The Devotional Journey: Bible Reading 33

Yahweh moves forward with His plan for Joseph

Read Genesis 41:1–57.

Two more years have passed and Joseph was still working in prison. But when Yahweh began to move forward with His plan, things happened quickly. God demonstrated how He was sovereign not only over Joseph’s life, but also history.

Yahweh gave Pharaoh two dreams in one night. These dreams puzzled him and his wise men and magicians (persons who could supposedly interpret dreams and tell the future) couldn’t interpret them. That’s when God jogged the cupbearer’s memory. He told Pharaoh about the Hebrew man in prison who could interpret dreams. So Pharaoh summoned Joseph.

And for the third time, Joseph’s life took a dramatic turn when he had to give up his prison clothes. He was cleaned up and made to look more Egyptian before appearing before Pharaoh. Joseph told Pharaoh humbly that it was his God, Yahweh, who could explain the two dreams.

Joseph listened to Pharaoh describe his dreams and then interpreted them. Yahweh was revealing what would happen in the next 14 years! Now that Pharaoh was made aware of God’s plan, what would he do?

Here was where Joseph went beyond just interpreting the dreams. He suggested to Pharaoh that a wise person must be appointed to oversee the land and the abundant harvests that were going to happen immediately. And this appointed man would also need a team to help him take charge of different areas of Egypt in order to manage the surplus food properly. Joseph advised Pharaoh to take one-fifth of each harvest and store the grain in preparation for the seven years of famine that would follow the seven years of bumper crops.

Joseph’s humble manner, his skill at interpreting Pharaoh’s dreams, plus his excellent proposal made Pharaoh realise he was already looking at the perfect man for this big job.

Over 20 years ago, Joseph’s brothers had ripped his special robe from him. But now, Pharaoh dressed him in a robe of far greater significance and gave him a signet ring and gold chain as symbols of his new authority. Joseph was now second-in-command of Egypt, reporting directing to Pharaoh!

Joseph was also issued a special chariot and wherever he went, the Egyptian officials commanded the people to bow down before Joseph. Having interpreted other people’s dreams correctly, Joseph no doubt understood the two dreams that Yahweh had given him years before. And now with all of Egypt bowing before him, Joseph must have known that it was only a matter of time before his family would appear before him and bow down.

Pharaoh gave Joseph a wife, a daughter of one of the leading Egyptian priests, who were considered the ruling class of Egyptian society. This was Pharaoh’s way of ensuring Joseph would be of the right high rank.

Yahweh blessed Joseph with two sons. He named the first Manasseh, which meant “forgetting”. Joseph said his first son helped him not dwell on the suffering of the past years. We see that he didn’t let past hurts make him bitter and resentful. And he didn’t blame God for the past. Rather, he knew God had been working in and through his life.

His second son he named Ephraim, which meant “twice fruitful”. Joseph had suffered greatly, but God blessed him twice: he had a family now and he was in authority over Egypt.

The years of suffering were not wasted. It was the time needed to train Joseph to be the right leader for the right moment. He had grown to be wise, humble, faithful and loyal to Yahweh. And God had prepared his heart to be ready to forgive his family when it came time to meet them again. Joseph recognised that though evil people had made many decisions that impacted him over the course of his life, God was overall in charge and had a reason and plan for all that had happened.

There is much we can learn from Joseph’s life journey. It is wonderful when we can go through trials with the same attitude that Jospeh had. He forgave those who were evil towards him, buried his past hurts and was able to focus on moving forward with God. He was able to be “forgetful” about the hard circumstances and declare that God was making him “fruitful”.

In our own lives, it is a real tragedy if we only remember painful things that have been done to us. Sinking into bitterness robs us of the peace and joy that God offers. Just as Joseph laid aside his prison clothes and made a new beginning, we too can “take off” old hurts and put on a new attitude of faith.

Have we been hurt in the past? Make a decision to forgive those who have hurt us. And if it is hard to do, ask God for help to work in our hearts and minister to us. Let us seek God’s help to move forward each day with His guidance and help. May we be like Joseph, forgiving and trusting in God through hard times and good times.