The fame was heard in Pharaoh’s house

Genesis 45: 16-20: “And the fame thereof was heard in Pharaoh’s house, saying, Joseph’s brethren are come: and it pleased Pharaoh well, and his servants. And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Say unto thy brethren, This do ye; lade your beasts, and go, get you unto the land of Canaan; And take your father and your households, and come unto me: and I will give you the good of the land of Egypt, and ye shall eat the fat of the land. Now thou art commanded, this do ye; take you wagons out of the land of Egypt for your little ones, and for your wives, and bring your father, and come. Also regard not your stuff; for the good of all the land of Egypt is yours.”

When the Lord finally acts it is hard to hide the evidence. While it is true that Joseph was a very important official in Pharaoh’s court, he didn’t come to Egypt as an important official, rather he came as an unheralded slave. Now, when the Lord had finally finished the work of preserving life, everyone in Pharaoh’s household knew about the reunion of Joseph’s family. The brothers had plotted in secret but now their actions were seen in public. This reminds us of the words of the Lord Jesus Christ that were written in Luke 8: 17 “For nothing is secret, that shall not be made manifest; neither any thing hid, that shall not be known and come abroad.” We may think that we are doing things in secret but God knows everything, even our most hidden secrets and these things have a way of being made know when we don’t want them to be. Pharaoh was happy for Joseph and commanded him to bring his whole family to Egypt and live wherever they wanted to live. If we trust in the Lord Jesus Christ we will be rewarded because one day “every knee shall bow before him and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God.” (Phil 2: 10, 11) Some will do this with gratitude and joy while others will do it with deep regret and, on that day, everyone will have their secret thoughts about the Lord Jesus Christ exposed to public scrutiny.

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

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Go up to my father

Genesis 45: 9-15: “Haste ye, and go up to my father, and say unto him, Thus saith thy son Joseph, God hath made me lord of all Egypt: come down unto me, tarry not: And thou shalt dwell in the land of Goshen, and thou shalt be near unto me, thou, and thy children, and thy children’s children, and thy flocks, and thy herds, and all that thou hast: And there will I nourish thee; for yet there are five years of famine; lest thou, and thy household, and all that thou hast, come to poverty. And, behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that it is my mouth that speaketh unto you. And ye shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt, and of all that ye have seen; and ye shall haste and bring down my father hither. And he fell upon his brother Benjamin’s neck, and wept; and Benjamin wept upon his neck. Moreover he kissed all his brethren, and wept upon them: and after that his brethren talked with him.”

Far from being bereaved of his son and in a desperate position, Jacob was the father of the most powerful man in all Egypt, apart from Pharaoh. Joseph sent a message to tell his father to come straight down to see him. At an earlier stage Jacob had finally stopped fighting and trusted the Lord so the Lord changed his name to Israel. For the last time in his life, Jacob reached a position where he could rest in all that the Lord had done for him. We often feel that our lives are a struggle but, like Jacob, we don’t know what is happening outside of our knowledge. However, the Lord promised that things would alway work for good if we love Him and are called according to His purpose (Rom 8: 2). It is always a good time to stop struggling and trust God for he can do “abundantly above all that we can ask or think”. (Eph 3: 20)

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

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To preserve you

Genesis 45: 1-8: “Then Joseph could not refrain himself before all them that stood by him; and he cried, Cause every man to go out from me. And there stood no man with him, while Joseph made himself known unto his brethren. And he wept aloud: and the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard. And Joseph said unto his brethren, I am Joseph; doth my father yet live? And his brethren could not answer him; for they were troubled at his presence. And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt. Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life. For these two years hath the famine been in the land: and yet there are five years, in the which there shall neither be earing nor harvest. And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.”

Joseph had finally reached the stage where he was satisfied that his brothers were truly repentant for their sins. He also knew that they would not betray their brother and could be trusted. He explained to them that God had sent him to save lives during the great famine. If Joseph had to take such a long time to test his brothers how much time should God take to test sinners on the earth? He took about thirty three years but He didn’t test the sinners, He allowed His only begotten Son to do everything instead. All we have to do is believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and everything else has been done. We can’t really believe in the Lord Jesus Christ unless we realise that we are sinners and take full responsibility for our sins.

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

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What shall we say

Genesis 44: 16-34: “And Judah said, What shall we say unto my lord? what shall we speak? or how shall we clear ourselves? God hath found out the iniquity of thy servants: behold, we are my lord’s servants, both we, and he also with whom the cup is found. And he said, God forbid that I should do so: but the man in whose hand the cup is found, he shall be my servant; and as for you, get you up in peace unto your father. Then Judah came near unto him, and said, Oh my lord, let thy servant, I pray thee, speak a word in my lord’s ears, and let not thine anger burn against thy servant: for thou art even as Pharaoh. My lord asked his servants, saying, Have ye a father, or a brother? And we said unto my lord, We have a father, an old man, and a child of his old age, a little one; and his brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother, and his father loveth him. And thou saidst unto thy servants, Bring him down unto me, that I may set mine eyes upon him. And we said unto my lord, The lad cannot leave his father: for if he should leave his father, his father would die. And thou saidst unto thy servants, Except your youngest brother come down with you, ye shall see my face no more. And it came to pass when we came up unto thy servant my father, we told him the words of my lord. And our father said, Go again, and buy us a little food. And we said, We cannot go down: if our youngest brother be with us, then will we go down: for we may not see the man’s face, except our youngest brother be with us. And thy servant my father said unto us, Ye know that my wife bare me two sons: And the one went out from me, and I said, Surely he is torn in pieces; and I saw him not since: And if ye take this also from me, and mischief befall him, ye shall bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave. Now therefore when I come to thy servant my father, and the lad be not with us; seeing that his life is bound up in the lad’s life; It shall come to pass, when he seeth that the lad is not with us, that he will die: and thy servants shall bring down the gray hairs of thy servant our father with sorrow to the grave. For thy servant became surety for the lad unto my father, saying, If I bring him not unto thee, then I shall bear the blame to my father for ever. Now therefore, I pray thee, let thy servant abide instead of the lad a bondman to my lord; and let the lad go up with his brethren. For how shall I go up to my father, and the lad be not with me? lest peradventure I see the evil that shall come on my father.”

This is where Judah finally shows his courage. He was the fourth born son but when he was born his mother gave up the struggle and said, “Now will I praise the Lord.” (Gen 29: 35). Reuben slept with his father’s concubine and Simeon and Levi slaughtered all the people in a town so Judah was left to assume the leadership of the family. He had taken responsibility for Benjamin and was ready to accept that and fight for what he knew to be right. Later, Judah’s descendants would become kings and one of his descendants was the Lord Jesus Christ. It is amazing what happens when we give up the struggle and praise the Lord instead.

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

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I can certainly divine

Genesis 44: 1-15: “And he commanded the steward of his house, saying, Fill the men’s sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put every man’s money in his sack’s mouth. And put my cup, the silver cup, in the sack’s mouth of the youngest, and his corn money. And he did according to the word that Joseph had spoken. As soon as the morning was light, the men were sent away, they and their asses. And when they were gone out of the city, and not yet far off, Joseph said unto his steward, Up, follow after the men; and when thou dost overtake them, say unto them, Wherefore have ye rewarded evil for good? Is not this it in which my lord drinketh, and whereby indeed he divineth? ye have done evil in so doing. And he overtook them, and he spake unto them these same words. And they said unto him, Wherefore saith my lord these words? God forbid that thy servants should do according to this thing: Behold, the money, which we found in our sacks’ mouths, we brought again unto thee out of the land of Canaan: how then should we steal out of thy lord’s house silver or gold? With whomsoever of thy servants it be found, both let him die, and we also will be my lord’s bondmen. And he said, Now also let it be according unto your words: he with whom it is found shall be my servant; and ye shall be blameless. Then they speedily took down every man his sack to the ground, and opened every man his sack. And he searched, and began at the eldest, and left at the youngest: and the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack. Then they rent their clothes, and laded every man his ass, and returned to the city. And Judah and his brethren came to Joseph’s house; for he was yet there: and they fell before him on the ground. And Joseph said unto them, What deed is this that ye have done? wot ye not that such a man as I can certainly divine?”

Joseph found it hard to remain anonymous to his brothers but he still had one more test for them to survive. He wanted to see how they treated Benjamin. They all knew about the relationship between Jacob and his two wives and his two concubines but there was only one other son belonging to Joseph’s mother. It the brothers could show that they were still trustworthy with Benjamin, his only full brother then they would show that they were no longer working for their own benefit. This section also show the final rehabilitation of Judah. As the history of Israel progresses Judah takes the prominent place as his tribe becomes the kingly tribe and finally the Messianic tribe. Judah needed to show that he was trustworthy and he proves true through this experience. He offered his own sons as hostage for Benjamin and now he shows himself faithful.

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

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I had your money

Genesis 43: 16-34: “And when Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the ruler of his house, Bring these men home, and slay, and make ready; for these men shall dine with me at noon. And the man did as Joseph bade; and the man brought the men into Joseph’s house. And the men were afraid, because they were brought into Joseph’s house; and they said, Because of the money that was returned in our sacks at the first time are we brought in; that he may seek occasion against us, and fall upon us, and take us for bondmen, and our asses. And they came near to the steward of Joseph’s house, and they communed with him at the door of the house, And said, O sir, we came indeed down at the first time to buy food: And it came to pass, when we came to the inn, that we opened our sacks, and, behold, every man’s money was in the mouth of his sack, our money in full weight: and we have brought it again in our hand. And other money have we brought down in our hands to buy food: we cannot tell who put our money in our sacks. And he said, Peace be to you, fear not: your God, and the God of your father, hath given you treasure in your sacks: I had your money. And he brought Simeon out unto them. And the man brought the men into Joseph’s house, and gave them water, and they washed their feet; and he gave their asses provender. And they made ready the present against Joseph came at noon: for they heard that they should eat bread there. And when Joseph came home, they brought him the present which was in their hand into the house, and bowed themselves to him to the earth. And he asked them of their welfare, and said, Is your father well, the old man of whom ye spake? Is he yet alive? And they answered, Thy servant our father is in good health, he is yet alive. And they bowed down their heads, and made obeisance. And he lifted up his eyes, and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother’s son, and said, Is this your younger brother, of whom ye spake unto me? And he said, God be gracious unto thee, my son. And Joseph made haste; for his bowels did yearn upon his brother: and he sought where to weep; and he entered into his chamber, and wept there. And he washed his face, and went out, and refrained himself, and said, Set on bread. And they set on for him by himself, and for them by themselves, and for the Egyptians, which did eat with him, by themselves: because the Egyptians might not eat bread with the Hebrews; for that is an abomination unto the Egyptians. And they sat before him, the firstborn according to his birthright, and the youngest according to his youth: and the men marvelled one at another. And he took and sent messes unto them from before him: but Benjamin’s mess was five times so much as any of theirs. And they drank, and were merry with him.”

Joseph was a forgiving man and was ready to get to know his family again. He met his younger brother who was probably just a small child before he was sold as a slave and was happy to meet his only full brother. However, he still felt that there was need for one more major test before he could tell his brothers who he was. He entertained his family and enjoyed their company for a while.

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

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Now, do this

Genesis 43: 11-15: “And their father Israel said unto them, If it must be so now, do this; take of the best fruits in the land in your vessels, and carry down the man a present, a little balm, and a little honey, spices, and myrrh, nuts, and almonds: And take double money in your hand; and the money that was brought again in the mouth of your sacks, carry it again in your hand; peradventure it was an oversight: Take also your brother, and arise, go again unto the man: And God Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he may send away your other brother, and Benjamin. If I be bereaved of my children, I am bereaved. And the men took that present, and they took double money in their hand, and Benjamin; and rose up, and went down to Egypt, and stood before Joseph.”

Jacob still wanted to retain a sense of control at that time. He told his sons to take fruit and other precious treats from his country in the hope that he could influence the situation. He also asked his sons to take money to buy the new food and take the money back that was previously returned to them. Jacob is just like everyone else; we all want to be in control of our circumstances and make sure that nothing surprises us. This was the temptation that Satan impressed on Eve, “ye shall be as gods”. We face a far greater challenge to let go and let God work in our lives but the experience is much more exciting and much more rewarding.

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

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Go down and buy food

Genesis 43: 1-10: “And the famine was sore in the land. And it came to pass, when they had eaten up the corn which they had brought out of Egypt, their father said unto them, Go again, buy us a little food. And Judah spake unto him, saying, The man did solemnly protest unto us, saying, Ye shall not see my face, except your brother be with you. If thou wilt send our brother with us, we will go down and buy thee food: But if thou wilt not send him, we will not go down: for the man said unto us, Ye shall not see my face, except your brother be with you. And Israel said, Wherefore dealt ye so ill with me, as to tell the man whether ye had yet a brother? And they said, The man asked us straitly of our state, and of our kindred, saying, Is your father yet alive? have ye another brother? and we told him according to the tenor of these words: could we certainly know that he would say, Bring your brother down? And Judah said unto Israel his father, Send the lad with me, and we will arise and go; that we may live, and not die, both we, and thou, and also our little ones. I will be surety for him; of my hand shalt thou require him: if I bring him not unto thee, and set him before thee, then let me bear the blame for ever: For except we had lingered, surely now we had returned this second time.”

It doesn’t matter how much you want to avoid a problem at some stage you have to face it. Jacob tried to avoid sending Benjamin down to Egypt but eventually they ran out of food and had to go down and get some food. In fact they had waited for so long that Judah told his father that they had enough time to go to Egypt twice in the time that they had waited. This section talks about the beginning of Judah’s rehabilitation. We saw yesterday that, by the grace of God, everyone can be rehabilitated for eternity if they believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

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Slay my two sons

Genesis 42: 37, 38: “And Reuben spake unto his father, saying, Slay my two sons, if I bring him not to thee: deliver him into my hand, and I will bring him to thee again. And he said, My son shall not go down with you; for his brother is dead, and he is left alone: if mischief befall him by the way in the which ye go, then shall ye bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave.”

Joseph’s brothers were in the process of learning to behave responsibly. Reuben was the oldest brother who had tried to save Joseph before he was sold as a slave. Here he takes responsibility and offers to leave his two sons as hostages so that the family can be saved when they go to get more food. Slowly but surely, the family was rehabilitated after their very bad start to life. It is amazing what God will do in someone’s life if they are willing to accept that He is God and controls everything. This is similar to John Mark. He went on the first missionary journey with Barnabas and Paul but pulled out when the left Cyrus and went to Asia (see Acts 13: 13). Later, when Barnabas wanted to take him on the second missionary journey Paul didn’t want to take him and this resulted in a sharp disagreement between Paul and Barnabas, so much so that they separated and went to different places forming two missionary teams rather than one. However, much later, just before Paul was martyred for his faith, Paul and Mark had been reconciled and Paul said that Mark was profitable for him in the ministry (2 Tim 4: 11). It is never too late to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved for He can always work miracles in your life.

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

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All these things are against me

Genesis 42: 24-36: “And he turned himself about from them, and wept; and returned to them again, and communed with them, and took from them Simeon, and bound him before their eyes. Then Joseph commanded to fill their sacks with corn, and to restore every man’s money into his sack, and to give them provision for the way: and thus did he unto them. And they laded their asses with the corn, and departed thence. And as one of them opened his sack to give his ass provender in the inn, he espied his money; for, behold, it was in his sack’s mouth. And he said unto his brethren, My money is restored; and, lo, it is even in my sack: and their heart failed them, and they were afraid, saying one to another, What is this that God hath done unto us? And they came unto Jacob their father unto the land of Canaan, and told him all that befell unto them; saying, The man, who is the lord of the land, spake roughly to us, and took us for spies of the country. And we said unto him, We are true men; we are no spies: We be twelve brethren, sons of our father; one is not, and the youngest is this day with our father in the land of Canaan. And the man, the lord of the country, said unto us, Hereby shall I know that ye are true men; leave one of your brethren here with me, and take food for the famine of your households, and be gone: And bring your youngest brother unto me: then shall I know that ye are no spies, but that ye are true men: so will I deliver you your brother, and ye shall traffick in the land. And it came to pass as they emptied their sacks, that, behold, every man’s bundle of money was in his sack: and when both they and their father saw the bundles of money, they were afraid. And Jacob their father said unto them, Me have ye bereaved of my children: Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin away: all these things are against me.”

Joseph longed to enjoy his brothers’ company but he was not sure that he could trust them yet. They were ready to admit that they had done the wrong thing when they sold him as a slave but where they ready to change their behaviour and act in the best possible way? The final test concerned Joseph’s full brother Benjamin; could they be trusted with him? H kept back one of the brothers as a hostage while he sent the others back to bring his full brother. While all this was happening Jacob was still filled with self pity. He wasn’t sorry that Simeon was kept back and he didn’t want to let Benjamin go because he didn’t want to grieve again. He was not willing to trust the Lord at this stage of his life.

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

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Ye are spies

Genesis 42: 14-23 “And Joseph said unto them, That is it that I spake unto you, saying, Ye are spies: Hereby ye shall be proved: By the life of Pharaoh ye shall not go forth hence, except your youngest brother come hither. Send one of you, and let him fetch your brother, and ye shall be kept in prison, that your words may be proved, whether there be any truth in you: or else by the life of Pharaoh surely ye are spies. And he put them all together into ward three days. And Joseph said unto them the third day, This do, and live; for I fear God: If ye be true men, let one of your brethren be bound in the house of your prison: go ye, carry corn for the famine of your houses: But bring your youngest brother unto me; so shall your words be verified, and ye shall not die. And they did so. And they said one to another, We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us. And Reuben answered them, saying, Spake I not unto you, saying, Do not sin against the child; and ye would not hear? therefore, behold, also his blood is required. And they knew not that Joseph understood them; for he spake unto them by an interpreter.”

As time went by these men were to be the fathers of the twelve tribes of Israel. However, at this stage, they were still the sons of one man and four women. These sons fought against each other and ganged up on Joseph because he was the favourite. The Lord was bringing them to the place where they would repent of their sins and then they would be able to move on. Joseph wasn’t taking the place of God, he s just making sure that they would be trustworthy with his only full brother. The ten brothers remembered their sin and confessed what they had done. Joseph was gracious and didn’t kill them as he had every right to do. However, the Lord Jesus Christ treats every sinner in the same way. If we confess that we are sinners and believe in Him we can have everlasting life.

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

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Joseph remembered the dreams

Genesis 42: 4-13: “But Benjamin, Joseph’s brother, Jacob sent not with his brethren; for he said, Lest peradventure mischief befall him. And the sons of Israel came to buy corn among those that came: for the famine was in the land of Canaan. And Joseph was the governor over the land, and he it was that sold to all the people of the land: and Joseph’s brethren came, and bowed down themselves before him with their faces to the earth. And Joseph saw his brethren, and he knew them, but made himself strange unto them, and spake roughly unto them; and he said unto them, Whence come ye? And they said, From the land of Canaan to buy food. And Joseph knew his brethren, but they knew not him. And Joseph remembered the dreams which he dreamed of them, and said unto them, Ye are spies; to see the nakedness of the land ye are come. And they said unto him, Nay, my lord, but to buy food are thy servants come. We are all one man’s sons; we are true men, thy servants are no spies. And he said unto them, Nay, but to see the nakedness of the land ye are come. And they said, Thy servants are twelve brethren, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and, behold, the youngest is this day with our father, and one is not.”

The last time that Joseph saw his brothers before this was when they sold him to the Ishmaelites as a slave. He would have heard them discussing whether to kill him or sell him and get some money. Joseph wanted to make sure that his brothers weren’t going to destroy him as they had before. He wasn’t seeking revenge for their former behaviour (see Gen 50: 19, 20 “And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God? But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.”) Joseph was a generous and forgiving man but he knew that he had to protect himself. It was easy for his to recognise his brothers because they were still wearing the same style of clothing but Joseph was no part of Egyptian royalty. He was wearing Egyptian clothing and make up and had shaved his beard.

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

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There was corn in Egypt

Genesis 42: 1-3: “Now when Jacob saw that there was corn in Egypt, Jacob said unto his sons, Why do ye look one upon another? And he said, Behold, I have heard that there is corn in Egypt: get you down thither, and buy for us from thence; that we may live, and not die. And Joseph’s ten brethren went down to buy corn in Egypt.”

Jacob didn’t even know that he was in trouble while God was working though his plan to save Jacob and his family. However, it finally dawned on Jacob that there wasn’t enough food to eat and he knew that there was food in Egypt. Jacob was a wealthy man because God kept the promise that He made to Abraham so he was able to buy food when he needed it. He sent his ten older sons down to Egypt to buy the food so that they would have enough to feed the family. Jacob kept his youngest son, Benjamin, back because he didn’t want to risk losing the second son of his favourite wife.

All the countries came into Egypt

Genesis 41: 53-57: “And the seven years of plenteousness, that was in the land of Egypt, were ended. And the seven years of dearth began to come, according as Joseph had said: and the dearth was in all lands; but in all the land of Egypt there was bread. And when all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread: and Pharaoh said unto all the Egyptians, Go unto Joseph; what he saith to you, do. And the famine was over all the face of the earth: And Joseph opened all the storehouses, and sold unto the Egyptians; and the famine waxed sore in the land of Egypt. And all countries came into Egypt to Joseph for to buy corn; because that the famine was so sore in all lands.”

God gave Pharaoh a dream because God knew that Pharaoh was the only person on the earth with the authority to force the people to keep their grain during the years of abundance. God brought Joseph down to Egypt in difficult circumstances but put him in a position where he would have sufficient credibility to interpret Pharaoh's dream. When all these circumstances came together God was able to keep His promise to Abraham “And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.” (Gen 15: 13, 14) and save Abraham’s descendants from starvation in the great drought. God controls the whole earth and is able to move nations as a person moves pieces on a chess board to accomplish His purposes. But, you may ask, why did God want to force His people into slavery anyway. Their time in slavery forged their national identity and it also gave the Amorites time to repent of their sin.

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

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God hath caused me to be fruitful

Genesis 41: 50-52: “And unto Joseph were born two sons before the years of famine came, which Asenath the daughter of Potipherah priest of On bare unto him. And Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh: For God, said he, hath made me forget all my toil, and all my father’s house. And the name of the second called he Ephraim: For God hath caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction.”

Finally Joseph was able to rest from his struggles and trials. He was a good man who suffered significantly. He knew that he hadn’t sinned and trusted the Lord to save him out of his terrible situation. The Lord proved to be faithful and kept Joseph from destruction. Even though he was tempted to have a sexual affair with his master’s wife, he resisted the temptation and the Lord finally gave him a wife of his own. In Egypt the priests had great power so Joseph was allied to a powerful family and had strong protection within the context of their society as well as strong protection from Pharaoh. Of course, all this would have amounted to nothing without the Lord. When Joseph had his own sons and access to future blessing he honoured the Lord. by giving them names to show respect for the Lord’s care and protection. He was able to leave his problems behind him and be fruitful in the furtherance of the promises that the Lord first made to Abraham all those years before.

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

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It was without number

Genesis 41: 45-49: “And Pharaoh called Joseph’s name Zaphnathpaaneah; and he gave him to wife Asenath the daughter of Potipherah priest of On. And Joseph went out over all the land of Egypt. And Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went throughout all the land of Egypt. And in the seven plenteous years the earth brought forth by handfuls. And he gathered up all the food of the seven years, which were in the land of Egypt, and laid up the food in the cities: the food of the field, which was round about every city, laid he up in the same. And Joseph gathered corn as the sand of the sea, very much, until he left numbering; for it was without number.”

Joseph was faithful to the Lord and chose not to defile himself when he had the opportunity. He could easily have taken credit for being able to interpret dreams but he chose to give the glory to God. We can compare Joseph with Daniel (“But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself. ” Dan 1: 8) They both set a good example for us to follow. We can contrast both these men with Job who also refused to defile himself (“Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die. But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.” Job 2: 9, 10). However, job went through great trials but eventually he had an intimate encounter with the Lord. If we refuse to defile ourselves then we, too, can expect to have an intimate encounter with the Lord. It may not be in the terms that we would expect or even like but God is God and our lives will be much richer for the experience. Every great man or woman of faith soon realises that there is no such thing as a great man or a great woman of God, there are only men and women of the great God. Christianity is a matter of ordinary people, doing ordinary things in an ordinary way in conjunction with Almighty God, doing Almighty things in His Almighty way.

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

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