The Eternal Pilgrim in Temporal Power

If you were to search for a text in Scripture to find God’s own principles for leadership and stewardship in this life, then Genesis 41 ought to be on your shortlist. Joseph’s story—and especially this part of it—has long been read in this way, and for good reason. This is a rise to power like no other, or, at least, like no other in the temporal realm of power.

We will see four virtues of leadership, but I will call them “witnesses” rather than merely virtues. The reason is that, not only does Joseph remain a type of Christ and example for us; but, in following that example, our leading becomes a picture of Christ in our own stewardship we have been given, no matter how much or how little power we have been entrusted with. It is ultimately a lens toward divine excellencies, as when Titus is instructed to tell men in his church to “adorn the doctrine of God” (2:10) in serving lower masters.

• The witness of insight

• The witness of conviction

• The witness of design

• The witness of execution

Doctrine. God’s man in power is to witness Christ’s rule in his insight, conviction, design, and execution.   

The witness of insight   

The world needs a word from God. It thinks it doesn’t, but it does; and when it receives wisdom, it values it. The world will not acknowledge any light as belonging to God, but they need it all the same.

[Pharaoh] sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt and all its wise men. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but there was none who could interpret them to Pharaoh (v. 8).

Worldly wisdom doesn’t do well with world-altering matters. That’s because it exists only within that system, so when the system shakes, it has no science for that.

Notice that unlike in the case of King Nebuchadnezzar, here the dream was remembered by the king, but the trouble was in the interpretations. People bring this up, since (also unlike the mystery of the statue in that dream later on) here the imagery of the pairs of seven cows and pairs of seven ears of grain seems to be easy enough to guess. Boice replies in his commentary, “The real explanation was that God was making the minds of Pharaoh’s philosophers blank.”1

This is a pattern in biblical history. But it is also the case today that God gives “a spirit of deep sleep” (Isa. 29:10) to set the stage for us to awaken others. If you don’t feel that over the past five years, I don’t know what to tell you. This is why the biggest podcasts in the world right now (who are reaching more people that television ever did) are looking everywhere for Bible-believing apologists, theologians, and pastors right now to come on with them to help interpret the nightmare.

When an awake Christian, who knows their Bible, develops a pattern of speaking in the world, people start to recognize where to go. The cupbearer says,

A young Hebrew was there with us, a servant of the captain of the guard. When we told him, he interpreted our dreams to us, giving an interpretation to each man according to his dream (v. 12).

An interesting detail adds to our understanding of calling this a “rise to power.” At this point, Joseph is at least treated as an equal to the magicians. It says, ‘when he had shaved himself and changed his clothes, he came in before Pharaoh’ (v. 14). In his commentary, Kidner points to the Egyptian ritual “as against Semitic etiquette.”2 The point here is the suddenness of Joseph’s audience with the most powerful man in the world. The application for us is simply, “be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort” (2 Tim. 4:2).

The witness of conviction

Just as Joseph had done while still in prison with the baker and cupbearer, so now with Pharaoh. He would not rise to power by softening the message.

Joseph answered Pharaoh, “It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer” … God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do … It is as I told Pharaoh; God has shown to Pharaoh what he is about to do (vv. 16, 25, 28).

That later interpreter by God’s power, Daniel, would say the same to the pagan king who dreamed his dreams: “Daniel answered the king and said, “No wise men, enchanters, magicians, or astrologers can show to the king the mystery that the king has asked, but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries” (Dan. 2:27-28). That wasn’t just about humility—which it was—it was about integrity.

And then he takes the opportunity of the double-dream, to double down on God’s sovereignty: ‘And the doubling of Pharaoh’s dream means that the thing is fixed by God, and God will shortly bring it about’ (v. 32). The stress is on what God has done and will do. The whole thing is forever settled in the heavens. If Joseph was interested in self-promotion, this would have been the quickest Christian sellout you ever saw! But all of his sentences were measured to honor the one, true God: “for those who honor me I will honor” (1 Sam. 2:30).

If we combine these first two points—insight and conviction—we have our building witness. At first, one might think: “Well, so what if we have knowledge that the world finds valuable? Even if we insist that it’s all about Jesus, they will ignore us!” But that response misunderstands what a witness is. God’s servant coming into a position only has to be faithful.

A. W. Pink explains how even this insistence by Joseph is a type of Christ:

Just as God made known to the Egyptians, through Joseph, what He was ‘about to do,’ so has He now made known to us, through Jesus Christ, the things He will shortly do in this world. The parallel is perfect: said Joseph, ‘What God is about to do He showeth unto Pharaoh’ (41:28), and the Apocalypse, we are told, is ‘the revelation of Jesus Christ, which God have unto Him to show unto His servants things which must shortly come to pass.3

The witness of conviction is more sure of what God is doing than what man can do, and so he speaks with unwavering authority.

The witness of design

I count here four “lets,” one “set,” one “shall be,” and one “so that.”

Now therefore let Pharaoh select a discerning and wise man, and set him over the land of Egypt. Let Pharaoh proceed to appoint overseers over the land and take one-fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt during the seven plentiful years. And let them gather all the food of these good years that are coming and store up grain under the authority of Pharaoh for food in the cities, and let them keep it. That food shall be a reserve for the land against the seven years of famine that are to occur in the land of Egypt, so that the land may not perish through the famine (vv. 33-36).

What we have here is more than what I called “insight” before, but also foresight. Biblical theologians will speak of prophecy in two ways, namely, as foretelling and forth-telling. That may seem like a distinction without a difference, but essentially it is the difference between predicting the future versus ordering moral actors for a better future than the judgment they are on a path for right now. So God’s man in the secular arena is always prophetic in this latter sense, that the word we speak is not just pie in the sky, but makes sense of life now. And it warns now. Paul said, “Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom” (Col. 1:28).   

What we have here is, in a word, design. This design is (i.) unhesitating—‘Now therefore’ (v. 33a), (ii.) assertive—you know, ‘a discerning and wise man’ (v. 33b), (iii.) delegating—‘Let Pharaoh proceed to appoint’ (v. 34a), (iv.) thorough—the ‘one-fifth … gather … store up … keep’, (v.) maximally caring—‘so that the land may not perish’ (v. 36), and (vi.) real-world comfort-crashing—like those cows, things are about to get ‘poor and very ugly’ (v. 19), so ‘store up … keep’ (v. 35). Well, that is certainly true about things that require world-shattering warning.

Now, take all these together, and Jospeh’s warning for them really doesn’t have anything to do with Joseph. It is simply this: “You don’t want to die do you? Well, you’re going to if you don’t do what I say! If you don’t make serious changes. But if you do this, you’re going to make it!”

This was no weak witness. It spoke volumes.

This proposal pleased Pharaoh and all his servants. And Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find a man like this, in whom is the Spirit of God?” Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has shown you all this, there is none so discerning and wise as you are” (vv. 37-39).

While there’s no need to make too much of Pharaoh’s profession, as if he came to faith, neither should we downplay it. He was forced to concede to the true God in saying ‘the Spirit of God’ and ‘God has shown you all this.’ Since even a begrudging homage payed to Christ is His glory on the Last Day—“every tongue confess” (Phi. 2:11), it follows that this is intrinsically glorious on any day.

Now, someone might think that Joseph risked coming across as impertinent. One might even think it violates the Scripture that says, “Do not put yourself forward in the king’s presence or stand in the place of the great” (Prov. 25:6), but read the very next verse and you will see the difference: “for it is better to be told, ‘Come up here,’ than to be put lower in the presence of a noble” (Prov. 25:7). Joseph had been sought. His next words were not hasty, but obvious for the moment.

So, what explains this bold leap from interpretation to ingenuity, from verse 32 to 33? It is simple. The plan follows the decree. He said that ‘God will shortly bring it about.’ If God will shortly bring about an earth-shattering thing, then who is man in power? We must remember that, “The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD; he turns it wherever he will” (Prov. 21:1).

The witness of execution

Look now at this thing called power, a much misunderstood concept in our day—perhaps in any day, but especially in ours.

‘And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.” 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. 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. Moreover, Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh, and without your consent no one shall lift up hand or foot in all the land of Egypt” (vv. 41-44).

I see no record of Joseph struggling with this. I see no false humility. I read no later indication from the biblical authors that Joseph had been handed an idol. He had been handed a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Those may be made into idols, but the office is no idol as such. Indeed, Paul calls the civil magistrate “the servant of God” and even “minister of God” (Rom. 13:4, 6).

Human power is a reflection of divine power. If the man in power abuses it, then he lies about God’s power, as God’s power is pure; but similarly, if he abdicates that power, then he also lies about God’s power, as God’s power is faithful and follows through.

Joseph was not all talk. Joseph had what we call “executive function.” That’s what I mean by the witness of execution. He had maximal followthrough. And this was displayed in four executive essentials:

(i.) EVERY SQUARE INCH — ‘[he] went through all the land of Egypt’ (v. 46). God’s man in power surveys the whole field, as Jesus “went throughout all the cities and villages … When he saw the crowds” [comparing them to a field of a]  harvest [that] is plentiful” (Mat. 9:35, 36, 37).

(ii.) NO LUXURY ITEMS IN WARTIME — ‘he gathered up all the food of these seven years … and put the food in the cities’ (v. 48a). God’s man in power wastes no resource. He puts thrift over basking in plenty.

(iii.) EACH LOCALE RESPECTED — ‘in every city the food from the fields around it’ (v. 48b). God’s man in power not only makes sure everyone is taken care of, from the greatest to the least, but he ensures that people are empowered in their own sectors to care for themselves. He is not a micromanager. He weans people off of himself, and so treats them more like human beings.

(iv.) ALWAYS RUN UP THE SCORE — ‘stored up grain in great abundance’ (v. 49). God’s man in power takes nothing for granted. He goes above and beyond.

When things fall apart, and the Christian has stood faithful, people come flocking to God’s man. By this point, as far as Pharaoh was concerned, Joseph could be depended upon more than his own Egyptian so-called gods: ‘When all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread. Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, ‘Go to Joseph. What he says to you, do’ (v. 55). Beyond that, such a Christian, who is not afraid to handle the things of this world and even wield power, has a storehouse where witness to the new world cannot be denied:

So when the famine had spread over all the land, Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold to the Egyptians, for the famine was severe in the land of Egypt. Moreover, all the earth came to Egypt to Joseph to buy grain, because the famine was severe over all the earth (vv. 56-57).

When you’re starving, you’re not really in the mood to mock the cook. And when the Christian alone has resources that last, all of history has a habit of coming back to the real warehouse of the world.

Practical Use of the Doctrine

Use 1. Instruction. Joseph’s quick motion from interpretation to imperative is the biblical way to respond to biblical prophecy—God’s decree is for human action. Consider in the prophets:

[Jonah] called out, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” And the people of Nineveh believed God (Jonah 3:4-5).

If at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom, that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it, and if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I intended to do to it (Jer. 18:7-8).

God declares both the future that will be period, but also the future that will be if we do not harken to His voice. While a famine may not always be a judgment in the same way, nevertheless the relationship between God’s prescriptive will (what He commands) and God’s decretive will (what He causes) is always in play.

Use 2. Correction. In saying that this witness is a witness to Christ’s rule—His insight, His conviction, His design, and His execution—one of the payoffs is a challenge to our notion that these things are unspiritual. No! These things are things that Jesus is all about. It is interesting that the two Old Testament most notable for having no sin mentioned are the two who most famously held power in the secular world: Joseph and Daniel. We think of such things as “un-Christ-like,” but that does not seem to match the way the Bible describes them. When we think that this active, opportunity-ready, power-wielding, resource-directing witness is not actually a witness, but is un-Christ-like—from such a stockpile of Christians, no Joseph can arise.

Use 3. Consolation. Joseph as type of Christ continues to gain in focus:

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 (v. 40).

In the first place, the mediatorial reign of Christ—that is, as fully human King over all—is summed up, as Paul says,

“For ‘God has put all things in subjection under his feet.’ But when it says, ‘all things are put in subjection,’ it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him. When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all” (1 Cor. 15:26-28).

And beyond that, God exalts each one who comes to faith in Christ, from the pit to reigning and ruling with Christ, which is a far greater height than that of the throne of Egypt.

[He] made us alive together with Christ … and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus (Eph. 2:5, 6).

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God (Col. 3:1).

The commentator from a century ago, F. B. Meyer, said that, “The very name that Pharaoh gave to Joseph meant ‘Savior of the world.’” I don’t know how that bears out, but if the Savior of the world has exalted you with him, over the world, what is some little scrap at the workplace or the capital that we should not speak into?

As we prepare for the Lord’s Supper, think of how all came to this little “savior of the world” for a storehouse of bread. That one was not actually infinite. However, the Savior of the World was the bread from heaven that has life for the world. He has invited you through the gospel call. He says, “I am the LORD your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it” (Ps. 81:10).

__________________________

1. Boice, Genesis, III:965.

2. Kidner, Genesis, 206.

3. Pink, Gleanings in Genesis, 375.