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LESSON FOR SEPTEMBER 9 A Nation God Used LESSON MATERIAL: Genesis 41:46-57. GOLDEN TEXT: “ He hath given meat unto them that fear him: he will ever be mindful of his covenant’’ (Psa. 145:9). Outline and Exposition . I.. J oseph M an ifesting W isdom (G e n . 41:46-49) As ruler, Joseph revealed his wisdom by preparing for the seven years of famine which God had revealed to him as certain to come. For seven years, as the Lord had foretold, "the earth brought forth by handfuls.” So Joseph "gathered up the food of the seven years,” reserving the surplus for use during the seven lean years.
ful.” Thus Joseph acknowledged that God was responsible for his deliver ance from prison; He had •exalted him, and was now making him “fruit ful” in the land of Egypt. in. J oseph P reserving L ife (41:53-57) Joseph’s wisdom in hoarding all the food became apparent when the seven years of plenty ended and the "dearth was in a ll lands; but in . . . Egypt there was bread.” At last Egypt was af fected and the “people cried to Phar aoh for bread.” Apart from Joseph, Pharaoh himself was helpless; all he could say was, "Go to Joseph; what he saith to you, do” (cf. Jno. 2:5). Then Joseph “opened all the store houses” and the people were fed al though at the same time the famine "waxed sore.” As a result of Joseph’s wisdom from God, his devotion to God, and his faithful administration of God’s provisions, "all countries” were preserved. Because sometimes God is prodigal in giving, this is no reason for our destroying the surplus. Supposed “ good economics” often turn out to be bad ones; and “protecting the com market” is usually the un derlying cause of physical suffering among the people. God gives wis dom; He waits for His people to use it for their own good and for His glory. Points and Problems 1. "And Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh" (Gen. 41:46). At that time Joseph was the greatest man in Egypt. He attained this position the hard way. Sepa rated from home and l o v e d ones, forced to serve as a slave for a long period and as a prisoner for three years, he had undergone severe test ings. But through adversity Joseph achieved advancement. God ofttimes has strange ways by which He brings His children to places of larger use fulness. Happy those individuals who can see in the fires of affliction step ping stones to greater service for God. 2. "And Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh . . . and the name of the s e c o n d called he Ephraim..." (41:51,52). The names of these two have deep spiritual sig nificance; they present two aspects of Joseph’s own godly life. Manasseh means "forgetful.” God enabled him to put out of his mind the injuries he had suffered. No desire for vengeance rankled in his breast. Paul included s u c h an attitude in his statement, “Forgetting the things which are be hind . . . I press toward the goal” (Phil. 3:13,14). Ephraim means “fruit ful.” Joseph was taken up with the present blessings of God in his life; he had no time to brood over past in justices. His present horizon was ever bright with the glory of God.
For the Children A B oy A w a y F rom H ome
G enesis 39:20-23; 41:14-16, 42, 43 AIM: To teach that those who be long to the Lord Jesus are safe in His care, no matter what may happen to them. MEMORY VERSE: "What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee” (Psa. 56:3). APPROACH: Do you remember the story of the boy whose father had made him a coat of many colors? The brothers of this lad, Joseph, became so jealous of their father’s love for him that they sold him to some men who took him to another land, far away from his home and all of his friends. Rather than being unpleasant and angry in the strange land, Joseph tried to show those with whom he lived what a wonderful God he wor shiped. He knew that God had a good purpose in allowing him to be sold as a slave. LESSON STORY: After Joseph was brought to the strange land of Egypt, the Lord was with him in all that he did. Just after he was given a fine position in the home of one of the Egyptians, a woman told a lie that caused him to be thrown into prison. He might have become very unhappy, but Joseph was sure that God was allowing this to happen to him. The keeper of the prison was so pleased with the way that Joseph acted that he placed him in charge of all the other prisoners. Even in prison "the Lord was with him, and that which he did, the Lord made it to prosper” (Gen. 39:23). After Joseph had been in prison two years, Pharaoh, the ruler of the land of Egypt, had a dream that worried him greatly. He could find no one to tell him what the dream meant, but finally a man who had been in prison with Joseph remembered that God could tell him the meaning of dreams. Quickly Pharaoh asked that Joseph be brought into his presence. Joseph shaved him self, changed his clothing and came to Pharaoh. Joseph told Pharaoh that it was not he who could tell the meaning of dreams, but God. Pharaoh was so pleased with the answers that Joseph, through the wisdom of God, gave, that he placed his own gold ring upon Joseph’s finger, gave him fine clothing, and put a gold chain around his neck. Joseph was allowed to ride in the chariot next to the king’s and was made ruler over all the land of Egypt. Because he had trusted in God when he was lonely and afraid, God had blessed him in all that he had done. The Lord al ways keeps His promise: “Them that honour me I w ill honour” (1 Sam. 2:30).
"The Church’s one Foundation Is Jesus Christ, her Lord." “For other Foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ” 11 Cor. 3:11).
He knew that the latter were as certain as the former because God had told him so. He “gathered com as the sand of the sea, very much.” He did not destroy the surplus, but stored it against the years of need. It is not the withholding by God, but the short sightedness of men, that brings times of famine upon the peoples. II. J oseph A cknowledging G od (41:50-52) Joseph married Asenath and two sons were bom whom he named in honor of his God. While he was in Egypt, he was not of Egypt, and would not acknowledge the Egyptian gods. The first bom was called Man- asseh, which means “forgetting.” God had caused Joseph to "forget” the toil of former years, and the wrongs of "my father’s house.” The name of the second son was Ephraim, or “fruit
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