Joseph, the Administrator
INTRODUCTORY WORDS
We delight in stepping into the scenes that covered fourteen years of Egyptian history seven years of plenty, and seven years of famine. During all of that period Joseph sat, as it were, at Pharaoh's right hand, clothed with authority and power.
1. Joseph, the administrator, was ruling under an invested power. His power was given him by Pharaoh, It was given by Pharaoh upon the basis of his (Joseph's) wisdom.
Our Lord Jesus Christ said, "All power is given unto Me, in Heaven and in earth." This statement of our Lord's by no means upsets Christ as God and co-equal with the Father, It does emphasize the fact that a special power is Christ's by the Father's investment, because of His incarnation. The Lord's exaltation to authority and power as Head of the Church by no means lessened or increased His prerogatives as "Deity." Christ, in speaking to the Father, said, "And * * Father, glorify Thou Me with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was."
The thought that Christ, by virtue of His incarnation and death, was accorded a place as Deity is all at variance with the Scripture. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." His eternal power and Godhead we all admit. He was inherent God.
However, Christ was power and authority in a new realm, in which He could never have known authority apart from the agonies of His Cross. On one occasion Christ said, "Therefore doth My Father love Me, because I lay down My life [for the sheep]." This by no means suggests that the Father did not always love the Son. It does suggest, however, that a new love came into the heart of God a love that was different and was made possible through Christ's sacrificial act.
Christ could never have had authority and power as a Savior of men nor as the Head of the Church if He had not gone down into the depths of His humiliation. He was lifted up, not to Deity, but to a new realm in the range of Deity, because He suffered.
2. Joseph, the administrator, was ruling under an invested power which was dependent upon the fulfillment of his dream and the consummation of his wisdom. When Joseph was brought up out of the pit and stood before Pharaoh he announced seven years of plenty to be followed by seven years of famine. Had Joseph's prophecy been broken anywhere during the period of those years, he would, beyond doubt, have been immediately dethroned.
Had there been no famine, Joseph would have been made a laughing stock before the world. Had there been no famine Pharaoh's wealth, spent in the purchase of grain, had proved a complete squander. The grain would have rotted in Joseph's storehouses had the land still produced its plenty.
Let us now turn to the Lord. He has been exalted to the right hand of authority and power. Millions upon the earth are giving Him homage. What would happen if Christ's prophecies of things to come are not verified?
Before Christ died He was not unwilling to place every claim He had ever made to Deity upon His resurrection. When Christ gave His prophecies concerning the Church and its place among men; and, concerning the world and its course during this age; and concerning the conditions of the end of the age, He knew that His place of authority and power was always at stake.
Day by day, as Joseph's interpretation of Pharaoh's dream met their fulfillment, Joseph was the deeper intrenched in his place of authority. Thus the faith of saints today, who know how the world is moving along the very lines which were prophesied by the Lord nineteen hundred years ago, is doubly strong and unshakable.
3. Joseph, the administrator, had power in relation to world dominion. The authority of Jesus Christ which was given to Him by the investment of the Father has no bearing upon Christ's power or glory in the realms of His eternal Godhead the realm where He was ever worshiped with the Father and the Son as the angels cried, "Holy, Holy, Holy."
Christ's new power is a power related to the world. He said, "All power is given unto Me in Heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations." He has a new power above and He has a new power on earth, but that power is related to the peoples of the world. The power has to do with His Headship over the Church and to His exaltation as a Savior.
I. JOSEPH WENT OUT FROM THE PRESENCE OF PHARAOH (Genesis 41:46; Genesis 41:2 nd cl.)
1. He actually went from Pharaoh to the people.
We are observing that every word spoken concerning Joseph has its parallel in the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ came forth from the Father. Other men are of the earth, earthy; Christ Jesus is the Lord from Heaven. We are from beneath, He is from above. We are of natural generation, He was of supernatural generation.
Only once did our Lord speak plainly of His birth, and then He added, "To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world." The Lord did always emphasize the fact that He came forth from the Father and came into the world.
All of its may be sent forth by the Lord, but the Lord Himself was sent forth from the Father.
2. He went from the presence of Pharaoh, clothed with the authority of Pharaoh. It was, to all purposes, as though Pharaoh had gone forth himself.
Was this not the claim of Christ? He said, not only that He came forth from the Father, but He also said, "He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father." Christ, moving among men, was the same as though the Father had moved among them. In all things Christ was the express image of the Father's Person, and the brightness of the Father's glory. He who saw Christ could say, "I have seen the Father."
II. JOSEPH WENT THROUGH ALL THE LAND OF EGYPT (Genesis 41:46; Genesis 41:3 d cl.)
1. Pharaoh could not go throughout the land, but Joseph went. The king was hemmed in by certain proprieties and necessities. The Father does not pass around among men, but the Son does. Of Christ it is written, "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us." How wonderful it is: Christ tabernacling among men. When Christ came, He came as a babe, born of Mary and laid in a manger. The holy Child mid the cattle seemed to prophesy the Son of God mingling among men. It was Christ who sat with the publicans and sinners and ate with them.
2. Pharaoh could not go, but Joseph went manifesting Pharaoh's glory and power. Jesus Christ was among men, and it is written, "(And we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father), full of Grace and Truth."
Christ even said, "He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father; how sayest thou then, shew us the Father?"
As Joseph moved among the people, they felt that they had a manifestation of royalty. They had not beheld Pharaoh, but they had beheld the representative of Pharaoh, who was Pharaoh's replica.
3. Pharaoh could not go, but Joseph went everywhere. Jesus Christ said, "Let us go into the next towns, * * also, for therefore am I sent." Thus the Lord became a journeyman, going hither and thither.
We have a feeling that this ministry of Jesus Christ has been committed now unto us. The work He began, we are to carry forward. If Christ were in God's stead carrying the message of life, then we are in Christ's stead. If God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself, He has now committed unto us that same Word of reconciliation.
When our Lord was ready to depart, He said, "Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature."
The Apostle Paul carrying out the spirit of the great commission said, "According to our rule abundantly, to preach the Gospel in the regions beyond you."
As Joseph went throughout all the land of Egypt, sent of Pharaoh; so must we go out over all the world sent of God.
III. THE YEARS OF PLENTY (Genesis 41:47)
Immediately following Joseph's exaltation to the throne, the years of plenty began to come. Of those seven years of plenty we read, "The earth brought forth by handfuls."
1. There is suggested to us the bounteous grace of God. Calvary with its sacrifice stands for God's mercy, but not merely mercy, but plenitudes of mercy. In the Cross of Christ there is. a redemption sufficient for all, deficient toward none, and yet efficient only to those who believe.
2. There is suggested to us the earlier harvests following Pentecost.
(1) At Pentecost there were about three thousand added to the Lord. During the whole of Christ's earthly ministry there were numbered some five hundred brethren, but in one day after His exaltation there were added about three thousand.
As Joseph began to gather in the grain in such abundance, there must have been great rejoicing throughout Egypt. We know that as the harvest of souls came in at Pentecost, they did eat their meat with gladness and single-ness of heart, praising God.
(2) Following Pentecost, we read, "And the number of the men was about five thousand." The Lord was giving great victory as the Apostles spoke the Word of God with boldness. Great grace was upon them all. The saints who were possessors of houses and lands brought the prices of the things that were sold and laid them at the Apostles' feet for distribution. By the hands of the Apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people, and believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women.
(3) In the days of the Apostle Paul the whole world seemed turned upside down. We read, "And many that believed came, and confessed, and showed their deeds. Many of them also which used curious arts brought their books together, and burned them before all men: and they counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver. So mightily grew the Word, of God and prevailed." It was not long until the great harvest was gathered in for God, and the Gospel was preached throughout the world.
IV. JOSEPH GARNERING THE FOOD (Genesis 41:48-49)
It must have been a wonderful sight as the seven years of plenty passed to behold the garnering of the grain. The food was all gathered and laid by in the cities of Egypt. The corn thus reaped and conserved became in number as the sand of the sea. It was so much that Joseph ceased counting, for it was without number.
The early disciples who carried on the Word and the work after Christ's exaltation to the throne of the Father did not fail to garner the souls. Those who were added to the Lord were also added to the Church.
The command of the Master was not only to go but it was to go, to disciple, to baptize, and to teach them all things whatsoever the Lord had commanded.
Let no evangelist or pastor think that he has completed his task by the mere fact of ripened harvests. Harvests must be placed in the storehouse, and saved sinners must be placed in the Church of God.
The Church is the pillar and ground of the truth, but the Church is also the conserver and instructor of saints. Paul, in the Spirit, wrote to Titus, saying, "For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee."
The Church stands for us as the great household of the faith. It is the whole family of God. It is builded for fellowship and for the conservation and upbuilding of those who believe.
V. THE YEARS OF FAMINE (Genesis 41:54)
1. The years of famine had been duly prophesied. Perhaps as the seven years of plenty ran on, from year to year, the Egyptians began to imagine that the years of famine would not materialize. There are many now who say, "Tomorrow shall be as this day, and much more abundant." They stand set against any possible days of tribulation. They cry to the pulpit to prophesy unto them good things. They think, "We shall never be in adversity."
Against all such roseate speeches, the famine began to come, God has told us that there shall be another day of famine and of distress. For years the world mocked the preacher who dared to face the waves of prosperity that swept the land and proclaimed the coming of the Great Tribulation.
2. The years of famine came gradually. The text says, "They began to come." It was not all at once as from a clear sky that the change from plenty to poverty gripped the world. Thus, also, the Great Tribulation is divided into two great parts. (1) The Beginning of Sorrows, and (2) The Tribulation intensified.
As we now write (June 1933), we believe for our part that the Seven Years of tribulation spoken of by Daniel the Prophet and corroborated by the Lord Jesus Christ and by many Prophets, has begun to come.
When Joseph announced his interpretation of Pharaoh's dream, many, no doubt, laughed him to scorn. However, as the famine began to come, and as it took a deeper and deeper hold upon the world the scoffers awoke to the truth of God's Word through His servant.
Thus, today, the scoffers are sitting up and taking notice, as the prophecies of God's Word about the present hour of darkness are rapidly coming to pass, and the whole world is becoming involved in economic and moral disaster.
VI. JOSEPH THE ONLY HOPE OF THE FAMINE SUFFERERS (Genesis 41:55)
When the hungry began to call upon Pharaoh for bread, Pharaoh said, "Go unto Joseph; what he saith to you, do."
1. The world may turn to men and to antichrist and to Satan, but as the tribulation gets deeper and darker the utter collapse of every agency will occur.
Leagues of nations will prove no more than leagues of notions so far as any effective solving of social unrest is concerned.
All kinds of alliances will be made to meet the exigencies of the hour of tribulation; kings will set themselves together and take counsel; however, their counsel will come to naught.
For awhile the antichrist and the false prophet, Satan-energized may seem to meet successfully the needs of the hour, and lead men out of the labyrinth of seeming collapse, yet, after a short reign of peace the whole will once more become a veritable battle field, while famine and pestilence follow hard upon their heels.
2. Joseph was the sole help for Egypt and the world. He alone could give the needed bread; and Christ is the sole help of the world at this moment, He is the only hope of peace and prosperity and economic redemption. Under Him alone and under His rule will righteousness and peace kiss one another.
Joseph was not only the dispenser of bread, but he was the dispenser from unlimited stores. He had all the world needed.
Jesus Christ alone is the Bread which came down from Heaven. He has Bread enough to satisfy the hunger of the world.
So far as the physical bread is concerned. He holds the power of the seasons in His hand; He controls the winds and the rain. He speaks, and all the elements obey His will. Thus, when He is on the throne, He can and will cause the plowman to overtake the reaper. The hills will melt with new wine.
In the realm of the spiritual, Jesus Christ is the Bread that satisfies. He says, "He that cometh to Me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on Me shall never thirst."
VII. ALL COUNTRIES CAME TO JOSEPH FOR CORN (Genesis 41:57)
Joseph became more than a local blessing the whole world came to Him. When Christ died on the Cross, the veil of the Temple was rent from top to bottom. The middle wall of partition which separated the Jew and Gentile was broken down, and the Gentiles became heirs in the same body. The Church is not alone the storehouse of the Bread of Life, but from its provisions bread goes out to the whole world.
Christ, over all, is food to all who come to Him. Not one race, but all, not one class, but all, are invited to the house of the Lord, and to our Joseph. The call is a world-wide call, "Come and dine."
To whom shall we go? Christ alone is the Bread of Life.
AN ILLUSTRATION
CHRIST OUR CONQUEROR
In 1863, in the crisis of our Civil War, there was an interesting phenomenon that took place in Virginia City in Nevada. One day the bright summer sky was suddenly overcast with dense masses of threatening cloud, and the lightning played vividly. Suddenly on Mount Davidson's eastern slope that confronted the city, a delicate golden tongue of flame was seen swaying in the wind. For an hour that flame continued to sway to and fro on the mountain's brow. The explanation of it was simply this: there was an unseen rift in those dark, dense masses of cloud, and through that rift the evening sun flung his luminous beams and lit up the American flag that we raised on the summit of Mount Davidson. It was the national emblem that was glowing in the burning beams of the setting sun. The people stood there wrapped in admiration and entranced in astonishment. That flag was the unknown signal of two victories that had taken place that day Vicksburg had yielded, and Gettsyburg was won. Often there are dark, dense masses of cloud in our firmament; but, blessed be God, there is a rift in the storm-cloud, and the Sun of Righteousness shines forth with healing in His beams, and they rest on the flag of the Cross raised on the very mountain heights of the strongholds of Satan. Let us stand and look at that symbol with thankfulness that Christ is not dead and never can die, and by that sign shall we conquer. Dr. A. J. Pierson.