Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1918-12-07
SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON
JOSEPH MADE RULER DE-
EGYPT.-Genesis. 41.33-44.
Golden Text. He that 10
faithful in a very little Is faith
full also in much.-Luke. 1910.
BY REV. HUGH T. STEVENSON

1t is a far cry from abject SLAYER,
to the throne of the worlds Creates
kingdom, yet Joseph was called OF
God from such lowly position to onf
Of eminence and affiuence. Almos'
! instinctively we ask the question
What was the secret Of his rise!
! Men Of ambition have constantly hele
,, out before them the conspicuous ex'
| amples of the men who have "madt
good" in their profession. business OF
calling. Always there is the answer
and solution, if We only search Iona
enough. Men do not just happer
! to come into positions of power and
! prestige. They must forge their way
! to the front as best they may. Those
who succeed have been willing to pay
the price which success demands
! Disbursements may be many. The
| difficulties may be almost fnsur'
mountable. Failure may be the ap.
| parent reward for years Of effort
But persistent, painstaking struggles
| are finally turned into great VIC
tories by those who do not become
! discouraged and who believe in theii
| vision.
! Joseph had every reason to feel thai
| the Lord had forsaken him. In last
/ weeks lesson We saw him sold into
| slavery and carried away into Egypt
| Here he was purchased by Potiphari
| the commander of Pharaoh's royal
| bodyguard. Gradually, by the force
Of his character and the value OF
his services, he became trusted as
sistant to Potiphar, who placed heavy
responsibilities upon his shoulders
! There SENS to have been something
about Joseph that demanded respect
wherever he was. But then, suddenly
! Joseph was wrongfully charged with
misconduct by his mistress and he Is
| sent to prison by Potiphar. who APP.
! parently acted on impulse without
| Investigating the facts But Joseph
never f1inched. With the same sweet
| spirit, he undertook the mental tasks
assigned him. By degrees he came
| into the confidence of the keeper OF
the prison, who finally put Joseph
1 in practical charge of the prison.
But God had been preparing Joseph
during all these trials for the pace
which Pharaoh was to give him. The
wonderful pictures woven in tapestries
have been woven by hand on Simple
looms. AS one looks at the reverse side
of such a tapestry while it is beina
made. there is seen a tangle of threads
meaning. resembling the picture on the
other side as slightly as the tuning OF
an organ resembles the oratorio OF Mes
Siah.' The weaver. standing behlnd me
| web, follows the pattern, not seeing the
picture that he is making. These days
of trial were the weaving on the reverse
side for Joseph. He could not see where
God was leading. But Gods promises
were ever before him. He was doing
his level best and leaving the outcome
to the Father. He never questioned
Gods wisdom nor sought to change the
course of events. Looking back. we can
now see just how he was being led
In prison Joseph met the chief baker
and chief butler of the king who had
been put there, having incurred the
kings displeasure. Later when they
both had dreamed, it was he who inter
lpreted their dreams. AS he predicted.
the baker was hanged and the butler
restored to his former position But he
promptly forgot all about Joseph and his
troubles until Pharoah had a dream
which none of the magicians and wise
who recalled the young Hebrew and he
mentioned his MAMIE to the king.
Joseph is brought before the troubled
ruler Immediately and the king inquiries
if he cam understand Dreams What a
Temptation it must have been to give
the impression that he had such powers?
3ut his reply was clean-cut and without
equivocation. giving all the credit &c
SOO. lie years VI tDSclSe lIoih Hoiii1
with all of their perplexities had drawn
Joseph closer to and had not separated
rim from Jehovah. The injustice done
him by his brothers, then by Potiphara
wife, and then by the chief butler had
not taken away his pleasant disposition
He knew that God would take care OF
him and now his opportunity comes.
Quietly he explains to Pharaoh the
lesson of the dreams. Egypt was
to have seven years of plenty which
were to be followed by seven years
of famine. Due to the failure of the
Nile to overflow and deposit fertile
soil, Egypt has often been through
such periods of want and privation.
The king then appointed Joseph to
be a joint ruler of the kingdom with
him and gave him the task of saving
Egypt from starvation during the
years of famine by building granarles
for storing up food.
| Such a gigantic scheme required ma
tional authority and national control.
The manner in which Joseph secured
the control may be open to question
the famine came the kingdom soon
secured possession of the land and
focks and money of the entire peo-
pie as we'll as provided food against
hunger. No blame is to be attached
to Joseph, but this pernicfous selling
Of bread at the price of freedom may
be said to be the beginning of the
struggle between the crown and the
| common people. Today we see the
end of the struggle as the rights OF
the people are being asserted and as
kings are being toppled off their tot
tering thrones. At any rate. Joseph
as the worlds first food admins
traitor" was able to save the nation
from destruction and under Cod
providence to even take care OF sur
rounding peoples.
The lesson has personal applica-
ton for use today. for it is more than
biography. Here we learn that man
may rise above his surroundings; that
in the dark hours of adversely we may
keep our hopes and cherished ambi-
lions; that answering fidelity to
: heavenly visions will finally bring the
victory; and that humiliation, mis-
fortune and troubles may be Gods
means OF fitting us and preparing us
for a place of prominence in His
kingdom. For it is inevitable that
q man will! reach the place forwh ich
he is fitted. Joseph. by Gods help.
i had been faithful as a slave: as q
prisoner and as a Christian. He had
shown himself bigger than his lowly
task, so God gave him larger sphere
Of usefulness. God cannot and VIII
not promote any one until they have
demonstrated their capacity.
400, C.,r,4or;a n Nonfop