03/11/2023
SOUL WOUNDS
There’s an old phrase, don’t judge a book by its cover. If you saw Joseph’s book at this point, it would look like a regal, hardback leather-bound book with beautiful gold leaf inscribed on it. But if you cracked it open, the pages would be ripped up, torn, dirty, and smudged. What clues us into this? Let’s take a look at Joseph’s sons and what he names them.
Both boys were born to him and his wife Asenath during the years of plentiful harvests. Joseph was second in command of the most powerful nation in the world. Things were going great! So why do you think Joseph named his firstborn Manasseh, a name which means “to forget”? Listen to what Joseph says after he names his son, “It is because God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father’s household.” (v51) I’m thinking if you have forgiven those mean brothers of yours, then you wouldn’t be naming your son “to forget”. Every time you call out his name you’re literally saying “to forget”. Kinda seems like a big reminder to me!
Joseph does it again with the birth of his second son Ephraim. He says, “It is because God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering.” (v52) Again, if he’s free of his hurts then he could say, “Because God has made me fruitful in the land.” Period. Done. Finito. No need to add the “in the land of my suffering.”
Joseph shows us he still has some very deep and unhealed soul wounds which he’s never truly given over to God. He’s buried these bitter roots deep down in his heart, only to hide behind a facade of a successful life. But those soul wounds, when left untreated, were infecting him even if he didn’t know it.
I recently heard of a lady who had a tooth infection she didn’t know about because her tooth never hurt. One day, the infection seeped into her bloodstream and caused her to have a heart attack. Thankfully she survived, but what a shock that an undetected infection wreaked major havoc later on in her life.
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