Genesis 41:25
25 Joseph responded, “Both of Pharaoh’s dreams mean the same thing. God is telling Pharaoh in advance what he is about to do.
A good deal has transpired in Joseph’s life since we last heard from him. Thirteen years has passed since Joseph’s brothers threw him into that pit and sold him into slavery. In that time, Joseph had headed Potiphar’s house and then been thrown in Pharoah’s prison due to the decietfullness of Potiphar’s wife. In prison, he was seemingly forgotten, but never forsaken. Let that sink in.
In the life of a believer, one’s promise may never seem as though it will be fulfilled. After all, God does not count time in the same way that we do.
Psalms 90:4
4 For you, a thousand years are as a passing day,
as brief as a few night hours.
However, one thing seems constant: God’s relationship with Joseph.
Genesis 41:32
32 As for having two similar dreams, it means that these events have been decreed by God, and he will soon make them happen.
The confidence with which Joseph speaks, bespeaks the presence of God in his life. Forgotten in an Egyptian jail for some number of years, his confidence in communicating the will of God for Pharoah and Eygypt. The willingness with which Joseph communicates to Pharoah the meaning of Pharoah’s dreams indicate Joseph’s continuing trust in God, even though he has every reason to feel inconsolate and forsaken. Beloved, all that matters is: as long as there is breath in your body, God’s not done with you.
Genesis 41:33
33 “Therefore, Pharaoh should find an intelligent and wise man and put him in charge of the entire land of Egypt.
Biyn - Heb. - To have discernment, insight, and understanding. To have discretion.
Chakam - wise, (i.e. intelligent, skillful or artful)
Joseph is only thirty years old, but prison has not made him bitter. Rather, it has qualified him for service. God has used hard times to develop the character necessary to lead Egypt in a time of coming tribulation.
Genesis 41:38-40
38 So Pharaoh asked his officials, “Can we find anyone else like this man so obviously filled with the spirit of God?” 39 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has revealed the meaning of the dreams to you, clearly no one else is as intelligent or wise as you are. 40 You will be in charge of my court, and all my people will take orders from you. Only I, sitting on my throne, will have a rank higher than yours.”
Elevation comes from God. He rewards faithfulness, especially in the face struggle. Beloved, hold on to your confession of faith without wavering, knowing that God, who has promised (to you) is faithful (Hebrews 10:23). God has prepared Joseph in the furnace of adversity and when he was ready, God promoted him from the pit to the pinnacle. Beloved, with God, there is always… hope.
Genesis 40:45
45 Then Pharaoh gave Joseph a new Egyptian name, Zaphenath-paneah
Zaphenath-paneah - “Treasury of the glorious rest”
Beloved, when one beholds divinity, there is always the promise of rest. So, it doesn’t matter who is doing the beholding, the Peace of God, The Hope of God, The Promise of God is always evident. In this regard, Joseph is a becomes a theophany, one in whom the Spirit of God can be observed. One in whom ‘Christ’ can be observed. Beloved, if we will allow it, God will reflect Christ through us as well.
Romans 8:29a
29a For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son…
Genesis 41:51-52
51 Joseph named his older son Manasseh,[c] for he said, “God has made me forget all my troubles and everyone in my father’s family.” 52 Joseph named his second son Ephraim,[d] for he said, “God has made me fruitful in this land of my grief.”
In closing, we get a glimpse of Joseph’s heart. God has come through for him. No more looking back with the regret of broken relationships or lost opportunities. Certainly, he can’t forget his family, but now his perspective is changed. As he will communicate to his brothers, “What was meant for evil, God has worked out for Good.” Let me encourage with these words:
Romans 8:28
28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
Selah
wb
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