Genesis 41

37–40 That “discerning and wise man” was Joseph; in Pharaoh’s judgment, Joseph had the spirit¹²⁴ of God (verse 38). So Pharaoh appointed Joseph to be second in command over all of Egypt. And Joseph was only thirty years old (verse 46).

Joseph in Charge of Egypt (41:41–57)

41–45 Joseph not only received the second-highest position in the land; he also received from Pharaoh a wife, who would soon bear him two sons (verse 50).

46–49 Joseph carried out his duties diligently; he stored up so much grain during the plentiful years that they even stopped measuring it (verse 49). For Joseph, having foreknowledge of God’s plans was not a reason to fatalistically sit back and do nothing; rather it was a reason to take action. God expects us to heed His warnings and to act accordingly.

50–52 Joseph’s Egyptian wife Asenath gave birth to Manasseh.¹²⁵ Then she gave birth to Ephraim.¹²⁶ In choosing these names, Joseph was acknowledging the great good that God had accomplished on his behalf.

53–57 After the seven years of plenty were over, the famine began. And truly it did seem to “swallow up” the abundance of the seven good years. But because of Joseph’s wisdom and leadership, the Egyptians did not starve; indeed many people from surrounding countries came to buy grain in Egypt, because the famine was severe in all the world (verse 57)—that is, in all the Middle East.

The rise of Joseph through exile, slavery and imprisonment is one of the Bible’s most important episodes. God’s dealings with Joseph repeat a pattern already found in Genesis: God chooses particular individuals through whom to fulfill His purposes.

During the time of the Flood, God chose Noah to reestablish the human race. Then God selected Abraham to be the father of a special “chosen people.” And now God was fulfilling His purposes by raising Joseph to power in Egypt. Joseph was to be the means by which God would form a nation—a nation through which all peoples on earth [would] be blessed (Genesis 12:3).

Joseph, in his day, was fulfilling that promise to be a blessing to all peoples; he was saving them from starvation and ruin. In this we can see again that Joseph was a forerunner of Christ: both suffered, both were servants, both had prophetic insight, both were divinely appointed rulers to whom every knee must bow (Philippians 2:6–11).

For God to use Joseph in this way, only one thing was necessary: Joseph had to “die”—die to himself. And that is true of every person who seeks to be used by God: we too must die to ourselves, to our self-interest, to our selfish desires. Jesus said: “. . . unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds” (John 12:24).