Genesis 41

         Two years pass after the events of the previous chapter. Joseph is still in prison, forgotten, it seems, by everyone. It’s now very likely about three or four years since he was first thrown into the dungeon after being falsely accused by Potiphar’s wife. Joseph is thirty years old (v.46), which means he’s been in Egypt now for 13 years.
 
        Verses 1-7: God sets into the motion the next series of events by which Joseph will be rescued from prison. Pharaoh experiences two different dreams which greatly trouble him. In the first, seven fat and healthy cows rise up from the river (presumably the Nile) and begin feeding in a nearby meadow. Shortly thereafter, seven lean and sickly cows come up from the river and devour the healthy ones. In the second dream, the same scenario plays out except that it is seven healthy ears of corn on a stalk that are devoured by seven lean and sickly ears.
        Take note here of God’s omniscience. Just as He controlled the animals that needed to be moved into the ark for Noah, so God can even reach down into our minds and manipulate our dreams as we sleep. There is nothing in this physical realm that He cannot alter, change, manipulate or control if He truly desires it. He is the creator and sustainer of all things, from the smallest insect to the most powerful man on earth.
 
         Verses 8-13: The next morning Pharaoh summons all his wise men and magicians. He tells them his dreams but, predictably, none of them can interpret them. It’s then that the chief butler speaks up and reminds Pharaoh of the time he threw him into prison two years earlier. The butler remembers Joseph and describes him to Pharaoh. He explains about the separate dreams he and the chief baker experienced and how the young Hebrew slave was able to interpret them. Joseph’s predictions turned out to be true and accurate.
 
        Verses 14-24: Pharaoh immediately orders Joseph to be brought before him. (Psalm 105:20, Daniel 2:25) Since it has been almost three years since Joseph was first thrown into the dungeon he needs to get cleaned up first. (2 Kings 25:27) He shaves, cuts his hair, and then changes clothes. (v.14) Once he is before Pharaoh, the Egyptian ruler says that he’s heard that Joseph has the ability to interpret dreams. Once again, Joseph gives honor and glory to God by giving Pharaoh the same response he gave to the butler and baker two years earlier. “It is not in me: God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace.” (v.16) By explaining the dreams, God – through Joseph – would settle Pharaoh’s troubled spirit.
 
       Verses 25-32: Joseph tells Pharaoh that the meaning of both dreams is the same. The seven fat and healthy cows, as well as the seven good ears of corn, represent seven years of plenty in Egypt. The harvests will be full and good, and Egypt will prosper greatly. The seven ill and sickly cows and the wasted, lean ears of corn represent seven years of famine that will immediately follow the years of plenty. The famine, in fact, would be so grievous in all the land that the years of plenty preceding it would quickly be forgotten. (v.31) Joseph further explains that God gave Pharaoh two different dreams to emphasize their meaning, and that the dreams show that God will do what He has promised, and that it will be Him that brings these events to pass. (v.32)
 
        Verses 33-36: But Joseph doesn’t stop there. He goes one step further by suggesting a plan of action to Pharaoh that will ensure his people will not starve during the lean years. He tells Pharaoh to appoint officers throughout the land that will collect a percentage of all the grain harvests and bring them to storehouses each season for the next seven years. These storehouses would then be overseen by Pharaoh’s officers, and there would be one in every city throughout Egypt. That grain would then be used to sustain the people in the seven years of famine that would follow the years of plenty.
         This is a remarkably bold and brave action on the part of a lowly Hebrew slave before the great and mighty ruler of all Egypt. Joseph’s suggestion again displays his unwavering trust and faith in God. It wasn’t enough to simply interpret the dream for Pharaoh. Joseph recognized that God intended for him to act upon the meaning of the dreams. God was giving both Joseph and Pharaoh a direction, and Joseph didn’t hesitate to explain to the Egyptian ruler what needed to be done to save his people.
 
          Verses 37-46: Pharaoh promptly promotes Joseph to a position similar to that of a vice regent or a vizier. Joseph is placed in command of not only all of Pharaoh’s house but all the land of Egypt as well, subordinate only to Pharaoh. (v.40-41) Pharaoh gives Joseph his signet ring, a new wardrobe, and a gold chain to wear around his neck. (v.42) Joseph is also given the privilege of riding in the second chariot behind Pharaoh and paraded before all the people. (v.43) Pharaoh gives Joseph autonomous power to do whatever he deems best for the people and the land of Egypt. (v.44) The last gift for Joseph is that of a wife, Asenath, the daughter of Poti-pherah, priest of On. (v.45) As noted earlier, Joseph is thirty years old (v.46), the same age as Jesus Christ when he officially began his public ministry. (Luke 3:23)
 
          Verses 47-52: Just as God predicted, the seven years of plenty are indeed plenteous for Egypt. The harvests each year are so abundant, in fact, that the grain in the storehouses eventually number as much as the “…sand of the sea…” (v.49), even to the point that Joseph stops counting because there’s so much coming in from all corners of Egypt. (v.48)
        Also, in this time of plenty, are two sons born unto Joseph: Manasseh and Ephraim. The name of his firstborn means “One Who Causes Me To Forget”. (v.51) Joseph is emphasizing that God’s blessings to him in Egypt had caused Joseph to forget all the turmoil and conflict with his brothers that had resulted in his exile in Egypt in the first place. Ephraim’s name means “Fruitful” (v.52), again emphasizing how much God had blessed Joseph. This is yet one more indicator of the depth of Joseph’s faith, trust and obedience in God!
 
         Verses 53-57: The famine that God had prophesied to Pharaoh through Joseph was not just in Egypt. Verses 54 and 56 makes it clear that it was in “…all lands…” and “…over all the face of the earth…” (Psalm 105:16, Acts 7:11) When the people come to Pharaoh begging for bread, he  tells them, “Go unto Joseph; what he saith to you, do.” (v.55) Joseph opens up all the storehouses and sells the grain back to the Egyptians. Verse 57 sets the stage for the prophetic fulfillment of Joseph’s own dreams twenty years earlier: “And all countries came into Egypt to Joseph for to buy corn; because that the famine was sore in all lands.” This is why God made the previous seven years’ harvests so plentiful. It wasn’t just their own people that they were providing for. The Egyptians were also going to help out the foreign nations around them who were also suffering because of the famine. That includes a man named Jacob and his eleven sons living in the land of Canaan, in the valley of Hebron.