THE STORY OF JOSEPH. EPISODE 6. GENESIS CHAPTER 41: A ROYAL ASSIGNMENT

 

Chapter 41: A Royal Assignment

Here’s a quick summary of this chapter

• Ø  We have the exact timeline between the ending of the previous chapter and the start of this chapter, that is; two years
• Ø  Pharaoh’s two dreams
• Ø  Pharaoh’s trouble in finding interpretation for his dreams
• Ø  The butler’s assistance in finding an interpreter
• Ø  Joseph identified as the potential interpreter
• Ø  Joseph drawn from prison confinement, groomed and taken before Pharaoh
• Ø  Pharaoh explains his problem of finding an interpreter and recounts his dreams to Joseph
• Ø  Joseph interprets the dreams to Pharaoh
• Ø  Joseph also suggests an action plan on how to deal with the events foretold in the dream
• Ø  Pharaoh is greatly impressed with the action plan fronted by Joseph and the wisdom and spirit of God upon Joseph
• Ø  Pharaoh therefore puts Joseph in charge of the execution of the plan thereby making Joseph the ruler of Egypt only second in command to Pharaoh himself
• Ø  Pharaoh also gives Joseph a new name( Zaphenath-Paneah) and a wife(Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On)
• Ø  Joseph becomes the ruler at the age of thirty years.
• Ø  The seven years of abundance come upon Egypt and Joseph stores up grain in plenty until he could no longer keep records of it
• Ø  Within the same period of plenty, Joseph begets two sons: Manasseh and Ephraim
• Ø  The seven years of plenty come to an end and the seven years of drought followed just as Joseph foretold from the dreams of Pharaoh
• Ø  Famine falls upon Egypt and all the world. Joseph begins to distribute the food from the reserves to the people of Egypt as well as people from all over the world.

Between the ending of the previous chapter  and this chapter is a time period of two years. Think about our friend Joseph in that period of two years, in prison confinement in a foreign land. He is innocent and in fact, his innocence got him in prison. We talked about this predicament in episode three and explained that even true believers of Christ go through hard times despite walking rightly with God. We said that this is for the proving of their character and trust in God. Think also of Daniel in the lions’ den as well as the three Hebrew boys; Shadrack, Meshack and Abednego in the fiery furnace by Nebuchadnezzar.

Another thing to see here is the fact that with God, delay is not denial. Just think about it for a moment. Joseph made an unusual personal appeal to the butler to remember him when he is restored into his butlership job before Pharaoh (Chapter 40:14-15). Joseph requested that the butler mentions him before Pharaoh and get him out the prison. But it has been two years, and the butler has since forgotten about Joseph’s kindness and request. In fact, it has been thirteen years since Joseph was sold by his own brothers into slavery, picture that! Yet, God has not forgotten Joseph a tiny bit!

The bible makes it clear that God would never forget his people. For instance, when the children of Israel were losing hope in the LORD their God while in captivity and while their city of Jerusalem was in ruins, the Prophet Isaiah writes, when talking about the restoration of Israel:  But Zion said, “The Lord has forsaken me; my Lord has forgotten me.” ¹⁵ “Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. ¹⁶ Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me. (Isaiah 49:14-16, ESV). This is such a profound reminder for us as the church of Christ and as individual believers that the Lord has not forgotten us, even when everything seems to point to forgottenness. People may quickly forget our good deeds towards them but God, out of His goodness towards us, will never forget about us, we are continually before him, like a tattoo on the palm of His hands, as Isaiah depicts it.

Think about Joseph’s predicament a little more: what if the butler had actually remembered our friend Joseph and presented his case before Pharaoh immediately the he was restored as Joseph himself had requested. Chances are, Pharaoh might have ruled favorably for Joseph and Joseph might have even possibly been allowed to go back to his native land in Canaan within this two-year period. What this would mean is that Joseph would be nowhere to interpret Pharaohs dream in this chapter and therefore no chance of being a ruler in Egypt and no chance of saving Egypt or his kinsmen or the world back then. Matthew Henry comments, Those that patiently wait for God shall be paid for their waiting, not only principal but interest, Lamentations 3:26.

And I couldn’t agree more with that statement by  Matthew Henry, because when the time was ripe in God’s eyes concerning Joseph’s life, his story changed instantly and for good. He woke  up in the prison as a prisoner but ended the day in the palace as a prince. He woke up in prison rags  but ended the day in royal robes. He woke up prison shackles but ended the day with gold chains around his neck. At the end of it all even his name and marital status had changed!

You see the point here? It is the truth that God’s thoughts are not our thoughts neither are His ways our ways (Isaiah 55:8-9). A lot of times we petition God to do things in accordance to our wishes and thoughts of what is best for us. What we don’t realize is that in God’s unsearchable understanding, what we might think is the best thing for us, is very far from what God knows to be absolute best for us. Instead of complaining of everything that was not answered by God as per our wishes and thoughts,  we can choose to trust God that he means the best for us and he knows when and how to get us there where we need to be. The old hymn goes:

’Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just to take Him at His word;
Just to rest upon His promise;
Just to know, Thus saith the Lord.

Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him,
How I’ve proved Him o’er and o’er,
Jesus, Jesus, Precious Jesus!
O for grace to trust Him more.

It must be such level trust as depicted in the words of the above hymn, that kept Joseph going for those two plus years in prison. God had shown him in a dream that his future was great and bright and so he held on to God’s promise. He didn’t understand it fully but he must have trusted God fully. And so, for us; we have the “dream” of God’s Word(the Bible) concerning the future promised and prepared for us, we must hold on to hope and trust that God will make everything beautiful at its time. The bible says in Hebrews 10:35-36 Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. ³⁶ For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. (ESV). The greatest of the promises of God to us is, of course, that of spending eternity with Him in the new Jerusalem, where the is no pain nor sorrow nor thirst nor hunger, nor death.

So, after those two years since the butler was restored, his boss the Pharaoh of Egypt will have two dreams. We notice something here about dreams from God upon the Gentile world; more often than not they need an interpretation. On the contrary, we don’t see anywhere in the text of scripture where God gave a dream to a Jew and that needed an interpreter, the meaning was immediately clear to the dreamer. And so here Pharaoh will require an interpreter. The bible says that when he woke up in the morning, he was very troubled.

God has a way of troubling those he wants to use to carry out his assignments no matter who they are, where they are and what time it is. When people go to sleep, they go to rest for the night in order to wake up the next day relaxed and refreshed. But not so when God is intent of having them carry out a certain task. We see this also in the story of Esther where king Xerxes could not find sleep on one particular night because God  wanted him to recall a good deed done by Mordecai the Jew. (Esther 6:1-3). Again, we are reminded that God is in complete control of the affairs of the universe and He can, at will direct them or people, including the most powerful of  kings to achieve his purpose. Proverbs 21:1 says, The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will. (ESV)

Pharaoh will look for help from his magicians and wise men at first, but at no avail. These magicians and wise men were usually numerous in the kings service and highly respected in ancient ages. They had possibly served Pharaoh for such purposes before, but this time round, the job at hand was way above their pay grade! This was no ordinary task, something huge was coming and it required someone with a different kind of qualifications. Luckily for Pharaoh, there is someone who knows someone who fits the bill. The butler remembers Joseph from his prison days and convinces Pharoah that Joseph a young Hebrew could possibly help.

So now Joseph will be fetched from prison and brought before Pharaoh after Pharaoh orders it. Joseph has to be groomed a little bit before he could stand before this Gentile king. If one is to approach the royal throne to see the King, they need to watch how they are dressed, otherwise it would be dishonorable to the throne. We too must understand that for us to see and serve the Holy God, the King of Kings, we must be robed in holiness, purity and righteousness.

The scripture that says that without holiness no one will see the Lord. (Hebrews 12:14b, NIV). Jesus also on the Sermon on the Mount taught this: Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. (Matthew 5:8, ESV).  ‘If our ultimate goal is to be like Christ and see Him when He returns, our practical daily pursuit must be toward complete purity of thought and lifestyle….Paul told Timothy, “Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work”’ (2 Timothy 2:21, ESV). (https://www.gotquestions.org/)

Finally, we see Joseph standing before Pharaoh. Now, at this time in history, Pharaoh was, arguably, the most powerful man on earth. The ‘ Empire rose during the period of the New Kingdom (c. 1570- c. 1069 BCE), when the country reached its height of wealth, international prestige, and military might. The empire stretched from modern-day Syria in the north to modern-day Sudan in the south and from the region of Jordan in the east to Libya in the west….In its time, Egypt was among the most powerful & prestigious empires of the ancient world. (https://www.worldhistory.org/Egyptian_Empire/).

So, Joseph here, is not standing before an ordinary man, or an unknown king but possibly the most powerful king on earth at that time; just like it is written in Proverbs 22:29 Do you see a man who excels in his work? He will stand before kings; He will not stand before unknown men. (NKJV) As we progress with this story, we shall see how Joseph displays excellence in his work.

Joseph could have expected to appear before Pharaoh to plead his innocence but when he finally does, it is for a much bigger assignment: to serve or help Pharaoh. Pharaoh explains the problem in question and Joseph, just like in the encounter with Pharaoh’s officers, gives the credit of dream interpretation to God. The God who Pharaoh knew not about, he who is more powerful than all the gods of Egypt combined. Pharaoh recounts his dreams to Joseph and Joseph interprets them clearly.

But Joseph does not stop at just the interpretation of the dreams. He goes a step further to make suggestions on what the king could do about the interpretation. And this extra step is possibly what puts him at the centre of the story for the rest of it. Joseph is in the habit of going an extra mile in his assignments. Remember in chapter 37 when his father sent him to go check on his brothers at Shechem only to find that they have wandered away to Dothan, he went all the way to Dothan an extra like 20 miles. In this chapter, we see that while his job was simply to interpret the dreams, Joseph goes ahead and makes suggestions to Pharaoh on how to adequately prepare for the coming days of famine by storing up enough during the years of plenty.

Here is a lesson for our world today from this act by Joseph: the world/nation is not just looking for those who can identify the problems or decode the signs of the times, but those who can also actually provide solutions for those problems. Even in a church community, we not only need those who can identify the problem but even more those who can provide practical solutions to the problems identified.

Joseph’s proposal pleased Pharaoh a great deal. Let us consider some of the proposals and what we could learn from them. The first proposal was to have a man in charge over the whole Egypt, the entire empire, with regard to the issue at hand. Joseph says that the man has to be “discerning and wise”. From a quick look at English dictionaries, those two words have closely related meanings which have to do with prudence, good judgement, the ability to show insight and understanding. Joseph therefore recommends not just that there be a man in charge but one with certain attributes. Here we learn of the need for leadership and not just leadership but proper leadership.

The task ahead will require proper leadership, which we can say is largely lacking in the political scene here in this country and even globally. The solutions that we face today nationally and even globally can be solved to a larger extent through such kind of leadership and that’s why believers must be get involved and participate in matters governance, especially in national elections. We must look and scrutinize for such qualities when voting any candidates into elective positions.

Joseph also recommends that Pharaoh appoints commissioners to take a fifth of the harvest of Egypt during the seven years of abundance. (verse 34b) This is a good model when one is looking to determine the correct  percentage of savings  from one’s income. In finance circles, there is a concept called the  50/30/20 rule of budgeting. The 50/30/20 rule is a budgeting technique that involves dividing your money into three primary categories based on your after-tax income (i.e., your take-home pay): 50% to needs, 30% to wants and 20% to savings and debt payments. (https://www.forbes.com/advisor/banking/guide-to-50-30-20-budget/).

This is basically the same rule applied by Joseph here, thousands of years before the rule was discussed in academia world. Joseph recommended that fifth was to go to savings which is basically a 20% of all harvest. Indeed, the Bible contains true wisdom for living in every sense. Every person who earns an income must embrace this concept or ignore it at their own peril. What I am saying here is that if you are not saving at least 20% (a fifth) of your take home earnings, whether as a business owner or a paid employee, you are not exercising prudence in your personal finance management. In fact, we will see later in Chapter 47, how this strategy works magic just a few years down the line. 

In fact, the concept of storing up for a “rainy day” is also taught in the Proverbs of King Solomon in the Bible. Consider Proverbs 6:6-8, Solomon writes, Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones. Learn from their ways and become wise! ⁷ Though they have no prince or governor or ruler to make them work, ⁸ they labor hard all summer, gathering food for the winter.(NLT). This is exactly what Joseph is suggesting to Pharaoh; that the people of Egypt take advantage of the summer season(years of abundance) and store up enough for the winter season(years of drought). Hold on to this point and we will make more observations and insights as more events unfold in this chapter.

And although ants have no governors and commanders as Proverbs state, the task ahead of Pharaoh will require a commander/prince (man-in-charge)  and supervisors (commissioners) as Joseph stated. It will take a great deal of leadership and team work. Joseph makes sure that the tasks are clearly assigned; he understands that everybody’s work ends up being nobody’s work. That, right there, is good model for achieving organizational goals straight out of scripture.

Pharaoh is evidently impressed by Joseph’s brilliance and wisdom and immediately recognizes that Joseph is the best man for the job. The question that he asks his officials as to whether there can be found another like Joseph is a rhetorical one. Pharaoh immediately promotes Joseph putting him in charge of the whole of Egypt. Pharaoh recognizes the God of Joseph and His spirit upon Joseph as the reason why Joseph excelled so much.(Verses 38&39).

There is an important lesson to be learnt here by believers/ followers of Christ in the market place and who want to represent Christ well in the market place. The lesson is that when we show excellence, discernment and wisdom in executing our roles at the workplace, people end up recognizing the Spirit of God upon us that drives our character and conduct. To be a lazy worker or unwise leader is to go directly against the teachings of scripture.

We can also learn something here as a people or nation. You see Pharaoh had no shortage of advisors and administrators including magicians and wise men. But they all failed him when he needed them the most. It took a lowly and unknown man, BUT, in whom was the Spirit of God, to provide the solution. You see, we as a people in this country are some of the most over-represented in the whole world. We have a President, DP, Prime Cabinet Secretary, a dozen CS’s, Governor with Deputies, MP’s, MCA’s and many more.

On the other hand, our problems abound, the cost of living is over the roof, joblessness, crime and tragedy are the order of the day, most parents can’t afford basic education for their children, corruption is everywhere and many other problems. Maybe we need to get rid of most, if not all of  these administrators, and get a Joseph, a man in whom is the Spirit of  God! One lowly man with the Spirit of God can help our country than thousands of elected or selected officials with decades of experience or numerous PhDs.

Pharaoh performs all the pre-requisites of installing a ruler. He makes the proclamation, he puts a signet ring on Josephs finger, adorns him with royal robes and gold chain on his neck, and also makes him ride on his royal chariot as second-in-command, requiring people to pay homage to him.(verses 41-43). Mathhew Henry comments, He put him into an honorable office; not only employed him to buy up corn, but made him prime-minister of state, comptroller of the household-‘Thou shalt be over my house’, chief justice of the kingdom-‘according to thy word shall all my people be ruled’, or ‘armed’, as some read it, and then it bespeaks him general of the forces.

This should point us to Jesus who received an even greater exaltation having humbled himself and taken the place of a servant. Paul writes, Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, ¹⁰ so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ¹¹ and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:9-11, ESV)

But Pharaoh also does something interesting also: he gives Joseph a new name and a wife, namely Asenath the daughter of a priest. In those days, and in a number of OT stories, if a king was impressed with the service of a person, giving that servant a wife was a mark of approval or favor. The writer of proverbs agrees: He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord. (Proverbs 18:22, ESV). Yet. What’s more? This act of giving a gentile wife to  Joseph, a Jew,  by Pharaoh, can also point us to Jesus who being a Jew has been given a gentile bride, that is us, the church.

About the new name given to Joseph, allow me to take a lengthy quote from one of my favorite sites on such matters, Gotquestions.org:

{The exact meaning of ‘Zaphenath-Paneah’ is unknown, and there is no general agreement among scholars as to its meaning. It is thought that ‘paneah’ probably refers to “life” or “support of life.” ‘Zaphenath’ is more difficult… Multiple translations of ‘Zaphenath-Paneah’ have been proposed. A popular view is that the name means “the god speaks and he lives” (Strong’s Concordance)…Translating Zaphenath to mean “god speaks” or “says the god” seems to go along with Pharaoh’s acknowledgement that the wise Joseph had the “Spirit of God” within him (Genesis 41:38)…

Another view of the meaning of ‘Zaphenath-Paneah’ is that the name refers to Joseph’s wisdom in interpreting dreams. In ‘Antiquities of the Jews’, the historian Josephus states that Pharaoh “called him ‘Psothom Phanech’, out of regard to his prodigious degree of wisdom: for that name denotes “the revealer of secrets”…

Although the exact definition of ‘Zaphenath-Paneah’ is uncertain, the name is Egyptian in origin. As Nebuchadnezzar did with Daniel and his friends in Babylon (Daniel 1:7), Pharaoh provided Joseph with a new name as part of his assimilation into the culture and society of Egypt. These biblical heroes prove that a king can change your name, but he can’t change your character.
Despite having been assigned an Egyptian name, Joseph separated himself spiritually from the pagan Egyptian culture.} (https://www.gotquestions.org/Zaphenath-Paneah.html)

I particularly like the view that the name means “the revealer of secrets” as it reminds of the scripture that says, The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him, And He will show them His covenant.(Psalm 25:14, NKJV)

However, the true meaning of that name remains largely unknown. Again, that could point us to the Lord Jesus Christ. How? The book Revelation writes about Him:  His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. (Revelation 19:12, NKJV)

Another thing to reflect about Jesus from the events of this day is the fact Joseph began his service in the courts of Pharoah at the age of thirty years(verse 46). Luke 3:23b states, Jesus, when he began his ministry, was about thirty years of age.

Now, exactly like Joseph had foretold from the dreams of Pharaoh, the seven years of abundance came and Joseph mobilized so much harvest and stored it up in the cities of Egypt. He stored up so much until he could not keep records of it all. This is a result of diligence and being industrious, like the ants we mentioned earlier on. I like this quote from the site, Theologyofwork.org, highlighting  the diligence that Joseph put into this task:

“He recognized that his wisdom and discernment were gifts from God, but nevertheless that he still had much to learn about the land of Egypt, its agricultural industry in particular. As the senior administrator, Joseph’s work touched on nearly every practical area of the nation’s life. His office would have required that he learn much about legislation, communication, negotiation, transportation, safe and efficient methods of food storage, building, economic strategizing and forecasting, record-keeping, payroll, the handling of transactions both by means of currency and through bartering, human resources, and the acquisition of real estate. His extraordinary abilities with respect to God and people did not operate in separate domains. The genius of Joseph’s success lay in the effective integration of his divine gifts and acquired competencies. For Joseph, all of this was godly work.” (https://www.theologyofwork.org/old-testament/genesis-12-50-and-work/Joseph-genesis-372-5026/#toc)

Another quick thing to mention here. The harvest is obtained in the rural farms surrounding the cities. But storage is in the cities. Cities in ancient times were fortified with walls for security purposes and were well guarded. It is therefore goes without saying that it was strategic to store up the grains, not in the granaries in the rural fields where they could easily be stolen or tampered with, but in the fortified cities. This, again, is prudence on the side of Joseph.

But what more could we learn from this strategic move by Joseph? Remember, we mentioned earlier about the need to save up during the seasons of plenty. It is however important to add here that setting aside some of the harvest or money is not enough in and out of itself. There is need to ‘store’ or save that money or reserve harvest in the right places.  For instance, keeping one’s savings in a normal savings account, or worse still, in a current account in a bank is really not saving; it is not strategic enough. One needs to explore better ways of ‘storing’ these reserves; where their worth does not diminish over time but rather where it is preserved well, even against loss through, say, inflation. Such platforms would include avenues like Unit Trusts like Money Market Funds etc. Again, that is demonstrable  biblical wisdom for everyday living.

In fact, we can also learn from this story that such reserves/savings should not be withdrawn until the right moment, that is until the need for which they were set aside fully arises. We can see this, fast forward,  in verses 54-56. ⁵⁴ Then the seven years of famine began, just as Joseph had predicted. The famine also struck all the surrounding countries, but throughout Egypt there was plenty of food. 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.” ⁵⁶ So with severe famine everywhere, Joseph opened up the storehouses and distributed grain to the Egyptians, for the famine was severe throughout the land of Egypt.

Do you realize how strategic Joseph was? The famine begins, but Joseph does not open the reserves yet. The famine strikes neighboring countries but Joseph is still unmoved. Its only when, eventually, the famine struck Egypt, meaning their personal and local reserves were all eroded, and the Egyptians finally cried to Pharaoh, that Joseph actually opens up the storehouses. Joseph would not open the storehouses until the real need, the specific one for which the grain was reserved, arose. That, my friends, is the kind of prudence and discipline required in dealing  with our emergency or sinking fund reserves; a small inconvenience or financial hiccup should not cause one to open those storehouses/reserves prematurely.

 

Another point we can make here is one with an eternal perspective. The bible calls on us to store up our ultimate treasurers in the right places. Jesus himself taught   “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. ²⁰ But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹ For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:19-21, NIV).

And what is this storing up ourselves treasures in heaven? This is simply living our lives with the eternal perspective in mind. It is concerning ourselves most with the things of the kingdom of God rather than things that only serve our earthly desires. An example of a person who failed to store up their treasures in heaven is the rich young man who Jesus interacted with in  Matthew 19:16–30. In verse 21&22 it says Jesus told him, “If you want to be perfect, go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” ²² But when the young man heard this, he went away sad, for he had many possessions. (NLT)

Paul writes to the Colossians and gives them advice on how then can live their lives as unto the Lord, with an eternal perspective. Colossians 3:23-24 Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, ²⁴ knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. (ESV). This is a great place to start when we want to store up our treasures securely in heaven.

Now, it is in within the seven years of abundance that Joseph will bear his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim.(Verses 51&52) The meanings of these two names is ‘made to forget’ for the first-born Manasseh and ‘made fruitful’ for the second born Ephraim. God made Joseph to forget all the betrayal and pain of the past and then made him fruitful in the land of his affliction. And maybe, even for us, that’s a practical point as to how we ought to live our lives. By not dwelling on our past or being bitter about it (forgiving and forgetting), we become fruitful. God spoke to  the children of Israel through Prophet Isaiah about the proper preparation for the coming Messiah. He told them, “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. 19 See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” (Isaiah 43:18-19, NIV)

The seven years of abundance ended and those of drought/famine finally came. The people cried to Pharaoh for help but Pharaoh said something peculiar to them. We read in verse 55b And when the people cried out to Pharaoh for food, he told them, “Go to Joseph, and do whatever he tells you.”(NLT) This is profound; Joseph was not just ceremoniously in charge but truly in-charge. This statement reminds me of another place in the bible where people sought help in times of scarcity and were redirected elsewhere with the same kind of a statement. It is the all-familiar story of Jesus at the wedding at Cana in Galilee and is recorded in John 2:1-10. In that story, Jesus’ mother asked Jesus to help out when the wine ran out. When he had talked to Jesus, the Bible records in verse 5: His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”(NLT)

The commonalities between these two stories are very impressive. But what is more striking is the exact phrasing of those last five underlined words. It is interesting that the translators of the New Living Translation use exactly the same words for both verses. This statement points us again to one of the major themes in this story namely, the typifying (foreshadowing) of Christ in the person and character of Joseph. Just as Pharaoh made it clear that the help for the people was only found in doing exactly as Joseph says to them, Mary the mother of Jesus also told the servants at the wedding that the only way out of their trouble was to do as Jesus says to them!

Now, interestingly, those words by Mary the mother of Jesus are the last ones ever recorded of her in the Bible. For the Roman Catholic faithful and friends, this would be very important to consider especially when dealing with the issue of the reverence/veneration they have for her, and that appears to  amount into the worship of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the place of Christ. It would really be  great honor to her to honor her words by no longer seeking her as a mediator but rather seek to do whatever Jesus tell us, in the text of Scripture. Unfortunately, this story in the Gospel of John is heavily relied on by many Roman Catholic apologists in assigning Mary the role of a go-between in the interactions of Christ and His church.

In these statements the Bible clearly points us to Jesus through Joseph. By the people of Egypt doing exactly as Joseph said, Egypt and indeed the whole world was saved from dying of famine. Similarly, by the servants doing exactly what Jesus told, life came back into the party that was dying from running out of wine. If the world would find life and joy, it must do exactly as Jesus says. The world is looking for solutions in al the wrong places while help is only found in Christ alone Jesus himself said  “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6, ESV). The bible also says ¹² Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12, NIV)

Today the world wants to associate with God, they want his good gifts and benefits, but they want to bypass His Son. The don’t want to do “exactly what He (Jesus) says” yet they want the life of/from God. It is not possible. At some point in the ministry of Jesus, the crowds were deserting him because of His hard sayings, and so He turned to His disciples and asked them if they too wanted to leave. Peter replied with a very important observation. The Bible says in John 6:68 Simon Peter replied, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words that give eternal life. (NLT) True life is only found in the words of Christ as recorded in the Bible.  If we desire to live life in abundance, we must search the words of Jesus and do whatever he tells us.

One final observation here. The closing verse in this chapter says that “…all the earth came to Egypt to Joseph to buy grain...” This is the first instalment and clear fulfilment of God’s promise to Abraham when He said, I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you. (Genesis 12:3, NIV). The final instalment and ultimate fulfilment of this promise is thorough and in the person of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world. It is important to note that the Gospel of Matthew clearly traces the genealogy of Jesus all the way to Abraham.

And consequently, the Bible says, in possibly the most well-known line on earth: For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. The next verse that, even most Christians may not be very familiar with says, ¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. (John 3:16&17, NIV). Just like the hope of the world back then rested on Joseph, today and until the end of times, the hope of the world rests on Jesus of Nazareth, also called the Christ. AMEN.