Prisoner to Prime Minister by God’s Grace
Daily Scripture
Genesis 41:16-26, 29-30, 33-34, 37-40, 45, 50
16 Joseph answered Pharaoh, “It’s not me. God will give Pharaoh a favorable response.”
17 So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “In my dream I was standing on the bank of the Nile. 18 In front of me, seven fattened, stout cows climbed up out of the Nile and grazed on the reeds. 19 Just then, seven other cows, weak and frail and thin, climbed up after them. I’ve never seen such awful cows in all the land of Egypt. 20 Then the thin, frail cows devoured the first seven, fattened cows. 21 But after they swallowed them whole, no one would have known it. They looked just as bad as they had before. Then I woke up. 22 I went to sleep again and saw in my dream seven full and healthy ears of grain growing on one stalk. 23 Just then, seven hard and thin ears of grain, scorched by the east wind, sprouted after them, 24 and the thin ears swallowed up the healthy ears. I told the religious experts, but they couldn’t explain it to me.”
25 Joseph said to Pharaoh, “Pharaoh has actually had one dream. God has announced to Pharaoh what he is about to do. 26 The seven healthy cows are seven years, and the seven healthy ears of grain are seven years. It’s actually one dream.
29 Seven years of great abundance are now coming throughout the entire land of Egypt. 30 After them, seven years of famine will appear, and all of the abundance in the land of Egypt will be forgotten. The famine will devastate the land.
33 “Now Pharaoh should find an intelligent, wise man and give him authority over the land of Egypt. 34 Then Pharaoh should appoint administrators over the land and take one-fifth of all the produce of the land of Egypt during the seven years of abundance.
37 This advice seemed wise to Pharaoh and all his servants, 38 and Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find a man with more God-given gifts [or “like this one, in whom is the spirit of God”] than this one?” 39 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has made all this known to you, no one is as intelligent and wise as you are. 40 You will be in charge of my kingdom, and all my people will obey your command. Only as the enthroned king will I be greater than you.”
45 Pharaoh renamed Joseph, Zaphenath-paneah, and married him to Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera the priest of Heliopolis…. 50 Before the years of famine arrived, Asenath the daughter of Potiphera, priest of Heliopolis, gave birth to two sons for Joseph.
Daily Reflection & Prayer
Quick summary: The Egyptian Pharaoh jailed two men he’d trusted. Each man had a mysterious dream, and God helped Joseph explain those dreams. When Pharaoh had mysterious dreams, one of the men told him about Joseph. * Through Joseph, God warned Pharaoh that his two bizarre dreams (corn eating corn?) were a warning of a coming famine. Joseph so amazed Pharaoh that the king made a shocking announcement. He was freeing the Hebrew and naming him his chief deputy!
- Egypt’s ruler said to Joseph, “I heard that when you hear a dream, you can interpret it.” Joseph’s answer was prompt and clear: “It’s not me. God will give Pharaoh a favorable response” (verse 16). Joseph could have easily taken the credit, but his day-by-day choices before this moment had made honesty a habit he didn’t have to think hard about. What choices are you making each day to build the character God wants you to have?
- Tucked into the story is a seemingly minor detail. Joseph’s promotion gave him an Egyptian wife. “The author of Genesis has no problem with Joseph’s wife being the daughter of a priest at the great city of Heliopolis, Sun City, where the sun god was the focus of worship.” ** She gave birth to two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. The mother of two of Israel’s twelve tribes was an Egyptian! How did this detail begin to show God’s love for all people, not just those of one ethnicity or nation?
Prayer
Lord, your guiding hand is at work in my life each day. Help me not to overlook or fail to value that just because you do not always produce reversals in my fortunes as dramatic as you did for Joseph. Amen.
GPS Insights
Mikiala Tennie
Mikiala Tennie, who serves as the Student Discipleship Program Director with Resurrection Students, wrote today’s Insight. She has nearly 20 years of ministry experience and loves encouraging others in their spiritual journey. Mikiala is blessed to be an adoptive aunt and godmother to many kiddos and lives with her 10-pound Yorkie, KiKi Okoye Tennie.
Sometimes the paths we take and the tough situations we face lead us to better paths and situations with greater protection.
I was once in a situation where I was in proximity to what I thought was the proper path for me. I was up for a job that I thought was my dream. I would get to use all the skills I’d honed and learn new things that would take me to new heights. When the job didn’t come to fruition, I was so frustrated. Why would God bring me this close for it to fall through? Why would God present an opportunity that seemed so perfect only for me to not be the perfect fit?
As it turns out, it wasn’t just me that was not the perfect fit for the job… the job was also not a perfect fit for me. In hindsight, I ended up being protected. Had the job I was so very close to getting worked out, I would have been launched into an unhealthy work culture. Had proximity won over protection, I would have ended up in a vulnerable situation with people too busy trying to fix what was found to be broken who wouldn’t have had time to try and fix whatever issues I would have incurred.
In Genesis, when Joseph began having dreams of grandeur, he was in close proximity to his family. He dreamt that his brothers would bow to him and that his entire family’s orbit would be centered around him. He was in proximity to his father’s favor, but he was also in proximity to the toxic feelings his brother’s had toward him (Genesis 37).
When Joseph’s life took an infuriating turn, I can just imagine the questions he might have asked: God, why would you give me those dreams only for me to be thrown in a pit by my brothers? God, why would you show me my potential greatness when I was just going to be thrown into my slave master’s prison?
But what we ultimately learn is that every step of the way we see God still walking alongside Joseph–both in the valley and at the mountain top. When his brothers all but left him to die, we saw one of those brothers intervene to keep him alive. When Joseph could have remained a lowly slave, we saw God allow his skillset to be perceived as a valuable contribution and him be elevated because of it. Then, when his honorable reputation was at stake, we saw Joseph plummet to the depths once more, prisoner in the house he once presided over. But finally, at the mercy of a former fellow prisoner, Joseph is uplifted again because of his God-given ability to interpret dreams that God used to communicate with people. This time, Joseph’s early dreams start coming true. His siblings are finally in a position where they bow down to him, just like in the dream. But it’s not for Joseph’s glory for the sake of glory, in recognition of Joseph’s position of power and his opportunity to save his family from famine.
So far, my winding path has not led me to place where I’ve had to save my family from global disaster… but I have seen the ways that protection has played a part in it all. Sometimes an answer of “no” to a prayer leads you to a path that protects you from a place or space that could have been harmful. Sometimes a closed door reroutes you to a safer location. Sometimes, time in a valley protects you from stormy elements you would have encountered while woefully unprepared.
I don’t believe that God is some bearded chess player in the sky moving us around like pawns–placing us in danger or removing us when God wills it. But I do believe that in the choices we have the free will to make, God knows there are pockets of peace where we can hide and can be protected–moments when we find shelter and shade in God (Psalm 91:1), and find ourselves running into the fortified tower that bears God’s name (Proverbs 18:10). I pray that as you walk your path, you can trust God in every moment. Even while taking a frustrating detour, you might just realize you’ve walked toward protection rather than closer in proximity to what might have caused you harm.
© 2024 Resurrection: A United Methodist Church. All Rights Reserved.
Scripture quotations are taken from The Common English Bible ©2011. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
References
* If you have time, read the whole fascinating story in Genesis 40:1-41:15.
** John Goldingay, Genesis for Everyone, Part 2: Chapters 17–50. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2010, p. 147.
