A Loving Pursuit: Part 29 (“Ephraim”…Fruitful In Affliction)

January 13, 2016 at 7:37 pm (A Loving Pursuit, abiding, Assurance, Battling, Bible study, Contentment, Devotional Series I Have Written, Devotional Thoughts., Discernment, Faith, Family, Fear, Glory, Grace, Guidance, Healing, Holy Spirit, Home Education, Homeschooling, Hope, Joy, Life, Lighter Burdens., Love, Marriage, Mercy, Our Unchanging God, Parenting, Patience, Peace, Praise, Provision, refuge, Relaxed Homeschooling, Resting, Restoration, Salvation, shelter, Sovereignty of God, strengthening, Suffering, Thanksgiving, Transformation., treasures, Trusting, Truth, value, Veteran Homeschoolers, Vigilance, When you are afraid, When you feel bitter, When You Feel Like Crying., Wisdom, worth)

Scripture reference;

“¹⁰ And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noon day:

¹¹ And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.“ Isaiah 58:11 KJV

 

“¹ And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God.

² For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.

³ And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling.

⁴ And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:

⁵ That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.

⁶ Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought:

⁷ But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:

⁸ Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

⁹ But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” 1 Corinthians 2:1-9 KJV

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“ ⁴⁶ And Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went throughout all the land of Egypt.

⁴⁷ And in the seven plenteous years the earth brought forth by handfuls.

⁴⁸ And he gathered up all the food of the seven years, which were in the land of Egypt, and laid up the food in the cities: the food of the field, which was round about every city, laid he up in the same.

⁴⁹ And Joseph gathered corn as the sand of the sea, very much, until he left numbering; for it was without number.

⁵⁰ And unto Joseph were born two sons before the years of famine came, which Asenath the daughter of Potipherah priest of On bare unto him.

⁵¹ And Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh: For God, said he, hath made me forget all my toil, and all my father’s house.

⁵² And the name of the second called he Ephraim: For God hath caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction.“ Genesis 41:46-52 KJV

“The Land of ‘my’ affliction”—this phrase is interesting to me. In a number of ways ancient Egypt must have been a wonderful place for many of its inhabitants, but to Joseph it was not. For an unspecified period of time he had a great job in the house of Potiphar, but he was repeatedly harassed sexually by his master’s wife. Then he was falsely accused of doing the very thing she had been doing, and he was put in prison where he remained for a number of years. However, I believe that of all Joseph suffered during those years the most painful thing was his separation from Jacob, his father, and from Benjamin, his younger brother.

To be separated from those that you love is such a painful thing.

I mentioned in a previous post that there was a phrase (and its variations) that was repeated in the account of Joseph’s life that meant a lot to me:

“And the Lord was with Joseph…)” Genesis 39:2

“But the Lord was with Joseph” Genesis 39:21

“And Pharaoh said unto his servants, Can we find such a one as this is, a man in whom the Spirit of God is?” Genesis 41:38

“Haste ye, and go up to my father, and say unto him, Thus saith thy son Joseph, God hath made me lord of all Egypt: come down unto me, tarry not:” Genesis 45:9

“And Israel said unto Joseph, Behold, I die: but God shall be with you, and bring you again unto the land of your fathers.” Genesis 48:21

“²⁴ And Joseph said unto his brethren, I die: and God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land unto the land which he sware to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.

²⁵ And Joseph took an oath of the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry up my bones from hence.” Genesis 50:24-25

This reminds me of a few more phrases:

“The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup: thou maintainest my lot.” Psalm 16:5

“²⁰ Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;

²¹ That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.

²² And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:

²³ I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.

²⁴ Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.” John 17:20-23

“¹⁸ And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

¹⁹ Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

²⁰ Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” Matthew 28:18-20

In the good times and the bad times those who have placed their faith in Jesus will never be alone. He will be with them and in them, and they will be fruitful.

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