As we read through our final chapter of Genesis, we see a culmination of Joseph’s actions and how they play out as his story draws to a close. He has just experienced the death of his father and now seeks to go and bury him. I do think that Joseph asking for permission to go and bury his father is to explain to Pharaoh why he must momentarily leave his important position, at least for 7 days or so, to go and bury his father, Israel. 

I also love what we see from Pharoah’s officials, that many went with Joseph in verse 7. While it quite possibly could be that they went with him for protection, it quite possibly could also be that they were drawn to Joseph and wanted to go with him out of respect for him. 

It is only fitting that we see that Joseph takes the time to reassure his brothers that he is not going to seek revenge for their wrongdoings many years prior. I say this as Danny has remarked how much of a man of character that Joseph has been to this point. The worry of the brothers is that Joseph had kept a grudge against them and would now enact revenge since he is technically the chieftain of the family now. But despite their fears and the wrongdoings from many years prior, Joseph assures them that this will not be the case. 

I think this is a great way for the book to end. We’ve seen story after story of sin and more sin, sins being passed down from one generation to the next, lies, deceit, and so on, and yet Joseph decides to show some grace towards his brothers, and he doesn’t hold the previous sins of his brothers against him. From this I think we can be reminded of 2 things. 1) I am so thankful that God does the same thing for me. My sins against Him are many, and yet, He doesn’t hold them against me and He forgives me. I am thankful for that. 2) If this feeling of forgiveness in our lives makes us feel good, then we need to consider how we might forgive one another, just as Christ has done for us. 

To further reiterate what Dan is saying, Genesis isn’t just a series of stories stretching across several generations. It’s not about genealogies, or the continuous failings of mankind. It’s not even about man to begin with. It’s painting a picture of God’s goodness and his sovereignty. From the creation of the universe with just spoken word, to his ability to easily direct his wrath and destroy entire civilizations (twice!), to the intricate guiding of individual lives according to his plan despite their wayward nature. Everything about Genesis points to God’s holiness and power over the world. In the passages regarding people, we see a stark contrast, for in general, the passages depict man in a state of constant sin and failure. If anything, this contrast just continues to prove God’s holiness and his graciousness as he continues to work within the lives of these individuals.  And you know what? He’s faithfully doing the same for us day in and day out, even when we aren’t faithful to him in return. We are all creatures in need of His grace. We struggle and try to earn it, but we’ll always fail, just as so many of these individuals in Genesis and the rest of the bible have. That’s why Jesus had to come for us, because we couldn’t make our way to God, Jesus had to come and BE it for us.

So endeth our journey through Genesis. We went from creation to the flood, to the patriarchs and took an in depth look at the lives of Jacob and Joseph. So much has happened in my life in the last 50 days and it’s amazing just how quickly they passed by. I do have to say that I (Dan speaking) definitely did not put the same time and effort into my reading/study towards the end of these 50 days and I wish I had. The beginning of these 50 days was some of the absolute best fellowship I had with God and that is something that is available to me everyday when I humble myself before His Word and carefully study it each day. I am so thankful for all that He taught me through these 50 days, through the book of Genesis, through Danny, and most importantly from His Spirit that helped enlighten me to things in this book I never saw before. I hope and pray that this is not the end of a 50 day study through Genesis but rather the beginning of a deeper understanding of His Word!

The past 50 days have definitely been illuminating for me as well. I’ve never been very good at maintaining my devotionals, so agreeing with Dan to keep each other accountable through e-mails, chats, and our blog, have been infinitely better than what I’d been doing in the past on my own. Through these studies and our discussions, I’ve learned so much more about the very nature of God, and I’ve learned just how foolish mankind is. I recently heard a quote from some manifestation of online social media (possibly a re-tweet?) that went something like, “The sooner you realize that life is not about you, but rather about God, the sooner you’ll realize how much better it is that way.” God is infallible, sovereign, holy, and so much more than my limited vocabulary could convey. And this devotional series has helped me to realize that.

As Jacob blesses his twelve sons together, we see how the actions of each brother in the past has reflected upon their father which results in their subsequent blessing. For example, Reuben, Simeon, and Levi are all given rather negative blessings (curses even!), despite the fact that the three of them are the eldest of all of Jacob’s sons. In Jewish culture, the eldest always had the birthright and the greatest blessing, but we see Jacob defy that with his deception of Isaac, and we see him continue to do so with his own sons and grandsons. Indeed, it is through Judah (who suggested that Joseph live and be sold—as opposed to simply killing him, and later on offers his own life as collateral should harm come to Benjamin) that we see the ruling tribe of Israel come forth, as his direct descendant is none other than King David and subsequently Jesus Christ. Joseph is also greatly blessed, given the longest blessing by Jacob of all his brothers, a further indication of both Jacob’s love for his more beloved wife’s firstborn son, as well as Joseph’s actions in saving their family. It’s interesting to note that this blessing comes upon Joseph way after God has already continued blessing Joseph after all this time, revealing to us that God’s sovereignty works beyond that of man’s.

“Elishama”

“Elishama”

“ELISHAMA!”

“Oh, there you are son. Did you gather the firewood?” [1]

“Son, I asked you to gather the firewood. We need the firewood so that everyone can keep warm and make fires when it’s night time. How many people are in our tribe?

“That’s right, son. A lot of people. God has blessed us with a big family. Since He’s blessed us in this way, we need to make the most of what He’s given us and be responsible with what He’s given us.”

I know it’s hard for him. But he has to be brought up in a way that prepares him to be the chief of our tribe someday. We have such a big family and tribe, and I can tell you, it’s really hard to manage it all. And it was harder for me since I was so unprepared to be in charge.

You see, I was never supposed to be in charge of a tribe. My name is Ephraim. I’m sure you’ve heard of Jacob, my grandpa, or my dad Joseph. But I have an older brother named Manasseh. I’m the second born. I was never supposed to be in charge of a tribe. And after several years of learning on the job of what it means to be chief of a tribe, I don’t want my son to go unprepared.

I spent my whole life wanting to be a chief. If you told me that there was something I could do to become the chief someday, I would have done it! But there was no such thing. See, I’m the younger brother. In our people’s culture, there’s nothing good about being the younger brother. It’s like living life knowing that you’ve already lost. Everyone in your family looks at you as less than the one who is the first-born. There’s no hope that you’ll ever amount to as much as your older brother. It’s the older brother that has all the status It’s the older brother that gets all the respect. And most importantly, it’s the oldest brother that gets the right to rule the tribe someday.  So from day one, I’ve lived life without any expectations. Manasseh got EVERYTHING. He got the better clothes. He gets his food before I do. He gets trained to be the chief. Heck, even the meaning of my name is pretty similar to his! See I don’t know if you know all this, but Dad went through some crazy stuff. He got thrown into a pit, he got sold into slavery and all my crazy uncles tried to kill him a few times. But because God had delivered Dad from all of his troubles, being hated by his brothers and being sold into slavery, he decided to name Manasseh after God’s deliverance.

“Manasseh means “it is because God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father’s household.” (Genesis 41:51) Nice huh? But guess what my name means? “Ephraim” means “it is because God has made me fruitful in the land of suffering.” So it’s roughly the same thing except my name has the word “suffering” attached to it. I mean I guess that’s all well and good and it has a nice sentimental value to it, but come on Dad, couldn’t you give me something unique? It’s bad enough that I’ll be looked at as “Manasseh’s younger brother” for the rest of my life, and my name is even the same as his except it’s way harder to pronounce!

Please, I don’t want to sound ungrateful. This is all part of my story. I spent the better part of my first two decades on earth hating that I was the second-born, and hating that I was never going to amount to anything in life.

But one day all that changed, and I’ll be really happy to share it with you because it was a day that changed my life for good. All my bitterness changed one day.

We were living in Egypt at the time and I had been put in charge of keeping inventory on our family’s food supply. It wasn’t the job that I had hoped for. The job that I wanted was the one that Manasseh got. Since he was being prepared to be the chief of our family, he got the job I wanted, to be in charge of the family finances and livestock. And I get the food. Again, the life of the younger brother.

It was at this time that one of Dad’s men came to him and told him that Grandpa was sick. Dad told us that we were to go along with him to go and see him. So we came before him. He really didn’t look too good. I mean for an old dude, he’s always had good eyesight and health and a grateful spirit, but he was looking haggard and run-down on this day. We came into his tent as he was lying on the bed. In the back of my mind there was an ominous feeling that though it may not be today, that the day was coming when Grandpa was going to die soon.

At this point, I didn’t know what to think. Manasseh and I just stood behind Dad as he and Grandpa began to talk. This wasn’t just any conversation. This was the type of conversation that you had when you know that you don’t have a whole lot of time left in your life. It was sobering. Grandpa began to tell Dad that God has appeared to him in the land of Canaan and had promised that he would multiply his family and make them a large community of peoples.

But not even the immediacy of the fact that Grandpa was approaching death could keep me from my own selfish thoughts. It’s what happens when you spend the better part of your entire life being bitter about being a younger brother. As soon as he started talking about land and inheritance, I knew what was coming.

But Grandpa did say something interesting that piqued my curiosity. As soon as he started talking about us, he did something weird. He mentioned my name first. He said Ephraim and Manasseh. And I thought to myself, I could get used to the sound of that! Think about this. For my whole life it had been Manasseh and Ephraim. Manasseh and Ephraim. Do you have a brother or brothers? If you do, I guarantee you that the names get mentioned in order of age. It’s just how things work. But Grandpa told Dad that his two grandchildren were to be treated as if they were his own children. That meant that we were the heirs. And Grandpa mentioned me first! I’ve never been mentioned first. For a brief moment I asked myself, “is this a sign of what was going to be in the inheritance?”

Nahhhh. Wishful thinking. Grandpa’s just an old dude.  He’s just talking crazy because of his old age! I mean he’s sick. I’m sure he’s tired. He doesn’t mean to bless me in a way that’s greater than the “younger brother” blessing that I’m about to receive. He just can’t remember who’s older and who’s younger! My brief moment of curiosity turned right back to my younger brother bitterness. Oh well, at least my consolation is that I get some kind of inheritance since Dad’s brothers were so messed up towards him.

And that’s when Grandpa asked about us. He peered around Dad to get us in his line of sight.  At this point I couldn’t really take much more of this. I was hoping this wouldn’t be a long, drawn-out process, that Grandpa would just give Manasseh the blessing and that we could just move on with our lives. But no such luck. He asked Dad, “who are these?” Who are we? Come on Grandpa, don’t make this any more painful for me than it already is. You just told us who we were and called us by name, and you said my name first by the way! Can we just get this over with already? I had hoped this wouldn’t take too long so I could get back to my work and counting the food, but now Grandpa’s insisting on asking questions that don’t even make sense! Ugh.

And that wasn’t the end of it. Then they have a conversation about us! Dad answered Grandpa by saying, “they are the sons God has given me.” No duh. Can we get a move on? But then Grandpa said, “bring them to me, so that I may bless them.” And I felt Dad ushering us towards Grandpa’s bed and pushing down onto our knees. So Grandpa hugged us and kissed us. And then he went on with the small talk. He said to Dad, “I never expected to see your face again, and now God has allowed me to see your children too.” Yeah yeah Grandpa. I know it was a touching story and all but you’ve seen him plenty here in Egypt for the last twenty years![2] Would Grandpa’s commentary on everything going on, EVER end? Can we just get this Manasseh moment over with and finish this up? I’ve got food to store! This whole thing is just rubbing it in that I’m the younger brother and that Manasseh is the chosen one.

But that’s when Dad got down on his knees and started inching us closer to Grandpa. As incensed as I was from the years of being second-best, I still felt pressure to be respectful. It’s just the way things are. So I found myself bowing my head low to the ground on my knees, and I felt Grandpa’s left hand resting upon my head for the blessing.   

But that’s when everything changed. I was kneeling there, waiting for Grandpa to speak. I felt Grandpa’s hand moving from my head. While I know I was supposed to keep my head bowed, I couldn’t help but look up. And that’s when I heard my dad say “No my father, this one is the firstborn, put your right hand on his head.” Grandpa’s right hand, the important hand had been on my head all along! Apparently he had crossed his arms and his right hand had been on my head the whole time!

As I continued to kneel, way too scared to even breathe. I didn’t want to say anything, but I was thinking…if it happens this way then that’s cool. I heard Grandpa say: “I know my son, I know. He too will become a people, and he too will become great. Nevertheless his younger brother will be greater than he, and his descendants will become a group of nations.”

And then he repeated what had piqued my curiosity earlier, by putting my name first again. He said “In your name will Israel pronounce this blessing: ‘May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.”

(Stand Up)

It’s funny because this was something that I had wanted my entire life. I wanted to receive the blessing as if I was the older brother, as if I was the most important. And here it was. NEVER in my wildest dreams did I think that Grandpa would look at me as the younger brother, and bless me in a way that made me feel significant. And the craziest thing about it is that this was something I never could have achieved on my own. I mentioned earlier that if there was anything I could do to become the chief, that as a young child, I would have done it! There simply wasn’t any way for me to gain what I wanted for my life on my own strength. But then, it was simply given to me, even when there was no possible reason for it. And I can’t tell you how amazing it felt. For the first time in my life, I was looked at not for being second born. In fact, who I was hadn’t changed. I was still the second-born. I was still the one that society looked at as less than my older brother. And yet, Grandpa chose to overlook that, and give me a blessing that I never expected would ever come! I was more than my familial status. I was being looked at for who I was, and being chosen! I was being chosen when the entire world told me that I wasn’t good enough, that I needed to be the older brother in order to have a place of prominence within our family.

It’s been a few years since then. I’ve been the chieftain of my own tribe for some time. And Grandpa’s words came out to be true. It turns out both Manasseh and I have our own tribes. God has blessed my family in so many ways that we have a larger tribe, much larger than that of Manasseh’s. (Numbers 1:32-34) It’s funny because in the past I hated that he was the one that was going to receive this and not me. My selfish, younger self would have been so proud that my family is larger than his, but instead, God has shown me just to be thankful that He has chosen me at all, even though society and culture told me that I was unqualified to be a tribal chief.

Grandpa chose me though I’ll never understand but that I’ll always be thankful for. He had no reason to go against the conventional wisdom of the world that the heads of the family should be the oldest and the best qualified. And yet, he showed me that I could be chosen IN SPITE of all of these things. It’s important to note that this was the first time this had ever happened…well, intentionally anyways. I mean Grandpa got the blessing though he was younger, but he had to steal it…but this was the first time in the history of our culture that the younger brother had his position overlooked and was chosen to be the head of his tribe.

Anyhow, I’ve got to go and find my son and make sure he’s out there getting the firewood. After all, he’ll be the one ruling our tribe someday, and unlike me, I hope that he’s well prepared! But I want to thank you for taking the time to listen to my story today. The grace that my Grandfather showed me is something that is so overwhelming that I just can’t help but tell everyone all about it! I mean I was transformed from a person who was so bitter at the systems of my world to someone who is now incredibly thankful that people can be chosen contrary to the conventional wisdom of our world.

I hope someday that you’ll get to experience what it means to be chosen, apart from our age, your status, or what people think of you. And I hope that if you do, that the depth of it will really sink in. It’s taken away all of my bitterness and given me a hope that our world isn’t always about qualified and status, but that there’s an element of grace within as well.

I hope that someday you’ll get a chance to experience this same level of grace in your own life, because I can tell you that there’s nothing else like it. 

This passage is yet another narrative detailing the success and fortune that Joseph (and subsequently Pharoah) enjoys during their time in Egypt. It is apparent even by Pharoah that both Joseph and Jacob have something going for them, and due to Joseph’s already successful stewardship Egypt, Pharoah grants Joseph’s family the privilege to dwell in the land of Goshen and even the authority to rule over Pharoah’s livestock. Later on we see Joseph act as a shrewd steward for Pharoah, gaining a great number of livestock and servants for Pharoah during the famine and rights to 20% of the harvest while still being a fair ruler by providing for the citizen’s food and allowing them their own properties of land to work upon.

The verse that really sticks out to me is verse 25 where people come to Joseph and say “you have saved our lives,” which is true due to Joseph’s administration during the famine. How amazing is it that we see Joseph not only delivering 66+ people from his family but also the nation of Egypt after one day being sold to Egypt as a slave by his jealous uncles? It is yet another reminder of just how amazing God’s sovereignty truly is.

We continue to see that God pours more and more blessings upon Joseph as part of the original covenant with Abraham and as a result of Joseph’s on unwavering faith and devotion to God, and that things are pretty much swell for him at this point in time. 

While Genesis 46 is mostly genealogy, something that I was most struck by was the sheer number of people that went to Egypt with Jacob as a result of Joseph’s rise to a high position in Egypt. 46:26 tells us that the number of people excluding the wives of the sons of Jacob was 66. 66 people going to Egypt, all as a result of the circumstances which came about when Joseph’s brothers decided to sell him into slavery. It is an amazing testimony here that nothing happens accidentally, that God does everything for a reason and that as a result, 66 people plus more family members will have the opportunity to be provided for in what we must remember to be an incredibly long and hard famine (7 years). The sovereignty and purpose and plan of God is not something that we can take lightly or ignore, but rather we should meet it with our thanksgiving!

On the same note of how God was able to deliver 66 people from hardship into plenty through the sin of Joseph’s brothers, God was able to revive Jacob’s heart knowing full well that Joseph was alive and prospering all this time. And due to Joseph’s own prosperity and the authority he has earned for himself, Jacob and his family may safely enter Pharoah’s household. What an amazing chain of events that detail God’s sovereignty over the intended evil of man.

I especially like how this chapter starts. It starts with “then Joseph could no longer control himself,” explaining that he couldn’t keep the secret in much longer. In the famous and controversial comedy sitcom “Arrested Development,” the main character Michael Bluth tells his son on multiple occasions, “you can’t change who you are.” While I’m not sure that I agree with that statement 100%, we see here that it is true of Joseph, that he can’t keep continuing to have this secret.

As Joseph reveals himself to his brothers, we see two remarkable things happen, which I’ve probably mentioned like 6 times already. God is sovereign, and his grace covers and overflows. And these two miraculous anomalies of human nature overcome the regularity of our sin! The sin: Joseph’s older brothers betray and sell Joseph into slavery. The miracles: Joseph is the reason for Egypt’s good fortune during the hard times of a region, and is so overwhelmed with love for his long lost family despite their transgressions upon him. 

This speaks volumes of Joseph’s character! After all of this, Joseph tells his brothers, “what you meant for evil, God meant for good!” Wow! When is the last time that we went to someone who sinned against us and said “what you meant for evil, God has meant for good?” I can’t remember if I’ve ever done that in my life ever. But it is amazing to see the perspective that Joseph holds on life here, that all things are working together for his good. (Rom. 8:28). The principle here is that we need to submit ourselves to the sovereignty of God and to see that even when we are wronged, just as Joseph was in his life, that all things work in according to God’s purpose. A great example of this is found in the death of Stephen in Acts 7:60 as Stephen, dying from being stoned to death, asks God not to hold the sin of his attackers against Him. The greatest example of this is the fact that God sent His own Son to die for us, all for a greater cause and purpose. Our thoughts are not His thoughts. God’s plan, though confounding at times is always greater.

This chapter is precisely why Joseph is one of my favorite people in the entire bible. He was cast down to the literal pits (twice, in fact), and arose again in power and in love. And you know what? Jesus was cast down to the pit of spiritual death for our sin against His Father, and arose again in power and in love for us that we may live again. Is that not such an astonishing testimony of God’s sovereignty? Thousands of years before Jesus was even born, God was already alluding and foreshadowing, with what Joseph did for his brothers, with what Jesus would do for the entire world! How amazing God is that He could love us in such a way despite all our wayward tendencies.

I want to focus on one aspect for today’s devotional, mostly because a good portion of this chapter was a resummarization of the previous events. As Joseph sends off the brothers, he tests them by having his servant secretly place a silver cup, obviously something of value, into Benjamin’s sack, knowing that as the accused thief he would have the right to impose whatever punishment he wanted upon him. But Judah, knowing his father’s potential reaction if they were to return without Benjamin, suddenly goes on his word and offers himself in place of Benjamin. 

This is important to note, that despite Benjamin being the other loved son, Judah shows a changed and repentant heart since they sold Joseph into slavery; here we see Judah offering himself in Benjamin’s stead, for the sake of Jacob’s mental health, whereas twenty-some years ago he sold Joseph, the most favored son of all into slavery without any regards to how Jacob would have reacted and lying to cover his own tracks due to fear of retribution.

This changed and repentant heart is the key to finding grace from those in authority, including God’s omniscient and omnipotent sovereign authority. While it is not said what may have convicted Judah into this new attitude, it is clear from the passage that he is trying to make amends for his previous transgressions upon Joseph, while ironically doing so unknowingly in front of him; indicating a much purer intention, something that we should strive to achieve in our own private times of solitude with God.

This chapter illustrates the brothers as they prepare to return to Egypt for Simeon and more food, and we see Jacob in the precarious position of risking losing his other favorite son, after Joseph (all the while not knowing that Joseph was now the governor of Egypt). This time, Judah takes a different approach towards convincing his father to return to Egypt with Benjamin, saying that Judah will take full responsibility and place his own head on the line, a much different and more responsible and urgent attitude compared to Reuben’s who was so quick to give up his own sons (which isn’t necessarily analogous to God and Jesus, but indicates more towards Reuben’s own lack of regard for his children.)  Upon seeing his younger brother, Joseph’s heart is moved by the sight of seeing Benjamin again after so many years and he throws a lavish banquet for them all, to their great surprise, dismissing the “mistake” in the extra money in their bags as a blessing from God.

 
I think that sometimes we fail to see the big picture of what God wants to do. How many times has God been faithful in the life of Jacob? He’s proved it over and over again in so many different ways. But yet, Jacob cannot bear the thought of parting with Benjamin his youngest son. There’s a saying that sometimes you have to take a step back in order to take two steps forward. In this case, Jacob has no idea that trusting God and parting with his son Benjamin will actually gain him the opportunity to see his other beloved son, Joseph. Not only will Benjamin live, but he will get to be re-united (as we will see later) with both of them! Sometimes the hardest thing for us to do is the thing that will bring us the greatest joy and purpose in our lives.

In contrast to Reuben’s attitude towards his own children, I’d like to hone in on Jacob’s here as a better analogy towards God’s decision to strike down Jesus. If we think about how painful it must have been for Jacob to send Benjamin with the brothers due to Jacob’s favored affection towards Benjamin (which isn’t necessarily justified but is true anyway) so that his estate could have food during this great famine, imagine how difficult it must have been for God to send down Jesus, only to incur His wrath that was originally intended for us, so that we might live during the great spiritual famine that came about as a result of our sin. Both Jacob and God understand that on a greater level, this must be done for the greater good. For Jacob it was a risk to lose his son. For God, the loss of His Son was guaranteed. But thanks be to God, Jacob is able to eventually receive his entire family (including Joseph! Sorry for spoiling) back while God is able to have his Son back in the resurrection along with all those who come to faith in Christ Jesus!

Chapter 42 highlights a very important event in Joseph’s life- the reunion with him and the treacherous brothers who sold him into slavery nearly 20 years prior. At this point in the narrative, the famine has befallen Egypt and the surrounding regions, and under Joseph’s leadership, Egypt has grown to a nation with a great amount of leverage due to its diligence in storing surplus grain during the seven years of plenty.

At first Joseph is very cautious with his siblings, and wisely pretends to be just another Egyptian governor as a test. He demands that they bring back Benjamin as a sign of trust, holding Simeon as collateral. He also imprisons them for three days to assert his authority, but more as part of his roleplaying. As the brothers talk amongst themselves, questioning if their current predicament is a punishment for what they did to Joseph, he is moved to tears, and as he sends them to retrieve Benjamin, he instructs his servant to secretly return all their money along with the grains and provisions that were given as his own demonstration of grace.

This entire event fulfills Joseph’s earlier prophetic dreams. As they come before him asking for help, not knowing that the Egyptian governor is really their ostracized brother, they bow down before him, just like the objects in his dreams bowed down before his own. He also openly alludes to fearing God, which could have been picked up by the brothers as Egypt was a primarily pagan polytheistic society.

In the fifth installment of C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia, we see a story of a boy who has a crazy past that works its way out in front of his life through many different details. In “The Horse and his boy,” Shasta, a young boy who tries to escape from indentured servitude, finds himself in the middle of the biggest city he’s ever seen and being mistaken for a prince. Little does he know that he actually is this same prince’s identical twin and that they had since been separated. It is a crazy chain of events that leads him back to his brother and in the end he finds himself in a much more favorable position than merely escaping indentured servitude. Similarly, in the Paul Haggis-directed motion picture “Crash,” we see how the lives of so many strangers with so many details to their own lives are all woven together.

Genesis 42 is very similar as we see Jacob reunited with his brothers many years after they had been the ones who sold him into slavery. God used slave traders, a slave master, a slave master’s wife, a warden, a cupbearer, a baker, Pharaoh, the nation of Egypt in its’ prominence and a famine all in order to bring Joseph and his brothers back together. Though the brothers do not recognize him, it is absolutely mind-boggling to see how God works each of these details together for His purpose. It is not an accident. Nothing in life happens by chance. Chance happens by design! 

Nothing in this life happens by accident. The fact that man sinned, the fact that we were redeemed through the death and resurrection of Christ, the fact that everything in life works together in one way or another is a way of reminding us who is sovereignly in control: God.

Genesis 41 is 57 verses of God’s sovereign power. It is amazing how we see that though Joseph has found himself in jail and initially forgotten by the cupbearer (40:23) that God finds a way to bail him out. We said that last chapter that Joseph likely didn’t think much of it when he went to jail. After having some time to think about it, I think that Joseph probably wasn’t happy about going to jail, but at the same time he was trusting in God’s will. We see how God can use the most unlikely of circumstances to work in the favor of His people. It may not appear this way at every waking moment, but by putting Joseph in jail, he meets the cupbearer who is released. And then when Pharaoh has a dream, the cupbearer remembers Joseph, and based on his interaction with Pharaoh and his interpretation of Pharaoh’s dreams, he then rises to the rank of 2nd highest in the land, as appointed by Pharaoh. This is the amazing testimony of God’s will. But I love how Joseph stays humble in the midst of this whole process. When presented with the opportunity to interpret Pharaoh’s dreams, Joseph says in 41:16: “I cannot do it, but GOD will give Pharaoh the answer.” What an amazing testimony Joseph speaks of! 

I want to go a little deeper than what Dan mentioned. Joseph rises to this position through mishap after mishap, a very bizarre chain of events where people constantly sin against him or fail him. A brief overview: Joseph is sold into slavery by his brothers. Joseph is tempted and then betrayed by Potiphar’s wife (even though he didn’t give into temptation). Joseph is forgotten by the cupbearer. And yet, now here he is, being placed in charge of overseeing all of Egypt’s crops, and effectively Pharoah’s second in command. It really is one of the world’s greatest rags to riches stories. Another thing that strikes me, in addition to the humility that Dan mentioned, is that this entire time—Joseph has remained faithful without faltering. In fact, he’s one of the only people we’ve read about so far who hasn’t had a lapse in his faith. Even Abraham had moments where he failed God. But Joseph has remained steadfast this time, always giving God the glory, resisting temptation, and avoiding despair no matter the circumstance.

Romans 8:28 tells us “we know that in all things that God works for the good of those who love Him.” We see that very clearly here in the life of Joseph in Genesis 41. But for you and me today, we need to know that if we can trust God with our salvation, then there isn’t any part of his plan that we cannot trust Him with! Psalm 30:5 tells us that while there may be pain in the night, that joy comes in the morning. When we consider the glorious grace of God, given to us through the death and resurrection, that He thought enough of us to do so to make a way for us, then there is nothing that we cannot trust Him with!