Joseph Rises To Power. Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since [your] God has shown you all this, there is no one as discerning and clear-headed and wise as you are.
You shall have charge over my house, and all my people shall be governed according to your word and pay respect [to you with reverence, submission, and obedience]; only in [matters of] the throne will I be greater than you [in Egypt].” Gen 41:39-40
INTRODUCTION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT
II. GOD AND THE CHOSEN FAMILY, Genesis 12-50
3. The History of Jacob’s Sons, Joseph and His Brothers
(2) Joseph’s Servitude in Egypt, Genesis 39-41
74. How did his actions when exalted show that the Spirit of God was in him?
JOSEPH RISES TO POWER
Now the plan seemed good to Pharaoh and to all of his servants.
So Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find a man like this [a man equal to Joseph], in whom is the divine spirit [of God]?”
Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since [your] God has shown you all this, there is no one as discerning and clear-headed and wise as you are.
You shall have charge over my house, and all my people shall be governed according to your word and pay respect [to you with reverence, submission, and obedience]; only in [matters of] the throne will I be greater than you [in Egypt].”
Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “See, I have set you [in charge] over all the land of Egypt.”
Then Pharaoh took off his signet ring from his hand and put it on Joseph’s hand, and dressed him in [official] vestments of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck.
He had him ride in his second chariot; and runners proclaimed before him, “[Attention,] bow the knee!” And he set him over all the land of Egypt.
Moreover, Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Though I am Pharaoh, yet without your permission shall no man raise his hand [to do anything] or set his foot [to go anywhere] in all the land of Egypt [all classes of people shall submit to your authority].”
Then Pharaoh named Joseph Zaphenath-paneah; and he gave him Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, priest of On (Heliopolis in Egypt), as his wife. And Joseph went out over all the land of Egypt [to inspect and govern it].
Now Joseph [had been in Egypt thirteen years and] was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh, king of Egypt. Joseph departed from the presence of Pharaoh and went through all the land of Egypt [performing his duties].
In the seven abundant years the earth produced handfuls [for each seed planted].
And Joseph gathered all the [surplus] food of the seven [good] years in the land of Egypt and stored [enormous quantities of] the food in the cities. He stored away in every city the food [collected] from its own surrounding fields.
Thus Joseph gathered and stored up grain in great abundance like the sand of the sea, until he stopped counting it, for it could not be measured.
Now two sons were born to Joseph before the years of famine came, whom Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, bore to him.
Joseph named the firstborn Manasseh (causing to forget), for he said, “God has made me forget all my trouble and hardship and all [the sorrow of the loss of] my father’s household.”
He named the second [son] Ephraim (fruitfulness), for “God has caused me to be fruitful and very successful in the land of my suffering.”
When the seven years of plenty came to an end in the land of Egypt,
the seven years of famine began to come, just as Joseph had said [they would]; the famine was in all the [surrounding] lands, but in the land of Egypt there was bread (food).
So when all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried out to Pharaoh for food; and Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph; do whatever he says to you.”
When the famine was spread over all the land, Joseph opened all the storehouses, and sold [surplus grain] to the Egyptians; and the famine grew [extremely] severe in the land of Egypt.
And [the people of] all countries came to Egypt to Joseph to buy grain, because the famine was severe over all the [known] earth.
JOSEPH, EXALTED, PREPARES FOR FAMINE
The Spirit of God was evidently in Joseph, but so far from rendering him a mere visionary, it made him eminently practical. Have your visions of God, but descend from your housetop to answer the men who knock at your door! See Act_10:1-48. In this story we see reflected the glories of our Lord, who was raised to the throne, to become a Prince and a Savior, the Giver of the Bread of Life to the perishing souls of men. But He sells without money and without price! Joseph’s marriage to an Egyptian bride reminds us of our Lord’s union with the Gentile Church, on the significance of which Paul so strenuously insists. If you live for God, He will see to your interests. Such joy will be yours that you will forget your sorrows (Manasseh) and become fruitful in the land of affliction (Ephraim).
Comments by
WILLIAM MACDONALD
Believers Bible Commentary
On
Genesis 41:37-57
II. THE PATRIARCHS OF ISRAEL (Chaps. 12-50)
D. Joseph (37:1–50:26)
5. Joseph Interpreting Pharaoh’s Dreams (Chap. 41)
41:33-36 Joseph counseled Pharaoh to set aside reserves of grain during the years of plenty so that there would be sufficient during the famine years. His plan was what has since been called “the ever-normal granaries.”
41:37-46 Pharaoh was so pleased that he made Joseph second in command, appointed him to administer the program (v. 40), assured him that without his consent no one would do anything (v. 44), and gave him a new name, Zaphnath-Paaneah (v. 45a. The meaning of the name is uncertain. Some suggest Savior of the world; others say it probably means God speaks and He lives. He also gave Asenath, a Gentile, to be Joseph’s wife (v. 45). How could Pharaoh set a Hebrew prisoner over the land of Egypt on the basis of a dream’s interpretation without waiting to see if it was true? The answer is in Pro_21:1 : “The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord.” Cream rises to the surface. Joseph was the first of many godly Jews to rise to prominence in Gentile governments. He was thirty years old when he began this ministry (v. 46); it was thirteen years since he was sold by his brothers (cf. Gen_37:2).
41:47-52 The abundance of the first seven years was so great that it was impossible to keep an accurate record. It was during those years that two sons were born to Joseph—Manasseh (making to forget) and Ephraim (fruitful). Forgetting the wrongs committed against him, Joseph became fruitful.
41:53-57 When the seven years of famine came, the starving people of Egypt and of all the countries came to Joseph . . . to buy grain. Here Joseph is a type (symbol) of Christ, through whom all the blessings of God are dispensed to the hungering people of this earth. It was the providence of God that brought Joseph to Egypt to save his people from famine, but it was also to isolate them from the moral pollution of the land of Canaan. Chapter 38 illustrates what was happening to the children of Israel in Canaan. God’s remedy was to remove them to Egypt, where they would be virtually cut off from the heathen (Gen_43:32).
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