Genesis 41.46-49-Joseph's Wise Administration During the Seven Years of Prosperity
Tuesday January 23, 2007
Genesis: Genesis 41:46-49-Joseph’s Wise Administration During the Seven Years of Prosperity
Lesson # 268
Please turn in your Bibles to Genesis 41:46.
This evening we will continue with our studies of Genesis 41.
By way of review, we have noted the following in this chapter:
In Genesis 41:1-7, we read where Pharaoh of Egypt had two dreams and in Genesis 41:8, we read the account of Pharaoh summoning the priests who were skilled in the occult sciences in order to interpret his dreams but there were none that could.
Then we saw that Pharaoh’s cupbearer whose dream Joseph interpreted two years before made Pharaoh aware of Joseph and his ability to interpret dreams and this is recorded in Genesis 41:9-13.
This was followed by the Lord delivering Joseph from prison by causing Pharaoh to summon Joseph from prison to interpret his dream, which is recorded in Genesis 41:14.
In Genesis 41:15-16, we read where in response to Pharaoh’s flattery, Joseph ascribes to God his ability to interpret dreams, which demonstrates his great humility.
Then, we read where Pharaoh recounts his dreams to Joseph, which is recorded in Genesis 41:17-24 and this was followed by Joseph interpreting Pharaoh’s dreams, which is recorded in Genesis 41:25-32.
This was followed by Joseph making recommendations to Pharaoh in light of his interpretation, and this is recorded in Genesis 41:33-37.
Next, we noted that in response to Joseph’s recommendations, Pharaoh promotes Joseph to prime minister of Egypt to administrate the government of Egypt over the next fourteen years and this is recorded in Genesis 41:38-40.
Then, Pharaoh publicly installed Joseph as prime minister of Egypt through four ceremonial acts and this is recorded in Genesis 41:41-43.
We left off on Thursday noting Joseph becoming a part of Egyptian aristocracy by Pharaoh giving him in marriage, Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of On as well as bestowing him with a new name and this all recorded in Genesis 41:44-45.
This evening we will study Genesis 41:46-49, which presents to us the record of Joseph’s wise administration during the seven years of prosperity.
Genesis 41:46, “Now Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh, king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh and went through all the land of Egypt.”
Genesis 41:46 records Joseph embarking upon the third and final journey of his life since his life is divided into three segments: (1) Birth to Seventeen Years of Age (Genesis 30:24-37:2) (2) Seventeen to Thirty Years of Age (Genesis 37:2-41:46) (3) Thirty Years to Death (Genesis 41:46-50:26).
The fact that Joseph was thirty-years of age when he became prime minister of Egypt and was seventeen years of age when he was sold into slavery by his brothers according to Genesis 37:2 indicates that he spent fourteen years in servitude if we count his seventeenth year.
The expression “when he (Joseph) stood before Pharaoh, king of Egypt” refers to the fact that Joseph was serving the king of Egypt and possessed the honor of being on intimate terms with Pharaoh and having his confidence and being a favorite of his.
The statement “Joseph…went through all the land of Egypt” refers to the extensive journeys that followed after the initial tours of inspection and exploration that are denoted in Genesis 41:45 by the statement “Joseph went forth over the land of Egypt.”
During these journeys, Joseph inspected the various cities in Egypt, acquiring firsthand information about resources of the land as well as familiarizing himself with the people in order to prepare for the coming famine.
Also, during these trips, he would delegate authority to civil administrators in each city in Egypt who would be subordinate to him and would help him execute his plan that he presented to Pharaoh, which is recorded in Genesis 41:33-37.
Joseph along with his subordinates in each city would conduct a detailed survey of the agriculture and the infrastructure of each city and would accordingly organize a comprehensive plan to set aside reserves during the seven years of prosperity.
Genesis 41:47-57 records the fulfillment of the interpretation of Pharaoh’s dreams by Joseph as well as the execution of the plan that Joseph proposed to Pharaoh in light of his interpretation.
Gordon J. Wenham makes insightful comment regarding Genesis 41:47-57, he writes, “Repetition serves to underline the frenetic pace of Joseph’s activity, while the relative brevity of the description of the seven years of plenty compared with that of the famine help to create the impression of time flying by in Joseph’s life” (Word Biblical Commentary, volume 2, Genesis 16-50, page 397, Nelson Reference and Electronic).
The seven years of plenty meant that the land of Egypt produced extraordinary bumper crops of wheat, excellent harvests for the next seven years, which was in fulfillment of Joseph’s prophecy recorded in Genesis 41:26 and 29.
Genesis 41:47, “During the seven years of plenty the land brought forth abundantly.”
In the Hebrew text, “abundantly” is composed of three words: (1) Noun sava (ubc) (saw-vaw), which means, “a surplus,” denoting the possession of ample and sufficient food production (2) Preposition le (l+) (lamed), “by” (3) Masculine plural noun qomets (Jm#q)) (komets), which means, “handfuls.”
The noun sava means, “a surplus” in the sense that the land of Egypt produced seven years of ample and sufficient supply of wheat.
Egypt was famous in the ancient world for its wheat and was known as the granary of the ancient world.
The noun qomets is in the plural and means, “handfuls, bundles” and is used in a figurative sense in Genesis 41:47 to mean uncountable numbers.
The preposition le denotes the “means” by which the land of Egypt during the seven years of abundance produced a surplus, namely, “by the handfuls or by the bundles” presenting an image of the grain filling the hand.
Genesis 41:48, “So he gathered all the food of these seven years which occurred in the land of Egypt and placed the food in the cities; he placed in every city the food from its own surrounding fields.”
Genesis 41:49, “Thus Joseph stored up grain in great abundance like the sand of the sea, until he stopped measuring it, for it was beyond measure.”
A comparison of Genesis 41:33-37 with Genesis 41:47-49 reveals that during these seven abundant years Joseph gathered all the food and stored it in the cities of Egypt while at the same time exacted a fifth of the produce of the land and kept it in reserve in the various cities of Egypt where it would be guarded.
The fact that Joseph stuck to his plan and took one fifth of the produce of each of the seven years of prosperity demonstrates his great discipline and integrity and would have also taken great diplomacy and persuasion to execute.
Henry M. Morris has an excellent comment regarding this recommendation, he writes, “It would be necessary to levy a ‘double tithe’ on the produce of Egypt during the years of plenty. It has been shown by historians that tithing was practiced in ancient Egypt and other nations, as a form of taxes or tribute to the king; but a 20 percent levy would be very unusual and might well be resisted, especially if enacted by an unpopular sovereign. Thus, the chief administrator of his plan would have to be skilled in diplomacy and persuasion, as well as be of unquestioned integrity himself, in order to overcome the natural reluctance of the people to such a tax. Of course, resistance would be minimized in times of prosperity” (The Genesis Record, Baker Book House, page 584).
During these seven years, the wheat harvests were so great and extraordinary the grain was piled up like the sand of the sea so that Joseph had to actually stop counting at one point because there was no number in the Egyptian language to allow him to count further!
In fact, later in history, the Greeks had no number greater than ten thousand, which was true of the Egyptians as indicated by the statement that Joseph had to stop counting.
Joseph’s activities make it clear that he held the well-known Egyptian office of “Overseer of the Granaries of Upper and Lower Egypt.”
The duties of this office involved the collection of tax payments on field produce (See Genesis 47:24) as well as the storage of the grain of bumper crops for distribution in years of famine.
The plan that Joseph proposed to Pharaoh in Genesis 41:33-37 and which we see him executing in Genesis 41:47-49 was given to him by God and the execution of this plan was a manifestation of the wisdom of God in the life of Joseph.
Romans 11:33, “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!”
“Wisdom” is an attribute of God that is found in the Person of Christ and expressed in the Word of Christ, and is revelation from God, which is revealed by the Holy Spirit in the pages of Scripture.
Colossians 2:3, “in whom (Christ) are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”
The wisdom of God is expressed through creation.
Psalm 104:24, “O LORD, how many are Your works! In wisdom You have made them all.”
The wisdom of God is expressed through the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which presents God’s provision of eternal salvation for the entire human race through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 1:18, “For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”
The believer acquires the wisdom of God by letting the Word of Christ richly dwell in his soul, which gives him the capacity to glorify God in whatever circumstance or relationship in life.
Colossians 3:16, “Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.”
James describes God’s wisdom.
James 3:17, “But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy.”
The attainment of the wisdom of the Lord is superior to the acquiring of temporal wealth.
Proverbs 3:13, “How blessed is the man who finds wisdom and the man who gains understanding.”
Proverbs 3:14, “For her profit is better than the profit of silver and her gain better than fine gold.”
Proverbs 3:15, “She is more precious than jewels; And nothing you desire compares with her.”
Proverbs 3:16, “Long life is in her right hand; In her left hand are riches and honor.”
Proverbs 3:17, “Her ways are pleasant ways and all her paths are peace.”
Proverbs 3:18, “She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her, and happy are all who hold her fast.”
Since wisdom is revelation from God, Pharaoh’s dreams and Joseph’s interpretation of those dreams and his plan were revelation from God as well and were therefore a manifestation of the wisdom of God.
God’s wisdom is based upon His omniscience and is His unique ability to devise a perfect plan to accomplish His goal to glorify Himself and so Joseph’s plan that was given to him by God was designed to glorify God and thus by executing this plan, Joseph was glorifying God.
To “glorify” God is to manifest an aspect of God’s character through our words or actions and so Joseph’s interpretation and plan glorified God in the sense that it manifested the omniscience, the sovereignty and the love of God.
The “omniscience” of God was manifested in Joseph’s interpretation and plan in that they revealed what was unknown to Pharaoh and all men, namely, seven years of prosperity and seven years of famine.
The “sovereignty” of God was manifested in Joseph’s interpretation and plan in that they revealed to Pharaoh the complete power over all of creation that Joseph’s God exercised absolutely.
The “love” of God was manifested in Joseph’s interpretation and plan in that they revealed God’s care and concern for not only Joseph’s family but also for the Egyptians and all men.
Therefore, we see God using Joseph as His instrument to manifest His wisdom to men and to glorify Himself before men.