After two whole years, Pharaoh dreamed… (Genesis 41:1)
Dreams certainly paid a significant role in Joseph’s life – he had dreams when he was a youth (that he possibly shouldn’t have mentioned to his siblings). He interpreted dreams for the baker and chief cupbearer of Pharaoh. And now Pharaoh has a dream that his magicians can’t interpret. This causes Pharaoh’s chief cupbearer to remember Joseph, who had accurately interpreted his and the baker’s dreams in prison. He tells Pharaoh about Joseph and his ability to interpret dreams, and Joseph is sent for.
Joseph is cleaned up and presented to Pharaoh. Pharaoh tells him that he has had a dream that no one can interpret, but he has heard it said that Joseph can interpret dreams. Note Joseph’s answer: “It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer” (Genesis 41:16). We would all do well to humbly keep in mind that our abilities come from God.
Joseph interprets the dream, informing Pharaoh that God has shown Pharaoh through his dreams that there will be seven years of plenty followed by seven years of famine. He advises Pharaoh to select a discerning and wise man to put in charge of managing the land. He suggests that one-fifth of the produce in the years of plenty should be stored up for the years of famine.
Pharaoh decides that no one is as wise and discerning as Joseph, and he sets Joseph over the whole land of Egypt with only Pharaoh as greater. Pharaoh also gives Joseph (who is now thirty years old) a wife. And before the years of famine occur, he has two sons: Ephraim and Manasseh.
When the years of famine (which is worldwide) arrive, people from all over come to buy grain from Joseph.
We don’t know how many years have passed since Joseph was sold by his brothers, but it was many. Yet God has always been with him, blessing him when he was a slave, blessing him when he was in prison, and now blessing him as a government leader in Egypt.
Through all Joseph’s trials, God was doing at least two things (but probably many more): training Joseph’s character to prepare him for a huge assignment and setting things up to put Joseph into place as the leader of a great nation.
We can take for granted that everything we go through is at minimum for our discipline and development into godly people and that God has plans that He’d like us to be a part of. So, when something isn’t going well in our lives or we are going through hard times of some kind, we will benefit by not simply looking at the inconvenience or bad thing as something simply to get rid of. Instead, we should contemplate how can we respond in a godly way as we inquire of God how best to handle what we are dealing with.
Prayer: Thank You God that You are with me in the best of times and worst of times and all the in between times. Help me to respond in godly ways in all circumstances. Thank You that You are constantly working out Your plans. You are a good, good, Father!
