Genesis 39:1 ¶
And Joseph was brought down to Egypt; and Potiphar, an officer of
Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him of the hands of the
Ishmeelites, which had brought him down thither. 2 And the LORD was with Joseph, and he was a
prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. 3 And his master saw that the LORD was with
him, and that the LORD made all that he did to prosper in his hand. 4 And Joseph found grace in his sight, and he
served him: and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put
into his hand. 5 And it came to pass
from the time that he had made him overseer in his house, and over all that he
had, that the LORD blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; and the
blessing of the LORD was upon all that he had in the house, and in the field.
6 And he left all that he had in
Joseph’s hand; and he knew not ought he had, save the bread which he did eat.
And Joseph was a goodly person, and well favoured.
Joseph
was bought as a slave. This is a very unhappy circumstance for Joseph but God
can make any difficult circumstance be positive.
Proverbs
16:7 When a man’s ways please the LORD,
he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.
God
is going to use Joseph to save his people and Egypt to provide the conditions
for the Hebrews’ propagation and increase in preparation for them to return to
the land He has promised them in force.
Potiphar,
Joseph’s human master, realized the administrative smarts and honesty of Joseph
and placed him over the running of his house. Because of his association with
Joseph he, too, prospered. This is a positive lesson for us. If you want good
things to happen to you associate with good people. Young people can often make
friends with the bad because they find them interesting or exciting while older
people often make friends with the bad because they see some financial or
social gain from it.
Amos
3:3 Can two walk together, except they
be agreed?
2Corinthians
6:14 Be ye not unequally yoked together
with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness?
and what communion hath light with darkness?
Most
of the time it is likely that you will be better off if you associate with a
good, strong, and moral person as an employee or an employer, someone humbly
devoted to God.
It
is important to note here that Potiphar trusted Joseph completely to the point
where Potiphar himself didn’t know what he had. It was all in Joseph’s hands.
Joseph was, in essence, what we would call today a butler, although the term
has changed meaning somewhat over time as we will see shortly. A butler in ancient and medieval times
oversaw the valuable wine possessions of the rich household, from the Old
French word for bottle-bearer. The steward
in the Bible of the New Testament was more like the butler we know today or a
combination of a great household’s butler and land agent, a manager.
Joseph was a goodly person, and well
favoured. Goodly is built strong and tall and well favoured is filled out well and
handsome as it meant beautiful in other contexts. You can cross-reference both
in the Bible to see that it is applied that way.
Genesis
29:17 Leah was tender eyed; but Rachel
was beautiful and well favoured. (Don’t forget and as a joiner of synonyms as we’ve
studied before.)
Genesis
41:2 And, behold, there came up out of
the river seven well favoured kine and fatfleshed; and they fed in a meadow…4 And the ill favoured and leanfleshed kine did
eat up the seven well favoured and fat kine. So Pharaoh awoke.
Leviticus
23:40a And ye shall take you on the
first day the boughs of goodly trees…
1Samuel
9:2 And he had a son, whose name was
Saul, a choice young man, and a goodly: and there was not among the children of
Israel a goodlier person than he: from his shoulders and upward he was higher
than any of the people.
Joseph
was quite a looker and very attractive, most likely preoccupied with his work,
too preoccupied to pay attention to looks and stares.
Genesis 39:7 ¶
And it came to pass after these things, that his master’s wife cast her
eyes upon Joseph; and she said, Lie with me. 8
But he refused, and said unto his master’s wife, Behold, my master
wotteth not what is with me in the house, and he hath committed all that he
hath to my hand; 9 There is none greater
in this house than I; neither hath he kept back any thing from me but thee,
because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin
against God? 10 And it came to pass, as
she spake to Joseph day by day, that he hearkened not unto her, to lie by her,
or to be with her. 11 And it came to
pass about this time, that Joseph went into the house to do his business; and
there was none of the men of the house there within. 12 And she caught him by his garment, saying,
Lie with me: and he left his garment in her hand, and fled, and got him out.
Potiphar’s
wife wants to have sex with Joseph. We use different euphemisms in our language
for sin such as this. We say she wants to have an affair with him, or she wants to seduce him or some other such drivel to make wickedness seem
sophisticated. As he is in an inferior position socially and powerless this is
all about lust, a type of attempted rape. It used to be more common than it is
now in our culture until sexual harassment laws, although much abused, worked
to prevent even the taint of it. But, in our history, for instance, under the
racial slavery that existed before the Civil War, no slave had any power to
resist the advances of their master or mistress except to flee as Joseph will.
It is a barbarous and uncivilized condition that exists still in some countries
today, usually afflicting women, where they have no choice but to submit to the
humiliation and physical danger or flee to an uncertain fate.
Joseph
tells Potiphar’s wife that everything Potiphar has except for her has been put
into his hands to care for and he is not about to violate the trust he has been
given. The woman continually pressed upon Joseph her desire to do wrong with
him daily and we might question why he didn’t tell Potiphar this but then it is
likely she would have called him a liar and his situation would have been no
better. Finally, she could stand his resistance no further and at a time when
he went into the house to work and there were no witnesses, she grabbed his
clothing and demanded that he have sex with her. Joseph ran, leaving that
clothing in her hand she held it so forcefully in her lust.
His business is
not the idiom in English that some use when referencing going to the bathroom.
Here it is defined in the Bible as the work that one does.
Nehemiah
13:30 Thus cleansed I them from all
strangers, and appointed the wards of the priests and the Levites, every one in his business;
Proverbs
22:29 Seest thou a man diligent in his business? he shall stand before
kings; he shall not stand before mean men.
The
word wotteth is a form of wot, to know.
Genesis
21:26 And Abimelech said, I wot not who hath done this thing:
neither didst thou tell me, neither yet heard I of it, but to day.
Exodus
32:23 For they said unto me, Make us
gods, which shall go before us: for as for this Moses, the man that brought us
up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not
what is become of him.
Joseph
displays a high level of character in holding the trust he has been given in
honor. Most men, if the lady of the house wasn’t hideous looking, would have
succumbed to her desires and used her favors as a means to gain advantage.
Joseph shows himself worthy of the trust he has been given.
Genesis
39:13 ¶ And it came to pass, when she
saw that he had left his garment in her hand, and was fled forth, 14 That she called unto the men of her house,
and spake unto them, saying, See, he hath brought in an Hebrew unto us to mock
us; he came in unto me to lie with me, and I cried with a loud voice: 15 And it came to pass, when he heard that I
lifted up my voice and cried, that he left his garment with me, and fled, and
got him out. 16 And she laid up his
garment by her, until his lord came home. 17
And she spake unto him according to these words, saying, The Hebrew
servant, which thou hast brought unto us, came in unto me to mock me: 18 And it came to pass, as I lifted up my voice
and cried, that he left his garment with me, and fled out.
Genesis
39:19 ¶ And it came to pass, when his
master heard the words of his wife, which she spake unto him, saying, After
this manner did thy servant to me; that his wrath was kindled. 20 And Joseph’s master took him, and put him into
the prison, a place where the king’s prisoners were bound: and he was there in
the prison. 21 But the LORD was with
Joseph, and shewed him mercy, and gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of
the prison. 22 And the keeper of the
prison committed to Joseph’s hand all the prisoners that were in the prison;
and whatsoever they did there, he was the doer of it. 23 The keeper of the prison looked not to any
thing that was under his hand; because the LORD was with him, and that which he
did, the LORD made it to prosper.
Potiphar’s
wife tells the men of the house, servants most likely, that Joseph tried to
rape her. She made the accusation worse by implying that Joseph, a Hebrew, did
it because he mocked the Egyptians, had contempt for them. She turns the
assault she committed into an act of racism on Joseph’s part. Now, what was
bad, is even worse, and represents something of the ethnic tensions found in
Egyptian society of that time. You might have a foreign ruler, the Hyksos,
whose people were hated by the Egyptians, and an angry and seething class of
Egyptian officials, as I explained earlier. Joseph, being a Hebrew, is of the
same general culture as the Hyksos rulers, but a slave. If this isn’t the time
of the Shepherd-kings it doesn’t matter because, in any event, Joseph is
perceived as attacking the Egyptians by attacking an Egyptian’s wife in this
accusation.
Of
course, Potiphar is furious. His wicked wife controls the narrative. The fact
that he did not kill Joseph or have him killed can lead us to two
possibilities. One, either Potiphar spared Joseph because of his relationship
with him as a faithful steward or he was held back from killing a slave by law
or custom. We know Joseph was a slave rather than our modern-day definition of
a servant because he was sold. He could have been beaten under some systems and
killed under others but we aren’t sure what Egyptian law at this time allowed
or what Potiphar was thinking other than he was angry.
But,
this is how God is going to put Joseph in front of the king of Egypt. As man
acts in his own ways God will turn them to His own purposes, man’s intentions
notwithstanding. He is placed in a special prison or part of the prison where
the Pharaoh’s prisoners were bound, giving evidence of Potiphar’s high rank.
God shows Joseph mercy again and lets his character shine through, though, and
God permits him to rise to the top and as what we today call a Trustee in prison parlance, Joseph was
in charge of everything once again, and totally trusted. His character and
integrity fall right into God’s plan for Joseph’s people and God will use him
mightily.
God
will use you even if you are wicked and carnal but the outcome for you
personally will be much different. God has permitted even the most wicked to
rise to the top but always keep in mind that it is His purpose that is the
dominating factor in such things, in His ministry of reconciling man to
Himself.
Daniel
4:17 This matter is by the decree of the
watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones: to the intent that the
living may know that the most High
ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth
up over it the basest of men.
Luke
4:5 And the devil, taking him up into an
high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of
time. 6 And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the
glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give
it.
Pray
that you get a Joseph at the top of your country or company rather than what we
usually get.
Genesis,
chapter 40
Genesis
40:1 ¶ And it came to pass after these
things, that the butler of the king of Egypt and his baker had offended their
lord the king of Egypt. 2 And Pharaoh
was wroth against two of his officers, against the chief of the butlers, and
against the chief of the bakers. 3 And
he put them in ward in the house of the captain of the guard, into the prison,
the place where Joseph was bound. 4 And
the captain of the guard charged Joseph with them, and he served them: and they
continued a season in ward.
The
king of Egypt’s butler and his baker were both, “in the soup,” so to speak. Wroth is a form of wrath, fierce and abiding anger. These were the chiefs of the
butlers and the bakers who served the king, the top dogs. To place someone in ward is to put them in jail or prison
as the princes of Israel under the Babylonians or even just confinement as
David did with his concubines.
Ezekiel
19:9 And they put him in ward in chains,
and brought him to the king of Babylon: they brought him into holds, that his
voice should no more be heard upon the mountains of Israel.
2Samuel
20:3 And David came to his house at
Jerusalem; and the king took the ten women his concubines, whom he had left to
keep the house, and put them in ward, and fed them, but went not in unto them.
So they were shut up unto the day of their death, living in widowhood.
We
learn here that Potiphar, being the captain
of the guard (see 39:1) had this prison as part of his house and that was
his post, to keep it. So, it appears that the captain of the guard was also
responsible for the king’s prisoners. Joseph became the servant, in prison, of
these high court officials whose fate had yet to be determined.
Pharaoh
and king of Egypt are synonyms,
notice the parallel phrasing linking the word and the phrase in verses 1 and 2,
here as titles for Egypt’s ruler who was the executive, legislative, and
judicial branch of the government all rolled into one, a virtual dictator
except for the hold the priests had on the people.
God
is our chief executive (king, prime minister, or president), our lawmaker (like
congress or parliament), and our judiciary (like the Supreme Court). There is
no appeal from Him. Although the following verse was not used by America’s Founding
Fathers in their debates on the Constitution, as they leaned on Enlightenment
and humanistic writers, it is interesting how our three branches of government
in America line up with it.
Isaiah
33:22 For the LORD is our judge, the
LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king; he will save us.
Genesis
40:5 ¶ And they dreamed a dream both of
them, each man his dream in one night, each man according to the interpretation
of his dream, the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt, which were bound
in the prison. 6 And Joseph came in unto
them in the morning, and looked upon them, and, behold, they were sad. 7 And he asked Pharaoh’s officers that were
with him in the ward of his lord’s house, saying, Wherefore look ye so sadly to
day? 8 And they said unto him, We have
dreamed a dream, and there is no interpreter of it. And Joseph said unto them,
Do not interpretations belong to God? tell me them, I pray you. 9 And the chief butler told his dream to
Joseph, and said to him, In my dream, behold, a vine was before me; 10 And in the vine were three branches: and it
was as though it budded, and her blossoms shot forth; and the clusters thereof
brought forth ripe grapes: 11 And
Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand: and I took the grapes, and pressed them into
Pharaoh’s cup, and I gave the cup into Pharaoh’s hand. 12 And Joseph said unto him, This is the
interpretation of it: The three branches are three days: 13 Yet within three days shall Pharaoh lift up
thine head, and restore thee unto thy place: and thou shalt deliver Pharaoh’s
cup into his hand, after the former manner when thou wast his butler. 14 But think on me when it shall be well with
thee, and shew kindness, I pray thee, unto me, and make mention of me unto
Pharaoh, and bring me out of this house: 15
For indeed I was stolen away out of the land of the Hebrews: and here
also have I done nothing that they should put me into the dungeon. 16 When the chief baker saw that the
interpretation was good, he said unto Joseph, I also was in my dream, and,
behold, I had three white baskets on my head: 17 And in the uppermost basket there was of all
manner of bakemeats for Pharaoh; and the birds did eat them out of the basket
upon my head. 18 And Joseph answered and
said, This is the interpretation thereof: The three baskets are three days:
19 Yet within three days shall Pharaoh
lift up thy head from off thee, and shall hang thee on a tree; and the birds
shall eat thy flesh from off thee.
40:20 ¶
And it came to pass the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, that he
made a feast unto all his servants: and he lifted up the head of the chief
butler and of the chief baker among his servants. 21 And he restored the chief butler unto his
butlership again; and he gave the cup into Pharaoh’s hand: 22 But he hanged the chief baker: as Joseph had
interpreted to them. 23 Yet did not the
chief butler remember Joseph, but forgat him.
Isn’t
it odd how both chapters 39 and 40 have 23 verses? The baker and the butler
both are given a dream. Each one had their own dream. The dreams grieved them
and confused them. Joseph, being an astute observer wanted to know why they
were so downcast. They told Joseph it was because they dreamed dreams that they
did not understand. Joseph acknowledged that all interpretations of dreams
belonged to God and offered to help.
The
butler’s dream meant that he would be restored to his position and the baker’s
meant that he would be executed. Joseph asked only of the butler that he would
bring up Joseph to the Pharaoh himself due to Joseph’s predicament. Both
consequences for the two officials would occur in three days.
Daniel
will also interpret dreams by God’s understanding.
Three
days is a very significant in that it represents three days when mankind’s fate
is settled, either to resurrection in glory or in an eternity of agony.
Consider these possibilities, even if you disagree. They are interesting to
ponder prayerfully.
The
third day represents to us the
resurrection of Christ after three days.
Luke
24:46 And said unto them, Thus it is
written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the
third day:
This
resurrection is a theme mentioned in several places in prophetic verses in the
Old Testament.
Hosea
6:2 After two days will he revive us: in
the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight.
Matthew
12:40 For as Jonas was three days and
three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and
three nights in the heart of the earth.
Jesus
Christ was three days in Hell preaching to the lost. He arose from the dead.
What the dead of that time and the living of the time since choose, Him or
Hell, determines their fate.
1Peter
3:18 ¶ For Christ also hath once suffered
for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to
death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: 19 By which also he went and preached unto the
spirits in prison; 20 Which sometime
were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of
Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were
saved by water.
But,
for our purposes here, the chief butler forgot all about Joseph. God’s timing
isn’t always pleasant to those whom He uses for His purposes.
Genesis,
chapter 41
Genesis
41:1 ¶ And it came to pass at the end of
two full years, that Pharaoh dreamed: and, behold, he stood by the river.
2 And, behold, there came up out of the
river seven well favoured kine and fatfleshed; and they fed in a meadow. 3 And, behold, seven other kine came up after
them out of the river, ill favoured and leanfleshed; and stood by the other
kine upon the brink of the river. 4 And
the ill favoured and leanfleshed kine did eat up the seven well favoured and
fat kine. So Pharaoh awoke. 5 And he
slept and dreamed the second time: and, behold, seven ears of corn came up upon
one stalk, rank and good. 6 And, behold,
seven thin ears and blasted with the east wind sprung up after them. 7 And the seven thin ears devoured the seven
rank and full ears. And Pharaoh awoke, and, behold, it was a dream. 8 And it came to pass in the morning that his
spirit was troubled; and he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt, and
all the wise men thereof: and Pharaoh told them his dream; but there was none
that could interpret them unto Pharaoh.
Two
complete years have gone by and Pharaoh has this dream. This reminds one of
Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and his calling of all his wise men together to
interpret it for him, although he insisted he couldn’t remember it, so they had
to tell him the dream, as well.
Daniel
2:1 ¶ And in the second year of the
reign of Nebuchadnezzar Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams, wherewith his spirit was
troubled, and his sleep brake from him. 2 Then the king commanded to call the magicians,
and the astrologers, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, for to shew the king
his dreams. So they came and stood before the king. 3 And the king said unto them, I have dreamed a
dream, and my spirit was troubled to know the dream. 4 Then spake the Chaldeans to the king in
Syriack, O king, live for ever: tell thy servants the dream, and we will shew
the interpretation. 5 The king answered
and said to the Chaldeans, The thing is gone from me: if ye will not make known
unto me the dream, with the interpretation thereof, ye shall be cut in pieces,
and your houses shall be made a dunghill. 6
But if ye shew the dream, and the interpretation thereof, ye shall
receive of me gifts and rewards and great honour: therefore shew me the dream,
and the interpretation thereof.
Dreams
are often disjointed things with actors and events that make no sense and seem
like the extra stuff left over from what you thought about the day previous. It
is almost as if the mind uses the film that lies on the proverbial cutting room
floor in the old movie days and creates something surreal. The kind of sleep
that allows you to dream is important for a successful sleep, we are told. But,
occasionally, in cases mentioned in the Bible, some dreams are communications.
These are communications from God and God also provides the interpreter of the
dream. It is like the New Testament speaking in tongues, which are always
foreign languages. If there is no one in the assembly who can translate the
speech does it serve a purpose from God and can it be from God? Paul says no.
It is nothing more than confusion and God is not the author of confusion.
So,
we have a dream that means something and we have need of someone to interpret
it.
Here
we have the definition of well favoured
and ill favoured in the text as they
are contrasted with fatfleshed and leanfleshed. Kine are cows, as is evident from the twenty or so verses in the
Bible where the word is used. Do a word search or use a concordance to see.
And
again, for corn, understand that it
is a reference to a head of wheat in British English as it can refer to any
type of grain. For example, look up the English “Corn Laws.”
John
12:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you,
Except a corn of wheat fall into the
ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.
Genesis
41:9 ¶ Then spake the chief butler unto
Pharaoh, saying, I do remember my faults this day: 10 Pharaoh was wroth with his servants, and put
me in ward in the captain of the guard’s house, both me and the chief baker: 11 And we dreamed a dream in one night, I and
he; we dreamed each man according to the interpretation of his dream. 12 And there was there with us a young man, an
Hebrew, servant to the captain of the guard; and we told him, and he
interpreted to us our dreams; to each man according to his dream he did interpret.
13 And it came to pass, as he
interpreted to us, so it was; me he restored unto mine office, and him he
hanged. 14 Then Pharaoh sent and called
Joseph, and they brought him hastily out of the dungeon: and he shaved himself,
and changed his raiment, and came in unto Pharaoh. 15 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I have dreamed
a dream, and there is none that can interpret it: and I have heard say of thee,
that thou canst understand a dream to interpret it. 16 And Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, It is not
in me: God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace.
Now,
after two years, the butler remembers Joseph. The Pharaoh is desperate for an
answer and ready to call this Hebrew prisoner to be brought before him. Joseph
probably didn’t just shave his face in a bowl of water with a razor. There is
evidence that Egyptians shaved the hair on their heads and face with razors and
even some evidence that, at least the priests, shaving their entire bodies.
Lice was something that was disgusting to ancient Egyptians, I have read, and
this sanitary practice became a cultural practice for those who were not
desperately poor. Wigs were very popular among both men and women and the Ebers
Medical Papyrus gives us information about such details as how they made soap.[1]
Joseph’s
answer to Pharaoh is significant in that he acknowledges that the
interpretation of a dream is not in him but from God. God will put Pharaoh’s
heart at rest regarding the meaning of the dream. See 1Chronicles 22:9 and
Isaiah 62:1 for peace and rest and quietness as synonyms. Pharaoh’s troubled
heart can only be calmed by God and Joseph says God will do it.
Genesis
41:17 ¶ And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, In
my dream, behold, I stood upon the bank of the river: 18 And, behold, there came up out of the river seven
kine, fatfleshed and well favoured; and they fed in a meadow: 19 And, behold, seven other kine came up after
them, poor and very ill favoured and leanfleshed, such as I never saw in all
the land of Egypt for badness: 20 And
the lean and the ill favoured kine did eat up the first seven fat kine: 21 And when they had eaten them up, it could not
be known that they had eaten them; but they were still ill favoured, as at the
beginning. So I awoke. 22 And I saw in
my dream, and, behold, seven ears came up in one stalk, full and good: 23 And, behold, seven ears, withered, thin, and
blasted with the east wind, sprung up after them: 24 And the thin ears devoured the seven good ears:
and I told this unto the magicians; but there was none that could declare it to
me. 25 And Joseph said unto Pharaoh, The
dream of Pharaoh is one: God hath shewed Pharaoh what he is about to do.
26 The seven good kine are seven years;
and the seven good ears are seven years: the dream is one. 27 And the seven thin and ill favoured kine that
came up after them are seven years; and the seven empty ears blasted with the
east wind shall be seven years of famine. 28
This is the thing which I have spoken unto Pharaoh: What God is about to
do he sheweth unto Pharaoh. 29 Behold,
there come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt:
30 And there shall arise after them
seven years of famine; and all the plenty shall be forgotten in the land of
Egypt; and the famine shall consume the land; 31 And the plenty shall not be known in the land
by reason of that famine following; for it shall be very grievous. 32 And for that the dream was doubled unto
Pharaoh twice; it is because the thing is established by God, and God will
shortly bring it to pass.
Pharaoh
recounts his memory of the dream to Joseph. With a little embellishment and
adding some emphasis, which is very human, he tells Joseph what was troubling
him. There are very few people who do not read back their thoughts into
previous experiences. Many Christians embellish upon the day they announced
their belief on Christ by reading back into that experience things they think
should have happened or wish had happened. We do the same thing with other
events and moments in our lives but we are often not honest enough with
ourselves to admit it.
These
two dreams are actually one dream explaining how God intends to provide Egypt
with seven years of plenty and then seven years of famine. The fact that God
repeated this theme to Pharaoh twice establishes it as a definite prophecy of
the soon-to-be future. This reminds you of how things are emphasized by God and
in the Bible generally and established as definite and not merely, ‘if you or
they do this then I (God) will do this,’ propositions. An example would be when
Jesus says verily, verily from the
word we also get amen from when He is
telling Peter of Peter’s future martyrdom.
John
21:18 Verily, verily, I say unto thee,
When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou
wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and
another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not.
It
is questionable to make a doctrine out of one verse and can lead to error but
when many verses comment on a thing you can be sure that God has established it
as an eternal decree such as everlasting life, for instance, which is reflected
clearly in many verses.
Genesis
41:33 ¶ Now therefore let Pharaoh look
out a man discreet and wise, and set him over the land of Egypt. 34 Let Pharaoh do this, and let him appoint
officers over the land, and take up the fifth part of the land of Egypt in the
seven plenteous years. 35 And let them
gather all the food of those good years that come, and lay up corn under the
hand of Pharaoh, and let them keep food in the cities. 36 And that food shall be for store to the land
against the seven years of famine, which shall be in the land of Egypt; that
the land perish not through the famine. 37
And the thing was good in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of all
his servants. 38 And Pharaoh said unto
his servants, Can we find such a one as this is, a man in whom the Spirit of
God is? 39 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph,
Forasmuch as God hath shewed thee all this, there is none so discreet and wise
as thou art: 40 Thou shalt be over my
house, and according unto thy word shall all my people be ruled: only in the
throne will I be greater than thou. 41
And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, See, I have set thee over all the land of
Egypt. 42 And Pharaoh took off his ring
from his hand, and put it upon Joseph’s hand, and arrayed him in vestures of
fine linen, and put a gold chain about his neck; 43 And he made him to ride in the second chariot
which he had; and they cried before him, Bow the knee: and he made him ruler
over all the land of Egypt. 44 And
Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I am Pharaoh, and without thee shall no man lift up
his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt. 45
And Pharaoh called Joseph’s name Zaphnathpaaneah; and he gave him to
wife Asenath the daughter of Potipherah priest of On. And Joseph went out over
all the land of Egypt.
Joseph
made a final recommendation to the Pharaoh, not meaning to suggest himself, a
lowly prisoner in the king’s dungeon, a foreigner sold into slavery there.
Someone wise and discreet should rule under the Pharaoh’s authority. Here is
our first example of government being used to serve the needs of the state apart
from war. The Pharaoh is to take 20% of the land so that wheat can be stored up
during the good years to prepare for the lean years to come. This tax was for
the benefit of the people and the security of the state when the famine would
come.
Corn
is the British reference to a seed of any cereal grass, notably wheat, and
expands to be a reference to the plant itself.
John
12:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you,
Except a corn of wheat fall into the
ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.
See
how our Bible is written below in this verse’s parallel phrasing defining corn as wheat.
Amos
8:5 Saying, When will the new moon be
gone, that we may sell corn? and the
sabbath, that we may set forth wheat,
making the ephah small, and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by
deceit?
Government
for the welfare of the people is mentioned in Paul’s letters to the Christian
in Rome. In fact, it is the only mandate listed in Paul’s letters for human
government, to punish evil-doers. As said before, evil is usually a reference
to malice or malicious, violent intent. Again, here in Paul, taxes are
mentioned, paying tribute.
Romans
13:1 ¶ Let every soul be subject unto
the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are
ordained of God. 2 Whosoever therefore
resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall
receive to themselves damnation. 3 For
rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be
afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the
same: 4 For he is the minister of God to
thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not
the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath
upon him that doeth evil. 5 Wherefore ye
must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake. 6 For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for
they are God’s ministers, attending continually upon this very thing.
Jesus
Himself acknowledged that paying taxes to your government is a good testimony.
Matthew
17:24 ¶ And when they were come to
Capernaum, they that received tribute money came to Peter, and said, Doth not
your master pay tribute? 25 He saith,
Yes. And when he was come into the house, Jesus prevented him, saying, What
thinkest thou, Simon? of whom do the kings of the earth take custom or tribute?
of their own children, or of strangers? 26
Peter saith unto him, Of strangers. Jesus saith unto him, Then are the
children free. 27 Notwithstanding, lest
we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the
fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find
a piece of money: that take, and give unto them for me and thee.
I
assure you that the Roman government referred to in the previous two passages
was not a Christian or a righteous government. But, government has a mandate
and, as we know, the power to tax is the power to govern.
Pharaoh
acknowledges that the Spirit of God, the very mind of God, is in Joseph. Here,
typology implies that Pharaoh is in type God the Father and here Joseph is a
type of Christ, or God in the flesh, issuing from God and possessing His
authority.
All
ability, power, and authority, even that to do evil, comes from God. Nothing
can be done without His permissive will or His direct will.
John
19:11 Jesus answered, Thou couldest have
no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he
that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin.
But,
Christ as God in the flesh or the Son of God comes in God the Father’s
authority…
John
5:18 Therefore the Jews sought the more
to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God
was his Father, making himself equal with God.
Philippians
2:6 Who, being in the form of God,
thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
…and
in fact, to have seen Him is to have seen God the Father.
John
14:9 Jesus saith unto him, Have I been
so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath
seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?
John
10:30 I and my Father are one. 31 Then the Jews took up stones again to stone
him. 32 Jesus answered them, Many good
works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone
me? 33 The Jews answered him, saying,
For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou,
being a man, makest thyself God.
John
12:45 And he that seeth me seeth him
that sent me.
So,
in this passage in Genesis we have a picture, a type of God the Father and the
Son of God, as Pharaoh gives Joseph his own ring, his own authority and power
over Egypt. To see Joseph was to see the Pharaoh and Joseph carried all of the
power and authority of Pharaoh. For such a thing to happen this could only have
been God’s direct will. Do you see how many things He allowed the men and women
of this narrative so far to do and how He molded and shaped those things no
matter what their intentions, good or evil, into His plan, His ministry of
reconciliation toward mankind?
The
priesthood of Egypt was a powerful class whom the Pharaoh would want on his
side and having Joseph marry one of their daughters was an astute political
move. In this we can speak in type of how God drew Abraham from the Gentiles to
create a people for Himself for Joseph’s offspring would be among God’s chosen.
On was a city that
became known as Heliopolis, city of the sun. On is said by some authorities to be the birthplace of Egyptian
mythology. It was the first capital of Egypt and the place where Egyptian myth
said that creation itself took place. It is here that the great sun god, Ra or
Atum, self-created god, was to have arisen from the Benben stone in the great
temple to light up a dark universe. He was the source of all other gods and
people themselves were born from his tears. It is of no little significance
that God arranged for a priest’s daughter of this city and this god to be
married to Joseph. God drew mankind away from the darkness of paganism and
chose Egypt’s greatest god’s priest’s daughter to be the vessel through whom
would come two tribes of the Hebrews, Ephraim and Manasseh. We will learn how
troublesome they were.
Strong’s
dictionary says that Joseph’s Egyptian name means, “treasury of the glorious
rest.” We will receive new names from God.
Revelation
2:17 He that hath an ear, let him hear
what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to
eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a
new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.
[1]
Numerous sources talk about this. Here is one website among other; http://www.reshafim.org.il/ad/egypt/timelines/topics/hair.htm
(accessed 4.4.2017).
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