(Gen. 41:1-571And it came to pass at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh dreamed: and, behold, he stood by the river. 2And, behold, there came up out of the river seven well favored kine and fatfleshed; and they fed in a meadow. 3And, behold, seven other kine came up after them out of the river, ill favored and leanfleshed; and stood by the other kine upon the brink of the river. 4And the ill favored and leanfleshed kine did eat up the seven well favored and fat kine. So Pharaoh awoke. 5And he slept and dreamed the second time: and, behold, seven ears of corn came up upon one stalk, rank and good. 6And, behold, seven thin ears and blasted with the east wind sprung up after them. 7And the seven thin ears devoured the seven rank and full ears. And Pharaoh awoke, and, behold, it was a dream. 8And it came to pass in the morning that his spirit was troubled; and he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt, and all the wise men thereof: and Pharaoh told them his dream; but there was none that could interpret them unto Pharaoh. 9Then spake the chief butler unto Pharaoh, saying, I do remember my faults this day: 10Pharaoh was wroth with his servants, and put me in ward in the captain of the guard's house, both me and the chief baker: 11And we dreamed a dream in one night, I and he; we dreamed each man according to the interpretation of his dream. 12And there was there with us a young man, an Hebrew, servant to the captain of the guard; and we told him, and he interpreted to us our dreams; to each man according to his dream he did interpret. 13And it came to pass, as he interpreted to us, so it was; me he restored unto mine office, and him he hanged. 14Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they brought him hastily out of the dungeon: and he shaved himself, and changed his raiment, and came in unto Pharaoh. 15And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I have dreamed a dream, and there is none that can interpret it: and I have heard say of thee, that thou canst understand a dream to interpret it. 16And Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, It is not in me: God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace. 17And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, In my dream, behold, I stood upon the bank of the river: 18And, behold, there came up out of the river seven kine, fatfleshed and well favored; and they fed in a meadow: 19And, behold, seven other kine came up after them, poor and very ill favored and leanfleshed, such as I never saw in all the land of Egypt for badness: 20And the lean and the ill favored kine did eat up the first seven fat kine: 21And when they had eaten them up, it could not be known that they had eaten them; but they were still ill favored, as at the beginning. So I awoke. 22And I saw in my dream, and, behold, seven ears came up in one stalk, full and good: 23And, behold, seven ears, withered, thin, and blasted with the east wind, sprung up after them: 24And the thin ears devoured the seven good ears: and I told this unto the magicians; but there was none that could declare it to me. 25And Joseph said unto Pharaoh, The dream of Pharaoh is one: God hath showed Pharaoh what he is about to do. 26The seven good kine are seven years; and the seven good ears are seven years: the dream is one. 27And the seven thin and ill favored kine that came up after them are seven years; and the seven empty ears blasted with the east wind shall be seven years of famine. 28This is the thing which I have spoken unto Pharaoh: What God is about to do he showeth unto Pharaoh. 29Behold, there come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt: 30And there shall arise after them seven years of famine; and all the plenty shall be forgotten in the land of Egypt; and the famine shall consume the land; 31And the plenty shall not be known in the land by reason of that famine following; for it shall be very grievous. 32And for that the dream was doubled unto Pharaoh twice; it is because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass. 33Now therefore let Pharaoh look out a man discreet and wise, and set him over the land of Egypt. 34Let Pharaoh do this, and let him appoint officers over the land, and take up the fifth part of the land of Egypt in the seven plenteous years. 35And let them gather all the food of those good years that come, and lay up corn under the hand of Pharaoh, and let them keep food in the cities. 36And that food shall be for store to the land against the seven years of famine, which shall be in the land of Egypt; that the land perish not through the famine. 37And the thing was good in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of all his servants. 38And Pharaoh said unto his servants, Can we find such a one as this is, a man in whom the Spirit of God is? 39And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Forasmuch as God hath showed thee all this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou art: 40Thou shalt be over my house, and according unto thy word shall all my people be ruled: only in the throne will I be greater than thou. 41And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, See, I have set thee over all the land of Egypt. 42And Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand, and put it upon Joseph's hand, and arrayed him in vestures of fine linen, and put a gold chain about his neck; 43And he made him to ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried before him, Bow the knee: and he made him ruler over all the land of Egypt. 44And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I am Pharaoh, and without thee shall no man lift up his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt. 45And Pharaoh called Joseph's name Zaphnath-paaneah; and he gave him to wife Asenath the daughter of Poti-pherah priest of On. And Joseph went out over all the land of Egypt. 46And Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went throughout all the land of Egypt. 47And in the seven plenteous years the earth brought forth by handfuls. 48And he gathered up all the food of the seven years, which were in the land of Egypt, and laid up the food in the cities: the food of the field, which was round about every city, laid he up in the same. 49And Joseph gathered corn as the sand of the sea, very much, until he left numbering; for it was without number. 50And unto Joseph were born two sons before the years of famine came, which Asenath the daughter of Poti-pherah priest of On bare unto him. 51And Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh: For God, said he, hath made me forget all my toil, and all my father's house. 52And the name of the second called he Ephraim: For God hath caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction. 53And the seven years of plenteousness, that was in the land of Egypt, were ended. 54And the seven years of dearth began to come, according as Joseph had said: and the dearth was in all lands; but in all the land of Egypt there was bread. 55And when all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread: and Pharaoh said unto all the Egyptians, Go unto Joseph; what he saith to you, do. 56And the famine was over all the face of the earth: And Joseph opened all the storehouses, and sold unto the Egyptians; and the famine waxed sore in the land of Egypt. 57And all countries came into Egypt to Joseph for to buy corn; because that the famine was so sore in all lands. (Genesis 41:1‑57))
In this portion of Joseph's history we reach the period in which God unfolds His plan for the glory and exaltation of Joseph as well as the government of Egypt. And as this fine story is developed we see therein a picture of God's purpose for the exaltation of Christ and God's plan for the government of the world.
God's Instruments
God's plans, however, must be carried out in God's time, by God's instruments, and in God's way. Joseph had probably looked forward to an immediate release when the butler was restored to his position in Pharaoh's household. But two full years must pass before God's time is reached. The due time having come, the last instrument in the hand of God is ready to complete the work that leads to the exaltation of Joseph. Already God had used the king's captain, the king's jailor, and the king's butler, now He will use the king himself. Moreover, it must be in God's way. It will be "a dream, a vision of the night," by which He will trouble the spirit of Pharaoh and awaken the slumbering memory of Pharaoh's butler (vv. 8, 9).
Man's Intellect
First God reveals what He is about to do; but even so man cannot profit by the revelation. God will speak in a vision to Pharaoh by writing on the wall in Belshazzar's day, by "great plainness of speech" in our day, but, as in the days that are past, so now, the wise men of this world are utterly at fault in their efforts to interpret the Word of God. Thus Pharaoh appeals to the "magicians of Egypt and all the wise men thereof," only to find "there was none to interpret" his dreams (v. 8). Man's natural pride of intellect blinds him to the simple fact that communications from God can only be interpreted by God.
Faithful Interpretation
Having thus destroyed "the wisdom of the wise" and brought "to nothing the understanding of the prudent," God falls back on the man of His reserve, "a man in whom the spirit of God is." But God's man is always of little account in the eyes of the world. The man who is destined to wield a power that no mortal, before or since, has ever exercised, is for the moment languishing in a prison and reckoned among "the base things of the world and things which are despised." Nevertheless, he is the chosen of God to "confound the mighty" and "bring to naught the things that are." So it comes to pass that Joseph is brought from the dungeon into the presence of earth's most powerful monarch. Pharaoh, speaking as a natural man, at once says, "I have heard say of thee, that thou canst understand a dream to interpret it." Joseph straightway confesses, "It is not in me." It was no more in Joseph than in the wise men of Egypt. They may indeed be learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, they may hold the very highest positions in the court of the king; Joseph, on the other hand, is "a young man, an Hebrew, a bondman," in a dungeon, but God being with him he can surpass the wisdom of the wise, stand without fear in the presence of the king, and with the utmost confidence say, "God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace." He does not say, "God can give Pharaoh an answer," however true that would have been, but faith passing beyond what God can do, definitely states what God will do.
Clear Insight
It is still the possession of the Spirit of God that makes the immeasurable difference between the children of God and the wise men of the world. Many indeed may possess giant intellects, well stored with such learning as this world can afford, holding, too, high rank in the religious world, but unless born again they are mere natural men, without the Spirit, and cannot even see the things that belong to the kingdom of God, much less enter that fair kingdom.
Divine Intelligence
Having heard Pharaoh's account of his dream, Joseph proceeds to give the king a threefold message from God. First he twice repeats that "God hath showed Pharaoh what He is about to do" (vv. 25, 28). The wise men of Egypt doubtless had their theories as to the future of Egypt, and shaped their policies and made their plans in accordance with their own ideas-even as today the leaders of this world, whether political, religious, intellectual, capitalist, or labor, have their various theories of future government of the world. But from the most exalted imperialist through all shades of thought to the most degraded Bolshevist, there is one thing in common—all the theories of men leave God out of God's world. Men will not own God as "the God of heaven and earth." God is welcome to heaven, about which man knows nothing and cares less, but as for earth, the center of all man's affections, it must be governed according to man's ideal, an ideal which enthrones the will of man as supreme to the total exclusion of God. Nevertheless, God has His plans for the future government of the world, and of these plans He has not left us in ignorance. In Pharaoh's day, "He showed Pharaoh by a dream what He was about to do." In our day He has shown us still more plainly by direct revelation "what He is about to do." God was going to govern Egypt by one who had been rejected by his brethren, cast out, and forgotten by the world. And God has disclosed to us that according to His good pleasure He has purposed to head up all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth. The One, who, when He entered the world, found "no room" even in a wayside inn, who, as He passed through it, was "a stranger in the land" and a "wayfaring man" with not where to lay His head, who when He went out of the world was nailed to a cross between two thieves, is the One of whom God has decreed, "The government shall be upon His shoulder; and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Father of Eternity, Prince of Peace" (Isa. 9:66For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6), N. Tr.).
Human Instability
Moreover, Pharaoh learns a second truth at the lips of Joseph. Not only has God a plan for the government of Egypt, but "the thing is established by God" (v. 32). The ingenuity of man can evolve a bewildering succession of theories and plans, but over all there is the fatal stamp of utter instability. One generation unfolds its theories and pursues its plans with immense energy, only to have them entirely flung aside by a succeeding generation. But God only can declare "the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not," and He can say, "My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure" (Isa. 46:1010Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure: (Isaiah 46:10)).
Direct Intervention
Then a third truth is proclaimed to Pharaoh. Not only "the thing is established by God," but "God will shortly bring it to pass" (v. 32). God has a revealed plan. God has established His plan, and what God has planned and established, God will bring to pass.
Men dream of bringing about a millennium after their own thoughts and by their own efforts, through education, civilization, disarmament, leagues and confederacies, but all will be in vain. God has made it perfectly clear that His millennium will only be brought about by the direct intervention of God Himself. As in Joseph's day, so in our day, "God will bring it to pass." Has He not said by the mouth of the prophet, "I have spoken it and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it" (Isa. 46:1111Calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executeth my counsel from a far country: yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it. (Isaiah 46:11))? Moreover, "God will shortly bring it to pass." The time may seem long, for God has lingered in long-suffering grace, not willing that any should perish, but as in Pharaoh's day so in ours, it has been given to the One who is going to be supreme, "to show unto His servants things which must shortly come to pass" (Rev. 1:11The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John: (Revelation 1:1)).
Explicit Instruction
In accordance with God's settled plan, Pharaoh is also instructed as to the way God will take to carry out His plans. Seven years of plenty will be followed by seven years of famine, and Pharaoh is told to "look out a man discreet and wise, and set him over the land of Egypt" (vv. 21-33). Two things mark this plan. First, God ordains that only one man shall be over the land; second, God will so order circumstances that all will be brought under the sway of this man. Joseph was to be set over all, and all would be brought under Joseph by the seven years of plenty followed by the seven years of famine. The circumstances and the man would combine to bring about God's purposed plan.
Prophetic Insight
This, too, is God's plan for the future government of the world. Not by parliaments, or cabinets, not by counselors and ministers, will God govern, but by "a Man discreet and wise" set over all. And all will be brought under His sway either by the day of grace or in the day of judgment—the years of plenty or the years of famine. For nearly two thousand years God has been meeting man's deepest need according to the riches of His grace, and many have thus been brought under the sway of Christ by confessing Him as Lord to His glory and their blessing. But the world at large that has neglected God's grace and rejected the claims of Christ will be brought to bow in the day of judgment that will follow the years of grace. "When thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness" (Isa. 26:99With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness. (Isaiah 26:9)).
Outstanding Importance
All being good in the eyes of Pharaoh, he proceeds to carry out the God-given counsels of Joseph. Thus it came to pass that the man "who was separated from his brethren" is exalted to a place of supremacy "over all the land of Egypt." The rejection by his brethren, the humiliation he had borne, the lowly positions he had filled, and the sufferings he had endured, all led to the place of exaltation, and have an answer in the varied glories that fall to him as lord of all. Moreover, if the days of his sorrows were a foreshadowing of the yet deeper sufferings and rejection of Christ, so too the supremacy of Joseph foreshadows the still greater glories of Christ as the exalted Man. In story after story of great saints of old the Spirit of God delights to anticipate the supremacy of Christ; by glowing Psalms and thrilling prophecies His exaltation is foretold, and when at last—His sufferings all fulfilled—He is glorified at God's right hand, with yet greater delight the Holy Spirit takes of the things of Christ and unfolds before us His varied glories as the One exalted over all.
Worthy Preeminence
In Ephesians we learn that the counsel of God has purposed the exaltation of Christ, for there we read that, "according to His good pleasure which He hath purposed in Himself," He is going to head up all things in Christ, "both which are in heaven and which are on earth," and in accord with this purpose He has already "set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world but also in that which is to come; and hath put all things under His feet."
In Colossians we learn that the glory of His Person demands the place of exaltation. If He is "the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation," the One by whom all things were created, who is before all, and sustainer of all, then indeed He must "in all things" have the preeminence.
In Philippians His lowly grace secures His exaltation, for there we read that "He made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men, and being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross, wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a Name which is above every name."
In Hebrews His sufferings prepare Him for His exaltation. The One who is set over all—crowned with glory and honor—was first made perfect through sufferings.
In Peter we learn that His preciousness in the eyes of God is witnessed by His exaltation. The "stone, cast away indeed as worthless by men," but with God "chosen" and "precious," has been made the head of the corner.
Moreover, John tells us that if others are to share in the blessings and glory of His exaltation, then suffering and death must be the pathway to exaltation. When the moment had arrived that the Son of Man should be glorified, then the time had come when that corn of wheat must fall into the ground and die, or forever abide alone.
Consistent Investment
But if Joseph is set in a place of supremacy he must needs be there in a condition suited to the place. The prison garments are put off with the passing of prison circumstances. The royal ring, the fine linen, and the chain of gold betoken his high estate, and in a yet deeper and more spiritual way is this true of Christ in His exaltation. The garments of humiliation and poverty by which in grace He clothed Himself, or man in scorn placed upon Him, are forever laid aside. The crown of thorns is exchanged for a crown of glory, the reed for the royal scepter, and the seamless robe for the shining raiment exceeding white as snow. On earth He appeared as the poor Man, in heaven the glory of God is shining in His face. Not only is He in glory but He is glorified.
Reasonable Inference
As exalted and vested with glory, all are called to "bow the knee" to Joseph and no man is to act independently of him. "Without thee," says Pharaoh, "shall no man lift up his hand in all the land of Egypt." If Joseph is supreme, all are called to submit. And so today, if God has exalted the Lord Jesus and given Him a Name which is above every name, it is "that at the Name of Jesus every knee shall bow." The Christian delights to bow during the plenteous years of grace; the world will be compelled to bow in the years of famine.
Shared Inheritance
In the day of his exaltation Joseph is proved to be a true Revealer of Secrets or Zaphnath-paaneah. The wise men of Egypt, with all their learning, could not interpret mysteries or unroll the future. God, too, has His mysteries unknown and unuttered by prophets, priests, or kings. Glorious things they had to say of Christ, but there were secrets that awaited the coming of Christ—the Revealer of Secrets. Then indeed, when Christ is exalted, the greatest mystery of all is disclosed—the mystery of Christ and the church, of which, now that it is revealed, we can see a dim shadow in Joseph and Asenath, his Gentile bride. Rejected by his brethren who are left in far off Canaan, he is, unknown to them, exalted to a place of highest supremacy, there to receive a Gentile bride to share his place of glory. So Christ, rejected on earth by Israel, leaves them under guilt of their sin, and takes a place in heaven, and during His session at the right hand of God the church is called out from the nations and presented to Him to share His kingdom glories.
Great Ingathering
During the years of plenty Joseph uses his place of exaltation to reap a great harvest for Egypt. He deals with the harvest of Egypt during the years of plenty, he will deal with the men of Egypt during the years of famine (vv. 36-49). In this day of grace the world is passing through its "seven plenteous years," when the grace of God is bestowing blessings by "handfuls." The men of the world may entirely neglect the blessings that grace brings to their door, and pursue their way quite heedless of the future. Apparently the men of Egypt took no advantage of the years of plenty to lay up for the years of famine. We do not read that they gathered up any food. It was Joseph that went throughout the land, and gathered up corn. And so today it is the exalted Christ who is reaping a harvest of souls during the day of grace. He is going through the world gathering His people out of the world. But when the days of grace have run their course He will deal with the men of the world.
Perfect Satisfaction
The two sons that are born to Joseph will also bear their witness to Christ. Manasseh, as we know, signifies "forgetting," and Ephraim "fruitful." Rejected by his brethren, his path had been one of suffering and toil, but Joseph has his great reward and becomes fruitful in the land of his affliction. Nor is it otherwise with Christ. His ancient people may despise and reject Him, they may number Him with the transgressors, but in the day of His rejection, when His soul is made an offering for sin, then "He shall see His seed," yea, "He shall see of the fruit of the travail of His soul, and shall be satisfied." Israel could say, "His blood be on us and on our children," and they will drink to the dregs their cup of guilt, but Christ has not lost by their rejection. His "toil" has its glorious answer in a great harvest of souls gathered out of the world during the time of His rejection by Israel. The time when He is "forgotten" by Israel is the time when He gathers fruit among the Gentiles.
Lord, we joy, Thy tolls are ended,
Glad Thy suff'ring time is o'er.
To Thy Father's throne ascended,
There Thou liv'st to die no more.
Lord, we worship and adore Thee
For Thy rich, Thy matchless grace;
Perfect soon in joy before Thee,
We shall see Thee face to face.