Daily Scripture Reading Genesis 41:46 - 42:5

It is easy for humans to lose hope when life goes sour. It is also tempting to give ourselves credit when we rise out of our misery and regain former glory or prosperity. Today’s passage reminds us that God is the One who is in control and gives us the ability to put our misery and despair behind us.

Gen. 41:46 ¶ Now Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh, king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh and passed through all the land of Egypt.

Note that Joseph was 30 years old at this point. According to Genesis 50:22, Joseph lived a total of 110 years. Joseph was born right before Jacob left Laban. We know from Genesis 37:2 that Joseph was 17 when he brought an evil report about his brothers to his father. The Bible is not clear how old Joseph was when he was sold into Egypt, only that he was still a youth. The only specific thing we know for sure about the time frame of Joseph’s stay in Egypt when Pharaoh promoted him is that there were two years between the time Joseph interpreted dreams for the baker and cupbearer and the time he interpreted Pharaoh’s dream. All that to say, the maximum amount of time Joseph could have been in Egypt when Pharaoh promoted him was 13 years. In 13 years or less, he was sold into Egypt, rose to head the captain’s house, was thrown into prison, rose to become the head of the prison, and then was promoted to second in command of Egypt.

Gen. 41:47 And during the seven years of plenty the land brought forth abundantly.

Notice the word “abundantly”.

Gen. 41:48 So he gathered all the food of these seven years which happened in the land of Egypt and placed the food in the cities; he placed in every city the food from its own surrounding fields.

Gen. 41:49 Thus Joseph stored up grain in great abundance like the sand of the sea, until he stopped measuring it, for it was beyond measure.

Take note of the words “great abundance”, “he stopped measuring”, and “beyond measure”. The Egyptians enjoyed prosperity beyond their wildest imagination.

Gen. 41:50 ¶ Now before the year of famine came, two sons were born to Joseph, whom Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of On, bore to him.

Gen. 41:51 And Joseph named the firstborn Manasseh, “For,” he said, “God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father’s household.”

The Hebrew word “manasseh” means causing to forget.

Look at the phrase “God has made me forget all my trouble”.

In 13 years or less, Joseph went from being the favored son of his father and having dreams about his brothers bowing down to him, to being a slave and prisoner in Egypt. That was Joseph’s troubles.

But then, Joseph rose to second in command of Egypt, gained a wife, and fathered a son. The name he chose for his son reflected the gratitude he had towards God for giving him his success and enabling him to forget all the misfortune he had suffered.

It is easy for humans to lose hope when life goes sour. It is also tempting to give ourselves credit when we rise out of our misery and regain former glory or prosperity. However, God is ultimately in control of all things. When we are rescued from calamity, we should remember that it is God who is giving us relief. It is God who gives us the ability to put our past misfortunes behind us.

Gen. 41:52 And he named the second Ephraim, “For,” he said, “God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction.”

Gen. 41:53 ¶ Then the seven years of plenty which had been in the land of Egypt came to an end,

Gen. 41:54 and the seven years of famine began to come, just as Joseph had said. So there was famine in all the lands, but in all the land of Egypt there was bread.

Gen. 41:55 Then all the land of Egypt was famished, and the people cried out to Pharaoh for bread; and Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph; whatever he says to you, you shall do.”

Gen. 41:56 Now the famine was over all the face of the land. And Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold to the Egyptians; and the famine was severe in the land of Egypt.

Look at the word “sold”. The Bible doesn’t tell us, but I am curious if Joseph paid the Egyptians for all the excess grain when he collected it. If not, then it seems Joseph should have given it to the Egyptians instead of selling it.

Gen. 41:57 Now all the earth also came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph because the famine was severe in all the earth.

The phrase “all the earth” occurs twice in this verse. This was a worldwide famine.

Gen. 42:1 ¶ Now Jacob saw that there was grain in Egypt, and Jacob said to his sons, “Why are you staring at one another?”

Gen. 42:2 Then he said, “Behold, I have heard that there is grain in Egypt; go down there and buy some for us from there, so that we may live and not die.”

Gen. 42:3 So ten brothers of Joseph went down to buy grain from Egypt.

It was roughly 300 miles / 500 km from Canaan to Egypt. That would have been at least a 20 day journey round trip.

Gen. 42:4 But Jacob did not send Joseph’s brother Benjamin with his brothers, for he said, “Lest any harm befall him.”

Gen. 42:5 So the sons of Israel came to buy grain among those who were coming, for the famine was in the land of Canaan also.

It is easy for humans to lose hope when life goes sour. It is also tempting to give ourselves credit when we rise out of our misery and regain former glory or prosperity. However, God is ultimately in control of all things. When we are rescued from calamity, we should remember that it is God who is giving us relief. It is God who gives us the ability to put our past misfortunes behind us.

What is a time in your life when you suffered a huge loss and found it difficult to have hope that life would ever get better again?

How did God enable you to rise out of your despair?

How is your life better after the trial than it was before your huge loss?

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“Scripture quotations taken from the (LSB®) Legacy Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2021 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org and 316publishing.com.”