Joseph and Pharaoh and the Interpretation of Dreams. (2 of 3)

Genesis Chapter 41: 9-44

Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh, “Today I am reminded of my shortcomings. Pharaoh was once angry with his servants, and he imprisoned me and the chief baker in the house of the captain of the guard. Each of us had a dream the same night, and each dream had a meaning of its own. Now a young Hebrew was there with us, a servant of the captain of the guard. We told him our dreams, and he interpreted them for us, giving each man the interpretation of his dream. And things turned out exactly as he interpreted them to us: I was restored to my position, and the other man was impaled.”

(Genesis 41: 9-13) DR

Where at the point where the butler speaks up, and he says to pharaoh. Remember my faults?  As a matter of fact, the word translated faults really means “sins”, so he is confessing to Pharaoh that whatever he was accused of he was probably guilty of. Now, apparently, he didn’t do anything worthy of capital punishment, but the baker did. I think it’s interesting that he starts out just saying to Pharaoh, look, I can see that I sinned and remember how you put me in custody in the prison of the captain of the guard, both me and the chief baker. Each of us had a dream in prison one night and there was a young Hebrew man with us there, a servant of the captain of the guard, Potiphar and he interpreted our dreams for us to each man he interpreted each dream differently. And things came to pass, just as he had interpreted for us. As he said, he restored me to my role serving you, and he also said you would execute the baker, and that is what you did, exactly as Joseph had interpreted.

So, the cup bearer now tells Pharaoh, and he say I just happened to meet this guy in jail, and he might be of service to you. Maybe the delay in calling Joseph to mind was because the cup  bearer wanted to forget that part of his life. Now let’s pick up the story in verse, 14.

So, Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and he was quickly brought from the dungeon. When he had shaved and changed his clothes, he came before Pharaoh. Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I had a dream, and no one can interpret it. But I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.”  “I cannot do it,” Joseph replied to Pharaoh, “but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires.”

(Genesis 41: 14-16)

Alright, notice it says quickly Pharaoh commands them to bring Joseph to him. Now Joseph was no doubt dressed in shabby prison clothes at that point. So, he is shaved and dressed before being brough before pharaoh and Pharaoh says to him, “it’s really simple, I have a dream and they said you can interpret it. What do you say?” Notice what Joseph answer is, he says, God can give an answer not him. In other words, he says, look, I don’t take credit for this. God gave you the vision, the dream, and God will also give you the answer. So, he immediately points to the Lord. It is the Lord that is going to do this. So, verse 17 then says 

Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “In my dream I was standing on the bank of the Nile, when out of the river there came up seven cows, fat and sleek, and they grazed among the reeds. After them, seven other cows came up—scrawny and very ugly and lean. I had never seen such ugly cows in all the land of Egypt. The lean, ugly cows ate up the seven fat cows that came up first. But even after they ate them, no one could tell that they had done so; they looked just as ugly as before. Then I woke up.

(Genesis 41: 17-21)

So basically, Pharoah is telling the same story he told previously only this time he adds a few details that weren’t recorded in the first version. Namely, instead of saying the cows were ugly, He adds that they were very ugly and he also adds that he has never seen cows like this in his life before. Saying that they were the ugliest thing he had ever seen in his life. Basically, the same dream with a few little minor details added. Picking up verse 22

 “In my dream I saw seven heads of grain, full and good, growing on a single stalk. After them, seven other heads sprouted—withered and thin and scorched by the east wind. The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven good heads. I told this to the magicians, but none of them could explain it to me.”

(Genesis 41: 22-24)

There’s not really a whole lot of different information here, he is just retelling the content of the dream to Joseph. That’s all that’s happening, he says, 7 cows and seven heads of grain, which is a significant part of dream. Verse 25 

Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “The dreams of Pharaoh are one and the same. God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do. The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good heads of grain are seven years; it is one and the same dream. The seven lean, ugly cows that came up afterward are seven years, and so are the seven worthless heads of grain scorched by the east wind: They are seven years of famine.

(Genesis 41: 25-27)

So, Joseph says, you had two dreams about cows and about crops, but this is all one dream. It’s all the same thing. God has shown Pharaoh what he is about to happen. So, Joseph is saying you had two dreams both involved 7 years, and that’s the important point. There’s only one and the same point to both of these different dreams and it has to do with the number seven representing 7 years. The seven cows represent seven years, and the seven heads of grain represent seven years but it’s the same seven years. So, the seven thin cows represent seven years of famine in the land. Joseph tells Pharaoh that through these dreams God has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do in the land of Egypt. Seven years of great plenty will come to all the land of Egypt, but after them, seven years of famine will arrive, and all the planning will be forgotten in the land of Egypt and the famine will deplete the fat of the land. So, planning must take place because of the famine that is going to follow the years of plenty. The famine will be very severe, and the reason the dream was repeated to Pharaoh twice was because this  was meant to signal that these things are firmly established by God and God will shortly bring it to pass. 

All right explanation is very simple, there is going to be 7 years of famine and 7 years of plenty. Let’s see if we can hop, skip, and jump through this message summarizing as we go.

 “It is just as I said to Pharaoh: God has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do. Seven years of great abundance are coming throughout the land of Egypt, but seven years of famine will follow them. Then all the abundance in Egypt will be forgotten, and the famine will ravage the land. The abundance in the land will not be remembered, because the famine that follows it will be so severe. The reason the dream was given to Pharaoh in two forms is that the matter has been firmly decided by God, and God will do it soon.

(Genesis 41: 28-32)

So, you’re going to need seven years of planning to try and offset the years of famine and God told it to you twice to make doubly sure you know this is going to happen. So that’s the dream and that’s the interpretation. That’s what God is about to do. God is about to give you 7 years of plenty followed by seven years of famine. OK, so that should be the end of the story, but we are only halfway through the chapter.

“And now let Pharaoh look for a discerning and wise man and put him in charge of the land of Egypt. Let Pharaoh appoint commissioners over the land to take a fifth of the harvest of Egypt during the seven years of abundance. They should collect all the food of these good years that are coming and store up the grain under the authority of Pharaoh, to be kept in the cities for food. This food should be held in reserve for the country, to be used during the seven years of famine that will come upon Egypt, so that the country may not be ruined by the famine.” The plan seemed good to Pharaoh and to all his officials.

(Genesis 41: 33-37)

Gather in the spring and summer for the winner. The concept sacrificing the today for a better tomorrow is shown again here in the book of Genesis, concept which many experts believe where first introduced into human consciousness by these stories found within the earliest books of the Bible like here in Genesis. Out of that flow ideas like investing and saving money or resources for a so called, “rainy day”. It's significant that back here in Genesis chapter 41, Joseph says look for a wise and discerning man to help us deal with this approaching time of hardship, and he describes the process that will be needed. So, this was good advice in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of all the servants.

So, Pharaoh asked them, “Can we find anyone like this man, one in whom is the spirit of God?” Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one so discerning and wise as you. You shall be in charge of my palace, and all my people are to submit to your orders. Only with respect to the throne will I be greater than you.”

(Genesis 41: 38-40)

Pharaoh askes the servants where can we find such a man as this? Interesting to me is that Pharoah not only recognized that Joseph had such wisdom, but that his wisdom was a attributed to his relationship with God. A man in whom is the spirit of God I think what he recognized in Joseph was a wise person, with Godly wisdom.

So, Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I hereby put you in charge of the whole land of Egypt.” Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his finger and put it on Joseph’s finger. He dressed him in robes of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck. He had him ride in a chariot as his second-in-command, and people shouted before him, “Make way!” Thus, he put him in charge of the whole land of Egypt.Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh, but without your word no one will lift hand or foot in all Egypt.

(Genesis 41: 41-44)

So, Pharoah puts him in charge of all the land of Egypt and tells him that without your consent, no man may lift his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt. This means he didn’t just get appointed to some sort of ancient minister of agriculture, Pharoah has actually made him, vice president, or deputy prime minister in the whole land of Egypt. The only one more powerful than him in the land of Egypt will be Pharoah himself. Everybody is going to bow their knee to him, and the sign of his authority will come from the signet ring and the gold chain he puts around his neck. He also even gives him a robe and a royal chariot to ride in. 

So, here’s a man who has gone from prisoner to vice president just because he met somebody in jail, in fact only because he happened to meet this cup bearer whilst serving time in jail. Something that was probably a minor event to Joseph at the time meant all these amazing things will happen to him later. Vice president overnight, he spent two years waiting in that jai, and then bam, all of a sudden, he is promoted to second in command in all of the land of Egypt.