Genesis From 30,000 Feet
Joseph: The Pinnacle of Promotion
Genesis 40:14-15; 21-23 “But remember me when it is well with you, and please show kindness to me; make mention of me to Pharaoh, and get me out of this house. 15 For indeed I was stolen away from the land of the Hebrews; and also I have done nothing here that they should put me into the dungeon.”
21-23 “Then he restored the chief butler to his butlership again, and he placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand. 22 But he hanged the chief baker, as Joseph had interpreted to them. 23 Yet the chief butler did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.”
From this point on, two more years will pass until Joseph receives a God-sent opportunity for release from his misery in prison. Pharaoh, the head of all of Egypt, begins to have disturbing dreams. Let’s read them:
Gen 41:1-7 “41 One night two years later, Pharaoh dreamed that he was standing on the bank of the Nile River, 2 when suddenly, seven sleek, fat cows came up out of the river and began grazing in the grass. 3 Then seven other cows came up from the river, but they were very skinny and all their ribs stood out. They went over and stood beside the fat cows. 4 Then the skinny cows ate the fat ones! At which point, Pharaoh woke up! 5 Soon he fell asleep again and had a second dream. This time he saw seven heads of grain on one stalk, with every kernel well formed and plump. 6 Then, suddenly, seven more heads appeared on the stalk, but these were shriveled and withered by the east wind.7 And these thin heads swallowed up the seven plump, well-formed heads! Then Pharaoh woke up again and realized it was all a dream.”
And when no one in his kingdom could interpret his dreams, the chief cupbearer remembered the Hebrew young man in prison that had so accurately interpreted his own dream. Suddenly everything changes for Joseph. He is immediately summoned out of prison and brought straight to Pharaoh, who recounts the strange dreams that had befuddled all of his false prophets and soothsayers.
Facing Pharaoh, Joseph quickly testified to God’s ability to provide interpretations, and that he himself is merely the mediator of this revelation (Gen. 41:16).
“So Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, “It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace.”
In a nutshell, Jospeh interpreted the dreams to mean that Egypt would experience 7 good years of abundance followed by 7 years of terrible famine. Therefore, said Jospeh, during the time of plenty grain should be stored up for consumption during the famine. Pharaoh said, “Good idea!” and appointed Joseph to oversee it all!
Now, interestingly, Joseph did not use the covenant name of God–Yahweh–when addressing Pharaoh. Yahweh was the exclusive name for God for his own people. It is often translated as “I Am” or “I Am Who I Am.” It comes from the Hebrew verb “hayah,” which means “to be.”
In Exodus 3:14, God speaks to Moses from the burning bush, saying, “I AM WHO I AM.” This was a defining moment in man’s understanding of the nature of God. God revealed Himself not as just an object or an idea—but as very Being itself.
Yahweh reflects the eternal, self-existent nature of God. It tells us He does not change, does not depend on anything, and always was and always will be. Unlike other names for God that describe His power or His functions, Yahweh expresses God’s essence—He is unchanging, eternal, and present.
Joseph instead referred to God with the more general term elohim.
Elohim means “supreme one” or “mighty one.” In Genesis 1:1, Elohim is used to describe the God of creation. Elohim is not only used of the one true God but is also used to refer to human rulers, judges, and even angels. In Bible times, Elohim could be used to speak of someone exhibiting supreme rule or mighty political or judicial power.
So by using the name Elohim, Joseph avoided making any unnecessary offense, because the Egyptians had their own gods. When Pharaoh later referred to Joseph’s God giving Joseph the interpretation of his dreams, he also used the word Elohim (Gen. 41:39).
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Following Joseph’s startlingly accurate interpretation of Pharaoh’s dreams, he was promoted to second-in-command of Egypt, especially to take charge of preparations for the coming famine Joseph’s interpretation had revealed (Gen. 41:37-45).
We should pause at this juncture and note that we clearly see God’s word to Abraham bearing fruit: “I will bless those who bless you…and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Gen. 12:3).
Through Abraham’s grandson Joseph, the greatest nation on earth at that time was blessed with divine guidance and protection from a ferocious famine!
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And another great takeaway here is how Joseph was very careful to give God the glory. He immediately pointed to God as the source of the interpretations of Pharaoh’s dreams, and of His protection during famine.
So like Joseph, when we confess our own inability to meet the challenges we face and find appropriate ways to attribute success to God, we protect ourselves from the pride that often comes with public praise or attention.
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Joseph’s promotion to 2nd in command next to Pharaoh was breathtaking. He went from pit to pinnacle, confinement to freedom, and from shame to high honor in the blink of an eye!
Gen 41:41-45 “Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I hereby put you in charge of the entire land of Egypt.” 42 Then Pharaoh removed his signet ring from his hand and placed it on Joseph’s finger. He dressed him in fine linen clothing and hung a gold chain around his neck. 43 Then he had Joseph ride in the chariot reserved for his second-in-command. And wherever Joseph went, the command was shouted, “Kneel down!” So Pharaoh put Joseph in charge of all Egypt. 44 And Pharaoh said to him, “I am Pharaoh, but no one will lift a hand or foot in the entire land of Egypt without your approval.”
45 Then Pharaoh gave Joseph a new Egyptian name, Zaphenath-paneah. He also gave him a wife, whose name was Asenath. She was the daughter of Potiphera, the priest of On. So Joseph took charge of the entire land of Egypt.”
Now think with me a moment. If ever there was a temptation to leave his Hebrew roots behind, this was it. But no such thought entered his mind. He never sold out his God or his identity to suit the world.
And if ever there was the opportunity to wreak vengeance for the wrongs done to him, this also was it! He could easily have ordered Potiphar’s wife to be executed for slandering him, but he didn’t. He could also have easily sent Egyptian troops to arrest his 11 brothers for betraying him, but he didn’t.
Joseph’s eyes had been opened to see the sovereign hand of God working out His divine plan through all his troubles. So like Jesus said from the cross, “Father, forgive them, they know now what they do!” (Luke 23:34), so did Joseph!
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It has been rightly said that success is in some ways harder to handle than failure. Success can go to your head. We can easily begin to think more highly of ourselves than we should. The story of Joseph and how he handled the immense success God gave him is worth our attention.
Part of how he handled great success is surely due to the painful preparation he went through before his promotion. He never forgot from whence he had come, and how it was God and only God that had delivered and promoted him.
Secondly, as already mentioned, he clearly had been granted a powerful personal revelation of the sovereignty of God working through all of his pain. Joseph came to understand that God had carried him down a painful path to prepare him for a stunning promotion.
He also understood the PURPOSE of it–“To save many people alive,” particularly his own family, the descendants of which would be God’s vessel for bringing His only begotten Son into the world!
When you understand that what is happening in your life by way of blessing is simply God working out His plan–that it’s all of Him and none of you–it’s hard to be prideful! As Paul wrote, “What are you so puffed up about? What do you have that God hasn’t given you? And if all you have is from God, why act as though you are so great, and as though you have accomplished something on your own?”–1 Cor. 4:7 LB
Before Pharaoh promoted him, Joseph knew that the Lord was with him and he had tangible evidence to prove it. Repeatedly giving God credit was not only the right thing to do, but it also reminded Joseph himself that his skills were from the Lord.
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So rather than being arrogant, Joseph was courteous and humble, showing a desire to do whatever he could to help Pharaoh and the Egyptian people. Even when the Egyptians were bereft of currency and livestock, Joseph earned the trust of the Egyptian people and of Pharaoh himself (Gen. 41:55).
“Eventually, however, the famine spread throughout the land of Egypt as well. And when the people cried out to Pharaoh for food, he told them, “Go to Joseph, and do whatever he tells you.”
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Throughout the rest of his life, Joseph consistently devoted himself to serving God for the good and blessing of others.
One final great takeaway of Joseph’s story is that, in our broken world, God’s response to our prayers doesn’t necessarily come quickly. Joseph was seventeen years old when his brothers sold him into slavery (Gen. 37:2). His final release from captivity came when he was thirty (Gen. 41:46), thirteen long years later!
Amen! LET’S PRAY