Genesis 41:25-32
"25 And Joseph said unto Pharaoh, The dream
of Pharaoh is one: God hath shewed Pharaoh what he is about to do.
26 The seven good kine are seven years;
and the seven good ears are seven years: the dream is one.
27 And the seven thin and ill favoured
kine that came up after them are seven years; and the seven empty ears
blasted with the east wind shall be seven years of famine.
28 This is the thing which I have spoken
unto Pharaoh: What God is about to do he sheweth unto Pharaoh.
29 Behold, there come seven years of great
plenty throughout all the land of Egypt:
30 And there shall arise after them seven
years of famine; and all the plenty shall be forgotten in the land of Egypt;
and the famine shall consume the land;
31 And the plenty shall not be known in
the land by reason of that famine following; for it shall be very grievous.
32 And for that the dream was doubled unto
Pharaoh twice; it is because the thing is established by God, and God will
shortly bring it to pass."
Today, I'd like to present a message entitled "The Parable Of Joseph." I'd like for us to take a look at the Pharaoh's dream and Joseph's interpretation. In this scripture, Pharaoh had a dream. But, there was no one who could interpret it. But, at last, Joseph came and interpreted this dream. Because of his interpretation, everybody understood the meaning of this dream.
The text talks about seven years of plenty and seven years of famine. By the way, I have a question. Are there any kind of predictions for us in this parable? Is there anything God would say to us through these stories? Let's find out.
When we read the story of Joseph, we can uncover some facts. That is to say, there is another scripture in the Bible similar to Joseph's story. This other story has a similar pattern to Joseph's story. This pattern is:
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God clearly emphasizes that we need to interpret the prophecies of the Bible. Daniel is God's servant who interprets dreams and mysteries. He actually gave an interpretation in his own time. But, it does not mean he interpreted all of the meaning out of each of the prophecies and mysteries written in the Bible. Instead, there remain in the Bible many prophecies which need further interpretation.
God is asking us to interpret these remaining prophecies by his wisdom. For example, Daniel prophecised that "the abomination of desolation will appear in the temple" in his prophecy. What is this "abomination of desolation?" What is this "temple?" God is asking us to interpret these in his wisdom. It is important. This is the reason the word "interpretation" is used so frequently in the book of Daniel. Likewise, in the story of Joseph, the word "interpretation" is repeated many times. Please check the scriptures that follow:
Ge 40:8 And they said unto him, We have dreamed
a dream, and there is no interpreter of it. And Joseph said unto them,
Do not interpretations belong to God? tell me them, I pray you.
Ge 40:16 When the chief baker saw that the interpretation
was good, he said unto Joseph, I also was in my dream, and, behold, I had
three white baskets on my head:
Ge 40:22 But he hanged the chief baker: as Joseph
had interpreted to them.
Ge 41:8 And it came to pass in the morning that
his spirit was troubled; and he sent and called for all the magicians of
Egypt, and all the wise men thereof: and Pharaoh told them his dream; but
there was none that could interpret them unto Pharaoh.
Ge 41:12 And there was there with us a young
man, an Hebrew, servant to the captain of the guard; and we told him, and
he interpreted to us our dreams; to each man according to his dream he
did interpret.
Ge 41:13 And it came to pass, as he interpreted
to us, so it was; me he restored unto mine office, and him he hanged.
Ge 41:15 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I have
dreamed a dream, and there is none that can interpret it: and I have heard
say of thee, that thou canst understand a dream to interpret it.
What God is emphatically trying to tell us is how we need to interpret the story of Joseph. It is so important.
We understand that the meaning of Pharaoh's dream is seven years of plenty and seven years of famine. But, there is something else to be interpreted in this. It is as though God is urging us to: "Interpret more out of Joseph's words. What is the deeper meaning of this imagery of seven years of plenty? What is the meaning of this imagery of seven years of famine? Interpret this parable deeper. Interpret this mystery."
8" And it came to pass in the morning that his spirit was troubled; and he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt, and all the wise men thereof: and Pharaoh told them his dream; but there was none that could interpret them unto Pharaoh."
Daniel 2:2
"Then the king commanded to call the magicians,
and the astrologers, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, for to shew
the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king."
Daniel 2:4
"Then spake the Chaldeans to the king in Syriack,
O king, live for ever: tell thy servants the dream, and we will shew the
interpretation."
In the time of Daniel, there were no magicians or wisemen who could interpret the king's dream. A similar situation developed in the time of Joseph. No wiseman in Egypt could break open and interpret the Pharaoh's dream. But, in the end the meaning of the dream or revelation was given to God's servant. At that time, the dream was revealed to Joseph.
Genesis 41:18 " And, behold, there came up out of the river seven kine, fatfleshed and well favoured; and they fed in a meadow:"
So, if there is something God is saying to us through the parable of the seven years of plenty and the seven years of famine, we should want to see it.
In this parable, there are "ears of wheat" and "kine." What is the parabolic meaning of kine?
1 Timothy 5:18
" For the scripture saith, Thou shalt not muzzle
the ox that treadeth out the corn. And, The labourer is worthy of his reward."
In this scripture, God's worker is called an "ox." In the Bible, kine, ox or sheep stand for God's people. And an ear or ears of wheat also stands for God's people.
"Matthew 13: 38 The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one;"
The kine in the dream come from the river. "River" in the Bible means the Holy spirit.
"John 7:38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture
hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
39 (But this spake he of the Spirit, which
they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet
given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)
When it says "Seven kines fatfleshed and well favoured and come out from the river" it indicates seven years of plenty. But, this imagery "of plenty" is also a parable. This shows forth the great harvest to be given by the Holy Spirit in the end time.
Genesis 41: "49 And Joseph gathered corn as the sand of the sea, very much, until he left numbering; for it was without number."
As per Joseph's interpretation, there indeed came a time of plenty in Egypt, and there were much corn. Concerning this corn, the Bible described it "as the sand of the sea." This is one of the hints to interpret this parable. "The sand of the sea" is usually used to represent the Christian, or the spiritual offspring of Abraham.
Genesis 22:17
"That in blessing I will bless thee, and
in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and
as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the
gate of his enemies."
This seven years of plenty did happened in Egypt, but there is more. A famine is to come. It says:
"30 And there shall arise after them seven years of famine; and all the plenty shall be forgotten in the land of Egypt; and the famine shall consume the land;"
This famine indicates the seven year tribulation. Because the tribulation is to continue for seven years as per the description of the book of Daniel.
Daniel 9:27
" And he shall confirm the covenant with
many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice
and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he
shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined
shall be poured upon the desolate."
Matthew 12:45
" Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven
other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there:
and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it
be also unto this wicked generation."
And this famine spread all over the world.
Amos 8:11, 12
"11 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord
GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor
a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD:
12 And they shall wander from sea to sea,
and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek
the word of the LORD, and shall not find it."
Matthew 24:7
"For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom
against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes,
in divers places."
Therefore, we can understand that we have to prepare for the end time period of revival and tribulation. The word of God says:
Genesis 41:35, 36
35 "And let them gather all the food of
those good years that come, and lay up corn under the hand of Pharaoh,
and let them keep food in the cities.
36 And that food shall be for store to
the land against the seven years of famine, which shall be in the land
of Egypt; that the land perish not through the famine."
Let's do the Lord's will in the end time.
end.