And the name of the second called he Ephraim: For God hath caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction.
The naming of the second son as Ephraim marked the acknowledgment that God had made Joseph fruitful in Egypt, the very land where he had suffered affliction. That fruitfulness in a hard land meant being entrusted with means to relieve widespread poverty and distress. The declaration stands within the larger passage foretelling the seven years shown in Pharaoh's dreams, when the events bounded by that time were still only a matter of prophecy.
Those time-limited events were fulfilled in accordance with the prediction, exactly as predicted. This proves that predicted events often occur within a given time and that prophetic periods are fulfilled accordingly. Therefore the chronological periods in the Bible that extend to the second coming of Christ are appointed times revealed by God and can be trusted.
Joseph in Egypt serves as an example of how a Seventh-day Adventist institution is to represent God to the world. Applying this means breaking every yoke and setting the oppressed free as far as the Lord supplies means, refusing to look on suffering people in distress and pass by on the other side like the priest and Levite. What is done for the least of Christ's brethren is done to Christ Himself, so to fulfill even in limited degree this part of Joseph's work is cause for gladness and for wishing for more means to relieve the prevailing distress.
The naming of the second son as Ephraim marked the acknowledgment that God had made Joseph fruitful in Egypt, the very land where he had suffered affliction. That fruitfulness in a hard land meant being entrusted with means to relieve widespread poverty and distress. The declaration stands within the larger passage foretelling the seven years shown in Pharaoh's dreams, when the events bounded by that time were still only a matter of prophecy.
Those time-limited events were fulfilled in accordance with the prediction, exactly as predicted. This proves that predicted events often occur within a given time and that prophetic periods are fulfilled accordingly. Therefore the chronological periods in the Bible that extend to the second coming of Christ are appointed times revealed by God and can be trusted.
Joseph in Egypt serves as an example of how a Seventh-day Adventist institution is to represent God to the world. Applying this means breaking every yoke and setting the oppressed free as far as the Lord supplies means, refusing to look on suffering people in distress and pass by on the other side like the priest and Levite. What is done for the least of Christ's brethren is done to Christ Himself, so to fulfill even in limited degree this part of Joseph's work is cause for gladness and for wishing for more means to relieve the prevailing distress.