At the age of 17, Joseph was doted upon by his father and given dreams of dominion over his brothers. At that stage of his life, Joseph would not have been at all suitable to be viceroy of Egypt. God undertook a program to season the young man by a series of events which got his self worth into perspective. So too does God want us to get our natural, prideful hearts into subjection. In this, He will also bring us under His discipline.
The Gospel is not a New Testament concept. Rather is it fundamental to God's plan for humanity. As an example, Genesis 5 contains a clear statement of the Gospel. It is laid out in the names of the descendants of Adam.
Trumpets announce the arrival of the King. The seven trumpets mirror the conquest of Jericho in the Book of Joshua. Similarly, the censer of incense hurled to the earth echos Korah's rebellion in the Book of Numbers.
The character trait of order has been likened to the clasp on a pearl necklace - not valuable in itself, but without which the valuable pearls would be useless.
After the death of Ahab, Moab rebelled against Israel. Jehoram and Jehoshaphat joined forces to bring them back under tribute. When the army ran out of water, the kings consulted Elisha as to how to proceed. After that, Elisha provided oil for a prophet's widow and raised a boy from the dead.
Part 2 The role geography plays in Biblical events.
Biblically, God has been on a 6,000 year project to improve the human heart - Moses call it 'circumcision of the heart.' Like any program of character development, the methods God uses, trials, chastening and suffering, are unpleasant at the time. But Scripture says that their results are well worth it.
In a sense, the earth is one battleground in a much larger war that rages in heaven. As such, evil is very much a part of our world. We, as believers, have an advantage in that the sources and methods of evil can be understood, they can be defended against and they can be defeated. The readings mentioned are Genesis 3, Ezekiel 28 and Luke 2.
The sealing of the 144,000. What is the Scriptural background for their choice, who are they and what is their mission?
When God has something for you to do, doing it quickly is almost as important as is obedience.