Message of the Week

The Little White Community Church

Scripture: Genesis 41: 45-52

June 21, 2026

Message: “New Beginnings!”

By Pastor George Gande

Play to Listen

7:25

Introduction:

1. As most of you know, we have been studying the story of Joseph, how he was sold into Egypt as a slave and ended up in prison. But by the grace of God, he was raised up to become second in command only to Pharaoh.

2. Last week we learned how God’s timing is always perfect. This all happened while the Hyksos were ruling over Egypt, which explains why they were open to a non- Egyptian being elevated to such a position of power.

3. Joseph had proven his skills and his wisdom everywhere he went. His brothers had been jealous of him and that is why they sold him as a slave (Gen. 37).

a. He was bought by Potiphar who recognized his gifts and made him the head over his whole estate (Gen. 39).

b. When Potiphar’s wife lied about him, he ended up in the king’s prison. But again, his gifts were recognized and the keeper of the prison placed him over all the prisoners.

c. And when God used Joseph to interpret Pharaoh’s dreams, he suddenly found himself ruling over the whole land (Gen. 40-41) with only Pharaoh over him.

4. Through all of this, Joseph had to keep on keeping on. 

In the midst of all those troubles, he had to fight depress-sion and keep on living by faith. But when everything starts going well, the world wants to step in, squeeze God out, and take the credit that only God deserves.

A. Let us begin today by considering the attempts to Egyptianize  Joseph.

1. Having elevated Joseph, the first thing Pharaoh did was to change his name to Zaphenath-Paneah. Since he ex-plained his dreams, Pharaoh named him “revealer of secrets”(Gen. 41:45a), giving him an Egyptian name for an Egyptian position.

2. Secondly, Joseph was given an Egyptian wife named Asenath, the daughter of a priest of “On”. In those days, most marriages were arranged and often for political or religious reasons (Gen. 45b). This marriage implied the Egyptian gods had given Joseph his wisdom, robbing God of the glory He deserved.

a. This may have been what Pharaoh believed. But it was also an attempt to make Joseph look Egyptian and another way of pressuring him to become Egyptian.

b. Thirdly, he was given new clothes to wear, gar-ments of fine linen, and a gold chain to put around his neck. He was also shaved, removing the beard normally worn by the Israelites.

c. Talk about a makeover, no one would have recognized him, which probably explains why his brothers didn’t recognize him (Gen. 42).

3. Finally he was made to ride in a chariot reserved for him across the whole land of Egypt (Gen. 41:43, 46).

a. That way everyone would know who Zaphenath-Paneah was. But would they really know who he was? Image is everything in politics, but what about truth?

b. How would Joseph cope with these attempts to Egyptianize him?

B. In response to these attempts, consider how Joseph still elevated His God, giving credit where credit was due.

1. As Christians, we must always decide who is going to influence whom. We alone can decide if the world is going to make us in their mold, or if we are going to be witnesses

for Christ and influence our world instead. Joseph chose to take his stand for the Lord.

2. From the beginning, he kept giving His God the credit.

a. He told them His God was the revealer of secrets, and he refused to take the credit himself (Gen. 41:16, 24). Only our God is all-knowing.

b. He also affirmed that only his God was in control. That is why Pharaoh had two dreams. This was to rein-force the fact that what Joseph told them was going to happen. “The thing is fixed by God, and God will bring it to pass” (Gen. 41:32). 

c. So even when we do not like what happens and certainly don’t know why God lets it happen, we can never doubt that God is in control. Only our God is omnipotent and omnipresent.

2. Pharaoh’s response was emphatic: “Can we find such a man as this, in whom is the Spirit of God” (Gen. 41:38)?

a. When we live for the Lord the way we should, people should see Christ in us. Do people know you are a Christian? Are you taking a stand for the Lord? Do people see Jesus in you? 

b. If there are areas where we could do better, than let us pray for grace to do just that.

3. The stand we take should certainly affect our families. 

a. The seven years of plenty began almost immediately. For seven years, everything was as good as it could get. Joseph got the break he needed. God knows when we need a break. For seven years, Joseph enjoyed himself.

b. During those seven years, Asenath blessed him with two sons. Thus God added to all his other blessings the beginning of a family

c. Once again it becomes clear as to who began to influence whom.

4. Joseph obviously had to respect his wife for her background, but he also began to have a wonderful influence upon her. She too could sense the presence of the Lord in all that he did.

a. For example, consider the names they gave their children. The first was call Manasseh and the second was named Ephraim. Both names give God the credit for all the good things that were happening to him. 

b. Manasseh means “to forget,” meaning God was enabling him to forget all his past trials. Ephraim means "to be made fruitful,” because “God had made him fruitful in the land of (his) sufferings” (Gen. 41:51-52).

c. Joseph had suffered a lot. But now he was being blessed beyond all he could ask or think (Eph. 3:20). The names of his children would always be a testimony to everything that God was doing for him. In plain words, it was his way of saying: “You can make me look like an Egyptian, but you can’t change my heart.”

In conclusion:

1.In Malachi 2:15, the Bible was speaking to parents about their spiritual responsibilities. It says God made us to be one flesh for a very important reason. Then he gives the answer: “Godly offspring.” 

a. Education, sports, work, and a thousand other things may have their place. But all of us who love the Lord must make sure we do not let all these other things squeeze the Lord out of our lives, and in the process, fail to help our children truly know the Lord.

b. Instead, may God help us practice what Jesus taught us in Matt. 6:33: “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and then everything else that you need will be given to you as well.”

2. Joseph knew what he believed and he lived it out in front of his family as well as those around him. They were not going to transform him into the world’s mold. Rather he did all he could to influence them to believe in the Lord. 

May God help us to do likewise (Rom. 12:1-2).