And Pharaoh said to his bondmen, Shall we find [one] as this, a man in whom the Spirit of God is?
Pharaoh had just heard a prisoner explain what every expert in Egypt could not. His question to his court raises the real issue: what makes one man able to handle what defeats everyone else?
Pharaoh had already asked Egypt's best minds, and they had nothing to say.
God had destroyed "the wisdom of the wise" and brought "the discernment of the discerning" to nothing. So He turns to the man He had kept in reserve, "a man in whom the Spirit of God is." But God's man always counts for little in the eyes of the world. This man was destined to hold power that no human being, before or since, has ever held. For the moment he lies forgotten in a prison, counted among "what is low and despised in the world."
So why could a prisoner do what the court could not?
The ability was no more in Joseph than in the wise men of Egypt. They may be learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and they may hold the very highest positions in the king's court. Joseph, on the other hand, is a young Hebrew servant in a dungeon. But God was with him, so he could surpass the wisdom of the wise and stand without fear in the presence of the king.
Joseph's advice went further than the meaning of the dreams. It narrowed the whole crisis down to one need.
Joseph did not only interpret the dreams. He also told Pharaoh what to do, because these things were about to happen. What was needed was a wise man who could be trusted to carry the plan out. Joseph was really speaking on God's behalf. He showed that on the human side, in the face of these acts of God, all that was needed was A MAN.
Pharaoh was used to sizing up men. What he saw in Joseph went past anything he could explain.
As a ruler of men, Pharaoh had no doubt gained some discernment, and he saw at once that Joseph was the man for this emergency. It really was the Spirit of God speaking and acting through Joseph. Pharaoh worshipped idols, so he only thought of "the spirit of the gods." Even so, he knew at once that this was more than human wisdom and more than human power to govern.
Genesis says little about the Spirit of God, and this verse is where the book last mentions Him.
In the book of Genesis we read nothing more about the working of God's Spirit. The one exception is the question Pharaoh put to his servants. He was looking for a discerning and wise man to be a saviour in a day of coming famine: "Can we find a man like this, in whom is the Spirit of God?"
Joseph's insight did not stop at dreams. It reached into harvests, storage and famine relief.
It was clear to Pharaoh that the Spirit of God was in Joseph. God had revealed the meaning of the dream to him, so no one was as discerning and wise as he was. 1 Corinthians 2:15 tells us, "The spiritual person judges all things." Here "judges" means discerns. He discerns spiritual things, and he also judges earthly matters rightly, better than any unbeliever, because God is the Creator of material things as well as spiritual ones.
That gap has not closed with time.
Having the Spirit of God is still what makes the vast difference between the children of God and the wise men of the world. Many have great minds, filled with all the learning this world can give. Some hold high rank in the religious world. But unless they are born again they are only natural men, without the Spirit. They cannot even see the things that belong to the kingdom of God.
Commentators see this scene pointing forward to Christ.
No one could compare to Joseph. No one like him could be found. Pharaoh gave him a new name, Zaphnath-paaneah. In Egyptian it means "Saviour of the world," and in Hebrew it means "Revealer of secrets." Our Joseph, our Saviour of the world, our Revealer of secrets, is the Lord of glory, the Lord Jesus Christ. Just as the Spirit of God was in Joseph, the Holy Spirit came upon the Lord Jesus at His baptism for public service.
- Crisis — Pharaoh asked Egypt's experts first, and they failed. God's man was still forgotten in a prison.
- Man — Joseph's counsel reduced the whole national emergency to one need: a man God could use.
- Spirit — Pharaoh worshipped idols and named the wrong source, but he could not miss the power. Genesis names God's Spirit in a man only here.
- Wisdom — the Spirit gave Joseph sound judgment in grain, storage and government, not only in dreams. That difference between the spiritual and the natural man still stands.
- Glory — the man no one matched, renamed "Saviour of the world," points to Christ. The Spirit came on Him for public service.
And Pharaoh said to Joseph, Since God has made all this known to thee, there is none [so] discreet and wise as thou.
Pharaoh had just heard a prisoner explain the dreams that no wise man in Egypt could read. Now he promotes that prisoner, and the reason he gives is that God has shown him all this.
Pharaoh calls Joseph the wisest man in Egypt. Joseph had already said the opposite about himself:
God has destroyed "the wisdom of the wise" and thwarted "the discernment of the discerning." Now He falls back on the man He had kept in reserve, "a man in whom the Spirit of God is." But God's man is always of little account in the eyes of the world. At that moment the man destined to hold a power no one before or since has ever held is shut up in a prison. He is counted among "what is low and despised in the world." … Joseph at once confesses, "It is not in me." It was no more in Joseph than in the wise men of Egypt.
Another writer hears the same note in Paul:
He denied having any power or wisdom of his own. He said instead that God would give Pharaoh a favourable answer. It is a mark of a true servant of God to say, "It is not in me." We see the same spirit in Paul: "Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God" (2 Cor. 3:5).
The verse puts God's name in the mouth of a king who worshipped idols. One writer weighs what Pharaoh saw and what he missed:
As a ruler of men, Pharaoh had no doubt gained a measure of discernment. He saw at once that Joseph was the man for this emergency. It was indeed the Spirit of God who was speaking and acting through Joseph. But Pharaoh worshipped idols, so he only thought of "the spirit of the gods." Still, he recognised at once that this was more than human wisdom and power to govern.
Pharaoh's reason is that God has shown Joseph all this. One writer draws a wider rule from it:
It was clear to Pharaoh that the Spirit of God was in Joseph. God had shown Joseph the meaning of the dream, so there was no one so discerning and wise as he. 1 Corinthians 2:15 tells us, "The spiritual person judges all things" — that is, he judges in the sense of discerning. He discerns spiritual things. He also judges everyday matters better than any unbeliever does, because God is the Creator of material things just as much as spiritual ones.
One writer notes how years of injustice turned out to be the road to power:
The nations could never have guessed it. The punishment laid on him, the guiltless one, was unjust — yet it was the necessary link in God's wonderful chain that put the rule of the world-kingdom in his hand! He had endured prison for years, under the worst of accusations. Now he was about to pass in one step to the highest dignity and the largest power. "Only as regards the throne," as the king said, "will I be greater than you."
One writer draws the lesson closer to home. Joseph refused sin and went to prison for it. Now he is set over Egypt: "temptation resisted always leads to triumph" (W. T. P. Wolston).
Joseph had told Pharaoh to look for "a discerning and wise man." Pharaoh answers that Joseph is that man. One writer sees here a pattern of how God will govern:
This too is God's plan for the future government of the world. God will not govern by parliaments or cabinets, or by advisers and ministers. He will govern by "a discerning and wise Man" set over all. And all will be brought under His rule either in the day of grace or in the day of judgment — the years of plenty or the years of famine.
Another writer asks why Joseph got the place:
Joseph received his high place in Egypt only on the ground of his personal worth and the real service he had done for the country and kingdom of Egypt. And we see from Philippians 2 that God has exalted Jesus (as a man) only because of His personal worthiness and His obedience to death.
- Given, not owned. Joseph said, "It is not in me." The wisdom Pharaoh praises came from God, and saying so marks a true servant.
- Reserved, not discarded. God set aside the wisdom of Egypt's experts. He turned to the man He had kept in reserve — despised and in prison.
- Wise in real things. Spirit-given discernment covers more than spiritual matters. It reads everyday matters rightly too, because God made the material world.
- Suffering was the road. The unjust prison was the necessary link in God's chain. In one step Joseph moved from the dungeon to a place second only to the throne.
- A pattern of Christ. God's way of governing is one Man, discerning and wise, set over all. Philippians 2 shows Him exalted on the ground of His own worthiness and obedience.
Thou shalt be over my house, and according to thy commandment shall all my people regulate themselves; only concerning the throne will I be greater than thou.
Pharaoh has just heard a prisoner explain his dreams, and now he hands him everything but the throne. Two questions follow: what did Joseph actually receive, and why do so many writers read this promotion as a picture of Christ?
Joseph did not climb toward this. He went from the lowest place in Egypt to the highest in one move.
His brothers had no idea what they were doing. Their envious hatred was only the means of bringing about his exaltation — the exaltation that would make them bow to him and keep them alive. The Gentiles could not see it either. He was guiltless, and the punishment inflicted on him was unjust. Yet that punishment was the necessary link in God's wonderful chain that put the rule of the world-kingdom into his hand! For years he had endured prison as a criminal of the worst reputation. Now he was about to pass in one step to the highest dignity and the largest power. "Only as regards the throne," as the king said, "will I be greater than you."
An older English version reads "shall all my people be ruled." The Hebrew is sharper, and uses a vivid picture of submission.
"According to your word shall all my people be ruled." This is too free. The Hebrew reads: "And on your mouth shall all my people kiss." Compare Ps. 2:12. Samuel kissed Saul when he anointed him (1 Sam. 10:1).
The verse first sets Joseph over the king's house. One writer draws the line from there to God's house.
Just as Pharaoh, the supreme ruler, said to Joseph of old, "You shall be over my house, and all my people shall order themselves as you command," so God has made Christ Lord over all things in His house.
Pharaoh holds back one thing: the throne. He keeps the dignity of his own place, and hands over the working authority.
Joseph's word was to rule all the people of Egypt. Pharaoh would of course not give his throne to Joseph, but he would depend on Joseph to manage all his affairs. The dignity of Pharaoh's position remained, but he gave authority into Joseph's hand. There is an analogy here. God always remains in the dignity of eternal glory. Yet He has given His beloved Son the place of supreme authority over His creation.
Writers trace the whole chain of events here: pit, dungeon, palace. They read it as a picture of the Lord Jesus.
Contrast this with the pit and the dungeon. Mark the chain of events that brought it all about. In it you have at once a marked display of the hand of God, and a striking picture of the sufferings and glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. The envy of his brothers and the false judgement of the Gentile had put Joseph into the pit and the dungeon. Yet he was taken from there to be ruler over the whole land of Egypt — and more, to be the channel of blessing and the sustainer of life to Israel and the whole earth. Here is a man put, for all practical purposes, in the place of death by the hand of man, and then raised up by the hand of God and set in dignity and glory.
Pharaoh promotes Joseph for one reason: the man himself. The same principle stands behind the exaltation of Christ.
Egypt gave Joseph his place of exaltation on one ground only: his personal worth and the real service he had done for the country and kingdom of Egypt. And Philippians 2 shows that God has exalted Jesus (as a man) for one reason only — personal worthiness and obedience to the point of death.
Everyone in Egypt had to fall in line with Joseph's word. Submission to Christ is coming for all, gladly or under force.
If Joseph is supreme, all are called to submit. It is the same today. God has exalted the Lord Jesus and given Him a Name which is above every name, and the purpose is "that at the Name of Jesus every knee shall bow." The Christian is glad to bow during the plentiful years of grace. The world will have to bow in the years of famine.
- Pit — Joseph moved from prison to power in one step. The injustice done to him was the very link God used to get him there.
- Word — the Hebrew says more than "be ruled". The whole nation was to kiss his mouth and order their lives by his command.
- Throne — Pharaoh kept the throne and gave away the authority. In the same way, God keeps His eternal glory and gives His Son supreme authority over creation.
- Worth — no birth, no politics. Joseph rose for his own worth and service, and God exalted Christ for His worthiness and obedience to death.
- Knee — every knee will bow to the exalted One. The only question is whether you bow now in the years of plenty, or later under force.
And Pharaoh said to Joseph, See, I have set thee over all the land of Egypt.
In one sentence, Pharaoh moves Joseph from a prison cell to the highest office in Egypt. How did this happen, and why does Scripture dwell on the rise of one foreign slave?
Joseph did nothing to win this office. One writer traces the whole rise to God's providence.
So Joseph rose without any effort of his own. He came from undeserved depths of suffering and disgrace to be prime minister of the greatest kingdom then on earth. Who could deny that God did this in His providence? Yet He used extraordinary means: His Spirit's power working in His servant.
"Over all the land of Egypt" is sweeping, yet Pharaoh remains Pharaoh. What changes is whose hand runs everything under it.
Pharaoh sets him over his house. Joseph's word would rule all the people of Egypt. Pharaoh would of course not give his throne to Joseph. But he would depend on Joseph to run all his affairs. The dignity of Pharaoh's position remained, but he gave authority into Joseph's hand. There is an analogy here. God always remains in the dignity of eternal glory. Yet He has given His beloved Son the place of supreme authority over His creation.
Set this verse beside the pit his brothers threw him into and the prison a false charge put him in. The shape of the story then points beyond Joseph.
Here was exaltation of no ordinary kind. Contrast this with the pit and the dungeon. Mark the chain of events that brought it all about. You have at once a clear display of the hand of God, and a striking picture of the sufferings and glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. The envy of his brothers and the false judgement of the Gentile had put Joseph in the pit and the dungeon. God took him from there to rule the whole land of Egypt. And not only that: he became the channel of blessing and the sustainer of life to Israel and the whole earth.
Pharaoh gave the office for a reason. One writer applies that same ground to Christ.
All this is a picture of the present exaltation of Christ Jesus the Lord. He who was once the Crucified is now the Glorified. He whom men once put on a gallows has been placed by God on His throne. Joseph received his place of exaltation in Egypt only because of his personal worth and the real service he did for the country and kingdom of Egypt. Philippians 2 shows the same thing: God has exalted Jesus (as a man) only because of personal worthiness and obedience to death.
Being "over all the land" was not an honorary title. Egypt ate out of Joseph's hand.
That title "Lord" carries another thought besides authority. It does mean authority... but it also means administration. God has made Him the great Administrator in this present day of His grace. The illustration of it in the Old Testament is Joseph... He was the lord in Egypt, and the life of every Egyptian depended on him. He was the one who had charge of all the supplies of life, and he administered those supplies for the good of the people. God has taken the Lord Jesus Christ and exalted Him to the throne in heaven to administer His grace. Since He was exalted, no soul has ever received any favour or blessing from God except through our Lord Jesus Christ.
One man, not a council, held Egypt's government. One writer sees God's own method there.
This too is God's plan for the future government of the world. Not by parliaments or cabinets, not by counsellors and ministers, will God govern, but by "a Man discreet and wise" set over all. And all will be brought under His sway either by the day of grace or in the day of judgment — the years of plenty or the years of famine.
Kelly sets a limit on the picture.
The despised and rejected One is exalted on His Father's throne, not yet on His own. He has all authority over a kingdom as wide as the world. It is a kingdom of a very special kind, which He received when He was cast out and away from His brothers.
- Set over — by God. Joseph rose "without any effort of his own"; Pharaoh's decree was God's providence at work.
- Set over — on merit. Joseph received the place for personal worth and real service — the same ground on which God exalted Christ.
- Set over — everything. Pharaoh kept his throne but put all authority into Joseph's hand. In the same way, God has given His Son supreme authority over creation.
- Set over — to feed. Lordship means administration. Every Egyptian lived by the man who held the food, and no one now receives a blessing from God except through Christ.
- Set over — by one Man. God governs by one wise man set over all, not by committees. People come under Him in the years of plenty or in the years of famine.
And Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand, and put it on Joseph's hand, and arrayed him in clothes of byssus, and put a gold chain on his neck.
Joseph steps out of prison and, on the same day, receives the seal, the robes and the gold of Egypt. Each gift carried a public meaning, and commentators read the whole scene as a picture of Christ lifted from humiliation to power.
The verse ends a long fall — the slave, then the prisoner. One writer puts the logic of Joseph's life into a single line.
Note, the humiliation of Joseph was God's path to his exaltation.
One writer follows Joseph's hand through each stage of the story, and finds the same shape in the life of Christ.
Once more, in verse 42, Joseph's hand appears. Its power and skill showed in Potiphar's house, in the ordinary affairs of life. Later it showed in scenes of much humiliation in the prison. Now, in the splendour of the palace, Pharaoh took the ring from his own hand and placed it on the hand of Joseph. It no doubt carried the great seal of the kingdom... Step by step he had gone down into the valley of humiliation. Now at one mighty bound he had risen into power and glory... In Philippians 2 we have the downward steps of our blessed Lord set out in detail, even to the death of the cross. But then comes one mighty lifting up into the glory, where every knee will have to bow to Him.
A signet ring was not jewellery. It was the king's own seal, so handing it over handed over real power.
Joseph had now reached the height of his glory. His word ruled all Egypt, and every knee had to bow to him. Pharaoh "made him lord of his house and ruler of all his possessions, to bind his princes at his pleasure and to teach his elders wisdom" (Ps. 105:21-22). His rule was therefore absolute. Only the king on his throne stood above him, and the signet ring of authority rested on his hand. Wielding the executive power of the kingdom, he brought everything in the realm under Pharaoh, as Genesis 47:13-26 shows.
Each of the three items said something different about the man now wearing them.
Pharaoh took off his ring — the ring that bore the royal cipher, his authoritative seal — and he put it on Joseph's hand... In this way he showed everyone that Joseph was the man of his right hand... The ring speaks of authority; the fine linen, of moral worth; the gold chain, of sovereign majesty. We sometimes speak of the threefold glories of Christ — Personal, Moral and Official.
Commentators differ here. Another writer reads the three items as a different set of truths about Christ.
The ring has no end, so it speaks of His eternal identification with God. The fine linen reminds us of the perfect purity of His Manhood (Rev. 19:8). The golden chain pictures His unity with the Father in His Godhead glory.
The chain also had a plain public meaning at the time.
Worn as the badge of office: Joseph and Daniel were given gold chains. Gen. 41:42; Dan. 5:7.
Pharaoh's gifts answered to what Joseph was worth and to what he had done for Egypt.
All this pictures the present exaltation of Christ Jesus the Lord. He who was once the Crucified is now the Glorified. He whom men once hung on a gallows has been placed by God on His throne. Joseph received his place of exaltation in Egypt purely because of his personal worth. It also rested on the actual service he had rendered to the country and kingdom of Egypt. Philippians 2 shows us the same thing. God has exalted Jesus (as a man) solely because of personal worthiness and obedience to the point of death. And Peter said on the day of Pentecost, to the very Jews who had condemned and crucified Him, "Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified" (Acts 2:36).
Next came the public cry, "Bow the knee!" One writer turns it on the reader.
I have no doubt that when the cry went out, "Bow the knee," people asked, To whom? To Joseph? That slave, that man who was in prison? Never! I think I can hear many a proud Egyptian prince saying, I will never bow. Perhaps you have said, I will never bow to Christ. Wait a while. Pride never filled your stomach. It may have filled your heart. What will bring you down? A day of famine.
- Down first. Joseph's humiliation was not a detour around the throne; it was God's road to it.
- Then the seal. The ring carried Pharaoh's authority. Joseph's word became law in everything but the throne itself.
- Then the robes. Linen and gold were the badges of office. They marked Joseph as the man at the king's right hand. Writers see in them pictures of Christ's glories.
- Then the worth. The honours matched the man. Pharaoh raised Joseph for his own worth and service; God exalted Christ for His obedience to death.
- Then the knee. Egypt bowed to Joseph. Every knee will bow to Christ — now by choice, or later through famine.
And he caused him to ride in the second chariot that he had; and they cried before him, Bow the knee! and he set him over all the land of Egypt.
Genesis 41 ends with a stunning reversal: Pharaoh dresses a prisoner in fine linen and sends him through Egypt while heralds order the nation to bow. Commentators read the scene as history and as a picture of a greater exaltation, and it leaves every reader one question: who bows, and when?
The distance travelled is the point. Mackintosh measures the chariot ride against where Joseph had just come from.
Here, then, was exaltation of no ordinary kind. Contrast this with the pit and the dungeon. Notice the chain of events that brought it all about. You have at once a clear display of the hand of God, and a striking picture of the sufferings and glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. The envy of his brothers and the false judgement of the Gentile had put Joseph in the pit and the dungeon. From there he was taken to be ruler over the whole land of Egypt — and not only that, but to be the channel of blessing and the sustainer of life to Israel and the whole earth.
Joseph rides in Pharaoh's second chariot, not his first, and rules Egypt rather than Israel. Both limits are read as part of the accuracy of the picture, not as flaws in it.
But if it was not the kingdom of Israel, whose centre is Zion, this only confirms how fitting the picture is. One day He will be the one king of all the earth as well as of the chosen people, coming in manifest glory on the clouds of heaven. This is the rule of a kingdom completely different from that day. That day has in no way arrived, though it surely will. But the despised and rejected One is exalted on His Father's throne, not yet on His own. He has all authority over a kingdom as wide as the world, in a form quite special. He received it when He was cast out and separated from His brothers. Joseph's exaltation by the king of Egypt is the striking shadow of this.
Egypt is the nation that obeys the herald's order. One writer follows that detail out to all the nations.
No Egyptian could move without Joseph's permission, and heralds went before his chariot proclaiming, "Bow the knee." In his exaltation we see the exaltation of Christ, to whom every knee must bow. When that glory comes, He will be seen as Messiah, the true Son of David, the rightful Heir, and the restored and willing heart of Israel will pay Him homage. But not only that: just as the Egyptians bowed to Joseph's authority, so the nations will own the exalted Christ in that day to be King of kings and Lord of lords.
The cry is not treated as a museum piece. One writer takes the herald's three words as the fitting slogan for the present time.
Just picture for a moment how Joseph was made to ride in the second chariot, "and they cried before him, Bow the knee!" This is the right motto. "Bow the knee" is the command that suits everyone today, in the time after Christ suffered, the time when the church has been given to Him. The resistance of many to that command will not, in the end, stop them from bowing the knee to Him.
Egypt's nobles were ordered to kneel to a freed slave. Wolston turns that scene on the reader.
I think I see the trumpeters going before him, and hear them crying, "Bow the knee." Bow the knee to Joseph, the exalted Hebrew slave! Pharaoh had said it, and bow the people must. Sinner! God now tells you to bow the knee; bow your heart to Christ. Bow you must; bow you shall. You may reply, I won't bow! Yes, you will — for God has said, "By myself I have sworn; from my mouth has gone out in righteousness a word that shall not return: 'To me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear allegiance.'" (Isaiah 45:23)
One thing is still open: how a person bows.
All have to bow to the crucified One. All have to confess Him Lord. But how sad to be "compelled by might" to do this before the judgment throne in the day to come. Far better to be "drawn by mercy" for eternal blessing in this day of grace.
Egypt did kneel — and the chapters that follow explain what finally persuaded the holdouts.
I have no doubt that when the cry went out, "Bow the knee," they said, To whom? To Joseph? That slave, that man who was in prison? Never! I think I can hear many a proud Egyptian prince saying, I will never bow. Perhaps you have said, I will never bow to Christ. Ah, wait a bit. Pride never filled your stomach. It may have filled your heart. What will bring you down? A day of famine.
- Pit first. The dungeon and the chariot belong to one chain of events, and that chain shows God's hand at work.
- Second, not first. Joseph rules Egypt, not Israel — a picture of Christ exalted on His Father's throne, with His own kingdom still ahead.
- Cry after. Heralds run before the chariot with an order, and the order still stands today: bow the knee.
- Choice now. Every knee will bow; the only question is whether it bows drawn by mercy today or compelled by might at the judgment throne.
- Famine last. Pride refuses the cry until hunger answers it — the empty heart is what finally bends the knee.
And Pharaoh said to Joseph, I am Pharaoh; and without thee shall no man lift up his hand or his foot in all the land of Egypt.
Pharaoh's last word to Joseph settles the shape of the whole kingdom. The throne stays where it is. But every hand and every foot in Egypt now moves at the word of a former prisoner. Commentators read it two ways: as a claim no other king has matched, and as a picture of the authority Christ now holds.
Pharaoh opens by naming his own rank: "I am Pharaoh." Then he hands the running of Egypt to someone else.
Pharaoh would of course not give his throne to Joseph. But he would depend on Joseph to run all his affairs. The dignity of Pharaoh's position remained, but he gave authority into Joseph's hand. There is an analogy here. God always remains in the dignity of eternal glory. Yet He has given His beloved Son the place of supreme authority over His creation.
The two words Pharaoh chooses are not decoration. They cover everything a person does.
This was an imperial decree. In the same way, God has decreed by the honor of His own name that without Christ there is no true work (the hand) or walk (the foot) in all the world.
Rulers have made sweeping demands before. What makes this one stand out is what happened later, when famine drove the whole nation to Joseph's door and he took money, cattle, land and finally the people themselves.
The words of Pharaoh are literally fulfilled: "Without your consent no one shall lift up hand or foot in all the land of Egypt." Joseph uses his power to bring all into subjection. No earthly king before or since has made such claims... Others who have made large claims on their subjects have not been able to make them good. Or, in trying to do so, they have provoked rebellion and revolution. Joseph, however, not only makes unheard of claims. He makes them good, and no one raises a voice in rebellion.
Where Joseph rose from matters as much as where he rose to.
The envy of his brothers and the false judgement of the Gentile put Joseph in the pit and the dungeon. From there he was taken to be ruler over the whole land of Egypt. And not only that: he became the channel of blessing and the sustainer of life to Israel and the whole earth. This is all typical of Christ; indeed, a type could hardly be more perfect. We see a man laid in the place of death, for all practical purposes, by the hand of man. Then the hand of God raised him up and set him in dignity and glory.
There is also the question of why the honour fell to Joseph at all.
Joseph received his high place in Egypt on one ground only: his personal worth and the real service he did for the country and kingdom of Egypt. And Philippians 2 shows that God has exalted Jesus (as a man) only because of personal worthiness and obedience to death.
If one man holds all authority, everyone else must bow. And that call is not only for a future day.
Because Joseph is exalted and clothed with glory, all are called to "bow the knee" to him, and no one is to act without him... If Joseph is supreme, all are called to submit. And so today, if God has exalted the Lord Jesus and given Him a Name above every name, it is "that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow." The Christian delights to bow during the plentiful years of grace. The world will have to bow in the years of famine.
If no work or walk counts apart from Christ, then ability is not the deciding factor in a believer's life.
We may be gifted. We may have all knowledge and zeal and long experience. But it still remains true that without Christ we can do nothing. Gift, and knowledge, and zeal, are not power. All these things will not enable us to overcome the flesh, to refuse the world, or escape the snares of the devil.
- Pit first. Joseph reached the top through envy, false accusation and a prison cell. That is the pattern of a Man laid in the place of death by human hands, then raised up by God.
- Worth, not rank. Joseph rose for what he was worth and what he had done. Philippians 2 gives the same reason for the exaltation of Jesus.
- Throne kept, authority given. Pharaoh stayed Pharaoh; God stays in eternal glory. Both hand the running of everything to another.
- Hand and foot. The decree covers work and walk, so no corner of life is left out. And no gift, knowledge or zeal replaces dependence on Christ.
- Bow now or bow later. Joseph made his claim good over a whole nation without one voice of rebellion. Believers bow now, in the years of plenty; the world will bow in the years of famine.