Joseph Interprets Pharaoh's Dreams (MP 32)

At last a summons from the palace came;
Pharaoh had had two dreams, meanings unknown;
Joseph’s cupbearer friend mentioned his name,
As a dream diviner who’s never wrong!
He breathed a prayer thanking God for his call,
Shaved and dressed, reported to the throne-room;
The dreams recounted; the court waited all,
To see if Joseph would fizzle or boom!
“Egypt will enjoy seven years of rich crops,
Followed by seven years of sowings that fail;
Store one-fifth the grain in years that are tops,
So you’ll have food in the years that are frail!
Joseph’s wise answer so impressed the king,
That he was put in charge of ev’rything!

Scripture Quoted: Genesis 41:41-43 (NIV)
“Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘I hereby put you in charge of the whole land of Egypt.’ Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his finger and put it on Joseph’s finger. He dressed him in robes of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck. He had him ride in a chariot as his second-in-command, and men shouted before him, ‘Make way!’ Thus he put him in charge of the whole land of Egypt.”

Commentary
After thirteen years of slavery and imprisonment, Joseph had finally reached the pinnacle that God’s Master Plan had set for him—the second highest position in Egypt. He had been despised by his ten older brothers in Canaan; they had captured him as a 17-year old boy and sold him into slavery. Circumstances had compelled him to serve Potiphar as a slave, but God’s help in working things out for his good caused a chain of events which eventually landed him next to Pharaoh in power in Egypt (Romans 8:28). The reason God helps some human beings is because they love him and He has a purpose for their lives. Only believers in Jesus Christ as Lord receive that Godly help today.

Now we will see why God’s Plan needed an ally in such a powerful post in Egypt. Remember that God had chosen Abraham and Sarah to give birth to a son at 100 and 90 years of age respectively. The son Isaac’s descendants would grow into a nation Chosen by God to give birth to the Messiah (which means Christ or King of the Kingdom of God), who would be Jesus of Nazareth and who would offer redemption from the condemnation of death for all men and women. Isaac then fathered Jacob, and Jacob’s name was changed to Israel, and that would be the name of the Chosen Nation. Joseph was one of 12 sons of Jacob, and he would be responsible for causing the Israelites to re-locate to Egypt, where for 430 years they could grow into a multitude of people. Israel would be the nation though which God would reveal Himself to the world as Savior and Redeemer and Father by adoption to all who accepted His Son Jesus as Christ the Lord. Joseph’s life was a key instrument in the making of Israel into its intended role in the Master Plan of God.

The famine that Joseph predicted would come after seven years of plenty, and it would affect Canaan, as well. After 10 or so years with Joseph’s storing of plenty of grain in Egypt, Jacob sent Joseph’s ten brothers to Egypt to buy grain for food to use in Canaan. After a series of complicated machinations, Joseph identified himself to his brothers, who had been bowing down to him as his youthful dreams had presaged; he forgave them and convinced Jacob and all his sons’ families to move to Egypt, where he gave them the very fertile land of Goshen. God’s plans for Israel will continue to develop in my next blogs.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him will not die, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)

“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)