Genesis 41.14-The Lord Delivers Joseph as Pharaoh Summons Joseph to Interpret His Dream
Sunday January 7, 2007
Genesis: Genesis 41:14-The Lord Delivers Joseph From Prison as Pharaoh Summons Joseph to Interpret His Dream
Lesson # 260
Please turn in your Bibles to Genesis 41:1.
This morning we will resume our studies in the book of Genesis.
In particular we will resume our studies of Genesis 41, which records Joseph interpreting Pharaoh’s dreams and making a recommendation to him in light of these dreams, which results in Pharaoh promoting him to prime minister, second only to Pharaoh in Egypt.
Therefore, by way of review, we have noted the following in this chapter:
In Genesis 41:1-7, we read where Pharaoh of Egypt had two dreams and in Genesis 41:8, we read the account of Pharaoh summoning the priests who were skilled in the occult sciences in order to interpret his dreams but there were none that could.
Before the Christmas break, we left off studying Genesis 41:9-13, which records Pharaoh’s cupbearer whose dream Joseph interpreted two years before making Pharaoh aware of Joseph and his ability to interpret dreams.
This morning we will study Genesis 41:14, which records Pharaoh after hearing his cupbearer relate that Joseph interpreted his dream, when Pharaoh imprisoned him two years before, sends for Joseph whose in prison in order that Joseph might interpret his dream.
Genesis 41:1, “Now it happened at the end of two full years that Pharaoh had a dream, and behold, he was standing by the Nile.”
Genesis 41:2, “And lo, from the Nile there came up seven cows, sleek and fat; and they grazed in the marsh grass.”
Genesis 41:3, “Then behold, seven other cows came up after them from the Nile, ugly and gaunt, and they stood by the other cows on the bank of the Nile.”
Genesis 41:4, “The ugly and gaunt cows ate up the seven sleek and fat cows. Then Pharaoh awoke.”
Genesis 41:5, “He fell asleep and dreamed a second time; and behold, seven ears of grain came up on a single stalk, plump and good.”
Genesis 41:6, “Then behold, seven ears, thin and scorched by the east wind, sprouted up after them.”
Genesis 41:7, “The thin ears swallowed up the seven plump and full ears. Then Pharaoh awoke, and behold, it was a dream.”
Genesis 41:8, “Now in the morning his spirit was troubled, so 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 to Pharaoh.”
Genesis 41:9, “Then the chief cupbearer spoke to Pharaoh, saying, ‘I would make mention today of my own offenses.’”
Genesis 41:10, “Pharaoh was furious with his servants, and he put me in confinement in the house of the captain of the bodyguard, both me and the chief baker.”
Genesis 41:11, “We had a dream on the same night, he and I; each of us dreamed according to the interpretation of his own dream.”
Genesis 41:12, “Now a Hebrew youth was with us there, a servant of the captain of the bodyguard, and we related them to him, and he interpreted our dreams for us. To each one he interpreted according to his own dream.”
Genesis 41:13, “And just as he interpreted for us, so it happened; he restored me in my office, but he hanged him.”
Genesis 41:14, “Then Pharaoh sent and called for Joseph, and they hurriedly brought him out of the dungeon; and when he had shaved himself and changed his clothes, he came to Pharaoh.”
“Pharaoh” was the title of the kings of Egypt until 323 B.C. and means, “great house” and history records that the “Pharaoh” that summoned Joseph into his presence to interpret his dreams would have been Sesostris II (1897-1878 B.C.).
“Sent” is the verb shalach (jl^v*) (shaw-lakh), which refers to “persons who are sent by other persons such as the action of sending messengers.”
“Called for” is the verb qara (arq) (kaw-raw), which means, “to summon to enter your presence.”
These two verbs were used in Genesis 41:8 to denote that Pharaoh sent messengers to summon into his presence each and every one of the Egyptian priests who were skilled in the occult sciences in order to get their interpretation of his dreams.
In Genesis 41:14, they are used to denote that after hearing about Joseph’s ability to interpret dreams from his cupbearer, Pharaoh sent messengers to summon into his presence Joseph.
“They” refers to the messengers that Pharaoh sent to summon Joseph into his presence to interpret his dreams.
“They hurriedly brought him out” is the verb ruts (JWr) (roots), which means, “to run,” and in the hiphil (causative) stem, it means that Pharaoh’s messengers “caused” Joseph to run so as to not keep Pharaoh waiting.
These three verbs, shalach, “sent,” qara, “called for” and ruts, “they hurriedly brought him out” expresses the urgency that Pharaoh felt since his dreams were related to the welfare of his nation.
“Dungeon” is the noun bor (rw)B) (bore), which was the prison house located in the basement of the captain of the bodyguard’s house who was Potiphar, Joseph’s slave master.
This is indicated in that in Genesis 40:14, Joseph pleads with the cupbearer to get him “out of this house” whereas in Genesis 40:15, he says he has done nothing to be put into this “dungeon.”
Genesis 40:3 records that Pharaoh’s cupbearer and baker were imprisoned in the house of the captain of the bodyguard who we know was Potiphar.
Genesis 40:7 records that this prison was located in Potiphar’s house as indicated by the phrase “in his (Joseph’s) master’s house,” and which dungeon was in the basement.
If we compare these passages of Scripture we know that Joseph was imprisoned in a house which belonged to the “captain of the bodyguard” (Genesis 40:3), and we know this captain to be Potiphar (Genesis 39:1).
Therefore, the fact that Joseph pleads with the cupbearer to get him “out of this house” and then says he has done nothing to be put into this “dungeon” indicates that Joseph was imprisoned in the basement of Potiphar’s house, who was the captain of the bodyguard.
Even though, Pharaoh’s messengers made Joseph run so as to not keep Pharaoh waiting, they also wanted him to enter Pharaoh’s presence properly dressed and in appropriate Egyptian style so they had Joseph shave both his head and face and change his clothes.
Egyptians were clean shaven for hygienic reasons while most Asiatics usually wore beards and so Joseph shaved for the first time.
A beard was a mark of dignity among the Hebrews such as Joseph (cf. II Samuel 10:4 5; Ezra 9:3), but for the Egyptian it was an offensive thing.
Harold G. Stigers commenting on this, writes, “The bath and the shave are designed to make Joseph ritually and socially acceptable to Pharaoh. None of the Egyptians wore beards. Beards shown on the monuments are ceremonial and even Queen Hatshepsut wore an imitation one, as is to be seen on the representations left to her after Thutmosis III had her images defaced or removed. Change of clothing was necessary to suit Joseph’s status as a wise counselor” (A Commentary on Genesis, page 288, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1976).
The change of clothes was necessary in order to have an audience with Pharaoh and symbolized a change of Joseph’s social status.
The fact that Pharaoh summoned Joseph into his presence to interpret his dream after hearing his cupbearer relate that Joseph interpreted his dream when Pharaoh imprisoned him two years before was a manifestation of the “providence of God.”
The “providence of God” is the divine outworking of the divine decree, the object being the final manifestation of God’s glory and expresses the fact that the world and our lives are not ruled by chance or fate but by God.
The fact that Pharaoh summoned Joseph into his presence to interpret his dream was a manifestation of the providence of God in that this occurrence was not by chance or fate but because it was a part of God’s will.
Therefore, the Lord delivered Joseph from prison since all the events in Joseph’s life were according to the providence and will of God.
Psalm 113:5-8, “Who is like the LORD our God, who is enthroned on high, who humbles Himself to behold the things that are in heaven and in the earth? He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap, to make them sit with princes, with the princes of His people.”
1 Samuel 2:7-8, “The LORD makes poor and rich; He brings low, He also exalts. He raises the poor from the dust, He lifts the needy from the ash heap to make them sit with nobles, and inherit a seat of honor; For the pillars of the earth are the LORD'S, and He set the world on them.”
Psalm 31:15-16, “My times are in Your hand; Deliver me from the hand of my enemies and from those who persecute me. Make Your face to shine upon Your servant; Save me in Your lovingkindness.:
Psalm 71:2-3, “In Your righteousness deliver me and rescue me; Incline Your ear to me and save me. Be to me a rock of habitation to which I may continually come; You have given commandment to save me, for You are my rock and my fortress.”
When Pharaoh released Joseph from prison to interpret his dream, it ended fourteen years of slavery for Joseph since Genesis 41:46 records Joseph as 30 years old when he became prime minister of Egypt and Genesis 37:2 records Joseph as 17 years old when he was sold to Potiphar in Egypt.
When Pharaoh released Joseph from prison, Joseph experienced the Lord delivering him “out of” his adversity whereas during his fourteen years of slavery he experienced the deliverance of the Lord “in” his adversity.
During the fourteen years that Joseph was in slavery and during his imprisonment, he possessed and maintained a dynamic mental attitude with love, joy, peace and no bitterness and resentment because he trusted that God would fulfill His Word to him in the form of the two prophetic dreams that are recorded in Genesis 37:5-11.
He learned during these fourteen years to walk by faith and not by sight.
2 Corinthians 5:7, “for we walk by faith, not by sight.”
Joseph’s two prophetic dreams, which were revelation from God about the future of Joseph and his family served as a great encouragement to Joseph while he was incarcerated for fourteen years in Egypt.
In our day and age, the Scriptures, which are revelation from God concerning our future (See 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20-21), serve as encouragement to us when we go through adversity and underserved suffering in our lives.
Romans 15:4, “For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”
The revelation from God that Joseph received in his two dreams constituted the “Word of God” for him whereas here in the church age, the Word of God appears in the original languages of Scripture.
Since Joseph trusted the Word of God, he was able to transcend his tremendous adversity and injustice directed towards him and so he would agree with what Paul said in Philippians 4:12-13.
Philippians 4:12, “I have experienced not only poverty but also I have experienced prosperity. By means of every circumstance and by means of all kinds of situations I am intimately acquainted with not only satiation, but also starvation, not only prosperity, but also destitution.”
Philippians 4:13, “I possess the power to overcome all kinds of situations by means of the one whose word empowers me.”
Like Paul, the Word of God, which is alive and powerful, gave Joseph the power or capacity to be able to persevere and endure and not fall victim to self-pity and bitterness and disillusionment.
Perseverance is being steadfast and faithful in applying the Word of God despite the many obstacles and cares of life in the cosmic system of Satan.
1 Timothy 6:11, “But flee from these things, you man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness.”
Luke 8:15, “But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance.”
Romans 8:25, “But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.”
Endurance is the power of bearing anything such as hardship or trial.
1 Peter 2:20, “For what credit is there if, when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure it with patience? But if when you do what is right and suffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God.”
2 Timothy 2:12, “If we endure, we will also reign with Him.”
2 Timothy 2:10, “For this reason I endure all things for the sake of those who are chosen, so that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus and with it eternal glory.”
Like Paul, Joseph was not intimidated by adverse circumstances.
Like Paul, the application of the Word of God enabled the Holy Spirit to provide Joseph with divine viewpoint and the divine perspective which would protect his heart and thoughts from being intimidated by adversity.
Like Paul, Joseph equated adversity with prosperity, he equated poverty and prosperity, satiation and starvation, prosperity and destitution because he sees the Lord’s hand in each extreme circumstance since He controls human history as Sovereign Ruler of the cosmos and thus circumstances.
Trusting the Word of God produces a dynamic mental attitude toward life in that it gives us the capacity to transcend our adverse circumstances so as not be a slave to them and preventing them from dictating our happiness.
The fact that Joseph trusted in the Word of God that came in the form of the two prophetic dreams enabled Joseph to experience in his own life the spiritual principle that God causes all things to work together for good for those who love God.
Romans 8:28, “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”
Now, if we could we have our deacons pass out the communion elements and let us take a few minutes to meditate upon the Lord and prepare ourselves for the Lord’s Supper.
1 Corinthians 11:23-24, “For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, ‘This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’”
1 Corinthians 11:25, “In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.’”
1 Corinthians 11:26, “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes.”
