God’s Timeline – Part 47 Joseph Interprets Pharaoh’s Dreams

 God’s Timeline – Part 47

Joseph Interprets Pharaoh’s Dreams

Pastor Bruce A. Shields

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This Document is a Sermon Outline, you may hear the full audio of the actual sermon by following the link Online Audio Files located above for this, and other Full Sermon Audios.  For a complete list of Sermon Outlines, visit TruthDigest.org or Truth Digest on facebook; for our Official Church website, visit PS127.org, or find us on Facebook at House of Faith Church

 

SERMON TIMELINE (2021 A.D. = 5781 Jewish Calendar Year)

 -         Creation Week (Approximately 3700 - 4000 B.C.)

o   Adam, Eve, and the Fall

-         Cain and Abel

o   Evil Fills the World

-         Noah Did All God Commanded Him

o   The Flood (2348 B.C.)

o   God’s Covenant with Noah

o   Noah’s Sons and Ham’s Sin

o   Nations of Noah’s Sons

 

-         Tower of Babel (Approximately 2200 B.C.)

 -         God calls Abram (1921 B.C. 75 years old)

o   Abram and Lot part ways (1915 B.C.)

o   Rescue of Lot (1914 B.C.)

-         The Lord’s Covenant with Abram for Isaac

o   Hagar and Ishmael Born (1910 B.C.) Abram 86 years old

o   Sarai and Isaac

o   The Three Visitors

o   Abraham Pleads for Sodom

-         Birth of Isaac (1897 B.C. Abraham 99 years old Sarah 90-Hagar and Ishmael sent away)

o   The Lord tests Abraham (1876 B.C.)

o   Sarah Dies 127 years old (1860 B.C. Abraham is 136)

 

-         Isaac marries Rebekah (1857 B.C. Isaac was 40 when he married Rebekah)

 -         Jacob and Esau are born (1837 B.C. Isaac was 60 Abraham 159)

o   Abraham dies at 175 (1822 B.C. Isaac was 75)

o   Isaac receives the Birthright and his father’s blessing

o   Esau marries two Hittites at 40 (1857 B.C.)

o   Esau marries a daughter of Ishmael

o   Jacob travels to his grandfather’s family to find a wife (1819 B.C.)

o   Jacob’s Dream at Bethel

o   Jacob marries Leah then Rachel

§  Levi is born (1749 B.C.)

§  Joseph is born (1744 B.C.)

o   Jacob fled Laban and is pursued

o   Jacob Prepares to meet Esau

o   Jacob Wrestles with God & Becomes Israel

o   Jacob Meets with Esau after 20 Years

o   Jacob’s Daughter Raped by Shechem

o   Jacob Returns to Bethel

o   The Deaths of Rachel and Isaac (1716 B.C. Isaac was 180 years old)

 

-         Joseph’s Dreams (Joseph is seventeen at the time)

o   Joseph Sold by His Brothers (1727 B.C.)

o   Joseph Imprisoned

o   Joseph interprets dreams while in prison

o   Joseph Interprets the Pharaoh’s Dream

 

 

INTRODUCTION

 

Last week we read about Joseph in prison interpreting the dreams of other inmates.

 

Joseph told one of them, the Baker, that he would be released and when this happened, to remember him and tell the Pharaoh.

 

Both dreams interpreted by Joseph came to pass, just as God had revealed to him, but the Baker forgot about Joseph, and he was not freed.

 

This is where we will pick up with Joseph.

 

SCRIPTURE READING

Genesis 41:1-40

“When two full years had passed, Pharaoh had a dream: He was standing by the Nile, 2 when out of the river there came up seven cows, sleek and fat, and they grazed among the reeds. 3 After them, seven other cows, ugly and gaunt, came up out of the Nile and stood beside those on the riverbank. 4 And the cows that were ugly and gaunt ate up the seven sleek, fat cows. Then Pharaoh woke up.

5 He fell asleep again and had a second dream: Seven heads of grain, healthy and good, were growing on a single stalk. 6 After them, seven other heads of grain sprouted—thin and scorched by the east wind. 7 The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven healthy, full heads. Then Pharaoh woke up; it had been a dream.

8 In the morning his mind was troubled, so he sent for all the magicians and wise men of Egypt. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but no one could interpret them for him.

9 Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh, “Today I am reminded of my shortcomings. 10 Pharaoh was once angry with his servants, and he imprisoned me and the chief baker in the house of the captain of the guard. 11 Each of us had a dream the same night, and each dream had a meaning of its own. 12 Now a young Hebrew was there with us, a servant of the captain of the guard. We told him our dreams, and he interpreted them for us, giving each man the interpretation of his dream. 13 And things turned out exactly as he interpreted them to us: I was restored to my position, and the other man was impaled.”

14 So Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and he was quickly brought from the dungeon. When he had shaved and changed his clothes, he came before Pharaoh.

15 Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I had a dream, and no one can interpret it. But I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.”

16 “I cannot do it,” Joseph replied to Pharaoh, “but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires.”

17 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “In my dream I was standing on the bank of the Nile, 18 when out of the river there came up seven cows, fat and sleek, and they grazed among the reeds. 19 After them, seven other cows came up—scrawny and very ugly and lean. I had never seen such ugly cows in all the land of Egypt. 20 The lean, ugly cows ate up the seven fat cows that came up first. 21 But even after they ate them, no one could tell that they had done so; they looked just as ugly as before. Then I woke up.

22 “In my dream I saw seven heads of grain, full and good, growing on a single stalk. 23 After them, seven other heads sprouted—withered and thin and scorched by the east wind. 24 The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven good heads. I told this to the magicians, but none of them could explain it to me.”

25 Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “The dreams of Pharaoh are one and the same. God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do. 26 The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good heads of grain are seven years; it is one and the same dream. 27 The seven lean, ugly cows that came up afterward are seven years, and so are the seven worthless heads of grain scorched by the east wind: They are seven years of famine.

28 “It is just as I said to Pharaoh: God has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do. 29 Seven years of great abundance are coming throughout the land of Egypt, 30 but seven years of famine will follow them. Then all the abundance in Egypt will be forgotten, and the famine will ravage the land. 31 The abundance in the land will not be remembered, because the famine that follows it will be so severe. 32 The reason the dream was given to Pharaoh in two forms is that the matter has been firmly decided by God, and God will do it soon.

33 “And now let Pharaoh look for a discerning and wise man and put him in charge of the land of Egypt. 34 Let Pharaoh appoint commissioners over the land to take a fifth of the harvest of Egypt during the seven years of abundance. 35 They should collect all the food of these good years that are coming and store up the grain under the authority of Pharaoh, to be kept in the cities for food. 36 This food should be held in reserve for the country, to be used during the seven years of famine that will come upon Egypt, so that the country may not be ruined by the famine.”

37 The plan seemed good to Pharaoh and to all his officials. 38 So Pharaoh asked them, “Can we find anyone like this man, one in whom is the spirit of God?”

39 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one so discerning and wise as you. 40 You shall be in charge of my palace, and all my people are to submit to your orders. Only with respect to the throne will I be greater than you.””

       I.         THE PHARAOH’S DREAMS

a.      The Cows in the Nile

                                        i.      Two years pass since the butler was released, and he never mentioned Joseph

                                     ii.      Pharaoh had a dream: He was standing by the Nile, 2 when out of the river there came up seven cows, sleek and fat, and they grazed among the reeds. 3 After them, seven other cows, ugly and gaunt, came up out of the Nile and stood beside those on the riverbank. 4 And the cows that were ugly and gaunt ate up the seven sleek, fat cows. Then Pharaoh woke up.

                                  iii.      This dream, like the dreams the Baker and the Butler had in prison, was given by God, and could only be interpreted by God.

 

b.     The Grain on the stalk

                                        i.      He fell asleep again and had a second dream: Seven heads of grain, healthy and good, were growing on a single stalk. 6 After them, seven other heads of grain sprouted—thin and scorched by the east wind. 7 The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven healthy, full heads. Then Pharaoh woke up; it had been a dream.

 

c.      The Magicians and the Wise men

                                        i.      In the morning his mind was troubled, so he sent for all the magicians and wise men of Egypt. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but no one could interpret them for him.

 

 

   II.         GOD’S WILL COMING TO PASS

a.      Joseph was chosen by God

                                     i.      Joseph was a type of Christ, his life and the events foreshadowing Jesus and His ministry on earth.

                                  ii.      Joseph was chosen to receive the Birthright and the father’s blessing, and it may have been because Reuben slept with his father’s wife Bilhah (Genesis 35:22)

                               iii.      We know Jacob knew about it because in Genesis 49 when Jacob calls his sons together to bless them, he says in verses 3-4

“Reuben, you are my firstborn,
    my might, the first sign of my strength,
    excelling in honor, excelling in power.
⁴ Turbulent as the waters, you will no longer excel,
    for you went up onto your father’s bed,
    onto my couch and defiled it.”

                                iv.      Though this may have been Jacob’s reasoning, it was God’s Will that Joseph receives the Birthright and the Father’s Blessing.

                                   v.      Though things seemed bleak God was in control.

 

b.     Satanic influence tried stopping Joseph many times

                                     i.      Evil influence caused the brothers to hate Joseph for being loved by Jacob

                                  ii.      Evil influence convinced them to kill Joseph

                               iii.      They instead sold him into slavery

                                iv.      Evil influence caused Potiphar’s wife to try to seduce Joseph with no luck

                                   v.      When it didn’t work, the evil influence caused her to falsely accuse him of rape and get him thrown into prison

                                vi.      Evil influence caused the butler to forget about Joseph

                             vii.      All these things trying to stop Joseph from becoming what God called him to be, and not one of them could stop God’s plan.

 

c.      God is in control

                                        i.      Isaiah 55:10-11 “As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, 11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”

 

                                  ii.      Proverbs 19:21 “Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.”

                               iii.      Psalm 22:27-28 “All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations will bow down before him, ²⁸ for dominion belongs to the Lord and he rules over the nations.”

                                iv.      Romans 8:28 “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

 

III.         JOSEPH’S INTERPRETATION

a.      What the dreams mean

                                     i.      When Pharaoh asked Joseph to interpret his dreams, Joseph answered, “I cannot do it, but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires.”

                                  ii.      This answer accomplishes two things

1.      As Joseph stated to the prisoners, interpretation belongs to the Lord, Only God can interpret the dreams

2.      Joseph first shows respect to God and His power and authority, then respect to Pharaoh, “…God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires.”

                               iii.      This statement removes Joseph from the equation. He, in no way, attempts to be greater than Pharaoh because God uses him, and places himself as a conduit, relaying what God wants him to directly to Pharaoh. Being obedient to God’s Holy Spirit.

 

b.     Why God gave them to Pharaoh

                                     i.      For the same reason, He gave the butler and the baker dreams, so they would seek Josephs's council, recognize the power of God, and the fact He was using Joseph, and accomplish His will.

                                  ii.      So, God revealed to Pharaoh what He was about to do in Egypt. Seven bountiful years of plenty, followed by seven years of famine.

                               iii.      Verse 32 “The reason the dream was given to Pharaoh in two forms is that the matter has been firmly decided by God, and God will do it soon.”

 

c.      What Pharaoh does about it

                                     i.      Pharaoh recognized that God and His wisdom was being spoken by Joseph and that Joseph should be in charge. This was God’s will and plan the entire time.

1.      God allowed Joseph to be head of Jacobs sons (birthright and blessing everything his father owned)

2.      Head of Potiphar’s household, land, and livestock (everything he owned)

3.      Head of the prison in charge of prisoners

4.      Now, head of all of Egypt with only the Pharaoh above him

                                  ii.      Joseph was now in charge of Egypt

 

 

CONCLUSION –

 

God is in control, even when it doesn’t appear so.

 

When Joseph was thrown in the well, sold into slavery, put into prison, forgot for two years in prison, it did not appear as if God was in control, and it made no sense why these things were happening.

 

Isaiah 55:8-9 “my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. 9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

 

Proverbs 19:21 “Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.”

 

Next week we will read about Joseph being in charge of Egypt

 

 

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