A Pretty Wild Ride

Genesis 41:46-57

 

 

Up to this point, Joseph’s life has been like a rollercoaster.

 

He started out as a confident, but arrogant teenager. As a result, his brothers sold him into slavery. He was then taken to Egypt where he was bought by Potiphar who realized how God was blessing him, so he put him in charge of his household. Unfortunately, Potiphar’s wife accused Joseph of trying to rape her, resulting in him being thrown into prison.

 

The warden, like Potiphar, also recognized Joseph’s leadership abilities, and appointed him the head of the prison. This led to Joseph being in a position to interpret Pharaoh’s dreams who then made him second in command in all of Egypt. All in all, a pretty wild ride.

 

It would have been easy for Joseph to wallow in self-pity, anger and resentment while

blaming his brothers or Potiphar’s wife for all the pain and suffering he had endured. But he didn’t. Even when life was at its worst, he continued to believe and have faith in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, his father.

 

The passage today is mostly about how Joseph administers his plan to deal with the years of abundance followed by the famine. But, in the middle of this story is a paragraph that almost seems out of place.

 

^50 “During this time before the arrival of the first of the famine years, two sons were born to Joseph by Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, priest of the sun god Re of Heliopolis. ⁵¹ Joseph named his oldest son Manasseh (meaning “Made to Forget”—what he meant was that God had made up to him for all the anguish of his youth, and for the loss of his father’s home). ⁵² The second boy was named Ephraim (meaning “Fruitful”—“For God has made me fruitful in this land of my slavery,” he said).” 

 

The names that Joseph gave to his sons are significant because they reflected his relationship with God. The meaning of those names applies to our faith as well.

 

As Paul wrote to the Philippians,  ^“Of course, my friends, I really do not think that I have already won it (the prize); the one thing I do, however, is to forget what is behind me and do my best to reach what is ahead.” And to the Romans Paul wrote, God has given each of us the ability to do certain things well.” 

 

Joseph is a good example for us to follow. If we forget the past and keep our eyes focused on the prize; if we allow God to use our gifts for His purpose; then God just might take us on a pretty wild ride too.