Okay, Genesis chapter 41, verse 1. And it came to pass. Those are familiar words, aren't
they? It came to pass because God brought
it to pass. And it came to pass at the end
of two full years that Pharaoh dreamed. I was thinking as I
read that, that God never gets in a hurry. No, he always right
on time. It came to pass at the end of
two full years. Now, it seems to me anymore,
two years can go by just like that, just real quick. But probably
not when you're in prison. Joseph was in prison. Those two
years must have seemed like an eternity to him. Now, I don't
know, and we're not told if this refers to two years since Potiphar
threw him into prison or if this was two years after the butler
had been released from prison. That seems to be the more probable
because of how verse one here reads. But I am certain of this,
to a prisoner, especially an innocent one, two years would
seem like a long, long time. It's hard for me to stay in the
house for a whole day sometimes without getting out. The sovereign
will and purpose of God kept Joseph wrongfully in prison for
two full years. You think about that. And that's
what sovereign providence is. We talk about it, but that's
what it is, the will and purpose of God coming to pass. All things
coming to pass at God's discretion. All things coming to pass when
God intends them to. All things coming to pass how
God intends them to. All things coming about where
God intends them to come to pass. What God determines always comes
to pass. Again, verse one, and it came
to pass at the end of two years that Pharaoh dreamed Pharaoh
had a dream. God gave Pharaoh that dream.
Now let's talk about dreams for just a minute. Dreams as they
are referred to in the Bible, in the scriptures, especially
in the Old Testament, the Lord uses dreams for various reasons.
There were times when God used a dream to give a warning. In
Matthew chapter 2, the Lord appeared unto the wise men when the Lord
Jesus was born. It says that he appeared to them
in a dream, warning them not to return unto Herod. Herod had
determined to slay all children under the age of two. You know
the story. And then in the very next verse of Matthew chapter
2, we're told that Joseph, being warned of God in a dream, that
he should flee into Egypt because Herod desired to destroy the
child. Dreams were often used by God
to warn people. Immediately, Pallet's wife comes
to mind. You remember Miss Pallet told
her husband, she said, don't have anything to do with that
just man, speaking of the Lord Jesus. She said, I've suffered
many things this day in a dream because of him. And you remember
Abimelech, the very first dream recorded
in the Bible. Genesis chapter 20, I believe,
is where God spoke to King Abimelech in a dream and warned him that
he had taken Sarah, Abraham's wife. You remember that. Obviously
dreams were used in a way of warning in the scriptures. There
were times when God used a dream to encourage one of his chosen. In Judges chapter 7, the Lord
thinned out the army of Gideon before he went into battle with
the great army of Midian. And he begins with 32,000 soldiers,
and 22,000 of them went home because they were afraid. And then there was a reduction
of about 9,700 more because of the way they drink. You can read
it in Judges chapter 7, the way they drink water. And God said,
those who lap up water like a dog, you set them apart. And boy,
I thought about that. There's a picture there. Those
who are set apart by God are those who lap up the water of
life like a dead dog's center. But that's another message another
time. This left Gideon with only 300
soldiers. Started out with 32,000 and ends
up with 300. And in that same chapter, the
Lord instructed Gideon to go down to the camp, called the
host, it was a camp, and there he'd be strengthened. And when
Gideon arrived at the camp, he heard a man telling his dream
to another man. And the interpretation of that
dream just so happened to be that the army of Gideon was going
to defeat the Midianites, even with their little 300 men. And
immediately upon hearing this dream, Gideon was strengthened
and he worshipped God. And I'm telling you the whole
purpose of that man's dream. was, even though his name's not
mentioned, it's insignificant, but the whole purpose of that
man's dream was for the encouragement of Gideon. God uses dreams, he
used dreams in various ways. to warn and to encourage. And
then the most common way that God used a dream in the scriptures
was to reveal prophecy or future events. And in Genesis 37, we
saw how Joseph dreamed two different dreams and about how his brethren
would one day bow to him. And then last week in Genesis
chapter 40, we saw how Joseph interpreted the dreams of both
the butler and the baker and which foretold their future destiny. And then now in Genesis chapter
41, God causes Pharaoh to have a dream. It's very important
to know and understand this, that God doesn't speak through
dreams anymore. How do I know that? Well, God
who at sundry times, Hebrews 1 verse 1, God who at sundry
times, various times, and in divers manners, in different
ways, Dreams being one of them. God spake in time past unto the
fathers by the prophets, and he hath in these last days spoken
unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things,
and by whom also he made the worlds. God speaks to us in these
last days through his Son. God speaks to us in these last
days through Christ, who is the Word of God. Verse one again,
and it came to pass at the end of two full years that Pharaoh
dreamed and behold, he stood by the river and behold, there
came up out of the river seven well-favored kind, and that word
means heifers or cows, and fat-fleshed, and they fed in a meadow. And
behold, seven other kind, came up after them out of the river,
ill-favored and lean-fleshed, small and thin, and stood by
the other kine upon the brink of the river. And the ill-favored
and lean-fleshed kine did eat up the seven well-favored and
fat kine, and so Pharaoh awoke. And he slept and he dreamed a
second time, and behold, seven ears of corn came up upon one
stalk, And that word rank there means fat and plump and good. And behold, seven thin ears and
blasted with the east wind sprung up after them. And the seven
thin ears devoured the seven rank and full ears and Pharaoh
awoke and behold, it was a dream. And it came to pass in the morning
that his spirit was troubled. And he sent and he 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. Then spake the chief butler unto
Pharaoh." Remember him? Saying, I do remember my faults
this day. Pharaoh was wroth with his servants,
and he put me in ward in the captain of the guard's house,
both me and the chief baker. And we dreamed a dream, and one
night I and he, and we dreamed each man according to the interpretation
of his dream. And there was there with us a
young man, a Hebrew, servant to the captain of the guard.
And we told him, and he interpreted to us our dreams, each man according
to his dream he did interpret. And it came to pass, as he interpreted
to us, so it was, me he restored into mine office, and him, speaking
of the baker, he hanged. Then Pharaoh sent and called
Joseph, and they brought him hastily out of the dungeon, and
he shaved himself and changed his raiment and came in unto
Pharaoh. 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. And Joseph answered Pharaoh saying,
it is not in me. God shall give Pharaoh an answer
of peace. Now, let me just pause there
for a moment. In verse 15, Pharaoh said to Joseph, paraphrasing,
he said, I hear that you can interpret dream. In verse 16,
Joseph says to Pharaoh, it's not in me. It's not in me. He said, God shall give Pharaoh
an answer of peace. Boy, isn't that a great answer?
God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace. Last week after our
lesson on the butler and the baker, Larry Brown asked me if
I had thought much about verse eight in chapter 40. Look back at it. Genesis 40,
verse eight. The butler and the baker said
to Joseph pretty much the same thing that Pharaoh says to him
here in chapter 41. They said, we've dreamed a dream
and there's no interpreter of it. And Joseph said unto them,
do not interpretations belong to God? Well, we know the answer
to that. The answer is yes. Interpretations
belong to God. It's always been that way. God
is the one who divinely reveals the things of the Spirit of God
to us. Apart from divine revelation
from God, none will ever understand the Word of God, nor receive
the things of the Spirit of God. Christ said in John chapter 6,
verse 45, He said, it's written in the prophets, and they shall
all be taught of God. Every man therefore that hath
heard and hath learned of the Father cometh unto me." So Joseph
here said, do not interpretations belong to God? Does not the revelation
of scriptures belong to God? Is he not the one that reveals
them? Does not the understanding of the things of the Spirit of
God belong to God? We know, and we looked at it
Sunday, that the natural man receives not the things of the
Spirit of God. Why? Because they're spiritually
discerned, they're spiritually revealed, they're spiritually
understood. You've got to have life from
above or you cannot see the Kingdom of God. We've been looking at
all these things. So Joseph said, do not interpretations
belong to God? And without taking a breath,
you look at it there, without taking a breath, he says, tell
me then, I pray you. Now, Larry commented, and I agree
that Joseph was either extremely nosy, a busybody, like, well,
interpretation was God, but tell me anyway, or he was God's messenger. That's what that's talking about.
I know this much. He was the only one there in
that prison that could interpret God's word to them. Joseph was
the revealer of secrets. That's what his name means. The name that Pharaoh gives him
here in chapter 41, revealer of secrets. He was God's messenger. Now back in Genesis 41, Joseph
says, it's not in me. It's not in me. And that's the
attitude of all God's true messengers. It's not in me. It's not in me. What I prepared for you tonight
was given to me. What I give to you in preaching,
God gives to me in study. Now, in verses 17 through 24,
Pharaoh tells Joseph his dreams, and we've already seen it. seen
what they were in the beginning of the chapter, so we won't read
those verses again. But then we have Joseph's interpretation
of the dreams in verse 26. The seven good kind are seven
years, and the seven good ears are seven years. The dream is
one. And the seven thin and ill-favored kind that came up after them
are seven years. And the seven empty ears blasted
with the east wind shall be seven years of famine." And this is
the thing which I have spoken unto Pharaoh. What God is about
to do, He showeth unto Pharaoh. Behold, there comes seven years
of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt, 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. And the plenty shall not be known
in the land by reason of the famine following, for it shall
be very grievous. Now what we have here in this
chapter, the chapter of Genesis chapter 41, is a beautiful picture
of redemption. I didn't see this until yesterday. But let me try to show you what
I'm talking about. This is a beautiful picture of
redemption. First of all, Pharaoh has a dream. We'll keep it very simple. Pharaoh
has a dream. Who sent that dream to him? God
did. Right? That was what Joseph said
in chapter 40. We just read it. Do not interpretations
belong to God? Why do they belong to God? Because
God sent the dream. It was a word from God. Only
God knows what the dream means. Only God knows what the word
is about. And also to those to whom he
reveals. He revealed it to Joseph, didn't
he? This dream is from God. This word is from God. And He
sent it to Pharaoh. That's the first thing I want
you to see. Secondly, Pharaoh didn't understand the dream.
Pharaoh didn't understand it. Just like Joseph's brothers didn't
understand Joseph's dreams. Just like the butler didn't understand
his word from God. Just like the baker didn't understand
his. They needed an interpreter. They
needed a messenger. Do you see that? They were like
Philip's eunuch. Philip said, do you understand
what you're reading? And the eunuch said, how can
I unless some man guide me? And then Philip opened his mouth
and he preached unto him the Lord Jesus Christ. It pleases
the Lord by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe,
right? Well, God uses preaching to guide
us. God uses preaching to save us.
God uses preaching to reveal Christ to us. That's just the
way God has ordained it to be. Third thing, God's spirit moves
upon a chosen sinner. Look at verse eight again. And
it came to pass in the morning that his, speaking of Pharaoh,
Pharaoh's spirit was troubled. Who troubled Pharaoh's spirit?
Huh? God did. I remember when God
troubled my spirit. I remember it quite well. Like
Paul, God showed me I was a wretch, old wretched man that I am. God
showed me that I was less than the least of all saints. God
showed me that I was the chief of sinners. And I'm telling you,
my spirit was troubled. It hadn't been troubled before,
but it was then. Look at the, excuse
me, the rest of verse eight. And he, Pharaoh sent, and he
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.
And here's the fourth thing. Here we see the foolishness of
man's wisdom and man's religion. As you know, Egypt represents
the world. We've talked about that many
times. When God sent that famine to Abraham in the early part
of Genesis, Remember what he did? He went down to Egypt. Boy,
that was a mistake, wasn't it? Egypt represents the world. The
wisdom of God is foolishness to this world. We just talked
about that Sunday. The wisdom of God is foolishness
to the world, and the wisdom of the world is foolishness to
God. Egypt was the epic center in Joseph's, it was the epic
center of learning and culture in Joseph's time. Egypt was rich
in art and culture and all these things, and it was a proud leader
of ancient civilizations. But they were idolaters. They
didn't know God. And only in God's light can we
see light. Apart from the illumination of
God, all is darkness. Both morally and spiritually,
all darkness. And that's what the Lord said.
He said, this is the condemnation that light has come into the
world and men love darkness rather than light because their deeds
were evil. Pharaoh's magicians were impotent,
worthless. His wise men were ignorant. There was none that can interpret
the dreams unto Pharaoh, not in Egypt. Pharaoh said in verse
24, he said, he's telling Joseph this, look at it. He said, I
told this unto the magicians, but there was none that could
declare it to me. You know, there are a lot of
magicians, tricksters in pulpits today. Pharaoh was made to see
their powerlessness. Pharaoh was made to see that
all human resources and all human wisdom, worthless. Has God shown
you that? Didn't we see that Sunday in
1 Corinthians 2, Paul said, my speech and my preaching was not
with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration
of the spirit and of the power of God. So that your faith should
not stand in the wisdom of man, but in the power of God. And
that's where God's people's faith stand, in Christ, the power of
God, the power of reconciling the sinner unto himself by Jesus
Christ. And you know, I was thinking,
I just, would wager about anything that the interpretation that
Joseph gave for Pharaoh's dream was foolishness to those wise
men. I'm like, where'd he get that at? I bet they thought that
he was foolish. And I bet the magicians and all
the people of Egypt did. For a while. For a while. Oh, I'm telling you, without
divine intervention, it would have been foolishness to Pharaoh
too. Once the things of the Spirit
of God was foolishest to me. You too. You too. Brings me to the fifth thing,
but God enabled and caused me to believe. That's just it in
a nutshell. God sent Pharaoh a revealer of
secrets. Name was Joseph. We know who
he pictures. God sent me the true revealer,
God the Holy Spirit. God sent me a true messenger. And with God's message, his spirit
always accompanies. Did you know that? Where the
gospel is preached in truth, God's spirit always accompanies
it. God sent me the revealer of secrets,
a preacher, and then God sent me an interpreter of divine truths,
the Holy Spirit. And by that divine truth, it
pleased God to reveal His Son in me. Now look at verse 25. And Joseph said unto Pharaoh,
the dream of Pharaoh is won. God has showed Pharaoh what he's
about to do. I'm telling you, this is just,
you can write this yourself and make it more the gospel. God
showed Pharaoh what he was gonna do. God didn't attempt to show
Pharaoh, God showed him. Pharaoh didn't understand it.
Joseph had to interpret it. Joseph had to tell it to Pharaoh,
but God had to show it to him. Do you see that? That's the way
it is. Verse 25, God has showed Pharaoh
what he's about to do. And I'm telling you, if you belong
to Christ, God is going to show you. He's going to send a messenger
to show his people what redemption is and where that redemption
is found. It's so humbling, it's so honoring
and yet overwhelming to endeavor to feed God's sheep. I'm telling
you it is. I had no idea. I'd give anything
if I could turn back time and tell Brother Maurice how much
I appreciate him. I often think to myself, who's
sufficient for these things? And then at the same time, I
think, woe unto me if I preach not the gospel. Sometimes I want
to just throw my hands up and say, Lord, this is beyond me. I can't do this. And yet I know
that it's nothing but woe if I don't preach the truth. To
think that God uses preaching as the means of saving his elect
And it's something that should cause every preacher to constantly
bow in their heart and beg for help in that great task. Look at verse 28. This is the
thing which I've spoken unto Pharaoh. What God is about to do, he showeth
unto Pharaoh. God's gonna have to show it to
you. I can't show it to you. Joseph can't show it to you.
God's got to show it to you. This is one thing that we speak
to sinners, but our message is not about what God is going to
do. Our message is about what God's already done. That's a
difference. Not what he attempted to do,
not what he's tried to do, not what he might do, not what he
may do, but what he's done for us in Christ. That's our message. Don't ever put God and the word
try in the same sentence. Just don't do it. That's a new
English rule. Don't ever put God and the word
try in the same sentence. God has never tried to do anything.
God doesn't make salvation possible. God makes salvation certain. God makes everything certain. God doesn't leave anything up
to the will of man. And I'm so glad that he doesn't.
Do you know why? Because my will is in bondage
to sin. I'm dead in trespasses and sin,
therefore I have no will. My will is dead to God. Dead. Not just wounded, not just
in bad shape, dead. God had to make me willing to
believe. God had to make me alive to believe. Isn't that right? Those of you
that know him know it so. And that's exactly what he did
to Pharaoh. He showed Pharaoh. He used Joseph's
words of inspiration, but it was God's word. And God
showed it to Pharaoh. He's the only one that can. In
other words, Joseph was the means, but God was the cause. Joseph
was his means, but God was the cause. And there's so much more
I could say about the seven years of plenty and the seven years
of famine. I just thought about all the provisions that God provided
for Adam before the fall. They were plenty, weren't they?
My goodness. See, when God, created Adam out of the dust
of the ground. He awoke to everything God had already provided. Adam
didn't have to do nothing. Just get in the garden and enjoy
it. Plenty, my plenty. Adam was plentiful in the fellowship
that he had with God in the paradise of Eden. And then sin came and
famine came. Adam's disobedience alienated
him from God and he was forever famished. And verse 31 says,
and the plenty shall not be known in the land by reason of that
famine following, for it shall be very grievous, very heavy. Oh, that famine from the fall
of Adam was grievous, wasn't it? So much so it threw us all
into sin. All of us have been alienated
from God because Adam was our federal head. And look at verse
32. And for that, Speaking of that spiritual famine,
that lack of understanding, that spiritual deadness, Joseph said,
the dream was doubled unto Pharaoh twice. Now, I don't know what
that means, but I'll tell you this much. If you belong to Christ,
God will be relentless to save you. Did you hear me? He'll be relentless. He won't
take no for an answer. No, sir. Won't take no for an
answer. His call is effectual. And look
at the rest of verse 32. It is because the thing is established
by God. And God will shortly bring it
to pass. Salvation's of the Lord. Salvation's
of the Lord. He'll bring it to pass. And that's
what we're gonna see in our next study. Plenty comes from knowing
Joseph. You would say that again? Plenty
comes from knowing Joseph. If you're going to eat, it's
going to be at Joseph's hand. That brings me to the last thing.
Christ is our only hope. Verse 33, Joseph tells Pharaoh,
he said, Now therefore let Pharaoh look out a man. You look out a man discreet and
wise and set him over the land of Egypt. Now I wonder who that's
talking about. Well, that's the gospel message.
God has sent one who is discreet and wise. Did you know that the
word discreet here means to be separate? Isn't that amazing? It means to be distinguished,
to be set apart by God. Discrete, that's what the Hebrew
word means. Separate, distinguished, set
apart by God. You better look for this man.
He's the God man. He's the only one, the only one
that can save you. The king is gonna make this man
in charge over the land of Egypt. He's gonna be the ruler over
this famished world. Joseph told Pharaoh, he said,
you must look out. You've got to find he who is
discreet, separate, and wise, and set him over the land of
Egypt. And that's what God did with Christ. He's committed all
judgment unto the Son, John 5, 22. Now look at verse 37. And the thing was good in the
eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of all his servants. Boy, there
were some that was, was saying some things about Joseph when
he first interpreted the dream. They were saying something different
now. What think ye of Christ? He's good in my eyes. That's what it said, Joseph.
Look for a man that's discreet and wise. Verse 37, the thing
was good in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of all his servants.
He's good in the eyes of God's servants, Christ is. He's good
in the eyes of God's people. Now look at verse 38, and Pharaoh
said unto his servants, can we find such a one as this, a man
in whom the Spirit of God is? The answer is yes, we can. You
better believe we can. God says we can. Verse 39, and
Pharaoh said unto Joseph, for as much as God has showed thee
all this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou art. Now there's
your picture. A Joseph again pictures the Lord
Jesus Christ. Beautifully so. You know, sin
has brought great famine on us. We're dead in sin. No greater
famine than that. The law of God condemned us. Boy, there's no greater famine
than that. God's holy justice requires satisfaction
from us. We don't have it to pay. We can't
pay what God demands. We're in the middle of a famine,
famine of sin. No ordinary man is gonna suffice
in helping us with the plenty that we need. Christ is discreet. For such a high priest became
us, who's holy and harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners."
Separate from sinners. And made higher than the heavens,
Hebrews 7, 26. Christ is wise, so much so that
he's made unto us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification
and redemption. Can we find such a one as this?
Yes, we can. And the beautiful thing is, the
good news, the gospel is, is that He found us. We're not,
it's not even on us to find Him. He finds us. He finds His people,
doesn't He? Oh, if one sheep goes astray,
He leaves the ninety and nine and goes and finds the one, puts
them on His shoulder and brings them home. Mm-mm. God says there's none like my
Son. There's none so wise and discreet
as he is. He's my beloved son in whom I
am well pleased, well pleased. Look at what Pharaoh says to
Joseph. I'll finish up. He says, thou shalt be over my
house. I didn't write down the verse,
but it's right down there somewhere. Thou shalt be over my house.
And according unto thy words shall all my people be ruled,
and only in the throne will I be greater than thou. I think of the verse, the passage
in Colossians chapter one, verse 16 through 18, for by him were
all things created that are in heaven and that are in earth,
visible and invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions
or principalities or powers, all things were created by him
and for him. And He is before all things,
and by Him all things consist. And He's the head of the body,
the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead,
that in all things He might have the preeminence. For it pleased
the Father that in Him should all fullness dwell. Pharaoh said
he's gonna rule. He's gonna rule. Well, I hope
this message has helped you. I hope that it's given you some
hope. And I hope that it's given you some comfort. It sure did
me. It sure did me.