Check Your Attitude - Genesis 40-41 Series

Joseph was thirty years old when he entered the service of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Now you have to remember, back when he was sold into slavery we are told how old he was. Do you remember how old he was then? Seventeen. He was sold into slavery at seventeen, goes and works in Potiphar’s house as a teenager, gets then put into prison because of false accusations, is in prison for a long time before he gives these interpretations to the cupbearer and the baker, waits another two years. All totaling thirteen years of his life spent in a very difficult time before he gets up here to be in this special place.

And Joseph went out of the presence of Pharaoh and went through all the land of Egypt. During the seven plentiful years the earth produced abundantly, and he gathered up all the food of these seven years, which occurred in the land of Egypt, and put the food in the cities. He put in every city the food from the fields around it. And Joseph stored up grain in great abundance, like the sand of the sea, until he ceased to measure it, for it could not be measured.

Before the year of famine came, two sons were born to Joseph. Now, we're told about these two sons because he's going to name them. I think that there's a lesson here for us in the naming of these boys that he has. If you're trying to develop a biblical worldview, understand what God has to say, you're going to come to a passage in scripture that I'm going to tell you about in just a moment. But let's get the names of the kids. Verse 51 – Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh. “For,” he said, “God has made me forget all my hardship and all my father's house.

I think that's the first thing we need to do when Paul says – Forgetting what is behind, focusing on what is ahead, I strive to meet the calling that God has given me in Christ Jesus. Paul says the same thing. Putting things behind. If you're still trying to live in the past, and that's plaguing you, one of the things you want to do if there’s an attitude toward your past is you want to put it beside and put it behind. That's what Joseph does. He says, “I'm going to call this firstborn Manasseh. Every time I see him, I'm going to think forget.” He’s not forgetting his keys and other things. He’s forgetting about the past is what he's remembering here.

And then the name of the second (verse 52) is called Ephraim, “For God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction.” I'm not going to think about the past. I'm thinking where God has taken me. What a beautiful attitude that produces inside of a person. He's demonstrating that in the naming of his children.

The seven years of plenty that occurred in the land of Egypt came to an end, (verse 54) and the seven years of famine began to come, as Joseph had said. There was famine in all lands. Not just in Egypt, but in all the lands. But in all the land of Egypt there was bread. When all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread. Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph. What he says to you, do.” So when the famine had spread over all the land, Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold to the Egyptians, for the famine was severe in the land of Egypt. Moreover, all the earth came to Egypt to Joseph to buy grain, because the famine was severe over all the earth.