“So the advice was good in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of all his servants. And Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find such a one as this, a man in whom is the Spirit of God?” * Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Inasmuch as God has shown you all this, (notice the frank near childlike faith Pharaoh exhibits in wholly and unquestionably accepting Joseph’s testimony that it is God alone who gives the interpretation, but then through his most recent experience with Joseph is able also to fully discern that which Joseph himself cannot state without seeming arrogant as before his brothers in his youth, namely that he is the servant through whom God chooses to reveal and show His interpretations; His answers; His very self 😃) there is no one as discerning and wise as you. (Oh the honour! To receive such high praise from so great a ruler [Proverbs 22:29]. What a far cry from the words of contempt and dishonour from his very own flesh and blood in his youth 😄.)

You shall be over (or: “in charge of”) my house, and all my people shall be ruled according to your word; (quite literally: ‘what you say goes’; Joseph is given full authority and dominion over an entire nation; the ‘house’ he is given to rule over keeps expanding and expanding in measure as Joseph proves to the Lord again and again that he is capable of stewarding ever-increasingly greater and greater measures of responsibility for “he who is faithful in the little will be faithful over much” : from Potiphar’s house to the prison house to the entire house of Egypt, Joseph is manifesting the principle of being “a city on a hill” in an absolutely remarkable manner right before our very eyes 😃) only in regard to the throne will I be greater than you.” (There is a prophetic image worth taking note of here of our Beloved Lord Jesus, our Elder Brother who empowers, equips and sends us to walk in Godly authority second only to His own insofar as He alone is seated on the throne and exalted above all in the seat of greatest honour, preserved and set apart for Him alone since before the foundations of the earth; in everything else however we are called to emulate Him perfectly.)  And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.”

* There are several scenarios worth taking note of in the possible reaction of the servants in the above; so much so in fact that I believe it serves as a type of projection test, mirroring the heart of the reader as Scripture inevitably does. If it were possible for the enemy to stir up even the slightest trace of resentment or envy in the butler for example – prompted by a rationale such as “but we were both good-for-nothing criminals together, what makes him so special” – I do believe his recent failure to remember Joseph to Pharaoh, being still all too painfully fresh in his mind, would eradicate any such sentiments entirely. I honestly also don’t believe that the butler had the type of character easily tempted in this way, the Lord clearly smiles over him, as not only did He consider his life worth an example of saving – compared to that of the baker which was given as an example of one perishing – but his haste to repent and show great sincerity in his remorse also serves to promote his character. No, I think it much more plausible that in his natural bent toward humility he already recognised during their time together in prison that Joseph was a remarkable man worthy of great things. Let us also not forget that the captain of the guard already promoted Joseph over the other prisoners and consequently the butler is already accustomed to seeing Joseph in a position of power. I believe that Pharaoh was a wise, humble and discerning ruler himself, as he proved again and again that he is able to recognise greatness in others without feeling threatened by it. Not only this, but most importantly he is able to recognise not only the One True God as seen in the above, but also His anointed servant and the fact that the servant in question carries His very Spirit – a fact not even we were privy to beyond a shadow of a doubt until he confirmed it for us in the above 😊. It consequently follows that Pharaoh was the type of ruler who appointed worthy and wise servants – not unlike Potiphar and the captain of the guard who also recognised Joseph’s greatness and promoted him unto a position of authority – and prudently eliminated unworthy and foolish servants such as the baker. It therefore follows that the servants surrounding him in these moments effectively serve as confidantes and the type of wise counsellors we are exhorted to surround ourselves with in Proverbs 11:14, 15:22 and 24:6. It is consequently also important to recognise that these are not mere sycophants or “yes-men” and this is again reiterated in the honour Pharaoh bestows upon them in referring to their collective personage as a single unified force included in phrases such as “can we find”, which coincidentally also conjures up the deliberations which almost certainly take place in the courts of heaven amongst the heavenly beings. It furthermore serves in proving yet  another  Biblical principle whereby Joseph is validated, namely: “in the mouths of two or three witnesses shall a thing be established” (2 Cor. 13:1).”

“³⁷So the advice was good in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of all his servants. ³⁸And Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find such a one as this, a man in whom is the Spirit of God?”

³⁹Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Inasmuch as God had shown you all this, there is no one as discerning and wise as you. ⁴⁰You shall be over my house, and all my people shall be ruled according to your word; only in regard to the throne will I be greater than you.” ⁴¹And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.”

– Genesis 41:37-41 (NKJV)