#9 Joseph Series - Pharoah's Dream and Joseph's Plan

Dr. Ron Sumners

November 15, 2009

Genesis 41:1-8

It's amazing what can happen in the small space between two chapters in the Bible.

        The writer of Genesis tells us that the cupbearer forgot Joseph after he was released from prison. The text then jumps ahead two years to the events in chapter 41.

      Whether those two years refer to the entire time Joseph was in prison or to the time following the cupbearer’s release, we don’t know for sure. But either way, Joseph was in the dungeon for a lot longer than he ever imagined.

He was there far too long for someone who was innocent and did not deserve imprisonment.

    The good fortune of Pharaoh’s close servant being let out of prison gave Joseph a little glimmer of hope for his own release. But his hope dimmed and died as the months went by with no word.

      During that time Joseph might have prayed with the psalmist, “How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?” (Psalm 13:1).

        There is a lesson for us in Joseph’s long wait. We need to learn the patience he displayed. Joseph’s life is an illustration of Romans 8:28, “All things work together for good to them who love God and are called according to His purposes.”

        We need to understand that although our days may seem dark and although there seems to be no potential for change, God is working out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will. And He makes everything beautiful in His time. (Ecclesiastes 3:11).

        That is what Joseph was about to discover when the word finally came, that Pharaoh wanted to see him. Joseph got to see the end of God’s purpose in his life, and he could see it was good.

      But all of God’s heroes didn’t get to see the fulfillment of His promises and His work in their lives. The writer of Hebrews says, “These people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth” (Hebrews 11:13).

        It takes patience to live a life like that. It takes patience to be faithful under those conditions, when you are not seeing the promised fulfillment and you’re not always sure what God is doing in your life. Are you faithful enough to put your faith and confidence in the Lord even when you can’t see the outcome?

        Two years passed with no word for Joseph. Are we willing to wait upon the Lord? God will never give us anything too soon. Nor will He ever be late. He will always be on time: His time!

        We want to ask, when will the promise arrive? When will the answer come?  We want to believe God, but we’re not so sure we can hang in there if it’s not going to happen soon.

        We often hear people complain that their lives are monotonous. Well, in a sense, life is monotonous. Most of us do basically the same things every day. We get up, get dressed, have breakfast, and drive the same route to the same workplace. We drive the same route back to the same house, and the next day we repeat the routine. There is a lack of variety, but – and this is very important – God is sovereign in these kinds of days. It is in the routine of life that real gains are made, real joy is found, and the reality of God’s provision becomes most obvious. If there is no joy in the routine of your life, then you have no joy! If you are constantly seeking something to bring you happiness, be sure that you will never find it. You either have joy or you don’t. You are either happy or you aren’t. Joy, happiness and fulfillment come from your relationship with Jesus and they come from within you.

        So many books on marriage highlight the need for dramatic, romantic interludes. While it is beneficial to enjoy such changes, to think that a week at the beach in Hawaii is going to fix everything that is wrong in a relationship is to be sadly misled. God works patience into us in the routine of our days.

So, it is in the midst of the humdrum we learn patience. It surely doesn’t get more monotonous than being chained to a dungeon wall for two years, but Joseph waited on God and God gave Pharaoh dreams!

        Pharaoh had two dreams that deeply troubled him. In the first dream, seven fat cows were eaten by seven ugly, gaunt cows (Genesis 41:2-4). In the second dream, seven full heads of grain were consumed by seven thin heads of grain (vv.5-7).

      The result of Pharaoh’s dreams was that the following morning he was troubled. When Pharaoh was troubled everyone was troubled. Like Humpty-Dumpty, who fell off the wall, he called for the king’s horses and men to put things together, but none could.

        No one could interpret the king’s dreams. Presumably all Pharaoh’s wise men could do was look down at the floor in embarrassment.

        In those days, if royal astrologers and wise men failed to interpret a king’s dreams, it could cost them their heads. King Nebuchadnezzar ordered all the wise men of Babylon put to death when they could not interpret his dream (Daniel 2:1-13). Daniel saved the day in that case.

     So, we can assume that the Egyptian court officials were in trouble. But suddenly the cupbearer shook the cobwebs off his memory and said, “Your Highness, I just remembered that a young Hebrew who was in prison with me and the chief baker interpreted our dreams for us, and everything turned out exactly as he said.”

So, Pharaoh sent for Joseph. The king was so disturbed that he was ready to hear from a forgotten prisoner in the royal dungeon. Joseph hurriedly cleaned up, put on some fresh clothes, and was hustled into the king’s presence. It was quite a conversation:

        Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I had a dream, and no one can interpret it. But I have heard it said that you can interpret dreams.”

        “I cannot do it,” Joseph replied to Pharaoh, “but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires” (vv. 15-16).

        In Joseph’s straightforward answer to Pharaoh, is the nature of all genuine Christian service and the nature of all spiritual life.

        We do not find coming from the lips of Joseph any proud assertions about what he is going to do and how he is going to do it. He lived in the awareness that God is sovereign, that it is He who orders our steps and marks them out before us.

        It is remarkable how many commentaries on this portion of scripture refer to the interpretation of Pharaoh’s dreams as Joseph’s interpretation. Joseph made it clear that he couldn’t give an interpretation in his own wisdom. Only God was able to do such things!

        It is of no surprise that in the matter of Pharaoh’s dreams, God  was the first word on Joseph’s lips. In verse 25, he said to Pharaoh, “God has revealed to Pharaoh what He is about to do.” Again, in verse 32, “The matter has been firmly decided by God, and God will do it soon.”

        Joseph was absolutely convinced of God’s sovereignty and providence. He recognized that God determines what is going to happen according to His will, for His glory, and for the good of His people. All the way through the account of Joseph’s life, this remarkable man acknowledged that God was the speaker of His Word and the doer of His works.

        This is crucial to reaffirm in a world where, for the past thirty years, God has been downsized and people exalted!

       The problem is people’s refusal to acknowledge the God who made them, and thus their denial of His sovereign rule. Romans 1:21 says, “For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.”

    God is in charge! He was in charge of Joseph’s circumstances and of Pharaoh’s dreams and He is in charge today. This notion is diametrically opposed to the thinking we live with today.

      The challenge is always this: Are men and women going to allow the Word of God to sit in judgment of their puny minds, or are they going to make their puny minds the judges of the Word of God?

        We have taken the latter course as a culture. So, there is mass confusion today, even in the church, over whether the Bible is true and over how far we should go in obeying it.

        What a sad contrast to the life of Joseph. He had slept in the dungeon but would soon be sleeping in Pharaoh’s palace, because he believed in the providence of God. What an encouragement to us to know that whether we are in chains or in the king’s chariot, God is working out all things for His glory and our good. It is this Biblical doctrine that will enable us to keep on an even keel in the storms of life.

        Joseph told Pharaoh that Egypt would experience seven years of abundance followed by seven years of famine. The famine would be so severe that the good years preceding it would be forgotten (Genesis 41:30-31).

        Joseph explained that the reason God gave Pharaoh the dream in two forms was that God had firmly decided what He was going to do. This was a matter of great urgency.

        Joseph had more than an accurate interpretation of Pharaoh’s dream. He had a plan.

    We don’t know whether Pharaoh would have benefited from Joseph’s interpretation without Joseph’s follow-up proposal. Joseph sensed the importance of applying the revelation he had received, so he made the suggestion of storing grain during the time of plenty to insure food would be available during the time of famine, and that a wise and discerning person be put in charge of the plan.

       Someone has said that the world will always make way for the person who knows where he is going. Joseph knew where he was going!

        Why was it so important that a discerning and wise person be chosen to administer Egypt’s famine relief plan? Because the circumstances were so grave and so much was at stake. Such a powerful position could tempt the person in it to graft, bribery, and all kinds of corruption. So, what was needed was more than just a winning personality. The situation called for a man of wisdom and character.

        What a needed word of rebuke that is to the spirit of our age! We don’t have heroes to offer, just celebrities, people who stare at us from tabloids at the market checkout lane.

     What a joy to see that the best-selling Halloween costumes this year were fire fighter and police costumes. Maybe we finally have some real heroes. However, I seriously doubt that there were any teacher, counselor, or preacher costumes sold!

        What makes the celebrities famous? What did they ever do? Who are these people? Did they win the Nobel Prize? Did they write a great book? Did they give their lives in some great cause for the good of society? No! They are just famous for being famous, and in some cases, infamous. They are famous because we live in an era of personality, not of character. 

        Joseph also told Pharaoh that when he found this famine-relief administrator, he needed to put him in charge of Egypt.

        Wait a minute. Joseph was speaking to the man who was already in charge of Egypt. Twenty-four hours before, this Hebrew slave had been languishing in prison. Now, he is telling the king what to do!

        Why didn’t Pharaoh command that Joseph be dragged out and beheaded for his insolence?

Because the king recognized the wisdom in what the young man was saying. And why not? Joseph’s suggestion that Egypt store up 20% of the food produced in the good years was a smart plan.

        In fact, Joseph had done the math in such a way that Egypt would not only have enough food for its own people during the famine, but would have a surplus to sell to surrounding countries.

     Let me ask you a question. Are you preparing for the days of spiritual famine that may lie ahead? If people will make all sorts of effort to make provision for a famine of food, should we not also make provision for our spiritual welfare? 

        There is a spiritual famine in our land. You can’t go just anywhere and be fed on the milk and the meat of God’s Word. There are many churches where the people are fed non-offensive, little homilies constructed to appeal to the lowest common denominator. It is not sufficient food to sustain you when the days of famine come.

        Joseph was wise to prepare for seven years of physical famine. Let us learn from his wisdom to get ready spiritually for whatever the days ahead may bring. We cannot assume that things will always be as they are today.

        Joseph was now thirty years old. He had been in Egypt for thirteen years and was now the highest official in the land, subject only to Pharaoh. Joseph was given a new name and a new wife.

        Pharaoh turned the whole operation over to him. Joseph was the focus of attention. For the next seven years he went throughout Egypt making preparations for the famine. And when the famine hit with severity, and the people cried to Pharaoh for food, Pharaoh told them, “Go to Joseph and do what he tells you.” (Genesis 41:55)

        Does that sound familiar to you? If it doesn’t; it should. Joseph foreshadows the One to whom we go when faced with the great spiritual famine in our times. At the wedding in Cana of Galilee, Jesus’ mother, Mary, told the servants concerning Him, “Do whatever He tells you” (John 2:5). The miraculous provision of the wine followed.

        Going to Joseph was the answer to the famine in Egypt. Going to Jesus was the answer to the lack of wine at the wedding. And going to Jesus is the answer to the spiritual famine that sin brings upon us.

        Jesus says, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry” (John 6:35). He cried out at the great feast of unleavened bread (Passover), “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink” (John 7:37).

        Joseph is an actual historical figure who executed a real plan to deal with a real famine in Egypt. But don’t read his story without seeing in it also the finger of God pointing forward to Jesus and His supply for our spiritual famine. Jesus is saying to us, “Come to Me with your famine. Come to Me with your emptiness. Come to Me and you will never hunger again!”