Thru the Bible

Host: Old, firm foundation, ye saints of the Lord is laid for your faith in His excellent word. Stuck in prison and forgotten. That's where we left Joseph last time. But the story isn't over, and what comes next changes everything. Welcome to Thru the Bible, where we discover what happens as Dr. J. Vernon McGee continues this great adventure through God's Word. And if you're a new listener, by the way, welcome aboard what Dr. McGee affectionately called the Bible bus. Now you're part of a listening family studying God's Word together in more than 250 languages all around the world. And don't worry if it feels like you're joining in the middle of something. We're actually still in the first book of our five-year journey through the entire Bible. So this really is the perfect time to hop aboard. Now if you've ever missed a message, maybe you want to catch up, you can listen anytime on our app or at TTB.org. And then another great way to study with us is by downloading our Genesis Bible Companion. Inside it, you'll find clear summaries of Dr. McGee's teaching, guided prompts to help you listen and read Scripture for yourself, and then some thoughtful questions that are really perfect for personal reflection or the way I like to do it with a small group Bible study. You'll find the free download in our app or at TTB.org. Now, one more thing, reading letters from listeners is really a tradition that Dr. McGee began on Thru the Bible, and it's one that we've honored since that time. There's nothing like seeing how God uses His Word to change lives as we study together. So let's read one now. This is from Priscilla in Vancouver, BC. God's Word has changed my life, my lifestyle, mind, soul, and emotions for the better, more and more each day. Thank God, I'm still recovering and discovering, still coming in from the cold. This has had a profound impact on my thoughts, my ways, my walk, and my obedience. Old patterns are being weeded out, and new refreshed patterns in Christ Jesus, His teachings, and Almighty precepts are being followed and lived. I do still have my struggles and stubborn habits, but I'm working on them. As I decrease, God increases, and I hope He considers me. Well, as we decrease, He increases. Isn't that really the great goal from John 3:30? So thanks for sharing, Priscilla. Here's another note from Dana. I pray for the many languages your ministry reaches, some in places that seem unreachable. I'm sometimes ashamed that we here in America take for granted the freedom we have to listen to biblical teaching compared to the hardships so many suffer for their faith in other parts of the world. Yet we are all, as believers in Jesus, headed for a place where there will be no more suffering, no more sorrow, no more tears. What a day of rejoicing it'll be to see Jesus and to meet those whose stories we have read and been blessed by in the World Prayer Team. Thank you for your faithfulness in bringing the precious Word of God, His wonderful grace and salvation to so many. Well, thank you, Dana. Thanks for your heart for God's people and your partnership in prayer with us. Well, you know, the World Prayer Team continues to travel and pray around the globe every day this week. You can sign up yourself at TTB.org to join Dana and me and thousands of others as we praise God and pray that His whole Word would reach His whole world. And don't forget, we'd love to hear from you too. So why don't you tell us how God's Word is shaping the way you see Him, the way you see yourself, and how you're sharing what you're learning with others. You can send a note through our app, that's super easy. You can also email us at biblebus@TTB.org, and we always love getting letters. So write us at Box 7100, Pasadena, California, 91109. Canadian listeners, Box 25325, London, Ontario, N6C 6B1 is your address. You can also call and leave a message anytime at 1-800-65 Bible. And now let's pray as we begin our study together. Heavenly Father, would you use Your Word to touch hearts and then stir faith in us as we listen and help us to trust You like Joseph, even when we can't see the purpose or the plan in Jesus' name. Amen. We're off to Genesis 41 as we go through the Bible with Dr. J. Vernon McGee.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: Now we are coming to this 41st chapter and last time we left poor Joseph down in jail, forgotten, forlorn, forsaken, poor boy. He's in a bad, bad way. And yet all of this is happening to him for God's purpose in his life. And this boy could recognize that and if you and I could only recognize that today, it would give us a different outlook on life, I'm sure. Now in chapter 41, though, we are going to see Joseph is released from prison when he interprets the dreams of Pharaoh. And then Pharaoh makes him overseer of the entire land of Egypt. And then he marries Asenath, the daughter of the priest of On, who bears him Manasseh and Ephraim. Now, this is a story here from rags to riches. I do not suppose that any Horatio Alger story is more thrilling than this episode in the life of Joseph. And now when we get to this chapter, we can certainly see clearly the hand of God in his life. Now Joseph was conscious of this in the days of adversity and it developed in him many virtues, which are the fruit of the spirit. And one of these that we mentioned before is patience. Tribulation, or trouble, worketh patience. Well, that was demonstrated in the life of Joseph. We find that this boy now is brought into the presence of Pharaoh, the Gentile King, just as later on Daniel is brought in before Nebuchadnezzar, both of them to interpret dreams. Now what purpose of God now is going to be accomplished by the famine? The famine comes to the world. And somebody said, well what good could there be in that? Well, there's good in it, friends. God accomplished a very real purpose and that was to get that family out of the land of Canaan down in Egypt and place them in the land of Goshen. That's one of the things. And I'm sure that in the lives of other people of that day, the hand of God was evident. And I think this is a chapter that you ought to read rather carefully. Chapter 41 of Genesis. And note in the many ways in which Joseph is actually like the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, we're going to be making that comparison from time to time, we won't have time I'm sure to do it today, but it certainly is something to recognize here and something for us to pay attention to. Now poor Joseph, we left him in jail last time, forgotten. Let's see what takes place. And it came to pass after these things that the butler of the king of Egypt and his baker had offended their Lord, the King of Egypt. Now that is back in chapter 40. And you remember the butler was put in jail. Then Joseph interpreted their dreams. For the baker, it wasn't good. He was taken out and hanged. But the butler was restored to his position and Joseph had begged him to remember him and he hadn't. Now, chapter 41, verse 1, it came to pass at the end of two full years that Pharaoh dreamed and behold he stood by the river. Now, here is the dream of Pharaoh and he dreams by the river. And it's, remember, two years after the last chapter, which means Joseph has spent two years almost in solitary just waiting there for something to happen and so far it hadn't happened. Now, Pharaoh has a dream. And behold, there came up out of the river seven well-favored kine and fat-fleshed and they fed in a meadow. And behold, seven other kine came up after them out of the river, ill-favored and lean-fleshed and stood by the other kine upon the brink of the river. Kine are cows. And that's what we're talking now, about cattle. There were seven that were very well fed. Fine looking cattle. And the others, they were really skinny cattle. They certainly were not very well fed. And Pharaoh woke up, and what did it mean? He didn't have the interpretation, but nobody could help him that day. And so the very next night, verse 5 now, and he slept and dreamed the second time. And behold seven ears of corn came up upon one stalk, rank and good. By the way, that's a whole lot of corn on one stalk too. The section of the country I came from, if you got two ears, you'd be doing well. And here, why, there's seven. Now, verse 6, and behold, seven thin ears and blasted with the East wind sprung up after them. And this would be more like it in my country, only it wouldn't be seven, it'd be two pretty thin looking ears. Verse 7 now, and the seven thin ears devoured the seven rank and full ears. And Pharaoh awoke, and behold, it was a dream. It came to pass in the morning that his spirit was troubled and he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt and all the wise men thereof, and Pharaoh told them his dream. But there was none that could interpret them unto Pharaoh. And the butler was standing there, you know, that was his place before Pharaoh to get him anything that he wanted, and all of a sudden a wise man is brought in and Pharaoh says, I've had this dream. Could you tell me the meaning of it? Seven fat cattle, seven lean cattle, seven full ears of corn and seven lean ears of corn. What is it all about? Well, these wise men said, well, that gets us. We don't have the interpretation for that one. Verse 9. Then spake the chief butler unto Pharaoh, saying, I do remember my faults this day. And I'd call it little more than a fault, it's a sin for him to have done what he did. But you see, all of this is in the providence of God. These are what you call the fortuitous concurrence of circumstance. These are the things that happened. It's difficult for us to understand at times. And why did they happen? Well, they happened for a purpose. And now the chief butler says, oh, I just remember. I promised that young fellow down in the prison that I would speak to you and by the way, Pharaoh, he can interpret dreams. Now he tells Pharaoh his experience. Verse 10, Pharaoh was wroth with his servants, put me in ward in the captain of the guard's house, both me and the chief baker. And we dreamed a dream in one night, I and he. We dreamed each man according to the interpretation of his dream. And there was there with us a young man, a Hebrew, servant to the captain of the guard and we told him and he interpreted to us our dreams, each man according to his dream, he did interpret. And it came to pass, as he interpreted to us, so it was. Me he restored unto mine office and him he hanged. Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph. He said, well, we've tried everybody else around here, and if that young man that's in prison that you'd forgotten about was so good at interpreting your dream and that of the baker, well, let's have him in here because I am of the opinion that this dream was something very significant. Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph. And they brought him hastily out of the dungeon and he shaved himself and changed his raiment and came in unto Pharaoh. Now, he shaved himself. You must remember that these people were not shaving in that day. This boy Joseph looked like a hippie type down there in prison, not shaved. But have you ever noticed all of these statues and paintings of the Egyptians, clean-shaven people. They have a little goatee, many of the rulers, and that goatee was there, actually, it was put on old King Tut, he couldn't grow one. It was just put there because it added dignity to the position of the ruler. But actually, they were clean-shaven people. And in this is a tremendous message, by the way. This man is lifted up out of prison, he's shaved now, a new life is before him. He's raised up, resurrection is here. Now he goes to the Gentile. What a tremendous picture we have here. Now will you notice? And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I've dreamed a dream and there's none that can interpret it. And I've heard say of thee that thou canst understand a dream to interpret it. Now listen to Joseph again. And Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, it's not in me. He makes it clear. God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace. In other words, from Joseph's viewpoint, God must receive the glory. And again, I come back to that. I said it the other day. The child of God in his life should be very careful that God gets the glory for any accomplishment or anything that he does. If you and I do anything, friends, and we're the ones that are doing it, it's of the flesh. And believe me, it's not pretty. And one thing is for sure, God won't accept it. But if you and I are doing anything that's accomplishing anything at all, it's because God is doing it. And in this particular case, Joseph says, it's not in me, I can interpret it, but God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace. And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, in my dream, behold, I stood upon the bank of the river, and behold, there came up out of the river seven kine. And here we go with that dream again. We've already heard it. Will you notice verse 21. And when they had eaten them up, it could not be known that they had eaten them, but they were still ill-favored, as at the beginning. So I awoke. And I saw in my dream and behold seven ears came up in one stalk full and good. Now that's the dream about the ears of corn. Actually, there are two dreams here, two separate parts of probably just one dream. It's treated by the way, as one dream. Now verse 25. And Joseph said unto Pharaoh, the dream of Pharaoh is one. God hath showed Pharaoh what he's about to do. Now, number one, the dream is one, one dream. Not two separate things, but one thing. Both speak of the same thing. And the fact it's repeated adds to the importance of it and the significance of it. And that's very important to see. And the reason that God has given it to Pharaoh is to let him know what he's about to do. Now what does it mean? Here's the interpretation. Verse 26 now, of the 41st chapter of Genesis. The seven good kine are seven years. And the seven good ears are seven years. The dream is one. And the seven thin and ill-favored kine that came up after then are seven years. And the seven empty ears, blasted with the East wind, shall be seven years of famine. This is the thing which I have spoken unto Pharaoh, what God is about to do, he showeth unto Pharaoh. Behold, there come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt. And there shall arise after them seven years of famine, and all the plenty shall be forgotten in the land of Egypt. And the famine shall consume the land. And the plenty shall not be known in the land by reason of that famine following, for it shall be very grievous. Now, will you notice, this is a prediction. There's to be seven years of plenty and then there's to be seven years of famine. Verse 32, and for that the dream was doubled unto Pharaoh twice. It is because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass. This is something that is important. And God wanted Pharaoh to know about it. Now here is the advice of Joseph to Pharaoh. Now therefore, let Pharaoh look out a man discreet and wise. Set him over the land of Egypt. Let Pharaoh do this and let him appoint officers over the land, take up the fifth part of the land of Egypt in the seven plenteous years. Let them gather all the food of those good years that come, lay up corn under the hand of Pharaoh, and let them keep food in the cities. In other words, Pharaoh is going to get all the surplus now, it'll be seven years of plenty and all of that is to be stored. That is at least the advice of Joseph. 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. And the thing was good in the eyes of Pharaoh, and then the eyes of all his servants. And Pharaoh said unto his servants, can we find such a one as this is a man in whom the Spirit of God is. And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, for as much as God hath showed thee all this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou art. Thou shall be over my house. And according unto thy word shall all my people be ruled. Only in the throne will I be greater than thou. And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, see, I have set thee over all the land of Egypt. Now, notice this and the significance of it. To begin with, this boy had been in the back of the prison, forgotten, forsaken, forlorn. Now, he's brought out at the psychological moment because nobody can interpret the dream of Pharaoh. He does. And not only does he interpret it, Joseph, probably in his enthusiasm, and he was a man of ability, he makes the suggestion of what he's to do. And I think God was leading him in all of this. That in the seven years of plenty, all of the foodstuff is to be collected, the surplus is to be stored away. The grain is to be put away so that when the famine comes, they'll be prepared for it. Now, it was a worldwide famine and severe because it even affected the land of Egypt. Now, Egypt is irrigated. The upper Nile, the blue Nile, comes down from Central Africa. Frankly, it's what Egypt depends on. They get just about an inch of rainfall a year in a good year. Well, boy, it's famine all the time as far as rainfall is concerned. But you see the irrigation overflows the land, still does it. And it brings down not only water to water the land, but it also brings down a sediment that fertilizes the land. It does a twofold job. And now even Egypt was to be affected, so that there would be seven years of famine in which the land of Egypt would be affected in a very definite way. Now as Pharaoh listens to this, it makes sense. That's too bad that sometimes in the past, we haven't had men in our government that had some sense of the future, of what was coming. And they no preparation for different things that have come. Our foreign policy, ever since before World War II, even from the days of when Hitler arose, has been more or less of a just a stopgap program. It's a first aid program. It's just something rushed in as an emergency. No foresight, no looking to the future. Someone asked Gladstone one time, what's the measure of a great statesman? What's the making of a great statesman? He says, well, it's one that knows the direction God is going for the next 50 years. Well, Pharaoh's given 14 years here and he knows what's going to happen. Now, who could take over better than Joseph? And Pharaoh recognizes he's a man of ability. Now, don't you see God had been training him in the home of Potiphar? You wonder, well, why in the world did God permit him to go into that home? Well, he had quite a better training in the home of Potiphar, having charge of everything there. Now he's going to have charge of everything in the land of Egypt. This is a tremendous thing that's taking place, you see, in his life. Here he is next to Pharaoh. All the way from the back of the jail to the throne next to Pharaoh. I'm reading now verse 42. And Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand, put it upon Joseph's hand, and by the way, that ring had a signet on it, and you put that down in wax. That's just the same as Pharaoh signing it, by the way. That's what he's doing. He's making him his agent. And he put upon Joseph's hand and arrayed him in vestures of fine linen, put a gold chain about his neck. And he made him to ride in the second chariot, which he had. And they cried before him, bow the knee. And he made him ruler over all the land of Egypt. And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I am Pharaoh, and without thee shall no man lift up his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt. And Pharaoh called Joseph's name, Zaphenath-Paaneah. Now, friends, I like Joe better than I like Zaphenath-Paaneah. That was the name that Pharaoh gave to him. It's a Coptic name, which means revealer of secret things. And he also gave him to wife, Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, a priest of On. And Joseph went out over all the land of Egypt. And this man now assumes this tremendous position. Now notice the age of this man, because it's interesting. Joseph was 30 years old when he stood before Pharaoh, King of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh and went throughout the land of Egypt. You see, he'd been in the land of Egypt now 13 years. Two of those years had been in that prison, that is after the episode with the butler and the baker, so he might have been there a couple years before. So you see he'd been in the house of Potiphar for maybe almost 10 years. This gives you some conception of how the time had been divided there in the land of Egypt. Well, we're going to have to leave off there and we'll pick up this story of Joseph and how God is moving in this man's life. And he wants to move in your life, friends, in just the same way. And so until next time, may the Lord richly bless you, my beloved.

Host: This week on the Sunday sermon, we're sharing a never-before-aired message from Prison to the Palace. It's a remarkable reminder of how God is always at work behind the scenes. You can listen on our app or explore all the ways to hear the Sunday sermon at TTB.org or call 1-800-65 Bible to learn more about this ministry and how you can partner with us in taking God's whole Word to the whole world. Our journey through Genesis continues in chapters 41 and 42. Read ahead and watch how God prepares Joseph and us for the adventures still to come. I'm Steve Schwetz, and as always, I'll be holding open the doors of the Bible bus and saving a seat just for you next time. Today's study with Dr. J. Vernon McGee is brought to you by Thru the Bible, and it's made possible by the generous prayer and financial investments from listeners like you on the Bible bus all around the world.