January 30 - Nº 30 Genesis 41:1-45
Two years after releasing his cupbearer from prison and executing his baker, Pharaoh had two vivid dreams of his own. In the first dream, seven fat, sleek cows came out of the Nile and grazed along the banks of the river. Suddenly seven scrawny, ugly cows joined them. Instead of eating grass, they ate the healthy cows! But they remained scrawny. In the second dream, seven heads of healthy grain grew out of a single stalk. Seven more heads of grain sprouted, but they were thin and were quickly scorched by the hot winds from the desert. Then the seven thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven healthy heads. After these dreams, Pharaoh was so troubled that he couldn’t go back to sleep. In the morning, he called for all the magicians and wise men in Egypt to come and help him figure out what they meant. None of them could. Then the cupbearer remembered the dreams that he and the baker had while they were in prison (see #29 - Two Dreams in the Prison). He told Pharaoh about the young Jewish prisoner who had interpreted them both correctly. Pharaoh sent for Joseph. He was quickly escorted out of the dungeon and cleaned up so that he could stand in front of Pharaoh. Pharaoh described his dreams and asked Joseph to interpret them. Joseph explained that he could not do that. Only God could make the meanings clear. God helped Joseph understand that He was giving Pharaoh a warning. There would be seven years of great weather, producing great crops and abundant wealth. But after that, there would be seven years of drought and famine. It would be so bad that the good years would be completely forgotten. After sharing God’s interpretation, Joseph gave Pharaoh God’s advice. He should look for a wise man to put in charge of the whole land of Egypt. This overseer’s job would be to come up with an organized way to store food during the seven years of abundance. He should order everyone in Egypt to bring one fifth of all their produce to huge storehouses that he would build. Then this food could be used during the seven years of famine. Joseph warned that if Pharaoh didn’t do this, the country would not survive. Pharaoh believed Joseph, and he recognized that God had given Joseph amazing wisdom. Pharaoh and his officials couldn’t think of anyone they would rather have implement this huge disaster plan, so they placed Joseph in charge of everything. Everyone had to obey his orders. He was given a robe, a copy of the king’s ring, a gold chain, and an Egyptian wife. In one short day, Joseph went from being a prisoner in a dungeon to being the second most powerful man in the largest nation on Earth. All the horrible things he had experienced prepared him and placed him in the perfect position for God to use him to do amazing things.
If you knew the amazing things God has planned for you, do you think you would be able to look at the tough times you face differently? Why do you think God doesn’t let us see these things ahead of time? How do you think Joseph looked back on each of his trials (rejection by his brothers, slavery, imprisonment, betrayal, etc.) after he became the second most important official in Egypt?
