(Genesis 41:50-52) Before the year of famine came, two sons were born to Joseph. Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of On, bore them to him. 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."The name of the second he called Ephraim, "For God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction."
There's a powerful revelation in these three verses. Joseph ended up being in Pharaoh's service because he interpreted Pharaoh's dream. It foretold that there would be seven years of plenty followed by seven years of famine. Pharaoh put Joseph in charge of all the land of Egypt. He was second only to Pharaoh. He also was given Asenath as a wife. We can see how God is at work, not only grafting in peoples, but preparing to rescue, or save Joseph's Hebrew family from the famine. I think it must have been even more than just them, too, because verse 57 tells us the famine was severe over all the earth. They were coming from all over the earth to buy grain from the Egyptians.
We can apply the powerful statements in verses 51-52 to ourselves today. God will make you forget all your hardships and all your father's house. Whatever you went through, will be changed by God (if you let Him) to treasures in the darkness of those days. The treasures are the knowledge, wisdom, strength, and ability to help someone else going through the same thing(s). May I tell you that the fact you survived whatever may have happened to you, is your first treasure. Forgetting all your father's house doesn't necessarily mean you'll forget all the people there. But you will forget all the wrong stuff you learned and move on with the new stuff God teaches you.
Whenever we're going through some changes, we can feel like we're seriously being afflicted. When we read Chapter 40, we can see that Joseph was forgotten by the cup-bearer, until Pharaoh had that dream. That's when he told Pharaoh about Joseph. The rest is History. And, God did make him fruitful in the land of his affliction. God will do the same for us. All that treasure will come to you, and you will be able to use it to rise above whatever it is you went through. You'll be able to use it to help somebody else; and, you'll be able to help many more people. That treasure is yours forever!
Love you from Café du Mondieu
Copyright by Marina Morrison (aka) Eden Stillwater, January 3, 2023, 11:39 a.m.
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