sudden burst of on-the-spot divine revelation and wisdom, he wouldn’t have known the interpretation of Pharoah’s dreams nor thought of the genius plan to save the world from sure starvation;
- But … IF Pharoah had not had those two troubling dreams in the first place, he wouldn’t have released Joseph out of the dungeon to interpret them;
- And … IF Pharaoh’s butler had not suddenly realized … “Today reminds me of something wherein I am at fault,” he wouldn’t have told Pharoah about Joseph who could interpret dreams—whom he met in prison TWO YEARS before;
- But … IF the head jailer had not shown amazing favor toward Joseph, he wouldn’t have placed him in charge of Pharoah’s butler and baker when they were thrown into prison—and Joseph wouldn’t have heard THEIR dreams;
- And … IF Potiphar’s wife had not been so bold and evil-intentioned as to try to seduce Joseph, and then lie about it, Joseph wouldn’t have landed in Pharoah’s prison at all—he probably would’ve just served Potiphar faithfully for the rest of his life;
- But … IF Potiphar had not seen something unique in this Hebrew slave from the very first, he would not have chosen to purchase him and, amazingly, put him in charge over his entire household;
- And … IF the Ishmaelite caravan of traders had not taken that trip, on that route, at that time, they wouldn’t have shown up BY CHANCE precisely where Joseph’s brothers were camping THAT day—nor would they have rescued Joseph from probable death at the hands of his angry brothers;
- And … IF Judah had not seen that caravan coming and concocted the lucrative plan to SELL his brother …
- And … IF Reuben had not pled for the blood of Joseph, resulting instead in him being thrown into the very pit that saved his life;
- And … IF Isaac had not decided one day to send Joseph—the son that he LOVED most—a mere teenager—off by himself on a risky journey, just to check on the welfare of his brothers … we would never know the REST of the STORY. Every character in Joseph’s story added another serendipitous twist that took the tale in a different direction—BY CHANCE.
But, that’s not all. If we look back at the story’s beginning, we find that this whole circuitous journey of resentment-to-redemption HINGED on one oddly unexplained, easily overlooked, yet critical encounter that set the rest of the story in motion.
The mysterious man.
When Jacob sent Joseph off to find his older brothers, they were pasturing the family flocks near Shechem—about FIFTY miles away from Hebron (Gen. 37:14). That’s odd in itself, although Jacob had purchased land there. If we remember the disaster that had happened in Shechem, we know that the area would possibly still have been hostile territory. Surely a strange place to send your 17-year-old son—ALONE.
Nevertheless, when Joseph finally reached Shechem, he found that his brothers and their flocks had moved on … to who-knows-where. At this point, Joseph could’ve aborted the mission, turned around, and returned home. End of story. But, INSTEAD—perhaps because he had come SO far already, Scripture tells us that Joseph started to scout out the area, trying to discover which way they had gone.
And suddenly, out of literally NOWHERE, there appears this mysterious man. The text tells us: “A certain man found Joseph, and saw that he was wandering around and had lost his way in the field; so the man asked him, “What are you looking for?” He said, “I am looking for my brothers. Please tell me where they are pasturing our flocks.” Then the man said, “[They were here, but] they have moved on from this place. I heard them say, ‘Let us go to Dothan.’” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan.” (Genesis 37:14-17 AMP)
Who was this man? Was he an angel? A divine messenger, as some rabbis have claimed? Was this a manifestation of God? Or was he just a stranger? What IS clear is that, had Joseph not met this mysterious man from nowhere who directed him to go to Dothan (another 15 miles away!), he may well have just gone back home without finding his brothers—and the WHOLE rest of the story simply would not exist.
This we KNOW: nothing is for nothing—not in God’s economy. God is in control of every coincidence, and nothing is without purpose. When we remember that, we don’t have to “read” supernatural meaning into every single detail of our lives. No. BUT we DO learn to TRUST every detail to Him Who makes “ALL THINGS work together for good …”
God is writing our story, and we do NOT know what amazing miracles He is making of the most painful, hopeless, or mundane minutia of our life. But, ONE day, we will look back, with Joseph, and say, “God intended it ALL for GOOD.” (Genesis 50:20 NLT)
