Genesis 41:33-45 Joseph – The Wise Ruler CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO
In this lesson, Joseph recommended to Pharaoh a course of action to prepare for the coming famine. Pharaoh and his servants agreed that Joseph was the best man to oversee the plan. So, Joseph was released from prison and became the second ruler in Egypt, under Pharaoh but over everyone else. There are 18 more types of Jesus Christ in this short passage. Furthermore, there are several types of the church in Asenath, Joseph’s Egyptian wife.
# | Similarity | Joseph’sReference | Jesus’Reference |
52 | Spirit of God in them (see note below) | 41:38 | Jn. 3:34 |
53 | God showed them what he was doing | 41:39 | Jn. 5:20 |
54 | Both were wise | 41:39 | 1 Cor. 1:30; Matt. 13:54 |
55 | Both were over their master’s houses | 41:40 | Heb. 3:3-6; Col. 1:18 |
56 | Both ruled by their words | 41:40 | Jn. 12:47-50 |
57 | Only one greater than them | 41:40 | Jn. 10:29; 1 Cor. 15:28 |
58 | Both rule over Egypt (type of world) | 41:41 | Rev. 11:15 |
59 | Both given authority (Pharaoh’s ring) | 41:42 | Matt. 7:29; Mk. 1:27 |
60 | Both arrayed in linen vestures | 41:42 | Rev. 19:13, 16, 8; Is. 61:10 |
61 | Both represented deity (gold chain) | 41:42 | 1 Tim. 3:16 |
62 | Both were in the second place | 41:43 | 1 Jn. 5:7 |
63 | Men bowed the knee to both | 41:43 | Phil. 2:9-10 |
64 | Both were rulers | 41:43 | Rev. 19:15 |
65 | Nothing happened without them | 41:44 | Jn. 15:5 |
66 | Both were saviors of the world | 41:45; 47:25 | Jn. 4:42 |
67 | Both were given wives | 41:45 | 2 Cor. 11:2; Rev. 19:7-9 |
68 | Both wives came from Egypt (world) | 41:45 | Jn. 15:19; Jn. 17:6 |
69 | Both get wives after humiliation | 41:45; 41:14 | Phil 2:5-11 |
Note: Several times we have heard the expression, “The Spirit was ‘on’ them in the Old Testament and ‘in’ them in the New Testament.” But we see from Pharaoh’s statement that the Spirit of God was “in” Joseph, not on him.
We find other places in the Old Testament where the Spirit of God was “in” men:
- Ex. 35:31 – Bezaleel was filled with the spirit of God (Ex. 31:3);
- Is. 63:11 – the Holy Spirit was within Moses;
- 1 Pet. 1:10-11 – the Spirit of Christ was in the Old Testament prophets (Neh. 9:30);
- Eze. 2:1-2 – the spirit entered into Ezekiel; and
- Num. 27:18 – the spirit was in Joshua.
The Spirit could also leave them in the Old Testament, as well. Consider David’s prayer in Ps. 51:11, after the trouble with Bathsheba, and Saul’s punishment from God in 1 Sam. 16:14, after Saul’s disobedience.