†. Gen 41:25b-32 . . Both dreams mean the same thing. God was
telling you what he is about to do. The seven fat cows and the seven
plump heads of grain both represent seven years of prosperity. The
seven thin, ugly cows and the seven withered heads of grain
represent seven years of famine. This will happen just as I have
described it, for God has shown you what he is about to do.
. . .The next seven years will be a period of great prosperity
throughout the land of Egypt. But afterward there will be seven
years of famine so great that all the prosperity will be forgotten and
wiped out. Famine will destroy the land. This famine will be so
terrible that even the memory of the good years will be erased. As
for having the dream twice, it means that the matter has been
decreed by God and that he will make these events happen soon.
The "twice" method was first seen in Gen 37:5-11. Peter's vision (Acts 10:9
17) was the same one three times over, while Joseph's and Pharaoh's two
dreams apiece were redundant, indicating that God meant business and
wasn't going to change His mind regarding this matter. You know though,
with some people, no matter how many times, or in how many ways, you try
to tell them something, they refuse to listen; like when a girl keeps saying
NO to a boy's advances and he just keeps coming on anyway because for
some strange reason the boy thinks she doesn't mean it; and he's somehow
convinced that her protests aren't serious.
Everybody accepted Joseph's interpretation without question-- Pharaoh and
all the magicians and wise men (Gen 41:37) --and that is pretty amazing in
itself.
Suppose you were President Obama in San Diego for a one-night campaign
fund raiser and a Secret Service agent assigned to protect the President said
he heard that the Border Patrol had an illegal immigrant from Sinaloa in
custody for rape down in San Ysidro who says he knows exactly how to
balance the Federal budget, stop processed food from poisoning Americans,
eradicate genetically engineered crops, solve all your problems with Iran and
North Korea, and get America out of Afghanistan. Would you be interested? I
don't think so; you'd have to be pretty desperate.
I believe that while Pharaoh and his corps of geniuses were listening to
Joseph's interpretation, God was doing a number on their minds so that they
would accept what Joseph was telling them; and by the time he finished,
they were amazed that they hadn't thought of the interpretation themselves
because it seemed not only quite simple, and obviously true; but also the
only possible explanation.
God wasn't bringing all these things to pass for the purpose of embarrassing
or of dethroning the king of Egypt (not this one anyway). As a matter of
fact, Pharaoh's control over the country would be strengthened by these
events. The underlying purpose of it all had to do rather with God's plans
and purposes for the people of Israel. Therefore, not only did God give
Pharaoh the dreams, and give Joseph the true interpretation of the dreams,
but also provided an effective action plan for Egypt's survival.
People often complain that they can't respect a hell-fire God because He
only uses the threat of eternal suffering as coercion to get people in line. But
the Bible's talk of hell and eternal suffering isn't meant to intimidate people.
No, it's just like Pharaoh's dreams: talk of hell and eternal suffering is meant
as an early warning of things to come-- inevitable things. And, as in the case
of Pharaoh's dreams, God not only revealed the future, but also revealed a
contingency: a God-proof, sin-proof, Ten Commandments-proof, totally free
of charge and no-strings-attached rescue from the wrath of God with full
time protection from retribution so that nobody has to go to hell if they don't
want to. However, failure to accept the rescue plan will take sinners down a
path that can only lead to inevitable ruin from there on in.
†. Heb 2:3-4 . .What makes us think that we can escape if we are indifferent
to this great rescue that was announced by the Lord Jesus himself? It was
passed on to us by those who heard him speak, and God verified the
message by signs and wonders and various miracles and by giving gifts of
the Holy Spirit whenever he chose to do so.
†. Gen 41:33-36 . . Now therefore I suggest Pharaoh look out a man
discreet and wise, and set him over the land of Egypt. Let Pharaoh
do this, and let him appoint officers over the land, and take up the
fifth part of the land of Egypt in the seven plenteous years. And have
them gather all the food of those good years that come, and lay up
grain under the hand of Pharaoh, and let them keep food in the
cities. 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.
A grain czar "wise and discreet" was necessary so that the man appointed
wouldn't be tempted to profit from his own country's misfortune like so
many of Wall Street's sociopaths are wont to do. Thank God Pharaoh had
the cool to realize that what his country faced was not just long lines at the
gas pumps, but nothing less than a full blown national emergency.
On the other hand, a central bureaucracy could easily lead to despotism, red
tape, favoritism, cronyism, nepotism, corruption, payoffs, bribes, artificial
shortages, black marketing, and political manipulation; especially if all the
available food supplies were in the hands of self-serving corporations like
ENRON, Monsanto, Bechtel, and Nestlé.
The success of Joseph's plan relied heavily upon the integrity of its
administrator. The right man would be a savior; the wrong man could
become a tyrant; and if the top man was a crook, everybody under him
could be expected to be crooked too, and instead of a program intended to
help the poor, it would only serve as a golden opportunity to line the pockets
of officials like Indian Agents of the old west who embezzled Native
Americans out of thousands of dollars worth of food, tools, livestock,
implements, shelter, and clothing.
It's been shown by historians that tithing was practiced in ancient Egypt and
other nations, as a form of taxes or tribute to the king; but a 20 percent levy
would be very unusual, and might well be resisted, especially if enacted by
an unpopular sovereign. Thus, the chief administrator of Joseph's plan would
have to be skilled in diplomacy and persuasion: a veritable expert on how to
win friends and influence people.
Actually, the 20 percent wasn't a hardship. Egypt's agricultural production
was so good that no doubt at least 20 percent went to waste anyway even
after all the people were satisfied and Egypt's export commitments were
fulfilled. (Here in the USA, we waste upwards of 40% of our annual
purchases of food) Some citizens might gripe at first, but it's hard to feel
deprived when things are going good. The seven years of plenty would be a
time of bumper crops and overabundance; and heck, you could give the
children's food to the dogs and not hurt them. The only real malcontents in
Egypt would be people who are never happy about anything anyway.
Americans themselves have so much left over that there's enough perfectly
good food thrown out in the dumpsters behind super markets and fast food
chains like Wendy's, Carl's Jr, Subway, McDonalds. Arby's, Taco Bell,
Kentucky Fried Chicken, and Burger King to easily feed every homeless
person in the USA three meals a day. And that's not even counting all the
other restaurants and food courts that are tossing out literally tons of edible
garbage every hour of the business day.
Although someone might get the wrong impression, there was really no
indication in Joseph's presentation that he was throwing his hat in the ring.
Such a thought could hardly have crossed his sheep-herder's mind. The last
thing Joseph wanted was a long-term commitment to Federal employment in
a foreign country when the only thing on his mind was getting back home to
his dad in Hebron.
Joseph was not only an alien, but a slave; and a jailbird accused of rape. He
had never held a political office of any kind whatsoever. His only experience
in business management was the oversight of Potiphar's household affairs;
nor had he any experience in either running or participating in a bureaucracy
of the magnitude of which he spoke. But there are people like Joseph who
have a God-given natural aptitude in certain areas. The don't need training
and they don't need experience. They're like some combat platoon
sergeants who, when you throw them into the mouths of canons, don't panic
and don't get flustered. They perform like they've been doing that sort of
thing all their lives.
Joseph probably wasn't aware that he had a God-given knack for running a
big show like a national food bank. But God was, and that's exactly why He's
going to persuade those big shots to put His own man in charge because the
very survival of the people of Israel heavily depends upon an effective
contingency to meet those inevitable seven years of famine; and even after
the famine ended, there would still yet be a time of recovery before Egypt
got back up to speed.
Cont.
/
telling you what he is about to do. The seven fat cows and the seven
plump heads of grain both represent seven years of prosperity. The
seven thin, ugly cows and the seven withered heads of grain
represent seven years of famine. This will happen just as I have
described it, for God has shown you what he is about to do.
. . .The next seven years will be a period of great prosperity
throughout the land of Egypt. But afterward there will be seven
years of famine so great that all the prosperity will be forgotten and
wiped out. Famine will destroy the land. This famine will be so
terrible that even the memory of the good years will be erased. As
for having the dream twice, it means that the matter has been
decreed by God and that he will make these events happen soon.
The "twice" method was first seen in Gen 37:5-11. Peter's vision (Acts 10:9
17) was the same one three times over, while Joseph's and Pharaoh's two
dreams apiece were redundant, indicating that God meant business and
wasn't going to change His mind regarding this matter. You know though,
with some people, no matter how many times, or in how many ways, you try
to tell them something, they refuse to listen; like when a girl keeps saying
NO to a boy's advances and he just keeps coming on anyway because for
some strange reason the boy thinks she doesn't mean it; and he's somehow
convinced that her protests aren't serious.
Everybody accepted Joseph's interpretation without question-- Pharaoh and
all the magicians and wise men (Gen 41:37) --and that is pretty amazing in
itself.
Suppose you were President Obama in San Diego for a one-night campaign
fund raiser and a Secret Service agent assigned to protect the President said
he heard that the Border Patrol had an illegal immigrant from Sinaloa in
custody for rape down in San Ysidro who says he knows exactly how to
balance the Federal budget, stop processed food from poisoning Americans,
eradicate genetically engineered crops, solve all your problems with Iran and
North Korea, and get America out of Afghanistan. Would you be interested? I
don't think so; you'd have to be pretty desperate.
I believe that while Pharaoh and his corps of geniuses were listening to
Joseph's interpretation, God was doing a number on their minds so that they
would accept what Joseph was telling them; and by the time he finished,
they were amazed that they hadn't thought of the interpretation themselves
because it seemed not only quite simple, and obviously true; but also the
only possible explanation.
God wasn't bringing all these things to pass for the purpose of embarrassing
or of dethroning the king of Egypt (not this one anyway). As a matter of
fact, Pharaoh's control over the country would be strengthened by these
events. The underlying purpose of it all had to do rather with God's plans
and purposes for the people of Israel. Therefore, not only did God give
Pharaoh the dreams, and give Joseph the true interpretation of the dreams,
but also provided an effective action plan for Egypt's survival.
People often complain that they can't respect a hell-fire God because He
only uses the threat of eternal suffering as coercion to get people in line. But
the Bible's talk of hell and eternal suffering isn't meant to intimidate people.
No, it's just like Pharaoh's dreams: talk of hell and eternal suffering is meant
as an early warning of things to come-- inevitable things. And, as in the case
of Pharaoh's dreams, God not only revealed the future, but also revealed a
contingency: a God-proof, sin-proof, Ten Commandments-proof, totally free
of charge and no-strings-attached rescue from the wrath of God with full
time protection from retribution so that nobody has to go to hell if they don't
want to. However, failure to accept the rescue plan will take sinners down a
path that can only lead to inevitable ruin from there on in.
†. Heb 2:3-4 . .What makes us think that we can escape if we are indifferent
to this great rescue that was announced by the Lord Jesus himself? It was
passed on to us by those who heard him speak, and God verified the
message by signs and wonders and various miracles and by giving gifts of
the Holy Spirit whenever he chose to do so.
†. Gen 41:33-36 . . Now therefore I suggest Pharaoh look out a man
discreet and wise, and set him over the land of Egypt. Let Pharaoh
do this, and let him appoint officers over the land, and take up the
fifth part of the land of Egypt in the seven plenteous years. And have
them gather all the food of those good years that come, and lay up
grain under the hand of Pharaoh, and let them keep food in the
cities. 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.
A grain czar "wise and discreet" was necessary so that the man appointed
wouldn't be tempted to profit from his own country's misfortune like so
many of Wall Street's sociopaths are wont to do. Thank God Pharaoh had
the cool to realize that what his country faced was not just long lines at the
gas pumps, but nothing less than a full blown national emergency.
On the other hand, a central bureaucracy could easily lead to despotism, red
tape, favoritism, cronyism, nepotism, corruption, payoffs, bribes, artificial
shortages, black marketing, and political manipulation; especially if all the
available food supplies were in the hands of self-serving corporations like
ENRON, Monsanto, Bechtel, and Nestlé.
The success of Joseph's plan relied heavily upon the integrity of its
administrator. The right man would be a savior; the wrong man could
become a tyrant; and if the top man was a crook, everybody under him
could be expected to be crooked too, and instead of a program intended to
help the poor, it would only serve as a golden opportunity to line the pockets
of officials like Indian Agents of the old west who embezzled Native
Americans out of thousands of dollars worth of food, tools, livestock,
implements, shelter, and clothing.
It's been shown by historians that tithing was practiced in ancient Egypt and
other nations, as a form of taxes or tribute to the king; but a 20 percent levy
would be very unusual, and might well be resisted, especially if enacted by
an unpopular sovereign. Thus, the chief administrator of Joseph's plan would
have to be skilled in diplomacy and persuasion: a veritable expert on how to
win friends and influence people.
Actually, the 20 percent wasn't a hardship. Egypt's agricultural production
was so good that no doubt at least 20 percent went to waste anyway even
after all the people were satisfied and Egypt's export commitments were
fulfilled. (Here in the USA, we waste upwards of 40% of our annual
purchases of food) Some citizens might gripe at first, but it's hard to feel
deprived when things are going good. The seven years of plenty would be a
time of bumper crops and overabundance; and heck, you could give the
children's food to the dogs and not hurt them. The only real malcontents in
Egypt would be people who are never happy about anything anyway.
Americans themselves have so much left over that there's enough perfectly
good food thrown out in the dumpsters behind super markets and fast food
chains like Wendy's, Carl's Jr, Subway, McDonalds. Arby's, Taco Bell,
Kentucky Fried Chicken, and Burger King to easily feed every homeless
person in the USA three meals a day. And that's not even counting all the
other restaurants and food courts that are tossing out literally tons of edible
garbage every hour of the business day.
Although someone might get the wrong impression, there was really no
indication in Joseph's presentation that he was throwing his hat in the ring.
Such a thought could hardly have crossed his sheep-herder's mind. The last
thing Joseph wanted was a long-term commitment to Federal employment in
a foreign country when the only thing on his mind was getting back home to
his dad in Hebron.
Joseph was not only an alien, but a slave; and a jailbird accused of rape. He
had never held a political office of any kind whatsoever. His only experience
in business management was the oversight of Potiphar's household affairs;
nor had he any experience in either running or participating in a bureaucracy
of the magnitude of which he spoke. But there are people like Joseph who
have a God-given natural aptitude in certain areas. The don't need training
and they don't need experience. They're like some combat platoon
sergeants who, when you throw them into the mouths of canons, don't panic
and don't get flustered. They perform like they've been doing that sort of
thing all their lives.
Joseph probably wasn't aware that he had a God-given knack for running a
big show like a national food bank. But God was, and that's exactly why He's
going to persuade those big shots to put His own man in charge because the
very survival of the people of Israel heavily depends upon an effective
contingency to meet those inevitable seven years of famine; and even after
the famine ended, there would still yet be a time of recovery before Egypt
got back up to speed.
Cont.
/
