In addition to his coat of many colors, Joseph also wore many hats. In just what we know about him from Scripture, he’s filled the role of a brother, a son, as a prisoner, a haver of dreams, and an interpreter of dreams. We’ve seen him in all those roles; in fact, the Text highlights those parts at the exclusion of just about everything else.
But how good was he at his day job?
His first job out of prison is that of a government administrator in charge of preserving a nation through a severe famine. It’s a story that defines “rags to riches,” as he goes from the lowest level of society immediately to the highest. That’s not a transition that most people would feel ready for, but, luckily for Egypt, Joseph wasn’t “most people.”
I’ll admit that reading this story in light of a post-Covid world hits a little different. When the world went into lockdown mode, we all looked to the government to see how they would handle the crisis. Good or bad, they made decisions that affected all of us.
In a sense, that was Joseph’s job. Egypt and most of the surrounding areas were in a deep famine that threatened much of the known world. How would he respond?
The section from Genesis 47:13-26 shows the steps that Joseph took to carry people through this stressful period.
First, he accepted payment for the massive food surplus that Egypt had accumulated during the period of growth (a period that Joseph also oversaw).
When the money ran out, he accepted their livestock. Then, finally, he accepted their land as payment, but then gave it back to them on the condition that they return to Pharaoh 20% of whatever they grew on their land. It’s a win for everyone.
Perhaps most impressively, there’s no mention of Joseph using this time period to enrich himself. Genesis 47:14 says that Joseph gathered the money and brought it straight into Pharaoh’s house. A less scrupulous administrator might have shaved off bits here and there for themselves, but not Joseph.
The situation was so dire that the Egyptians, remarkably, were willing to become slaves of Pharaoh in exchange for their survival. Joseph refused, but ironically, 400 years later the Egyptians would enslave Joseph’s family out of fear the Israelites would become too powerful.
The situation was dire, but with Joseph’s oversight, a famine that could’ve wiped out an entire empire was made manageable. And even though I don’t know Joseph personally, I think that Joseph would claim the honor for that victory truly belongs to God.
As it should.
