Genesis 41:38-57 NKJV
38 And Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find such a one as this, a man in whom is the Spirit of God?”
39 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Inasmuch as God has shown you all this, there is no one as discerning and wise as you. 40 You shall be over my house, and all my people shall be ruled according to your word; only in regard to the throne will I be greater than you.” 41 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.”
42 Then Pharaoh took his signet ring off his hand and put it on Joseph’s hand; and he clothed him in garments of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck. 43 And he had him ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried out before him, “Bow the knee!” So he set him over all the land of Egypt. 44 Pharaoh also said to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh, and without your consent no man may lift his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.” 45 And Pharaoh called Joseph’s name Zaphnath-Paaneah. And he gave him as a wife Asenath, the daughter of Poti-Pherah priest of On. So Joseph went out over all the land of Egypt.
46 Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went throughout all the land of Egypt. 47 Now in the seven plentiful years the ground brought forth abundantly. 48 So 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; he laid up in every city the food of the fields which surrounded them. 49 Joseph gathered very much grain, as the sand of the sea, until he stopped counting, for it was immeasurable.
50 And to Joseph were born two sons before the years of famine came, whom Asenath, the daughter of Poti-Pherah priest of On, bore to him. 51 Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh: “For God has made me forget all my toil and all my father’s house.” 52 And the name of the second he called Ephraim: “For God has caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction.”
53 Then the seven years of plenty which were in the land of Egypt ended, 54 and the seven years of famine began to come, as Joseph had said. The famine was in all lands, but in all the land of Egypt there was bread. 55 So when all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread. Then Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph; whatever he says to you, do.” 56 The famine was over all the face of the earth, and Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold to the Egyptians. And the famine became severe in the land of Egypt. 57 So all countries came to Joseph in Egypt to buy grain, because the famine was severe in all lands.
Recognizing that Joseph’s discernment and wisdom come from the Spirit of God, Pharaoh raises him to the position of ruler of all his house. Only regarding the throne is Pharaoh greater than Joseph. Pharaoh decorates Joseph in the symbols of his office and commands the Egyptians to bow the knee to him. With a new name and a bride, Joseph begins gathering the harvest in Pharaoh’s storehouses. He gathers as much grain as the sand of the sea. He and his bride are fruitful as well, bearing sons who serve as testimonies of God’s goodness and provision to Joseph. When the seven years of famine begin, Pharaoh directs his subjects to Joseph: “What he says to you, do” (55).
Joseph’s exaltation is a picture of the exaltation of our Lord Jesus Christ. After humbling Himself to the point of death, even the death of the cross, God the Father exalted Him to His right hand and gave Him the name which is above every name, “that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil 2:10-11). Having ascended to the Father’s right hand—which is the power of God—Christ rules all things in heaven and earth. Through His servants, the apostles, He gathers in the harvest of believers, who are, to us, as many as the sand of the sea (or the dust of the earth and stars of the sky, as God promised Abraham). This body of believers is also His bride, whom He loves, leads, and protects. His bride is fruitful, giving birth to children of God through the preaching of the gospel and baptism. As Pharaoh directed His people to Joseph for life, so God the Father directs all people to His Son for life, even saying, “Hear Him!” (Matt 17:5).
The Holy Spirit gives us this picture of Christ’s humiliation and exaltation so that we, like the Egyptians, might flee to Him as the greater Joseph. Exalted to the right hand of God, Christ gives us the bread of life—Himself and all His blessings—so that we may not die but live with Him both now and forever. Let us pray: Grant, dear Father, that in all our needs we flee to Your exalted Son for the spiritual provisions He has earned for us in His humiliation. Amen.