Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has shown you all this, there is none so discerning and wise as you are.
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.
Wisdom That Was Not His Own
Pharaoh calls Joseph the wisest man in Egypt. Joseph had already said the opposite about himself:
Hamilton SmithGod 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:
F. B. HoleHe 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).
What Pharaoh Saw
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:
F. B. HoleAs 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.
Discernment That Reaches Everyday Matters
Pharaoh's reason is that God has shown Joseph all this. One writer draws a wider rule from it:
L. M. GrantIt 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.
From the Dungeon to the Second Place
One writer notes how years of injustice turned out to be the road to power:
William KellyThe 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).
One Man Set Over All
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:
Hamilton SmithThis 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:
C. KnappJoseph 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.
Summary
- 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.