Genesis 41:14-45
Poor Joseph! It was his bad luck to be his father’s favorite son, because his jealous brothers sold him as a slave. Joseph was taken to Egypt, far from the comforts of home, and finally landed in prison. But the hearts of Kings are in God’s hands, and the king of Egypt soon discovered the treasurer he had in his prisoner. From then on Joseph was on a one-way street to fame and glory. Sing and shout wherever you are! God is your King and he is making you ready for honors you could never imagine.
Joseph Interprets The Kings Dreams
The king sent for Joseph, and he was immediately brought from the prison. After he had shaved and changed his clothes, he came into the king’s presence.
The king said to him, “I have had a dream, and no one can explain it. I have been told that you can interpret dreams.” Joseph answered, “I cannot, Your Majesty, but God will give a favorable interpretation.”
The king said, “I dreamed that I was standing on the bank of the Nile, when seven cows, fat and sleek, came up out of the river and began feeding on the grass. Then seven other cows came up which were thin and bony. They were the poorest cows I have ever seen anywhere in Egypt. The thin cows ate up the fat ones, but no one would have known it, because they looked just as bad as before. Then I woke up. I also dreamed that I saw seven heads of grain which were full and ripe, growing on one stalk. Then seven heads of grain sprouted, thin and scorched by the desert wind, and the thin heads of grain swallowed the full ones. I told the dreams to the magicians, but none of them could explain them to me.”
Joseph said to the king, “The two dreams mean the same thing; God has told you what he is going to do. The seven fat cows are seven years, and the seven full heads of grain are also seven years; they have the same meaning. The seven thin cows which came up later and the seven thin heads of grain scorched by the desert wind are seven years of famine. It is just as I told you—God has shown you what he is going to do. There will be seven years of great plenty in all the land of Egypt. After that, there will be seven years of famine, and all the good years will be forgotten, because the famine will ruin the country. The time of plenty will be entirely forgotten, because the famine which follows will be so terrible. The repetition of your dream means that the matter is fixed by God and that he will make it happen in the near future. “Now you should choose some man with wisdom and insight and put him in charge of the country. You must also appoint other officials and take a fifth of the crops during the seven years of plenty. Order them to collect all the food during the good years that are coming, and give them authority to store up grain in the cities and guard it. The food will be a reserve supply for the country during the seven years of famine which are going to come on Egypt. In this way the people will not starve.”
Joseph Is Made Governor over Egypt
The king and his officials approved this plan, and he said to them, “We will never find a better man than Joseph, a man who has God’s spirit in him.” The king said to Joseph, “God has shown you all this, so it is obvious that you have greater wisdom and insight than anyone else. I will put you in charge of my country, and all my people will obey your orders. Your authority will be second only to mine. I now appoint you governor over all Egypt.”
The king removed from his finger the ring engraved with the royal seal and put it on Joseph’s finger. He put a fine linen robe on him, and placed a gold chain around his neck. He gave him the second royal chariot to ride in, and his guard of honor went ahead of him and cried out, “Make way! Make way!” And so Joseph was appointed governor over all Egypt.
The king said to him, “I am the king—and no one in all Egypt shall so much as lift a hand or a foot without your permission.” He gave Joseph the Egyptian name Zaphenath Paneah, and he gave him a wife, Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, a priest in the city of Heliopolis. Joseph was thirty years old when he began to serve the king of Egypt. He left the king’s court and traveled all over the land.
