Chapter 24. Genesis 41. Pharaoh’s Dream.
FULLY two years after the butler came out of prison, Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, had a dream. He thought he stood by the river and saw seven fat cows come out of it and feed in a meadow. Then seven other cows came out, very thin and ill favored, and they ate up the seven fat ones. Then Pharaoh awoke. And he slept and dreamed the second time. This time, he saw seven fine, good ears of corn came up upon one stem, and soon after seven ears more, very bad and thin, and the bad ears devoured the seven good ears, and the king awoke.
In the morning, Pharaoh wondered what these dreams could mean, and he called all his magicians and wise men, and asked them to interpret them. But no one could do so.
But the butler said to Pharaoh “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. We dreamed a dream in one night, he and I. There was with us a young man, a Hebrew servant to the captain of the guard; and we told him, and he interpreted to us our dreams. And it came to pass, as he interpreted to us, so it was: I was restored to my office, and the baker was hung.”
Joseph had been a long time in the prison; but though the butler had forgotten him, God had not, and He was doing wonderful things for Joseph which he did not yet know.
Pharaoh sent for Joseph, who was hastily brought out of the dungeon. He shaved, took off his prison clothes and put on new, and came to Pharaoh.
Then the king told his dreams and asked Joseph to interpret them, but Joseph answered: “It is not in me. God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace.” And God taught Joseph rightly to interpret the dreams. He said the dream is all one; the seven fat kine, and the seven good ears of corn are seven years of great fruitfulness, and the seven thin kine and the seven poor ears of corn are seven years of famine. Seven years are coming of great plenty in the land of Egypt, and then seven years of famine will begin, when there will be no corn. Now, let Pharaoh look for a wise man and set him over the land, and let him gather up the corn in the seven good years, and keep it laid up in all the cities of Egypt, that when the seven years of famine come, there may be food to eat.
Pharaoh was pleased with Joseph’s wisdom and advice, and he said to his servants: “Can we find such a one as this, a Man in whom, the spirit of God is?” Then to Joseph he said: “For as much as God hath showed 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 rule. Only in the throne, will I be greater than thou.” Then the king took his ring off his finger and put it on Joseph’s, and dressed him in fine linen clothes, and put a gold chain about his neck and made him ride in the second chariot and the servants cried before him, “Bow the knee!” What a wonderful change God had brought about for Joseph! The pit in the wilderness, the slavery in Potiphar’s house, the dungeon, all was forgotten! It reminds us of this beautiful verse in Rom. 8:1818For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. (Romans 8:18). “The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.”
As we saw in a previous lesson, Joseph is a beautiful type of the Lord Jesus. In the pit he spoke to us of Jesus put to death by the Jews, His own, and now, this exaltation at the hand of Pharaoh, tells us of the Lord Jesus in the glory. In the second chapter of the Epistle to the Philippians we are told, “Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above every name; that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.” Vs. 9-11.
ML 07/25/1909