Administering by Faith

  Genesis 41:41-57

 

Good morning brothers and sisters!  It is an honor and privilege to be together worshiping the Lord and looking into His word.  Last week, Carl shared on the first half of Genesis 41 where Joseph interprets Pharaoh’s dreams.  That is such an exciting passage where Joseph comes from the lowest of the low, a prisoner with a life sentence, to an audience with the king of the greatest nation in the world at that time, to being appointed the second highest authority in that great kingdom.

Today, we will carry on into the practical work of what happened in the days and years following Joseph’s ascension to Pharaoh’s second in command.  His responsibility to guide Egypt through seven years of famine was largely one of administration.

Historically, the time of Joseph in Egypt begins around 1900 BC.  Keep in mind that the great pyramids had been constructed in the time range of 2700 to 2500 BC, 600 to 800 years before Joseph.  The Egyptians were certainly accomplished at great construction projects and no doubt organized and administratively gifted.  And yet, the thought of a seven-year famine was something that struck fear into the heart of Pharaoh such that he would entrust his nation’s very survival to a foreigner brought out of prison.

God no doubt prepared Pharaoh to receive Joseph favorably at this moment.  Additionally, God guided Joseph and prepared him to address Pharaoh in clear terms that led to the decision which put Joseph in charge.  In Acts 7:10, Stephen is addressing the Sanhedrin.  He makes clear God’s involvement saying,

[God] gave Joseph wisdom and enabled him to gain the goodwill of Pharaoh king of Egypt. So, Pharaoh made him ruler over Egypt and all his palace. – Acts 7:10

I think this kind of working of God is what we are most familiar with in our day to day lives.  We continue to seek God, and He reveals Himself and guides us in whatever circumstances we are facing.  He causes us to gain the goodwill of others around us to help us do what God has given us to carry out.

Lately, I have been meditating on Proverbs 3:5-6 which says,

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. – Proverbs 3:5-6

This is exactly what Joseph lived out.  He confidently told Pharaoh, “I cannot do it.  I cannot interpret dreams, but God can do it.”  Joseph acknowledged God, and God directed Joseph’s path.  Let’s pray and see what Joseph does next.

Father God, I pray that You would direct our hearts and our minds this morning.  Help us to see and apply what You have for us.  Thank You for giving us this passage about Joseph’s life.  Teach us from it now, we pray in Jesus’ Name, Amen.

I’d like to go back and read a short portion of last week’s passage as we consider what work Joseph undertook as Pharaoh’s second in command, as well as, how God enabled Joseph to find the goodwill of Pharaoh.  In Genesis 41:32, Joseph concludes the interpretation of Pharaoh’s dreams.  He could have stopped there.  That was the reason he had been brought to Pharaoh.  But Joseph goes beyond that mandate and unprompted, he said …

And now let Pharaoh look for a discerning and wise man and put him in charge of the land of Egypt.  Let Pharaoh appoint commissioners over the land to take a fifth of the harvest of Egypt during the seven years of abundance.  They should collect all the food of these good years that are coming and store up the grain under the authority of Pharaoh, to be kept in the cities for food.  This food should be held in reserve for the country, to be used during the seven years of famine that will come upon Egypt, so that the country may not be ruined by the famine. – Genesis 41:33-36

Based on what we’ve seen happen to Joseph, I am confident that Joseph has come to a place where he consistently adds value.  I’m not certain that Joseph always operated from this kind of mindset.  As a boy, was he a hard worker, or did his privileged place as his father’s favorite allow him to “sit back” from making the most of whatever task he was given?

Regardless, we see from the time he arrived in Egypt up until Pharaoh exalts him, Joseph is adding far more value than would be expected of him.  As Potiphar’s slave, he is so effective that Potiphar gives him responsibility for his entire estate.  Then, after being trapped by Potiphar’s wife’s lies, Joseph brings far more value to the prison than any prisoner would be expected to do.  So much so that the warden places the entire administration of the prison under Joseph’s authority.

Now, before Pharaoh, Joseph has interpreted Pharaoh’s dreams.  He has done what was expected of him and what no one else in the kingdom of Egypt could do.  But, he doesn’t stop there.  He keeps going.  He tells Pharaoh what should be done to prepare for and to survive the famine.  He does that without even being asked.

This is a principle we can think about in our own lives.  Do we seek to consistently add value in our work whether it’s work outside the home, inside the home, schoolwork, or any other kind of activity?

This is not just a principle that we can look at in Joseph’s life.  Carl talked about the parallels between Joseph as a type or forerunner of Christ and Jesus.  The Jewish leaders confront Jesus for healing on the Sabbath in John 5.  In his defense Jesus said to them, ‘My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working.’ ”  (John 5:17)

Now, I’m not saying that we’re supposed to be working all the time.  There is certainly a need for rest, and God sets that example for us Himself by resting on the seventh day of creation.  At the same time, it is also clear that we should be working, especially working to do good and to proclaim Christ.

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. – Colossians 3:24

Our attitude and our diligence in all our work are both ways by which we serve God.

Okay, so what was Joseph’s proposal for managing the famine?  When he interpreted Pharaoh’s dreams, he explained that the years of surplus would provide a great abundance.  However, there needs to be someone to manage the surplus.  He recommends one person be put in charge, but it isn’t to be a one man show.  This leader would use a number of commissioners throughout the land to carry out the preparation work.  Joseph’s suggestion is that one fifth or 20% of each of these years of surplus should be put aside.  In the end, Joseph’s plan would lay aside the equivalent of 1.4 years’ worth of the surplus.  It wouldn’t seem like this would be enough food altogether, perhaps enough to cover 3 or 4 years but probably not 7 years.  Joseph said that the 20% of surplus years’ grain was to be held in reserve.  Perhaps the people themselves would save some grain.  And, there is another interesting possibility that we will take a look at a little later.

According to Joseph, the storage of the grain should be decentralized both in cities throughout the country.  This also seems like a prudent risk mitigation.  There need to be reserves near all the population centers.  The facilities needed to store this amount of grain would require a large public works project, yet another activity that this leader would need to administer prior to the years of famine.  In closing, Joseph states the goal of this work.  “So that the country may not be ruined by the famine.”  That is the target.  This is what this proposed leader must be focused on.

Now, Pharaoh makes his choice.  Who should become this leader?

So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I hereby put you in charge of the whole land of Egypt.”  Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his finger and put it on Joseph's finger. He dressed him in robes of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck.  He had him ride in a chariot as his second-in-command, and people shouted before him, “Make way!” Thus, he put him in charge of the whole land of Egypt. – Genesis 41:41-43

Joseph must have been shocked.  Unless God had revealed it to him, I doubt that Joseph would have had any inkling that Pharaoh would choose him.  Why would he?

We see multiple ways by which Pharaoh establishes Joseph’s authority.  First, by a public decree from Pharaoh himself.  Then, Joseph gets Pharaoh’s signet ring.  With that, Joseph has the ability to make directions or decrees and sign them in Pharaoh’s name.  The signet ring was a necessary power tool of the ancient world.  Joseph gets the wardrobe of nobility and other adornment suitable for such a position.  Finally, Joseph is placed before the people in a way which clearly communicates to all who see him that Joseph is in charge.  There is an alternate translation of “Make way!”  It also has the connotation of “Bow down!”  In other words, everyone should physically recognize the authority of Joseph.  This fits quite well with the dreams Joseph had as a boy.

Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh, but without your word no one will lift hand or foot in all Egypt.”  Pharaoh gave Joseph the name Zaphenath-Paneah and gave him Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, to be his wife. And Joseph went throughout the land of Egypt.  Joseph was thirty years old when he entered the service of Pharaoh king of Egypt. – Genesis 41:44-46

I did some reading and watched some videos about names in ancient Egypt.  It turns out that Pharaohs had at least five different names with each name holding a specific meaning or function.  The fact that Joseph got an Egyptian name then is no surprise.  Experts are not certain what the meaning of Joseph’s Egyptian name is because it appears to be a transliteration from ancient Egyptian.

Joseph gets an Egyptian wife which was probably more significant to him personally than getting an Egyptian name.  It is not expected that Potiphera and Potipher are the same person.  Remember, Potipher was captain of the guard and not previously described as a priest.  On is a city about 10 miles northeast of modern Cairo.  It was called Heliopolis by the Greeks millennia after Joseph’s time.  It was a center of worship of Ra, the Egyptian sun god, hence the name Potiphe-Ra.  All these details serve to put boundaries on the time period in which Joseph lived in Egypt.

So now that Joseph has this position, what does he do?  He goes throughout the land of Egypt.  No doubt, he has much to see and much to learn about this land over which he has been placed as leader, so he travels the land.  And after all this, Joseph is still a relatively young man.  He’s been in Egypt for 13 years which is a long time to be a slave and a prisoner.  However, he is hardly advanced in years which again makes his advancement to this position all the more remarkable.

And Joseph went out from Pharaoh's presence and traveled throughout Egypt. – Genesis 41:46

I went ahead and put this sentence on a separate slide because it is mentioned twice in rapid succession.  When something gets repeated in Scripture or literature for that matter, it is a point of emphasis and can be an indication of a higher frequency of occurrence.  In this case, I can imagine that it was both.  Joseph was everywhere in Egypt.

Going back and thinking about Joseph’s constant trait of adding value wherever he was working, there is an interesting point for an event that happened during Joseph’s time in Egypt.  When you think about Egypt geographically, what do you imagine?  I think about mostly desert with a green stripe following the banks of the Nile River which is certainly true.  But, there is one interesting feature which breaks that pattern.

There’s this region called Faiyum which is sometimes called the oasis of Faiyum, but it’s a lot bigger than an oasis.  There was water in this area prior to Joseph’s time, but the waterway from the Nile to the natural lake was widened and deepened to make a canal.  That canal is still there now and goes by the name Bahr Yussef or Joseph’s canal in Arabic.  This project served three purposes in antiquity: to control the flooding of the Nile, to regulate the water level of the Nile during dry seasons, and to serve the surrounding area with irrigation.  There is evidence of ancient Egyptian pharaohs of Joseph’s time using the natural lake of Faiyum as a reservoir to store surpluses of water for use during the dry periods.

The canal was built into the natural incline of the valley, creating a channel 15 km long and 5 m deep that sloped into the Faiyum depression. The canal was controlled by two dams that regulated the flow into the lake and out of the Nile.  You can see on this map that the area was even larger in the past.  By about 200 BC, the canal had been neglected to the point that much of the lake dried up.

This information is extra-Biblical.  There is no guarantee that Joseph was involved in this project.  At the same time, something like this would have been a huge benefit in the early years of famine to allow Egypt to continue to supply grain despite inadequate rainfall.

During the seven years of abundance the land produced plentifully.  Joseph collected all the food produced in those seven years of abundance in Egypt and stored it in the cities. In each city he put the food grown in the fields surrounding it.  Joseph stored up huge quantities of grain, like the sand of the sea; it was so much that he stopped keeping records because it was beyond measure. – Genesis 41:47-49

Just as Joseph told Pharaoh, he performed the role of leader of the whole land of Egypt exactly as he explained it should be done.  Joseph was not only always adding value, he was a man of his word.  What he said needed to be done, he got it done.  It is quite remarkable that the quantity was so great that they stopped recording the exact amounts stored.

At the same time, they didn’t stop storing grain.  I think this is a good reminder as well.  There can be occasions where we think we’ve done enough good.  Here are a couple of good New Testament reminders about persevering in doing good and what can happen as a result.

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. – Galatians 6:9

For it is God's will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people. – I Peter 2:15

Before the years of famine came, two sons were born to Joseph by Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On.  Joseph named his firstborn Manasseh and said, “It is because God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father's household.”  The second son he named Ephraim and said, “It is because God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering.” – Genesis 41:50-52

We’ve seen how Joseph just continues to put one foot in front of the other.  He just doesn’t give up.  He keeps getting the job done over and above anyone’s expectations.  But now, upon the birth of his sons, we get a glimpse into the pain that was in Joseph’s heart.

Manasseh sounds like the Hebrew word for forget.  It’s good that he didn’t name Manasseh trouble.  It is clear that Joseph thought about these things.  Joseph had seen a lot of difficulty such that he needed to forget “all” of it rather than one or two things.  The pain of the betrayal of his brothers also caused him to feel relief in forgetting “all” his father’s household.  That’s sad, but it is also where Joseph was in dealing with the difficulty of the previous years of his life.

Ephraim’s name sounds like Hebrew for twice fruitful.  Again, it’s good that Joseph didn’t name Ephraim suffering.  We see that Joseph experienced suffering such that it was an important thought when he named his second son.

It was not wrong or bad for Joseph to recognize and acknowledge the difficulty he faced.  In fact, it was healthy and good.  Even better, Joseph was able to recognize God’s provision and blessing in the midst of hardship.  God did help Joseph to forget the pain.  Obviously, he didn’t forget his family or the events of his life.  However, he no longer experienced the pain of abandonment and abuse.  Joseph testified in the naming of his sons the truth that Stephen spoke about him in Acts 7.

But God was with him and rescued him from all his troubles – Acts 7:9-10

And as we will see in the coming weeks, God is not done with reconciling Joseph and his brothers.

The seven years of abundance in Egypt came to an end, and the seven years of famine began, just as Joseph had said. There was famine in all the other lands, but in the whole land of Egypt there was food. – Genesis 41:53-54

I look at these two verses as possibly giving an indication that Egypt was still harvesting food at least at the beginning of the famine.  There was no longer a surplus, but in the whole land of Egypt, there was food while all other lands experienced famine right away.

When all Egypt began to feel the famine, the people cried to Pharaoh for food. Then Pharaoh told all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph and do what he tells you.”  When the famine had spread over the whole country, Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold grain to the Egyptians, for the famine was severe throughout Egypt.  And all the world came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph, because the famine was severe everywhere. – Genesis 41:55-57

Egypt begins to feel the famine.  At that time, the people come to Pharaoh for food.  What does Pharaoh do?  He sends the people to Joseph.  What if Joseph hadn’t prepared adequately?  What would have happened?  Thankfully, he is ready.  The uncountable grain is ready and waiting in the storehouses of Egypt.  Now, Joseph sells the grain not only to Egypt, but to people throughout the middle eastern world.

The Bible is the coolest book that was ever written.  There is such diversity in Scripture including diversity in personality and gifting.  God equipped Joseph for the work that he planned for him to do.  Joseph is by far not the only person in Scripture gifted with these skills.  You can look at Abraham, Jacob, Job, Nehemiah, Daniel, and there are more besides.

More importantly, it isn’t just recognizing that God has uniquely gifted us.  What we believe about the purpose of those gifts is equally important.  Joseph was treated unfairly, but he kept using his gifts to bless others.  What about us, how do we employ the gifts we’ve been given?

As we wrap up for today, I want you step back to an example I shared back in 2017.  It’s to think of what you are believing about yourself.  This is a kind of self-test.  I took this directly from a believer named Dave Kahle who does ministry in and through his business.  He really has a heart for seeing all believers diligently working and serving God.

Imagine yourself in two totally different mental states.  In one, you believe that your talents, experience, education and the gifts that you use in your job and your personal relationships are of little interest to God.  They are just the way to fill your week.  The really important things to God occur only on Sunday mornings. You believe that work at the church building is real ministry and that our lives are something that God really doesn’t care that much about. He’s more interested in evangelism and edification under the direct supervision of a church than He is in anything we might do in our daily lives.   “Church work” is special. And what you and I do most of our lives is ordinary.  “Church work” is significant, and what you and I do most of the time is insignificant.  And, while you desire to be active and pleasing to God, you know you cannot be because you aren’t in a full-time ministry position and you do not have enough time to devote to “church work.”

Now that you are temporarily immersed in that mindset, ask yourself some questions. How energized are you to see your life as meaningful to God?  To what degree do you feel filled with the Holy Spirit every minute of the day? How close to God do you feel?  How great is your Christian influence on those around you?   Feel free to jot down a couple of thoughts or feelings.

Now, consider the opposite paradigm.  Image yourself fully accepting and believing this:

God has selected you for a special ministry that you alone can fulfill.  (Ephesians 2:10) You believe that God has personally and specifically equipped you with experience, talents, gifts, knowledge, and understanding to use in your education, your business and your personal relationships.  He has personally given you a ministry that is incredibly important to the growth of his kingdom and is directly in the center of His will.  This ministry is your work and your relationships. Every moment of it is empowered by the Holy Spirit, ordained by God, and overseen by Jesus Christ.  He has appointed you to be his unique ambassador to take His influence into every corner of His creation touched by you.  What you do on Sunday morning or in regards to the institutional church is only a part of the special ministry of your life.

Now ask yourself the same questions.  How enthusiastic are you?  How full of the Holy Spirit?  How close to God?  How excited to be using your spiritual gifts? How energized are you to see your life as meaningful to God?  To what degree are you inspired to and feel filled with the Holy Spirit every minute of the day?  How great is your Christian influence on those around you?

The first example depresses the power of the Holy Spirit and isolates us under the burden of an inaccurate and perhaps debilitating self-image.  Discouragement must be one of Satan’s primary tools.  When discouragement is generated in the heart of a Christian, they can effectively be placed on the bench.

The second example does just the opposite, energizing us with purpose and confidence in God. The second mindset fosters an attitude of joy, peace, commitment, and empowerment.

Another big difference between the two examples is that the first one is not Biblical.  The second one is.  Here are a couple of encouraging passages from II Corinthians.

All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:  that God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting people's sins against them. – II Corinthians 5:18-20

Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. ... Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. – II Corinthians 9:6, 10

Joseph sowed generously in whatever job he had.  He did not give up.  God supplied and increased Joseph’s store of seed beyond counting enough to feed the whole world.  While we do not have Joseph’s job, we were reconciled to Christ when we called on Jesus to save us.  We now have a ministry.  It is a ministry of reconciliation.  Take a moment now and think about what relationship God is calling you to connect to Him.  Where can we help people we know and love to meet Jesus and be reconciled with Him.  Where can we continue to do good?

Let’s pray.

Lord Jesus, thank you for Joseph’s example.  Help us to see examples in his life in how we can better serve and follow You.  Thank you for giving us light and life.  We praise You for Your glory. We pray  this in Your Name, Jesus. Amen.