Genesis 41:37-57
Two theological truths echo throughout the story of Genesis: The Person of God and how he works in our lives. God is sovereign over all. In Genesis 1, he spoke the world into existence. In Genesis 41, he is behind the scenes, giving dreams to the king and Joseph the ability to interpret them. So, it is in our lives. Sometimes, we see God working directly, sometimes indirectly, but all the time, he works out his plan according to his will and timing. As the song says, he never stops working.
In Genesis 41, the king’s men took Joseph from prison to the palace so he could explain the king’s dreams. The land would have seven years of great harvest and seven years of famine. Joseph proposed that the king appoint a leader to prepare for the famine by wisely managing the food supply. Pharaoh chose Joseph.
Genesis 41:39-43
Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has shown you all this, there is none so discerning and wise as you are. 40 You shall be over my house, and all my people shall order themselves as you command. Only as regards the throne will I be greater than you.” 41 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.” 42 Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his hand and put it on Joseph’s hand, and clothed him in garments of fine linen and put a gold chain about his neck. 43 And he made him ride in his second chariot. And they called out before him, “Bow the knee!” Thus he set him over all the land of Egypt.
The signet ring had a seal for verification of official documents. The ring’s owner pressed the seal into clay or hot wax to show authenticity and authority. Joseph was dressed in royal garments and given the use of Air Force Two (figuratively speaking!). Remember the dream Joseph had about his brothers bowing before him? Now, all of Egypt showed respect and allegiance to Joseph. Pharaoh told Joseph, “…without your consent no one shall lift up hand or foot in all the land of Egypt” (Gen. 41:44).
Pharaoh gave Joseph the Egyptian name Zaphenath-paneah. Bible scholars are not sure what the name means. Some scholars surmise it means, “The god has said, ‘he will live.’”[1] Pharaoh also gave Joseph a wife named Asenath. She was the daughter of Potiphera, priest of On. On was the center for sun worship. It was located seven miles north of Cairo and was also called Heliopolis.[2] Joseph’s wife’s name could mean “she belongs to the goddess Neit.” Interestingly, the notes in The NET Bible say that at the beginning of the first century, a writer scripted a novel entitled Joseph and Asenath. The work is about Asenath’s conversion to faith in Yahweh.[3] This story, of course, is not confirmed in Scripture.
Joseph was sold into slavery when he was seventeen years old. During the next thirteen years, Potiphar commended Joseph, Potiphar’s wife falsely accused him, and Joseph was imprisoned for several years. In all these circumstances, Joseph experienced blessing, humbling, and the hand of God at work. God has been molding his man. Now, at age thirty, Joseph is the overseer of Egypt, second only to Pharaoh.
Genesis 41:46-49
…And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh and went through all the land of Egypt. 47 During the seven plentiful years the earth produced abundantly, 48 and he gathered up all the food of these seven years, which occurred in the land of Egypt, and put the food in the cities. He put in every city the food from the fields around it. 49 And Joseph stored up grain in great abundance, like the sand of the sea, until he ceased to measure it, for it could not be measured.
Before the famine, Joseph and Asenath had two sons. Back in Genesis 30, we considered how the names of Jacob’s sons told the story of Leah’s desperate desire to be loved and Rachel’s desire to keep Jacob’s love. The names of Joseph’s sons tell a story as well. Joseph named his firstborn Manasseh, which sounds like the Hebrew word for “to cause to forget.” Joseph said, “For…God has made me forget all my hardship and all my father’s house” (Gen. 41:51). Joseph’s hardships weighed heavy on him. He had experienced a series of highs and lows. Undoubtedly, he longed to see his father and be back home. But now, with a new position and son, things were turning around. God was helping him put the pain behind him.
Joseph called his second son Ephraim, which means “to be fruitful.” Joseph explained why he chose the name, “For God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction” (Gen. 41:52). Egypt had been the land of Joseph’s affliction. But in that affliction, there was much blessing. That’s how it is for us as well. In our pain we see and hear God more clearly. As C. S. Lewis said in his book The Problem with Pain, “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”
One more thing here. When the famine hits, all the surrounding people come to Egypt for food. Pharaoh tells them, “Go to Joseph. What he says to you, do” (Gen. 41:55). Joseph, the former Hebrew slave now second in command, has an Egyptian wife but gives Hebrew names to his sons. God is taking Joseph on quite a ride, and Joseph continues to cling to the God of his fathers through it all!
God is writing his story in you. Whatever he is doing today, he is preparing you for tomorrow. We have seen in Joseph’s life that some of our “todays” are painful, confusing, and discouraging. But God used every circumstance in Joseph’s life to sand off the rough edges, bring humility, trust through the unknowns and false accusations, develop his leadership skills, and learn to wait on God’s perfect timing. God knew exactly what he was doing in Joseph’s life…and he knows exactly what he is doing in your life. He is molding you into the person he has called you to be.
Years ago, I ran across this poem. I can’t remember where I first saw it. The author is unknown. It describes God’s work, sometimes his painful work, in our lives. Its title is When God Wants to Make A Man.
When God wants to drill a man,
And thrill a man,
And skill a man,
When God wants to mold a man
To play the noblest part;
When He yearns with all His heart
To create so great and bold a man
That all the world shall be amazed,
Watch His methods, watch His ways!
How He ruthlessly perfects
Whom He royally elects!
How He hammers him and hurts him,
And with mighty blows converts him
Into trial shapes of clay which
Only God understands;
While his tortured heart is crying
And he lifts beseeching hands!
How He bends but never breaks
When his good He undertakes;
How He uses whom He chooses,
And with every purpose fuses him;
By every act induces him
To try His splendor out—
God knows what He’s about.
—Author Unknown
PERSONAL TIME WITH GOD
Read Genesis 41:37-57. Focus on God’s elevation of Joseph to second in command. Reflect on the names Joseph gives his sons.
Talking to God
A.W. Tozer says this about talking to God:
The whole transaction of religious conversation has been made mechanical and spiritless. We have almost forgotten that God is a person and, as such, can be cultivated as any person can.[4]
Tell God what is on your heart. Speak to him as your best friend because he is! Don’t let your conversation become mechanical and spiritless.
Have Questions?
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[1] Biblical Studies Press, The NET Bible First Edition Notes (Biblical Studies Press, 2006), Gen. 41:45.
[2] Allen P. Ross, “Genesis,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 92.
[3] Biblical Studies Press, The NET Bible First Edition Notes (Biblical Studies Press, 2006), Gen. 41:45.
[4] Quoted in—Gary Thomas, Sacred Pathways (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1996), 15.
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