Written by Hudson Taylor was a missionary in China who would eventually begin the China Inland Mission, yet the road to that great organization was not all evenly paved.[1] Some of Taylor’s first years in China proved so difficult that he left and moved back home to England. He would even spend five years back there, away from China, in relative obscurity, forgotten by many, unsure of what the future held. After these years he did return to China and had much more success in reaching many with the gospel, but he looked back to those five years of seeming delay with gratitude, saying this in his own writings, “Without those hidden years, with all their growth and testing, how could the vision and enthusiasm of my youth been matured for the leadership that was to be?”
Seeming delay, forgotten by many, maturing out of sight, for a great work that was yet to come…sounds a lot like Joseph.
When we left Joseph at the end of Genesis 40 he was a forgotten man, who had been left behind in prison. Truly the night was dark, but Joseph was not forsaken. The invisible hand of God was paving the way, preparing the man, and providing for him even in the darkness. After it seems the night could get no darker, I am pleased to say that for Joseph dawn is about to break.
We see that in our text today, Genesis 41. We’ll spend two weeks on this chapter. Today I’ll be covering v1-36, and Lord willing next week pastor Andrew will be finishing out the chapter. For now, let’s begin in…
Pharaoh Dreams (v1-8)
“After two whole years, Pharaoh dreamed that he was standing by the Nile, and behold, there came up out of the Nile seven cows, attractive and plump, and they fed in the reed grass. 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. And the ugly, thin cows ate up the seven attractive, plump cows. And Pharaoh awoke. And he fell asleep and dreamed a second time. And behold, seven ears of grain, plump and good, were growing on one stalk. And behold, after them sprouted seven ears, thin and blighted by the east wind. And the thin ears swallowed up the seven plump, full ears. And Pharaoh awoke, and behold, it was a dream. 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.”
As has happened before, this chapter opens with a time reference. Sometimes we have not known the exact length of time between events, but here we do. It has now been two years since the events surrounding the imprisonment/release of the chief cupbearer and the chief baker. Which is really to say, it’s now been two years since the chief cupbearer has forgotten Joseph. That’s how chapter 41 begins in v1, with this time reference. But we then see, not Joseph, but Pharaoh come into view in v1.
One night he has two dreams. We see them recounted for us in v1-7. In the first dream we see pharaoh standing by the Nile river. And up out of the Nile river comes seven cows big cows, well fed, fat, and plump. These cows were feeding in the grass. Then all of a sudden seven more cows come up out of the Nile river. These cows are the opposite of well fattened, they are ugly and thin as the text says or more literal to the Hebrew these cows were evil in appearance.[2]Pharaoh then sees these thin cows cannibalize the fat cows. Which is then followed by the detail in v4, Pharaoh waking up, and no wonder![3] The dream was alarming. But he lays back down, goes back to sleep and has another dream, very similar to the previous one. In the second dream he sees seven ears of grain, that are plump and fat. He then sees seven more ears of grain shoot up but these seven are thin and blighted (think scorched or dried up) by the east wind. And as before, these seven thin ears swallow up the seven plump ears.
Pharaoh then has a moment we all can understand in v7. He wakes up in a state where he cannot tell the difference between what’s real and what’s a dream, but then he comes to and realizes it was all just dreams. Nonetheless the dream stuck with him, as v8 says, “…in the morning his spirit was troubled…” In this comment we again see much of Egyptian culture. Dreams are a big deal to Egyptians in the Ancient Near East. They were highly regarded and deeply respected as gifts and guidance from the gods. So just as the cupbearer and baker had dreams and didn’t know how to interpret them and were troubled in chapter 40, so too is Pharaoh here in chapter 41. And for good reason! Both his dreams began well and ended in violence with empty evil things consuming plentiful good things. So what did Pharaoh do? He called for Gandalf, Saruman, Radagast, Alatar and Palando, Dumbledore and Merlin…he called all the wise men and magicians of Egypt to interpret his dream, but none could.
So Pharaoh has dreamed, now see v9-14 where we see…
Joseph Remembered (v9-14)
“Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh, “I remember my offenses today. 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, we dreamed on the same night, he and I, each having a dream with its own interpretation. 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. And as he interpreted to us, so it came about. I was restored to my office, and the baker was hanged.” 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.”
Word had likely gotten around the palace that Pharaoh had uninterpretable dreams that were very troubling. At this point in the narrative, in v9, we see the chief cupbearer come back into view. He tells pharaoh that he remembers his former sins. Of the time when he and the baker were thrown into prison, when they dreamed, and when a young Hebrew interpreted their dreams correctly. So, not only here is Joseph remembered by the cupbearer, Joseph is summoned by Pharaoh in v14.[4] Can you imagine what this would have been like for Joseph? Having been forgotten in prison for so long, to hear and see royal officials descending into the prison, call his name, being brought up and out. It was probably disorienting at first for Joseph as he’s wondering if he’ll have to go back down into prison. But as he’s wondering these things Joseph is made presentable by shaving and cleaning him. Then and only then, as Joseph looks something like his former handsome self, he is presented to Pharaoh.
This brings us to the largest portion of our text today, v15-32 where…
God Interprets (v15-32)
“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.” Joseph answered Pharaoh, “It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer.” Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Behold, in my dream I was standing on the banks of the Nile. Seven cows, plump and attractive, came up out of the Nile and fed in the reed grass. 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. And the thin, ugly cows ate up the first seven plump cows, 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. I also saw in my dream seven ears growing on one stalk, full and good. Seven ears, withered, thin, and blighted by the east wind, sprouted after them, 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.” Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “The dreams of Pharaoh are one; God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do. The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good ears are seven years; the dreams are one. 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. It is as I told Pharaoh; God has shown to Pharaoh what he is about to do. There will come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt, 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, and the plenty will be unknown in the land by reason of the famine that will follow, for it will be very severe. And the doubling of Pharaoh’s dream means that the thing is fixed by God, and God will shortly bring it about.”
Now, to say that Joseph’s situation was intimidating is a large understatement.[5] He had been taken from prison and brought before Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. One who in this Egyptian culture/context was believed to be a god himself. Given the nature of the situation, how would Joseph do as he is brought before great power and worldly pump? Would he cave or melt and not tell the truth? Will he change who he is to be more pleasing to Pharaoh to get in on his good side? Or will he be the same man in the presence of great power that he has been in the pit, in the palace, and in prison? We might wonder these things as we hear v15, where Pharaoh brings him in and tells him of his dreams, states that no one can interpret them, and asks Joseph to interpret for him. But v16 clears all concern as we see Joseph give a short and sweet honest testimony to the truth, “It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer.”
This answer to Pharaoh is very similar to the answer Joseph gave to the cupbearer and baker two years earlier, when he said in 40:8, “Do not interpretations belong to God?” That’s a strong statement in its own context, to two royal officials who held great stock in dreams and the Egyptian gods. But this here in v16, is a much stronger statement of the same thing. Not only is Joseph clearly pointing away from himself to God, but this a statement of what God can do, it’s a statement of who God truly is against all the gods of Egypt, and that Joseph said this to a man who believed himself to be a god makes this an explosive statement that Pharaoh would’ve understood. Joseph implies here that his God is greater than Pharaoh. So in a sense, Joseph is doing a kind of apologetics in Egypt, making a case for the true God before the most powerful person in Egypt.
It would not be a stretch to think Pharaoh would respond with anger at this because Joseph had just made a statement against him and all the Egyptian deities. Yet, Pharaoh isn’t angry. Why? His dreams have greatly troubled him. So much so that in v17-24 as Pharaoh recounts his dreams he emphasizes the ugliness of the thin cows and thin ears that swallowed up the others. Clearly Pharaoh is in distress. Which is itself an eye opener because when else has Pharaoh been laid low and been seen as helpless and fearful? He is indeed just a man.[6]
It’s at this point that Joseph gives the interpretation of the dreams. That through these dreams God is showing Pharaoh what He is about to do. So he says the two dreams are one, meaning they both refer to the same thing. The seven fat and good cows, and the seven good ears are seven years. And the seven ugly and thin cows, and the seven thin ears are also seven years. Meaning, ahead of them there will be seven good years of abundant and plentiful harvest followed by seven years of famine. And not just any famine, but a severe famine, so bad that people will entirely forget the seven good years. This is what God is about to do.
Which, again Church, would’ve been a loud megaphone to Pharaoh, that he is not ultimate over Egypt. The future is this grand nation doesn’t depend on Pharaoh, but on God, who rules and reigns over all. God then, is the true Lord of Egypt who will ever and always bring His will to pass.[7]
But Joseph doesn’t stop there, he keeps going. Notice this in v33-36 where we see…
Joseph Plans (v33-36)
“Now therefore let Pharaoh select a discerning and wise man, and set him over the land of Egypt. 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. 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. 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.”
Here in these final verses of our passage for today, I think we get details on why the other interpreters failed Pharaoh. Back in v8 it mentions how none of Egypt’s wise men/magicians could interpret the dreams. Perhaps the problem wasn’t so much their lack of an attempt at interpretation, but they’re lack of wisdom for knowing what to do about the dreams. This is exactly what Joseph provides for Pharaoh. He clearly tells him what the dreams mean, how God has revealed what’s about to happen … and … he goes further and instructs Pharaoh on what do about the dreams. To choose a wise and discerning man, set him over Egypt, so he can store up 1/5 of all the harvest for these next seven years. This way, when the years of great and severe famine come, they have reserves.
What will Pharaoh do? Will he take Joseph’s advice, or do something else? And what will happen to Joseph? That we will look at next week in the rest of the chapter.
For us now, I think there’s a great lesson to see in the v33-36, in Joseph’s wise plans to Pharaoh. On one hand in these dreams we see God as the sovereign One, as the One who has determined, and the One who will bring forth these particular events of feast/famine in this particular way. On the other hand we see Joseph as wise and responsible in the crafting of particular plans in response to the events ahead of them, plans that will not just greatly serve the people, but save the people from death in the end. So we see both God’s full sovereignty and man’s full responsibility in this text, and we ought to affirm both.
Too many in the Church do silly things with these truths. Some of us either make sovereignty and responsibility an issue of debate, as if it is something that just exists in the realm of argument and isn’t a matter of worship or obedience…when that’s what it is! God’s sovereignty in Scripture isn’t a matter for debate, it’s a stout truth that stokes the fires of our worship of God! And our responsibility before God isn’t just a matter of debate about the extent of it, it’s a matter of our obedience before God in our lives.
Others of us try to exist on one side of the issue. Meaning some so emphasize God’s sovereignty over all affairs that they practically deny man’s responsibility, while some make the other error of so emphasizing man’s responsibility in all of life that they practically deny God as having any sovereignty at all. We should not err on either side of this Church. God is fully sovereign, and man is fully responsible. We see that here in this passage. The fact that God has determined these seasons for Egypt in His sovereignty is the very fuel and push for Joseph to get busy being responsible for the people.[8]
Conclusion:
The highest passage to examine the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of man is Acts 2:22-23 where Peter says, “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know—this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.”
It is crystal clear in those words that Jesus was delivered up to die for sinners to save sinners by the definite plan of God, this is sovereignty. But it’s also crystal clear that the men who crucified Him are held as guilty for doing so, this is responsibility. Church, let’s be biblical, in a Joseph like spirit, let’s embrace both of these. God’s full sovereignty, and our full responsibility. Remember…
Remember Hudson Taylor…who experienced in God’s sovereign timing a delay, a pause, a season of waiting. Desiring to see China reached with the gospel, having gone and failed, and now sitting home in England. Did Taylor resign himself to passivity or apathy during this season? No. He trusted the Lord, loved the Lord, sought the Lord, and ultimately knew that the Lord would bring him out of this waiting when the time was right.
Waiting is hard. We don’t know God’s sovereign purposes in all things, and we will have seasons where the night is dark. But know, we are not forsaken, for Christ is always with us.
[1] R. Kent Hughes, Genesis, Preaching the Word (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2004), 472.
[2] Gordon J. Wenham, Genesis 16-50, WBC (Waco, TX: Zondervan, 2000), 391.
[3] Wenham, 391.
[4] Hughes, Genesis, 477.
[5] Hughes, 478–79.
[6] Hughes, 479.
[7] Hughes, 480.
[8] Wenham, Genesis 16-50, 394.
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