Genesis 41:39, commentary and pictures

Pharaoh acknowledged that God had shown Joseph the meaning of the dreams and declared that none was so discreet and wise as he, judging him the fittest man in the realm to govern Egypt and carry out the plan for the years of plenty and famine. On that ground he set Joseph over his house and people as ruler second only to the throne, with the ring, fine linen, gold chain, second chariot and the cry of honor before him. His lifting from dungeon to throne was ordered by Providence, not accident, for God used temptation, false accusation, hardship and prison discipline to train firmness, uprightness, obedience and integrity for heavy responsibility. His discretion and wisdom came from God Himself, who gave knowledge and understanding to one living in close connection with Him, so that all Egypt marveled at God-given wisdom shining in an idolatrous nation. By wisdom, justice, purity, benevolence and devotion to the people, he stood as a representative of God and of Christ in a foreign land, honoring God without compromise with idolatry while bearing prosperity as faithfully as adversity.

Pharaoh's Recognition and Appointment

Pharaoh acknowledged that God had shown Joseph the meaning of the dreams. He declared that there was none so discreet and wise as Joseph, recognizing God's Spirit and instruction upon him. That God-given insight and wisdom was unmatched by anyone else in the realm.

On that basis Pharaoh judged Joseph the most suitable person to govern Egypt and to carry out the proposed plan for the famine. His being a Hebrew and a slave counted for little against his wisdom and sound judgment, because Pharaoh saw that God's Spirit was with him. The interpretation had been reasonable and consistent and the policy sound and shrewd, and the nation's preservation depended on the wisdom of the choice of who would execute it.

The choice followed learning through the chief butler of Joseph's wisdom and administrative ability in managing the prison, with further inquiry proving the report. Pharaoh found Joseph the only man in the realm gifted with wisdom to point out the danger and the necessary preparation, with evident divine power with him. None among the officers of state was so well qualified at the crisis, so Pharaoh decided upon him as best qualified.

The verse is the astonishing announcement of that decision. Pharaoh set Joseph over his house and people as ruler, with all the people ruled according to his word, retaining only the throne's authority for himself and remaining alone greater by the throne. This was followed by investiture with the ring, vestures of fine linen, gold chain, the second chariot, and the cry Bow the knee. In this Joseph was placed next to the throne of the world's greatest empire as lord of his house and ruler of all his substance.

The verse belongs to the account in Genesis 41:28-54 of the seven years of plenty followed by seven years of famine made known to Pharaoh through Joseph. Those years were once only a matter of prophecy limited by a given time and were fulfilled in accordance with the prediction. This proves that the chronological portions of the Bible are as much the word of God as any other portion and gives ground to regard chronological periods extending to the second coming as appointed times revealed by God.

Providence Preparation and Testing

Joseph's rise from prison and the dungeon to share the throne of Egypt was ordered by Providence and not by accident, with the eye of God upon him and the hand of God guiding him because he trusted God and kept purity of motive and firmness of purpose while his courage and uprightness were tested to the fullest. God designed the experience of temptation, adversity, hardship and false accusation in the gloomy prison to prepare him for that exalted position and heavy responsibility, and Providence turned the devices of the enemy to good. His rise to prosperity and honor came through the part he acted in the gloomy prison, where he was to gain by trial the experience that would fit him to fill the place Pharaoh gave him.

God overrules false accusations for good and in His own time raises up those who suffer unjustly, exalting Joseph after he had been brought low and after he humbled himself. His fitness for great responsibility and usefulness, his record of firmness of character, uprightness and wisdom that made him discreet and wise for carrying out God's purposes, was the fruit of careful training in early years, consulting duty rather than inclination, with the purity and simple trust of the boy bearing fruit in the deeds of the man. Brilliant talents, high moral character and fine mental qualities come only by improvement, industrious habits and force of character gained by cultivation, while God gives opportunities and success depends on quickly discerning and eagerly seizing the openings of Providence.

His faithful integrity, humility and willingness to learn through hardship and prison discipline prepared him, for he learned obedience, learned to bear the yoke in his youth, and learned to govern by first learning obedience himself. He brought the brightness of Christian principle into active exercise by making himself useful to others and entering into the troubles of his fellow prisoners, and he remained cheerful. The Lord exalted him to great responsibility, honor and usefulness after he learned obedience and after he humbled himself.

He preserved his integrity and bore alike the test of adversity and of prosperity, with the same fidelity, an eye single to the glory of God, and a lofty regard for God's will in the palace as in the prisoner's cell. Called at a great crisis to the leadership of the nation and set in the palace of the Pharaohs in a lofty place of success and honor and great wealth beside the throne, his sudden and great elevation brought danger and fierce temptation such as assails those in the world's high places. Prosperity ruins many who forget to be humble and forget that God is their strength and become independent and self-sufficient, but Joseph bore the test with undimmed character kept pure and untarnished by the love and fear of God. He carried his religion with him everywhere into his high position, and this was the secret of his unwavering fidelity, guarding against presumption and suffering any temporal loss rather than sin, gaining the precious victory over self and over hereditary and cultivated traits of character and standing as one of the few who could withstand temptation.

Divine Wisdom and Witness

The discretion and wisdom Pharaoh recognized were not Joseph's own but came from God who revealed what Pharaoh needed to know. God Himself was his wisdom, giving him knowledge and understanding because he lived in close connection with God. Joseph was only the human agent, so the excellence Pharaoh saw gave glory to God. That God-given understanding and wisdom is what qualified him for positions of trust.

Called from a dungeon where he had been a servant of captives and a prey of ingratitude and malice, Joseph stayed true to his allegiance to the God of heaven, and all Egypt marveled at his God-given wisdom. God set him in Egypt to manifest Himself not to Egypt alone but through Egypt to all nations connected with that kingdom. He made him a light-bearer so that heavenly illumination might extend far and near, and made the knowledge of God shine in an idolatrous nation. By his wisdom and justice, by the purity and benevolence of his daily life, and by his devotion to the interests of an idolatrous people, he was a representative of Christ and of God in a foreign land. In their benefactor, to whom all Egypt turned with gratitude and praise, the heathen were to behold the love of their Creator and Redeemer.

He honored God in all his ways, stood firm to principle, made no compromise with idolatry, stayed loyal to his faith, and bore as special honor the name of a worshiper of the Creator of heaven and earth, and God in turn honored him. Every institution bearing the name Seventh-day Adventist is to fill the same place in the world as Joseph was in Egypt and as Daniel and his fellows were in Babylon. His life also showed precious fruits of character that made it fragrant and beautiful, in contrast with the Jewish nation which lacked those graces. Youth today are to gain the same solidity of character to be fitted for usefulness in the earnest work of this age. True religion has all-pervading power that gives tone to everything a man does, showing that they need not leave the world to be Christians but can discharge well the duties where God has placed them by keeping the heart fixed on heavenly things. His example shows that trained ministers may likewise be entrusted with varied responsibilities.