Forgiving and Forgetting the Past (41:46-57)
Over a period of thirteen years, God enabled Joseph to accomplish some wonderful things. He brought blessing to Potiphar’s house and to the people in the prison. He overcame temptation, and because of that, he endured false accusation and great injustice. Joseph was a man of faith who expected God to work, and he was ready and obedient when the call came. But there was one more achievement that in some ways was greatest of all: He was enabled by God’s grace to wipe out the pains and bad memories of the past and make a new beginning.
Certainly a man who could interpret the dreams of others could interpret his own dreams. Joseph must have concluded that the famine would bring his brothers to Egypt, and that meant he would have to confront them with their sins against him and their father. He wanted his own heart to be clean and right before God so that he could be a blessing to them just as he’d been a blessing wherever God had placed him.
The name Manasseh means “forgetting.” Joseph didn’t forget his family or the events that occurred, but he did forget the pain and suffering that they caused. He realized that God meant it for good (50:20). Therefore, looking at the past from that perspective, he attained victory over his bad memories and bitterness. He could have carried a grudge in his heart because of the way his brothers had treated him, but grudges in a person used by God are like weeds in a lovely garden or germs in a healthy body: They just don’t belong there.
The name Ephraim means “twice fruitful.” Egypt had been a place of affliction for Joseph, but now he had two sons and was fruitful in the land. But even more, he would become fruitful as the second ruler of the land and be used by God to save many lives, including his own family and the nation of Israel.
It’s a wonderful thing when we can come through times of trial with the kind of attitude Joseph had, burying past hurts and rejoicing in present blessings, being “forgetful” and “fruitful” at the same time. What a tragedy when people remember the painful things others have done to them and all their lives carry bitterness that robs them of peace and joy. Just as Joseph laid aside his prison clothes and made a new beginning, so we frequently need to “take off” the old hurts and put on a new attitude of faith and love (Eph. 4:20-32; Col. 3:1-17).
Joseph’s interpretation of the dreams proved accurate, and Egypt enjoyed seven years of bumper crops, a fifth of which were put into Pharaoh’s storage cities. Then the famine came to that area of the Middle East, and Joseph provided the food that saved the lives of the people. But visitors started coming from other nations to get food, and Joseph knew that one day his brothers would arrive and bow down before him. Then would begin the greatest drama of all: restoring relationships in a divided home and healing wounds that had been festering for many years.
Joseph’s conduct as a servant, prisoner, and official was exemplary, but the way he dealt with his brothers and brought them to repentance was a masterpiece of spiritual insight, patience, and love. That will be our theme for the next two studies.
Questions for Personal Reflection or Group Discussion
- Some people seem to spread blessings no matter where they go. Who are the people in your life who do that?
- Joseph’s exemplary character resulted from his hard work and his obedience to orders. What does knowing how to obey have to do with knowing how to lead?
- What reasons for refusing her overtures did Joseph give to Potiphar’s wife (39:8-9)?
- What are some good ways for dealing with persistent temptation that continues day after day (39:10)?
- Joseph fled from his master’s wife. Why was fleeing better in this case than staying to fight?
- What did Joseph learn from his prison experience? Why couldn’t he have learned it in an easier school than that?
- The theme for this period in Joseph’s life is that God was with him, allowing blessing and prosperity to flow through him (39:2-5). How is it possible that God can be with a person and yet allow him to suffer so much?
- Do you think Joseph was wrong to seek to escape from prison with the cupbearer’s help? Explain.
- Outline the events that catapulted Joseph from being a prison worker to being second in command in all of Egypt.
- How is this unimaginable sequence of events evidence that God was faithfully fulfilling His promises to Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph?