Bible Readings

Reading 33: God moves forward with His plan for Joseph

Read Genesis 41:1–57.

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

Yahweh gives Pharaoh two dreams in one night. These dreams puzzle him and his wise men and magicians (persons who supposedly tell the future) can’t interpret them. That’s when God jogs the cupbearer’s memory. He tells Pharaoh about the Hebrew man in prison who can interpret dreams. So Pharaoh summons Joseph.

And for the third time, Joseph’s life takes a dramatic turn again when he has to give up his prison clothes. He is cleaned up and made to look more Egyptian before appearing before Pharaoh. Joseph tells Pharaoh humbly that it is his God, Yahweh, who can explain the two dreams.

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

Here is where Joseph goes beyond just interpreting the dreams. He suggests to Pharaoh that a wise person must be appointed to oversee the land and the abundant harvests that are 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 advises 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’s already looking right at the perfect man for this big job.

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

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

Pharaoh gives Joseph a wife, a daughter of one of the leading Egyptian priests, who are considered the ruling level of Egyptian society. This is Pharaoh’s way of ensuring Joseph would be of the right high rank.

God blesses Joseph with two sons. He names the first Manasseh, which means “forgetting”. Joseph says his first son helped him not dwell on the suffering of the past 13 years. We see that he doesn’t let past hurts make him bitter and resentful. And he doesn’t blame God for the past. Rather, he knows God is working in and through his life.

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

The 13 years of suffering were not wasted. It was the time needed to train Joseph to be the right leader for the right moment. He has grown to be wise, humble, faithful and loyal to God. And God had prepared his heart to be ready to forgive his family when it comes time to meet them again. Joseph recognises that though evil people had made many decisions that impacted him over the course of his life, God is overall in charge and has a reason and plan for all that had happened.

There is much we can learn from Joseph’s life journey. It’s 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 so, 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.