Genesis Sermons (written)

Genesis 42:1-17
The Giver of Grain

Introduction: Symbolism is used throughout the Bible as a common way of teaching us spiritual truths. The elements – fire, water, wind, and earth each point to a spiritual truth. Trees, grain, bread, rocks, rivers, mountains, and so on are all used to reveal spiritual truths from a perspective which we can understand.

Light and darkness do this, types of metal, and the times of the day are all used in a harmonious fashion to reveal other truths. Some are very easy for us to see, others are hidden in such deep little recesses that they can be easily misunderstood or misused.

However, by knowing the overall contents of the Bible, it is much easier to avoid error when evaluating metaphors and other types of symbolism. There is a cohesive, overall message and each symbol will consistently reflect the intention of this message. Do you know what yeast symbolizes? The number 7? How about incense?

When you see such things, make note of them. God is asking us to pay attention. He didn’t throw in a lot of unnecessary detail when He gave us this book. Instead, He uses every word as a wonderful display of wisdom and direction for us to follow.

Text Verse: Gather yourselves together, yes, gather together,
O undesirable nation,
² Before the decree is issued,
Or the day passes like chaff,
Before the Lord’s fierce anger comes upon you,
Before the day of the Lord’s anger comes upon you!
³ Seek the Lord, all you meek of the earth,
Who have upheld His justice.
Seek righteousness, seek humility.
It may be that you will be hidden
In the day of the Lord’s anger. Zephaniah 2:1-3

The Day of the Lord isn’t always easy to define. It is used to describe calamities of the past, but it is also used for the great final time of judgment on an earth which will be so far removed from Him that judgment is the only option left. When the tribulation comes, it will also be a time of renewal for His people Israel.

They will be purified through the fire of the Day of the Lord before they call on Him and He returns. This isn’t mere speculation, or one possible analysis of what may happen. It is what will happen. And God has given us pictures of it in Genesis to confirm that Israel is not abandoned and the church has not replaced her.

Sometimes figuring these things out takes really hard work, but it is in the hard work that the rewards come out. So together, let’s get back into the life of Joseph and earnestly work to see what God has placed there for us to see. And so… May God speak to us through His word today and may His glorious name ever be praised.

I. Grain in Egypt (1-5)

¹ When Jacob saw that there was grain in Egypt,

Here we begin chapter 42 with Jacob and his family in the distress of the famine which has swept throughout the land. He hasn’t been mentioned since chapter 37 when his sons brought to him the coat of Joseph which had been dipped in blood. He is now reintroduced into the story as the leader of the clan but not the center of focus.

It says that he “saw there was grain in Egypt.” This immediately shows us that everything is governed by God and His providential care for His people. Here he is sitting up in Canaan, not Egypt. And yet it says that he sees Egypt has grain.

This means someone told him about it as they passed through. For all we know, it could have been the same group of traders who once carried his son Joseph down to Egypt. By hearing about grain from them, he sees that there is grain down there.

It’s common for the Bible to use the action of one thing in place of another. In this case, that of hearing from the people who obtained grain is used in terminology applied to Jacob as if he sees it.

An unusual word for “grain” is used here. The word is shever and it comes from a word meaning to break. The idea is either that the kernel of a grain is broken to get out the grain, or that the earth is broken open when the grain sprouts up. The word is used only nine times in the Bible.

The first seven are all in this account. The other two are in Nehemiah and Amos and are both used in connection with the Sabbath day. In the New Testament, we come across this account about Jesus, His disciples, and grain on the Sabbath –

“At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. And His disciples were hungry, and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. ² And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, ‘Look, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath!'” Matthew 12:1, 2

^{1 (Con’t)} Jacob said to his sons, “Why do you look at one another?”

The picture here is one of misery. There’s obviously nothing to do. There are no fields to plow and there is only heat and misery from the famine. In a case like this, sitting around looking at one another seems all you can do. It is life in a rut and one without hope or direction that we are seeing here.

² And he said, “Indeed I have heard that there is grain in Egypt; go down to that place and buy for us there, that we may live and not die.”

This verse now explains the previous one. Jacob didn’t actually see the grain in Egypt, he heard about it, but with the mind’s eye he saw it. He now perceives a glimmer of hope and the prospect of eating a full meal again. And so in that hope, he directs the sons to head to Egypt so that they “may live and not die.”

This second verse again uses the term shever for grain. Jacob is telling them to go buy it for the family to keep them alive. And this is more important that one would realize while flipping quickly through the pages as they read the story.

A famine isn’t something that just affects people in the short term. If it were to start raining that day, it would still be one full season before food started coming up in useable quantities once again. Other than grass for animals which would come up more quickly, the straights would not go away without action at this time.

In the Bible there is spiritual food to satisfy
Grain in abundance to fill our weary soul
So may we daily this wonderful word apply
And our lives will stay content, filled, and in always control

³ So Joseph’s ten brothers went down to buy grain in Egypt.

Note what it said… Let’s read it again. “So Joseph’s ten brothers…” Jacob isn’t the focus here, is he? Joseph is. He is the picture of Christ and he is the one to whom the brothers are accountable for having sold him. And so, Joseph’s ten brothers went down to buy grain. One brother is left as will be explained in a minute.

But a different word for grain is used here. It’s not shever, but bar. You’d never get this in the English. The word comes from another word barar, which means to purify, select, or test. It is probably threshed and winnowed grain as opposed to grain in the shell.

Threshing and winnowing is a process of separating grain from the scaly, inedible chaff that surrounds it. The grain is threshed to break the scale and then it is winnowed by throwing the grain into the breeze. The heavier grain falls back down and the scale, which is light and airy, flies off with the wind. Thus the grain is purified.

The process is described for various grains by Isaiah in a beautiful picture of their purification. Here is that passage from Isaiah 28 –

Give ear and hear my voice,
Listen and hear my speech.
²⁴ Does the plowman keep plowing all day to sow?
Does he keep turning his soil and breaking the clods?
²⁵ When he has leveled its surface,
Does he not sow the black cummin
And scatter the cummin,
Plant the wheat in rows,
The barley in the appointed place,
And the spelt in its place?
²⁶ For He instructs him in right judgment,
His God teaches him.
²⁷ For the black cummin is not threshed with a threshing sledge,
Nor is a cartwheel rolled over the cummin;
But the black cummin is beaten out with a stick,
And the cummin with a rod.
²⁸ Bread flour must be ground;
Therefore he does not thresh it forever,
Break it with his cartwheel,
Or crush it with his horsemen.
²⁹ This also comes from the Lord of hosts,
Who is wonderful in counsel and excellent in guidance. (23-29)

In Zephaniah 3:9, the word barar, which is where the word bar or purified grain comes from, is used speaking of the language of the people being purified –

“For then I will restore to the peoples a pure language,
That they all may call on the name of the Lord,
To serve Him with one accord.”

And so that you can see there is a contrast between these grains, and that they are not being used synonymously, both types of grain, bar and shever, are used in one verse in Amos 8:5 –

“When will the New Moon be past,
That we may sell grain?
And the Sabbath,
That we may trade wheat?
Making the ephah small and the shekel large,
Falsifying the scales by deceit,”

If you were here last week, you may remember that Amos 8 was the passage that referred to the famine for the word of God and it used the swelling and subsiding of the Nile as its example. It’s not coincidence that the same chapter and passage mentions both grains that are mentioned now in this chapter of Genesis.

From chapter 42 through chapter 45, these two words, shever and bar, will be used nine times; shever 6 times and bar 3 times. Each time they’re used, I’ll try to remember to highlight it in the verse.

After the last time they’re used, I’ll try to remember to explain what’s going on. Each word is used carefully and methodically to point to something else concerning Israel, yet future to us now. To help you, remember that Jesus uses grain in the parable of the sower in Mark 4. The symbolism is perfectly clear if you can make that connection. So you can get a spiritual picture of other agricultural metaphors God is using, listen to what John the Baptist says concerning the winnowing process in Matthew 3:11, 12 –

“I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. ¹² His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

To help you think all this through, remember, Joseph is picturing Christ who was sold off to the gentiles. The brothers picture Israel. They are going down to get grain from Egypt where they will meet Joseph. Israel will again meet Jesus. The grain is the word of God.

And all of this is happening during the seven years of famine. These years picture the tribulation period coming in the future. As we continue along, try to keep these pictures in mind. Israel – it is all pointing to Israel after the church age and their divinely appointed meeting with their long-estranged Messiah.

These ten sons are going down to Egypt together for probably a few reasons. The first is certainly for safety. As a group they are much less likely to be robbed. Also, the grain is probably sold by individual and so ten individuals can buy for ten families. And finally, even if any amount could be purchased, ten – along with their servants, can carry much more than one.

⁴ But Jacob did not send Joseph’s brother Benjamin with his brothers, for he said, “Lest some calamity befall him.”

Jacob lost his favorite boy Joseph. Benjamin is the only son left from Rachel and so he is his only connection to the most important part of his life. Because of this, and in order to spare him from any possible mishap, he keeps Benjamin at home.

He uses a word here that indicates some sort of personal injury. Whatever could happen, he will do his best to keep it from happening. The journey will have to be made without Benjamin. But remember, Benjamin also pictures Christ in another way. His name means, Son of the Right Hand.

⁵ And the sons of Israel went to buy grain among those who journeyed, for the famine was in the land of Canaan.

It’s apparent that this famine was very widespread because other travelers were heading to Egypt along with the brothers. Unlike other recorded famines which were at times localized, this one covered the land. If it wasn’t so, then there would have been no need for the family of Israel to go to Egypt.

Instead, they could have gotten what they needed closer by, like Isaac did when there was a famine at his time. God has ensured that there would be a need to travel to Egypt for a divine meeting with the son who had been appointed as the leader of the land.

And what is more than probable, although not stated here, is that there were more from Jacob’s clan than just the ten sons. In the camp there were many servants, there were sisters, grandchildren, and so on. It could have been in the thousands. And so, many servants would certainly have come with them to carry supplies.

II. The Governor of the Land (6-9)

⁶ Now Joseph was governor over the land; and it was he who sold to all the people of the land.

Joseph is called the governor. The term is shalit and is where the Arabic word we know as “sultan” comes from.  Some believe they adopted the title of “sultan” because of the example of Joseph in this story. He is the premier example of such a position.

He is the one who domineers or has mastery over others. In this case, he is the one who has been placed in charge of the sale of the grain to all people of the land.

^{6 (con’t)}And Joseph’s brothers came and bowed down before him with their faces to the earth.

This would have been the customary greeting of anyone who was coming to Joseph for food. Because of his position, and because of his ability which at this point literally controlled life or death, when a customer came forward, they bowed right to the earth in a sign of submission.

Without his favor and the sale of the grain, they couldn’t exist, or they would have to pay exorbitant prices from someone else who had already bought grain. And so the brothers came like all others; humbly submitting for their sake and for the sake of their families.

⁷ Joseph saw his brothers and recognized them, but he acted as a stranger to them and spoke roughly to them. Then he said to them, “Where do you come from?” And they said, “From the land of Canaan to buy food.”

It has been at least 20 years since the brothers saw Joseph. He was 17 when they sold him. He was 30 when he stood before Pharaoh. That is then 13 years. There were seven years of abundance before the famine started. That is 20 years. And, it’s probably even more than a year since then.

By the time he reveals himself to his brothers, it will be two full years into the famine. So this is between 21 and 22 years of Joseph having not been seen by them. He would be clean shaven and adorned as an Egyptian ruler. Further, the brothers would never look directly at him as a sign of respect.

Along with this, he speaks to them through a translator, as we’ll see later in verse 23. And so, because of these things, it is not at all improbable that they won’t recognize him. There is nothing in the account to suggest that it isn’t possible. They would have no idea of who they are talking to.

In this position as a stranger, it says he spoke roughly to them. This wasn’t him being vindictive because of what they had done, but to see if they were repentant or not. He will use this harsh demeanor towards them to find out. Paul, in 2 Corinthians 7, wrote about this attitude. He said that –

“…godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.” (10)

In this position then, and accompanied by his rough manner, he asks them where they are from. Their response is from Canaan.

⁸ So Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him.

He probably knew who they were immediately, and when they bowed to him, the memory of the dream may have come right to mind. However, this is not the fulfillment of the dream and he would know that. There are 10, not 11, brothers there before him.

Once he heard them speak, he would be certain of who they were. They are from Canaan and their voices couldn’t conceal what the years may have hidden in their faces.

⁹ Then Joseph remembered the dreams which he had dreamed about them,

This says what is already certain, “Joseph remembered the dreams.” It doesn’t mean he suddenly remembered the dreams, but he remembered their substance – there were 11 sons, not 10. In other words, the dreams would have come to mind right away, but the fact that Benjamin isn’t there, again recalls them to mind.

And so he sets up a pretext in order to find out about Benjamin. Back in Genesis 37:3, it said “Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age.” As we saw then, the Hebrew literally says he was a “son of old age to him.”

This probably means, “a wise son.” It wasn’t speaking of Jacob’s advanced physical age, but Joseph’s advanced mental age; wisdom and understanding beyond his years. This wisdom has grown with age and he is using it now to bring about the truth of the situation, repentance by his brothers, and the deliverance of his family.

If that doesn’t speak of Jesus and His future dealings with the nation of Israel, I can’t think of what would. It is all leading to that point in history where they will finally acknowledge Him. The events here only look forward to that great day.

^9 (con’t) and said to them, “You are spies! You have come to see the nakedness of the land!”

His reason for holding them in jail is seen in this verse. He calls them spies. By doing so, it will justify how he deals with them. The term “spies” is meragellim, a word which means to go about on foot. He says they have come to “see the nakedness of the land.” This is what spies do.

They go about on foot, looking for vulnerabilities in cities, in their infrastructure, in their military, and in any other way that would allow their allies to conduct battle against them. When a person is naked, they are left completely vulnerable and will cover their most private parts at the expense of other more vital parts.

This is what spies look for. The grain and gold would be protected and this would leave open areas which are actually more vital, like the Nile River or the city walls which may have weaknesses.

This is what he is accusing the brothers of. Instead of coming to buy grain, it is only a ploy to find other weaknesses. If they brought many servants with them, it would seem all the more probable that they were working as spies among the big group.

III. Bound in Prison (10-17)

¹⁰ And they said to him, “No, my lord, but your servants have come to buy food.

“No” is their answer. The food is the only thing they’re interested in. They aren’t walking around on foot in an attempt to find weaknesses. Instead, they have come simply to find food in order to live. They have no other hidden agenda. And to support this, they go on with their explanation…

¹¹ We are all one man’s sons; we are honest men; your servants are not spies.”

In their defense, they make what would otherwise be an impossible claim. It would be unheard of for ten brothers from the same family to spy like this. If one son got caught, all ten would get caught and there would be no one left to execute the plan.

It would be beyond logic for 10 brothers to all be spies working together at the same time, even if they had other servants who came along with them.

¹² But he said to them, “No, but you have come to see the nakedness of the land.”

The wisdom of Joseph is being displayed. Instead of accepting their words, which is completely unnecessary, he continues to accuse them. They are 10 people, born of 3 different mothers. Because of this, they would have had different features and so there is no need to accept their words at face value.

In order to get them to offer more information, which he knows will be forthcoming, he once again says they’ve come to search out the land and it’s weaknesses.

¹³ And they said, “Your servants are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and in fact, the youngest is with our father today, and one is no more.”

To support their claim, they give more information, but in giving this they will only dig themselves in deeper. What they think is a full explanation is one which continues to allow Joseph room to accuse them.

They say that they are twelve brothers; no problem there. They are “the sons of one man” back in Canaan. Well, that would explain the different looks. “Sons of one man” implies more than one wife. So, no problem there. But they then claim that the youngest is with the father. This is a problem.

If they had explained why he was with the father, such as if he were too young, or an invalid, or whatever, it would be harder to disbelieve them. But why would one brother, of 12 brothers who are all over 35 years old, not be with them? If they were honest people, he would be needed to buy grain as well.

And finally they almost morbidly finish their statement – v^‘ha-echad ainaynu. Speaking in an elliptical sentence, they simply say “and the one, no.”

An elliptical sentence does not mean a sentence with an ellipsis in it. If you don’t know what that is, an ellipsis is three periods which symbolize missing information. Instead, an elliptical sentence refers to sentences with information missing.

If you ask, “What is a beard?” The complete answer would be, “A beard is the fluffy hair on Charlie’s face.” But an elliptical would be “The fluffy hair on Charlie’s face.” It leaves off “A beard is…”

With an inability to state that Joseph is dead, they simply say, “And the one, no.” It is inferred that he is dead, but the inference would be, as Joseph knows all too well, wrong. This is just like Jesus who is believed to be dead, but in fact, He lives.

¹⁴ But Joseph said to them, “It is as I spoke to you, saying, ‘You are spies!’

Because of what they said about Benjamin, not Joseph, he can again accuse them of being spies. They don’t look alike, they have made a claim which sounds preplanned, and now they have thrown more information in without reasonable substantiation for it.

However, the truth is that he can look into the situation with complete knowledge and no matter what they answer, he will be able to find accusation against them. In this, we have a parallel to Jesus who knows us intimately. There is no place we can go that He isn’t aware of, and there is no thing we can hide from Him.

¹⁵ In this manner you shall be tested: By the life of Pharaoh, you shall not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here.

Many scholars claim that Joseph doesn’t believe them about Benjamin, as if they might have killed him too. This is unreasonable. If Benjamin was dead, they would have said that he was dead. There would be no reason to say otherwise.

Joseph would have every reason to believe that Benjamin was home with his father. First, because the dream was specific and he knew it was from God. Secondly, he would know how important Benjamin was to Jacob now supposing that Joseph was dead. And so he tests them with a vow on the life of Pharaoh.

Again though, an elliptical is used. The Hebrew simply says, “life of Pharaoh.” So Joseph is either saying, “by the life of Pharaoh” or he is saying, “as Pharaoh lives.” Either way, he is calling on the highest authority in the land as witness that what he now demands will come about or his sentence will stand.

¹⁶ Send one of you, and let him bring your brother; and you shall be kept in prison, that your words may be tested to see whether there is any truth in you; or else, by the life of Pharaoh, surely you are spies!”

What Joseph is mandating now would be enough to make the hardest of men groan in terror. Their is a dire need for food in Canaan. There is an entire camp of people who belong to Jacob who need to be fed and there is the horrifying thought that Benjamin will be required in Egypt.

If Benjamin isn’t sent, they will be doomed to prison and possibly to death. But more so, without Benjamin being sent, there will be no more food to sustain the family. Everything is against them at this point. Without Benjamin, the son of the right hand, they have no hope at all. They are as good as dead. Do you see Jesus in this?

*¹⁷ So he put them all together in prison three days.

Once, these same brothers threw him into a pit to be sold off to a foreign land. Now in that foreign land, they are bound in prison at his word. The irony of it is amazing. It doesn’t tell why he threw them in for three days and we will find out it isn’t three full days.

But any part of a day in the Bible is counted as a full day. We do the same thing in English all the time. If we go on a trip from Monday afternoon until Wednesday at noon, we will say we were gone for three days when we were really gone about two days.

And so we’ve come to the end of today’s passage. We’ve seen a few examples of how to apply these things to our lives, we’ve seen the beginning of some beautiful pictures of the reconciliation of Israel to their long estranged Messiah, and with that, the coming wondrous period where Christ will dwell in Jerusalem.

Before those things happen, it is our hope that we will be taken out of the world at the rapture. But when Christ comes for His people, it will only be for His people.

If you’ve never considered your standing with God and whether you will be with those taken from the terrible time that is coming, I hope you’ll give me another moment to explain to you how you can be 100% certain that He will also be coming for you…

Closing Verse: I will strengthen the house of Judah,
And I will save the house of Joseph.
I will bring them back,
Because I have mercy on them.
They shall be as though I had not cast them aside;
For I am the Lord their God,
And I will hear them. Zechariah 10:6

Next Week: Genesis 42:18-28 (The Lord Provides the Grain) (105th Genesis Sermon)

The Lord has you exactly where He wants you and He has a good plan and purpose for you. Call on Him and let Him do marvelous things for you and through you.

There’s Grain in Egypt

When Jacob saw that in Egypt there was grain
Jacob then to his sons said
“Why do you look at one another again and again?”
What kind of thoughts are there in your head?

And he said, “Indeed I have heard
That in Egypt there is grain
Go down to that place, to delay would be absurd
And buy food for us there, our lives to maintain

That we may live and not die
It may be a long shot, but let us try

So Joseph’s ten brothers went
Down to buy grain in Egypt without further dissent
But Jacob did not send Joseph’s brother Benjamin
With them for he said, “Lest some calamity befall him.”

And the sons of Israel went to buy
Grain among those who journeyed too
For the famine was in the land of Canaan so dry
Going to Egypt was the right thing to do

Now Joseph was governor over the land
And it was he who sold to all
To the people, and by his command
To all the people great and small

And Joseph’s brothers came
And before him bowed down
With their faces to the earth
To the man in Egypt of great renown

Joseph saw his brothers, yes his eyes were attracted
And recognized them right away
But to them as a stranger he acted
And spoke roughly to them and surely to their dismay

Then he said to them in a manner shrewd
“From where do you come?”
And they said, “From the land of Canaan to buy food.”
Would you please sell us some?

So Joseph his brothers he recognized
But to them he remained disguised

Then Joseph remembered the dreams
Which them he had dreamed about
And said to them, “You are spies!
You’ve come to search us out

You have come to see the nakedness of the land!”
To surely search us out; this I understand

And they said to him, “No, my lord
But your servants have come to buy food
Please hear the truth now in our word

We are all one man’s sons
We are honest men, faithful and true
Your servants are not spies
It’s not something we would ever do

But he said to them, “No, but you have come
To see the nakedness of the land
And if attacked whether we would succumb

And they said, “Twelve your servants are
Brothers, the sons of one man
In the land of Canaan, we have traveled far
Only to feed our family is our hopeful plan

And in fact, the youngest is with our father today
And one is no more; truthful are the words we say

But Joseph to them said
“It is as I spoke to you, saying
‘You are spies instead
Watch your words, with fire you are playing

In this manner tested you shall be
By the life of Pharaoh, my words thus sincere
You shall not leave this place ever, you see
Unless your youngest brother comes down here

Send one of you, and let him bring
Your brother; and shall be kept in prison each of you
That your words may be tested in this thing
To see whether there is any truth in you

Or else, by the Pharaoh’s life
Surely you are spies, come to bring us strife

So he put them all together in prison three days
They awaited their fate under the guard’s gaze

Jesus was three days in the prison of death, so cold
But he prevailed over it because in him no sin was found
And now we can be released from death’s strong hold
By calling on Him, eternal life will abound

Let us make the right choice while time is on our side
We know not the number of our days
So let us turn away from our sin and pride
And call on Jesus, and to God give resounding praise

Hallelujah and Amen…

Genesis 41:46-57
Prosperity and Famine

Introduction: In His word, God uses agricultural themes to teach us spiritual applications. There are thousands of them, used consistently and openly, to teach us moral lessons, prophetic lessons, life lessons, and spiritual lessons – pictures of Christ.

Today’s passage is one of them. There is abundance and there is famine. There is grain and there is need. There is the wisdom of God and there is the lack of foresight in man. God isn’t lording these stories over us to show how stupid we are, but to show us that His wisdom will increase our knowledge and protect our path.

He has given us the most wonderful treasure in His superior word. As I said, each agricultural theme is used to teach us spiritual truths. A perfect one is Jesus standing up and saying, “I am the bread of life” in John 6. Right before that, He had fed 5000 with just 5 barley loaves and 2 small fish. After the meal, they’d picked up 12 baskets of leftovers.

And then, the people came looking for more and for a sign too so they could believe in Him. Here is the exchange –

“What sign will You perform then, that we may see it and believe You? What work will You do? ³¹ Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” ³² Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. ³³ For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
³⁴ Then they said to Him, “Lord, give us this bread always.”

It was at this point that He told them that He is the Bread of life. Earthly bread doesn’t satisfy… only Christ can do that. And we can only find Christ in His word. And yet we trade it for flashy presentations, exciting Sunday mornings, and lives filled with misery. It’s not worth it. God’s word is a hard study, but that which is of highest value rarely comes easily.

Text Verse: My foot has held fast to His steps;
I have kept His way and not turned aside.
¹² I have not departed from the commandment of His lips;
I have treasured the words of His mouth
More than my necessary food. Job 23:11, 12

We read words like those of Job, we listen to sermons about them, and we often go right on with life without letting them sink in. Job said he treasured the word of the Lord’s mouth more than his necessary food. We eat three times a day and we’re hungry again in the morning.

How can we expect to be filled with God’s word without consuming it just as often? We can’t. Please, if nothing else that you take from the next hour of your life as you sit and listen, please take the admonition from me now. Read your Bible. It is God’s superior word. And so… May God speak to us through His word today and may His glorious name ever be praised.

I. An Abundance of Grain (46-49)

⁴⁶ Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt.

Joseph’s age is given at the start of his rule for several reasons. First, it gives us a reference for how long he was in slavery. He was sold off to Egypt when he was 17 years old. And so now we know that he remained a slave and prisoner for 13 years.

Next, it provides the details concerning His life and how long he will be in this position until his death at the age of 110 years. He will hold his position of authority for 80 years. Thirdly, this gives us the dating of the world from creation. Joseph was born in the year 2259AM and so this is now the year 2289AM. It is about 1700 years before the coming of Christ.

And finally, his age is given to show the parallel between him in his exalted position and that of the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. In Luke 3:23, it says, “Now Jesus Himself began His ministry at about thirty years of age.”

At this age, it says he “stood before Pharaoh.” This is a way of saying that he has been granted access to the royal throne. Only the highest officials of the land could stand before the throne of the king. And so this implies that he is now in such a position.

^{46 (con’t)} And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went throughout all the land of Egypt.

In his high position, he now has access to stand before, and go out from, the presence of Pharaoh. With this authority, we are told that he “went throughout all the land of Egypt.” He is the ruler of the land and the one to monitor everything that occurs there. He is granted complete and unhindered access wherever he wishes to go.

⁴⁷ Now in the seven plentiful years the ground brought forth abundantly.

The Hebrew literally says that the earth “brought forth by abundant handfuls.” This is a way of saying that either a single stalk produced as many ears as a person could hold in one hand, or the grain from one stalk would fill a hand.

Either way, the reapers would grasp the ears and cut and not bother with the stalk at all. It is an immense harvest which is being described.

The ground brought forth abundantly to the reaper’s cheers
So much grain, such a bountiful harvest
This continued on for seven blessed years
Such were the crops, as the Bible does attest

⁴⁸ So he gathered up all the food of the seven years which were in the land of Egypt, and laid up the food in the cities; he laid up in every city the food of the fields which surrounded them.

“All the food” mentioned here is the one-fifth which he had counseled Pharaoh to collect. That one fifth was gathered up over seven plentiful years and stored in granaries which had been constructed for the purpose.

Each major city had granaries which held the surplus from all of its surrounding fields. Eventually, the amount stored was so immense that it was beyond description as we see next…

⁴⁹ Joseph gathered very much grain, as the sand of the sea, until he stopped counting, for it was immeasurable.

The term “as the sand of the sea” is used almost 20 times in the Bible and it is expressive of an uncountable number. Just as it would be impossible to go and count all the grains of sand on the sea, so was the abundance of the harvest stored up by Joseph.

There was so much that he eventually had the bean-counters of his time just stop making records of what was brought in. The Hebrew says that “he left numbering because there was no number.” It became a futile endeavor to even bother numbering the surplus.

There came a point where it was evidently enough for any contingency that was anticipated to arise. We have to remind ourselves though that it was God who said this would happen, and that it was God who brought the flooding waters down into the Nile delta.

And it will be God who stops the floods in the time to come. By using the weather in the upper Nile to control the river, and the lower Nile to control the heat and wind, there will be an immense famine coming. And all of it is for the purpose of leading to Jesus through one select group of people whom He has chosen.

If you think it through from this perspective, it shows you how immensely important the redemption of man is to Him. Every drop of rainfall and every gust of wind has been perfectly arranged to get the world to Jesus. And so what do you suppose is the depth of the heart of God toward us that we should call on Jesus?

In the Psalms, David asked “What is man that You are mindful of him?” The question seems all the more relevant when you consider the amount of time and the incredible care it took to bring the world to the moment when Jesus came. And equally, the same amount of time and incredible care it took to compile the Bible which tells us this marvelous story.

And in that thought, there is a parallel to the seven years of abundance and the seven years of famine in Egypt to that of the world of the end times. In the book of Amos, the Lord speaks about the wickedness of Israel which will lead to famine.

In His words, he speaks of the swelling and subsiding of the River of Egypt, the Nile. But the context isn’t speaking of a famine of food as much as it is another type of famine. Let me read you this from Amos 8; listen carefully –

Shall the land not tremble for this,
And everyone mourn who dwells in it?
All of it shall swell like the River,
Heave and subside
Like the River of Egypt.
⁹ “And it shall come to pass in that day,” says the Lord God,
“That I will make the sun go down at noon,
And I will darken the earth in broad daylight;
¹⁰ I will turn your feasts into mourning,
And all your songs into lamentation;
I will bring sackcloth on every waist,
And baldness on every head;
I will make it like mourning for an only son,
And its end like a bitter day.
¹¹ “Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord God,
“That I will send a famine on the land,
Not a famine of bread,
Nor a thirst for water,
But of hearing the words of the Lord.
¹² They shall wander from sea to sea,
And from north to east;
They shall run to and fro, seeking the word of the Lord,
But shall not find it.

As the end times approach, and they are approaching, there is an abundance of the word like at no other time in the history of the world. The Bible is preached on TV and on the radio. It is preached on the internet. It can be accessed on innumerable sites in a hundred different translations and in 1000 languages.

Bibles and the instruction of God’s word will continue to increase right up until the tribulation period… and then there will be a famine. In the end times, the Bible will be removed from the internet. Christian websites will disappear. Any mention of the truth will vanish. We don’t need to guess if this will happen, it will.

This is certainly what is being pictured in the grain of Egypt. Throughout the Bible, God’s word is considered our food. Without food we will die and without the Bible we are as good as dead. The Bible tells us of Jesus and without Him, there is no hope. One plus one is two… No Bible, No Jesus, No Hope.

“Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord God
“That I will send a famine on the land
It will be severe wherever man does trod
The people will suffer for what lacks in their hand

It will not be a famine of bread
Nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord
Masses of humanity will remain forever dead
Because of the lack of My superior word

The abundance of the last seven years before the rapture will be all-but forgotten when the tribulation and the great Day of the Lord comes.

II. The Sons of Joseph (50-52)

⁵⁰ And to Joseph were born two sons before the years of famine came, whom Asenath, the daughter of Poti-Pherah priest of On, bore to him.

Here again in this verse, like last week, we have a picture of Christ. Joseph become a blessing to the gentiles as leader of Egypt and the one to save them from the affliction to come. And at the same time, he obtained a gentile wife. Likewise, Jesus, has blessed the gentiles and in them He has secured a gentile bride.

To this wife, two sons are born. However, the verb for “born” is singular, not plural, and so it is possible and likely that they were twins. In this verse is a multi-leveled play on words. Joseph’s name means, “He shall add.” In essence the repeater, or the doubler.

He was born to Rachel, the long barren wife of Jacob. Eventually, to her was born a second son, Benjamin, thus doubling in person and in type, because both picture Jesus in their lives. However, Joseph is also the doubler in his own children, by having two, thus picturing Jesus, the Lord of Jew and Gentile.

And finally, Joseph has been chosen as the ruler of Egypt, but he also marries into the priesthood of Egypt, thus doubling the authority in his home. And this also pictures Jesus as the King and Priest of His people. He is the priest on His throne. Zechariah 6:13 and Hebrews 8:1 explain this in type and in fulfillment.

⁵¹ Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh: “For God has made me forget all my toil and all my father’s house.”

The firstborn child is named Manasseh. And the explanation for the name is given. “For God has made me forget.” Manasseh comes from the verb nasha, which means “to forget.” But again, there are multi-levels of word play in this verse.

What seems simple becomes amazingly deep. Unlike most of the sons of Israel, Joseph was named based on two words, not one. Joseph comes from yoseph – he shall add. But he was also named based on the word asaph – to take away. Manasseh is the same.

In Hebrew, and thus in the Bible, to forget something doesn’t mean what we think in English. Something can be forgotten because the memory fades, but the Bible’s idea of forgetting is active. It is taking something away. And so Joseph, who was named from the word asaph, to “take away”, is himself taking away the memory.

So you understand, think of the times in the Bible when God says he will forget our sins. God doesn’t forget anything, and so it means that He actively takes away the memory of the sins. When He remembers someone, it doesn’t mean He ever forgot them, but that He is drawing them near to Himself to help them in some way.

This is exactly why it says this in Genesis 30 –

“Then God remembered Rachel, and God listened to her and opened her womb. ²³ And she conceived and bore a son, and said, “God has taken away my reproach.” ²⁴ So she called his name Joseph, and said, ‘The Lord shall add to me another son.'”

Joseph named his son Manasseh because he forgot, even though he hasn’t really forgotten. The word-play on his name is that he “forgot by taking away.”

Having said that about Joseph, the naming of Manasseh takes a new turn. Nasha means to forget, but the same word also means “a debt.” The Bible’s concept of a debt is different than we handle a debt today. In the Bible, when something is lent, it is pushed out of mind. Jesus says this in Luke 6 –

“And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you? For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back. ³⁵ But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil.” (34, 35)

The idea is that only a person in need would ask for a loan and so the loan should be forgotten. If the debt is repaid, then it is brought back to mind. If it isn’t, it is to be water under the bridge. And so as much as the name Manasseh means “to forget” it also means “from a debt.”

⁵² And the name of the second he called Ephraim: “For God has caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction.”

And again, wordplay comes into the picture on several levels. Joseph’s name means “He shall add.” He is the repeater, the doubler, the increaser. He has a second son and thus his name is fulfilled in the second son, just as in the first. This time, the son is named Ephraim. As you can see Joseph’s name is as important in this account as the naming of his sons in understanding what is occurring.

Ephraim means double fruitful or twice fruitful. But again, there is another connection to his name, which is the word for “ashes.” Ashes are emblematic of grief or sorrow, especially for judgment on sin, such as when Abraham said, “I am but dust and ashes.”

He meant that he is a man made from the dust and one deserving of the judgment of being reduced to ashes. And so the double play on this name isn’t just that Joseph is doubly fruitful in the land of his affliction, but that he remained filled with grief over being separated from his father and his home in the land of his affliction.

As Abraim poetically says it, Joseph is behind “the golden bars of a still dismal cage.” In the case of the ruler of the greatest land on earth, he was still mournful, flipping his coin from side to side – from joy to grief as each moment passed.

After the family is reunited, we will read this in Genesis 48 –

“Then Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on Ephraim’s head, who was the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh’s head, guiding his hands knowingly, for Manasseh was the firstborn.” (14)

Jacob is going to adopt these sons as his own, but he will place Ephraim above Manasseh. Again, as happens throughout the Bible, the second is placed above the first, thus picturing the work of Christ replacing the work of Adam.

By knowing this, the naming of the sons, and the wordplay involved in those names will now make all the sense in the world. Manasseh means “to forget” but it also means “from a debt.” He pictures Adam, who is the man who owes a debt but whose debt… is forgotten in Christ.

Ephraim means, “twice fruitful”, but it also means “ashes.” He pictures Jesus. He is twice fruitful in the land of His affliction, prevailing over the law and thus becoming the Savior of Jew and Gentile, but his work also meant that sin was judged in Him, thus the ashes. Hence, “the land of His affliction.” Astonishing.

If nothing else, God is continually bringing us back to the cross of Christ on behalf of fallen man. If there is no other thing that we can get from these many stories in Genesis, we cannot miss this. It is all about Jesus. He removes our sin, forgives our debt, and has been doubly prosperous through His own affliction.

This ties in with what Isaiah says in Chapter 40, the great turning point of the book of Isaiah –

“Comfort, yes, comfort My people!”
Says your God.
² “Speak comfort to Jerusalem, and cry out to her,
That her warfare is ended,
That her iniquity is pardoned;
For she has received from the Lord’s hand
Double for all her sins.” (1, 2)

In Christ there is double comfort, full pardon of iniquity, and complete payment for sin, even double so. The warfare is ended.

III. Famine in the Earth (53-57)

⁵³ Then the seven years of plenty which were in the land of Egypt ended,

Seven years of plenty was all that they were given to prepare for what was ahead. If the stores were mishandled, or if Joseph was negligent in his duties, then everyone below him would suffer. The book of Proverbs says,

“A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children,
But the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous.” 13:22

If we don’t prepare for the inevitable, then when it inevitably comes, we will inevitably be found wanting. The famine was foretold and its coming was inevitable. Our death is coming and nothing short of the rapture itself will stand in its way.

And the rapture is meant for those who have prepared in advance for it to come. In other words, be prepared. When Solomon says for you to save an inheritance for your children’s children, he was certainly speaking of worldly wealth. It would be unwise to not save for those who come after you.

But he was building upon a spiritual precept found in Scripture. In Exodus 34, at the great pronouncement of the Lord to Moses, we read this –

“The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, ⁷ keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.” (6, 7)

David, Solomon’s father was aware of this precept and put it in the positive when he wrote the 103rd psalm –

“But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting
On those who fear Him,
And His righteousness to children’s children,
¹⁸ To such as keep His covenant,
And to those who remember His commandments to do them.” (17, 18)

And so, the spiritual picture of the seven years of famine in Egypt, that of the abundance of the Word of God in the world, now comes to an end. From this point on, the Word of God will not come abundantly and freely, but it will cost. For some, it will cost all.

⁵⁴ and the seven years of famine began to come, as Joseph had said.

The famine began right on schedule according to the dreams of Pharaoh and the interpretation of Joseph. Joseph has proven himself to be the prophet of God, seeing beyond what could have otherwise been expected.

To guess a few years of bumper crops is imaginable, but to guess seven followed by seven miserable years could only be revealed by God. And so we see the prophet, priest, and king represented in Joseph and thus picturing Christ.

^{54 (con’t)} The famine was in all lands, but in all the land of Egypt there was bread.

“In all the lands” means that this was an immense and wide-ranging famine. Twice in Genesis, there have been localized famines in Canaan with food remaining available in Egypt, but this time the famine encompasses the whole region. Only Egypt has food and only because they prepared in advance.

This type of famine is so severe, that people will stoop to the lowest imaginable levels to survive. In Egypt in AD1071, records show a famine that was so severe that people ate corpses of people and animals. A dog was sold for five deenars, a cat for three, and a bushel of wheat for twenty.

In Deuteronomy 28, under the blessings and curses that the people of Israel could expect as they followed or failed to follow the Lord, these words show us the horror of famine and hunger –

“You shall eat the fruit of your own body, the flesh of your sons and your daughters whom the Lord your God has given you, in the siege and desperate straits in which your enemy shall distress you. ⁵⁴ The sensitive and very refined man among you will be hostile toward his brother, toward the wife of his bosom, and toward the rest of his children whom he leaves behind, ⁵⁵ so that he will not give any of them the flesh of his children whom he will eat, because he has nothing left in the siege and desperate straits in which your enemy shall distress you at all your gates.” 53-55

The words continue on in the next two verses of this chapter to describe something so horrifying that I won’t read it to you until we arrive at that passage someday. But we have to remember, when we read things like this, it isn’t the cruelty of the Lord, but the self-inflicted wounds of man.

The Lord makes His offer of peace, and man runs from it. Someday, there will be no more running and the famine of Egypt will be realized on a global scale; the self-inflicted wounds of the race of humanity who have so far turned from Christ that there is no remedy left.

The cross teaches us, if nothing else, that God does not tolerate sin and that it will be punished in Jesus, as our Substitute or we will face the wounds and horror because we willingly turned from that offer. If it sounds terrible, it is. But now is the time of God’s favor and today is the day of salvation. Jesus’ hands are open and waiting for us to choose. Choose wisely.

⁵⁵ So when all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread.

I’m not a survivalist, but if there was one thing other than guns that I’d invest in, it wouldn’t be gold or silver. It would be food that lasts and can be eaten cold, like military rations. In the storehouses, the grain would last. The dry climate would have kept the grain from spoiling with no problem.

There are people all over the country who have years and years of food saved up for “just in case.” I know a lady here in Sarasota that could probably feed an army for seven years. The fact is, that if the wheels of the economy stopped today, the stores would be empty in two days, and there would be utter chaos in three.

In the 20s, during the great depression, about 80% of the people in America lived in the country and 20% in the cities. That has all but reversed since then. We have set ourselves up for trouble that will be unimaginable. The people of Egypt cried to Pharaoh because bread was scarce.

Imagine how people will cry to the Lord when they realize that they were wrong about Jesus. The calls for the word of God during the famine will be many. In the 119th Psalm it says this –

“Your word I have hidden in my heart,
That I might not sin against You.” (11)

We should store up the word as we store up food. If bread which satisfies for a day is important, how much more God’s Manna which He sent from heaven, the Living Word? And we cannot feast on the Bread of Life unless we have a full supply of that Bread. The book is written and is satisfies fully.

Oh precious Bread of life, Jesus my Lord
How I cherish knowing you more and more each day
And this blessing comes from knowing Your word
The Bible is my daily meal which my hunger it does allay

If you spend your time in the word now, there will be no need to call out during times without it. It will be hidden in your heart to fill you any time you need it.

^{55 (con’t)} Then Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph; whatever he says to you, do.”

Pharaoh, the Great House, gives his instructions, “Go to Joseph. Whatever he says to you, do.” They are words repeated by a woman who understood who her Son really was. In John 2, we read this account –

On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2 Now both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. 3 And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no wine.” 4 Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come.” 5 His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.” (1-5)

Pharaoh, picturing the house of God, tells us what to do. Go to Jesus and whatever He says to you, do it. The pictures tell the message and the message is clear. We’re not going to be fed by allah or buddha or krishna. LIFE APP – GOD ISN’T CONFUSED

There is only one Source of life, and it is found in Jesus. And the famine which will result for those who don’t seek Him will someday cover the whole earth as is pictured in the next verse…

⁵⁶ The famine was over all the face of the earth, and Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold to the Egyptians. And the famine became severe in the land of Egypt.

There are different thoughts on the world of the tribulation period. Some believe that if you have heard of Jesus and didn’t receive Him before the rapture, you cannot be saved. Personally, I believe that to be shallow and vindictive. God is neither.

I would remind you that John 3:16 does not say, For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him before the rapture shall not perish, but have everlasting life. No, it doesn’t say that.

But it also warns us to be prepared now. Anyone who feels they have time, or that it will be ok if they enter the tribulation is a fool. The famine will be severe, even in the land of those who have Jesus as their ruler. How much more in the land where they don’t!

*⁵⁷ So all countries came to Joseph in Egypt to buy grain, because the famine was severe in all lands.

With the famine in all the earth and with Joseph in charge of the food for all people, the name he was given, Zaphnath-Paaneah, is fully realized. He has become, in his own day, the savior of the world.

All countries of the earth came to Joseph for grain and since the coming of Christ, all countries of the earth have streamed to Him for the true Bread of Life. The patterns are plain and wonderful and the pictures tell the story of Christ to come; each word dripping with hints of His glory and His work.

The message is always about Jesus, either looking forward to Him, or picturing Him, or both. Man’s redemption is tied up in this one Man who came to pay our debt and which He will then forget, represented by Manasseh.

And then He became doubly fruitful, saving both Jew and Gentile, represented by Ephraim. But Ephraim gave us a deeper taste of Christ, who bore our judgment. We are but dust and deserve being reduced to ashes, and yet He took our judgment upon Himself.

The cross of Jesus Christ is the hinge upon which all of history rotates. It opens the door of heaven and it also shuts the door of heaven. It is open now through His blood for each person who hears and believes. Come through that door while there is still time. When the door shuts, it will be too late.

Grant me just another moment, please, to explain to you in a simple way why Jesus came and how you can have a renewed relationship with God through Him…

Closing Verse: So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord. Deuteronomy 8:3

Next Week: Genesis 42:1-17 (The Giver of Grain) (104th Genesis Sermon)

The Lord has you exactly where He wants you and He has a good plan and purpose for you. Call on Him and let Him do marvelous things for you and through you.

The Government Upon His Shoulder

Joseph was thirty years old when he stood
Before Pharaoh king of Egypt
Certainly, things were looking good

And we are told that Joseph went out
From the presence of Pharaoh
To all the land of Egypt he went throughout
Through the broad avenues and side streets so narrow

Now in the seven plentiful years
The ground brought forth abundantly
In Egypt there were many cheers

So he gathered up all the food of the seven years
Which were in Egypt the land
And laid up the food in the cities
In storehouses ever so grand

He laid up the food of the fields
Which surrounded them in every city
And he did it, believe it or not, without a congressional committee

Joseph gathered very much grain
As the sand of the sea it was stored
Until he stopped counting, so much they did obtain
For it was immeasurable, a vastly immense hoard

And to Joseph were born two sons
Before the years of famine came
She the daughter of Poti-Pherah Priest of On
Bore them to him, and Asenath was her name

Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh:
“For God has made me forget
All my toil and all my father’s house
As if the payment of an immense debt

And the name of the second he called Ephraim:
“For God has caused me fruitful to be
In the land of my affliction, like a dream
He has multiplied me most abundantly

Then the seven years of plenty
Which were in the land of Egypt ended
And the seven years of famine began to come
As Joseph had said, the abundance was no longer extended

The famine was in all lands, it quickly spread
But in all the land of Egypt there was bread

So when all the land of Egypt was famished
The people cried to Pharaoh for bread
Then Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians
“Go to Joseph; whatever he says to you, do as he said.”

The famine was over all the face of the earth
And Joseph opened all the storehouses
And sold to the Egyptians, sustaining them through the dearth

And the famine became severe
In the land of Egypt things had turned austere

So all countries came to Joseph
In Egypt they came to buy grain
Because the famine was severe in all lands
The famine which God did foreordain

We need bread to eat lest we waste away
But there is a greater need than bread from the field
We have the need for Jesus, the Bread of Life
Who through Him our heavenly destiny is sealed

God sent His Son to feed us by giving us His life
There upon the rugged cross of Calvary
And through His blood ends our enmity and strife
Peace with God
Golden streets we’ll trod
Fellowship, communion, and the light of eternal glory

Hallelujah and Amen…

Genesis 41:37-45
Prophet, Priest, and King
The Savior of the World

Introduction: As a biblical figure, Joseph is somewhat like David in several ways. He was the second youngest of a big family and David was the youngest. Both were raised as shepherds as well. Joseph’s brothers rejected him and sold him off as a slave. David’s brother Eliab mocked him when he inquired about fighting the great champion Goliath.

Eventually though, both rose to be great rulers who would lead and shepherd their people. They were great men of God who overcame trials and obstacles while maintaining their faith in God’s providential care over them.

Although we’ll be looking at how Joseph pictures Christ throughout the verses today, we shouldn’t forget that he was just a regular person chosen by God to do great things. We may not have the opportunity to interpret dreams for a king, but we do have the opportunity to do great things for the Lord.

Billy Graham dedicated his life to preaching about Jesus and look at what he did. But no less important are the people who moved his podium or set up the sound system. Every person can do something great, even if it’s unnoticed. Greatness from a biblical context is being noted as a person of faith and a person who lives faithfully.

Before he was exalted, Joseph was thrown into a prison and he eventually ran that prison, and he did it without losing faith. Your participation in whatever you do, when it is founded on faith, will be rewarded by God. Trust this, have faith in it, and remember this as we look at the details of the life and times of Joseph.

Text Verse: He made him lord of his house,
And ruler of all his possessions,
²² To bind his princes at his pleasure,
And teach his elders wisdom. Psalm 105:21, 22

Joseph was given great responsibilities. First in Potiphar’s house, then in prison. Both times he handled his duties wisely, even when he could have just given up. Eventually as Pharaoh’s appointed ruler of the land, he served faithfully there as well.

We can learn how to handle our own lives in the right way by paying attention to the word God has given us, and so… May God speak to us through His word today and may His glorious name ever be praised.

I. The Spirit of God

Unexplained dreams, sound interpretations, and wise counsel have all led to where we are today. After displaying that God truly is with him and showing that he is suitable to understand the times and needs of the people and land under Pharaoh, Joseph will now receive release from the many years of bondage that he has faced.

What seemed only moments earlier to be a life destined for obscurity and meaningless servitude, and even unending imprisonment, will now be replaced with blessing, honor, and rule. The life of Joseph is securely in the hands of God and the dreams he had more than 13 years earlier will not go unfulfilled.

And so we turn to the words of Scripture to show us the exaltation of Joseph and the same story picturing the greater exaltation of our Lord Jesus…

³⁷ So the advice was good in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of all his servants.

Joseph’s advice was taken as it should have been. Pharaoh didn’t count it presumptuous or arrogant, but rather as well-grounded and fully sufficient to meet the crisis anticipated in his dreams. Here Joseph reflects many passages which speak of the coming Christ.

In Isaiah 9, Jesus is called the Wonderful Counselor because of His wisdom and ability to both discern and communicate that wisdom. In Isaiah 11:2, a verse perfectly descriptive of Joseph here and the Lord whom he pictures is found –

The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him,
The Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
The Spirit of counsel and might,
The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.

Joseph knew when to speak, what to speak, and when to stop speaking. As he now listens to Pharaoh, compliments are bestowed upon him from the ruler of the great house. We have to remember as we go along, that Joseph was dirty, wearing prisoners clothing, and without hope only a few short minutes earlier.

And the same can be applied to many of us in a variety of ways. If we look back on our life, we may see times of trial, times of sadness, times of scratching out an existence, or maybe an issue with our health.

It may have seemed as if the suffering would never end, but it did. Or maybe we’re in a low spot now. Can good come out of it? The answer is “Yes.” It may come in an unexpected way, or it may come only after we pass on and we receive our reward, but if we are in Christ, all of the hardships will someday be forgotten.

Peter speaks about this in his first epistle. There he says, “In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, ⁷ that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ,…” 1 Peter 1:6,  7

 ³⁸ And Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find such a one as this, a man in whom is the Spirit of God?”

Encompassed by his counselors, wise men, magicians, and leaders, this verse almost sounds as much like an accusation from Pharaoh on their inability to interpret his dreams as it is a compliment on Joseph. Where they have failed, he has prevailed. Where they were blind, he was able to see. In the place of incompetence, depth of understanding has arrived.

And what seems even a further indictment on them because of the gods they sought out, Pharaoh says that Joseph is “a man in whom is the Spirit of God.” The term is ruakh elohim – the “Spirit of God.” This is the very first time that this term has been used since the creation of the world as is recorded in Genesis 1:2 –

“The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.”

Ruakh elohim can be translated in a plural way as in the “spirit of the gods” but this is not what Pharaoh is referring to. Joseph has already stated several times that only “the” God, ha’elohim can interpret dreams. The preciseness of what is written is to ensure we see that Pharaoh understood this.

And so Pharaoh repeats this and says that the Spirit of God is in him. Perfectly picturing Jesus in this sense, the first time that the same term “Spirit of God” is used in the New Testament, it is speaking of the baptism of Jesus in Matthew 3:16 –

“When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. ¹⁷ And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.'”

The three are being harmoniously tied together in the Bible. The Spirit of God was there at the creation. The Spirit of God resides in Joseph who pictures the coming Redeemer, and the Spirit of God rests upon Christ – the Lord of Creation and our great Redeemer. The patterns are rich, elegant, and carefully woven together.

The Spirit of God rests upon His anointed
Joseph as he now rules over Pharaoh’s land as lord
And the One to whom these things have pointed
Is our Savior Jesus; God’s incarnate Word

II. Presiding Over the Great House

³⁹ Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Inasmuch as God has shown you all this, there is no one as discerning and wise as you.

Pharaoh now credits Joseph’s ability to God. In his address, he uses the words ain nabown v’khakam – none as discerning and wise. This is the Bible’s first use of the word for this type of discernment and only the second use of the word for “wise.” The first time it was used was speaking about Pharaoh’s wise men.

There is the wisdom and discernment from God and there is the wisdom of the world. In 1 Corinthians 1, Paul speaks of this –

For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, And bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.” ²⁰ Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? ²¹ For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. (19-21)

This is exactly what’s happened here. A message of good news was in fact preached and Pharaoh accepted it. The wise, the scribe, and the disputers of the age of Egypt were made foolish to demonstrate the superiority of the discernment and knowledge which comes from God.

And now, Pharaoh’s words of Joseph’s exaltation come, each pointing directly to the future Christ so clearly that it is simply not possible to miss if one is looking rightly at what he says. They are reflected in Paul’s words in Philippians 2 –

“Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, ¹⁰ that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, ¹¹ and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (9-11)

 ⁴⁰ You shall be over my house

Joseph is given complete rule over Pharaoh’s house. Remember, Pharaoh means “Great House” and is picturing all of God’s creation, including heaven itself. This is reflected in several passages from the New Testament.

This one from Hebrews 3 perfectly mirrors the authority Pharaoh has granted to Joseph as reflected in the appointing of Jesus over God’s house –

“For every house is built by someone, but He who built all things is God. ⁵ And Moses indeed was faithful in all His house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which would be spoken afterward, ⁶ but Christ as a Son over His own house, whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end.” Hebrews 3:4-6

And Jesus’ words to the disciples concerning His authority reflects the same type of authority Joseph has been granted –

“All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. ¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. Matthew 28:18-20

Joseph rules over the great house of Pharaoh; Jesus rules over the God’s Great House; heaven and earth. He sits as the final authority over all matters.

^{40 (con’t)} and all my people shall be ruled according to your word;

Pharaoh leaves no person who is not subject to Joseph’s authority and to his spoken word. The rule is complete and without limitation in person or practice. An interesting phrase is used here by Pharaoh.

In the Hebrew he says, v’al pika yishaq khal ammi. This is literally translated as “At your mouth do all my people kiss.” In this culture as in others, it was and still at times is customary to kiss something that is relayed from a superior, or is possessed by that person.

We see this in the Catholics who kiss the ring of the pope. It is his supposed symbol of authority and so they kiss it acknowledging that. We see it in other similar displays in the world we live in – both in religious and kingly contexts.

In the context of Joseph, it is specifically referring to the proclamation of Pharaoh which would be made into a written edict which would then have been kissed by all who received it. This would symbolize their obedience and due respect for the title and position of their appointed sovereign.

To refuse the kiss would result in banishment, or more probably, death. The parallel to Jesus is seen directly in the Psalm 2 –

“Now therefore, be wise, O kings;
Be instructed, you judges of the earth.
¹¹ Serve the Lord with fear,
And rejoice with trembling.
¹²  Kiss the Son, lest He be angry,
And you perish in the way,
When His wrath is kindled but a little.
Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him.” (10-12)

Peter tells us that it is this Son, Jesus, “who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers having been made subject to Him.”1 Peter 3:22

^{40 (con’t)} only in regard to the throne will I be greater than you.”

Pharaoh finishes his grant with these words. The throne of the Great House alone is reserved from Joseph’s rule. Rather than this being an argument against Jesus’ deity in type, it actually confirms it. The parallel is seen in Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians –

For “He has put all things under His feet.” But when He says “all things are put under Him,” it is evident that He who put all things under Him is excepted. ²⁸ Now when all things are made subject to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all. 1 Corinthians 15:27-28

God is One – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Each has a role within the Godhead. Thus Jesus – even though fully God, is subject to the Godhead to which He is a member. We see this in Joseph’s rule over the domain of Pharaoh while still being subject to Pharaoh.

In the words “only in regard to the throne will I be greater than you” we find the description of the one who has sole management of all state of affairs, all authority, and all rule. It is a correct and beautiful picture of the Lord Jesus within the Godhead.

To Jesus is granted all rule and all authority
To Him shall every knee bow and every tongue confess
For only He prevailed over death, gaining the victory
Let us, the glorious and exalted name of Jesus profess

⁴¹ And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.”

Joseph is granted rule over “all the land of Egypt.” Egypt, meaning “double distress” is symbolic of the fallen, unredeemed world which is in double distress – living without God’s law and having no hope. But now there is hope. In Joseph, there is a ruler who will bring that hope, and he pictures the greater Hope found in Jesus.

Jesus has been granted authority over all the world. It includes all rule, all power, all resources. It is His world to direct and His to rule. In this verse then we see Pharaoh’s edict which establishes Joseph’s rule. Next will come his installation to that same office…

III. Prophet, Priest, and King – The Savior of the World

⁴² Then Pharaoh took his signet ring off his hand and put it on Joseph’s hand;

The symbol of Pharaoh’s rule and authority is given to Joseph in this act. What Joseph now decides will have the same weight as if issued by Pharaoh himself. No other person in the kingdom could challenge his authority or countermand an order given by him.

This goes right back to Jesus’ authority granted Him by God the Father. All rule and authority belongs now to Him and all powers and authorities are subject to Him. He alone rules the domain which has been brought under His hand.

^{42 (con’t)} and he clothed him in garments of fine linen

Even today we can look at the immensely precious quality of the linen which was used at the time of Joseph by looking at the garments which mummies were wrapped in. This special linen was worn by the priests of Egypt and so this portion of verse 42 is showing that the priests were not exempt from Joseph’s authority.

In fact, because of his rule, he is now not only over the people as a sovereign, but also the priests as their high priest. And in this then we have a picture of Jesus in His three main roles. His role of Prophet is seen in Joseph’s interpretation of the dreams.

His role as King is seen in Joseph’s granted authority – the signet ring. And His role as High Priest is seen in this verse by the garment Joseph is given. In type and picture, Joseph prefigures Jesus – our Prophet, Priest, and King.

These fine linen garments are called shesh in Hebrew and are translated into the Greek Old Testament as bussinien, a word used to indicate its extreme whiteness. The writings of Pliny and Herodotus show that these were in fact used by the priestly class. They were of the very finest linen.

In the Hebrew there is an unusual dash at the end of the word. It’s believed to indicate that this garment was granted in accord with a set custom. This might seem like too much detail for us to look at, until we read the words of Mark 9 which speak of Jesus’ transfiguration –

“Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John, and led them up on a high mountain apart by themselves; and He was transfigured before them. ³ His clothes became shining, exceedingly white, like snow, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them.” (2, 3)

The unusual Hebrew of this verse, this extra dash, is a precursor to Mark’s vivid description. Jesus’ clothes were exceedingly white, such as no launderer on earth could whiten them. This is why these hints are given in the Old Testament. Each points to Jesus, even an unusual dash inserted at the end of a word in Hebrew.

^{42 (con’t)} and put a gold chain around his neck.

Pharaoh also places a gold chain on Joseph’s neck. This, like the ring, was a badge of the office. Something similar is seen given to Daniel as a result of his promotion to third highest in the land. Again, this looks forward to Jesus. It’s seen in the golden band he wears in Revelation 1-

“Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands, ¹³ and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band.” (12, 13)

⁴³ And he had him ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried out before him, “Bow the knee!”

The symbolism of the chariot ties in to Jesus as well. Psalm 104 says that the Lord makes the clouds His chariot. This psalm is attributed to Jesus in Hebrews 1. Isaiah as well speaks of the Lord and His chariots –

“For behold, the Lord will come with fire
And with His chariots, like a whirlwind,
To render His anger with fury,
And His rebuke with flames of fire.” Isaiah 66:15

As Joseph rode in His chariot, it says “they cried out before him, “Bow the knee.” The word is avrekh. Unfortunately, this is the only time in the Bible the word is used and its not certain what it actually means, but the general consensus is that it refers to bowing. Such would be fulfilled in this verse about Jesus –

“…that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth,” Philippians 2:10

Set in highest honor, with all rule and authority
The signet and the chariot, and a golden chain
Before Him shall bow each and every knee
Every tongue will confess and none shall refrain

^{43 (con’t)} So he set him over all the land of Egypt.

With the installation complete, Pharaoh’s words to Joseph are fulfilled. He is now over all of the land of Egypt. In like manner, Jesus has been ordained as the Lord of Heaven and Earth. And in confirmation of this, Pharaoh speaks yet one more time…

⁴⁴ Pharaoh also said to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh, and without your consent no man may lift his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.”

The formal procedure of the rite has closed and Pharaoh seals the proceeding with his words. “I am Pharaoh, and these honors I bestow upon you. You have absolute authority over my domain.”

The word testifies to the act. This is just what is seen of Jesus in the second psalm and referred to by the author of Hebrews in Jesus’ role as both king and priest –

“I will declare the decree:
The Lord has said to Me,
‘You are My Son,
Today I have begotten You.
⁸ Ask of Me, and I will give You
The nations for Your inheritance,
And the ends of the earth for Your possession. Psalm 2:7, 8

At the word of Pharaoh Joseph is ordained, and at the word of the Jehovah, Jesus likewise is ordained. Not a single verse has failed to be fulfilled in Jesus as we’ve travelled through these eight verses. With only one left, will we be able to find Jesus in that one too?

⁴⁵ And Pharaoh called Joseph’s name Zaphnath-Paaneah.

The name Zaphnath-Paaneah is translated by the Christian theologian Jerome into Latin as Salvatorem mundi – the Savior of the World. This is an exact description which is used twice by John in his writings about Jesus. In his first epistle, he confirms what he saw and heard concerning the Lord –

“And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world.” 1 John 4:14

Matthew Henry says about this title, “The brightest glories, even of the upper world, are put upon Christ, the highest trust lodged in his hand, and all power given him, both in heaven and earth.”

Without a proper interpretation and handling of Pharaoh’s dreams, the land of Egypt would have been swept away in famine and drought. In acknowledgment that God sent Joseph to save them, the title has been given indicating that through Joseph the world will be saved.

And the same is true with Jesus, sent by God to save the world when there was otherwise no hope at all. He has been promoted to the highest position of all, to rule heaven and earth.

^{45 (con’t)} And he gave him as a wife Asenath, the daughter of Poti-Pherah priest of On.

In the uniting of his kingly and priestly roles, Joseph is given a wife from the priestly class. She is Asenath, meaning “She who is of Neith.” Neith refers to wisdom. Asenath is the dauther of Potiphera, the priest of On. On means “light” and Potiphera means “He whom the Ra gave.” Ra being the sun.

All three of these names, Asenath, Potiphera, and On have meaning, and be assured, each name and word is given for a reason. But the main similarity between Joseph and Jesus is seen in the gentile bride each receives.

While Joseph is rejected by and removed from his brothers, he has become a blessing to the Egyptian people and is given this gentile wife. And in the same way, while Jesus is rejected by and removed from His people Israel during this dispensation, He has become the Blessing to the gentiles and has procured for Himself a bride.

This is seen in Acts 15, Ephesians 5, and also in this verse from 2 Corinthians 11:2 –

“For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy. For I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.”

Paul, speaking to the gentiles of Corinth, confirmed that the church is betrothed as a bride to Christ. We are the wise bride of Christ just as this gentile whose name means “She who is of wisdom” is the gentile bride of Joseph. And remember, this is a time of his brother’s rejection of him. They sold him off to the gentiles, just as the Jewish people sold Jesus off.

And we will see in the coming chapters that Joseph’s brothers will in fact come to Egypt, bow to Joseph, and be reconciled to Him. For those who dismiss the Jewish people’s role in future history as God’s people, all they need to do is to look back to Genesis and the structure of these stories which time and again show us that they are not out. Israel will be reconciled to their Lord.

The time is coming and it probably won’t be long. The church age will end and Israel will again be the very center of God’s attention. The Bible tells us that patterns in history repeat and it often gives the first of the patterns so that we can recognize the repetition when it comes.

So, let’s not make one of two mistakes –

The first would be to say that Israel is right with God at this point. Joseph was betrayed and sold and his brothers are out of the picture during that period. This is the same with Israel. Though we should support her, we cannot condone her rejection of Christ. And we cannot waffle on our convictions concerning their need for him.

The second error would be to say that Israel is out and done. This entire panorama of the life of Joseph shows us that this isn’t the case. And with their return, we are right at a wondrous time in human history. The spiritual banner will soon pass back to Israel. They will bow to their Lord and shed tears of joy at the reunion.

^{45 (fin)} So Joseph went out over all the land of Egypt.

Yes, Joseph went out over all the land of Egypt and the message of Jesus has gone out and continues to go out into all the world. Joseph rules; Jesus rules. The patterns are beautiful and the story is marvelous. God chose these short, concise stories to show us that He is in control of time and circumstance.

Every word opens up into another panorama of beauty which speaks of Jesus. And remember, if He is showing us Jesus, then He wants us to know Jesus. If we know every detail and see every picture, but miss the purpose of those things, then we have made the biggest mistake of all.

As Paul says in his great discourse on love, “though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.” The stories are given to show the love.

The love of God, found in Jesus, is what we see. Egypt is headed for disaster and God sends a deliverer. The sons of Israel will be headed for disaster and God sends deliverance. We are on the path to destruction, and God sends Jesus. If He didn’t love us, He wouldn’t have done any of it.

But to demonstrate His love, grant us His mercy, and bestow upon us His grace, He condescended to come down to our lowly station and wash our dirty feet. Indeed, what manner of love is this! For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

If you’ve never called on Jesus as Lord, let me explain to you why you need to and how very simple it is.

Closing Verse: “Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world.” John 4:42

Next Week: Genesis 41:46-57 (Prosperity and Famine) (103rd Genesis Sermon)

The Lord has you exactly where He wants you and He has a good plan and purpose for you. Call on Him and let Him do marvelous things for you and through you.

The Savior of the World

So the advice of Joseph was good
In the eyes of Pharaoh as was noted
And in the eyes of all his servants
Yes, each word as Joseph is quoted

And Pharaoh said to his servants
“Can we find such a one as this
A man in whom is the Spirit of God?”
To not listen to him would certainly be remiss

Then Pharaoh said to Joseph words well thought through
“Inasmuch as God has shown you all this
There is no one as discerning and wise as you
Your wisdom and tact I shall not dismiss

You shall be over my house in every affair
And all my people shall be ruled
According to your word as you declare
It shall be that by you my leaders shall be schooled

“Only in regard to the throne will I be greater than you
And Pharaoh said to Joseph “See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.”
The word I speak is true

Then Pharaoh took his signet ring
Off his hand and put it on Joseph’s hand instead
And he clothed him in garments of fine linen
Mazel tov, a blessing upon his head

And around his neck he put a gold chain
In this act he honored Joseph once again

And he had him ride in the second chariot which he had
And they cried out before him, “Bow the knee!”
So he set him over all the land of Egypt, not so bad
From prisoner to ruler almost instantly

Pharaoh also said to Joseph
“I am Pharaoh, and without your consent
No man may lift his hand or foot
In all the land of Egypt, none shall circumvent

And Pharaoh from then on called Joseph’s name
Zaphnath-Paaneah
To remember that one, make up a word game

And he gave him as a wife Asenath
The daughter of Poti-Pherah, Priest of On
So Joseph went out over all the land of Egypt
And he was the sovereign ruler from that time on

In a marvelous array of pictures of Jesus
God has shown us Joseph’s life and times
These have been given graciously to us
For more than just fun and rhymes

Rather, they are words which show us
Of the majesty pronounced upon the Lord
The one who prevailed over the tomb, Jesus
As is revealed in God’s Superior Word

Every detail, every verse we read
Is marvelously and intricately woven by God’s hand
So to this precious book, let us ever pay heed
Through it, His heart we can truly understand

God’s glory is revealed in its pages, showing us His light
God’s grace radiates to His children as we plainly see
Let us exalt this marvelous Lord with all our might
Let us receive the gift of Jesus who paid our debt on the cross of Calvary

Hallelujah and Amen…

Genesis 41:14-36
The Thing is Established By God

Introduction: Nothing exists without a cause, and nothing changes without a cause. If there was ever nothing, there would still be nothing now. There wouldn’t be a debate about existence because it wouldn’t exist. But here we are and so we can debate the fact that we are here and how we got here.

And in this world where we are, things are constantly changing. Nothing stays the same. A bar of gold may sit for a thousand years and look like it hasn’t changed, but in fact, if nothing else it has gotten a thousand years older. Changes are coming to the land of Egypt and something must be the cause of those changes.

But what we think might be the cause is suspect when we are told in advance that the changes will happen. I mean, people can say the weather is going to change based on observable patterns or other phenomena, but there are other things which we’re told about which can’t happen that way.

When we are told that future events will occur and there is nothing to assign that change to in this natural world, then we are either lacking knowledge about the natural world, or the change has come about by something super-natural.

Pharaoh has dreams; Pharaoh’s dreams mean something specific; the dreams, their interpretation, and their fulfillment are not natural and so they must have a supernatural cause.

Text Verse: I will lay waste the mountains and hills,
And dry up all their vegetation;
I will make the rivers coastlands,
And I will dry up the pools. Isaiah 42:15

God speaks again in again in the Bible about what He will do – to people, through people, to the land, to the world, and so on. He tells us sometimes thousands of years in advance and He says, “Pay attention! I will prove that I am here and so you should probably pay attention because of that.”

And then He gives us the choice. We can pay attention, or we can ignore Him. My thought is that if He is there, and He’s proved it, it certainly is worth paying attention to what He has to say. And what He has to say is found in only one place, the Bible.

It has enough past evidence to support itself so that we have every confidence in what it tells about the future. And so let’s take time again today to search it out and… May God speak to us through His word today and may His glorious name ever be praised.

I. The Interpreter of Dreams

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.

Upon hearing about of Joseph’s abilities by the cupbearer, Pharaoh is in anticipation of finally finding an answer to his dreams. Joseph is called and brought out of the dungeon. Once out, he is shaved, has his clothing changed, and he is brought to Pharaoh.

According to ancient literature, Egypt is believed to be the only country in the Middle East at that time to regularly practiced shaving. There they shaved both the head and the face. This is seen in the hieroglyphs as well. Before he is brought to Pharaoh, he is cleaned up in this manner and is also given clean clothing.

In this verse, we see a return to pictures of Jesus and His work. Pharaoh means “Great House.” Joseph is called out of the pit which is the Hebrew term ha’bowr; the same term used already several times to picture the tomb of Christ. Jesus is called out of the tomb by the ruler of the Great House, God.

This is reflected in Acts 10:40 which says, “Him God raised up on the third day, and showed Him openly…”

Joseph’s being shaved brings in a concept which we’ve seen in the past. Hair, throughout the Bible, has several undertones. It denotes awareness, such as man being sentient aware being. This takes us back to Jacob and Esau. Jacob was smooth skinned, Esau was hairy. Jacob pictured Christ, Esau pictured Adam.

Barley, the hairy crop brings in the thought of awareness as well. In one use of it, it is to bring sin to reminder. This is found in Numbers 5. There when speaking of the rite concerning jealousy of a possibly unfaithful wife, it gives this direction –

He shall bring the offering required for her, one-tenth of an ephah of barley meal; he shall pour no oil on it and put no frankincense on it, because it is a grain offering of jealousy, an offering for remembering, for bringing iniquity to remembrance. (15)

The study of hair in the Bible could go on and on, but here Joseph, picturing Christ, is shaved. Shaving is something that would occur after an Israelite would complete a vow known as a Nazirite vow. In Numbers 6, these instructions are given –

“Then the Nazirite shall shave his consecrated head at the door of the tabernacle of meeting, and shall take the hair from his consecrated head and put it on the fire which is under the sacrifice of the peace offering.” (18)

Whether Jesus had the same appearance of hair after the resurrection or not isn’t known, but two of his disciples walked and talked with Him and didn’t recognize Him until He broke bread. In the book of Revelation, John says that His hair is like white wool, as white as snow.

The shaving of Joseph’s hair is certainly showing us this type of change in Jesus. And finally, we see Joseph given a change of clothing. When Jesus was crucified, He was stripped and his clothes were taken by the Romans.

When He was taken down from the cross, he was laid in strips of linen along with burial spices. But he was clothed after the resurrection. Unless there was a wardrobe in the tomb or an open store down the road, then these must have been prepared specifically for the resurrection.

What seems like an innocuous verse about Joseph being prepared to meet Pharaoh is actually a nifty picture of Christ coming out of the tomb, having been accepted by God.

¹⁵ And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I have had a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it. But I have heard it said of you that you can understand a dream, to interpret it.”

Joseph’s deliverance from the pit is because of His unique ability which was told to Pharaoh by the cupbearer. No one else possessed the ability, but he is told that Joseph can.

¹⁶ So Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, “It is not in me;

Joseph doesn’t say he won’t give an answer. Instead he uses a term, biladay, “not in me,” to say that if he interprets the dream, that interpretation will have come from God and not from him. It is independent from his opinion.

In essence, he will speak and it will be God who speaks through him. What a beautiful picture of Jesus.

^{16 (con’t)} God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace.”

Joseph is so confident that he is there to meet the Lord’s will that he openly states that the answer is forthcoming and that it would be sufficient to give peace to Pharaoh after his night of disturbed sleep and his morning of frustration at obtaining no answer.

II. The Dream is Repeated

¹⁷ Then Pharaoh said to Joseph: “Behold, in my dream I stood on the bank of the river. ¹⁸ Suddenly seven cows came up out of the river, fine looking and fat; and they fed in the meadow. 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. ²⁰ And the gaunt and ugly cows ate up the first seven, the fat cows. ²¹ When they 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. ²² Also I saw in my dream, and suddenly seven heads came up on one stalk, full and good. ²³ Then behold, seven heads, withered, thin, and blighted by the east wind, sprang up after them. ²⁴ And the thin heads devoured the seven good heads.

Pharaoh’s recounting of the dream is essentially the same as what he said to his wise men and magicians, but there are a couple small differences. One is that he tells Joseph that the cows were so ugly that he had never seen such ugly cows in all the land of Egypt.

A second is that after that bad cows ate up the good ones, no one would have known that they had eaten them and that they were just as ugly as at the beginning.

In the last sermon, we saw that these cows eating each other was contrary to nature for several reasons. One was that a herbivore wouldn’t eat another of its own kind as if it were a carnivore.

Although this is a dream which symbolizes real things, the symbolism is explained very clearly. The cows and the stalks symbolize years; years of abundance and years of famine. The cows don’t actually eat each other. They never have and it will never happen.

If you read a commentary that says that the famine was so bad that cows actually ate other cows, go ahead and put a line through it. God has given us the meanings and we can stick with them.

Finally, while Pharaoh is speaking, an extra term is used to describe the thin heads on the stalks, calling them withered, meaning they were barren or the fruit was dry. By telling the story a little bit differently the second time, it shows that what we’re reading isn’t just a fable, but an actual account.

This is similar to what we see in the first three gospels. They tell the same story, very closely in some ways, but with differences. Because they are so similar, some liberal scholars say they can’t be true because they simply copy each other.

But because they are so different in other ways, other liberal scholars say they can’t be true because the stories don’t match. Two things are certain, the first is that the stories are exactly what God intends. And secondly, never listen to liberal scholars of the Bible.

The account here as relayed by Moses is accurate and supports itself because of the similarity and because of the differences. You have every reason to trust that it is true, accurate, reliable, and worthy of looking into because God included it in His word.

This happens not just here and in the gospels, but throughout the Bible. From time to time, God gives the same story from different viewpoints. They are similar, but they have differences. And every time this happens, there is some scholar who then writes a commentary about how the Bible is filled with error.

Just ignore them. Every difference has a reason and every story which is given two or three times gives us better insights into the truth of the word, whether we understand why or not.

^{24 (con’t)} So I told this to the magicians, but there was no one who could explain it to me.”

Pharaoh finishes his words to Joseph with the note that none of his wisest assistants were able to help. Including this shows us that it is beyond the finest minds in the world at that time. If the dream is from God, then God must intend for the dream to be explained.

If the dream can’t be explained then it isn’t from God. But if it is, then it is now in Joseph’s hands. Thus it means that Joseph is the one who is able to divine the mind of God. This is the intent of Pharaoh’s comment to him now.

III. The Dream Explained

²⁵ Then Joseph said to Pharaoh,

There is no note of hesitation, there is no delay, there is no need to pray first or otherwise seek an answer from God. God has revealed the dream to Joseph and He has done so immediately. Joseph proves himself to be the lord of dreams.

In this, we see that the failure of the wise men to interpret the dream is the needed proof that Joseph is speaking now by God’s divine counsel.

^{25 (con’t)} “The dreams of Pharaoh are one;

This verse is translated a variety of ways.

“The dreams of Pharaoh are one and the same.” NIV
“Both of Pharaoh’s dreams mean the same thing.” NLT
“The dreams of Pharaoh are one;” ESV
“Pharaoh’s dreams are one and the same;” NASB
The dream of Pharaoh is one: KJV
“Pharaoh’s dreams mean the same thing.” Holman
“Pharaoh’s dreams are identical,” ISV (BAD TRANSLATION)
“Both dreams of Pharaoh have the same meaning.” NET
“Pharaoh had the same dream twice.” God’s Word (NOT GREAT)
The king’s dream is one: Douay (SHOULD SAY PHARAOH)

There are a couple reasons I read these for you. One is to show how much difference in translation a single verse can produce. Secondly, to show that two entirely different translations can mean exactly the same thing – such as “The dreams of Pharaoh are one”, and “The dream of Pharaoh is one.”

The third is to show you that you will learn a lot more by reading several versions. And finally, to show you that some versions are just wrong. The ISV said, “Pharaoh’s dreams are identical.” They weren’t identical. One had cows and one had wheat. They were identical in meaning, not content, and they should have said that.

The word used for “one” in this verse is echad. Echad means one, but it can mean one comprising many. A cluster of grapes is one, but it is made of many grapes. And so, saying either the dreams are one, or the dream is one is essentially the same thing (because of echad). There were in fact two dreams, but they comprise one unit.

So you’re sitting there wondering why I’m bringing this up. And maybe you will never remember this. But if you do, it bears on similar statements made elsewhere which can have the most theological importance of all.

When asked what is the greatest commandment of all, Jesus turned to the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy and quoted this –

“The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.'” Mark 12:29

What Jesus cited is called the Shema or “Hear.” In Hebrew it says Sh’ma Yisrael Y’hovah elohaynu Y’hovah echad. The word echad is used to describe the Lord. He is One, but one here can mean one with a plurality, just like Pharaoh’s dreams.

If One meant only one, then the word yachid could have been used. This means one and only one. In the Greek, the word Jesus speaks in Mark for “one” is heis. It can mean the same thing as echad. Paul uses it in Galatians 3:28 to speak of our position in Christ –

“There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

The importance of the translation of Pharaoh’s two dreams concerns the importance of the meaning of words and concepts which help us understand what we are being told. Understanding that two dreams can be one dream is helpful for us to understand that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit can also be one God. You wouldn’t think this verse is that important, would you?

Oh God, the Bible is such a wonderful treasure
Even the smallest detail can be amazingly profound
In this book is wisdom beyond measure
In it the answers to our difficult questions are found

^{25 (con’t)} God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do:

The Greek philosopher Aristotle taught that there were four types of causes to all things. There is the material cause, the formal cause, the efficient cause, and the final cause. Whether we understand this or not, they are there. Joseph is now instructing Pharaoh on the cause of things.

There will be a famine. Aristotle would say that the material cause of the famine is the weather – water and wind. The weather is the cause of environmental conditions. The formal cause of the famine is the change in the weather. This includes the drying up of the Nile and the change of the wind that it comes from the east. These causes will bring about a change in Egypt.

But in this verse, even before the material and formal causes are introduced, Joseph gives us the efficient cause and the final cause. He says, “God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do.” Pharaoh may be the ruler, but his kingdom is subject to the One who is behind the movement of the wind and the water.

God is the Efficient Cause. He is the one who directs both the flow of water and the changes in the wind. As the Efficient Cause, He is behind the changes which will occur. And the reason Pharaoh is given the dream hints at the final cause, which is to bring about the purpose of the famine.

The final cause isn’t given directly, but we will see it as the story unfolds. And actually, there are several final causes that will be seen. There is the purpose of making Joseph ruler. There is the purpose of bringing Israel down to Egypt. There is the purpose of fulfilling Joseph’s dreams.

There is the purpose of freeing Israel from future bondage. There is the purpose of bringing about the Passover. There is the purpose of showing that there is one God and that He controls both the weather and the future. Because the weather of the future is being revealed before it comes about.

There is the purpose of picturing Christ in all of these things. And in all of these thing there is the ultimate purpose, one ultimate final cause, it is that of bringing glory to God. In other words, each final cause is directly related to the Efficient Cause – God.

God causes so that God may be glorified. If you can see this in everything found in the Bible, then you will be able to see it in everything in your own life as well. This is one reason why we are given the Bible. It shows us the state of humans and of humanity.

Humans have a material cause. It is the stuff we’re made of. But we’re made of the same stuff as other animals. Our formal cause is what makes us humans and what makes other things monkeys, or dogs, or wallabies.

The Bible tells us that our efficient cause isn’t evolution, but God’s creative effort. But what is our final cause? Why did God make man? King David wanted to know –

“Lord, what is man, that You take knowledge of him?
Or the son of man, that You are mindful of him?” Psalm 144:3

This final cause eludes us until we understand who God truly is. He is the self-existent all-glorious Creator. God created so that we could share in His glory and thus bring more glory to Him. This isn’t a conceited self-seeking glorification, but the sharing of Himself which should naturally lead us to glorify Him.

And this is hinted at in Joseph’s words to Pharaoh. For the ultimate purpose of bringing glory to God, Joseph says these words to Pharaoh – asher ha’elohim oseh higgid le’pharaoh – “what the Elohim is doing he caused to be seen by Pharaoh.”

Out of 2600 times that the word elohim is used when speaking of God in the Bible, less than 400 are used in the way Joseph does here. He calls him ha’elohim – the God. In other words, “There is no other God and this God is showing that to you now.”

The God is causing Pharaoh to see the future as a demonstration of who He is and that the future is known to Him. Because it is known to Him, then nothing that will happen will change what He already sees. Whatever we do is already figured into the future, and nothing we do can change the future that He sees.

You are the God who knows and sees all things
Every wave which beats upon the shore’s sandy beach
How many fish are in the ocean, and every bird that sings
Into eternity does your wisdom and knowledge reach

²⁶ The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good heads are seven years; the dreams are one.

We don’t need to speculate if the cows will eat one another or not. The interpretation is given and the cows symbolize something else, not real cows. The seven good cows are seven years. Likewise the seven good heads are seven years. The two dreams are one.

²⁷ And the seven thin and ugly cows which came up after them are seven years, and the seven empty heads blighted by the east wind are seven years of famine.

So, following the first seven years, there will be seven more years; years of famine. These are represented by the thin ugly cows and the empty blighted heads.

²⁸ This is the thing which I have spoken to Pharaoh. God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do.

In complete confidence of the interpretation, he says that what he has said he stands on. And he repeats his title for God – ha’elohim has shown Pharaoh. The God has revealed through Joseph what He is about to do.

²⁹ Indeed seven years of great plenty will come throughout all the land of Egypt;

This is the first time that the true significance of the first seven years is noted. They aren’t just seven years, but seven years of saba gadol, great plenty. And this won’t be an isolated boom, but it will be throughout all the land of Egypt. All of Pharaoh’s domain will be blessed as the Nile delta floods and the winds are favorable.

³⁰ 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.

Following on the heels of the seven good years, there will be seven terrible years; years of famine which will be so bad that all the abundance of the preceding seven years will be utterly forgotten. Everything which has flourished will be reduced to less than a memory of a memory.

³¹ So the plenty will not be known in the land because of the famine following, for it will be very severe.

Nothing which was gained will remain. The earth will crack and the land will mourn. It will be so bad that the term Joseph uses in Hebrew doesn’t have a direct equivalent in English. He says khaved hu meod – it will be “very heavy.”

The concept of heaviness is given to show that the strain of the weight of those years and the crushing burden they bring will be too much to bear. Thus we translate this as “very severe.”

³² And the dream was repeated to Pharaoh twice because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass.

Two more times in a row, Joseph says that it is ha’elohim, the God, who has established and purposed what is coming. The term elohim is mentioned 9 times in this chapter, but each time He is mentioned in relation to the direct interpretation of Pharaoh’s dreams by Joseph, he calls Him “the God.”

It is the God who has doubled the dream to Pharaoh and the reason for doing so is that the matter is firmly decreed by the God and so the God will hasten what He has decreed. Like a wave rolling toward a shore, nothing will stop the tide of the prophecy.

IV.  Joseph’s Wise Counsel

³³ “Now therefore, let Pharaoh select a discerning and wise man, and set him over the land of Egypt.

Without a hint from the Bible as to whether he was asked for advice or not, he goes directly from an interpreter of dreams to a counselor of remedies. He was the revealer of disaster and now he is the imparter of hope – because of this, now therefore that.

As the Geneva Bible says here, “The office of a true prophet is not only to show the evils to come, but also the remedies for the same.” Joseph shows himself to be a man whom God trusts with His mysteries and one whom God has endowed with His wisdom.

And so as easily as he relayed the interpretation, he now submits counsel – “…let Pharaoh select a discerning and wise man and set him over the land of Egypt.” Just as the interpretation came from God, this counsel must be His work as well.

Pharaoh could have taken offence at Joseph’s advice, as if he were saying he was incompetent. Instead he allows Joseph to continue. The words are taken as they were intended – to protect and continue Pharaoh’s kingdom, not usurp it. He recommends a governor who will have authority over the affairs of the land.

³⁴ 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.

Under the governor of the land, Joseph next recommends officers be appointed. It’s obvious that they would be subordinates who would handle given areas and tasks within those areas in order to secure one fifth of the produce.

We don’t know how this was collected. It could have been a tax, or it could have been bought. The idea though is that there are seven years of more-than-normal abundance. One fifth of this superabundance would be enough to cover each of the seven years of famine.

³⁵ 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.

What Joseph is suggesting has no down-side. If the famine doesn’t come about, Pharaoh will still have all of the produce at his disposal and under his authority. If it does come about, there will be more than double gain for every year of the famine.

For Pharaoh, Joseph’s words can only be taken as wise counsel. He will lose nothing, but could gain everything.

³⁶ 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 repeats that there will be a famine and that what is coming will require this action so that Egypt won’t completely perish. Again, if the dream was from God, then God intends for the dream to be interpreted. If Joseph was given the interpretation, then God is speaking through Joseph.

The obvious conclusion for Pharaoh is that Joseph is correct and that God’s word has been spoken to him and that he must now pay heed to the advice. This is the last verse of the day and it is the perfect spot for us to consider that last premise.

If the Bible is from God, then God intends for the book to be researched. If the research is proper, then it is intended to be applied. Why would God give Pharaoh a dream and then tell him something contrary to what the dream says? He wouldn’t.

And why would God give us His word and then allow us to live in a manner contrary to the word He has given? He wouldn’t. If Pharaoh’s dreams are true and Joseph’s interpretation is correct, then Joseph’s advice is sound.

If God’s word has proven itself true (and it has), and if proper handling of it is demonstrated, then the advice of the handler should be listened to. Pharaoh now has a choice concerning God’s word. We will see how he acts upon it next week.

We have a choice concerning God’s word and only time will tell if we act upon it properly or not. I would hope you do. In fact, it is the driving desire of my life. Don’t put God on a shelf when you get home, but apply His word moment by moment as you store up heavenly grain in anticipation of future famines.

Applying the word to your life can only be done after getting right with God. And the way to get right with God is to be right with His Son, Jesus. God did something wonderful for us when He entered humanity. Let me tell you about that now…

Closing Verse: “Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord God,
“That I will send a famine on the land,
Not a famine of bread,
Nor a thirst for water,
But of hearing the words of the Lord.
¹² They shall wander from sea to sea,
And from north to east;
They shall run to and fro, seeking the word of the Lord,
But shall not find it. Amos 8:11, 12

Next Week: Genesis 41:37-45 (Prophet, Priest, and King; the Savior of the World) (102nd Genesis Sermon)

The Lord has you exactly where He wants you and He has a good plan and purpose for you. Call on Him and let Him do marvelous things for you and through you.

Joseph’s Wise Counsel

Then Pharaoh sent and called
Joseph, and they brought him in a hurry
Out of the dungeon in which he was walled
In a rush they made him scurr

And he shaved, changed his clothing too
And came to Pharaoh after the hullabalo

And Pharaoh said to Joseph “I have had a dream
And there is no one who can interpret it
Quite a dilemma it would see

But I have heard it said of you
That you can understand a dream
To interpret it, this you can do
As easily as eating vanilla ice cream

Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying “It is not in me
God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace
He will provide an interpretation, you will see

Then Pharaoh said to Joseph: Behold, in my dream
I stood on the bank of the river and saw this theme

Suddenly there came up out of the river
Seven cows, fine looking and fat
And they fed in the meadow
On the land which was green and flat

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, my dream they did haunt

And the gaunt and ugly cows up they ate
The first seven, the fat cows I was shown
When they had eaten them up, I now state
After they had eaten them no one would have known

For they were just as ugly as before
So I awoke from the dream so sore

Also I saw in my dream and suddenly seven heads came
Up on one stalk, full and good, heads of acclaim

Then behold, seven heads, withered, thin, and blighted
By the east wind, sprang up after them
These are what I sighted

And the thin heads did eat…
The seven good heads as if they were a tasty treat

So I told this to the magicians, but there was none
Who could explain it to me, no not a single one

Then Joseph to Pharaoh said
“The dreams of Pharaoh are one
God has shown Pharaoh what lies ahead
What He is about to do, here under the sun

The seven good cows are seven years
And the seven good heads are seven years too
The dreams are one, have no fears
This is what God is showing you

And the seven thin and ugly cows
Which came up after them that you noted
Are seven years, as time allows
The time set by God as I have quoted

And the seven empty heads blighted by the east wind
Are seven years of famine, times when life is thinned

This is the thing, Pharaoh, which I have spoken to you
God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do

Indeed seven years of great plenty are at hand
They will come throughout Egypt, throughout all the land

But after them seven years of famine will arise
And all the plenty will be forgotten
In the land of Egypt there will be demise
The famine will deplete the land from which previous abundance was begotten

So the plenty will not be known
In the land because of the famine which will follow
For it will be very severe as you have been shown
I know it’s a bitter pill that you must swallow

And the dream was repeated as if a divine nod
To Pharaoh twice for him to look out
Because the thing is established by God
And God will shortly bring it about

“Now therefore, let Pharaoh select
A discerning and wise man
And set him over the land of Egypt
This is something that you should plan

Let Pharaoh do this, and let him assign
Officers over the land, all its frontiers
To collect one-fifth of the produce by design
Of the land of Egypt in the seven plentiful years

And let them gather all the food like security
Of those coming good years ahead
And store up grain under Pharaoh’s authority
And keep food in the cities, for the famine will be widespread

Then that food shall be as a reserve
For the land for the seven years of dearth
It shall be in the land of Egypt as you shall observe
So the land may not perish during the famine of the earth

God foreknew the troubled times that would come
And He sent Joseph to explain this to Pharaoh
And He knows of our own times of trials
When our hopes are dry and our wallets are narrow

But from God there is a better promise for us
When we will be taken into a broad and spacious place
Yes for any who have called on Jesus
We someday will behold God face to face

Until that day, we live in hope and not by sight
But our faith is what is most valued in God’s eyes
It is what restores us to Him, and to His shining light
So let us keep our faith in Jesus, our hearts on the prize

Hallelujah and Amen…

 

 

Genesis 41:1-13

Speaking Out When the Time is Right

Introduction: More dreams… In Genesis, God is working through dreams in a variety of ways. Looking to the future, He uses them to show pictures of Christ; to show that He is in control of the things which happen in the world both to His covenant people as well as those who are outside the covenant; and also to direct things to turn out as He has planned.

Looking to the past, the dreams are recorded to give us patterns and pictures of the Christ who has come; to substantiate how things came about; and also to verify how things work within the Bible itself. The various dreams which are recorded in Genesis follow a theme and a pattern which is consistent.

And so when they’re placed among the almost unlimited number of other patterns, they provide another level of validation that this is, in fact, a book which was written with superior wisdom, care, and directed attention.

In the approximately 2500 years of time which Genesis records, only 6 people’s dreams are relayed to us; Abimelech the king of Gerar during Isaac’s time; Jacob when he dreamt of the ladder reaching to heaven; Joseph in his two dreams about the sheaves and the stars; the cupbearer and the baker who were in prison with Joseph; and Pharaoh’s two dreams in today’s story.

And after having counted that up, I got curious about how many others had God-directed dreams which are specifically noted as dreams. In all, only 12 people qualify – in over 4000 years of history. God reserves for Himself the truly prophetic dream and that dream’s interpretation, and He does so very sparingly.

There are other visions and ways God spoke in the Bible, but just 12 dreams. Because of this, it would be good to remember the words of Jeremiah 23:32 –

“‘Behold, I am against those who prophesy false dreams,’ says the Lord, ‘and tell them, and cause My people to err by their lies and by their recklessness. Yet I did not send them or command them; therefore they shall not profit this people at all,” says the Lord.'”

Seeing the rare and select nature of God-directed dreams in the Bible, it is better that we enjoy our dreams without putting too much credence in them, lest we get led astray.

Text Verse: …He gives wisdom to the wise
And knowledge to those who have understanding.
22 He reveals deep and secret things;
He knows what is in the darkness,
And light dwells with Him. Daniel 2:21, 22

It’s true, God gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding. The Bible also says that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, so let’s get things in order, learn to fear our God, and then seek the true wisdom that can only come from knowing Him and pursuing Him. And the right way to do that is through reading and seeking Him in His superior word and so… May God speak to us through His word today and may His glorious name ever be praised.

I. Two Dreams

¹ Then it came to pass, at the end of two full years,

At the end of the last chapter, we read about Joseph’s continued plight in the pit. This is how the chapter ended –

“Now it came to pass on the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, that he made a feast for all his servants; and he lifted up the head of the chief butler and of the chief baker among his servants. ²¹ Then he restored the chief butler to his butlership again, and he placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand. ²² But he hanged the chief baker, as Joseph had interpreted to them. ²³ Yet the chief butler did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.”

The chief butler may have forgotten Joseph, but God never did. He will use the events ahead to bring him to a place of high honor. And so we’re told that this comes about at the end of two full years. The Hebrew is sh’natayim yamim. Literally “two years of days.”

It’s not sure if this is from the time of his incarceration or from the time of the dreams of the butler and the baker. Whichever, it was a long time for Joseph to sit and think, but it was a also a time of development and preparation which God deemed necessary.

^{1 (con’t)} that Pharaoh had a dream; and behold, he stood by the river.

Once again, dreams come into the unfolding drama of history, and in particular, Joseph’s life. He had two dreams – one of sheaves and one of stars. They contrasted and yet they confirmed the message of authority and rule. Then there were the two dreams of the butler and the baker.

Again, they contrasted and yet they confirmed. The contrast showed the state of the saved and of the lost, but they confirmed the authority over both by Christ.

And now, for a third time dreams will have a bearing on Joseph. If the pattern follows, there will be two dreams which will also contrast each other while confirming something. I’ve said it before though, and I will surely say it again, the Bible is written and dreams should no longer be considered as divine revelation for us.

In the New Testament, the only reference to dreams having any future significance is in Acts 2 where Peter (Apostle to the Jews) was speaking to the people of Israel and concerning the people of Israel. Matthew Henry, wisely wrote this concerning dreams –

“The means of Joseph’s being freed from prison were Pharaoh’s dreams, as here related. Now that God no longer speaks to us in that way, it is no matter how little we either heed dreams, or tell them. The telling of foolish dreams can make no better than foolish talk. But these dreams showed that they were sent of God; when he awoke, Pharaoh’s spirit was troubled.”

He notes that the dreams were sent of God. One thing is sure, if He gives a dream to show something, He will give the interpretation of that dream. It would make no sense for God to give a dream which needed to be interpreted and not to provide the interpreter.

If you can see the fine line which is presented, if we start looking at dreams as a relevant source of our doctrine and practice, then we – or whoever give us the interpretation – becomes the arbiter of what practice we should follow. Is that a comfortable consideration when we already have the Bible which is given for that very purpose?

Even this dream of Pharaoh is less concerned with him than it is for the deliverance of Joseph and ultimately his family, who are God’s people. Once again, this is the aim and purpose of Scripture. And because it is, we have to be extremely careful about our pondering dreams as some type of prophetic gift from God.

Anyway, in his dream it says Pharaoh stood by the river. The word is ye-or and it could be a canal or a river, but almost exclusively it is referring to the Nile, which is certainly the case here.

² Suddenly there came up out of the river seven cows, fine looking and fat; and they fed in the meadow.

While Pharaoh is standing there by the river, we’re told that suddenly seven cows come up out of the river. One commentator said this must have been hippopotamuses because they came out of the river. This is completely contrary to the rest of the chapter and makes no sense in the context of what the dream means.

Sometimes we try too hard to reach conclusions and the result is to ruin the passage in the process. These weren’t hippopotamuses; they were cows. The heifer cow was regarded by ancient Egyptians as a symbol of the earth, agriculture, and the nourishment which is  derived from them.

This is why the cow is the hieroglyphic symbol of these things and why the Egyptian goddess of the earth, Isis, was adorned with the sacred cow – because of the symbolism contained in it. This is what is being pictured, as we will see in the coming sermons.

The fact that they’re rising out of the Nile shows that the cause of their fatness is derived from the Nile; the water being their source of life and growth. After arising from the Nile, Pharaoh sees them feeding on the marsh grass which is abundant along the Nile.

³ Then behold, seven other cows came up after them out of the river, ugly and gaunt, and stood by the other cows on the bank of the river.

Suddenly Pharaoh interjects, v’hineh – and behold!

After the seven cows, fine and fat
Came seven more, gross and gaunt
And we can be certain that
As the first did please, the last did haunt

These next seven came out of the river as well, but when they came up, it says they stood by the cows on the bank of the Nile. Instead of eating in the marsh, the Hebrew uses the term shahpat, the lip of the river. What was an overflow for the first seven cows, resulting in land for grazing, has turned into a thin edge of the river, indicating no overflow.

The Bible says they are evil looking and gaunt. They are miserable bags of bones with the skin hanging loosely off them. The word for “gaunt” comes from a word which means “beaten fine.” These cows are reduced to their lowest state. So hungry are they, that they will do something unexpected before Pharaoh’s eyes…

⁴ And the ugly and gaunt cows ate up the seven fine looking and fat cows.

In what is contrary to nature on several levels, the skinny ones eat the fat ones. It is contrary that a skinny animal would be able to eat another fat one of the same kind. It is contrary that the weaker should overcome the stronger.

And it is contrary that a herbivore would eat another of its own kind as if it were a carnivore. Nothing in the dream seems to fit with reason, and so for the dream there must be a reason. And because of the disturbing nature of the dream, the result is…

^4 (con’t) So Pharaoh awoke.

It was a dream to cause the king to wake
One which disturbed him from his slumber, deep
You would think then, for goodness sake
That he would never be able to get back to sleep

But you would be wrong
And so let’s move along…

⁵ He slept and dreamed a second time;

As surely as Joseph had two dreams, and as was seen in the two dreams revealed to Joseph in prison, Pharaoh now has a second dream also. This one then, following the biblical pattern of the number two, will contrast the first and yet confirm the message.

^5 (con’t) and suddenly seven heads of grain came up on one stalk, plump and good.

In this dream, rather than fauna, there is the contrast of flora. In this case, it is grain used for food and which would be the particular grain known as triticum compositum. It’s a type of wheat which actually does bear seven ears on one stalk.

In order to support the weight and provide enough nourishment for the grain, it would have a solid stem, or at least one full of pith. This is what Pharaoh sees, but more than just the type, he notes the health of it being plump and good.

⁶ Then behold, seven thin heads, blighted by the east wind, sprang up after them.

Suddenly Pharaoh interjects, v’hineh – and behold! A new part of the dream captures his attention –

Seven thin heads he did see
By the east wind blighted
Sprang up after them
It made him feel uptighted

There is the Nile, the source of water which ran dry in the first dream, and there is the contrasting wind which turns from favorable to hostile in the second. The dreams contrast, but they will also be seen to confirm.

As a side note, this verse has been the subject of derision by people who attempt to diminish the truth of the Bible. The reason is that an east wind is not a normal occurrence in Egypt and even if there is one, it apparently won’t have the effects noted here. In case you ever read this, there are a couple things to note.

First, this is a supernatural occurrence which has come in the form of a dream. God is showing the effect of what will happen and noting the cause of it. If the dream is given by God, then the effect will come about. If the effect will come about, then the cause, even if not normal, will be from God.

Because of this, the symbolism of the word “east” can be interpreted from the symbolism of what east signifies in the Bible. There are an abundance of verses which tell of the destructive, directed, and/or divine nature of that which comes from the east.

In Exodus, Job, the Psalms, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Hosea, Jonah, and Habakkuk the east wind is noted in one of several ways. One is for the mischief it wreaks upon the lands of the middle east. It is also used symbolically in a divine manner. A great example of this is in Hosea 13 –

Though he is fruitful among his brethren,
An east wind shall come;
The wind of the Lord shall come up from the wilderness.
Then his spring shall become dry,
And his fountain shall be dried up.
He shall plunder the treasury of every desirable prize.
¹⁶ Samaria is held guilty,
For she has rebelled against her God.
They shall fall by the sword,
Their infants shall be dashed in pieces,
And their women with child ripped open.

Secondly, the Bible uses only four general directions of east, west, north, and south. The wind named here, which is kadim in Hebrew, can be comprised of any wind which comes from a northeast all the way to a southeast direction. And so based on that, thirdly…

The southeast wind which usually comes to Egypt in March and April is the one of the longest duration and of the greatest harm in the land. One writer named Ukert is quoted as saying,

“As long as the south-east wind continues, doors and windows are closed; but the fine dust penetrates everywhere; everything dries up; wooden vessels warp and crack. The thermometer rises suddenly … This wind works destruction upon everything. The grass withers so that it entirely perishes if this wind blows long.”

The reason for all the detail is to once again assure you that the Bible is both sound and reliable. If you read enough commentaries, you will normally come across people who want to introduce doubt into your faith. If the Bible can’t get something as simple as an east wind right, then how much less will it get matters of life right?

This is the attempt, and this is why its important to be ready to defend against that attempt. God’s word is strong enough to overcome these things and at the same time make the people who attack it look foolish for trying.

⁷ And the seven thin heads devoured the seven plump and full heads.

Again, just like the previous dream, that which is contrary to sound reason occurs. Stalks of grain don’t normally go around eating other stalks of grain. And even if they did, which they don’t, skinny ones couldn’t eat fat ones. It wouldn’t make sense to a mind in sleep. Instead it would be jolted awake. And that’s what happens…

^{7 (Con’t)} So Pharaoh awoke, and indeed, it was a dream.

And so he is awakened again; v’hineh – and behold. What didn’t make sense is seen to have only been a dream. It was a dream which was so real that it was taken as reality until he woke up.

II. Frustrating the Wisdom of the Wise

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.

In the morning, ba’boqer. It’s a term that I love to hear because it reminds me of the travel guide I met in Israel. His name was Zvi, a really great person. In Hebrew, when you greet someone, the word “morning” precedes the word “good.” So you would say boqer tov.

Zvi, in his beautiful way of using repetition for learning would come out each morning and say “boqer tov, morrrning good.” After hearing this at least 28 times in two weeks, one could never forget how to say “morning good” in Hebrew.

It was in the morning that Pharaoh was disturbed to the point of calling in his counselors. This takes us back to the dreams of the butler and the baker in the dungeon with Joseph. At that time it said that they were upset because there was no one to explain their dreams. If they were free, they could have consulted these guys.

Unlike them, Pharaoh thought he would find an explanation for the dreams. All he needed to do was to explain it to the professionals…

^8 (con’t)And Pharaoh told them his dreams, but there was no one who could interpret them for Pharaoh.

Pharaoh’s dreams were perplexing indeed
But surely someone could interpret them, right?
If God gave the dream then He must also have decreed
To give an interpretation for the vision of the night

But… The professionals of Egypt, the greatest country on earth at the time, couldn’t help. These were people skilled in all of the arts and sciences, and yet they couldn’t interpret what Pharaoh dreamt. And the Bible explains why in 1 Corinthians 2:10, 11 –

“For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. ¹¹ For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God.”

The dream was from God and so only the Spirit of God could properly interpret the dream. This will be seen again in the book of Daniel. When God has a plan for his people, His word, and His redemptive purposes, He will intervene in the affairs of men to ensure that these will be tended to according to His will.

What seems almost as a testament against the world, as much as it is one for the world, we see something a bit more than ironic. God changes the course of nations and the destiny of many people by a single night of dreams to a pagan king – imagine that.

And yet, today we have His entire word, given to the entire world, and that word is being more and more neglected and abandoned. It seems the more it is published, and the more it is made available via internet, radio, and TV, the fewer people attend to it in proportion to the amount it is distributed.

This doesn’t mean all is lost, but that the Bible’s intended effect is at one time to illuminate God more perfectly to His people, while at the same time to increasingly harden those who reject Him. One Pharaoh will hear and take to heart the word, another one will later hear and harden his heart to the word.

Like bookends on the Egyptian years, there is an east wind which causes the move of Israel to Egypt, thus saving them. And there is an east wind which allows the move of Israel away from Egypt when the Red Sea is parted, again saving them.

There is the Pharaoh who softens his heart to the dreams God gave him and promotes a Hebrew to the highest office in the land. And there is the Pharaoh who hardens his heart to the word of God and subjects the Hebrews to the most degrading conditions possible.

There is the welcoming of Israel into one Pharaoh’s presence, and there is the casting away of Israel from another Pharaoh’s presence. There is the voluntary blessing of Pharaoh by Israel (Jacob) when the two meet, and there is the anxious request of a blessing from Israel by Pharaoh before the two are separated at the exodus.

There is the consolidation of power in Egypt because of Joseph, and there is the loss of all its might because of Moses. On and on, the patterns come to focus in this marvelous story of how God deals with nations, symbolized by Egypt, because of His beloved people, Israel.

III. The Hebrew Man

⁹ Then the chief butler spoke to Pharaoh, saying: “I remember my faults this day.

Only after seeing that the magicians and the wise men couldn’t resolve the matter of the king’s dreams does the butler speak up. He obviously felt that this would put him in a better light with Pharaoh and so he begins with the statement, “I remember my faults this day…”

From the Hebrew, just like the English, we can’t tell if he’s speaking of his faults before Pharaoh which landed him in jail, or the fault of not mentioning Joseph since he got out of jail. One way or another, he is confessing that he has erred in his actions.

¹⁰ When Pharaoh was angry with his servants, and put me in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, both me and the chief baker, ¹¹ we each had a dream in one night, he and I. Each of us dreamed according to the interpretation of his own dream.

The cupbearer goes into detail about the situation because of its remarkable resemblance to what has happened to Pharaoh. There were two dreams then and there are two dreams now. But to ensure that what he says has its intended effect, he notes that the dreams were by different people.

Rather than confirming the dreams of one, what he will say will be more weighty because it confirmed the dreams of two. Here, the importance is that Pharaoh is being addressed. He’s using tact so that he doesn’t lose Pharaoh’s favor again if things don’t work out.

The interpretation of one person’s dreams, even if it came true, could be considered less important, but when two people are involved, both high officials of Pharaoh, it would have much more weight. The biblical axiom “By two or three witnesses a matter will be established” bears true even in this situation.

If he stepped forward with his own dream which was fulfilled, but then Joseph failed now, it could possibly land him in prison again. But if he says both dreams were fulfilled, then Pharaoh would have to consider that and he would be less likely to be upset, even if Joseph were to fail. Two or more testimonies are always better than one.

And so he gives the details…

¹² Now there was a young Hebrew man with us there, a servant of the captain of the guard. And we told him, and he interpreted our dreams for us; to each man he interpreted according to his own dream.

The cupbearer takes it on assumption that the Pharaoh would know what a Hebrew is. The reason probably goes all the way back to Abraham. It was about 200 years earlier that Abraham went down to Egypt. Having come originally from the area of Babylon, he would have been wise in many of the disciplines of that area.

Josephus says this about Abraham’s time in Egypt – “He communicated to them arithmetic, and delivered to them the science of astronomy; for before Abram came into Egypt they were unacquainted with those parts of learning; for that science came from the Chaldeans into Egypt, and from thence to the Greeks also.”

If Abraham was remembered in the same light that we remember Benjamin Franklin, then his people, the Hebrews, would be considered and remembered in that same light. To introduce Joseph as a Hebrew then would add credibility to the discernment of such important matters – even dreams.

¹³ And it came to pass, just as he interpreted for us, so it happened. He restored me to my office, and he hanged him.”

To validate his statement, he gives the gist of what happened. Just like this young man interpreted, so it came to pass. “He was trustworthy then and so I’m bringing him up to you now. Maybe he can do the same thing again.”

And to conclude what happened, he gives a summary of the results. A very brief one. In fact, we could call his response short and concise. In Hebrew, he doesn’t mince words about what happened – he says, oti heshiv al kani v’otow talah, restored in my office… hanged. (2:25)

Although he didn’t have the book of Ecclesiastes in front of him, he lived out a portion of it very well in this instance –

“For a dream comes through much activity,
And a fool’s voice is known by his many words.” Ecclesiastes 5:3

Sometimes the less said, the better, especially when you’re around a boss or someone else higher up in the chain of command. Although most of us love to hear ourselves, it is the wise person who speaks little and listens a lot. That is why God gave us two ears and only one mouth. James tells us about this in his letter way back towards the end of the Bible –

“So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; ²⁰ for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.” James 1:19, 20

Sometimes saying less is the better choice
Speaking too much can make us look worse than a fool
And so let us withhold the sound of our voice
Until its needed for others as a helpful tool

This cupbearer found himself in prison once and he didn’t want to go there again. He was swift to hear, waiting for the magicians and wise men to give their words, and he was slow to speak, but he did finally speak.

Although his name isn’t recorded in the Bible, his few words to Pharaoh saved his country, saved the people of Israel, and brought about a chain of events which would eventually lead to Israel’s Exodus, return to the land of Israel, and even to ushering in the Messiah of the world.  Not bad for a person who was once sitting in a dungeon wondering if he would ever come out, and if so, if it would be for execution.

This is where things end for us today – in anticipation of Joseph being brought before Pharaoh. Let’s remember, if God can use an unnamed cupbearer to the Pharaoh as a part of His plan to save the entire world of fallen man, then do you suppose He can do the same for you as well? What you’re doing in your job or other daily life may not seem important, but every action you take is playing some role in God’s world.

You’re not an after-thought and what you might see as insignificant could be a step towards an immensely important part of God’s plan. Whoever took the time to tell Billy Graham about Jesus, be it family, friend, or some unknown person – whoever – they were in turn a part of bringing the gospel to more people in one lifetime than in all the history of the world.

Maybe you will do the same in some small way. (1) Be confident in your doctrine, (2) be bold in your proclamation, and (3) be steadfast in your determination to be someone that makes a difference. When you get feeling low, think of the cupbearer in prison and remember that he was low too, but he was restored, he was used, and in God’s word he is remembered. This is great stuff from a glorious God.

If you’ve never taken the time to call on Jesus; if you’ve never understood His work or your need for Him; if you’re curious about how to become a part of what God is doing in the world through Christ, pleases give me just another moment to explain the simple gospel to you…

Closing Verse: I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes. Matthew 11:25

Next Week Isaiah 9:6, 7 (The Zeal of the Lord of Hosts)

 

The Lord has you exactly where He wants you and He has a good plan and purpose for you. Call on Him and let Him do marvelous things for you and through you.

Pharaoh’s Dreams

Then it came to pass, at the end of two full years
That Pharaoh had a dream; a vision of the night
And behold, he stood by the river, it appears
That the dream came to the focus of his sigh

Suddenly there came up out of the river
Seven cows, fine looking and fat
And they fed in the meadow
On the land which was green and flat

Then behold, seven other cows, not looking so good
Came up after them out of the Nile
Ugly and gaunt, by the other cows they stood
There at the bank of the river for awhile

And the ugly and gaunt cows up they ate
The seven cows, fine looking and fat
So Pharaoh awoke with an increased heart rate
It’s lucky he didn’t just fall flat

He slept and dreamed a second time
And suddenly up came seven heads of grain
On one stalk, plump and good, so sublime
His dreams were coming once again

Then behold, seven emaciated heads blighted by the east wind
Sprang up after them, looking ever-so thinned

And the seven thin heads devoured
The seven plump and full heads
So Pharaoh awoke not feeling empowered
And indeed, it was a dream woven with confusing threads

Now it came to pass in the morning
That his spirit was troubled within him so
And he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt
And all its wise men, surely the interpretation they would know

And Pharaoh told them his dreams, but there was none
Who could interpret them for Pharaoh, no… not even one

Then the chief butler spoke to Pharaoh
Saying, “I remember my faults this day
When Pharaoh was angry with his servants
And put me in custody, yes he locked me away

In the house of the captain of the guard we were
Both me and the chief baker too
We each had a dream in one night, for sure
He and I both had a dream which came true

Each of us dreamed according to that which was
The interpretation of his own dream
Now there was a young Hebrew man there with us
A servant of the captain of the guard of your regime

And we told him what was each dream
And he interpreted both of them for us
To each man he interpreted according to its theme
And he did this quickly, easily, and without a fuss

And it came to pass, as I relate to you now
Just as he interpreted for us, so it came about
He restored me to my office, but the other he did disavow
And he hanged him, the interpretation was true, no doubt

It is God who in various ways and in times past
Revealed His word for us until at long last

The word was finished and so it is complete
It gives us full instruction for guidance in our lives
It will lead us in each trial and challenge that we meet
Be they with our husbands, or children, or wives

Or in any other aspect when troubles come around
In our finances or health, there is peace in this book to be found

Gotta thank God for His superior word
It is filled with exceeding treasure, wonder, and delight
It is the book which reveals to us Jesus our Lord
So we should keep our nose in it, each day and each night

Maybe start with a psalm each morning bright
To God, make it an offering of praise
And end with a proverb to finish off at night
Something to keep us wise for all of our days

Hallelujah and Amen…