From Prison to Pharaoh

Two full years have gone by with Joseph still in prison. What would that do to your state of mind? Why is Joseph not an extremely bitter person when he comes out of prison? Scripture gives us strong warning about bitterness:

Deuteronomy 29:18 “so that there may not be among you man or woman or family or tribe, whose heart turns away today from the Lord our God, to go and serve the gods of these nations, and that there may not be among you a root bearing bitterness or wormwood;”

Hebrews 12:15 “looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled;”

MPT: Joseph had victory over bitterness because in all circumstances of life, good or bad, he always retained a Godward focus.

MPS: What Joseph did in always retaining a Godward focus is not out of reach for you.

The Dreams of Pharaoh

Concerning Cows (v. 1-4)

Two Groups of Seven

Fine looking, fat, and feeding in the meadows (doing what cows do)

Ugly (literally evil), gaunt, and they came up out of the river (an unnatural thing for cows to do) Pharaoh says of them “such ugliness I have never seen in all the land of Egypt.” (v. 19)

The evil cows eat up the healthy cows ( a very unnatural thing for cows to do) - this is a disturbing dream. (v. 4)

We find later in the chapter when Pharaoh recounts this same dream to Joseph that even after the evil cows ate the fat cows they still looked just as evil and sickly as they did before. (v. 21)

This caused Pharaoh to wake up, but it was just a dream so he falls back asleep. (v. 4, 21)

Sickly Stalks (v. 5-7)

Two Groups of Seven

Seven heads on one stalk, plump and good

Seven heads on one stalk, blighted and thin

Thin heads devoured the plump full heads

“and indeed it was a dream” - may indicate that these dreams were so real to Pharaoh that when he was having them he wasn’t sure if he was dreaming or not.

The Deliverance of Joseph

Pharaoh is troubled (v. 8)

When pharaoh is troubled everyone is troubled.

All of Egypt lived according to the whims of one man.

The Magicians are failures (v. 8b)

“there was no one who could interpret them for Pharaoh.”

Probably the idea here is not that they did not try, but rather that none of the interpretations they gave satisfied Pharaoh or rang true to him.

The Butler is desperate (v. 9-13)

“Hey Pharaoh, now that I can see you are in a bad mood I would like to bring up to you that time you got really mad at me and threw me in prison.”

This must have been an act of desperation.

The butler was certainly hoping that one of the magicians would satisfy Pharaoh’s troubled mind.

The butler recounts to Pharaoh his experience with Joseph

There was a young Hebrew man - why not use Joseph’s name? This almost feels derogatory.

He interpreted our dreams and in both cases he was proven correct.

Joseph is freed (v. 14)

Pharaoh calls for Joseph

As quickly as they can they:

Shave his face

Changed his clothes

He is presented to pharaoh. In a matter of moments he goes from sitting in a prison cell to standing before the most powerful man in the world.

Life can change in the blink of an eye.

Car accident

diagnosis

Job loss

Or maybe for the better, an unexpected promotion or the like.

Just remember that our text clearly states that God was with Joseph in the highs as well as the lows. It is not your circumstances that determine God’s presence.

The Discernment of Joseph

Request & Response (v. 15, 16)

Request:

Pharaoh: I have heard that you can interpret dreams.

This undoubtedly has an implied command that if you can, you will.

Response:

Joseph: “I cannot on my own interpret your dream, but God can give you the answer you are looking for.”

These verses are significant in this chapter because it is the first time that Joseph speaks. Everything else in the chapter has been building to this moment.

As soon as Joseph speaks his Godward focus is revealed.

Its not me, its God.

Generally speaking we are not quick enough to give God the credit that He is due.

The root of bitterness grows when we focus on ourselves.

Revelation & Interpretation (v. 25-32)

Revelation

Both dreams have the same meaning

God has shown you what He is about to do.

In other words God has revealed this to you.

We need to feel the weight of these words.

Interpretation

Seven good cows & seven good heads = seven years of plenty

Seven evil cows & seven thin heads = seven years of severe famine (famine so sever that the years of plenty will be forgotten v. 31)

Joseph’s Godward focus

v. 28 - what God will do

v. 32 - established by God, and God will bring it to pass

Recommendations & Preparations (v. 33- 36)

Recommendation # 1 - Hire a capable leader (v. 33)

Recommendation # 2 - Let him assemble a team (v. 34)

Goal:

To collect one fifth of the produce of the land during the years of plenty (v. 34, 35)

To use the collected food as a reserve for the years of famine (v. 36)

The Decision of Pharaoh

Pharaoh’s Observations

This is good advice (v. 37)

Rhetorical question: Are we going to find anyone else like this, in whom is the Spirit of God? (v. 38)

Since God has made these things known to you we wont find anyone as discerning and wise as you, Joseph. (v. 39)

Joseph’s Promotion

Joseph is now in charge of:

Pharaoh’s house (v. 40a)

Pharaoh’s people (v. 40b, 44)

Pharaoh’s land (v. 41)

Joseph gets his stripes (v. 42)

signet ring (Pharaoh takes it off his own hand and puts it on Joseph)

garments of fine linen

gold chain

name (v. 45)

wife (v. 45b)

Should Joseph have married an Egyptian?

Considerations

The priest of On led the worship of the Egyptian sun god.

First, Joseph lived prior to the mosaic law meaning there was no legal reason that Joseph should not marry Asenath. However, the principle was certainly in place given Abraham’s insistence that Isaac find a wife from among his own people.

Second, we should take Joseph’s character into consideration. Joseph was a godly man and while that does not mean he was sinless it would certainly be out of character for him to do something like this. Joseph winds up in Hebrews 11:22 “By faith Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the departure of the children of Israel, and gave instructions concerning his bones.”

Third, the Scriptures say nothing negative about this marriage so any argument about it good or bad is an argument from silence.

Fourth, God used this marriage to strengthen Joseph’s new position as a national leader.

In short, Joseph did not sin by taking Asenath as his wife. The union could have been, in fact, a sign of Asenath’s adoption of her husband’s faith. In any case, God allowed Joseph to marry into the high-profile family of a respected priest, and He worked through that marriage to bless many.

However, in the big picture of Genesis we the readers should be scratching our heads at this one.

Joseph is the wrong son

He is living in the wrong land

He marries, from our perspective, the wrong woman

How in the world will God keep His promises to Abraham given this set of circumstances? It must be impossible, right?

Joseph presented to the people (43)

The Culmination (v. 46-57)

Does what Joseph said will happen actually happen?

Seven years of plenty (v. 46-49)

The ground brought forth abundantly

Joseph stored it up in the cities

Amount: as much as the sand of the sea, he stopped counting because it was immeasurable

These seven years were also rewarding for Joseph personally because during this time that his two sons are born, and it is interesting to see that even in the naming of his children Joseph still had a Godward focus.

Manasseh: “For God has made me forget all my toil and all my father’s house.”

Ephraim: “For God has caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction.”

Does Joseph seem like a bitter person here?

Seven years of famine (v. 53-57)

All the surrounding lands were struggling but there was bread in Egypt, obviously a reality that becomes significant to the story later. (v. 54, 57)

When the people cried out to Pharaoh his response was, listen to Joseph. (v. 55)