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.