Last 5 Days
God has made me!
41 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.” 42 Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his hand and put it on Joseph's hand, and clothed him in garments of fine linen and put a gold chain about his neck. 43 And he made him ride in his second chariot. And they called out before him, “Bow the knee!” Thus he set him over all the land of Egypt. 44 Moreover, Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh, and without your consent no one shall lift up hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.” 45 And Pharaoh called Joseph's name Zaphenath-paneah. And he gave him in marriage Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of On. So Joseph went out over the land of Egypt.
46 Joseph was thirty years old when he entered the service of Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh and went through all the land of Egypt. 47 During the seven plentiful years the earth produced abundantly, 48 and he gathered up all the food of these seven years, which occurred in the land of Egypt, and put the food in the cities. He put in every city the food from the fields around it. 49 And Joseph stored up grain in great abundance, like the sand of the sea, until he ceased to measure it, for it could not be measured.
50 Before the year of famine came, two sons were born to Joseph. Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of On, bore them to him. 51 Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh. “For,” he said, “God has made me forget all my hardship and all my father's house.” 52 The name of the second he called Ephraim, “For God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction.”
53 The seven years of plenty that occurred in the land of Egypt came to an end, 54 and the seven years of famine began to come, as Joseph had said. There was famine in all lands, but in all the land of Egypt there was bread. 55 When all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread. Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph. What he says to you, do.”
56 So when the famine had spread over all the land, Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold to the Egyptians, for the famine was severe in the land of Egypt. 57 Moreover, all the earth came to Egypt to Joseph to buy grain, because the famine was severe over all the earth.
The reading from today’s passage answered the series of questions which the brothers brought forth at the beginning of Joseph’s story in chapter 37. “Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule over us?” The short answer to this question is a resounding YES! The curse to interpret dreams, which made the brothers terribly mad with Joseph many years ago had now became the gift that made Joseph the second most powerful man in Egypt in this passage.
After the convincing interpretation of Pharaoh’s dreams, Joseph was commissioned to take care of all the land in Egypt. He was given the power to authorise through the signet ring, and clothed with the riches of the land. Joseph the convict, thrown into the dungeon, with the sudden turn of events, now became the second man to Pharaoh. The interpretation of Pharaoh’s dreams came true and Egypt had seven years of plentiful years and another seven years of famine. Joseph kept sufficient supply of grains during the plentiful years in order to sustain themselves during the famine years. Verse 49 tells us that the grains that Joseph stored up were in such great abundance, that it could no longer be measured. God had provided favour and success to Joseph during his watch in the governance of the Egyptian lands.
Before the year of the famine began, Joseph, with his wife Asenath gave birth to two children. The first born was named Manasseh and the second was called Ephraim. Despite being in an Egyptian land, Joseph had decided to give both children Hebrew names. The Israelites were particular to the names of their children, as it represented the pleas and thanksgiving of parents for their children. Manasseh meant “God has made me forget all my hardship and all my father's house” and Ephraim meant “for God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction.” God has made me! Joseph acknowledged and celebrated God’s goodness in his life that was filled with extreme challenges. He had not forgotten God’s promises of His presence.
Through the life of Joseph, he had met with multiple low points in his life. The betrayal of his brothers, the imprisonment after he was being maligned by Potiphar’s wife and then being forgotten by the chief cupbearer. After overcoming one hardship, he found himself ending in another puddle of mess. From our human perspective, life had been “unkind” to Joseph and it would have been easy for Joseph to feel frustrated and bitter with God. Despite all the sinful nature of man, God’s plan for Joseph was good and His timing remained perfect. The dream that God gave to Joseph in his earliest days have now come to fruition. Who could ever imagine that in the lowest moment of Joseph’s life, he was raised up by God to become the most powerful governor of his time?
Dear brothers and sisters, has God given you a dream or placed in your heart a call in your spiritual journey? He might have called you to serve Him in specific areas of ministry or to specific people group. However, somewhere along the line, things happened and you seem to have fallen off of the original course of plan. Or maybe you have decided to stop pursuing God’s heart because of failures and disappointments? The story of Joseph is a reminder to us that His plans cannot be thwarted, and in His time and way, God will continue to bring His plans to fruition, regardless of circumstances, for no word from God will ever fail (Luke 1:37).
“Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!” (Luke 1:45) God’s heart is not so much on the end game results, for He already know how the story will ultimately unfold. God’s heart is transforming the hearts of the people to trust in Him and in believing that God is good and faithful. Just like how the journey of Joseph was to shape him to Christlikeness, He too desires us to be shaped to trust and obey as Christ had. What do we need to trust God with today? Can we give it to Him in open arms and trust Him with the circumstances we are in?