That had to be discouraging for Joseph,
but things will change!
To make it brief: Pharaoh dream two dreams which no one could interpret.
(Gen 41:9) Then the chief butler spoke to Pharaoh, saying: "I remember my faults this day. {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. {12} "Now there was a young Hebrew man with us there, a servant of the captain of the guard.
[And he never even got his name, or if he did, he forgot it: All too typical of too many of us.]
(Gen 41:12b) And we told him, and he interpreted our dreams for us; to each man he interpreted according to his own dream. {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." {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.
Pharaoh Briefly tells Joseph the problem
(Gen 41:15) 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." {16} So Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, "It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace."
So Pharaoh retells the dream for Joseph
(Gen 41:17) 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.
Now for the Second Dream
(Gen 41:22) "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. So I told this to the magicians, but there was no one who could explain it to me."
Joseph gives the interpretation to Pharaoh
(Gen 41:25) Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, "The dreams of Pharaoh are one; God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do: {26} "The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good heads are seven years; the 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. {28} "This is the thing which I have spoken to Pharaoh. God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do. {29} "Indeed seven years of great plenty will come throughout all the land of Egypt; {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. {31} "So the plenty will not be known in the land because of the famine following, for it will be 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.
Joseph Makes his Recommendations
(Gen 41:33) "Now therefore, let Pharaoh select a discerning and wise man, and set him over the land of Egypt. {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. {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. {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."
Pharaoh approves Joseph’s Plan
(Gen 41:37) So the advice was good in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of all his servants.
Why not Joseph to execute the Plan?
(Gen 41:38) And Pharaoh said to his servants, "Can we find such a one as this, a man in whom is the Spirit of God?" {39} Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Inasmuch as God has shown you all this, there is no one as discerning and wise as you. {40} "You shall be over my house, and all my people shall be ruled according to your word; only in regard to the throne will I be greater than you." {41} And Pharaoh said to Joseph, "See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt." {42} Then Pharaoh took his signet ring off his hand and put it on Joseph's hand; and he clothed him in garments of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck. {43} 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.
There has never been a SuperBowl
There has never been a World Series
There has never been a Golf Tournament
That begins to come close to this unbelievable day!
In one Day, Joseph the prisoner becomes Joseph: Second in command in all the land of Egypt!
What other peaceful event comes close to the drama of this Day?
(Gen 41:44) 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."
(Gen 41:44 NASB) "Moreover, Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Though I am Pharaoh, yet without your permission no one shall raise his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.""
Pharaoh makes Joseph a basic dictator. He gives him the power to tax. He gives him the power to make and sign deals: (Gen 41:42) Then Pharaoh took his signet ring off his hand and put it on Joseph's hand;”
Did he ever abuse his power? Good question!
(Gen 47:15-19 NKJV) "So when the money failed in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came to Joseph and said,
"Give us bread, for why should we die in your presence? For the money has failed." {16} Then Joseph said, "Give your livestock, and I will give you bread for your livestock, if the money is gone." {17} So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and Joseph gave them bread in exchange for the horses, the flocks, the cattle of the herds, and for the donkeys. Thus he fed them with bread in exchange for all their livestock that year. {18} When that year had ended, they came to him the next year and said to him, "We will not hide from my lord that our money is gone; my lord also has our herds of livestock. There is nothing left in the sight of my lord but our bodies and our lands. {19} "Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land for bread, and we and our land will be servants of Pharaoh; give us seed, that we may live and not die, that the land may not be desolate.""
But back to Chapter 41, and the Current Story:
Pharaoh changes his name, and gives him a wife.
(Gen 41:45) And Pharaoh called Joseph's name Zaphnath-Paaneah. 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.
He’s free now, but he’s also in charge.
This is his land, at least to rule.
{46} Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went throughout all the land of Egypt.
“Thirty years old” He was 17! When his brothers sold him. Where are the 13 years? Some think he was with Potipher 10 years and in prison 3 years. Who knows?
The Good years begin
(Gen 41:47) Now in the seven plentiful years the ground brought forth abundantly. {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. {49} Joseph gathered very much grain, as the sand of the sea, until he stopped counting, for it was immeasurable.
His Family
(Gen 41:50) 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. {51} Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh: "For God has made me forget all my toil and all my father's house." {52} And the name of the second he called Ephraim: "For God has caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction." {53} Then the seven years of plenty which were in the land of Egypt ended, {54} and the seven years of famine began to come,
as Joseph had said. The famine was in all lands, but in all the land of Egypt there was bread. {55} 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."
Pharaoh was wise and honorable. He didn’t take away from Joseph. He honored him, and he left him to complete the plan he had begun.
(Gen 41:56) 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. {57} So all countries came to Joseph in Egypt to buy grain, because the famine was severe in all lands."
Joseph was a savior.
Not the Savior
And not a Savior from sin,
But a savior from starvation.
A savior from physical death.
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