f.
Genesis
41:42 – 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;
§
The giving of the
ring serves as a ratification of Pharaoh’s proclamation.
o
We also see that
he was once again given a clothing of honor, similar to the coat of “many
colors” that his father Jacob had given to him.
§
In verse 37 we
see that all of Pharaoh’s servants saw that promoting someone to this position
was a good thing, yet here when the decision is made we see no mention of the
reaction of the servants.
§
Could it be that
they were initially glad because there was a possibility that each of them
could have been nominated for the position, yet here when the slave is elevated
there appears to be indifference. We see
this similarly in Daniel
o
Daniel 6:4
- Then the presidents and
princes sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they
could find none occasion nor fault; forasmuch as he [was] faithful, neither was
there any error or fault found in him.
o
Imagine if our
leaders today would turn to God and seek His counsel rather than rely on their
own wisdom
-
We have one
recent example
-
Can you imagine a
United
States
-
Lets see what God
does in Uganda
g.
Genesis
41:43 – 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
§
Acts 2:36 –
Therefore let all the house of Israel
§
Philippians
2:10 -
That at the name of Jesus every knee
should bow, of [things] in heaven, and [things] in earth, and [things]
under the earth;
§
Joseph being
elevated to the right hand of Pharaoh over all the land of Egypt Egypt
h.
Genesis
41:44 – 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
§
Question: What did Joseph do to convince Pharaoh that he was
worthy of all these honors bestowed upon him?
o
To put things
into perspective, Egypt
o
Joseph told
Pharaoh what his dream meant and that was it! And it wasn’t even Joseph, it was
God as Joseph rightfully declared. Yet
this one act of obedience was met with tremendous honor.
o
What Joseph spoke
in mere minutes was all that the Pharaoh needed to hear in order to make his
determination, and it wasn’t even a difficult decision.
o
What a dramatic turn of events in Joseph’s
life:
-
He was sitting in
prison, unaware of anything going on in the palace.
-
Suddenly, guards
show up to bath and escort Joseph to see Pharaoh
-
He tells Pharaoh
what his dream means
-
He is promoted to
2nd in command over all of Egypt
-
He is elevated
from the lowest ranks of society to the highest in mere hours!
-
Never doubt the
power of God!
§
Answer: Joseph was as good and righteous a man as there was,
but nothing he did warranted the reward bestowed upon him. What Pharaoh was rewarding was what God had
done through Joseph. God chose Joseph
and he was elevated to accomplish the purpose that God had in store.
o
Remember,
elevating Joseph was merely the means that God chose to accomplish His purpose,
which was to save Israel
i.
Genesis
41:45 – 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
§
Philippians
2:9 - Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above
every name:
o
More evidence
that Joseph is a “type” of Christ in the parallels between the characteristics
of Christ and Joseph’s new name
§
Zaphnathpaaneah –
צפנת פענח Tsophnath Pa
o
Matthew 11:28 - Come
unto me, all [ye] that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
-
"treasury
of the glorious rest"
o
John 10:10b
- … I am come that they might have life, and that they might
have [it] more abundantly.
-
“abundance of life”
o
Revelation
7:10 - And
cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation
to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.
-
“salvation”
o
John 4:42b - for we have heard [him] ourselves, and know that this
is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of
the world.
-
“savior of the
age”
-
World - κόσμος kosmos,
several definitions but together they seem represent the entire universe of
creation and everything in it
o
Matthew
13:34-35 - All these things
spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not
unto them: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying,
I will open my mouth in parables; I
will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world.
-
“revealer of a
secret”
§
Asenath – אסנת 'Acĕnath,
"belonging to the goddess Neith"
o
Neith was goddess
of the hunt. She may have also been a war goddess. Her worship dates from pre
dynastic history. In early times she was called 'mother of the gods' and 'Great
Goddess'. She was considered the guardian of men and gods. Often pictured as a woman wearing the red
crown of Lower Egypt , holding a bow and crossed arrows. Her cult sign was
a shield and crossed arrows. Occasionally she was represented as the great cow,
mother of Ra
o
No longer does
Asenath belong to the goddess of Neith, she now belongs to Zaphnathpaaneah
(Joseph), the savior of the world!
o
Just as we who
were once in bondage to sin…
-
1
Corinthians 6:11 - And
such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are
justified in the name of the Lord
Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.
§
Potipherah – פוטי
פרע Powtiy Phera`, "he whom the Ra gave"
§
On – און 'Own,
"strength or vigour", city in lower Egypt, bordering land of Goshen,
centre of sun-worship, residence of Potipherah (priest of On and father-in-law
of Joseph)
§
Revelation
19:7 - Let us be glad and
rejoice, and give honour to him: for the
marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.
o
Notice one of the
first things Pharaoh did after elevating Joseph was to establish him in
marriage with an honorable wife
o
Likewise we see
that the marriage of the Lamb, the body of Christ joined to the bride of
Christ.
II.
Interpretations prove true, Joseph successfully
prepares (Genesis 41:46-57)
a.
Genesis
41:46 – And Joseph [was]
thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt land of Egypt
§
Luke 3:23 - And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was
supposed) the son of Joseph, which was [the son] of Heli,
o
Joseph becomes a
servant of Pharaoh about the same time
that Jesus enters His ministry
o
Pharaoh
demonstrates a “type” of God by representing in the physical world the
attributes of God in the spiritual
§
Approximates the
year to about 1715 BC.
§
Famine began in ~1708
BC and ended ~1700 BC according to corroborating archeological evidence. There is an inscription that states “for 7
successive years the Nile did not overflow and the vegetation withered and
failed; that the land was devoid of crops , and that during these years, famine
and misery devastated the land of Egypt
b.
Genesis
41:47 – And in the seven
plenteous years the earth brought forth by handfuls.
c.
Genesis
41:48 – And he gathered up
all the food of the seven years, which were in the land of Egypt, and laid up
the food in the cities: the food of the field, which [was] round about every
city, laid he up in the same.
§
Consider the
logistics and storage facilities that had to be put in place before this could
be accomplished. Joseph would have had
to appoint trusted men in charge of overseeing these collection locations and
ensuring they were of unquestioned integrity
§
Would have had to
build silos that withstood erosion and vermin that also remained dry to prevent
rot.
§
This was a major undertaking
and even though Joseph was placed in charge he would have had to quickly
learned to delegate important responsibilities to capable workers.
d.
Genesis
41:49 – And Joseph gathered
corn as the sand of the sea, very much, until he left numbering; for [it was]
without number.
§
Purchasing from
Pharaoh’s treasury
e.
Genesis
41:50 – And unto Joseph were
born two sons before the years of famine came, which Asenath the daughter of
Potipherah priest of On bare unto him.
§
Sons born between
1715 BC and 1708 BC, before the famine
f.
Genesis
41:51 – And Joseph called the
name of the firstborn Manasseh: For God, [said he], hath made me forget all my
toil, and all my father's house.
§
Manasseh – מנשה Mĕnashsheh,
"causing to forget"
o
Joseph did forget
his toil, but not his father’s house.
o
These two tribes
will become the chief tribes of the northern kingdom “House of Israel” could
this be prophetically speaking of end-times era Israelites “forgetting” about
their heritage?
o
Sometimes we
forget that all the trouble of pain we go through on this earth is merely
temporary
g.
Genesis
41:52 – And the name of the
second called he Ephraim: For God hath caused me to be fruitful in the land of
my affliction.
§
Ephraim - אפרים 'Ephrayim,
"double ash-heap: I shall be doubly fruitful"
o
Seems to
encompass the 14 year stretch in one summary statement an ash-heap representing
the 7 years famine and fruitful for the seven years of plenty.
o
So between the
two we have forgetfulness and fruitfulness
h.
Genesis
41:53 – And the seven years
of plenteousness, that was in the land of Egypt
§
Just as the Lord
said
§
Joseph was the
only one whom the Lord spoke through regarding the coming famine, what happened
to the other nations
i.
Genesis
41:54 – And the seven years
of dearth began to come, according as Joseph had said: and the dearth was in
all lands; but in all the land of Egypt
j.
Genesis
41:55 – And when all the land of Egypt
§
Notice that
Pharaoh delegated this responsibility to Joseph, he did not try to take it back
or take credit for it. People came to
Pharaoh seeking to obtain “salvation”, what did he say? Go see Joseph. When people attempt to obtain salvation today,
what is the response?
o
John 14:6
- Jesus saith unto him, I am
the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
o
No one has access
to the Father’s silos but by the access granted by Jesus.
§
1
Thessalonians 5:9 - For God
hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain
salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,
o
We obtain
salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, the Egyptians obtained their “salvation”
through Joseph.
k.
Genesis
41:56 – And the famine was
over all the face of the earth: And Joseph opened all the storehouses, and sold
unto the Egyptians; and the famine waxed sore in the land of Egypt
§
“face of the
earth” – many translations say the land, likely that it was over the entire
region
l.
Genesis
41:57 - And all countries
came into Egypt
§
John 3:17 - For
God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
o
Does it say here
that Israel Israel
o
Joseph, by saving
Israel
No comments:
Post a Comment