17 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Behold, in my dream I was standing on the banks of the Nile. 18 Seven cows, plump and attractive, came up out of the Nile and fed in the reed grass. 19 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. 20 And the thin, ugly cows ate up the first seven plump cows, 21 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. 22 I also saw in my dream seven ears growing on one stalk, full and good. 23 Seven ears, withered, thin, and blighted by the east wind, sprouted after them, 24 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.”
25 Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “The dreams of Pharaoh are one; God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do. 26 The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good ears are seven years; the dreams are one. 27 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. 28 It is as I told Pharaoh; God has shown to Pharaoh what he is about to do. 29 There will come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt, 30 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, 31 and the plenty will be unknown in the land by reason of the famine that will follow, for it will be very severe. 32 And the doubling of Pharaoh’s dream means that the thing is fixed by God, and God will shortly bring it about. 33 Now therefore let Pharaoh select a discerning and wise man, and set him over the land of Egypt. 34 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. 35 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. 36 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.”
(ESV)
STOP! Think a little 🤔 What is God saying to you?
- What is the writer saying?
- How do I apply this to my life?
Pharaoh tells Joseph his dreams. We learn a little bit more about the dreams in this passage. Not only did the thin cows come out of the Nile and eat the fat cows, but they remained thin and scrawny as if they had not eaten anything.
Joseph explains that both dreams mean the same thing. God has revealed what He is about to do. The seven cows and the seven plump ears of corn represent seven years of plenty. They will be followed by seven years of famine represented by the scrawny cows and the scorched ears of corn. The years of famine will be so severe that the years of plenty will be forgotten. He explains that because Pharaoh dreamed the repeat dreams, that means that God has fixed his decision and it will happen soon. Next Joseph boldly provides council to Pharaoh. He goes on to provide wisdom on how Pharaoh should deal with what is about to happen. He should appoint a wise man to manage things and overseers under him who are to take one-fifth of everything produced in the land and store it up during the years of plenty. That food should be kept under Pharaoh’s authority and reserved for use during the years of famine so that Egypt might survive the severe famine. Joseph freely gives Pharaoh the wisdom God has given him. He doesn’t presume to be the wise man he suggests Pharaoh appoint. Joseph had no idea at this point what would happen next. For all he knew when Pharaoh was finished with him he could have returned to jail. Joseph did what God asked him to do fully trusting his future in God’s hands (see Matthew 6:25-34).
Something interesting relevant to our current situation is that God used government as a means of preserving life during the famine. Today we see God using our government to help preserve life during the COVID-19 pandemic. We may not agree with every decision they make, and they may make wrong decisions, but God has appointed them to authority over us and we are called to be subject to their decisions (Romans 13:1). Therefore we should be praying for our government. Pray that they might have godly wisdom and submit themselves to God’s authority as they serve His purpose at this time (1 Tim 2:1-2).
2 lessons:
1) I mustn’t be afraid to mention my religion and relationship with God to other like Joseph was
2) I must also work on submitting myself to God’s plan instead of trying to have things my own way
What I learnt that we should be afraid to tell people about our relationship with God and what he did for you
That even thought it would have been so easy for Joseph to take all the credit for saying what the dream meant, he gave the credit to God.