The proposal pleased Pharaoh and all his servants. Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find anyone else like this, one in whom is the spirit of God?” So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has shown you all this, there is no one so discerning and wise as you. You shall be over my house, and all my people shall order themselves as you command; only with regard to the throne will I be greater than you.” And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.”
Removing his signet ring from his hand, Pharaoh put it on Joseph’s hand; he arrayed him in garments of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck. He had him ride in the chariot of his second-in-command, and they cried out in front of 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.” Pharaoh gave Joseph the name Zaphenath-paneah, and he gave him Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, as his wife. Thus Joseph gained authority over the land of Egypt.
Joseph was thirty years old when he entered the service of Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh and went through all the land of Egypt. During the seven plenteous years the earth produced abundantly. He gathered up all the food of the seven years when there was plenty in the land of Egypt and stored up food in the cities; he stored up in every city the food from the fields around it. So Joseph stored up grain in such abundance—like the sand of the sea—that he stopped measuring it; it was beyond measure.
Before the years of famine came, Joseph had two sons, whom Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, bore to him. Joseph named the firstborn Manasseh, “For,” he said, “God has made me forget all my hardship and all my father’s house.” The second he named Ephraim, “For God has made me fruitful in the land of my misfortunes.”
The seven years of plenty that prevailed in the land of Egypt came to an end, and the seven years of famine began to come, just as Joseph had said. There was famine in every country, but throughout the land of Egypt there was bread.
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.” And since 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 world came to Joseph in Egypt to buy grain, because the famine became severe throughout the world. (New Revised Standard Version)
It’s easy to get lost and miss the forest for the trees; we may become too involved in the details of a problem to look at the situation as a whole. Whenever we are in the middle of hard times, it can be difficult to see the big picture of what’s really going on.
Joseph had been in a peck of trouble. He literally found himself deep in trouble by being tossed into a dark hole of a well by his jealous brothers. Then, the same brothers turned around and pulled him up, only to sell him in slavery to a caravan heading for Egypt. (Genesis 37)
While in Egypt, Joseph became the head servant in the household of Potiphar, the captain of the guard for Pharaoh. But again, trouble found Joseph, even though the guy was diligent and squeaky clean in his moral living. Mrs. Potiphar had eyes for Joseph – who did not reciprocate her advances. There’s no wrath quite like a woman’s scorn, and off to jail Joseph went. (Genesis 39)
In prison Joseph waited… and waited. It seemed as though he had been forgotten. And although he had come to be in charge of his fellow inmates because the jail keeper trusted him so much, Joseph was still in the place of bondage. (Genesis 40) So, what would you do if you were in similar circumstances?
Blame others. Bellyache. Bully your way around with a chip on your shoulder. Become bitter about the ways you’ve been shafted and the brunt of injustice. Those are things that many of us might do in the throes of one injustice after another. But not Joseph.
Holy Scripture has no record of Joseph responding with complaint nor discouragement. Joseph seemed to have a sense that there were larger forces at work behind the scenes – that God could be trusted to work out the adverse situations for divine purposes.
So, when Joseph went from the bottom slug in a prison to the top dog in Egypt, the big picture became much more clear. From age 17 to age 30, Joseph labored as the right hand servant in charge of Potiphar’s household, and then as the right hand man to the jail keeper in prison. Now, Joseph becomes the right hand to Pharaoh, the administrator over all of Egypt.
All along, the Lord was getting Joseph ready for something supremely large – life and death sort of stuff. It turns out that, with Joseph in charge, tens of thousands of lives may have been spared because of his insight, foresight, and hindsight.
Joseph had divine insight as an interpreter of dreams – a gift which he acknowledged was given to him by God. He had the foresight and wisdom to take that insight and turn it into a solid administrative plan for saving many lives from a terrible famine. And Joseph continually had the benefit of hindsight in knowing who he was and where he came from – believing that he was part of a specially called family whom the Lord had a divine hand upon.
Every experience, each event, and the myriad mundane tasks which Joseph had to endure for 13 long years were like individual bricks being mortared together into a building which would eventually house enough life-learning to accomplish a life-saving governmental administration which kept food on the table for thousands of people.
Perhaps you and I don’t always get to see what’s going on above us, what is truly being worked out to bring help and justice to the world. Yet, we can rest assure that there is a God in heaven who sees, cares, and is planning salvation for people. And we are part of that large divine plan, if we have the faith to understand there is more going on than our present circumstances and physical eyes can see.
Righteous God and Father of all: Raise up among us people who keep faith alive, hope awakened, and love abundant. Guard our daily vocations and set them apart for your good purposes. Grant us the privilege of seeing our daily work accomplish the saving and blessing of many lives. Renew us in your mercy, sanctify us with your Spirit, and redeem our time so that we may serve you and steward well our lives, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Rev. Tim Ehrhardt 