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GENESIS 41
LESSON #58
GETTING THROUGH THE “DEATH OF A VISION”
- MEMORY VERSE: “…BE CONTENT WITH SUCH THINGS AS YE HAVE: FOR HE HATH SAID, I WILL NEVER LEAVE THEE, NOR FORSAKE THEE.” HEB 13:5b
- WHAT DO YOU LEARN FROM JOSEPH’S STORY ABOUT ENDURING DIFFICULT TIMES OF TRIAL AND SUFFERING? DISCUSSION
- WALKING THROUGH TRIALS- LET GOD BE GOD
- LET GOD BE THE GOD OF YOUR DREAMS AND WORK THEM OUT IN HIS TIMING.
- LET GOD BE GOD WHEN CIRCUMSTANCES CONTRADICT YOUR DREAMS, AND YOU ARE GOING THROUGH THE DEATH OF A VISION.
- LET GOD BE GOD IN YOUR SUCCESSES.
- LET GOD BE GOD AND DEAL WITH THE SINS AND FAILURES OF OTHERS.
- READ GEN 41:1-13 JOSEPH IS REMEMBERED
- JOSEPH PROBABLY FELT HE WAS FORGOTTEN AFTER THE CHIEF CUPBEARER LEFT PRISON AND TWO YEARS PASSED. IN THIS CHAPTER WE SEE WHY THE “CHANCE” MEETING WAS IMPORTANT BETWEEN THE CUPBEARER AND JOSEPH IN PRISON.
- THE CUPBEARER REMEMBERED JOSEPH WHEN PHARAOH HAD A DREAM AND NEEDED IT INTERPRETED. IT WAS THE MEANS BY WHICH GOD WOULD USE TO RELEASE JOSEPH FROM PRISON.
- IMPORTANT PRINCIPLES:
- GOD USES EVERYONE AND EVERYTHING IN OUR LIVES FOR SOME BENEFIT. (ECC 7:8 ROM 8:28)
- NOTHING IS LOST AND WITHOUT SOME VALUE IN THE ECONOMY OF GOD.
- THE KING’S HEART IS IN THE HAND OF THE LORD. (PRO 21:1)
- GOD’S TIMING IS PERFECT. (JAM 1:4)
- THE WISDOM OF THE WORLD IS FOOLISHNESS WITH GOD. (1COR 1:20)
- THE COURT MAGICIANS WERE POWERLESS. THEY RELIED ON DREAM CHARTS AND FORMULAS TO INTERPRET DREAMS.
- READ GEN 41:14-36 JOSEPH INTERPRETS PHARAOH’S DREAMS
- WHO IS THIS PHARAOH?
- THERE ARE DIFFERING VIEWS AS TO WHICH OF THE PHARAOH’S RULED DURING THE TIME OF JOSEPH.
- HISTORICAL AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL PROBLEMS:
- PRIOR TO 606 BC, IT IS DIFFICULT TO ESTABLISH DATES WITH CERTAINTY.
- THERE WAS NO ONE UNIFORM CALENDAR THROUGHOUT THE WORLD MAKING CROSS-CULTURAL DATING DIFFICULT. USUALLY DATES WERE KEPT ACCORDING TO THE YEAR OF THE REIGN OF A LOCAL RULING MONARCH.
- IN EGYPTIAN HISTORICAL RECORDS, THERE IS NO MENTION OF JOSEPH BY NAME.
- THE TIME CHRONOLOGY OF THE PHARAOH’S IN THE EGYPTIAN RECORD IS NOT UNANIMOUSLY AGREED UPON BY EGYPTOLOGISTS.
- SOME POSSIBILITIES:
- MANY THINK ONE OF THE HYKSOS KINGS WAS RULING EGYPT AT THE TIME. THEY WERE A GROUP OF ASIATIC FOREIGN KINGS THAT TOOK OVER A DISINTEGRATING EGYPTIAN GOVERNMENT.
- THE REASONING BEHIND THIS VIEW IS THAT ONLY ANOTHER FOREIGNER WOULD ELEVATE SOMEONE LIKE JOSEPH TO SUCH A HIGH POSITION. HOWEVER, WHILE IT IS UNIQUE, IT IS NOT UNKNOWN IN EGYPTIAN HISTORY.
- THE PROBLEM:
- THERE ARE NO REFERENCES TO FAMINES AND TIMES OF PLENTY OR TO ANYONE THAT FITS JOSEPH’S DESCRIPTION IN THE EGYPTIAN RECORD OF THIS TIME OF THE HYKSOS KINGS..
- AMMENEMES III
- THIS PHARAOH HAD A VERY WISE INFLUENTIAL ROYAL SCRIBE RISE TO BECOME THE KING’S VIZIER. HIS NAME APPEARS IN HISTORICAL TEXTS AS THE SAME NAME AS THE KING. DURING HIS REIGN, A VERY AMBITIOUS IRRIGATION PROJECT WAS COMPLETED TO CONTROL THE NILE AND PREVENT FAMINE AND OVER-FLOODING. IN HIS REIGN THERE WAS AN OVER-ABUNDANCE OF RAIN OVER SEVERAL YEARS THAT CAUSED FLOODING AND AN INABILITY TO PLANT OR HARVEST WHICH RESULTED IN A SEVERE FAMINE.
- THE DREAMS:
- PHARAOH’S DREAMS: THE 14 COWS AND THE 14 STALKS OF GRAIN
- JOSEPH TELLS PHARAOH THAT HIS DREAM WAS REPEATED IN 2 FORMS TO EMPHASIZE THAT IT HAD BEEN DEFINITELY DECIDED BY GOD. (32)
- REPETITION IN THE BIBLE IS OFTEN FOR EMPHASIS.
- THE INTERPRETATIONS WERE GIVEN BY GOD. (39)
- THE NUMBER 7 REPEATED IN THE DREAMS SIGNIFIES COMPLETENESS: 7 YEARS OF COMPLETE ABUNDANCE, 7 YEARS OF COMPLETE DEVASTATING FAMINE.
- READ GEN 41:37-57
- JOSEPH’S NEW BLESSINGS:
- THE KINGS RING (42)
- AS PRIME MINISTER (VIZIER), JOSEPH WOULD NEED THIS RING. IN ORDER TO ISSUE EDICTS IN PHARAOH’S NAME. IT IS A SYMBOL OF AUTHORITY.
- THE GOLD CHAIN (42)
- IT IS LIKE A DISTINGUISHED SERVICE MEDAL. IT IS A SYMBOL OF SERVICE.
- THE NEW NAME (45)
- ZAPHENATH-PANEAH = “THE SAVIOR OF THE WORLD”.
- JOSEPHS NEW WIFE (45)
- ASENATH, POTIPHERA’S DAUGHTER
- THIS IS NOT THE POTIPHER HE USED TO WORK FOR BUT A PRIEST OF THE CITY OF “ON” (HELIOPOLIS).
- ASENATH = MEANS “SHE’S OF NEITH”. NEITH WAS AN EGYPTIAN GODDESS.
- ASENATH IS A PREFIGURE OF ISRAEL AS THE WIFE OF GOD, MARRIED TO THE LORD IN EGYPT AT THE PASSOVER.
- GOD GAVE A PROPHECY IN JER 2:2, BEFORE THE BIRTH OF JESUS AND BEFORE THE EXISTENCE OF THE CHURCH. (JER 3:14,20).
- (NOTICE JOSEPH IS GIVEN A WIFE BEFORE HIS PUBLIC MINISTRY BEGINS.) THE ORIGIN OF ISRAEL WAS AMONG THE GENTILES. (EZE 16:3)
- SOME THEOLOGIANS SAY ASENATH IS A PREFIGURE OF THE GENTILE CHURCH DURING THE TIME CHRIST IS REJECTED BY THE JEWS JUST AS JOSEPH WAS REJECTED BY HIS BROTHERS.
- GOD WILL NOT FORGET THIS WIFE, BUT DEAL WITH ISRAEL SOME TIME IN THE FUTURE. (JER 31:31-34 EZE 16:62-63 HOS 2:19-23 ISA 54:5-8.)
- JOSEPHS 2 SONS (51-52)
- MANESSEH MEANS = FORGETTING
- EPHRAIM MEANS = TWICE FRUITFUL
- WE WILL DISCUSS THESE 2 SONS MORE IN DETAIL LATER IN GENESIS. THEY, TOO, ARE PREFIGURES THAT REPRESENT THE TWO NATIONS IN WHICH THE NATION OF ISRAEL DIVIDED ITSELF AFTER THE DEATH OF KING SOLOMON.
- MANASSEH REPRESENTS THE NORTHERN KINGDOM OF 10 TRIBES THAT FORGOT GOD.
- EPHRAIM REPRESENTS THE SOUTHERN KINGDOM OF 2 TRIBES INCLUDING JUDAH THAT WAS FRUITFUL FOR GOD.
- THE FAMINE (56)
- A SEVEN-YEAR FAMINE ALMOST NEVER OCCURRED IN EGYPT BECAUSE OF THE DEPENDABLE REGULARITY OF THE ANNUAL NILE FLOOD THAT PROVIDED IRRIGATION. AS MENTIONED BEFORE, OVER-ABUNDANCE OF RAIN COULD ALSO PRODUCE FAMINE.
- FAMINE FROM DROUGHT WAS MORE FREQUENT IN OTHER COUNTRIES AROUND EGYPT. DURING THE 7-YEAR FAMINE SURROUNDING COUNTRIES WERE AFFECTED: COUNTRIES SUCH AS ARABIA, THE PROMISED LAND OF CANAAN, SUDAN, ETHIOPIA, AND OTHER PARTS OF AFRICA. (57)
- PUBLIC STORAGE OF GRAIN:
- THIS WAS A COMMON PRACTICE IN EGYPT.
- JOSEPH A PREFIGURE OF JESUS CHRIST
| THE LIFE OF JOSEPH | THE LIFE OF JESUS |
| JOSEPH WAS DELIVERED FROM PRISON IN GOD’S PERFECT TIMING. GEN 41:14 | JESUS WAS DELIVERED FROM DEATH IN GOD’S PERFECT TIMING. ACT 2:24 JOH 20:6,7 |
| JOSEPH WAS DELIVERED FROM PRISON BY THE HAND OF GOD. GEN 45:7-9 |
JESUS WAS DELIVERED FROM DEATH BY THE HAND OF GOD. ACT 2:32 ACT 10:40 |
| WHAT GOD WAS ABOUT TO DO, HE SHOWED TO PHARAOH THROUGH JOSEPH. GEN 41:28,32 | GOD MADE KNOWN TO US THE THINGS HE WOULD DO IN THE FUTURE THROUGH JESUS. REV 1:1-2 |
| JOSEPH WARNED OF A COMING DANGER, AND URGED HIS HEARERS TO MAKE SUITABLE PROVISION FOR IT. GEN 41:36 | JESUS OFTEN WARNED OF THE COMING JUDGMENT SPEAKING MORE ABOUT ETERNAL DAMNATION THAN ANY OTHER TOPIC. MAR 9:43-44 |
| JOSEPH BECAME A WONDERFUL COUNSELOR GIVING A FUTURE PLAN. GEN 41:33-38 | JESUS IS CALLED THE WONDERFUL COUNSELLOR. ISA 9:6 COL 2:3 |
| JOSEPH’S COUNSEL APPEALED TO PHARAOH. GEN 41:37-39 | JESUS COUNSEL APPEALED TO MANY. MAT 7:28-29 MAT 13:54 JOH 7:46 |
| JOSEPH IS EXALTED OVER ALL EGYPT. GEN 41:39-40 | GOD HAS EXALTED JESUS CHRIST. 1PET 3:22 |
| JOSEPH WAS SEATED ON THE THRONE OF ANOTHER. GEN 41:40 | JESUS SHARES THE THRONE OF GOD, THE FATHER. REV 3:21 |
| JOSEPH WAS EXALTED TO THE THRONE BECAUSE OF HIS PERSONAL WORTH. GEN 41:38 | JESUS WAS EXALTED BY GOD BECAUSE OF HIS PERSONAL WORTH. PHI 2:6-9 |
| JOSEPH WAS GIVEN THE INSIGNIA OF AUTHORITY BECAUSE OF HIS NEW POSITION. GEN 41:42 | GOD HAS GIVEN JESUS ALL POWER AND AUTHORITY. ACT 5:31 HEB 2:9 |
| JOSEPH’S AUTHORITY WAS PUBLICLY ACKNOWLEDGED. GEN 41:43 |
JESUS’ AUTHORITY WILL BE PUBLICLY ACKNOWLEDGED BY ALL MANKIND EITHER WILLINGLY OR COMMANDED. PHI 2:10 |
| JOSEPH RECEIVED A NEW NAME WHICH MEANS “SAVIOR OF THE WORLD”. GEN 41:45 | JESUS RECEIVED A NAME ABOVE EVERY OTHER NAME. PHI 2:9-10 MAT 1:21 ACT 5:31 |
| JOSEPH IS GIVEN A WIFE. GEN 41:45 |
THE LORD WAS MARRIED TO ISRAEL PRIOR TO HIS PUBLIC MINISTRY ON EARTH. JER 3:14,20 |
| JOSEPH’S MARRIAGE WAS ARRANGED BY PHARAOH. GEN 41:45 | GOD, THE FATHER, ARRANGED THE MARRIAGE OF HIS SON. MAT 22:2 |
| JOSEPH WAS 30 YEARS OLD WHEN HE BEGAN HIS LIFE’S WORK. GEN 41:46 |
JESUS CHRIST WAS 30 YEARS OLD WHEN HE BEGAN IS LIFE’S WORK. LUK 3:23 |
| JOSEPH WENT FORTH ON HIS MISSION FROM PHARAOH, WHO DELIGHTED IN HIM. GEN 41:46 | JESUS EMBARKS ON HIS PUBLIC MINISTRY WITH THE BLESSED AFFIRMATION OF GOD. LUK 3:22 |
| JOSEPH’S SERVICE WAS AN ACTIVE, ITINERANT ONE. GEN 41:46 | JESUS WENT THROUGHOUT ALL THE LAND. MAT 4:23 MAT 9:35 |
| JOSEPH’S EXALTATION WAS FOLLOWED BY A SEASON OF PLENTY. GEN 41:47-49 | THESE 2,000 YEARS AFTER THE CRUCIFIXION OF CHRIST HAVE BEEN THE MOST ABUNDANT TIME OF GRACE AND SALVATION. 2COR 6:2 ISA 55:6 |
| JOSEPH’S EXALTATION WAS FOLLOWED BY A PERIOD OF FAMINE. GEN 41:53-54 | THE FAMINE PREFIGURES THE GREAT TRIBULATION OF 7 YEARS THAT WILL COME UPON THE WORLD BEFORE THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. JER 30:7 DAN 12:1 AMO 8:11 JER 8:20 |
| JOSEPH IS SEEN DISPENSING BREAD TO A PERISHING WORLD. GEN 41:55 | JESUS IS THE BREAD OF LIFE WHO GIVES OF HIMSELF TO A NEEDY WORLD. JOH 6:32-35 ACT 4:12 |
| JOSEPH BECAME A SAVIOR TO ALL PEOPLE. GEN 41:54,57 | JESUS BECAME A SAVIOR TO ALL PEOPLE. REV 5:9 |
| JOSEPH HAD UNLIMITED RESOURCES TO MEET THE NEEDS OF ALL. GEN 41:49 |
JESUS CHRIST HAS UNLIMITED RESOURCES TO MEET ALL OUR NEEDS. EPH 1:7; 2:4,7; 3:8 1PET 1:3 ROM 10:12 MAT 11:28 |
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HOMEWORK
GENESIS 42
THIS IS A SELF-STUDY. PLEASE DO NOT SEND HOMEWORK ANSWERS TO THE TEACHER FOR CORRECTION
- APPLICATION OF GEN 41
- WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED PERSONALLY AFTER GOING THROUGH SOME RATHER DIFFICULT TIME THAT IN SOME WAY PARALLELS JOSEPH’S EXPERIENCES?
- PREPARATION OF GEN 42
- READ GEN 42:1-20
- DESCRIBE JOSEPH’S ATTITUDE TOWARD HIS BROTHERS.
- READ GEN 42:21-38
- WHAT DO YOU THINK THE BROTHERS HAVE LEARNED IN THE YEARS SINCE JOSEPH LEFT HOME?
- BASED ON THIS CHAPTER, LIST AS MANY WAYS AS YOU CAN IN WHICH JOSEPH IS A PREFIGURE OF JESUS CHRIST.
- MEMORY VERSE: MAT 6:14
