Genesis 41:14-24: a reflection

14Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they brought him hastily out of the dungeon. He shaved himself, changed his clothing, and came in to Pharaoh. 15Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I have dreamed a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it. I have heard it said of you, that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.” 16Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, “It isn’t in me. God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace.” 17Pharaoh spoke to Joseph, “In my dream, behold, I stood on the brink of the river; 18and behold, seven fat and sleek cattle came up out of the river. They fed in the marsh grass; 19and behold, seven other cattle came up after them, poor and very ugly and thin, such as I never saw in all the land of Egypt for ugliness. 20The thin and ugly cattle ate up the first seven fat cattle; 21and when they had eaten them up, it couldn’t be known that they had eaten them, but they were still ugly, as at the beginning. So I awoke. 22I saw in my dream, and behold, seven heads of grain came up on one stalk, full and good; 23and behold, seven heads of grain, withered, thin, and blasted with the east wind, sprung up after them. 24The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven good heads of grain. I told it to the magicians, but there was no one who could explain it to me.”

Joseph is rushed from the dungeon, cleaned up, and brought before Pharaoh, who has heard that this Hebrew prisoner can interpret dreams. In an instant, everything could change for Joseph; a good performance before Pharaoh might mean freedom, favor, advancement. And yet the first thing out of his mouth is not self-promotion. When Pharaoh says he has heard that Joseph can interpret dreams, Joseph replies, it is not in me; God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer.

That deflection is remarkable. Joseph, who had every reason to seize his moment and take credit for a rare ability, immediately points away from himself to God. He does not deny that God works through him, but he is careful to make clear that the wisdom is God's, not his own. In the very moment when self-promotion would have been so natural, Joseph humbles himself and gives God the glory. And it is to this humble man that God gives the interpretation, and through him, eventually, the second place in Egypt.

There is a model here for handling the moments when your abilities are noticed and you could take the credit. Joseph's instinct, it is not in me; God will give the answer, is worth imitating. When people praise your gifts or look to you for what only God can supply, deflect the glory to him, honestly acknowledging that whatever good comes through you is his. God delights to work through, and to lift up, those who refuse to steal his glory. Point to him, and let him lift you as he sees fit.

Lord, in the moment when self-promotion would have been so natural, Joseph said, it is not in me; God will give the answer, and pointed the glory to you. Give me that same instinct. When my abilities are noticed and I could take the credit, help me to deflect the glory to you, acknowledging that whatever good comes through me is yours. Work through me, and lift me as you see fit. Amen.