Read with Me
Genesis 41:25-36 (HCSB)
Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “Pharaoh’s dreams mean the same thing. God has revealed to Pharaoh what He is about to do. The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven ripe heads are seven years. The dreams mean the same thing. The seven thin, ugly cows that came up after them are seven years, and the seven worthless, scorched heads of grain are seven years of famine.
“It is just as I told Pharaoh: God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do. Seven years of great abundance are coming throughout the land of Egypt. After them, seven years of famine will take place, and all the abundance in the land of Egypt will be forgotten. The famine will devastate the land. The abundance in the land will not be remembered because of the famine that follows it, for the famine will be very severe. Since the dream was given twice to Pharaoh, it means that the matter has been determined by God, and He will carry it out soon.
“So now, let Pharaoh look for a discerning and wise man and set him over the land of Egypt. Let Pharaoh do this: Let him appoint overseers over the land and take a fifth of the harvest of the land of Egypt during the seven years of abundance. Let them gather all the excess food during these good years that are coming. Under Pharaoh’s authority, store the grain in the cities, so they may preserve it as food. The food will be a reserve for the land during the seven years of famine that will take place in the land of Egypt. Then the country will not be wiped out by the famine.”
Listen with Me
Even though the symbolism God used in Pharaoh’s dreams was opaque to the wise men in Egypt, God gave Joseph immediate and crystal-clear understanding of the whole matter.
It turned out that, even though there were two separate dreams, they both were communicating the same warning. God was sending seven years of great abundance on the land of Egypt. But those seven years of abundance would be followed by seven years of famine so severe that the abundance would be completely forgotten, swallowed up entirely.
Joseph understood that God had given Pharaoh the same warning twice, using two different images, because the matter had been firmly decided by God. It would all happen. But that warning had the potential to mitigate the famine’s effect on the land. The first seven years would provide such great abundance of food that 20% of it would be able to be stored away without leaving anyone hungry. That saved-up food would then be able to prove more than adequate to feed the people of the land during the seven years when nothing would grow.
Joseph’s suggestion that Pharaoh find a man to superintend the process of gathering the excess food produced during the seven years of abundance and the subsequent process of distribution was not self-serving in the least. He recognized that human nature, being what it is, would move people to simply consume or sell the excess as it came in in order to provide immediate gratification. It would take someone with the full authority of the crown to be able to compel the people to store up the excess for the future. But if Pharaoh had the will to make those provisions and to appoint a Lieutenant to do the nuts-and-bolts work, then this advance warning would enable Egypt to weather the crisis and to emerge intact.
Pray with Me
Father, it truly is our nature to consume as we go, feasting during the good times and having nothing to see us through the lean times that inevitably follow. We often blame You for those hard times, for not warning us ahead of time like You did for Pharaoh. But actually, his warning, providentially preserved for us in the Scriptures, should be all the advance warning we need. Good times always have been and always will be followed by leaner times. It’s just a natural cycle that exists in our world. Thank you, Lord, for Your love and care for us. Help us to live in Your economy, so that we can weather all the storms that this world throws at us. Amen.