JOSEPH had been faithful in the house of Potiphar, and Potiphar made him overseer in his house, and over all that he had. He had been faithful in the dungeon, and the prison keeper had committed all the prisoners to his care; now he is placed in a higher position, and has a broader trust committed to him, for all the land of Egypt is put under his authority; and do man in all the land was to lift hand or foot without him. He does not abuse the confidence placed in him, but proves to be the same faithful Joseph still.
And what was the secret of all this prosperity? It was this; the Lord was with Joseph and prospered him.
Would my young readers like to be led of the Lord and prospered thus?
Doubtless you would; but do you think it will come about by your getting some high position and seeking to fill it well? No, not thus. Let me tell you who it is that is favored of God. “To this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at My word.” Isa. 66:22For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the Lord: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word. (Isaiah 66:2).
It is those who take a low place, whom God exalts, while those who exalt themselves will be sure to be brought low. A lofty spirit is most displeasing to the Lord; and pride is something He will not endure. We have in this a lesson of the greatest importance, and I trust my young readers will ponder it well. In Jesus, the meek and lowly One, we have our perfect example.
Joseph was thirty years old when he was made ruler in Egypt. Thirteen years had passed since his brothers had cruelly cast him into a pit, and afterwards drew him out and sold him to the merchant-men journeying to Egypt. These were years in which Joseph had known suffering and hardship, but they were also years in which the Lord’s loving care had been over him in a very special way, and so all was well.
When Pharaoh exalted Joseph, he gave him a new name which meant “revealer of secrets.” He gave him also a wife.
Joseph went out over all the land of Egypt, and visited all the cities, and he found corn and food in abundance, for the seven plenteous years yielded far more than was needed. So he gathered up the food of the field and stored it in the cities; and he gathered corn until it could not longer be numbered. Thus he wisely provided during the years of plenty for the time of famine that was to follow.
Before the years of famine came, Joseph had two sons born to him. He called the first, Manasseh, which means forgetting; for, he said, God has made me forget all my toil, and my father’s house. And he called the second Ephraim, for he said, God has blessed me in the land of my sorrow. This shows us something of the sorrow and loneliness that Joseph had been passing through; but in these years of sorrow he had been learning about God’s care and love. He had been carried away from his father’s house into a strange country; in the Captain’s house he found no friend to stand by him; in the prison not even the chief butler, whom he so befriended, cared enough for him to speak a word in his behalf. But God was his friend, and He comforted him in his sorrow, and blessed him. He made him wiser than all the wise men of Egypt, and gave him great favor with Egypt’s king. Joseph recognized God’s love and goodness to him, and felt when his sons were given to him that he could forget his toil and sorrow and his father’s house.
ML 03/02/1902