A Lamp Unto My Feet Bible Study Website
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.
- There is an alternative perspective.
- 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.
- Many think one of the Hyksos kings was ruling Egypt at the time.
- Historical and archaeological problems:
- 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
- Joseph’s new name means = the savior of the world.
- Joseph’s 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 sometime in the future. (Jer 31:31-34 Eze 16:62-63 Hos 2:19-23 Isa 54:5-8.)
- The kings ring (42)
- Joseph’s 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’s new blessings:
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 Counselor. 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 Jesus 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 His 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 |
Homework
Genesis 42
- 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 42:1-20
- 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
