SECOND IN COMMAND

“…you will be in charge of my household; all my people will be ruled by what you say. Only when I rule from my throne will I be greater than you.”
Genesis 41:40

The story of Yosef’s rise from prisoner to second in command was a favorite of my dad’s. I remember as a child, all us kids sitting around the table, and him reading us the account of Yosef’s promotion. In honor of him this past January, I gave a short message at his funeral from this, his favorite story. But why love it so much? Is it because good wins in the end? Is it because the underdog has his moment of breakthrough? Is it because we see that Adonai is truly in control? I think it is a little of all those things. It is a hope for us that we too are in His care, even when it may not feel that way.
So then, after Yosef was cleaned up, brought to Pharaoh, listened to and then interpreted the dreams, it was bestowed upon him the honor of being second in command. Only Pharaoh had more power and weight than Yosef. He was given a wife, Osnat the daughter of Poti-Fera of On, and from her would come M’nasheh and Efrayim, the final two in the named twelve tribes of Isra’el. But maybe more important than a wife and children was the assurance that all he had suffered was redeemed.
Our account of Yosef is not finished for we still have nine chapters to go. But in this portion today we already see that in the bleakest of situations God is in control. Being the one the brother detested, being the one sold as a slave, being the one lied about, being the one in prison, none of those places was fun. Yet, Adonai was with Yosef. And we too know these feelings. We know the sting of being detested. We know the feeling of be enslaved. We know the pain of a lie spoken about us. And we know the hopelessness our own prisons capture us in. Still, we must not give up. Our promotions are coming. Let us continue to trust in Adonia in these times, for He is in control.

Genesis 41:39-52