2009 - Day 17 - Forgive And Forget

January 17, 2009 … Swindoll’s Topic for Today: Forgive and Forgen

Passage of the Day: Genesis 41: 46 - 52 ... 46 Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went throughout all the land of Egypt. 47 Now in the seven plentiful years the ground brought forth abundantly. 48 So he gathered up all the food of the seven years which were in the land of Egypt, and laid up the food in the cities; he laid up in every city the food of the fields which surrounded them. 49 Joseph gathered very much grain, as the sand of the sea, until he stopped counting, for it was immeasurable. 50 And to Joseph were born two sons before the years of famine came, whom Asenath, the daughter of Poti-Pherah, priest of On, bore to him. 51 Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh: “For God has made me forget all my toil and all my father’s house.” 52 And the name of the second he called Ephraim: “For God has caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction.”

My Journal for Today: As Swindoll in his devotional book points out for today, this is an interesting passage written by the author of Genesis under the influence of the Holy Spirit. In it we read several very mundane and personal details about Joseph’s post-prison life, after he had been blessed by God and Pharaoh to become Prime Minister of Egypt as that country approached and prepared for a famine in the land.

As Swindoll helps me see, the first thing we see is that Joseph honored God by being monogamous, as was the Hebrew teaching – certainly not the Egyptian tradition for kings … nor even the Middle Eastern tradition of those days. Joseph, in his position as Prime Minister, could have taken as many wives or concubines as he desired, especially in his position of privilege and power. However, he resisted those temptations and remained monogamous, having two sons by one wife. This small detail reveals how Joseph ignored the world and concentrated on his faith in the One, True God.

Next there is the matter of why God, through the Author of Genesis, relates the details of the naming of the two sons. Actually Swindoll’s devotional doesn’t discuss one feature about the naming that God allowed me to see this morning. It is the fact that both of the names were Hebrew names and not Egyptian. I think that this is significant, showing us that Joseph desired to openly declare his Jewish heritage even with his position of influence in the Egyptian government. And names in the Middle Eastern culture were a big deal. By using Hebrew names, Joseph, openly declares that he and his sons were from the Family of God.

And then, as the text explains it; expositors, like Swindoll, help me to see that the two names for his sons were also declarations of meaning about Joseph’s character; and the first of these, Manasseh, which in Hebrew means “to be made forgetful,” speaks of how Joseph was blessed to be able to forget all the past ills which had befallen this man of God. Joseph didn’t choose to relent to the temptation to visit revenge upon all those in his past, like Potiphar’s wife, who had wronged him. No, he humbly chose to set those memories aside and concentrate on the future, looking to God’s providence as he had done in those years of testing in prison.

And finally, there was the name, Ephraim, which in Hebrew means “to be doubly fruitful;” and this speaks forcefully, I believe, of how Joseph viewed his life … that as being incredibly blessed. And yes, this even means that he saw all that had happened to him as being a blessing. Think about it. When a man can see all those years of servitude, slavery, and imprisonment as blessing, we see that Joseph was prepared by God for blessing and to be a blessing to those whom God would bring into his life. And this we will see unfold in even more of Joseph’s life in the upcoming days of devotionals.

I’m taken by this passage to remember that I must forget the ills in my life, trusting, as it says in Rom. 8: 28, that all of life’s circumstances work together for my good since I, like Joseph, believe in and follow the One, True God. And secondly, I see, from the naming of the boys, that I must, as it says in 1st Thes. 5: 18, always give thanks for all the blessings that God brings into my life … yes, even the challenges and tribulations of life; … because God is in control; and He will always be working for my good and to complete me, as it says in Phil. 1: 6, into the image of my Savior.

My Prayer Today: Lord, help me to become Manasseh and Ephraim in my life as expressions of Your character in me. Amen