Genesis 41:1

In reference to the last two years that Joseph was in prison in Egypt, the Bible says in Genesis 41:1-14, “And it came to pass at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh dreamed: and, behold, he stood by the river. And, behold, there came up out of the river seven well favoured kine and fatfleshed; and they fed in a meadow. And, behold, seven other kine came up after them out of the river, ill favoured and leanfleshed; and stood by the other kine upon the brink of the river. And the ill favoured and leanfleshed kine did eat up the seven well favoured and fat kine. So Pharaoh awoke. And he slept and dreamed the second time: and, behold, seven ears of corn came up upon one stalk, rank and good. And, behold, seven thin ears and blasted with the east wind sprung up after them. And the seven thin ears devoured the seven rank and full ears. And Pharaoh awoke, and, behold, it was a dream. And 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 the wise men thereof: and Pharaoh told them his dream; but there was none that could interpret them unto Pharaoh. Then spake the chief butler unto Pharaoh, saying, I do remember my faults this day: Pharaoh was wroth with his servants, and put me in ward in the captain of the guard's house, both me and the chief baker: And we dreamed a dream in one night, I and he; we dreamed each man according to the interpretation of his dream. And there was there with us a young man, an Hebrew, servant to the captain of the guard; and we told him, and he interpreted to us our dreams; to each man according to his dream he did interpret. And it came to pass, as he interpreted to us, so it was; me he restored unto mine office, and him he hanged. Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they brought him hastily out of the dungeon: and he shaved himself, and changed his raiment, and came in unto Pharaoh.”

God is all-powerful. And God uses His power every day in the lives of every single person on the earth. Even when we do no know it and do not see it, God is at work guiding and working in the life of every person on this earth. God works in the lives of those that are saved and those that are not saved. Concerning the lives of the saved, God is working to make them stronger and to bring them closer to Christ. Concerning the lives of the unsaved, God is working to bring them closer to the knowledge of Christ. And God also works in the lives of the unsaved in order to accomplish His will for believers’ lives. That is what happened with Pharaoh. God had an important plan for Joseph, and God was working in Pharaoh‘s life to bring that plan to fruition. That is why God gave Pharaoh the dreams of the fat and lean cattle, and of the thin and bountiful grain. God purposely gave Pharaoh those dreams in order to use Pharaoh to fulfill God’s plans for Joseph. God had given Joseph a gift: a gift to interpret dreams. A baker who was a fellow-prisoner with Joseph learned of Joseph’s gift to interpret dreams, and years later the baker told Pharaoh about Joseph and his gift. And so the power of God and the will of God brought these three together: Joseph, the baker, and Pharaoh. God brought them together in just the right way and in just the right time.

The Bible says in Genesis 41:15-32, “And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I have dreamed a dream, and there is none that can interpret it: and I have heard say of thee, that thou canst understand a dream to interpret it. And Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, It is not in me: God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace. And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, In my dream, behold, I stood upon the bank of the river: And, behold, there came up out of the river seven kine, fatfleshed and well favoured; and they fed in a meadow: And, behold, seven other kine came up after them, poor and very ill favoured and leanfleshed, such as I never saw in all the land of Egypt for badness: And the lean and the ill favoured kine did eat up the first seven fat kine: And when they had eaten them up, it could not be known that they had eaten them; but they were still ill favoured, as at the beginning. So I awoke. And I saw in my dream, and, behold, seven ears came up in one stalk, full and good: And, behold, seven ears, withered, thin, and blasted with the east wind, sprung up after them: And the thin ears devoured the seven good ears: and I told this unto the magicians; but there was none that could declare it to me. And Joseph said unto Pharaoh, The dream of Pharaoh is one: God hath shewed Pharaoh what he is about to do. The seven good kine are seven years; and the seven good ears are seven years: the dream is one. And the seven thin and ill favoured kine that came up after them are seven years; and the seven empty ears blasted with the east wind shall be seven years of famine. This is the thing which I have spoken unto Pharaoh: What God is about to do he sheweth unto Pharaoh. Behold, there come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt: And there shall arise after them seven years of famine; and all the plenty shall be forgotten in the land of Egypt; and the famine shall consume the land; And the plenty shall not be known in the land by reason of that famine following; for it shall be very grievous. And for that the dream was doubled unto Pharaoh twice; it is because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass.”

Joseph correctly told Pharaoh that there would be seven years of plenty followed by seven years of famine. This was very important information for Egypt‘s future welfare. With this information the proper action could be taken to save as much grain as possible during the seven years of plenty. With this information a disaster would be avoided. And with this information Egypt would become even more powerful and would gain a great advantage over its neighbors. The ability to know the future is very important. But only God knows the future. That is one reason that it is very important to trust Him. Because God knows the future, we would be wise to follow His leading.

There is a very practical lesson to learn from the seven years of plenty followed by the seven years of famine. The lesson is that good times are followed by bad times, and then followed by good times once again. This is a very common re-occurrence in life, so be prepared. If things are going well, then save what you can while you can, because things will probably not always go so well. Some of the creatures in the animal kingdom do this. They store up their food while there is food available, and they use those stores at a later date. It says in Proverbs 6:6-8, “Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.” On the other hand, if things are not going so well, then be patient and endure, because difficult times will eventually turn around. Things will probably get better, so cheer up. Sufferings come, but they also go away, just like the old saying, “There is a light at the end of the tunnel.”

Concerning Joseph and his conversation with Pharaoh about how to administer the seven years of plenty, the Bible says in Genesis 41:33-46, “Now therefore let Pharaoh look out a man discreet and wise, and set him over the land of Egypt. Let Pharaoh do this, and let him appoint officers over the land, and take up the fifth part of the land of Egypt in the seven plenteous years. And let them gather all the food of those good years that come, and lay up corn under the hand of Pharaoh, and let them keep food in the cities. And that food shall be for store to the land against the seven years of famine, which shall be in the land of Egypt; that the land perish not through the famine. And the thing was good in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of all his servants. And Pharaoh said unto his servants, Can we find such a one as this is, a man in whom the Spirit of God is? And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Forasmuch as God hath shewed thee all this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou art: Thou shalt be over my house, and according unto thy word shall all my people be ruled: only in the throne will I be greater than thou. And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, See, I have set thee over all the land of Egypt. And Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand, and put it upon Joseph's hand, and arrayed him in vestures of fine linen, and put a gold chain about his neck; And he made him to ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried before him, Bow the knee: and he made him ruler over all the land of Egypt. And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I am Pharaoh, and without thee shall no man lift up his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt. And Pharaoh called Joseph's name Zaphnath-paaneah; and he gave him to wife Asenath the daughter of Poti-pherah priest of On. And Joseph went out over all the land of Egypt. And 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.”

It truly is an amazing thing that happened to Joseph. Joseph became the second-most powerful man in Egypt: only behind Pharaoh himself. More importantly Joseph was a testimony to the one true God. Evidently through observing the life of Joseph Pharaoh came into the knowledge of God. Pharaoh said of Joseph, “Can we find such a one as this is, a man in whom the Spirit of God is?” Pharaoh knew that Joseph’s accomplishments came from God. The Bible says in Genesis 41:39, “And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Forasmuch as God hath shewed thee all this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou art.” Do not ever forget that the most important part of your testimony to the world is not what you say, but how you live day in and day out. People are watching. Jesus said in Matthew 5:16 “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”

The Bible says in Genesis 41:47-57, “And in the seven plenteous years the earth brought forth by handfuls. And 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: the food of the field, which was round about every city, laid he up in the same. And Joseph gathered corn as the sand of the sea, very much, until he left numbering; for it was without number. And unto Joseph were born two sons before the years of famine came, which Asenath the daughter of Poti-pherah priest of On bare unto him. And Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh: For God, said he, hath made me forget all my toil, and all my father's house. And the name of the second called he Ephraim: For God hath caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction. And the seven years of plenteousness, that was in the land of Egypt, were ended. And the seven years of dearth began to come, according as Joseph had said: and the dearth was in all lands; but in all the land of Egypt there was bread. And when all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread: and Pharaoh said unto all the Egyptians, Go unto Joseph; what he saith to you, do. And the famine was over all the face of the earth: and Joseph opened all the storehouses, and sold unto the Egyptians; and the famine waxed sore in the land of Egypt. And all countries came into Egypt to Joseph for to buy corn; because that the famine was so sore in all lands.”

Joseph had two sons: Ephraim and Manasseh. One thing that is interesting about the tribes of Israel is that no tribe was named after Joseph. Instead, two tribes were created from the lineage of Joseph: those represented by Ephraim and Manasseh. Maybe that is one of the ways that God blessed Joseph. We must say that Joseph’s children were blessed because of Joseph. Do not forget that the mother of these two children was an Egyptian. The whole nation of Egypt was also blessed because of Joseph and his leadership and his relationship to the Lord. Perhaps this is another way in which Joseph typifies the Lord Jesus Christ. In Jesus all the nations of the earth are blessed. Jesus offers forgiveness and salvation to everyone on the earth, whether Jew or Gentile.

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