Wed’s Devo - Dreams Fulfilled

Read: Genesis 41:17-42:17; Matthew 13:24-46; Psalm 18:1-15; Proverbs 4:1-6 Pharaoh told Joseph his dream of the seven healthy cows being eaten by the seven weak cows and his second dream about the seven full heads of grain eaten by the seven blighted heads of grain. Joseph made sure the king knew that God gives interpretations to dreams. Then he told him the interpretation of his dreams. The seven healthy cows and healthy wheat represented seven prosperous years while the next group represented the seven years of blight. He had the dream twice to show that it was happening soon. Joseph counseled the king to get an intelligent and wise man to administrate gathering in one-fifth of the nations harvests during the good years and store it away for the lean years. The king was so impressed with Joseph’s wisdom that he put him in charge of this great project. He put Joseph in charge of his whole land of Egypt and gave hi his signet ring to use as he needed. He dressed him in fine linen and hung a gold chain around his neck. He had him ride in the chariot reserved for his second-in-command and gave him a new Egyptian name that means “God speaks and lives.” During the good years, Daniel married Asenath and had two sons. He named the first one Manasseh, meaning “causing to forget” and the second son Ephraim, meaning “double fruit.” God had caused Joseph to forget the pain of his past and had blessed him doubly. Joseph continued to store up grain until the end of the good seven years. Then the seven years of famine began. The people came and bought grain from the abundance Joseph had stored up. Canaan was also having a famine so Jacob send his sons, except Benjamin, to Egypt to buy grain. They arrived and bowed down to Joseph unknowingly. He recognized them but pretended not to. He gruffly asked them where they were from and why they had come. They answered and Joseph was reminded of his dreams which were now coming true. Joseph accused them of being spies so they would spill the beans about their life. He then gave them a test to prove that they were not spies. They would have to stay in prison till they brought the other son to prove that what they had told him was true. He really just wanted to have them all there. They remained in prison for three days. In Matthew, Jesus told them another parable. He built on the other parable. Weeds were sown among the seed during the night and when the crop came up it had grain and weeds. The owner of the field told his workers to let them grow together and when they are harvested he would separate the wheat out. Jesus explained that the good seed were the children of God and the bad seed was the children of Satan. They would grow together on the earth but in the end they would be separated. The next two parables were the same. The mustard seed and the yeast were small grains that would grow and produce great things. That is what the Kingdom of Heaven was like. Jesus was the small grain that went into the earth and died so that he could produce much fruit. The last two parables had to do with the Jew and the Gentile. The Jew was the treasure in the field and the Gentile was the pearl. God gave everything he had to purchase them for himself. Lord, thank you that your love for us is so great that you would give your only son for us. May we carry your kingdom throughout the earth and bring you a harvest.