Today In The Word / Moody Bible Institute Pharaoh: Saw God’s Wisdom in Joseph Read Genesis 41:1–40 Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one so discerning and wise as you. Genesis 41:39 Talent scouts and headhunters work to identify and recruit gifted individuals for their team or organization. They travel far and wide searching for people with special abilities in sports, music, acting, modeling, computer programming, business, and other fields. The idea is to find and employ such people before the competition does! In today’s narrative, Pharaoh behaved a bit like a talent scout. Though he had nothing to lose by letting a foreign prisoner try to interpret his dream, he couldn’t have been expecting much. The odds that Joseph would succeed were extremely low, from Pharaoh’s perspective. But through God’s wisdom, Joseph not only interpreted the dream but also offered a solution to the serious problem it presented. Pharaoh must have been stunned—but he knew wisdom, integrity, and administrative abilities when he saw them (vv. 38–44). He made Joseph second-in-command of all Egypt! Joseph acted in faith, but Pharaoh deserves credit here as well. Joseph trusted God, even in a foreign prison, and gave Him the glory instead of trying to negotiate a personal advantage (v. 16). He also boldly asserted God as the true Ruler in Pharaoh’s very face (vv. 28, 32). For his part, Pharaoh chose to believe the dream, Joseph’s interpretation, and the source of both in God. He wouldn’t know for sure about the famine until seven years later, so this was a step of some kind of faith or at least evidence of a soft heart (especially compared to the Pharaoh of Moses’ day). He wanted this kind of wisdom and integrity to benefit Egypt, and he acted decisively to “sign the talent,” which included giving Joseph an Egyptian name and wife (v. 45). Through the actions of Joseph and Pharaoh, God transformed evil into good and saved many lives, including those of the covenant people (Gen. 50:20). Especially in our culture, it’s quite difficult to displace self from the center. The focus always seems to be on our abilities, our opinions, our problems, and our feelings. Joseph serves as a powerful contrast: After thirteen years of slavery and imprisonment, for him it was still all about God!
Posted on: Thu, 04 Dec 2014 11:54:57 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015