Thurs.’s Devo - Pharoah’s Dreams

Read: Genesis 41:17-42:17; Matthew 13:24-46; Psalm 18:1-15; Proverbs 4:1-6 Pharaoh told Joseph his dreams of seven thin cows eating seven fat cows and seven plump grains being replaced by seven withered grains. Joseph explained that the seven had to do with timing. For seven years, the land would prosper but after that seven years of famine would eat up all the prosperity of the seven years. Since God was telling the Pharaoh in advance he would be able to plan and Joseph told him exactly what he must do. Once again Joseph’s gift of administration shone through. Pharaoh recognized that Joseph was gifted and put him in charge of doing exactly what he said needed to be done. He would be in charge of storing up during the good years to be ready for the bad ones. Joseph had been put in charge of Potipher’s house, then the royal prison and now the whole land of Egypt. Everything in Joseph’s life up to now was to prepare him for this job. Pharaoh gave Joseph a wife who gave him two sons, Manasseh which means “causing to forget” and another one he named Ephraim which means “fruitful”. God had caused him to forget the cruelty of his brothers and his life up till then and caused him to be fruitful. This is what God does when we come to him for salvation. He causes us to forget our past and the pains of walking through life with out God and he causes us to bear fruit and prosper in Him. Joseph was given an Egyptian wife. Think of all the great men of the Bible that married Gentile women. Moses married Zipporah, Abraham married Sarah, Isaac married Rebekah, Jacob married Leah and Rachel. Even though some of these women were from Abraham’s family, we have to remember that Abraham’s father was a priest of another god. Abraham was called out of his family to be a chosen people separate from his father’s gods. Samson married Philistine women, David married many foreign wives as did Solomon, Boaz married Ruth who was a Moabite. Jesus will marry a Gentile bride. They are all pictures of his love for all people. Jacob heard that Egypt had grain as the famine had reached Canaan. He sent his ten sons to go to Egypt and bring back grain. He could not part with Benjamin as he was the last of Rachel’s sons and he couldn’t bear the thought of losing him, too. The sons arrived in Egypt and had to buy grain from Joseph. Joseph had a shaved head and looked like an Egyptian. They didn’t recognize him but he recognized them. He put them to a test to test their hearts. They told him they had another brother who had stayed home so Joseph put them all in prison and told them they must choose one to go home and bring back the other brother to prove that they were telling the truth. They stayed in prison for three days. They got a little taste of the treatment they had given Joseph. Jesus began teaching his parables and then he explained them to his disciples. The farmer in all the parables is Jesus. He is the one who plants the good seed. The field is the world and the harvesters are angels who will harvest the world in the end. Satan is the one who plants bad seeds in the world. These bad seeds are his people that he disguises as good people. It is the angels’ job to get rid of them at the end of time. The last two parables he gave talk about a treasure found in the field. Psalm 135:4 says that The Lord took Jacob and Israel for his peculiar treasure. We are the Lord’s treasure. Our treasure is all the things the Lord gives us to store up in our heart. Isaiah 33:6 says that wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of your times, and strength of salvation: the fear of the Lord is his treasure. The world’s treasure is their possessions and the things they esteem highly. We are to esteem righteousness, wisdom, understanding, knowledge of God and God’s love as our treasures. A rabbi would explain the treasure to be the Jewish nation and the pearl to be the Gentile nation. God chose to buy the whole world with the blood of his son to purchase the good seed in it - those whose hearts would be turned toward the Lord. Lord, help us to guard the treasures of wisdom and understanding that you have given us. May we be the pearl of great price that brings you glory and honor on the earth.