Deep Dive
Shownotes Transcript
Hey, Bible readers, I'm Tara Lee Cobble, and I'm your host for The Bible Recap.
Yesterday ended with Joseph in prison in Egypt, forgotten by everyone but God and probably his dad Jacob. Today we open with Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, having a pair of weird dreams. They bothered him because as we talked about yesterday, the ancient Near East cultures believed that dreams were messages from God. So Pharaoh called for his magicians to interpret these dreams.
First of all, don't think David Blaine-type magicians. Think Hollywood medium-type magicians. They were more like spiritual mediums who would interpret signs and omens. But second of all, and in general, I should point out that consulting mediums and spiritists is ill-advised. We'll see that here, but also throughout Scripture. Pharaoh's magician mediums were useless. It was all part of God's plan to help the cupbearer remember that Joseph exists and is really good at this dream interpretation thing—
After all, Joseph had delivered God's interpretation of the cupbearer's dream and the chief baker's dream a couple years earlier. So the cupbearer filled Pharaoh in on this, and Pharaoh had Joseph brought to him quickly, but not before a shave because those Egyptians loved a bald head. Pharaoh asked Joseph for an interpretation, and Joseph makes it clear that this is not some skill he possesses, but that it is, in fact, a gift from God.
Pharaoh shares the dreams with Joseph, who then, without missing a beat, tells him what they mean. There will be seven years of agricultural abundance in Egypt, and then there will be seven years of famine in that part of the world. And it's about to happen real soon. Then, after his dream interpretation, Joseph drops some wisdom on Pharaoh. He basically says, because this is happening soon, you should put someone in charge of preparation. That person should store up 20% of all the harvest during the abundant years.
Pharaoh asks around about who should fill this role and decides that this Hebrew guy, who was both discerning and wise, he should be the one in charge. So he puts Joseph in charge of everything in his house.
Pharaoh gives him new clothes, which honestly just makes me nervous for Joseph at this point. This doesn't usually go well for him. Pharaoh gives him a new car, basically, and a gold chain and puts a signet ring on him. This is like the signet we talked about with Judah, the one Tamar got from him, except it was a ring. These rings were like signatures that you press into melted wax when you sign and seal a document. So it's a big deal that Joseph could sign documents for the king. By this time, Joseph was 30 years old.
When he was sold into slavery by his brothers, he was 17, so he suffered for 13 years. But God has brought him to a place of abundance and power. Pharaoh also arranged a marriage between Joseph and a woman from a prominent local family.
While Joseph is busy storing up immeasurable amounts of food during the seven years of abundance, he also fathers two children with his new wife and names them Manasseh and Ephraim. We'll be seeing those names a lot in our reading. Both of their names have meanings that signify Joseph's gratitude. By the time seven years of abundance end, Joseph is 37. It's now been 20 years since his brothers sold him into slavery.
Cut to Jacob, his father, back in Canaan with 11 sons in need of food. The famine has begun and they get word that there's grain for sale in Egypt. So the 10 oldest brothers make the journey, about 450 miles. But dad keeps baby Benjamin, who is probably in his 20s, at home to protect him. Just a quick refresher, Jacob fathered children with two wives and two concubines. Of those four women, his wife Rachel was the only one he loved. They
They had two kids together, Joseph and Benjamin. Obviously, Jacob is going to be extra protective of Benjamin because he thinks Joseph is dead, so Benjamin is ostensibly his only child from his favorite wife. So Benjamin did not make the trip to Egypt with his brothers. Imagine being Joseph in Egypt, and one day your brothers who sold you into slavery appear before you and bow to you, fulfilling the prophetic dream you had 20 years earlier.
Joseph recognizes them immediately, but he pretends not to. He even speaks to them through an interpreter to keep them from knowing that he can speak Hebrew. He's pretty mean to them at first, even accusing them of being spies. At first, it's hard to tell if he's being vindictive or if he has other motives at play here, but all that eventually becomes clear.
They tell him they are 10 of 12 brothers from Canaan and that one is at home and one has died, but Joseph acts like he doesn't believe them. He says they have to prove that they aren't spies by bringing back the youngest brother. This could have been a test of their sincerity, but it was most likely a desire to see his full brother Benjamin. Then Joseph puts them all in custody for three days and says he'll keep one brother as a hostage while they make the round trip to get Benjamin and prove they aren't spies.
The brothers panic. Their struggle and confinement seem to really produce some introspection on their lives. In conversation with each other, they confess their guilt and regret over what they'd done to Joseph, discussing all of this in front of him in a language they don't know he understands. Can you imagine? Joseph steps away and weeps when he overhears all this.
The plan is for Simeon to stay behind in Egypt as a hostage while the others go back to Canaan. Joseph gives orders to give them free grain by sneaking their money back into their grain sacks after they pay.
We don't know whether this is a test or an act of generosity or both, but the brothers receive it as neither. They think it's God's judgment. Now, I've never gotten free money and thought God was judging me, so I can't relate, but that's how they felt. They panic again, and then we end today's reading with a cliffhanger. The brothers break the news to Daddy Jacob that this guy in Egypt wants them to bring Benjamin to him in order for Simeon to be released, and Jacob refuses.
Where did you see God today? What did he do or what did he reveal to you about himself in the passage? Honestly, it was pretty hard for me to nail down just one God shot today, but here we go.
I saw God's abundant generosity. Not only does it show up in Joseph's life, that's an easy one, but it also shows up in God's abundant generosity to his enemies. Think about this. In Egypt, a land that did not worship him, a land that enslaved his people, a land whose very name serves to represent his enemies throughout scripture, he sent one of his people to warn them about a famine and make a way to feed them.
And then there's his generosity to Joseph's brothers through Joseph himself. They not only got grain, but they got their money back. What appeared to be tragic and prompted fear in them was actually a double portion that God generously provided. But maybe you are in the famine right now and there's no end in sight. You don't have the benefit of a seven-year timeline and it doesn't seem like God is being generous. Let me encourage you with Joseph's story.
I'm sure being in power is great and having your own chariot is awesome, but even in the pit and the prison, Joseph knew that some very real sense of joy could be found there because God was with him and he's where the joy is. ♪
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