Genesis 41

In God's Garden

"God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction" (Genesis 41:52)

These words are written to explain to us the meaning of the name 'Ephraim', which Joseph gave to his second son. At the end of chapter 40, we read that Joseph had been forgotten. The cupbearer had forgotten him, and for two long years afterwards only the prison guards and the other prisoners knew him. All had forgotten him.

But chapter 41 makes it clear that God had not forgotten him. By the end of the chapter, he has married Assenath, the daughter of Potiphera, an Egyptian priest. They have two sons, whose names are full of significance: Manasseh, meaning 'God has made me forget my trouble' and Ephraim, meaning 'God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction'.

I think there is a beautiful image here, of a seed which has germinated and borne fruit. In spite of all that Egypt represented of bondage, slavery and despair, God had been at work in Joseph. It was not without purpose that God had allowed Joseph's brothers to do their wicked thing. It was not without a reason that events had unfolded as they did. God was working out a covenant plan, running his work of salvation along the lines of Providence, moving towards the fulfillment of the promise he had made in the Abrahamic covenant, to bless the whole world through Abraham's seed.

Yes, God has a seed. He has a people. And sometimes, like we do with seeds which we plant in the ground, God does strange things with his 'seed'. How do you make a seed fruitful? By preparing ground in which to plant it, by caring for it as it germinates and grows and appears ultimately through the soil, and by harvesting the crop afterwards. That's what was going to happen in Egypt under Joseph's care, of course; but it could have been a parable of Joseph's own life.

He too was a fruitful seed in the land of his affliction. Let's explore this imagery in the light of Genesis chapter 41.

The Seed Planted

Joseph was truly in a land of affliction. And Egypt would continue to be a land of affliction for God's people for many years to come. Yet in that land, God found a garden in which he could plant the seed. Where was that? Well, at this particular time it was in Pharaoh's dungeon. That's the best place he could find if Joseph was to be fruitful!

We know from the parable of the sower -- perhaps even from our own experience -- that the effects of planting depend a great deal on the nature and constitution of the soil. "I am the true vine," Jesus said, "and my Father is the vinedresser" (John 15:1). God takes care over where he places us, and when. And sometimes he surprises us with his choice of ground for us.

How Joseph's fortunes had changed! He had gone from overseer of Potiphar's house to inmate in Potiphar's prison. But all the time, the seed in the ground was dying, in order that it would bear fruit (John 12:24). In his being forgotten, in the changes of his experience, in the trials and tribulations that were his lot, God was shaping Joseph's character. Joseph was learning to die to self and to live to God. He was learning to leave himself wholly in the hands of God, who knows what he is doing with us, and who deals with us in such a way that the most effective outcome will arise from the most unexpected source.

But God was at work elsewhere too. He was planting other seeds -- dreams in the mind of Pharaoh, that left him troubled and restless. At night, his dreams wakened him. In the day, his dreams troubled him. No-one could explain the meaning of thin cows that ate fat cows, yet remained thin, or of seven thin ears of grain swallowing up seven full ears of grain.

Pharaoh's wise men were at a loss. "There was no one who could interpret them to Pharaoh" (verse 8). No; there are some things for which the wisdom of this world is quite insufficient. When God begins to do his work, we need more than human reason, we need revelation and illumination from God.

There is a sense in which this is the very essence of our predicament. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 1:21 that when the world in its wisdom did not know God, "God was well-pleased through the foolishness of preaching to save those who believe". Just as the wise men of Egypt were at a loss to explain, so the wisdom of the world is at a loss to get to the heart of the human problem, the problem of sin and of our estrangement from God.

And it does not take much to stir us to a sense of our impotence and powerlessness. Mighty Pharaoh, who could command thousands of men to do his bidding, could not control his thoughts and dreams during the night. The power of his throne did nothing against the troubles of his conscience. No; it matters little how great, or powerful or strong we are; a troubled spirit needs a divine solution.

God was at work here. The troubles of Pharaoh were just beginning. But in an underground prison, in God's garden, a seed was growing...

The Seed Appearing

Eventually the cup-bearer remembered. He too had had a dream once. He remembered the help Joseph had given -- "a Hebrew youth" he called him (verse 12). It was all Pharaoh needed. Immediately Joseph was summoned.

That's when the seed began to appear again. Joseph stands before Pharaoh, in the public gaze of all his officials, ready to testify to the power of God who alone can unlock the secrets of men's souls.

God had been preparing Joseph for this very moment. Far from being left by God to rot in a foreign prison, the whole movement of events now brings Joseph to the most influential position in the whole land. Pharaoh hangs on Joseph's every word. The dream is unlocked and unpacked: God will judge Egypt by sending seven years of plenty, followed by seven years of famine. The wisdom and integrity of Joseph are rewarded with his elevation to the position of Grand Vizier; he is given Pharaoh's ring on his finger and his royal necklace is placed round Joseph's neck.

Who could have foretold just a day or two before, that this is how events would transpire? And how often, in our own pain and affliction, do we think God has forgotten us, only to discover afterwards that he kept us all the way, planning for us things we could scarcely begin to dream of. "When he has tried me," Job said, "I shall come forth like gold" (Job 23:10). And at last, when the trials and afflictions have done their work, we too will appear as trophies of God's righteousness and grace, ready to fulfill the plans and purposes he has for us.

The Seed Blooming

So it was that, at thirty years of age, Joseph assumed a position of tremendous responsibility and privilege in the land of Egypt. The supplies were his responsibility, and when the famine came, there was bread in the land of Egypt. The scene was now set for God's purposes of grace. Joseph opened the storehouses "and all the people of the earth came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph, because the famine was severe in all the earth"(verse 57).

And as God was working out his plan for his people, so he was foreshadowing the great work of the Saviour. Like Joseph, he was thirty years old when he stood before men, and he too came to give us bread. Like Joseph, he is able to offer us hope in hopelessness and food in famine. Like Joseph, Jesus is able to make provision for our every need.

God's grace, wisdom, power and glory are manifest in the rags to riches story of Joseph. But surely a greater than Joseph is here!