Genesis 41
The king of Egypt, Pharaoh, hanged the chief baker on the tree, but brought back the chief butler to his palace. Egypt is one of the oldest countries in the world. This story happened over three thousand years ago. Even now, the buildings and temples of Egypt are the greatest and most wonderful in the world. The Pyramids, thousands of years old, are still the strongest and greatest. We think that some were built soon after Joseph lived. Egypt was then the greatest country in the world. The Egyptians were clever, wise and rich. Two years after the chief butler got out of prison, the king had a strange dream. He could not understand it, nor could all the wise men of Egypt. He was greatly troubled, for it seemed a message. Pharaoh did not know the true God. All his people bowed down to idols—many kinds, such as calves, beetles, and other animals. Could the true God explain the dream? Was there a man in all Egypt who knew God? Yes, one, but he was in prison. When Pharaoh could find nobody to explain his dream, the chief butler said, “I do remember my faults this day.” Then he told the story of his dream in prison, and how Joseph explained it. The king sent a man to call Joseph. He quickly changed his prison clothes, shaved, and came to the king. He now was thirty years old. From the time he was a little boy up to seventeen years old, he was with his father in Canaan. Then he was sold as a slave into Egypt. Perhaps he was in prison about ten years. Now this poor rejected shepherd boy, the slave, was brought from prison to stand before the greatest king in the world. Wonderful! This surely makes me think of the Lord Jesus. He was a little more than thirty years in the world, despised and rejected of men, the “Man of Sorrows.” He came down to the very lowest place. Joseph was just sold for a slave, but the Lord was sold and died. Joseph had a good end when he was old, but the Lord Jesus did not die peacefully, but on a cross! His death was cruel and shameful: more terrible than any other death. Besides the pain and shame, God also put our sins on Him. None can say how great was the Lord’s suffering! Oh! Why did He suffer so much? For you and for me! The king of Egypt called Joseph out from the dark prison to stand before him. So God took the Lord Jesus out of the grave and after forty days the Lord went up to heaven and now sits at the right hand of God. Truly, God has now highly exalted Him, and “given Him a name which is above every name, that at the name of JESUS every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth: and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil. 2:9-11).