Pam Padgett ... teacher
God showed through dreams what HE was going to do in the life of Joseph, the son of Jacob ...
Genesis 37:5 And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his
brethren: and they hated him yet the more. 6 And he said unto them,
Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed: 7 For, behold, we
were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also
stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made
obeisance to my sheaf. 8 And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed
reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us? And they
hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words.
9 And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his
brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold,
the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me. 10 And
he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked
him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall
I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to
thee to the earth? 11 And his brethren envied him; but his father
observed the saying.
When Joseph told these dreams to his brothers, they hated and envied
him. As a result, when Joseph was sent by his father to bring word of how
his brothers and the flocks were, his brothers conspired to kill him, saying we shall see what will
become of his dreams ...
Genesis 37:18 And when they saw him afar off, even
before he came near unto them, they conspired against him to slay him.
19 And they said one to another, Behold, this dreamer cometh. 20 Come
now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into some pit, and we
will say, Some evil beast hath devoured him: and we shall see what will
become of his dreams.
But they were stopped from killing Joseph by Reuben and Judah ...
Genesis 37:21 And Reuben heard it, and he delivered him
out of their hands; and said, Let us not kill him. 22 And Reuben said
unto them, Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit that is in the
wilderness, and lay no hand upon him; that he might rid him out of their
hands, to deliver him to his father again. 23 And it came to pass,
when Joseph was come unto his brethren, that they stript Joseph out of
his coat, his coat of many colours that was on him; 24 And they took
him, and cast him into a pit: and the pit was empty, there was no water
in it. 25 And they sat down to eat bread: and they lifted up their eyes
and looked, and, behold, a company of Ishmeelites came from Gilead with
their camels bearing spicery and balm and myrrh, going to carry it down
to Egypt. 26 And Judah said unto his brethren, What profit is it if we
slay our brother, and conceal his blood? 27 Come, and let us sell him to
the Ishmeelites, and let not our hand be upon him; for he is our
brother and our flesh. And his brethren were content.
Joseph
was sold to some Ishmeelites who took him to Egypt and sold him
to Potiphar. But God was with Joseph and caused all
that he did to prosper, and he gained favor in the sight of Potiphar.
However, Potiphar's wife wanted to commit fornication with Joseph, and
Joseph
refused, so she accused Joseph of trying to force himself on her.
Because of this,
Potiphar had Joseph put into prison. But God continued with Joseph,
even in prison, making what he did to prosper, and giving him favor with
the keeper of the prison.
While in prison, God gave Joseph interpretations for
dreams two other prisoners had. One of the prisoners, Pharoah's butler,
was released from prison as shown in the dream he had. Two full years
later, Pharoah was given two dreams, but none of the wise men could
interpret the dreams. The butler then remembered Joseph and told
Pharoah how he had interpreted the dreams in prison. Joseph was called
before Pharoah ...
Genesis 41:15 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I have
dreamed a dream, and there is none that can interpret it: and I have
heard say of thee, that thou canst understand a dream to interpret it.
16 And Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, It is not in me: God shall give
Pharaoh an answer of peace. 17 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, In my
dream, behold, I stood upon the bank of the river: 18 And, behold, there
came up out of the river seven kine, fatfleshed and well favoured; and
they fed in a meadow: 19 And, behold, seven other kine came up after
them, poor and very ill favoured and leanfleshed, such as I never saw in
all the land of Egypt for badness: 20 And the lean and the ill favoured
kine did eat up the first seven fat kine: 21 And when they had eaten
them up, it could not be known that they had eaten them; but they were
still ill favoured, as at the beginning. So I awoke. 22 And I saw in my
dream, and, behold, seven ears came up in one stalk, full and good: 23
And, behold, seven ears, withered, thin, and blasted with the east wind,
sprung up after them: 24 And the thin ears devoured the seven good
ears: and I told this unto the magicians; but there was none that could
declare it to me.
God gave Joseph the interpretation of the dreams ... that there would be
7 years of great plenty followed by 7 years of famine. And Joseph also
had counsel for Pharoah to set a discreet and wise man over Egypt to
take up a fifth part during the years of plenty and lay this up for the
years of famine. Pharoah, recognizing that Joseph had the Spirit of
God, set him to be over Egypt ...
Genesis 41:38 And Pharaoh said unto his servants,
Can we find such a one as this is, a man in whom the Spirit of God is?
39 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Forasmuch as God hath shewed thee all
this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou art: 40 Thou shalt 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.
Joseph laid up food during the years of plenty in preparation for the years of famine.
When the years of famine came, Jacob heard that there was corn in Egypt and sent his sons there to buy corn ...
Genesis
42:1 Now when Jacob saw that there was corn in Egypt,
Jacob said unto his sons, Why do ye look one upon another? 2 And he
said, Behold, I have heard that there is corn in Egypt: get you down
thither, and buy for us from thence; that we may live, and not die. 3
And Joseph's ten brethren went down to buy corn in Egypt. ... (Joseph had 11 brothers but Jacob kept the younger brother, Benjamin, with him.) 5 And the
sons of Israel came to buy corn among those that came: for the famine
was in the land of Canaan. 6 And Joseph was the governor over the land,
and he it was that sold to all the people of the land: and Joseph's
brethren came, and bowed down themselves before him with their faces to
the earth.
Initially, Joseph did not reveal who he was to his brothers. He let all but Simeon
return to their home with corn, and insisted that his youngest brother,
Benjamin, be brought to Egypt. When the famine continued, Jacob
finally allowed Benjamin to be taken to Egypt so they could get more
corn. Joseph then revealed himself to his brothers ...
Genesis 45:4 And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I
pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother,
whom ye sold into Egypt. 5 Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with
yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life.
6 For these two years hath the famine been in the land: and yet there
are five years, in the which there shall neither be earing nor harvest. 7
And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.
8 So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made
me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler
throughout all the land of Egypt. 9 Haste ye, and go up to my father,
and say unto him, Thus saith thy son Joseph, God hath made me lord of
all Egypt: come down unto me, tarry not: 10 And thou shalt dwell in the
land of Goshen, and thou shalt be near unto me, thou, and thy children,
and thy children's children, and thy flocks, and thy herds, and all that
thou hast: 11 And there will I nourish thee; for yet there are five
years of famine; lest thou, and thy household, and all that thou hast,
come to poverty. 12 And, behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my
brother Benjamin, that it is my mouth that speaketh unto you. 13 And ye
shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt, and of all that ye have
seen; and ye shall haste and bring down my father hither.
Although
some tried to harm and even kill Joseph, God kept him safe. It was the
will of God for Joseph to reign, as shown in the dreams
given him, put in a position to provide food for his father and
brothers during the famine.