Joseph’s fortune changes when he interprets other people’s dreams – one of whom is Pharaoh. What dreams do you have?
Genesis 40: Joseph Interprets Two Prisoners' Dreams
1 Sometime after this, the cupbearer of the king of Egypt and his baker committed an offense against their lord the king of Egypt.
2 And Pharaoh was angry with his two officers, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker,
3 and he put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the prison where Joseph was confined.
4 The captain of the guard appointed Joseph to be with them, and he attended them. They continued for some time in custody.
5 And one night they both dreamed---the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were confined in the prison---each his own dream, and each dream with its own interpretation.
6 When Joseph came to them in the morning, he saw that they were troubled.
7 So he asked Pharaoh's officers who were with him in custody in his master's house, "Why are your faces downcast today?"
8 They said to him, "We have had dreams, and there is no one to interpret them." And Joseph said to them, "Do not interpretations belong to God? Please tell them to me."
9 So the chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph and said to him, "In my dream there was a vine before me,
10 and on the vine there were three branches. As soon as it budded, its blossoms shot forth, and the clusters ripened into grapes.
11 Pharaoh's cup was in my hand, and I took the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh's cup and placed the cup in Pharaoh's hand."
12 Then Joseph said to him, "This is its interpretation: the three branches are three days.
13 In three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your office, and you shall place Pharaoh's cup in his hand as formerly, when you were his cupbearer.
14 Only remember me, when it is well with you, and please do me the kindness to mention me to Pharaoh, and so get me out of this house.
15 For I was indeed stolen out of the land of the Hebrews, and here also I have done nothing that they should put me into the pit."
16 When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was favourable, he said to Joseph, "I also had a dream: there were three cake baskets on my head,
17 and in the uppermost basket there were all sorts of baked food for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating it out of the basket on my head."
18 And Joseph answered and said, "This is its interpretation: the three baskets are three days.
19 In three days Pharaoh will lift up your head---from you!---and hang you on a tree. And the birds will eat the flesh from you."
20 On the third day, which was Pharaoh's birthday, he made a feast for all his servants and lifted up the head of the chief cupbearer and the head of the chief baker among his servants.
21 He restored the chief cupbearer to his position, and he placed the cup in Pharaoh's hand.
22 But he hanged the chief baker, as Joseph had interpreted to them.
23 Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.
Genesis 41: Joseph Interprets Pharaoh's Dreams
1 After two whole years, Pharaoh dreamed that he was standing by the Nile,
2 and behold, there came up out of the Nile seven cows attractive and plump, and they fed in the reed grass.
3 And behold, seven other cows, ugly and thin, came up out of the Nile after them, and stood by the other cows on the bank of the Nile.
4 And the ugly, thin cows ate up the seven attractive, plump cows. And Pharaoh awoke.
5 And he fell asleep and dreamed a second time. And behold, seven ears of grain, plump and good, were growing on one stalk.
6 And behold, after them sprouted seven ears, thin and blighted by the east wind.
7 And the thin ears swallowed up the seven plump, full ears. And Pharaoh awoke, and behold, it was a dream.
8 So in the morning his spirit was troubled, and he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt and all its wise men. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but there was none who could interpret them to Pharaoh.
9 Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh, "I remember my offenses today.
10 When Pharaoh was angry with his servants and put me and the chief baker in custody in the house of the captain of the guard,
11 we dreamed on the same night, he and I, each having a dream with its own interpretation.
12 A young Hebrew was there with us, a servant of the captain of the guard. When we told him, he interpreted our dreams to us, giving an interpretation to each man according to his dream.
13 And as he interpreted to us, so it came about. I was restored to my office, and the baker was hanged."
14 Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they quickly brought him out of the pit. And when he had shaved himself and changed his clothes, he came in before Pharaoh.
15 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I have had a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it. I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it."
16 Joseph answered Pharaoh, "It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh a favourable answer."
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."
Joseph Rises to Power
37 This proposal pleased Pharaoh and all his servants.
38 And Pharaoh said to his servants, "Can we find a man like this, in whom is the Spirit of God?"
39 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Since God has shown you all this, there is none so discerning and wise as you are.
40 You shall be over my house, and all my people shall order themselves as you command. Only as regards the throne will I be greater than you."
41 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, "See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt."
42 Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his hand and put it on Joseph's hand, and clothed him in garments of fine linen and put a gold chain about his neck.
43 And he made him ride in his second chariot. And they called out before him, "Bow the knee!" Thus he set him over all the land of Egypt.
44 Moreover, Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I am Pharaoh, and without your consent no one shall lift up hand or foot in all the land of Egypt."
45 And Pharaoh called Joseph's name Zaphenath-paneah. And he gave him in marriage Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of On. So Joseph went out over the land of Egypt.
46 Joseph was thirty years old when he entered the service of Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh and went through all the land of Egypt.
47 During the seven plentiful years the earth produced abundantly,
48 and he gathered up all the food of these seven years, which occurred in the land of Egypt, and put the food in the cities. He put in every city the food from the fields around it.
49 And Joseph stored up grain in great abundance, like the sand of the sea, until he ceased to measure it, for it could not be measured.
50 Before the year of famine came, two sons were born to Joseph. Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of On, bore them to him.
51 Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh. "For," he said, "God has made me forget all my hardship and all my father's house."
52 The name of the second he called Ephraim, "For God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction."
53 The seven years of plenty that occurred in the land of Egypt came to an end,
54 and the seven years of famine began to come, as Joseph had said. There was famine in all lands, but in all the land of Egypt there was bread.
55 When all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread. Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, "Go to Joseph. What he says to you, do."
56 So when the famine had spread over all the land, Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold to the Egyptians, for the famine was severe in the land of Egypt.
57 Moreover, all the earth came to Egypt to Joseph to buy grain, because the famine was severe over all the earth.
Things to think about…
1. Not all prophetic dreams have happy endings as we see in Gen 40. We don’t know the crimes of these men and why the cupbearer was restored, while the baker was beheaded. But we do know that Joseph was faithful in delivering the interpretation of both dreams. Sometimes the news we have for people is not good. If we are the Lord’s messengers we are simply called to be faithful with the message. Have you ever wanted to ease the burden of the message for someone by taking out the barbs? Jeremiah tells us that this is like saying ‘peace, peace’ when there is no peace, Jer 6:14; Jer 8:11.
2. We see God’s timing being worked out in Gen 41:1-36. The cup bearer had forgotten Joseph, but the Lord had not. God sends dreams with their interpretations. It was only when Pharaoh’s dream could not be interpreted by the magicians that the cupbearer remembers the one who had interpreted his dream. God had appointed the timing, even though two years had passed. Imagine being Joseph – two more years in prison and innocent. Have you felt forgotten by others? The Lord never forgets His servants. Be faithful to Him whether you are in the prison or the palace. Both places are ordained for your good and God’s glory, Rom 8:28.
3. Joseph is appointed over everything and everyone in Egypt with the exception of Pharaoh Gen 41:39-41. The story doesn’t say, but I wonder if Potiphar’s wife was challenged by the new leader. What do you do when you have the authority and an opportunity to deal with people who have wronged you in the past? The scriptures are silent regarding Joseph’s response to Potiphar’s wife or even the cupbearer – the Lord’s will and timing is always perfect. We see Joseph’s character of grace be extended towards those who had done him wrong right to the end of his life, even his brothers who sold him into slavery, Gen 50:20.
4. Joseph gets a pagan wife, Asenath – more than this, she was the daughter of a pagan priest, Gen 41:45. We know the two sons would become two tribes of Israel. This is why the genetic markers for Jews, Egyptians and other Arabs is very similar. Abraham had Hagar – an Egyptian, Ishmael married an Egyptian, Joseph married an Egyptian.
5. People ask Pharaoh for food, Pharaoh says ‘Go to Joseph’, Gen 41:55. Have you been exalted to a position of considerable authority? If so, honour God by honouring your boss. Joseph is a type of Christ. If you have a desire for spiritual food, go to Jesus. He alone can satisfy the cravings of a hungry soul. When Jesus was asked by His mother for wine, she said to the servants the same as Pharaoh said of Joseph, “What he says to you, do”, Gen 41:55; cf John 2:5.
Vision Point
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Questions for Cell groups
Sunday’s sermon, “God blessed anyway” came from Gen 27 by Ps Jay.
1. Discuss the character differences between Jacob and Esau as they are displayed in Gen 27. Do you see any moral differences between them, that the Lord would bless Jacob over Esau?
2. Clearly there was little to no trust between Isaac, Rebekah, Jacob and Esau. There was also little display of faith and trust in the Lord either. However the Scriptures exalt the character of Isaac and Jacob, Hebrews 11:20, 21; but they are not kind to Esau, Heb 12:16, 17. Discuss.
3. Jay spoke about the outworking of the blessing’s that were given by Isaac to his two sons in Gen 27. How have they been fulfilled?
4. The greatest blessing through the line of Jacob is the birth of the Messiah – Jesus. Consider how Jesus fits into the blessing Isaac gave to Jacob in Gen 27:28, 29.
5. Pray for your cell group and prayer/praise points. Pray for our “Blessing Beirut” appeal as we endeavour to help these ‘sons of Abraham’.
Prayer Points
1. Pray for Lebanon and the people of Beirut with this accidental blast from the storage of ammonium nitrate. 157 confirmed dead. 5000 wounded, 300, 000 left homeless. $10 - $15 billion to rebuild.
2. Pray for those who heard the gospel on Sunday. Pray for Christ to grant them salvation.
3. Pray for Victoria that this virus departs and they would return to the freedoms we have here in Qld.
4. Pray for our church services would reach out into our community and beyond every Sunday.
5. Continue to pray for our government for wisdom and economic management.
6. Sunday’s messages and for Kids church. The message this week – “You shall be called Israel” Gen 35 – Ps Jay.
7. Church finances to meet our expenses and to put a roof over our café.
8. Our City and Country – Pray for revival over our city and the leadership of our country even through these challenging times.
Praise Points.
1. New visitors. Please pray that they receive Christ as their Saviour. Pray they keep coming back to CBC.
2. Wonderful spirit of joy in our church. Thankyou Jesus.
3. Finances being maintained and donations to Café roof. Thankyou!
1. We have established a “Blessing Beirut” fund. After prayer and seeking after a support partner the Lord has led us to Ras Beirut Baptist. We have received word back from them. More about this on Sunday morning..
2. One service at 9:30am Every Sunday morning. This service will also be live streamed. No kisses, hand-shakes or hugs are allowed. Hand sanitizer is to be used, tables will be wiped and chairs arranged for appropriate distancing. Families can of course sit together. CBC is allowed up to 50 people inside, then we will have an overflow in the house and Kids church will be in the crèche in the cafe.
3. Cell groups – Ask for details as to how and what is required.
4. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
5. Kids Church will be run in the house when the message starts.
Q. 15. What do we pray for in the fifth petition? A. That God would pardon our sins for Christ's sake, and enable us to forgive those who have wronged us.
