verse 1, then it came to pass at the end of two full years that Pharaoh had a dream, and behold, he stood by the river. Suddenly there came up out of the river seven cows, fine-looking and fat, and they fed in the meadow. Then behold, seven other cows came up after them out of the river, ugly and gaunt, and stood by the other cows on the bank of the river. And the ugly and gaunt cows ate up the seven fine-looking and fat cows.
So Pharaoh awoke. He slept and dreamed a second time, and suddenly seven heads of grain came up on one stalk, plump and good. Then behold, seven thin heads, blighted by the east wind, sprang up after them. And the seven thin heads devoured the seven plump and full heads.
So Pharaoh awoke, and indeed it was a dream. Now 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 its wise men. And Pharaoh told them his dreams, but there was no one who could interpret them for Pharaoh. Then the chief butler spoke to Pharaoh saying, I remember my faults this day.
When Pharaoh was angry with his servants and put me in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, both me and the chief baker, we each had a dream in one night, he and I. Each of us dreamed according to the interpretation of his own dream. Now there was a young Hebrew man with us there, a servant of the captain of the guard. And we told him, and he interpreted our dreams for us.
To each man he interpreted according to his own dream. And it came to pass, just as he interpreted for us, so it happened. He restored me to my office, and he hanged him. Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they brought him quickly out of the dungeon.
And he shaved, changed his clothing, and came to Pharaoh. And Pharaoh said to Joseph, I have had a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it. But I have heard it said of you that you can understand the dream to interpret it.
Joseph's Humble Deferral to God
So Joseph answered Pharaoh saying, it is not in me. God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace. Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, behold, in my dream I stood on the bank of the river. Suddenly seven cows came up out of the river, fine looking and fat, and they fed in the meadow.
Then behold, seven other cows came up after them, poor and very ugly and gaunt, such ugliness as I have never seen in all the land of Egypt. And the gaunt and ugly cows ate up the first seven, the fat cows. When they had eaten them up, no one would have known that they had eaten them, for they were just as ugly as at the beginning. So I awoke.
Also I saw in my dream and suddenly seven heads came up of one stock, full and good. Then behold, seven heads, withered, thin and blighted by the east wind, sprang up after them. And the thin heads devoured the seven good heads. So I told this to the magicians, but there was no one who could explain it to me.
Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, the dreams of Pharaoh are one. God has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do. The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good heads are seven years. The dreams are one.
And the seven thin and ugly cows which came up after them are seven years. And the seven empty heads blighted by the east wind are seven years of famine. This is the thing which I have spoken to Pharaoh. God has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do.
Indeed, seven years of great plenty will come throughout all the land of Egypt. But after them, seven years of famine will arise, and all the plenty will be forgotten in the land of Egypt, and the famine will deplete the land. So the plenty will not be known in the land because of the famine following, for it will be very severe. And the dream was repeated to Pharaoh twice because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass.
Now therefore, let Pharaoh select a discerning and wise man, and set him over the land of Egypt. Let Pharaoh do this, and let him appoint officers over the land, to collect one-fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt in the seven plentiful years. And let them gather all the food of those good years that are coming, and store up grain under the authority of Pharaoh, and let them keep food in the cities. then that food shall be as a reserve for the land, for the seven years of famine, which shall be in the land of Egypt, that the land may not perish during the famine." So the advice was good in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of all his servants. And Pharaoh said to his servants, can we find such a one as this, a man in whom is the Spirit of God?
Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, Inasmuch as God has shown you all this, there is no one as discerning and wise as you. You shall be over my house, and all my people shall be ruled according to your word. Only in regard to the throne will I be greater than you. And Pharaoh said to Joseph, See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.
Then Pharaoh took his signet ring off his hand and put it on Joseph's hand, and he clothed him in garments of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck. And he had him ride in the second chariot which he had. And they cried out before him, Bow the knee. So he set him over all the land of Egypt.
Pharaoh also said to Joseph, I am Pharaoh, and without your consent, no man may lift his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt. And Pharaoh called Joseph's name Zaphnath-Paneah, and he gave him as a wife Asenath, the daughter of Potipharah, priest of On. So Joseph went out over all the land of Egypt. 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. Now in the seven plentiful years the ground brought forth abundantly. So 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. He laid up in every city the food of the fields which surrounded them.
Joseph gathered very much grain as the sand of the sea until he stopped counting, for it was immeasurable. And to Joseph were born two sons before the years of famine came, who Asenath, the daughter of Potipharah, priest of On, bore to him. Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh, for God has made me forget all my toil and all my father's house. And the name of the second he called Ephraim, for God has caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction.
Then the seven years of plenty which were in the land of Egypt ended, and the seven years of famine began to come. As Joseph had said, the famine was in all lands, but in all the land of Egypt there was bread. So when all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread. Then Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, go to Joseph, whatever he says to you, do.
The famine was over all the face of the earth and Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold to the Egyptians. And the famine became severe in the land of Egypt. So all countries came to Joseph in Egypt to buy grain because the famine was severe in all lands. Amen.
Introduction
So as we've been considering the story or the history of Jacob, the focus is primarily on his son, Joseph, and his exaltation. We had two dreams in Genesis 37, dreams that Joseph himself had. We had two dreams in Genesis 40, two dreams that Joseph interpreted. And then here, two dreams in Genesis 41.
Again, Joseph is the interpreter. Meredith Klein says, the providential series of dreams concludes. The middle pair, those are the dreams given to the prisoners, prove the means for involving Joseph in the third pair, the interpretation of Pharaoh's dreams, and that last pair serve to fulfill the first pair. So in the first pair of dreams, Joseph dreamed that he would be exalted.
And then after interpreting the dreams of the butler and the baker, he is now brought into the house of Pharaoh, and at the interpretation of Pharaoh's dream, he is exalted, and thus is fulfilled what was spoken by God by a dream in Genesis chapter 37. So as I said, it's a long chapter, but it's one unit. So we'll look first at the report concerning Pharaoh's dreams in verses 1 to 13. Secondly, the explanation of Pharaoh's dreams in verses 14 to 46.
And then finally, the fulfillment of Pharaoh's dreams in verses 47 to 57.
Report of Pharaoh's Dreams
But going back to chapter 41 at verse 1, notice the report concerning Pharaoh's dreams. We have the time frame given us in 41.1. Then it came to pass at the end of two full years that Pharaoh had a dream, and behold, he stood by the river. So Joseph had been in the prison at least for two years.
He was a period of time of 13 years prior to his exaltation here before Pharaoh. We don't know how much of that time was in prison, and we don't know how much of that time was in Potiphar's house, but we do know with certainty, since he had interpreted the butler's dream, that was two years prior. So there had been a two-year period where the butler had not reported to Pharaoh, and where Joseph continued to languish in prison. Calvin says, what anxiety oppressed the mind of the holy man during this time.
Each of us may conjecture from his own feeling, for we are so tender and effeminate that we can scarcely bear to be put off for a short time." Sometimes I quote these sorts of things because I wonder at times what Calvin would think if he lived in our generation. If in the 1500s they were too tender and effeminate to have any patience whatsoever, what must it be considering the case today? But the time frame is consistent with what we find in terms of Joseph's life. Now, notice the dreams.
The Two Dreams Described
We have the first dream in verses 1b to 4, and then the second dream in verses 5 to 7. Of course, the first dream involves these cows. And it is intriguing that, behold, he stood by the river. The river Nile was absolutely crucial for life. in Egypt, especially since the river would overflow when the rainy season would come, and that would be the water that would irrigate the crops.
So if there wasn't rain enough to overflow the Nile River, then it would certainly introduce this famine. And so the Nile fares large in Egypt's life. But here specifically we have these seven other cows, according to verse 3, "...they came up after them out of the river, ugly and gaunt, and stood by the other cows on the bank of the river." Which is intriguing, because typically cows do what the first set of cows do. They ate.
They ate in the meadow. Robert Alter says, there is a small ominous note in the fact that the second set of seven cows do not graze in the rushes as the first seven do and as one would expect cows to do. In a moment, they will prove themselves carnivores. So with reference to the cows, you have the fat cows and then you have the skinny cows and ultimately the skinny cows eat the fat cows.
That's the dream that Pharaoh has. and we could see why he would be concerned. Now, Pharaoh wasn't sure what the dreams meant, but it does seem that he had a thought that they were a warning of some sort. When he goes to the magicians and he goes to the interpreters of Egypt, they probably do answer him, but it wasn't sufficient in terms of his understanding. He did feel some degree of threat with reference to the dreams that he's had.
So then the second dream is very similar in nature only it includes seven plump and good heads of grain and then seven thin heads blighted by the east wind. And again the end result was the same. The thin basically overtook the fat or the plump and basically the bad overtook the good. Now, according to verse 8, it says, "...it came to pass in the morning that his spirit was troubled." Again, indicative of the fact that this is probably an omen, some sort of a warning, some sort of a threat given to Pharaoh, and he certainly was troubled as a result.
And he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt and all its wise men, and Pharaoh told them his dreams, but there was no one who could interpret them for Pharaoh." Again, most likely they attempted an interpretation, but it was not something that resonated with Pharaoh. And so that then causes some perplexity among him, and that then results in God's providence again. It's almost like a series of steps as you move through this section in the book of Genesis. It's so methodical the way one event is stacked on top of another, the way that connections are made, the way that persons meet one another, and then later on, those persons introduce that person to someone else.
You see that fleshed out in God's providence here. So
Failure of Egypt's Wise Men
you've got the failure of the Egyptian magicians, and then you have the commendation of Joseph by the butler in verses nine to 13. It says, then the chief butler spoke to Pharaoh saying, I remember my faults this day. When Pharaoh was angry with his servants and put me in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, both me and the chief baker, we each had a dream in one night, he and I. Each of us dreamed according to the interpretation of his own dream.
Now there was a young Hebrew man with us there, a servant of the captain of the guard. And we told him, and he interpreted our dreams for us, to each man he interpreted according to his own dream. And it came to pass, just as he interpreted for us, so it happened. He restored me to my office, and he hanged him." Again, I think this all underscores the trouble of mind that Pharaoh does have.
He is going to take this commendation, and he is going to call for Joseph. He's at the end of his rope in terms of these two particular dreams. and the warning or the threat that he has perceived that they are intended to communicate. So he is going to basically take a Hebrew slave that has been imprisoned and then call upon him for the interpretation of his dreams.
Explanation of Pharaoh's Dreams
And that brings us secondly to the explanation of Pharaoh's dreams in verses 14 to 46. He first of all summons Joseph. Notice in verse 14. Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they brought him quickly out of the dungeon, and he shaved, changed his clothing, and came to Pharaoh." Now that's an incidental note to be sure, but the obvious thing is that the Egyptians, for the most part, did not have a lot of facial hair.
And so Joseph in prison was not well-kempt in the sense that he is, you know, washing, and bathing, and shaving, wearing good clothes and all that sort of thing. And so there is this idea that when we are called to stand before persons of note, it behooves us to shave and to put on a fresh pair of clothes and then to go and meet Pharaoh, and that is precisely what he does. He prepares to see Pharaoh. Pharaoh then makes this request in verse 15.
Again, when you see this, or as we move through this, this isn't just the theology of providence, but this is the application of God's providence. Every jot and diddle. every I dotted and every T crossed, bringing out the fulfillment of God's plan and purpose, not only for Joseph, but ultimately for Israel, which was his church. He needed to set apart Joseph in this position of preeminence so that the church or Israel could be sustained as these famine conditions obtained in the land. It's not just Egypt, but Canaan is affected as well.
And that is why Jacob then sends his sons over to the land of Egypt so that they might fetch some food for them. And then notice Joseph's response in verse 16. So Joseph answered Pharaoh saying, it is not in me. God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace.
I just happened to see a clip this afternoon of a pretty famous preacher who was saying that he was recently in Myanmar. I think it was recent. There was no timestamp on the video clip. The way this guy spoke indicates he's become more untethered from a doctrinally sound position than he was even a short while ago.
But he was basically saying that everybody he touched was healed. There was this supernatural effect of God through this man's touch wherein everybody that was at this particular meeting was healed. Now, whether that's the case or not, and I'm very skeptical that it is, that seems to go contrary to what we find in the spirit of Joseph. Joseph is quick to denounce his involvement.
Joseph doesn't say, it's my touch. Joseph doesn't say, it's my wisdom. Joseph doesn't say, it's my ability. Joseph doesn't say, well, this is the gifting even that God has given me and I've dispersed the goodness to anybody that I want.
No, he defers completely. He says, it is not in me. God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace. And again, this has been my experience with those who have these claims, for these supernatural gifts.
It typically results in some exaltation on their part in terms of the ability, you know, to lay the whammy on somebody and give them a healing. But that's not what Joseph does. It's not in me. God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace.
And that brings us then to the rehearsal of his dreams, verses 17 to 24. We won't read this because we just read this. However, he embellishes, he adds a couple of details, which shows us that he has reflected upon these dreams. And then later on, we see that this is key information.
Notice in verse 21, when they had eaten them up, I'm sorry, verse 20, and the gaunt and ugly cows ate up the first seven, the fat cows. When they had eaten them up, no one would have known that they had eaten them, for they were just as ugly as at the beginning. Now, later on, we're going to learn that the famine is so bad that people won't even remember the time of plenty. The famine will be so severe in the land that seven years of abundance will be, as it were, a vanished memory.
They won't seize on that anymore because of the severity of the famine, and I think that's the emphasis that we find here with reference to Pharaoh's rehearsal of this particular dream. Wenham says that these pharaonic embellishments, that means the embellishments of Pharaoh, suggests or suggest that he viewed the dreams as threatening. It is also noticeable that Pharaoh always talks about, quote, my dream in the singular, which suggests he regarded both dreams as being a warning about the future and therefore that he would be receptive to Joseph's approach to their interpretation. I think that's right.
I think what he is saying is spot on. Pharaoh is nervous. Pharaoh has been given this warning by the God of Israel and Pharaoh really wants to come to an appreciation of what this message means. He then rehearses the second dream and basically tells Joseph that no one in Egypt could help him. verse 24, and the thinheads devoured the seven good heads.
So I told this to the magicians, but there was no one who could explain it to me. So the bankruptcy with reference to the magicians and the soothsayers and the wise men of Egypt is underscored here. And then we have this man, Joseph, a Hebrew slave, currently serving a term in prison, who defers and deflects any any thought whatsoever that he has the ability to interpret dreams. He says it's the God of Israel that is able to do that and that's what he goes on to give to Pharaoh now.
Interpretation and Recommended Action
Notice the explanation of the dreams in verses 25 to 36. He interprets and then he recommends appropriate action. Pharaoh didn't ask him for a recommendation of appropriate action, but Joseph nevertheless does that. So he interprets in verses 25 to 32, and then he recommends appropriate action in verses 33 to 36.
But in terms of his interpretation, First of all, the two dreams are one and concern the future in Egypt. That's what he says in verse 25. Remember the two dreams that Joseph had in Genesis 37 were one as well. The same idea in both dreams with reference to the exaltation of Joseph.
The same thing obtains here. Verse 25, then Joseph said to Pharaoh, the dreams of Pharaoh are one. God has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do. So Pharaoh's on the right track.
He's got somebody now that knows the mind of God, or rather the mind of God will be revealed through this man, Joseph. Secondly, the seven cows and the seven heads are seven years. We're dealing with a timeframe. We're dealing with a period.
We're dealing with a situation that concerns the future of Egypt. Thirdly, the good cows and the bad cows and the good heads and the bad heads represent seven years of plenty and then seven years of famine. So that's the interpretation that he gives. And if you notice, Joseph is functioning here as a prophet.
He is prophesying the future, of course, by God to be sure. It's not only to Joseph's wisdom or ability or his sort of foreknowledge of what the future may hold. In fact, Wenham says, the interpretation now becomes prophetic announcement, as in language anticipating the prophets. Behold, seven years are coming.
Joseph predicts a famine. He says Abraham is once described as a prophet in chapter 20, verse 7, and in several other passages is cast in a prophetic role. Chapters 15, 18, and then 20, as are Isaac, chapter 27, and Jacob, chapters 48 and 49. So that it is not surprising that Joseph should be cast in a prophetic role.
And I thought this was a good understanding also. He says, here he seems to be more like the late court prophets, such as Nathan, who acted as advisors to the king in 2 Samuel 7. So that's ultimately how Joseph will function with reference to Pharaoh. He is going to have rule over the entirety of Egypt, excepting, of course, Pharaoh.
So he is the viceroy, the vice-regent, he is the right-hand man of Pharaoh, and you can see now where God is bringing the narrative in terms of the fulfillment of Genesis chapter 37 with reference to the exaltation of Joseph. Now in verse 32. And the dream was repeated to Pharaoh twice because the thing is established by God and God will shortly bring it to pass. So as far as Joseph is concerned, it's given in a twofold way to highlight the promptness of it and the certainty of it.
There will be a time of abundance and there will be a time of famine. And no doubt the abundance would please Pharaoh, but the thought of administering a kingdom for seven years where there's famine probably terrified him because that would be one of the most difficult situations that a man could face in terms of rule or reign. And now Joseph gives him advice. Joseph gives him a recommendation to an appropriate course of action to be able to deal with this situation, this eventuality wherein there will be famine.
And in the first place he says you need to select a man to oversee the food situation. I don't personally think that Joseph is trying to put himself into that role. He is simply reporting on behalf of God the reality that is facing Pharaoh. Now that Pharaoh hires him or that Pharaoh exalts him is a happy sort of corollary, but I'm not sure that Joseph is trying to interview for the job.
He is simply saying this is the way it ought to go. So there is a need to select a man to oversee the food situation. Excuse me, according to verse 33. And then the need for officers in verses 34 and 35 to collect that food, to store it in the time of abundance, and then to have it available to sell and dole out at the time of famine.
I mean, it's just horse sense, right? This is what everybody should be doing. We should be planning for those rainy days. Well, this at a corporate level in terms of the actual nation of Egypt, but that seven years of abundance is absolutely crucial to garner up or gather up all of that grain and put it into the storehouses so that persons don't die when the famine comes. and then the distribution of the food during the seven years of famine so that the land may not perish.
And again, that's the severity of it. Verse 36, then that food shall be as a reserve for the land for the seven years of famine which shall be in the land of Egypt. that the land may not perish during the famine." So this wasn't their first rodeo. They would have these sorts of events, these sorts of difficulties and trials. A seven-year period is certainly a hardship, and yet God, in mercy, is sparing this nation through the ministry of Joseph.
And here Joseph is functioning in a capacity very similar to Abraham. Remember that God said relative to Abraham as patriarch, and you all the nations of the earth will be blessed. Well, we're seeing that realized prior to the coming of Jesus Christ in his first and second advent here in the life of Joseph. The Egyptians benefit because of the God of Joseph.
The Egyptians benefit because Joseph is in their land, having been sold by his brothers, thrown into prison, and ultimately now standing before Pharaoh.
Appointment of Joseph Over Egypt
And then that brings us to the appointment of Joseph over Pharaoh's affairs in verses 37 to 46. So in the first place, Pharaoh acknowledges that this is good advice. This is wise counsel. The advice was good in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of all his servants.
Probably, that's where the Egyptian magicians came up short. They didn't rightly diagnose the situation, they couldn't interpret the dreams, and as a result, they'd have no way to specify a course of action. Whereas Joseph understood the dreams, he knew the plenty, he knew the famine, and therefore he recommends this course, and it is fitting, it's pleasing in the sight of Pharaoh. And then secondly, he appoints Joseph to this particular position.
Verse 38, Pharaoh said to his servants, can we find such a one as this, a man in whom is the spirit of God? Now the capitalization there reflects probably better theology or better orthodoxy than Pharaoh himself possessed. He probably said spirit of gods. The particular word that Joseph uses is not Yahweh.
He's not speaking of the Covenant Lord, he's speaking of Elohim, which is plural. And so the pagans would use Elohim as well because it fit in their view of a multiplicity of gods. So I don't think he's got, you know, developed New Testament sort of Pauline doctrine of the ministry of the Spirit of God. That's not how we're supposed to interpret.
Pharaoh at this particular point, but he does realize that Joseph is functioning on behalf of Joseph's God. And therefore, he says, can we find such a one as this, a man in whom is the Spirit of God? And then notice the recognition of Joseph's abilities, verse 39. Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, inasmuch as God has shown you all this, there is no one as discerning and wise as you.
He had exhibited that. He had demonstrated that. It was obvious. You see why the test of prophecy in the Old Testament is very simple.
If a prophet announces the future and it doesn't come to pass, that prophet is false and should be executed. It was tantamount to prophecy that whatever persons predicted had to come true. And so when Joseph interprets these dreams, it resonates with Pharaoh. Later on, we see the fulfillment, and Pharaoh recognizes this, so he appoints Joseph in this particular role.
And then the mission given specifically to Joseph is outlined in verses 40 and 41. You shall be over my house, and all my people shall be ruled according to your word. Only in regard to the throne will I be greater than you. And Pharaoh said to Joseph, see, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.
John Gill comments, not merely as corn master general, just quoting that because I love that phrase, corn master general. not merely as corn master general to take care of a provision of corn in time of plenty against a time of scarcity, but as a viceroy or deputy governor over the whole land. So he's not just managing the food supply, but as we see, he says, my people shall be ruled according to your word, only in regard to the throne will I be greater than you. See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt." And now he affirms this or confirms this by this treatment of royal ornamentation. He gives him this signet ring.
He then takes the ... clothed him with garments of fine linen, put a gold chain around his neck. And he had him right in the second chariot, which he had, and they cried out before him, bow the knee. So he set him over all the land of Egypt. Pharaoh also said to Joseph, I am Pharaoh, and without your consent, no man may lift his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.
So he's ratifying this decision to exalt Joseph, and he does so by decking him out in royal apparel, and then parading him through the city streets, and the people were bowing before him. So it was the way to distinguish that Joseph was in fact his man at this particular time. And then to that, he also gave him a wife, verse 44. A new name and a wife.
Pharaoh also said to Joseph, I am Pharaoh, I'm sorry, verse 45. And Pharaoh called Joseph's name Zaphnath-Paneah, and he gave him as a wife Asenath, the daughter of Potipharah, priest of On. So Joseph went out over all the land of Egypt. And then verse 46 tells us he was 30 years old at this particular time.
So again, 13 years had transpired with reference to when his brother sold him and now when he's exalted in the presence of Pharaoh and basically over the entirety of the land. And Matthew Poole makes a good comment concerning his age. Joseph's age is here noted to teach us, first, that Joseph's short affliction was recompensed with a much longer prosperity, even for 80 years. So, all things being equal, his time of prosperity was a lot more than his time of adversity.
According to Genesis 50, verse 22, he lived to the old age of 110. So 80 of those years he was exalted, 80 of those years he was blessed of God, and so it's not always the case. Sometimes we may have an 80-20 sort of a ratio in terms of adversity to blessing, but in this instance we see that. And then secondly, Poole says that Joseph's excellent wisdom did not proceed from his large and long experience, but from the singular gift of God.
So it wasn't the case that he had studied or he had learned or he had gone to sort of prophet school or he had, you know, mastered these techniques on his own, but rather it was of God that he was able to engage in this sort of activity.
Fulfillment of Pharaoh's Dreams
And that brings us finally to the fulfillment of Pharaoh's dreams in verses 47 to 57. We see the prosperity of the land, verse 47. Now in the seven plentiful years, the ground brought forth abundantly. So just as God had revealed to Pharaoh, and as Joseph was able to interpret for Pharaoh, we see the fulfillment or the fruition of that come to pass.
And then in verse 48, 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. He laid up in every city the food of the fields which surrounded them. Joseph gathered very much grain as the sand of the sea until he stopped counting for it was immeasurable. So we see the prudence, the wisdom, the righteousness of Joseph in this particular regard.
Manasseh, Ephraim, and Thankfulness
Now, at this particular time, Joseph has two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, two names you're going to hear a lot more of later on in redemptive history. And he names those sons in a significant way. If you look at verse 50, and to Joseph were born two sons before the years of famine came, who Asenath, the daughter of Potipharah, the priest of Onbordahem. Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh, and he gives the reason, for God has made me forget all my toil and all my father's house." Now, I think any of you are going to necessarily do this, but if you do read John Calvin on this, he has an intriguing bit where he's basically charging Joseph with sin in naming him Manasseh.
I don't think the forgetfulness is the fact that Joseph has sort of separated himself from Israel altogether and forgotten Jacob, but rather his forgetfulness is relative to the treatment, the ill treatment that he underwent by his brothers. And I think that this is helpful for Joseph so that he's not bitter against these brothers. I think this is a good remedy for him in the naming of his son Manasseh, which essentially means making forgetful, so that he doesn't constantly rehearse what terrible people his brothers are. No, he's able to distinguish that or separate that, and he's not carrying that about with him, and it provoking constant bitterness in his own heart.
Now, perhaps Calvin is right. I didn't find it compelling. I think it's better to see it this way. He's forgetful of the bad that he underwent, not that he's trying to distance himself from Israel, not that he's trying to distance himself from Jacob.
And then notice, he has a second son, And in verse 52, the name of the second, he called Ephraim, for God has caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction. Wenham comments, both names, Manasseh and Ephraim, express Joseph's thankfulness to God. In one, God is praised as the one who preserves. In the other, as the one who blesses.
Both confirm the promise, I am with you, from chapter 39. Thus, through his choice of names, Joseph is expressing his faith that God has been with him and blessed him. And that's important because in chapter 39, the chapter begins and ends with the statement that the Lord was with Joseph. Certainly in chapter 40, when he's interpreting the dreams of the butler and the baker, we surmise that God is with him.
And in the same situation here in chapter 41, just because it's not punctuated with a statement that says the Lord was with Joseph, the Lord was with Joseph. The fact that he interpreted these dreams successfully, that it comes to pass that he's exalted at the right hand of Pharaoh and that he is the administrator over the goings-on in Egypt is all evidence and manifest evidence that God is in fact with Joseph and that whatever he touches ultimately turns to gold because of the mercy of God with him.
Seven Years of Famine Arrive
And then that brings us finally to the seven years of famine in verses 53 to 57. Unfortunately, the abundance ceased. Well, we ought to expect that because of the prophecy, or rather the dream and the interpretation by Joseph. Thus, the seven years of plenty, which were in the land of Egypt, ended.
And the seven years of famine began to come, as Joseph had said. That's very important to the author, that we understand that Joseph was right. Egyptians are wrong and Israelites are right. That's a polemic throughout the Old Testament.
It's whatever those pagans say is wrong. Now, there might be the instance, in fact, a false prophet, according to Deuteronomy 13, can at times prophesy something that may come to pass, but a true prophet not only predicts the future with absolute success, but does it for the glory of the God of Israel. And so one of the emphases in the Old Testament is to avoid the pagans around you. Deuteronomy 18 is probably one of the most powerful polemics in all of the Old Testament.
The nation of Israel is governed by God. And God governs not by soothsayer, God governs not by fortune teller, but God governs by prophet and priest. In other words, it's the word of the living God that's supposed to affect the Israelites. It's not reading tea leaves.
It's not reading crystal balls. It's not witchcraft or anything that the pagans may practice around Israel. And there are instances, as I've said, where those things, at least on the surface, work. Remember that witch at Endor calls someone up and something actually appears, whether it was Samuel or not.
There's some difference of opinion on that in 1 Samuel 28. But there was something, something was evident, something was seen. And so it's not the case that God says don't go after those people because what they do doesn't work, but rather don't go after those people because what they do is an abomination. The people of Israel were to be governed by the Word of God as it came through prophet and priest, and that's the emphasis in Deuteronomy chapter 18.
That's the emphasis of the narrator here, to underscore once again, just as Joseph had said. And then notice, at the end of verse 54, the famine was in all lands, but in all the land of Egypt there was bread. So when all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread. Then Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, go to Joseph, whatever he says to you, do.
You see that prerogative. You see that exaltation. When the king is sending men to you and saying, look, whatever he says, you need to do that, Joseph is in fact the vice regent. And then verse 56, the famine was over all the face of the earth, and Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold to the Egyptians, and the famine became severe in the land of Egypt.
And then notice how verse 57 foreshadows the rest of the Joseph narrative. Verse 57, so all countries came to Joseph in Egypt to buy grain because the famine was severe in all lands. So that is absolutely crucial information to connect what's happening in Egypt with what's happening in Canaan. In fact, in chapter 42, verse 1, when Jacob saw that there was grain in Egypt, Jacob said to his sons, why do you look at one another?
And he said, indeed, I have heard that there is grain in Egypt. Go down to that place and buy for us there that we may live and not die. So again, the providence of God is conspicuous, step by step, very tightly woven together to produce what Joseph ultimately interprets as these boys or these young men doing evil, but God meant it for good. He overruled it. so that Israel could be sustained by the food that had been given in that period of plenty.
Concluding Observations
Now, in terms of some concluding thoughts, first of all, the wisdom of Joseph. You see this not only with Joseph, but we'll see it later on in Redemptive History with Daniel. The man who the spirit of the living and true God is on is, in fact, the wise man. It isn't the wisdom of Egypt, it's not the wisdom of Babylon, but rather it's the wisdom of the God of Israel that comes through the men He's ordained.
And you see that wisdom manifested in Joseph. Secondly, the blessing of God upon Joseph. Now that two years that he was in jail or in the prison may not seem like a long time in terms of reading biblical narrative, but none of us, as far as I know, have spent two years in jail. And so we don't know what it would be like to languish in that situation, pretty much despairing and perhaps losing hope, but then getting that summons by Pharaoh to come and stand before him in the court.
And then a third observation that I think is very important as well is that the text, it's not polemical in this way specifically, but it does function as a polemic against hyper-Calvinism. If you notice, this interpretation is short. That's not going to change. There's really going to be a time of plenty and a time of famine.
In light of that, Joseph doesn't say, okay, just lay back and ride the wave and hopefully it'll all be over soon. No, based on what God has purposed to come, vis-a-vis predestination, you ought to respond this way. You ought to be prudent, you ought to gather extra, you ought to put it in storehouses, and you ought to be ready for that eventuality of the famine. Hyper-Calvinism is wrong at every single point.
Any approach to the sovereignty of God which minimizes man's responsibility is certainly not biblical. We have this predestination by God concerning this time of plenty and famine, and Joseph says you need to be prudent, you need to be responsible, and you need to deal in a particular way. You see the same thing when it comes to the 70 years of exile with reference to Babylon. What does Jeremiah, or what does God call Jeremiah to do in chapter 29 in Jeremiah?
Write a letter to the exiles. You're gonna be in this bondage for 70 years. While you're in that bondage, you're supposed to pray for the peace of the city that you're in, you're supposed to farm, you're supposed to marry, you're supposed to have children, you're supposed to do all these things. The sovereignty of God is never given to us in the scripture to reduce men to the level of inactivity.
It is because God is sovereign that man operates in a way that is responsible. And then we have seen the providence of God. And behind the obvious, I think it's important to see the various connections in the Joseph story are all of God. The fact that his brothers put him into the pit.
The fact that his brothers decide not to kill him and sell him to those Midianite traders. The fact that those traders take him to Egypt. The fact that in Egypt he's serving under Potiphar. The fact that Potiphar's wife, that, you know, wife of the year, accuses him of attempted rape and then he ends up in jail.
Well, when he ends up in jail, he's given all that authority by the warden. And then under that, or in the midst of that, he meets the butler and he meets the baker. He interprets the dreams. He casts himself upon the mercy of the butler.
The butler obviously forgets or doesn't act upon it until two years later, but he does. And now Joseph is brought before this man, Pharaoh, and he is exalted in this place of preeminence. If anybody that you ever meet says, I struggle with the sovereignty of God, tell them to read the book of Genesis. Because it is so evident, it's so obvious, it's not a didactic piece of theology like Paul in Romans 9.
Not that Paul in Romans 9 is unimportant. We need didactic pieces of theology to highlight for us the doctrine. But we also need to appreciate it in the ebb and flow of the human condition and situation. And that is precisely what we find.
Somebody says, boy, I don't believe providence is a real thing. Well, just ask them, have you read the Joseph narratives? Because I think you'll see that providence is conspicuous all throughout. So the various connections. in the Joseph story are of God, the various stages in the life of Joseph are of God, and the various blessings communicated are for the good of Israel as intended by God.
Calvin at this point makes a great observation. He says, although the Lord took pity on Egypt, which he did, right? Egypt has the benefit of Joseph as the second in command, and Joseph is a bright bulb. Joseph not only is able to interpret Pharaoh's dreams, but he's also the one to recommend appropriate action.
So he says, although the Lord took pity on Egypt, yet he did it not for the sake of the king or of the country, but that Joseph might be at length be brought out of prison. and further, that in the time of famine, food might be supplied to the church. For although the produce was stored with no design beyond that of providing for the kingdom of Egypt, yet God chiefly cared for His church, which He esteemed more highly than ten worlds." is a money quote. He may be right or not, I don't think he is on the naming of Manasseh, but he is spot on there. Yet God chiefly cared for his church, which he esteemed more highly than ten worlds.
That is beautiful. And then last week, Sylvie made the observation or asked the question about the typical significance I had mentioned previously. I did quote from John Gill concerning that. Well, Gill had this to say, and I think it's spot on as well.
He says, this is certain, with reference to Joseph, that he was an eminent type of Christ in all this, both in his state of humiliation and exaltation, As Joseph was wrongly charged by his mistress, so was Christ falsely accused by the Jews. As he was cast into prison and bound there, so Christ was taken and bound as a prisoner. As Joseph was raised to great honor and glory in Pharaoh's court, so Christ was exalted by his Father and crowned with glory and honor. And some of the interpreters suggest that the particular name that Pharaoh gave to Joseph, the Zaphnath-Paneah, means the exalted, the redeemer of the world.
Now, again, I'm not as skilled as some of these men, but I like to think that's true, and Pharaoh did name him that, and that certainly is typical of the redeemer of the world, our Lord Jesus Christ. Well, let's close in a word of prayer.
Closing Prayer
Our Father, we thank You for Your Word, we thank You for this account, this narrative concerning Joseph, and Your obvious blessing upon this man, and the way that in Providence You worked everything out for Your glory and for the good of those who love you, those who are the called according to your purpose. And we see how this will even lend itself to what we find in the book of Exodus and how redemptive history unfolds from this vantage point where you are in absolute control over all things to bring about the salvation of a great multitude that no man can number. God, encourage and strengthen our hearts, help us to see your hand of mercy in our own lives, and help us to see your goodness and your kindness to us. And we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Scripture References
- Genesis 15; 18; 20; 20:7; 27; 37; 39; 40; 41:1; 41:3; 41:8; 41:9-13; 41:14; 41:15; 41:16; 41:17-24; 41:20; 41:21; 41:24; 41:25-32; 41:33-36; 41:37-46; 41:38; 41:39; 41:40-41; 41:44; 41:45; 41:46; 41:47-57; 41:50; 41:52; 41:54; 41:56; 41:57; 42:1; 48; 49; 50:22
- Deuteronomy 13; 18
- 1 Samuel 28
- 2 Samuel 7
- Jeremiah 29
- Romans 9