Genesis 41:38 The Influence of the Spirit

4/7/10

Time: 30 min

Main Idea: Pharaoh saw the influence of Joseph because the Spirit of God indwelt him

What this tells me about God: The man who honors God will give God all the glory because He is the sole provider of strength and wisdom.

Summary: Joseph has had a hard life; the Bible recounts that he was 30 years of age by the time that he came to power. His early childhood was met with slavery, tests, and time in prison. However, all of those events had led to the culmination of the interpretation of Pharaoh's dream, which predicts that Egypt will go through 7 years of plenty followed by 7 years of famine. Many people had tried to interpret Pharaoh's dream but failed to understand it. Joseph comes and interprets it and gives Pharaoh advice on how to manage Egypt during the 14 years. This pleased Pharaoh to exclaim, "can we find a man like this, in whom is the Spirit of God?" (v. 38) Joseph then ascended to higher leadership, right behind Pharaoh.

Application: A true underdog story, Joseph comes from slavery to imprisonment to rise to the second seat of power behind Pharaoh. I noticed how Pharaoh does not praise Joseph in his wisdom, his business savvy, or his intellect, but rather praises him because there is the power of the Spirit of God (v.38). So many times we cling to Christian leaders because they're funny, good leaders, strong, etc., but when was the last time we exclaimed, "he has the Spirit of God"?

There are two ways for me to apply this: firstly, I must become a man like Joseph in whom the Spirit's power can be seen. This involves like my last post putting on Christ daily in my life (Col. 3). Secondly, I need to understand that the praise received in ministry should never be attributed to the speaker, the leaders, or towards its members; but rather is the Spirit of God working amidst the ministry. God will use people to accomplish phenomenal things, but whether that should be attributed to their innovation or ability rather than God's grace and filling should be no contest. Success in my ministry and the ministries I follow are all attributed because of the Spirit of God working inside the person or in the ministry. Soli deo Gloria.