Joseph Interprets Dreams - Part 2 (Gen 41:1-36)

Introduction

If you have your Bible, please turn it to Genesis 41.

While you turn there, let me remind you a little bit of where we are in the text—we’re following along through the life of Joseph, who was a younger man who seems to consistently end up in terrible situations—and yet, we can see through the benefit of Scripture, that God is working in him and through him in ways that Joseph can’t possibly understand in that very moment.

Just last week, we watched as he worked his way up in prison, became the overseer of the prison, interpreted the dreams of the chief cupbearer and chief baker with a simple request—please don’t forget me because I don’t deserve to be here; and yet, the chief cupbearer forgot him anyways.

Our text starts this morning in v. 1 of ch. 41. Let’s read it together:

Genesis 41:1–36 ESV

After two whole years, Pharaoh dreamed that he was standing by the Nile, 2 and behold, there came up out of the Nile seven cows, attractive and plump, and they fed in the reed grass. 3 And behold, seven other cows, ugly and thin, came up out of the Nile after them, and stood by the other cows on the bank of the Nile. 4 And the ugly, thin cows ate up the seven attractive, plump cows. And Pharaoh awoke. 5 And he fell asleep and dreamed a second time. And behold, seven ears of grain, plump and good, were growing on one stalk. 6 And behold, after them sprouted seven ears, thin and blighted by the east wind. 7 And the thin ears swallowed up the seven plump, full ears. And Pharaoh awoke, and behold, it was a dream. 8 So in the morning his spirit was troubled, and he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt and all its wise men. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but there was none who could interpret them to Pharaoh. 9 Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh, “I remember my offenses today. 10 When Pharaoh was angry with his servants and put me and the chief baker in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, 11 we dreamed on the same night, he and I, each having a dream with its own interpretation. 12 A young Hebrew was there with us, a servant of the captain of the guard. When we told him, he interpreted our dreams to us, giving an interpretation to each man according to his dream. 13 And as he interpreted to us, so it came about. I was restored to my office, and the baker was hanged.” 14 Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they quickly brought him out of the pit. And when he had shaved himself and changed his clothes, he came in before Pharaoh. 15 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I have had a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it. I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.” 16 Joseph answered Pharaoh, “It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer.” 17 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Behold, in my dream I was standing on the banks of the Nile. 18 Seven cows, plump and attractive, came up out of the Nile and fed in the reed grass. 19 Seven other cows came up after them, poor and very ugly and thin, such as I had never seen in all the land of Egypt. 20 And the thin, ugly cows ate up the first seven plump cows, 21 but when they had eaten them no one would have known that they had eaten them, for they were still as ugly as at the beginning. Then I awoke. 22 I also saw in my dream seven ears growing on one stalk, full and good. 23 Seven ears, withered, thin, and blighted by the east wind, sprouted after them, 24 and the thin ears swallowed up the seven good ears. And I told it to the magicians, but there was no one who could explain it to me.” 25 Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “The dreams of Pharaoh are one; God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do. 26 The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good ears are seven years; the dreams are one. 27 The seven lean and ugly cows that came up after them are seven years, and the seven empty ears blighted by the east wind are also seven years of famine. 28 It is as I told Pharaoh; God has shown to Pharaoh what he is about to do. 29 There will come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt, 30 but after them there will arise seven years of famine, and all the plenty will be forgotten in the land of Egypt. The famine will consume the land, 31 and the plenty will be unknown in the land by reason of the famine that will follow, for it will be very severe. 32 And the doubling of Pharaoh’s dream means that the thing is fixed by God, and God will shortly bring it about. 33 Now therefore let Pharaoh select a discerning and wise man, and set him over the land of Egypt. 34 Let Pharaoh proceed to appoint overseers over the land and take one-fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt during the seven plentiful years. 35 And let them gather all the food of these good years that are coming and store up grain under the authority of Pharaoh for food in the cities, and let them keep it. 36 That food shall be a reserve for the land against the seven years of famine that are to occur in the land of Egypt, so that the land may not perish through the famine.”

As we study this passage together, we’re going to break it into two parts: (1) Pharaoh’s Dream (1-24) and (2) The Interpretation (25-36). Pharaoh’s dream is another unusual one in a saga of multiple unusual dreams; and yet, there is a profound meaning that will influence the whole nation of Egypt as well as the burgeoning nation of Israel. It is this dream and Joseph’s interpretation of the dreams that not only puts Joseph into a position of power, but ultimately saves God’s people from extinction before the nation of Israel even gets started.

Ultimately, the idea this week is to see God’s sovereign providence through Pharaoh’s dreams, the interpretation, and the results. Like last week, the application focuses in on how God’s providentially working in your life even when you don’t realize it.

Keep this in mind as we pray:

Prayer for Illumination

Pharaoh’s Dream (1-24)

Pharaoh’s Dream (1-8)—two whole years after the discussion between Joseph and the chief cupbearer, Pharaoh has two dreams that causes deep consternation for him.

The Dreams Themselves (1-7)—their descriptions are rather short and they’re unusual—again, they feel like they may be cough-syrup or melatonin-induced—except, we know that they’re from God as God gives the interpretations of the dreams later.

The first dream places Pharaoh by the Nile in which seven cows came out of the Nile, attractive and plump, and they fed on the reed grass. Soon after, seven more cows, ugly and thin, came up out of the Nile and ate the seven attractive, plump cows—this dream is so jarring to Pharaoh that it wakes him up—it’s essentially a zombie cow dream.

The second dream deals with seven ears of grain, plump and good, growing on one stalk. Afterwords, seven more ears sprouted except they were thin and blighted and the seven thin and blighted ears swallowed up the seven plump and full ears.—again, the dream is jarring enough to wake Pharaoh up again.

The Inability of Pagans to Interpret the Dreams (8)—in his troubled spirit, he calls for the magicians of Egypt and all of his wise men—these would include astrologers, people messing with things like sorcery, we would include New Ageism—crystals, Tarot cards, etc.

These are people who do not believe in Yahweh and so they dabble in the occult under the guise of wisdom—and yet, Pharaoh tells them his dreams and there isn’t a single person under this category who can interpret the dreams.

Of course, recognizing what Joseph says prior to this point and what Daniel says later in history—it makes sense that the wise men of Pharaoh are unable to interpret the dreams—why? Because dreams and their interpretations belong to the Lord.

The Chief Cupbearer’s Realization (9-13)—in the midst of this, the chief cupbearer makes a realization and confessions his offense against Joseph to Pharaoh.

He recalls the past—that when Pharaoh was angry with him, he was placed into the custody of the captain of the guard and while there, he along with the chief baker had their own respective dreams.

The chief cupbearer mentions that there was a “young Hebrew” who was the servant of the captain, who gave them their interpretations, which both turned out to be right, which ought not surprise us because again, dreams and their interpretations belong to the Lord.

And it’s this realization or confession that causes Pharaoh to reach out to Joseph.

Pharaoh Recalls the Dreams (14-24)—Pharaoh gets Joseph out of prison for the purpose of interpreting his dreams and the interpretation really isn’t great.

Pharaoh calls for Joseph (14-16)—and of course, because he’s Pharaoh, they were quick to pull him out of prison before having him shave and change his clothes—there are a few details worth noting here:

For example, you might ask why that’s part of this account, but it’s rather simple—it’s a cultural issue. It was an Egyptian custom for men to shave their heads and faces—thus, Joseph was shaved to fit the cultural expectations of the time.

The change of clothes is symbolically significant if you think through how he went from a coat of many colors, to being dressed as a slave, to being restored into clothes suitable for being in the courts of Pharaoh—it’s significant.

Finally, notice that when Pharaoh tells Joseph that he had a dream and was told that Joseph could interpret it, Joseph gives all the credit to God—“Joseph answered Pharaoh, ‘It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer.’” — note that by favorable, he means that God will give an answer that Pharaoh would think is suitable, not that the predicted events were necessarily favorable.

Pharaoh Recalls the Dreams (17-24)—when Pharaoh hears that Joseph can interpret the dreams, he retells the dreams to him.

Notice in retelling the dreams, Pharaoh reiterates how he had already spoken to several different people, “but there was no one who could explain it to me.”

Transition: Of course, up to this point in the text, we haven’t really learned anything that we didn’t already know—with the exception of the dreams themselves, everything else that we learn in the passage, we’ve already learned before—including God’s ability to give and interpret dreams, Joseph’s unfortunate circumstances, and God’s providential rule in the background of the situation. However, the interpretation of Pharaoh’s dreams, which we’re about to see, will (1) set Joseph’s future up and (2) save not just Egypt, but also the covenant family itself. Look at vv. 25-36 with me:

The Interpretation (25-36)

Genesis 41:25–36 ESV

25 Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “The dreams of Pharaoh are one; God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do. 26 The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good ears are seven years; the dreams are one. 27 The seven lean and ugly cows that came up after them are seven years, and the seven empty ears blighted by the east wind are also seven years of famine. 28 It is as I told Pharaoh; God has shown to Pharaoh what he is about to do. 29 There will come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt, 30 but after them there will arise seven years of famine, and all the plenty will be forgotten in the land of Egypt. The famine will consume the land, 31 and the plenty will be unknown in the land by reason of the famine that will follow, for it will be very severe. 32 And the doubling of Pharaoh’s dream means that the thing is fixed by God, and God will shortly bring it about. 33 Now therefore let Pharaoh select a discerning and wise man, and set him over the land of Egypt. 34 Let Pharaoh proceed to appoint overseers over the land and take one-fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt during the seven plentiful years. 35 And let them gather all the food of these good years that are coming and store up grain under the authority of Pharaoh for food in the cities, and let them keep it. 36 That food shall be a reserve for the land against the seven years of famine that are to occur in the land of Egypt, so that the land may not perish through the famine.”

Joseph Interprets Pharaoh’s Dreams (25-32)—in Joseph’s interpretations, there are two details that are worth noting—who Joseph gives credit to and the interpretation itself.

Notice that Joseph states that God provided the interpretation (25)—”God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do.”

Again, this really ought not surprise us as dreams, visions, and their interpretations are from the LORD, but it does put things in stark contrast to how the magicians of Egypt tried to accomplish the same goal.

The magicians utilized their various means to try and accomplish what they thought they ought to—Joseph relied on the LORD for the response to what needed to be accomplished.

And while it could be tempting for Joseph to take credit for the interpretation, the fact that he doesn’t speaks highly about his character and it reminds us of how we really ought to act and react in similar situations—we ought to be pointing to Jesus not to ourselves.

The Interpretation Itself (26-32)—the interpretation of the dreams is two-fold.

There will be seven years of great plenty—that’s the first element of the dreams. Then there will be seven years of severe famine—that’s the second element of the dreams.

There’s no ifs, ands, or buts—there’s nothing that Pharaoh can do to prevent these things from happening, Joseph actually explains that there’s nothing that can happen to prevent the situation in v. 32, “the doubling of Pharaoh’s dream means that the thing is fixed by God.” He simply has to prepare for the impending famine.

Joseph’s Recommendation (33-36)—and that’s exactly what Joseph recommends that Pharaoh does.

Joseph says that Pharaoh needs to select a discerning and wise man, to set him over the land of Egypt—note that he doesn’t necessarily say that Pharaoh ought to choose him, just that Pharaoh ought to choose someone with wisdom.

It clues us in to two facts—(1) Joseph probably didn’t think of himself as acceptable for the role and (2) Joseph isn’t trying to make a way for himself to be this person.

Rather, he simply recognizes that someone needs to intentionally do this otherwise, the whole nation won’t survive.

This man will gather all the food during the good years to store up food in the cities for the purpose of providing sustenance.

Essentially, under the authority of Pharaoh, this person would have the permission and ability to tax the people in such a way that there would be a storehouse of food in various locations for the purpose of providing for the people when the famine starts.

It’s essentially a social service or a welfare service for the purpose of saving the people.

In hindsight, with the benefit of Scripture, we know that Pharaoh chooses Joseph for this role and with that truth, we can then look back and make a significant realization—that all that Joseph had been through, prepared him for the role that Pharaoh gives him.

Being rejected by his brothers, being a slave, being a prisoner—all developed within him different attributes and abilities that made him suitable for the role that Pharaoh gives him.

He’s resilient, he’s tenacious, he’s trustworthy and dependable. His character has developed in a God-honoring way that makes him a fantastic steward of vast resources.

In addition, he’s learned to manage households, to manage a prison, to manage large operations—it wouldn’t be hard for him to scale those skills to the size of Egypt.

More importantly, through all his hardships, Joseph has learned to trust and depend on God.

Unlike someone who through hardships just tries to work harder to find their own solutions—Joseph did what we all ought to do—trust God and depend on Him, which is really the definition of what it means to trust Him.

Unlike someone who faces hardships and allows those hardships to justify wrong behavior—Joseph turned to God and followed Him instead.

Transition: With all that said, our application for this week really builds on our application from several weeks and so, it could be helpful for us to rehash those briefly as we work through our application for the week.

Application

First, even when you feel forgotten, God hasn’t forgotten you.

In Joseph’s case, there were several moments in which he could’ve felt forgotten and one instance in which we know for sure that he was forgotten by a human person; and yet, no one could argue that God had forgotten him.

As I’ve repeated multiple times, Joseph’s life seem to go from ok, to worse, to worse, to worse again.

And in last week’s passage, there is an instance in which he very much is forgotten by the chief cupbearer, which results in his remaining in prison for another two years.

Joseph very well was forgotten and probably felt forgotten; and yet, we know that God never forgets His people.

In your life, you will have moments when you feel forgotten and yet, just like Joseph, if you belong to Jesus, He hasn’t forgotten you.

You might be in a season in life where things seem to go from ok, to worse, to worse, to worse again.

And you might be in a situation—whether at work, at school, or at home—where it seems like the people around you really aren’t paying much attention to you.

You could actually be forgotten by the people around you; and yet, Jesus never forgets His people.

So, live knowing that God knows you and never forgets you.

This really ties into the perseverance of the saints—that if you are genuinely His, that He knows you personally and He never lets go of His people.

A lot of times in life, when you feel forgotten, the key is to simply remind yourself that you aren’t forgotten—God does indeed know you.

And God is indeed with you and working in you and through you.

God knows you and He never forgets you—allow this truth to influence you by giving you hope and joy even when you feel forgotten.

Second, even when your life feels out of control, God is still in control.

Joseph had very little control over much of his life—things got worse and worse through really no fault of his own.

In fact, as I mentioned in our first week in Joseph’s life, the Bible really doesn’t say much against Joseph whatsoever—except maybe that he wasn’t wise when he told his brothers about his dreams.

And yet, because he lived in a sin-cursed world, he’s dealing with the consequences of sin throughout his life—even the consequences of the sins of the people around him—which is important to note, sometimes, other people’s sin will influence your life either by being sinned against or being adjacent to someone else’s sin.

Joseph had no control as he was thrown into a pit, sold into slavery, thrown into prison, and then taken to Pharaoh—he had to simply rely on God’s sovereignty through all the situations of his life.

In your life, you have plenty of moments in which you don’t have much control over things; and yet, like Joseph’s life, when your life feels out of control, God is still in control.

I’m thinking even at a very basic level—at school, at work, maybe even at home (depending on your age)—you probably don’t have much control over things. Unless you are staff at a high level in the school, the owner of the company, or whatever else, you won’t have much control over things.

And so, as a student in a school—you’ll feel like you just have to do what they say; as an employee of a company, you’re not asked for many of your opinions; and in many ways that’s to be expected.

I’m also thinking at a very high level—in life, just in general. The reality is that most decisions in life are made by people that aren’t you—so, you don’t make the laws of the country that we live in nor do you make the laws of the municipality that you live in (you’re just forced to obey the laws).

Which, by the way, is a biblical thing—the Bible is pretty clear that as far as we can, we are to live peaceably with those around us—including obeying laws that are given (unless they contradict Scripture).

But again, the reality is that you don’t have much control over these things.

So, when you’re dealing with things that you do have control over and you lose the ability to control those things—regardless of the reasoning, you can panic over the feeling of a lack of control, or you can trust God in the midst of the issue.

So, live your life knowing that God is still in control.

This ties in with actually trusting God. The reality is that many of us claim to trust God, but then we don’t actually live like it—so, when we face situations in life that are out of our control, instead of turning to Jesus, we try to fix the problems ourselves.

Instead of running to Jesus, we run to whatever means we can create to try and fix things—which reveals a heart of trust more for ourselves than trust more so in God.

When, the right thing for us to do when life feels out of control is to remind ourselves that God is still in control, we should run to Him in prayer, and then we should trust Him to be in control.

God is in control—live your life influenced by this truth.

Third, even when you don’t feel equipped, God equips you for what He has called you for.

In Joseph’s life as he dealt with great difficulties, he was being equipped for what God had called him for.

I mentioned last week that if you just think through how he stewarded Potiphar’s house and then the prison, all of that prepared him to be able to steward the resources of the nation of Egypt.

Knowing that God was providentially working all things for Joseph to be in the position of the steward of Egypt tells us that even when Joseph was in the pit, enslaved, and in prison, God was providentially preparing him for the role that He had already called Joseph for.

And through all of it, Joseph didn’t realize what God was equipping him for—he just remained faithful with what he could see and trusted God with what he couldn’t see.

In your life as you do what God has called you do, as you prepare for what He’s still calling you to—while you might feel unequipped, God always equips His people to do what He has called them to do and that includes you.

The reality is that God has made a habit of calling people to do things that they were completely unequipped for—and there’s a reason for it, that no one boasts in themselves, but rather boasts in Him.

God calls people and as part of that calling, He equips them through various means—sometimes its school, sometimes its through apprentice-like means, sometimes its through local church educational ministries. It is, however, almost always through intentional discipleship—in some way or another.

Now, I do want to clarify, that while God does equip His people for what He calls them to—there is an element in which you ought to seek equipping.

There should never be a moment where you think that God is calling you to do something, but you don’t necessarily want to do any work to prepare for it.

While the means for equipping may differ in the context, the desire to be equipped should always be present.

With that in mind, live according to what God has called you to do and recognize that He equips you to do what He has called you to do.

If you think God is calling you to do something—then make the effort to seek equipping to do what He has called you to do.

If you think God is calling you to do something—don’t allow feelings of inadequacy to stop you from obeying.

God will equip you, you only need to be faithful.

God hasn’t forgotten you, He is still in control, and He will equip you for what He has called you to do.

So be faithful to Him, keep following Him, and trust Him as you do so.

Pastoral Prayer