August 29, 2006

• Genesis 41

  
  

  Genesis 41:32 And the dream was repeated to Pharaoh twice because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass. Many of God’s warnings in the Bible, His promises, and His Laws are stated more than one time. That is like God putting them in bold type and assuring us that they WILL come to pass, no matter what we believe. I just spent time typing a response to someone’s message to me. This person believes in the supermarket religion approach to God, that God is unconditional love and that no one will go to hell. That Jesus did not judge, etc. It breaks my heart to see people believing such lies, because the consequence of believing those lies is eternal. God will not change His Word for His Word is truth. If we adjust His Word, it is us who will face the consequences. If God did change His Word by whim or current trends, then we could not trust God’s Word. WE CAN TRUST GOD’S WORD FOR IT DOES NOT CHANGE.

  
  

  Remember, Joseph was left in jail, assuming that the butler was going to get him freed. Two years and no sign of the butler coming to Joseph’s rescue must have been difficult for Joseph. I can imagine that every time that cell door opened, Joseph looked up, hoping for reprieve.

  
  

  Then Pharaoh had a dream. In this dream Pharaoh stood by a river and seven fine looking and fat cows fed in the meadow. Then seven other cows came after those first cows, ugly and gaunt – and they stood by the other cows on the bank of the river. The ugly cows ate the fat cows. (Heather’s note – cows are not carnivorous, it already hints at something unnatural). Then Pharaoh woke up. 

  
  

  After returning to sleep, Pharaoh had another dream, seven heads of grain on one stalk, plump and good. Then seven thin heads blighted by the east wind sprang up after them. Then the seven thin heads devoured the plump and full heads.

  
  

  Pharaoh awoke and it was a dream.

  
  

  Verse 8 “Now it came to pass in the morning that his spirit was troubled, and he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt and all its wise men. And Pharaoh told them his dreams, but there was no one who could interpret them for Pharaoh.”

  
  

  When no one could interpret the dream, the butler confessed that there was a Hebrew man in prison with him that could interpret dreams. (Two years later, in God’s timing – not Joseph’s timing, Joseph is delivered).

  
  

  Verse 14 Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph and they brought him quickly out of the dungeon; and he shaved, changed his clothing, and came to Pharaoh.

  
  

  Daniel will also interpret dreams for King Nebuchadnezzar, there were two dreams one in chapter 2 and one in chapter 7 of Daniel. Chapter 2 is man’s view, and chapter 7 is God’s view, but it is the same situation. This is similar to the two dreams of Pharaoh.

  
  

  Pharaoh tells Joseph that he has heard that Joseph can interpret dreams. Unlike many, Joseph puts it right out front that it is not him, but God who does this.

  
  

  Verse 16 So Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, “It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace.”

  
  

  I find it interesting that the description of Pharaoh’s dream changed a bit with a second repeat:

  
  

  Verse 3 …seven other cows came up after them out of the river, ugly and gaunt….

  
  

  Verse 19 Then behold, seven other cows came up after them, poor and very ugly and gaunt, such ugliness as I have never seen in all the land of Egypt.

  
  

  Pastor Don talks about not elaborating on our visions. That sometimes God gives us a vision, and it is usually one line or two. But we want to help God out by adding our insights, additional things to make it clear. So often, if God has given us a vision to share with someone else, He is giving us EXACTLY what the person needs to hear. When we elaborate, we often get it wrong, or diffuse the message, and the person walks away not hearing the real word of God. I don’t know if this is what happened here.

  
  

  These famines remind me of the plagues during Exodus and Revelation, where there will be natural events so severe that we have never seen the like before.

  
  

  We get some more additional information in verse 21 about Pharaoh’s dream: When they (the ugly and gaunt cows) had eaten them up, no one would have known that they had eaten them, for they were just as ugly as at the beginning. So I awoke.

  
  

  That is an indication of how severe the famine would be.

  
  

  All that we learn extra about the heads of grain in the second telling of the dream was that they were withered.

  
  

  Then Pharaoh says to Joseph. Verse 24 …So I told this to the magicians, but there was no one who could explain it to me.

  
  

  This is so similar to Daniel – who had to interpret the king’s dream. Only the king made it even harder for his magicians – he wanted them to tell him not only the dream interpretation, but the dream too. None of the magicians were able to do so.

  
  

  Verse 25Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “The dreams of Pharaoh are one; God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do.

  
  

  God is so good. Amos 3:7 Surely the Lord God does nothing, unless He reveals His secret to His servants, the prophets.

  
  

  Oh, we need to keep this in mind. Today there are a lot of doubts about what will happen in the end times. Some say it is allegory, some say that it won’t happen. But God has revealed it to his prophets, we would do well to heed their words.

  
  

  Joseph goes on to explain that the two dreams are one event. The seven good cows and ears are seven years. The seven thin and ugly cows and grain are seven years, and talk about seven years of famine.

  
  

  Remember this is God speaking to a Gentile king – and giving a warning – the ultimate result of this is the preservation of the line of Israel.  But God says to Pharaoh:

  
  

  verse 28-32 This is the thing which I have spoken to Pharaoh. God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do. Indeed seven years of great plenty will come throughout all the land of Egypt, but after them seven years of famine will arise, and all the plenty will be forgotten in the land of Egypt; and the famine will deplete the land. So the plenty will not be known in the land because of the famine following, for it will be very severe. And the dream was repeated to Pharaoh twice because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass.

  
  

  A thought came to me about this. How often, when things are going good in my life, God gets put on the back burner – still there, but not prominent. It is during the good times, when we need to be praying, soaking in God’s goodness, filling our mind with His Word, praying in tongues, and focusing on God, so that we are so filled with His presence that when the famine comes in our life – the trials, tribulations, challenges, and hurts come, that we have an infilling of His Presence to draw on. Pastor Don talks often about keeping on walking in faith in good and bad times, because as we do that, when tough times come, we have faith to draw on.

  
  

  Joseph advises Pharaoh verse 33 Now therefore, let Pharaoh select a discerning and wise man, and set him over the land of Egypt. Let Pharaoh do this, and let him appoint officers over the land, to collect one-fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt in the seven plentiful years. And let them gather all the food of those good years that are coming and store up grain under the authority of Pharaoh, and let them keep food in the cities. Then that food shall be as a reserve for the land for the seven years of famine which shall be in the land of Egypt, that the land may not perish during the famine.”

  
  

  Joseph did not only give dream interpretation, but he gave words of wisdom to Pharaoh.

  
  

  Regarding the famine, remember that in Revelation 6-19 covers seven years of tribulation which will force Israel to come to Jesus to preserve their nation. This tribulation in the form of famine, will force Jacob and his family to Egypt to preserve their nation.

  
  

  In verse 33 in KJV, the word discrete is used instead of discerning. It is number 995 in Strong’s concordance. It is a very strong word, not only does it mean discern, understand consider, but to perceive, observe, mark give heed to, distinguish, consider. To have discernment, insight and understanding, to teach, instruct, and be prudent.

  
  

  We will see that these qualities apply to Joseph, and seems to be what he has been developing through all of his tribulation. He will see and lead his people well.

  
  

  This plan seemed good to Pharaoh and he tells his servants that Joseph will be the man for the plan.

  
  

  Beth Moore adds, in her study the Patriarchs a few other interesting points. 365 x 2 = 730 days. page 187 “When we are in waiting mode, one month doesn’t feel like one anything. It feels every bit of 30 days…Time can be a liar. Heaven is replete with angelic activity as God faithfully completes in the spiritual realms what He will release in the visible realms when the time is right. In effect we’re praying for this very thing every time we recite the words, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

  
  

  And here is another passage that really struck home to me, p. 187 “Sometimes we can be so busy looking for what is missing in our lives that we miss Who is busily present in our lives. We’re looking for God to do us future favors when He’s trying to open our eyes to present ones. Remember, God purposes to use every second of a divinely-ordained wait to build us into the individuals our future demands we be.”

  
  

  Beth also reminds us that God could have caused Pharaoh’s dream 23 months earlier.

  
  

  She also reminded us that Egypt was the breadbasket of the ancient world, and cows were the typical farm animal – and cows also symbolized Egypt and one of their gods, Isis. So an Egyptian dreaming about cows was a big thing.

  
  

  Here is another exciting quote, p. 188 “No one could interpret the Pharaoh’s dreams. Why not, I ask you? Think about the two original dreams Joseph had when he was only 17. Unlike the cupbearer’s or baker’s dreams, the images in Joseph’s dreams (sheaves of grain, sun, moon, and stars bowing down) were so plain to his father and brothers that they needed no interpreter. I’d like to suggest that the meanings of the cows and the grain were equally obvious. The question of what they meant wouldn’t even win a hundred bucks on Egyptian Jeopardy. The magicians and wise men simply did not want to be the bearers of bleak news. They are placing a higher premium on diplomacy than on honesty.”

  
  

  p. 188 “A Pharaoh didn’t have peers. He was considered ‘a god incarnate.’ All who served him were at the mercy of his absolute power. His diplomatic assistants obviously believed that no news was better than bad news.”

  
  

  Beth points out that we, as humans, tend to put our hope and dependency on others, but God wants us to lean on Him. p. 189 “God means for you and me to cast our utter dependency only on Him. His plan does not depend on any human, and certainly not on human memory! God loves you. He has well-planned a fruitful life for you. Nothing and no one critical to your God-placed future can fail to come through once God says its time.”

  
  

  Then Beth said that she is doing a private devotional study that asked her what lies people believe about God, one of which is that man’s weaknesses can block God’s strength. And she says on p. 189 “God doesn’t just work through the strengths of man. He also works through the weaknesses of man. While our weaknesses can certainly mess us up, they can’t mess up God. Weaknesses can become God’s workmen as surely as strengths….I believe God very likely used the weakness of the cupbearer to strengthen a weakness in Joseph.”

  
  

  That being said, Beth also cautions that we cannot be unfaithful to others, and use God’s sovereignty as an excuse. God can rightly use a wrong, but the wrong remains and we will be responsible for it.

  
  

  More tomorrow in this remarkable story, and analogy of Jesus.

  
  

  Hope your day is blessed.

  
  

  Heather

  • 10:22 am
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