Speaker 1: Previously on the chosen people.
Speaker 2: Hmm, Joseph, I would like to appoint you as my
Speaker 2: household over here. Everything I own, everyone who lives here,
Speaker 2: and all the crops I grow will be under your gear.
Speaker 3: However, you may.
Speaker 2: Under no circumstances order my wife or her maid servants.
Speaker 1: Potiphar's wife lounged nearby, her eyes lingering on Joseph. At
Speaker 1: twenty five, he had grown into a man of striking appearance.
Speaker 1: She watched him with a predatory gaze. Joseph, feeling her
Speaker 1: eyes upon him, did his best to avoid her.
Speaker 3: Stare lie with me.
Speaker 1: Before she could lean in to kiss him, Joseph pushed
Speaker 1: back and shook his head. I cannot do this, Please leave.
Speaker 1: Potiphar's wife seized Joseph by the belt of his garment
Speaker 1: and pulled in forcibly. This time there was a deep
Speaker 1: rage within her. Listen to me, slave, you are still
Speaker 1: owned by this household, You are still owned by me.
Speaker 1: That may be so, but before you and my master.
Speaker 3: I am owned by another.
Speaker 1: I will not sim against my guard to the nile
Speaker 1: with your god.
Speaker 4: Ride with me, or face the consequences.
Speaker 1: Joseph, out of options, decided to run with his garments
Speaker 1: still in her hand, Joseph fled out of his room.
Speaker 1: The garment slid off his body, and Joseph ran naked
Speaker 1: through the halls. Just as he turned the corner, he
Speaker 1: heard a loud scream echo through the entire home.
Speaker 3: He attacked me.
Speaker 5: This people of slave lulled me into sleep.
Speaker 3: With me, but I screamed quickly he went that way.
Speaker 1: Joseph was beaten and drowned to Potiphar by his hair.
Speaker 3: So this is how you repay my kindness. You are
Speaker 3: my master and my friend. Have I not earned you trust?
Speaker 3: By now? I tell you I've done nothing wrong.
Speaker 1: It's a lie.
Speaker 3: Please you must believe me.
Speaker 2: You will rot in prison for the rest of your
Speaker 2: Day's Hebrew take him away.
Speaker 1: In an instant, Joseph was taken up by the gods
Speaker 1: and thrown into the royal prison where Pharaoh's prisoners were confined.
Speaker 1: Joseph was once again in.
Speaker 4: The bed, forsaken by men, but found by God. Joseph's
Speaker 4: journey into the dungeon shows our creator's divine favor for
Speaker 4: his people. Lloh, my friends, from here in the Holy Land,
Speaker 4: I'm l Extein with the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews,
Speaker 4: and welcome to the Chosen People. Each day we'll hear
Speaker 4: a dramatic story inspired by the Bible. Story is filled
Speaker 4: with timeless lessons of faith, love, and the meaning of life.
Speaker 4: Through Israel's story, we find this truth that we are
Speaker 4: all chosen for something great. If you'd be so kind,
Speaker 4: take a moment to follow the podcast leave of you
Speaker 4: and share it with your friends. These small steps make
Speaker 4: a huge difference in the podcasting world. Now let's begin
Speaker 4: what happens when the righteous are forsaken?
Speaker 5: Where's God?
Speaker 4: When the faithful are forgotten? Does His light still reach
Speaker 4: the darkest dungeons. Joseph's tale is a mirror to our struggles,
Speaker 4: and it invites us to ask what is the nature
Speaker 4: of God's presence and our suffering? How do we find
Speaker 4: hope when every sign points to despair. Let's immerse ourselves
Speaker 4: in this dramatized story inspired by Genesis thirty nine twenty
Speaker 4: one to twenty three and seek the hidden threads of
Speaker 4: redemption that are woven throughout the trials of Joseph.
Speaker 1: Darkness engulf Joseph both in his surroundings and within his soul.
Speaker 1: The prison cut into a small hill outside Pharaoh's palace
Speaker 1: was a place forsaken by the sun. By day, the
Speaker 1: cell remained in perpetual shadow. By night, the freezing desert
Speaker 1: wind howled through the barred windows. A slender beam of
Speaker 1: moonlight pierced the gloom, casting silver rays that danced feebly
Speaker 1: upon the damp stone floor, as if the moon itself
Speaker 1: pitied him. Joseph leaned his head against the cold, wet
Speaker 1: walls and stared up at the slice of night sky.
Speaker 1: The monotonous drip of water echoed through the cell, a
Speaker 1: metronome of despair. Sleep eluded him. Frustrating gnawed at his heart,
Speaker 1: and he thumped his head against the wall. His anger
Speaker 1: directed of the silent heavens. So much for dreams. He
Speaker 1: glared at the moon, seeking answers in its pale glow,
Speaker 1: but the only response was the infuriating drip of water.
Speaker 1: He shivered, curling his legs to his chest, silent tears
Speaker 1: streaming down his face. Years of slavery had hardened him,
Speaker 1: but here, in the bows of this god forsaken place,
Speaker 1: he felt himself breaking. He had believed that faithfulness to
Speaker 1: God and diligent work would bring deliverance. He was wrong.
Speaker 1: Here he was imprisoned for a righteous act.
Speaker 6: Is this how you treat your faithful? My brothers are
Speaker 6: probably warming themselves by the fire.
Speaker 3: With my father.
Speaker 6: My master's wife has probably sound asleep in a warm bed.
Speaker 6: Here I sit running in a cell. Well my victimizer's
Speaker 6: laugh and run free.
Speaker 1: His voice echoed off the stone walls, a chorus of
Speaker 1: despair that returned to mock him. Joseph stood and screamed
Speaker 1: at the moon, his voice a raw, animalistic cry. No
Speaker 1: answer came, only the ceaseless strip of water. In a
Speaker 1: fit of rage, he hurled a stone at the wall
Speaker 1: and then collapsed, curling into a ball. Weeping himself into
Speaker 1: an uneasy slumber. Joseph awoke to the sound of a
Speaker 1: door creaking open. A faint light pierced the darkness as
Speaker 1: the warden's servant entered, carrying a wooden bowl. He set
Speaker 1: it down and quickly withdrew. Joseph rushed to the door,
Speaker 1: slamming his fists against it.
Speaker 6: So on, please answer me.
Speaker 1: The footsteps receded into silence. Alone once more, Joseph looked
Speaker 1: down at the bowl, a stale piece of bread floating
Speaker 1: in a few spoonfuls of broth. He took it to
Speaker 1: the center of his cell, where a small patch of
Speaker 1: sunlight provided a modicum of warmth, and ate his meager breakfast.
Speaker 1: The cells rough walls glistened in the dim light, revealing
Speaker 1: jagged edges and sprouting moss. Joseph wondered if any of
Speaker 1: it was edible. The source of the incessant dripping was
Speaker 1: a small puddle formed by water seeping through the cracks.
Speaker 1: He spent the day pacing, examining every inch of his confinement.
Speaker 1: The sharp stones cut into his bare feet, forcing him
Speaker 1: to tear strips from his garment to staunch the bleeding. Eventually,
Speaker 1: he lay down, sprawling on his back, sighing in lamentation.
Speaker 1: Memories of his brothers, the pit, and his first night
Speaker 1: in the slave quarters filled his mind. Despite the horrors
Speaker 1: of those times, he preferred them to this endless despair.
Speaker 1: Back then, he had held on to hope. Now hope
Speaker 1: seemed a cruel illusion. Joseph's stomach cramped from hunger. When
Speaker 1: dawn arrived, he propped himself up, awaiting the servant's return.
Speaker 1: The door opened and the servant filled his bowl. Joseph
Speaker 1: ate greedily, licking every inch of the bowl. Clean tears
Speaker 1: mingled with the broth, and he wept, feeling more like
Speaker 1: an animal than a man. He wailed, but there was
Speaker 1: no one to hear his cries. His soul was a
Speaker 1: void of self pity and anger.
Speaker 3: Are these my days?
Speaker 6: Is this how spend the rest of my life?
Speaker 1: Night fell, and Joseph watched the moonlight flicker through the clouds.
Speaker 1: He thought of his tent in Canaan, the warm furs,
Speaker 1: the sweet scent of wild flowers. He imagined his mother's
Speaker 1: voice and his father's hearty laugh. He missed his father.
Speaker 1: He wondered if he was still alive. Closing his eyes,
Speaker 1: he drifted into dreams of simpler times. The next morning,
Speaker 1: he was up before the servant's arrival. As the door
Speaker 1: cracked open, Joseph grabbed the servant's arm.
Speaker 3: Please don't be afraid. I mean you no harm.
Speaker 1: The servant drew his sword, pressing it against Joseph's throat.
Speaker 1: In the flickering torchlight, Joseph saw the weariness in the
Speaker 1: young man's eyes. Raising his hands in surrender, he pleaded, I.
Speaker 3: Just want to speak to someone.
Speaker 6: I haven't spoken to anyone in days.
Speaker 1: The servant withdrew the blade, leaving without a word. The
Speaker 1: broth had spilled, the bread trampled. Joseph sighed and ate
Speaker 1: off the floor, his dignity crumbling with each bite. The
Speaker 1: only water to quench Joseph's thirst was the water dripping
Speaker 1: from the ceiling. Joseph gathered the loose stones and gathered
Speaker 1: them underneath the drip. He stagged the stones into a
Speaker 1: small well and covered the cracks with some of the
Speaker 1: moss he pulled from the walls. By the end of
Speaker 1: the day, the well was full of fresh Joseph cut
Speaker 1: some in his mouth and smiled. It was the first
Speaker 1: gulp of water he had had in days. He could
Speaker 1: feel the cool water drip down his throat. It was
Speaker 1: a euphoric experience, and it filled Joseph with the simplest
Speaker 1: feeling of joy. Joseph turned his eyes to the opening
Speaker 1: in the ceiling. He felt the warmth of the sun
Speaker 1: gently kiss his cheek. He gathered some more moss from
Speaker 1: the walls and made himself a bed. That night, he
Speaker 1: finally slept soundly. Flashes of his past dreams entered his mind.
Speaker 1: Distant memories of a more innocent time comforted him. The
Speaker 1: next day, he began to transform his cell. He smoothed
Speaker 1: out rocks to make a stool, created a bed from
Speaker 1: moss and vegetation, and stacked stones as makeshift art. When
Speaker 1: the servant entered, he lingered, scanning the room with a
Speaker 1: curious gaze.
Speaker 3: Ah, it is you kept my distance this time.
Speaker 1: The servant looked at Joseph for a moment. He seemed
Speaker 1: to be pondering something. He set the food down and left.
Speaker 1: Joseph shrugged and continued to work on his prison cell.
Speaker 1: Later the door opened again. This time it was the
Speaker 1: warden himself, flanked by the servant. The warden, shorter than
Speaker 1: Joseph had imagined, wore a long linen garment tucked under
Speaker 1: a leather breastplate. He held keys in one hand and
Speaker 1: a leather whip in the other. Joseph's heart pounded as
Speaker 1: the warden approached, the whip's tip dragging along the ground.
Speaker 3: I am your warden. You are my prisoner. You are
Speaker 3: nothing but the prisoner. Are we clear?
Speaker 1: Joseph nodded quickly, Good, turn round. Joseph leaned against the
Speaker 1: wall with his palms exposing his back. He knew what
Speaker 1: was coming. He had been a slave long enough to
Speaker 1: know that whippings were a natural part of Egyptian culture.
Speaker 1: The warden needed Joseph to know he was in charge
Speaker 1: and willing to harm him, so he did. Seven lashes
Speaker 1: were given to Joseph. He had been whipped many times
Speaker 1: in his life, he never got used to it. The
Speaker 1: warden wiped Joseph's blood off his whip and tucked it
Speaker 1: back behind his belt. Without a word, he left. Joseph
Speaker 1: spent the night tending to his wounds best he could.
Speaker 1: He poured water over his exposed flesh. The coolness helped
Speaker 1: reduce the swelling, but it still stung like a swarm
Speaker 1: of bees. Joseph looked up through the opening. The sunlight
Speaker 1: had been replaced by the silver beams of the moon.
Speaker 1: Give me favor, Lord, show me favor as you once did.
Speaker 1: The next morning, the warden entered his cell again.
Speaker 3: Ye, dark, come with me.
Speaker 1: Joseph rose, his back burning with pain, but he stood tall.
Speaker 1: The guards bound him and escorted him through the prison's
Speaker 1: narrow halls, lit by flickering torches. At the end of
Speaker 1: the corridor, a heavy wooden door stood flanked by ten guards.
Speaker 1: The warden unlocked it, revealing a larger cell with multiple
Speaker 1: rooms cut into the rock. Over a dozen prisoners milled about,
Speaker 1: rolling dice, sleeping, talking. Joseph's heart lifted at the sight
Speaker 1: of other faces. He spent the day getting to know
Speaker 1: the prisoners. Many were former servants of Pharaoh or his officials,
Speaker 1: victims of circumstance like himself. Some were from the stables,
Speaker 1: others were military aids, and some of them were cooks.
Speaker 1: It was a comfort to speak with others, to share
Speaker 1: his story and hear theirs. The conversation dulled the pain
Speaker 1: in his back and the ache in his heart. As
Speaker 1: the weeks went by, Joseph had done his best to
Speaker 1: make himself useful. He built a well inside the cell,
Speaker 1: as he did before. He wove beds of moss and
Speaker 1: leaves from the vegetation growing on the walls. Eventually, Joseph
Speaker 1: came up with a system to ration the food given
Speaker 1: to them, so everyone could enjoy two hardy meals a day.
Speaker 1: The other prisoners began to rely on Joseph to speak
Speaker 1: with the warden on their behalf. At night, underneath the moonlight,
Speaker 1: the prisoners would gather around Joseph to listen to his
Speaker 1: stories about the God of his ancestors. One morning, Joseph
Speaker 1: had gotten up early to tend to the small garden
Speaker 1: of flowers he had planted underneath the opening in the ceiling.
Speaker 1: As the door opened up for food, the warden stepped in.
Speaker 7: You there, Joseph, come with me.
Speaker 1: Bound once more, Joseph was led to a stool opposite
Speaker 1: the warden. The warden leaned forward, his gaze piercing.
Speaker 7: This prison has operated by force, fear, and asolution. I
Speaker 7: am trained to remind these men that they they are criminals,
Speaker 7: and this is not their home.
Speaker 3: But they're too. However, Ever, since you arrived.
Speaker 7: The prisoners seem to think they are a family and.
Speaker 3: This is their home.
Speaker 1: Joseph dipped his head apologetically. The warden was a harsh man.
Speaker 1: He had heard stories about in killing prisoners who disobeyed him.
Speaker 1: The warden stood up and walked up to a small
Speaker 1: chest sitting on the floor near the entrance. He opened
Speaker 1: it and took out a few scrolls. He opened them
Speaker 1: and perused their contents.
Speaker 7: In these past weeks, since you've been with the prisoners,
Speaker 7: there have been no riots, no attempts at escape or
Speaker 7: assants on my guards. I have not heard them big
Speaker 7: for more food or complain about lack of water.
Speaker 3: It is clear you are of favor.
Speaker 7: I don't know whether it comes from the gods or
Speaker 7: your own skill, and quite frankly, I do not care.
Speaker 3: All I know is that you have.
Speaker 7: Made my job easier, and you have kept my gods
Speaker 7: safe because.
Speaker 3: The prisons are content.
Speaker 7: I told you already I don't care about your gods.
Speaker 3: Although I certainly believe you, what you've displayed here with
Speaker 3: men cannot be denied.
Speaker 1: Joseph kept his head down and flashed a smile. He nodded,
Speaker 1: but remained silent.
Speaker 3: Joseph, I am putting you in charge of these men.
Speaker 7: I have other prisons in the city that I must
Speaker 7: attend to, so I leave these under your care, as
Speaker 7: well as the two other selves within this prison. You
Speaker 7: will have charge over my guards and the ability to
Speaker 7: request more resources if they are available. This is not
Speaker 7: a request, but an order. You are still a prisoner here,
Speaker 7: and I am your warden.
Speaker 3: Are we clear, then you are dismissed.
Speaker 1: The warden slid two items across the desk, keys to
Speaker 1: the cells and a whip with iron tipped phrase. Joseph
Speaker 1: took the keys, bowing his head in acknowledgment, but left
Speaker 1: the whip behind. As he returned to his cell, a
Speaker 1: sense of purpose welled within him. He might be a prisoner,
Speaker 1: but here, in this dark place, he would shine a light.
Speaker 4: Joseph's story has always been a bomb for my soul.
Speaker 4: Here's a man who knew betrayal, who knew darkness, Yet
Speaker 4: even in the bowels of an Egyptian dungeon, he found favor.
Speaker 4: God was with him. It's a profound picture of God's
Speaker 4: unyielding commitment to his chosen people. God was with Joseph,
Speaker 4: an extended kindness to him even in his darkness. The
Speaker 4: cold stone walls of Joseph's prison must have felt suffocating,
Speaker 4: but God's presence was a warm embrace to him. This
Speaker 4: reality that God's favor doesn't require our circumstances to be
Speaker 4: ideal really speaks to me.
Speaker 5: Favor isn't about.
Speaker 4: A life free from trouble. It's about our companionship, our fellowship,
Speaker 4: and our connection with God even in the midst of trouble.
Speaker 4: What I've learned throughout my life that God's love isn't
Speaker 4: just present in prosperity. No, sometimes I feel his closeness
Speaker 4: in the pits and prisons of life. It's there there
Speaker 4: that I feel that His love shines the brightest. Sometimes,
Speaker 4: Can you relate to that that even in our darkest
Speaker 4: places you can feel God's light breaking through? Do you
Speaker 4: relate to that that, even in your darkest places, that
Speaker 4: you can feel God's light breaking through, that when you're
Speaker 4: so far from joy or clarity, you can feel so
Speaker 4: close to God. I think of the words of the Psalmist,
Speaker 4: where can I go from your spirit? Where can I
Speaker 4: flee from your presence? King David says, even in the depths,
Speaker 4: God is always there with us, and sometimes it's especially
Speaker 4: in those depths that we feel Him closest. When I
Speaker 4: learn Joseph's story, it connects me to my ancestors, the
Speaker 4: Chosen people, and to the enduring faithfulness of our God
Speaker 4: still today.
Speaker 5: In this story, I see the.
Speaker 4: Jewish experience of persecution, of hardship, but also of endurance,
Speaker 4: of trust and of hope. But even as he endured,
Speaker 4: even as he trusted in God, even as he tried
Speaker 4: to cling to hope, Joseph was still imprisoned. While in prison,
Speaker 4: the warden gave Joseph tremendous responsibility over the other prisoners
Speaker 4: but why the warden couldn't have known of Joseph's administrative abilities.
Speaker 4: Verse twenty three tells us exactly why. Quote the warden
Speaker 4: paid no attention to anything under Joseph's care, because the
Speaker 4: Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever
Speaker 4: he did.
Speaker 3: End quote.
Speaker 4: But how did the prison warden know that God was
Speaker 4: with Joseph? This we don't know, because the Bible doesn't
Speaker 4: tell us. But something about Joseph, just another prisoner in
Speaker 4: Pharaoh's jail, exuded godliness. There was a special light that
Speaker 4: shined from Joseph that the warden saw even in that dark,
Speaker 4: dismal dungeon. And of course, Joseph knew from his dreams
Speaker 4: that he was destined for greatness, and so even when
Speaker 4: he was in jail, he behaved in a fashion that
Speaker 4: deserved and that destined greatness. You know, as we often
Speaker 4: point out in this podcast, every one of us is
Speaker 4: destined for greatness in one way or another, and God
Speaker 4: certainly has a very special plan for each one of us.
Speaker 5: Our responsibility, like Joseph.
Speaker 4: Is that even when we don't feel like greatness, even
Speaker 4: when we're in the dark of our lives, even when
Speaker 4: God's glory is hidden. We need to live our lives
Speaker 4: in a way that shows we believe in our greatness
Speaker 4: because we are.
Speaker 5: Loved by God.
Speaker 4: And throughout this story, with highs and lows, with light
Speaker 4: and darkness, with royalty and prison, we've seen a consistency
Speaker 4: to Joseph's character. We could see it in Potifar's house.
Speaker 5: And we see it now in prison.
Speaker 4: Even in the depths of despair, Joseph allowed himself. He
Speaker 4: had the audacity to see opportunity. He saw people who
Speaker 4: needed serving and things that needed tending to, and he
Speaker 4: took that on himself to do to be empowered to help.
Speaker 4: Let's all be empowered and inspired by the perspective of Joseph,
Speaker 4: who saw the opportunity to serve others even in the
Speaker 4: midst of his own suffering. There's a transformation that occurs
Speaker 4: in our trials when we stop focusing on ourselves and
Speaker 4: we start focusing on others and the bigger picture. I've
Speaker 4: certainly seen that here in Israel, living over a year
Speaker 4: of war in the Holy Land, and yet always being
Speaker 4: able to go out and give others hope, delivering a
Speaker 4: food box on behalf of the fellowship going and visiting
Speaker 4: an elderly at a border city that's being bombarded by
Speaker 4: rockets on behalf of the fellowship, placing a bomb shelter
Speaker 4: for children on behalf of the fellowship. Even in the
Speaker 4: darkest times this past year, I've seen how we've been
Speaker 4: able to help.
Speaker 5: One of the many things.
Speaker 4: That Christians and Jews shares, the perspective that suffering can
Speaker 4: bring about a profound transformation, and that even in the darkness,
Speaker 4: we're always able to help others. Hope and adversity is
Speaker 4: not naive optimism. It's a deep faith that God's promises
Speaker 4: hold true. When Joseph sat in Pharaoh's prison, he didn't
Speaker 4: know how his story would unfold, but Joseph trusted the
Speaker 4: God who is with him in that cell, just as
Speaker 4: we the Chosen People, can trust that God is always
Speaker 4: with us, even in our hardships, listening to us, protecting us,
Speaker 4: and ready to bless each one of us.
Speaker 1: You can listen to the Chosen People with Isle Eckstein
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Speaker 1: Com app today. This Prey dog comproduction is only made
Speaker 1: possible by our dedicated team of creative talents. Steve Katina
Speaker 1: max Bard, Zach Shellabager and Ben Gammon are the executive
Speaker 1: producers of The Chosen People with Yile Eckstein. Edited by
Speaker 1: Alberto Avilla, narrated by Paul Coltefianu. Characters are voiced by
Speaker 1: Jonathan Cotton, Aaron Salvato, Sarah Seltz, Mike Reagan, Stephen Ringwold,
Speaker 1: Sylvia Zaradoc and the opening prayer is voiced by John Moore.
Speaker 1: Music by Andrew Morgan Smith, written by Bree Rosalie and
Speaker 1: Aaron Salvato. Special thanks to Bishop Paulinier, Robin van Ettin,
Speaker 1: Kayleb Burrows, Jocelyn Fuller, and the team at International Fellowship
Speaker 1: of Christians and Jews. You can hear more Prey dot
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