Digging Deeper Days
Finding the original intent of Scripture and making good application to our everyday lives as we become equipped to correctly handle the Word of Truth!
Today is 2-for-1 Friday!
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The Questions
1) How much time elapsed between Joseph being sold into slavery and him entering the service of the Pharaoh? (verse 46)
2) What preparations did Joseph make during the seven years of abundance? (verse 47)
3) What importance do Joseph’s sons’ names have in verses 51-52?
4) What implications did Joseph’s decisions have both in Egypt and beyond? (verses 54-57)
Genesis 41:46-57
46 Joseph was thirty years old when he entered the service of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Joseph left Pharaoh’s presence and traveled throughout the land of Egypt.47 During the seven years of abundance the land produced outstanding harvests. 48 Joseph gathered all the excess food in the land of Egypt during the seven years and put it in the cities. He put the food in every city from the fields around it. 49 So Joseph stored up grain in such abundance—like the sand of the sea—that he stopped measuring it because it was beyond measure. 50 Two sons were born to Joseph before the years of famine arrived. Asenath daughter of Potipher, priest at On, bore them to him. 51 Joseph named the firstborn Manasseh and said, “God has made me forget all my hardship and my whole family.” 52 And the second son he named Ephraim and said, “God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction.” 53 Then the seven years of abundance in the land of Egypt came to an end, 54 and the seven years of famine began, just as Joseph had said. There was famine in every land, but in the whole land of Egypt there was food. 55 When the whole land of Egypt was stricken with famine, the people cried out to Pharaoh for food. Pharaoh told all Egypt, “Go to Joseph and do whatever he tells you.” 56 Now the famine had spread across the whole region, so Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold grain to the Egyptians, for the famine was severe in the land of Egypt. 57 Every land came to Joseph in Egypt to buy grain, for the famine was severe in every land.
Original Intent
1) How much time elapsed between Joseph being sold into slavery and him entering the service of the Pharaoh? (verse 46)
According to Genesis 37:2, Joseph was around 17 when he was sold into slavery and as the story progresses into Genesis 41:46, we read that Joseph was 30 when he came into the official service of the Pharaoh. There were roughly 13 years that lapsed between those two events in Joseph’s life. Although he struggled in those 13 years as a prisoner, the Lord used his suffering just as He always does in the lives of those who trust Him. Through Joseph’s suffering, God built His own steadfast character into Joseph who responded with increased faith, resulting in unshakeable hope! (James 1:2-4) Paul reminds us of this truth later in Romans 5:3-5, “we also boast in our afflictions, because we know that affliction produces endurance, endurance produces proven character, and proven character produces hope. This hope will not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”
2) What preparations did Joseph make during the seven years of abundance? (verse 47)
Through the revelation of Pharaoh’s dreams, Joseph understood there would be seven years of abundance. (Genesis 41:28-30) He strategically traveled throughout Egypt wisely preparing how to steward the abundance the Lord would provide in the coming years. Of course, this required significant faith on Joseph’s part, in the same way Noah built an ark before a drop of rain appeared, but Joseph was prepared. His faith had been tested and found ready to follow God even when he couldn’t see the fields ripe with grain yet. According to Genesis 41:47-49, Joseph carefully gathered harvested food above and beyond what was needed, storing it in the various cities within Egypt. There was so much excess they stopped measuring for it was simply too much to count. “So Joseph stored up grain in such abundance—like the sand of the sea—that he stopped measuring it because it was beyond measure.” (Genesis 41:49) God is not only Provider, but He is lavishly generous! There is nothing stingy about the Lord! God provided enough food supply for both the seven years of abundance and the seven years of famine. What’s more, He gave Pharaoh the dreams at just the right time to prepare the country and He gave Joseph the wisdom to know exactly how to steward His abundance in order to abundantly provide for His people. The Lord could have done all of this on His own, or He could have just watched the suffering and death of two nations, but He did neither. He invited humans into His work of blessing the nations! Centuries forward, Christ would come “at just the right time” (Romans 5:6) to die for all humanity so we may find abundance in the same God who saved Egyptian and Hebrew through Joseph! (Matthew 7:7-11)
3) What importance do Joseph’s sons’ names have in verses 51-52?
In these verses, we read how Joseph named his sons with intention and purpose for where he found himself during that specific time in his life. In a moment of reflection, he named his sons for how he saw God working in his life, providing us with a snapshot into his faith journey! Manasseh, his firstborn son’s name means “God has made me forget all my hardship and my whole family.” (verse 51) The second son, Ephraim, meant, “God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction”. (verse 52) Although Joseph came to Egypt as a slave removed from his family and homeland, God provided blessing and fruitfulness despite his afflictions. Joseph’s sons’ names, like so many pen strokes on a journal page, reflected the growth of Joseph’s faith in the faithful and steadfast God who never abandoned Him. Surely, as Joseph parented his boys through their years, there were times of reflection as he gazed on their sleeping, laughing, or teasing faces when he would see again the goodness of the Lord in his sons!
4) What implications did Joseph’s decisions have both in Egypt and beyond? (verses 54-57)
The foretold seven years of famine were just as devastating as Pharaoh’s dreams had prophesied. Still, despite its severity, there was food in Egypt. Joseph’s wisdom and organization during the years of abundance allowed for provision during the years of famine. In Genesis 41:57, we are told there was famine in every land and it spread across the entire region. Due to this fact, people from every land came to buy food from Egypt, the only place where sustenance could be found. Joseph’s planning, under the direction of God, made that provision possible. In much the same way, the dearth of our sin leaves all of humanity destitute without means of survival or acceptance by a perfectly Holy God. (Romans 3:23) Only Jesus could provide the means of complete forgiveness, total redemption, and full restoration to a right relationship with God through His perfectly timed sacrifice on the cross for us. He is the only way to be saved, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me (Jesus).” (John 14:6, emphasis mine)
Everyday Application
1) How much time elapsed between Joseph being sold into slavery and him entering the service of the Pharaoh? (verse 46)
In times of affliction and trial, it is difficult to see past the suffering in front of you and pressing in on all sides. The only prayer that seems possible is a plea for God to immediately remove our suffering. Joseph waited 13 years to move from slave to overseer, but during that time, Joseph trusted God and remained faithful to Him. After two of the seven years of famine had passed, Joseph encountered his brothers who had sold him into slavery. By this time, God had used suffering in Joseph’s life to such an extent that Joseph recognized God’s hand in what transpired and gave Him the glory. (Genesis 45:4-8) In the midst of affliction it is hard to remember, but God still works all things together for the good of those who love Him. (Romans 8:28) His ultimate goal is for all people to recognize Him as Lord, come to Him, and worship Him, for only then will we each find the all-surpassing fullness of knowing Christ. (Philippians 2:5-13)
2) What preparations did Joseph make during the seven years of abundance? (verse 47)
God provided Joseph with the ability to interpret dreams (Genesis 41:16), but He also provided him with wisdom, discernment, and insight that would allow for the protection of Egyptian and Hebrew alike. The wise plan of action Joseph presented to Pharaoh didn’t come from him, but from the Lord. Joseph had learned in his suffering that the “the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding” (Proverbs 2:6) and he chose to trust God instead of himself. Joseph’s plan would carry Egypt through the seven lean years (Genesis 41:33-36) by carefully preserving the over-abundance the Lord would send during the first set of seven years. God is a provider, which He displayed by providing prophetic dreams to Pharaoh, wisdom to Joseph, and abundant food to sustain both the Egyptians and His chosen people, Israel. (Genesis 42:1-3) When we trust God and His plan, we can rest assured He is always working for us. Centuries later, Paul reminds us of the truths Joseph learned: if God is for us, there are no earthly circumstances or persons who can separate us from His abundant love. (Romans 8:31-39)
3) What importance do Joseph’s sons’ names have in verses 51-52?
Despite Joseph’s unjust treatment on coming to Egypt, his circumstances end quite differently. He finds himself in a place of leadership, commanding the entire food supply for Egypt and surrounding areas. He is second in command only to Pharaoh himself. (verses 40-41) When his sons were born, Joseph recognized clearly the stark difference from where he first came and how the Lord had worked in his life. What was meant for affliction by his family (Manasseh) had now turned to fruitfulness in that same place (Ephraim). Through Joseph, God’s perfect plan unfolded, and Joseph was ushered into “a spacious place” as the psalmist testifies in Psalm 18:19. In the same way, we can have hope that God will restore the brokenhearted once and for all through the Lord Jesus Christ. (Isaiah 61:1) Joseph is just one example of God’s faithfulness to finish what He starts; his life testified to the faithfulness of a God who brings all who fully believe in Him to a place of eternal restoration. (Philippians 1:6)
4) What implications did Joseph’s decisions have both in Egypt and beyond? (verses 54-57)
Sometimes we experience such deep suffering that it impacts in deep ways just as it did for Joseph. Either we can attempt to carry this burden of suffering on our own, and eventually be crushed by it, or we can surrender our heaviness to the God who “day after day bears our burdens.” (Psalm 68:19, emphasis mine) It’s easy for us to become fixated on the pain in front of us and miss how God is calling us to know Him deeper and come to Him surrendering ourselves, and our burdens, to Him. God gave Joseph the ability to interpret dreams and provided him with a powerful position. Because Joseph had become accustomed to trusting the Lord in suffering, he now trusted Him in abundance as well. The Lord used the suffering of the land to bring Joseph’s family to Egypt for grain, which led to the entire Israel nation flourishing in Egypt. (Genesis 42, Genesis 50:22) Joseph had no way of knowing his actions of faith and surrender would have such wide repercussions. We usually don’t recognize God’s perfect plan with our finite understanding, but there are indeed far greater implications than we can fathom from the vantage point of our pain. (Isaiah 55:8-9) The secret is to trust the God who can see all things. God perfectly plans out the number of our days and we can take great comfort in knowing there isn’t one iota of this life past, present, or future that hasn’t passed through His kind, loving hands. (Psalm 139:13-16) (Colossian 1:16-17)
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Digging Deeper is for Everyone!
1) Take this passage (or any other passage).
2) Read it, and the verses around it,
several times
3) Write down your questions
as you think of them.
4) Ask specific culture related questions and be ready to dig around for your answers. Google them, use www.studylight.org, or look them up in a study Bible and read the footnotes (click on the little letters next to a word and it will show you
other related verses!). (www.esvbible.org)
5) Check your applications with other trusted Christians that you are in community with and embrace the fullness of God
in your everyday!
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Why Dig Deeper?
Finding the original meaning is a huge deal when we study Scripture and can make all the difference in our understanding as we apply God’s truths to our everyday lives.
In our modern-day relationships, we want people to understand our original intention as we communicate; how much more so between God and humanity?!
Here’s a little bit more on why we take Digging Deeper so seriously.
Study Tools
We love getting help while we study and www.studylight.org is one of many excellent resources, providing the original Hebrew (Old Testament) or Greek (New Testament) with an English translation.
Want to know more about a specific word in a verse? Click on “Strong’s Interlinear Bible” then click the word you’d like to study. Discover “origin”, “definition” and hear the original pronunciation – That Is Awesome!
Want more background? Click “Study Tools”, then pick a few commentaries to read their scholarly approach, keeping in mind that just because a commentary says it, doesn’t mean it’s true. (just like the internet :-))
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