BERESHIS 41

16 And Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, It is not in me: Elohim shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace.

Deferrence to rulers

So long as God permits the kings of the alien to reign,‭ ‬it is our duty to defer to them,‭ ‬as did Joseph‭ (‬Gen.‭ xli. ‬14‭–‬16‭) ‬and Daniel‭ (ii. ‬37‭)‬,‭ ‬and even as did Paul,‭ ‬saying‭ "‬Most noble Festus‭" (‬Acts‭ ‬xxvi. 25‭)‬,‭ ‬and who commanded to give‭ "‬honour to whom honour is due‭" (‬Rom‭ xiii. ‬7‭) ‬remembering that while they possess authority‭ 

"‬they are God's ministers,‭ ‬attending continually on this very thing‭" (‬verse‭ ‬6‭)‬.‭

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‭The Christadelphian, July 1887

39 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Forasmuch as Elohim hath shewed thee all this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou art:

No earthly parent directed Joseph's steps; an exile from his own mother's children, yet the same eternal Father watched over both type and antitype. Each was condemned for sins not their own.

Joseph's own wisdom derived from His heavenly Father, gave him hope in his dungeon, even the revelation of something hid.

The Eternal Father's set time having arrived, we read that Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh to reveal a secret, or unfold a mystery, which none but the stone or shepherd of Israel could do, for it revealed to the people "The way of life."

The Christadelphian, Jan 1872

40 Thou shalt be over my house, and according unto thy word shall all my people be ruled: only in the throne will I be greater than thou.

The blackness of midnight gives way to a sudden burst of noonday splendour which abides with him through a long and illustrious day. God delivers him from all adversity, and, as he expressed it, "made him forget his toil and his father's house." From a prison keeper's servant, he is transformed into a governor of Egypt—the king's minister: an object of universal deference, and controller of the land's pouring treasure. It was God's work in providence. God's hand was visible at one or two points; but in the main, it was accomplished in an unseen manner by means of perfectly natural circumstances.,.

...THE conclusion is comforting to those who commit their way to God. It may seem to them that God is not only not working with them, but actually working against them. Let them remember the agony of Joseph in the pit, in slavery, in false imprisonment, and learn that the darkest paths of their life may be the ways appointed for them to reach liberty and life, wealth and honour -- yea, a throne in the kingdom of the anti-typical Joseph, who himself had to tread the dark and tearful valley of humiliation, and who, in the day of his glory, will introduce all his brethren, amongst many bright stars, to the most interesting of Jacob's sons.

The Ways of Providence Ch 8.

42 And Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand, and put it upon Joseph's hand, and arrayed him in vestures of fine linen, and put a gold chain about his neck;

Fine linen and precious gold were his garments for glory, and for beauty. The King took from his own finger a ring and placed it on Joseph's, thus uniting them in power and dominion. Even Joseph's wife was chosen by the King, and from the order of priesthood did she come. And according to Joseph's word was all Egypt ruled, only in the throne was the King the greatest.

The second chariot was something Joseph derived from the King, (representing the chariot wheels of "the eternal one") which when Joseph filled, made the nations go before with a cry, "bow the knee."

Joseph's dream embodied his own household or the twelve tribes, while that of Pharaoh's gathered in all the nations, both Jew and Gentile. Israel coming from Canaan into Egypt represents when the antitype governs the nations. Israel must be saved upon the same principles as the Israel of God are now, for we perceive it was faith in the governor of Egypt which kept them, as well as the nations from perishing.

To Israel, the staff of life was a free gift, for their money was returned to them, but the nations were made the king's bondmen, and an entire sacrifice on their part had to be made.

Also amidst the national troubles, Israel was fed, and was the special care both of the king and governor, and dwelt secure in the land of Goshen as Yahweh's remnant in the land of the Gentiles.

When Joseph's dream was fully developed, we see the exile son and father again united.

The Christadelphian, Jan 1872

45 And Pharaoh called Joseph's name Zaphnathpaaneah; and he gave him to wife Asenath the daughter of Potipherah priest of On. And Joseph went out over all the land of Egypt.

Scripture Names Doctrinally Applicable to Christ

Gen 41: 45 - Zaphnath-Paaneah, Saviour of the Age.

"God, in the age to come, will shew the exceeding riches of his grace, in his kindness towards us, through Christ Jesus."—(Eph. 2:7.)

The Christadelphian, June 1873