And let them gather all the food of these good years that are coming and store up grain under the authority of Pharaoh for food in the cities, and let them keep it.
Joseph has just told Pharaoh what his dreams mean, and now he adds a plan for the seven good years. Why would a prisoner dare to advise a king, and why should years of plenty need guarding at all?
Why Joseph Gave Advice at All
Pharaoh called Joseph in to interpret a dream, not to advise on running the country. One writer explains why he spoke anyway.
William KellyNormally a man just out of the obscurity and shame of prison would hold back from advising a king and his court on urgent affairs of state. Joseph rose above all such hesitation. He was sure that God had made His mind known, so he had no fear of being brushed aside. That same confidence drew out his heart in goodwill to the king and his people, and to the others so closely concerned. Without his advice they might soon forget the dream and its meaning, treating it as a wonder that fades in a few days. They would sink into the usual carelessness of unbelief, wasting the plenty that was coming and ignoring the shortage that would follow.
Plenty Is the Time to Prepare
The verse puts the gathering in the good years, not the hungry ones. That lesson reaches past Egypt to any household or nation enjoying good times.
L. M. GrantOften when people are greatly blessed they do not think wisely about what the future may hold. They waste the large amount the Lord has given them. Then the lean years come without warning, and they are not ready. In the same way, when a nation has lived in luxury, a recession is likely to strike, and the whole atmosphere fills with bitter complaining. Through such things God speaks loudly to people.
Another writer takes the same counsel and presses it further than food supplies:
W. T. P. WolstonThe point was this: they had to provide for the future. There is a great principle there. Whatever you lack in this life, make sure of eternity. Look ahead. The future is there.
Stored Under Pharaoh's Authority
The grain does not just pile up. It goes into store "under the authority of Pharaoh." One writer asks where Egypt's real security lay during the famine. His answer leads on to where God's riches are kept today.
H. J. VineAll Egypt was in need during those seven years of famine. Where were Pharaoh's riches, his wealth, so that he could meet all that need and still keep his throne, his majesty and his glory? In Joseph — not in the storehouses of grain, but in Joseph, with all his wisdom and ability, in Zaphnath-paaneah. All Pharaoh's riches lay in the wisdom and the great administrative ability of that young man Joseph. Now, where are all God's riches today? Not in Israel, not in the nations, not in the church, but in Christ Jesus.
"Zaphnath-paaneah" is the name Pharaoh gave Joseph in Egypt.
The One Who Does the Gathering
The verse tells others to do the gathering. One writer notes who did it in the end, and sees in that a picture of Christ at work today.
Hamilton SmithIn this day of grace the world is passing through its "seven plentiful years," when the grace of God is giving blessings by "handfuls." The people of the world may completely ignore the blessings that grace brings to their door, and go on with no thought for the future. We do not read that the men of Egypt gathered any food. It was Joseph who went through the land and gathered the grain. And so today it is the exalted Christ who is reaping a harvest of souls during the day of grace. He is going through the world, gathering His people out of it.
What the Store Was For
The verse ends by telling them to keep the food. But food kept in the cities was never meant to stay locked away. One writer sees here both a picture of Christ and the one place the picture breaks down.
L. M. GrantJoseph opened all the storehouses of Egypt (v. 56). In the same way the Lord Jesus has opened the storehouses of heaven through His great sacrifice at Calvary, to bless those who have found themselves reduced to spiritual poverty. One great contrast, however, is that the Lord Jesus gives freely, "without money and without price."
Summary
- Word — Joseph spoke up because he was sure the meaning came from God. Without that certainty the warning would have faded, and the plenty would have gone to waste.
- Gather — the storing happens in the good years. Few people look past plenty to the lean years coming, so the counsel is to look ahead and make sure of eternity.
- Keep — the grain went into store under Pharaoh's authority. Egypt's real wealth in the famine lay not in the barns but in Joseph, the man who managed them.
- Open — the store was not meant to stay shut. Joseph opened Egypt's storehouses, just as Christ has opened the storehouses of heaven to those reduced to spiritual poverty.
- Free — one great contrast remains — the Lord Jesus gives without money and without price.