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25 Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “The dreams of Pharaoh are one; God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do: 26 The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good heads are seven years; the dreams are one. 27 And the seven thin and ugly cows which came up after them are seven years, and the seven empty heads blighted by the east wind are seven years of famine. 28 This is the thing which I have spoken to Pharaoh. God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do. 29 Indeed seven years of great plenty will come throughout all the land of Egypt; 30 but after them seven years of famine will arise, and all the plenty will be forgotten in the land of Egypt; and the famine will deplete the land. 31 So the plenty will not be known in the land because of the famine following, for it will be very severe. 32 And the dream was repeated to Pharaoh twice because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass. ~ Genesis 41:25-32
Today, we return to our study of Genesis 41 where Joseph has been released from prison and has been called before the Pharoah. After consulting his “magicians” and “wise men” for the interpretation to no avail, the Pharaoh summoned Joseph. After acknowledging that it was not of himself to interpret his dreams Joseph let the Pharaoh know that God would give him an interpretation.
In v.25-30 of today’s passage we read, “25 Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, 'The dreams of Pharaoh are one; God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do: 26 The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good heads are seven years; the dreams are one. 27 And the seven thin and ugly cows which came up after them are seven years, and the seven empty heads blighted by the east wind are seven years of famine. 28 This is the thing which I have spoken to Pharaoh. God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do. 29 Indeed seven years of great plenty will come throughout all the land of Egypt; 30 but after them seven years of famine will arise, and all the plenty will be forgotten in the land of Egypt; and the famine will deplete the land.'”
Joseph’s interpretation came from God fairly quickly and once it came, there was nothing that could have been done to avert it. When the magicians and wise men of Pharaoh gave any interpretation, the purpose was to find a way to avert disaster. Their predictions were often something like, “There will be a famine unless you do such and such.” Joseph’s interpretation was different. He said that God was in control, and nothing could change the outcome. The double dream meant that God’s mind would not be changed. It will happen soon.
Not only was Joseph willing to be the bearer of bad news, but he was also willing to tell the king that he couldn't do anything to avoid the situation. That required courage. Joseph addressed the most powerful man in Egypt and he spoke the truth to him. In doing so, Joseph put God above Pharaoh. After Pharaoh brought Joseph up out of the prison, Joseph spoke the truth to Pharaoh by proclaiming the sovereignty of the God of Creation.
The word translated “one” in v.25 can mean “one comprising many.” A cluster of grapes is one, but it is made of many grapes. There were in fact two dreams, but they comprise one message. When asked what is the greatest commandment, the Lord Jesus said, “The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.'” The very same word translated one in today’s passage is used to describe the Lord. He is One, but one here can mean one with a plurality, just like Pharaoh’s dreams. Understanding that two dreams can be one dream is helpful for us to understand that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit can also be one God.
Joseph informed the Pharaoh that a famine was on the way and God would be the cause. God would be the One who would be behind the changes in the atmosphere which would occur. And actually, there were several purposes that will be seen. There is the purpose of making Joseph ruler. There is the purpose of bringing Israel down to Egypt. There is the purpose of fulfilling Joseph’s dreams. There is the purpose of freeing Israel from future bondage. There is the purpose of bringing about the Passover. There is the purpose of showing that there is one God and that He controls both the weather and the future. There is the purpose of picturing Christ in all of these things. And in all of these, there is the ultimate purpose, one ultimate final purpose and that is that of bringing glory to God.
God caused the famine so that God would be glorified. If you can see this idea in everything found in the Bible, then you will be able to see it in everything in your own life as well. This is one reason why we are given the Bible. It shows us the state of humans and of humanity. God created so that we could share in His glory and thus bring more glory to Him. This isn’t a conceited self-seeking glorification, but the sharing of Himself which should naturally lead us to glorify Him.
The name of God that Moses used here was Elohim. Out of 2600 times that Elohim is used in the Bible, less than 400 are used in the way Joseph does here. Joseph referenced “the God” meaning there is no other God and Elohim is the only God.
The seven good cows represented seven years. Likewise the seven good heads represented another seven years. So, following the first seven years, there will be seven more years of famine. This is the first time that the true significance of the first seven years is noted. They aren’t just seven years, but seven years of plenty. And this won’t be an isolated boom, but it will be throughout all the land of Egypt. All of Pharaoh’s domain will be blessed as the Nile delta floods and the winds are favorable.
Following on the heels of the seven good years, there will be seven terrible years; years of famine which will be so bad that all the abundance of the preceding seven years will be utterly forgotten. Everything which had flourished will be reduced to less than a memory of a memory.
In v.31 of today’s passage we read, “So the plenty will not be known in the land because of the famine following, for it will be very severe.”
Nothing which was gained would remain. The famine would be so bad that the term Joseph used in Hebrew doesn’t have a direct equivalent in English. Literally, he said, “it will be very heavy.” The concept of heaviness was given to show that the strain of the weight of those years and the crushing burden they would bring would be too much to bear.
In v.32 of today’s passage we read, “And the dream was repeated to Pharaoh twice because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass.”
Two more times did Joseph reference "the Elohim" or "the God." Elohim is mentioned 9 times in this chapter. Every time He is mentioned in relation to the direct interpretation of Pharaoh’s dreams by Joseph. It was Elohim who had given Pharaoh a double dream to underscore the certainty of it coming to pass. Nothing prevents the will of God in the end, not even the puny will of man. We do well to bow our will to Him daily. To resist God's will has never turned out well for man. This double dream was also given as a means of His grace. Sadly, Pharoah was too committed to the self life to believe in the God of the Bible and to be defined by Him.
