Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark
"Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "In my dream I was standing on the bank of the Nile, when out of the river there came up seven cows, fat and sleek, and they grazed among the reeds. After them, seven other cows came up—scrawny and very ugly and lean. I had never seen such ugly cows in all the land of Egypt. The lean, ugly cows ate up the seven fat cows that came up first. But even after they ate them, no one could tell that they had done so; they looked just as ugly as before. Then I woke up. "In my dreams I also saw seven heads of grain, full and good, growing on a single stalk. After them, seven other heads sprouted—withered and thin and scorched by the east wind. The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven good heads. I told this to the magicians, but none could explain it to me." Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, "The dreams of Pharaoh are one and the same. God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do. The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good heads of grain are seven years; it is one and the same dream. The seven lean, ugly cows that came up afterward are seven years, and so are the seven worthless heads of grain scorched by the east wind: They are seven years of famine. "It is just as I said to Pharaoh: God has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do. Seven years of great abundance are coming throughout the land of Egypt, but seven years of famine will follow them. Then all the abundance in Egypt will be forgotten, and the famine will ravage the land. The abundance in the land will not be remembered, because the famine that follows it will be so severe. The reason the dream was given to Pharaoh in two forms is that the matter has been firmly decided by God, and God will do it soon. "And now let Pharaoh look for a discerning and wise man and put him in charge of the land of Egypt. Let Pharaoh appoint commissioners over the land to take a fifth of the harvest of Egypt during the seven years of abundance. They should collect all the food of these good years that are coming and store up the grain under the authority of Pharaoh, to be kept in the cities for food. This food should be held in reserve for the country, to be used during the seven years of famine that will come upon Egypt, so that the country may not be ruined by the famine." The plan seemed good to Pharaoh and to all his officials. So Pharaoh asked them, "Can we find anyone like this man, one in whom is the spirit of God?" Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one so discerning and wise as you. You shall be in charge of my palace, and all my people are to submit to your orders. Only with respect to the throne will I be greater than you." Genesis 41:17-40
In the first 16 verses of Chapter 41, Pharoah, the ruler of Egypt, has a troubling dream that none of his magicians or visionaries could interpret. Then Pharoah’s cupbearer remembers Joseph and how he correctly interpreted his dream as well as the baker’s while they were in prison two years earlier. Pharoah summons Joseph from prison and asks him to interpret his dream. You’ll remember Joseph’s awesome response as he said, ""I cannot do it," Joseph replied to Pharaoh, "but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires."
Accepting this from Joseph, Pharoah proceeds to tell Joseph his dreams after which Joseph tells him they are "one and the same" and adds, "God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do." This is an awesome testament by Joseph to Pharoah. God…the One and only God…the God greater than any god worshipped by Pharoah and his people…this God was about to do what Joseph would soon tell Pharoah. Needless to say, he had the ruler’s attention.
So Joseph goes on to interpret the dreams. There would be seven years of abundance in Egypt followed by seven years of famine. The very survival of Egypt would rely on stockpiling one fifth of the grain in every year of abundance to ensure there would be food during the famine years. To oversee this effort, Joseph told Pharoah to "look for a discerning and wise man and put him in charge of the land of Egypt." He was to also "appoint commissioners over the land to take a fifth of the harvest of Egypt during the seven years of abundance." We read where Pharoah has no questions on what needs to be done. There is no doubting Joseph for the "plan seemed good to Pharoah and his officials."
There only was left the matter of "appointing a discerning, wise man" to take "charge of the land of Egypt." Turning toward Joseph, Pharoah proclaims, "Can we find anyone like this man, one in whom is the spirit of God?" There is no objection and Joseph emerges from prison to take charge of Pharoah’s palace with all people ordered to "submit to his orders. Only Pharoah himself would be greater.
This amazing conclusion to Chapter 41 offers several awesome points to ponder:
1. God’s grace and mercy toward Egypt. Although we will find that this grace and mercy wouldn’t last, at least for the time being God doesn’t wish for the Egyptians to perish. His instructions to Pharoah, if carried out as directed, would ensure the Egyptian people would not die during the famine. God’s actions toward a polytheistic nation are amazing…amazing grace.
2. Pharoah’s acceptance of the dream. Pharoah could have rejected Joseph’s interpretation as nonsense but he didn’t. By accepting and not rejecting Joseph, Pharoah was accepting two things: 1) that the plan was from God and 2) that God would do what He said He would do through.
3. God delivers the faithful. Fresh out of the prison dungeon, Joseph was now the most discerning, wise man in Egypt with all the people submitting to him. All this was not because of what he did but rather what God was doing in and through him.
Here’s one other important closing point to consider from this scripture: Joseph used his gift of dream interpretation in accordance with God’s will. As a result, he won the confidence of an ungodly Egyptian ruler and the blessing of deliverance.
What makes this important to us because God has placed special gifts within us…gifts that we too are to use to His purpose…and that purpose will always involve changing the hearts of the ungodly and turning them to their Creator and Maker. My hope is that we all will seek to be like Joseph…boldly stepping out in obedience to His will and way, using the gifts He has imparted on us, and confessing that any good that comes from our actions is due to God not ourselves. We can only pray that others might speak of us like Pharoah did of Joseph when he proclaimed, ""Can we find anyone like this man, one in whom is the spirit of God?" Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
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