Genesis (2011) 41A. Last week we were in the midst of watching Joseph interpreting the dreams of two royal prisoners

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1 Genesis (2011) 41A Last week we were in the midst f watching Jseph interpreting the dreams f tw ryal prisners Jseph was accmpanied by the chief cupbearer and chief baker Bth men had been accused f smething wrthy f death, perhaps they were suspected f pisning the Pharah And bth were desperate t knw their fate As it turns ut, the Lrd gives each man a dream that fretld their destiny We knw the Gd can wrk thrugh dreams t reveal things t men And ccasinally He will bscure the meaning f dreams s that He can cnnect the dreamer with an interpreter And f curse, the Lrd des this s that they might seek ut Jseph Because the Lrd has given Jseph the ability t interpret dreams Interpreting dreams is a unique skill in scripture We nly knw f tw men wh have that gift: Jseph and Daniel But many peple can interpret their wn dreams, as Gd permits Or at least they think they can And f curse, the Lrd des this s that they might seek ut Jseph Because the Lrd has als given Jseph the ability t interpret dreams And interpretatins dn t always turn ut the way we expect r prefer Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

2 Genesis 41A 2 f 11 There was an internatinal incident recently when the president f Iran visited the United Natins in New Yrk t give a speech. Befre he was scheduled t speak, the president met with ur US ambassadr t the United Natins and tld her: I had this incredible dream last night. I culd see all f America, and it was beautiful and n tp f every building, there was a flag. And n every flag there was writing, and the writing said: Allah is Gd, Gd is Allah. The ambassadr replied: "Yu knw, Mr. President, that is remarkable, because last night I had a dream t. I culd see all f Tehran, and it was mre beautiful than ever, and n every building there was a flag. And every flag had smething written n it as well. The Iranian president asked, S what was written n the flags? The ambassadr replied: "I really dn't knw. I can't read Hebrew!" S an interpretatin f ur dreams may nt be as we hped And such was the case fr the secnd prisner, the baker Gen. 40:16 When the chief baker saw that he had interpreted favrably, he said t Jseph, I als saw in my dream, and behld, there were three baskets f white bread n my head; Gen. 40:17 and in the tp basket there were sme f all srts f baked fd fr Pharah, and the birds were eating them ut f the basket n my head. Gen. 40:18 Then Jseph answered and said, This is its interpretatin: the three baskets are three days; Gen. 40:19 within three mre days Pharah will lift up yur head frm yu and will hang yu n a tree, and the birds will eat yur flesh ff yu. Gen. 40:20 Thus it came abut n the third day, which was Pharah s birthday, that he made a feast fr all his servants; and he lifted up the head f the chief cupbearer and the head f the chief baker amng his servants. Gen. 40:21 He restred the chief cupbearer t his ffice, and he put the cup int Pharah s hand; Gen. 40:22 but he hanged the chief baker, just as Jseph had interpreted t them. Gen. 40:23 Yet the chief cupbearer did nt remember Jseph, but frgt him. Last week we learned that the cupbearer s dream fretld his release and restratin t serving Pharah 2013 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

3 Genesis 41A 3 f 11 This gave Jseph cause t ask the cupbearer t remember Jseph Jseph s hpe was that the cupbearer culd bring Jseph s case befre the Pharah and win his release But there was still the matter f the baker s dream As we read, the baker s dream fretells a very different - and n dubt - disappinting utcme The baker wuld nt be released The baker s dream has birds devuring bread even befre it reached Pharah Birds were viewed as spiritual creatures by Egyptians, and they were prtected S they were frequently nuisances and scenes like the ne in the bakers dream wuld have been cmmn The baker s respnsibility was t keep the fd prtected and undefiled until it reached Pharah His failure t keep the fd safe may have been the issue which landed him in jail t begin with S by that imagery, Jseph cnfirms this will be his unding He will be hanged and impaled n a tree t be eaten by birds Egyptians thught this a fate wrse than death since the sul culd nt prceed t the after life There is an interesting play n wrds in Jseph s statements t the tw men In the case f the cupbearer, Jseph said the Pharah wuld lift up the man s head Meaning, he wuld return t his high psitin f pwer But in the case f the baker, Jseph says the Pharah will lift his head up in the sense f taking his head ff This is a reference t the man s head being remved by the hanging 2013 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

4 Genesis 41A 4 f 11 Thus we learn an imprtant lessn: The baker shuld have kept his dream n a knead the dugh basis And I m sure Jseph s interpretatin gt a rise ut f the baker And he prbably thught it was half-baked If yu remember frm last week, I alluded t a picture f Christ fund in this passage f Jseph in the prisn with these tw men The picture began with the bservatin that these days in the prisn represent the lwest pint in Jseph s life This is the greatest test Jseph will face And this is als the trial that prved Jseph s wrthiness t be elevated And then cmpared this perid in Jseph s life t the time in Jesus life when He hung n the crss and went t the grave Clearly, this was Jesus darkest mments The pint at which Jesus accepted the sin f the wrld upn His shulders He felt the sting f death in a mst cruel way And He suffered the separatin frm the Father And if yu remember that mment n the crss, Jesus wasn t alne On either side f Him tw ther cndemned men The tw thieves wh happened t find themselves crucified n either side f the Lrd f the Universe These tw men are represented prphetically by the baker and the cupbearer Thse tw thieves demnstrated tw very different respnses t Jesus and His predicament n that Rman crss The first thief mcked Jesus He challenged Jesus that is He were truly the Messiah, then He shuld get Himself ff the crss 2013 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

5 Genesis 41A 5 f 11 Hw culd Jesus claim t save Israel if He culdn t even save Himself Withut a dubt, this man was a man wh held n faith in Jesus And thugh he was nly hurs away frm his wn death, nevertheless he still fught against the inevitable He was abut t face judgment fr sin And he had n hpe, n slutin, n rescue He was as cndemned in the spirit as he was in his flesh But then we have the secnd thief crucified n Jesus ther side This thief bjects t the first thief s statements He cmes t Jesus defense Listen t the exchange that takes place Luke 23:39 One f the criminals wh were hanged there was hurling abuse at Him, saying, Are Yu nt the Christ? Save Yurself and us! Luke 23:40 But the ther answered, and rebuking him said, D yu nt even fear Gd, since yu are under the same sentence f cndemnatin? Luke 23:41 And we indeed are suffering justly, fr we are receiving what we deserve fr ur deeds; but this man has dne nthing wrng. Luke 23:42 And he was saying, Jesus, remember me when Yu cme in Yur kingdm! Luke 23:43 And He said t him, Truly I say t yu, tday yu shall be with Me in Paradise. The secnd thief is destined t die just as assuredly as that first thief and Jesus Himself, fr that matter But in the face f death, the man seeks a surce f hpe He turns t Jesus and in faith seeks Jesus mercy while acknwledging Jesus lrdship as Messiah He declares that Jesus will ne day cme int His kingdm And this man seeks t be there n that future In a few wrds, the man expresses the essence f the Gspel 2013 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

6 Genesis 41A 6 f 11 That Jesus was the Messiah That He wuld be resurrected fllwing His death That He will return t rule a kingdm And they He ffers that kingdm t all wh seek it frm Him in faith As Paul said: Rm. 10:9 that if yu cnfess with yur muth Jesus as Lrd, and believe in yur heart that Gd raised Him frm the dead, yu will be saved; What s even mre remarkable is this thief was willing t acknwledge this truth while staring int Jesus bld saked eyes as He hung next t him n a crss Hw much faith did it take t believe the claims f Jesus knwing He was sn t die Himself? T accept that the One whse wn bdy is sn t fail is the same One Wh can save this thief frm hell S in the stry f Jseph we als find tw men n either side f Jseph, in a sense Each had a mment t seek an answer frm HIm cncerning their future One learns that he will be restred and will have his life returned t him, in a sense Furthermre, that man is asked t remember Jseph befre Pharah But the secnd man faces a very different utcme He is set t lse his life He has n mre t say cncerning Jseph The cnnectin is clear t see The cupbearer is a picture f that believing thief While the baker is the picture f the unbelieving thief wh had n hpe after his encunter with Jesus 2013 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

7 Genesis 41A 7 f 11 Mving int chapter 41, we discver that Jseph isn t finished interpreting dreams Gen. 41:1 Nw it happened at the end f tw full years that Pharah had a dream, and behld, he was standing by the Nile. Gen. 41:2 And l, frm the Nile there came up seven cws, sleek and fat; and they grazed in the marsh grass. Gen. 41:3 Then behld, seven ther cws came up after them frm the Nile, ugly and gaunt, and they std by the ther cws n the bank f the Nile. Gen. 41:4 The ugly and gaunt cws ate up the seven sleek and fat cws. Then Pharah awke. Gen. 41:5 He fell asleep and dreamed a secnd time; and behld, seven ears f grain came up n a single stalk, plump and gd. Gen. 41:6 Then behld, seven ears, thin and scrched by the east wind, spruted up after them. Gen. 41:7 The thin ears swallwed up the seven plump and full ears. Then Pharah awke, and behld, it was a dream. Gen. 41:8 Nw in the mrning his spirit was trubled, s he sent and called fr all the magicians f Egypt, and all its wise men. And Pharah tld them his dreams, but there was n ne wh culd interpret them t Pharah. The Pharah f Egypt receives a dream frm Gd, designed t be unexplainable except by Jseph We knw the Lrd is wrking in all these circumstances, bth in the dreams in the prisn and nw with Pharah Jseph prves himself befre the cupbearer while he sat in prisn And this gives pprtunity fr the cupbearer t learn f Jseph s abilities and apply that knwledge at a later time And nw that later time has cme, when the Lrd gives Pharah a dream n ne can interpret But first, did yu ntice nce again that it required tw mre years befre the pprtunity arrived fr Jseph? I wn t repeat the lessns n this pint that we learned last week except t simply reiterate the main pint Gd s mvement in ur lives ften takes much lnger than we expect and desire 2013 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

8 Genesis 41A 8 f 11 But that waiting is a perid f testing and maturing that brings spiritual benefit that can t be accmplished any ther way S in His wisdm, the Lrd determined that Jseph needed t spend tw mre years in prisn after meeting the cupbearer Gd had laid the seeds fr Jseph s elevatin, yet thse seeds required time t grw and prduce fruit S it is in the way Gd uses ur trials, s face them with patience, as James teaches James 1:2 Cnsider it all jy, my brethren, when yu encunter varius trials, James 1:3 knwing that the testing f yur faith prduces endurance. James 1:4 And let endurance have its perfect result, s that yu may be perfect and cmplete, lacking in nthing. The Pharah's dream has tw versins, and this is a pattern wrth nting by itself The dreams that Jseph interpreted frm the cupbearer and the baker als had tw versin r tw utcmes This is a distinct pattern thrughut the stry f Jseph It is a stry with a recurring theme f pairs Fr example, Jseph had tw versins f the dream fr his family and parents The wheat and the celestial bjects He is betrayed twice with his garments Jseph interpreted tw dreams in prisn Jseph is in prisn tw years befre hearing Pharah's dream The Pharah had tw dreams with different images Cws and stalks f grain There will be tw seven year perids in Egypt Later, we ll see Jacb s family take tw trips t Egypt during the famine and appear befre Jseph twice 2013 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

9 Genesis 41A 9 f 11 Why des the stry f Jseph ften revlve arund pairs in this unique way? Well, here again, we find a subtle but unmistakable picture f Christ in the life and stry f Jesus And s thrugh the pairs in Jseph s stry we find a freshadwing f an imprtant aspect f the ministry f Christ The Messiah s rle is a tw-fld rle First, Jesus is ur perfect sacrifice paying a price fr sin - a price we culdn t pay urselves and live Secndly, the Lrd will triumph ver sin and death and cme in glry t reign as King f the wrld Jesus has a first cming t save men frm their sin And He has a secnd cming t judge and reign He is the Lamb f Gd and the Righteus King And s the pairs in Jseph s stry is leading us t understand that Christ s ministry is split int tw parts as well In these tw dreams, Gd uses symbls that held special imprtance t Egyptians and t Pharah The dream included the Nile, cws and grain The Egyptians assciated the Nile with life The water frm that river made the difference between a hpeless desert and a lush asis S watching fat cws emerge frm the river wuld have been especially significant t the Pharah Cws were the symbl f Isis, the Egyptian gddess f fertility S this dream was designed t stir Pharah s heart cncerning the future prsperity f his kingdm And the stalks f wheat were a natinal symbl fr Egypt, which was the grain basket f the ancient wrld As the Pharah experienced the dreams, he watched the seven ugly lean cws cme ut f the river 2013 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

10 Genesis 41A 10 f 11 The scene must have becme disturbing and bazaar And then the lean cws cnsume the fat nes The wrd fr eat is akal which means chewed, a strange scene n dubt And then in the secnd dream, he sees a similar parallelism, with ne set f stalks, fat and ready t eat, with anther lean and inedible Even stranger than the cws, here the stalks eat each ther The wrd fr eat here bala means swallw I dn t knw abut yu, but I usually dn t remember my dreams very well It takes a pretty special dream t stick in my mind 10 minutes, much less the next day But in Pharah s case, each f these dream stick in a prfund way He is disturbed t the pint f seeking ut an answer It s as if life can t g frward fr the man until he finds an answer t the questins psed by his dreams In fact, thrughut the Bible, when Gd gives a man a dream, it will leave a prfund and lasting impressin like with Pharah Men remember it and pnder it They search fr answers And f curse, this is Gd s purpse in His revelatins t men, regardless f the frm The Lrd desn t reveal Himself t sinful flesh fr nthing His purpse is always t cause fallen men t seek fr Him But that seeking always begins with Gd making a revelatin f Himself t men first We cannt seek what we d nt knw Nr can we find what we are nt seeking Pharah wasn t seeking fr Jseph, much less fr the Gd f Jseph 2013 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

11 Genesis 41A 11 f 11 But by this revelatin f Gd, Pharah will have cause t seek And by the Lrd s prvisin in Jseph, sitting in prisn, the Pharah will have cause t find what he seeks Praise the Lrd that He is a Gd Wh speaks, Wh reveals Himself, and Wh allws Himself t be fund by sinful men! 2013 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.