Encouragement

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IN PHARAOH’S PRESENCE

One day Egypt’s king had two nightmares if that’s what you would call them. How could seven thin cows swallow seven fat cows, and how could seven thin ears of corn swallow seven good ones? That morning, having had a rough night, Pharaoh summoned all the magicians of Egypt as well as the wise men to tell him the meaning of the dreams, ‘but no one could interpret them for him.”

Then, remember your ungrateful friends, the chief butler got his memory jerked back into time. “Today I am reminded of my shortcomings…now a young Hebrew was there with us and he interpreted our dreams for us. And things turned out exactly as he interpreted them to us…so Pharaoh sent for Joseph and he was quickly brought from the dungeon” Genesis 41:9-14. To cut the long story as we have often heard it told, the cupbearer told of how Joseph had interpreted their dreams and that what he had said came true.

Joseph now had his moment of glory. The timing was just right. Too often many of us think that God has forgotten all about us. But as I said earlier royalty calls unto royalty. You will not get remembered and called except when it is on a royal assignment that will prove to you and your situation that God is the Great I Am, the God that says, “I can do all things, nothing is impossible for Me.”

Joseph was not called because the butler remembered him. It was because God had seen that the time was right for His prince to enter the presence of the Egyptian king. We are told that Joseph took a good bath, shaved, changed his clothes and then he came before Pharaoh. He was clean with a heavenly breath of fresh air around him. It was time for the royalties to meet and the impression had to be good.

Too many of us will not and do not value preparation time and just rush to do things that will bring disgrace to the Father. We need to take our time to learn what God has to offer us and when we are called to, to go and leave a very good impression of our self and God. We are Christ’s ambassadors in this world and we must hold His Name and Being in high esteem.

Joseph went to Pharaoh prepared. It was as if he knew that his first impression would last forever in the eyes of Pharaoh. He had to be clean so as to deliver the message that God had given to him. Ever since Joseph had set foot on Egyptian land all he knew was to be a slave. He had lived in prison for quite a long time and now the chance to meet Pharaoh was at hand. His divine appointment was up and it surely was going to be a great one.

God will only use vessels that are clean. Paul tells Timothy that, “If a man cleanses himself from the latter (ignoble purposes), he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work” 2 Timothy 2:21. If Joseph wasn’t prepared to cleanse himself from the purposes of the prison, he was not fit to be used by the Master. We need to be clean when we are going to do the Master’s business. In fact we must always be clean and prepared to do any good work.

So here comes Joseph into the presence of the highest authority of the land. Pharaoh said to him, “I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.’ Joseph replied, ‘I cannot do it but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires’ Genesis 41:15-16. The dream was related to him and in a few words God’s humble and lowly prisoner related his Master’s plans and purpose to a highly exalted man. Despite his position Joseph still carried a message that would forever change not only the face of Egypt but also of the whole world.

So are you still sorry that you are a forgotten prisoner? I think it is about time you cleaned up your life and got ready to be called into God’s service. You are about to enter into the presence of the kings of this world. Take a bath in the Blood of the Lamb, shave your sins off of you and change your clothes. Put on the clean clothes that Jesus has to offer and be ushered into the presence of the great.

God’s plan was unfolded to Pharaoh. “The reason the dream was given in two forms is that the matter has been firmly decided by God and God will do it soon. And now let Pharaoh look for a discerning and wise man and put him in charge of the land of Egypt. Let Pharaoh appoint commissioners over the land to take a fifth of the harvest of Egypt during the seven years of abundance. They should collect all the food of these good years that are coming and store up the grain under the authority of Pharaoh to be kept in the cities for food.

This food should be held in reserve for the country, to be used during the seven years of famine that will come upon Egypt, so that the country may not be ruined by the famine” Genesis 41:32-36. This plan seemed good to Pharaoh. Could you have ever imagined that a no body like Joseph could tell someone like Pharaoh what would become of his country and it would still be considered a good plan?

Son of God you have a message deep inside of you that has the capacity to cause a great man like Pharaoh to consider it as a good plan. Pharaoh turned to his officials to see if the man described by Joseph can be found. One would presume that none was found so Pharaoh turned to Joseph and said, “Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one so discerning and wise as you. You shall be in charge of my palace, and all my people are to submit to your orders. Only with respect to the throne will I be greater than you” Genesis 41:31.

Here was a man straight out of prison becoming Prime Minister of Egypt- from a royal prison to a royal position. The word “prime” describes something that is at peak point, major, main, key, chief, most important, leading, crucial and principal. It all began one day when Joseph was going to check on how his brothers were doing. Little did he know that he was headed to a nation he would 13 years later rule?

Maybe you are in the same boat. It’s your season to rule. Take your chance and get to the top. God is saying to you arise and rule because your season is at hand. You have the plan in your heart. Don’t be sorry about your situation. Get used to your apprenticeship and be prepared because God is positioning you for a major breakthrough anytime soon.

AS PRIME MINISTER

At age 30, Joseph entered God's service. For the past 13 years he had been through the toughest apprenticeship that any young man would have to endure. From slave Joseph rose up the ranks to become Prime Minister because of God's grace and purpose. So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “you are now in charge of the whole land of Egypt.”

Who would have imagined that the young man would be second in charge to the greatest man in Egypt? To him were given robes of fine linen, a gold chain around his neck and the signet ring. Pharaoh went to the extent of saying, "I am Pharaoh, but without your word no one will lift hand or foot in Egypt" Genesis 41:44. All along Joseph had been losing his outer garments but his time he was given the robe of authority which no one would be able to remove from his back. God added another feather to his ballooning CV.

His mission was to save the world. In Genesis 50:20 Joseph outlined this purpose, “You meant it for bad, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” The man everyone had thought was dead and buried resurfaced to save the very lives that meant to destroy him. Previously we learnt that Joseph had been seen to possess the knowledge that would preserve the status of Egypt as the breadbasket of the inhabited world.

Joseph's initial task was to gather all the surplus grain in Egypt to an extent that he lost count of the grain reserves. God brought about the excess we have come to be familiar with. Joseph was also blessed with two sons named Manasseh, meaning ‘forget’ because God had made Joseph forget his trouble as well as his father's household. But was he going to forget them? His second born was named Ephraim meaning ‘twice fruitful’ as God had made him fruitful in the land of his suffering.

The manner that the names were derived says a lot about how parents view the lives of their children. For a moment why not take a look at your name and seek out what it means? Then possibly look at what your parent intended to say through that name. Joseph had a history behind those names. For starters he was made to forget his past and secondly had been fruitful in the land of suffering.

Egypt had been synonymous with his lineage. In Genesis 26:12 we read that Isaac planted crops in that land during a drought and the same year reaped a hundred fold because the LORD blessed him. God is a Blesser especially in the land of suffering. He wants you to name your children in a positive manner and to proclaim the blessing He has given you.

Too often today, many children have names that are more of a curse than a blessing to them. It is time parents began to realise that they can put a curse on their children by giving them what one would term funny names. Maybe your folks had been going through a tough time when you were born. Maybe the name you bear says that as well. But take courage in the name that Joseph gave to his firstborn son- Manasseh. It meant that the past was to be no more. He was now focused on what was coming up ahead.

And my! God twice blessed him and he was grateful enough to name his second born Ephraim. Children of God we are now called by a new Name. Paul writing to the Ephesians in chapter 3:14 says, “For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom His whole family in Heaven and on earth derives its name.” We are the children of God with the Name of God being our source. A word of encouragement to someone out there, if you don't derive your name from Father make sure you do. You need to get to a place where the Spirit of God testifies with your spirit that indeed you are a child of God.

Back to Joseph! He remembered that God had a purpose for his life and would leave a generation that bore that purpose. In case you didn't know it Ephraim and Manasseh became a part of the 12 tribes of Israel and received an inheritance alongside their father. In Joshua 17:14 we read that, the people of Joseph said to Joshua, ‘Why have you given us only one allotment and one portion for an inheritance? We are a numerous people and the LORD has blessed us abundantly.’ How's that for a declaration? God took the positive that Joseph had put in the names he gave to his children and acted on that. In future they would acknowledge that God had blessed them and that indeed.

One interesting aspect is that these sons were born before the time of famine. You can pursue that vision with your own life and see whether you were born in a famine or not. We are in God's time of a great move and there is a great spiritual harvest that is currently being harvested in the heavenlies. When the famine came Joseph was prepared. The people came to buy grain first with money, livestock, and their bodies and finally land.

In essence Joseph bought the whole of Egypt for Pharaoh. That is a long-term vision for you. Are you going to have such a long-term vision? The prophet Habakkuk says when you get a vision, write it on stone tablets and give it permanency. When future records of Egypt would come out, it would be noted that most of the land, livestock and Egyptians belonged to the King. God is prepared to work with a people who consider the things that are to come. That is why Paul would encourage us to have our minds set on the things above and also to have our gaze set on Jesus the Author and Finisher.

In the time of famine Joseph was reunited with his family and wow what joy there was in the reconciliation. God had sent the son who would prepare the way for the rest to follow, in similar manner that John the Baptist would pave the way for Jesus. Probably what you are going through is meant to be valuable training that God is providing in His school of life that will come in handy when the exodus of the rest of your family from famine to food security takes place.

God has ministered greatly to many about the value of preparation time. It is essential that we wait on the LORD and value that which He takes us through to teach us how to align with His will. If you have never valued preparation time before, take time right now to thank Him for all things.

God took Moses away from Israel to the backside of the desert for 40 years so that He could train him to lead Israel out there in the land of nothingness. God has His own unique way of taking us through Preparatory School. Whatever way He uses value it. God disciplines us because He loves us and because He knows that it is for our good that it be done. Remember that disciples are disciplined people. God will only use people that are consistent with His will and purpose. So if you hated discipleship I urge you to ask for more of it.

It had taken Joseph a dark and dry pit, false accusation and a prison set up to finally be disciplined in line with God's purpose. How many years will it take you to finally realise what God has planned for you? In Canaan, Satan thought that he could wipe out the memory of Israel but God had other plans. He had made His own calculations and worked through Joseph for good. Because of his standing Joseph was able to provide “his father and brothers and all his father's household with food according to the number of their children” Genesis 47:12.

Joseph was also a part of the Master's plan. God spoke to Jacob and said, “I Am God.... Don’t be afraid to go down to Egypt for I will make you a great nation there. I will go down to Egypt with you and I will surely bring you back again and Joseph's own hand will close your eyes” Genesis 46:3-4. What a promise! The Joseph he had thought was dead would close his eyes.

There was a pilgrimage in the lives of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and sons were used along the way. Yes there was an Egypt along the way but Israel would leave and finally go to Canaan. Joseph was a highly favoured participant in that journey. From a humble 17 years God “added”- as his name meant 93 years and he saw the third generation of Ephraim's children. Before he died Joseph promised that God would bring Israel out of Egypt in due time and they were meant to take his bones with them.

When you make a personal study into the life of Joseph you will acknowledge that God does and did add blessing upon blessing for him. Does Joseph's life challenge you in any way? Take a look at the suffering you may be crying about and ask yourself if he did cry any day. He didn't but kept his head up high and said to himself, “The God I serve, the God of my ancestors is able to take me out of all trying circumstances. After all dad told me about the time God appeared as El Elohe Israel (Genesis 33:40) the Mighty One.” Encourage yourself in the Lord. Tell you what? The God you serve is the God of a double portion of favour. In His time all things will work out for good. Here you have it, Joseph man of God sent on a mission to save many lives.

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