Genesis Chapter 41
Joseph had been forgotten. He was left in prison, probably left there to die. But Joseph was the sort of man who trusted God. He had seen God work on his behalf previously and I believe that Joseph was the sort of man who prayed, and kept on praying, waiting, and trusting in God to answer his prayer. Two years had passed since the cupbearer and the baker of the Pharoah had been removed from the prison. The cupbearer had not kept his promise to Joseph to speak on his behalf. And then in a moment, Joseph’s situation changed. Joseph was freed from prison.
Let's Reflect
1. The Pharoah of Egypt had two particular dreams on the same night one right after the other. Quite frankly they sound like weird dreams I have. The difference was that these dreams would have been so vivid, and they had similar undertones because God sent these dreams. What did Pharoah do about these dreams in the morning?
2. The cupbearer decided at this moment to suddenly “remember” Joseph who had interpreted his dream while he was in prison. Don’t you suppose that the cupbearer was trying to make himself look good for being the man with the solution for the Pharoah? What did he say about Joseph’s accuracy of the interpretation of the dreams?
3. What does verse 14 tell you about the condition of the prison that Joseph had endured?
4. When Pharoah asked Joseph to interpret his dreams because he had been told that he was good at it, Joseph did not allow him to think that he had any special gift. What did he tell the Pharoah? See verse 16.
5. I love when I read things that are humorous in the Bible. What did Pharoah say that was funny? See verse 21.
6. Joseph told Pharoah that the two dreams had the same meaning. What was the meaning of the dreams?
7. Joseph taught the Pharoah that the dreams were not just happen-in-stance because the dreams were similar in function and had the same meaning. How did Joseph word the reasoning behind the dreams? See verses 25, 28 and 32.
8. Joseph also boldly told the Pharoah what he should implement in the land in order to prepare for the famine. What did the Pharoah say about Joseph in verse 38?
9. Joseph was quickly elevated to a position of power, given a new name, a wife and clothed with royal Egyptian clothing. What position of authority was Joseph given?
10. While Joseph prepared Egypt for the coming famine by storing up surplus food, two sons were born in those seven years. What were his sons named?
11. The famine came after the seven years of plenty. Was Egypt the only place where the famine occurred?
12. Not only had Joseph prepared Egypt to be a place of plenty of food during a famine, but he also brought in lots of money for the Pharoah. How?
