Joseph – Page 2 – Praying Pint

39.n. “God will be with you”

Genesis 48:21 Then Israel said to Joseph, “Behold, I am about to die, but God will be with you and will bring you again to the land of your fathers. Moreover, I have given to you rather than to your brothers one mountain slope that I took from the hand of the Amorites with my sword and with my bow.”

One portion above your brothers: This referred to Joseph being father of two tribes, while each of his brothers only fathered one each.

Which I took from the hand of the Amorite: Apparently, while still in Canaan, Jacob battled for control of a portion of land from the Amorites, and he deeded the land to Joseph and his descendants. The descendants of Joseph would take this land some 400 years later.

God will be with you and bring you back to the land of your fathers: This completed a wonderful work regarding Jacob’s recognition of God’s presence in his life.

· I am with you (Genesis 28:15): God gives the young believer every possible assurance of His presence and grace.

· I will be with you (Genesis 31:3): God expects the growing believer to trust He will be with him, even when he only has the promise of His presence.

· God… has been with me (Genesis 31:5): God gives a glorious testimony to the mature believer, able to say how God has been with him, even when he hasn’t felt His presence in the way he wished.

· God will be with you (Genesis 48:21): God gives the mature believer the opportunity to encourage others with the promise of God’s presence.

(Guzik)

39.m. “And when the time drew near that Israel must die”

Genesis 47:27 Thus Israel settled in the land of Egypt, in the land of Goshen. And they gained possessions in it, and were fruitful and multiplied greatly. And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years. So the days of Jacob, the years of his life, were 147 years. And when the time drew near that Israel must die, he called his son Joseph and said to him, “If now I have found favor in your sight, put your hand under my thigh and promise to deal kindly and truly with me. Do not bury me in Egypt, but let me lie with my fathers. Carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their burying place.” He answered, “I will do as you have said.” And he said, “Swear to me”; and he swore to him. Then Israel bowed himself upon the head of his bed.

Death is not far from any of us. In the blink of an eye an accident, sickness, lightning strike, or murderous hands we are all in the sight line of death. It does not matter if we give it thought or not, it is still there, one second, one breath, or 50 years or a hundred million breaths. No one knows God’s allowed time for their life, and yet, we live as though death is something that happens to others or those of much older age. I don’t know how often I have heard someone say they hope they are good enough to go to heaven when they die. It does not matter if you tell them about Jesus Chris, belief, faith, forgiveness, trust, reliance, and hope are the only way to eternal assurance. They will still fall back into being good enough for heaven though. These are Satan’s lies and are an assurance into eternal hell. Let no one be led astray with this thinking, be warned, “It is not by good works a person is saved but through belief, faith, reliance, trust, and hope in Jesus Christ alone.” If we knew how close death’s door was before us, would we think about this differently? Would there be a sense of urgency? Would there be repentance and a search for salvation? Here today and gone tomorrow happen more frequently than we want to think about. Choosing to deny the need for Jesus Christ and believing you can be good enough on your own and rejecting how close death is to you, may give you comfort but rest assured it is false and your eternal destiny is Hell. God’s Word is clear just as His promises of heaven and hell are clear. Do not let another minute go by without humble surrender, trust, faith, hope, and reliance on Jesus Christ for your eternal salvation.

39.l. “Why should we die before your eyes?”

Genesis 47:13 Now there was no food in all the land, for the famine was very severe, so that the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan languished by reason of the famine. And Joseph gathered up all the money that was found in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, in exchange for the grain that they bought. And Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh’s house. And when the money was all spent in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came to Joseph and said, “Give us food. Why should we die before your eyes? For our money is gone.” And Joseph answered, “Give your livestock, and I will give you food in exchange for your livestock, if your money is gone.” So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and Joseph gave them food in exchange for the horses, the flocks, the herds, and the donkeys. He supplied them with food in exchange for all their livestock that year. And when that year was ended, they came to him the following year and said to him, “We will not hide from my lord that our money is all spent. The herds of livestock are my lord’s. There is nothing left in the sight of my lord but our bodies and our land. Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land for food, and we with our land will be servants to Pharaoh. And give us seed that we may live and not die, and that the land may not be desolate.”

So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh, for all the Egyptians sold their fields, because the famine was severe on them. The land became Pharaoh’s. As for the people, he made servants of them from one end of Egypt to the other.

Care being taken of Jacob and his family, which mercy was especially designed by Providence in Joseph’s advancement, an account is given of the saving the kingdom of Egypt from ruin. There was no bread, and the people were ready to die. See how we depend upon God’s providence. All our wealth would not keep us from starving, if rain were withheld for two or three years. See how much we are at God’s mercy, and let us keep ourselves always in his love. Also see how much we smart by our own want of care. If all the Egyptians had laid up corn for themselves in the seven years of plenty, they had not been in these straits; but they regarded not the warning. Silver and gold would not feed them: they must have corn. All that a man hath will he give for his life. We cannot judge this matter by modern rules. It is plain that the Egyptians regarded Joseph as a public benefactor. The whole is consistent with Joseph’s character, acting between Pharaoh and his subjects, in the fear of God. The Egyptians confessed concerning Joseph, Thou hast saved our lives. What multitudes will gratefully say to Jesus, at the last day, Thou hast saved our souls from the most tremendous destruction, and in the season of uttermost distress! The Egyptians parted with all their property, and even their liberty, for the saving of their lives: can it then be too much for us to count all but loss, and part with all, at His command, and for His sake, who will both save our souls, and give us an hundredfold, even here, in this present world? Surely if saved by Christ, we shall be willing to become his servants. (Henry)

In a national crisis, the power of the central government will increase. We certainly have seen this fruit being manifested. A seven-year famine will certainly be a national crisis and the power of the central government should increase. However, when a government unleashes a fear campaign and controls news and media narratives they are able to get the sheep to follow. If only it was fearful respect for God that would drive these sheep to follow after Him. Often fear is based on unknown outcomes with the threat of those outcomes impacting that person. Trusting in God and relying on His grace, mercy, and love will guard your heart against the fear that easily leads sheep to follow after worldly wisdom and action.

We all stand before God bankrupt. When we come to Him through Jesus Christ our debt is forgiven. Though you may have lived 10, 20, 30, or 60, years in famine to God’s grace, mercy, and, love, now is the time to humbly come before Him acknowledging your bankrupt soul and gain eternal life for your soul through belief, trust, and reliance on the blood of Jesus Christ to cover your debt.

39.k. “For every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians.”

Genesis 46:31 Joseph said to his brothers and to his father’s household, “I will go up and tell Pharaoh and will say to him, ‘My brothers and my father’s household, who were in the land of Canaan, have come to me. And the men are shepherds, for they have been keepers of livestock, and they have brought their flocks and their herds and all that they have.’ When Pharaoh calls you and says, What is your occupation?’ you shall say, Your servants have been keepers of livestock from our youth even until now, both we and our fathers,’ in order that you may dwell in the land of Goshen, for every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians.”

Genesis 47:1 So Joseph went in and told Pharaoh, “My father and my brothers, with their flocks and herds and all that they possess, have come from the land of Canaan. They are now in the land of Goshen.” And from among his brothers he took five men and presented them to Pharaoh. Pharaoh said to his brothers, “What is your occupation?” And they said to Pharaoh, “Your servants are shepherds, as our fathers were.”

“For every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians”. There are many comments and thoughts as to why this is so, but for whatever reason, the Egyptians looked down on shepherds with disgrace, aversion, disdain, disgust, contempt, etc…. Joseph knew this and also had to have been led by God in his thoughts. Joseph was not the least bit worried about telling Pharaoh that his family came from a line of shepherds. Joseph was not ashamed to say this was his family. He also may have had thoughts of trying to keep his family away from the Egyptian culture and their customs and to mark his family in such a way that the Egyptians would willingly stay away from them.

God has a plan for every life if they would but seek Him first in their hearts and minds. For some, this may result in high-profile positions with great influence and power, and responsibility. For others, it may result in occupations and positions less so. Learning to be content in God’s plan for our lives and occupations is not an easy thing. In the guise of contentment, some are just lazy misfits with no drive to succeed or be under the influence of God’s direction. Likewise, there are those who strive for wealth, power, status, and worldly recognition outside of God’s influence in their lives and they are never content. Both of these groups of people and everyone in between has a commonality, God is not in their lives. He is not first in their lives. They are influenced by worldly passions and what the world deems proper and important. Being content can only come to the hearts and minds of those who have learned to follow after God and seek Him first, and purposing to honor and glorify Him in all they think, say, and do. They will have been given discernment and be able to hear the quiet whispers of the Holy Spirits leading in their lives and being able to distinguish worldly from Godly. There is no God-ordained occupation below any of us.

Early in my career I had a garbage route and picked up garbage in a small town with a pickup truck. I also cleaned toilets in an administration building for a biological vaccine manufacturing company. I was also a master plumber. In all that I did God gave me purpose and contentment. At the end of my career, I was a CEO of a biological vaccine manufacturing company. I had no formal post-high school education. God will use and place those where He chooses and content are they who find their contentment in Him.

39.e. “How can we clear ourselves?”

Genesis 44:14 When Judah and his brothers came to Joseph’s house, he was still there. They fell before him to the ground. Joseph said to them, “What deed is this that you have done? Do you not know that a man like me can indeed practice divination?” And Judah said, “What shall we say to my lord? What shall we speak? Or how can we clear ourselves? God has found out the guilt of your servants; behold, we are my lord’s servants, both we and he also in whose hand the cup has been found.” But he said, “Far be it from me that I should do so! Only the man in whose hand the cup was found shall be my servant. But as for you, go up in peace to your father.”

And Judah said, what shall we say unto my lord? what shall we speak?…. Signifying that they were nonplussed, confounded, knew not what to say; they could not acknowledge guilt, for they were not conscious of any, and yet could not deny the fact, the cup being found on one of them; and though they might have a suspicion of fraud, yet were afraid to speak out what they suspected, and therefore were at the utmost loss to express themselves: or how shall we clear ourselves? to assert their innocence signified nothing, here was full proof against them, at least against their brother Benjamin: God hath found the iniquity of thy servants; brought it to their remembrance, fastened the guilt of it on their consciences, and in his providence was bringing them to just punishment for it; meaning not the iniquity of taking away the cup, which they were not conscious of, but some other iniquity of theirs they had heretofore been guilty of, and now God was contending with them for it; particularly the iniquity of selling Joseph; this was brought to their minds before, when in distress, and now again, behold, we are my lord’s servants, both we, and he also with whom the cup is found; hereby fulfilling his dream more manifestly than ever; for, by bowing down to the earth to him, they might be thought to do no other than what all did, that came to buy corn of him; but here they own themselves to be his servants, and him to be lord over them, and to have dominion over them all, and them to be his slaves and bondmen. (Gill)

These brothers have lived with the guilt of their sin for 22 years. This guilt has not left them and as they matured the sin they committed against Joseph haunts them. They know they deserve to be punished not only for what they did to Joseph but the heart ache and distress they caused their father Jacob. Judah, the instigator of the harsh treatment to Joseph has surely repented but has no means to forgive himself for the intended harm to Joseph. Likewise the brothers were of the same mind.

Guzik says it so perfectly: We might take pride because we are innocent of some sin or another, yet we are guilty of far greater. You can’t hide from your sin. Time does not erase the guilt of your sin; only the blood of Jesus can.

39.c. “Unable to see blessings, fear became their resident”

Genesis 42:29 When they came to Jacob their father in the land of Canaan, they told him all that had happened to them, saying, “The man, the lord of the land, spoke roughly to us and took us to be spies of the land. But we said to him, ‘We are honest men; we have never been spies. We are twelve brothers, sons of our father. One is no more, and the youngest is this day with our father in the land of Canaan.’ Then the man, the lord of the land, said to us, By this I shall know that you are honest men: leave one of your brothers with me, and take grain for the famine of your households, and go your way. Bring your youngest brother to me. Then I shall know that you are not spies but honest men, and I will deliver your brother to you, and you shall trade in the land.’” As they emptied their sacks, behold, every man’s bundle of money was in his sack. And when they and their father saw their bundles of money, they were afraid. And Jacob their father said to them, “You have bereaved me of my children: Joseph is no more, and Simeon is no more, and now you would take Benjamin. All this has come against me.” Then Reuben said to his father, “Kill my two sons if I do not bring him back to you. Put him in my hands, and I will bring him back to you.” But he said, “My son shall not go down with you, for his brother is dead, and he is the only one left. If harm should happen to him on the journey that you are to make, you would bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to Sheol.”

Here is the report Jacob’s sons made to their father. It troubled the good man. Even the bundles of money Joseph returned, in kindness, to his father, frightened him. He laid the fault upon his sons; knowing them, he feared they had provoked the Egyptians, and wrongfully brought home their money. Jacob plainly distrusted his sons, remembering that he never saw Joseph since he had been with them. It is bad with a family, when children behave so ill that their parents know not how to trust them. Jacob gives up Joseph for gone, and Simeon and Benjamin as in danger; and concludes, All these things are against me. It proved otherwise, that all these things were for him, were working together for his good, and the good of his family. We often think that to be against us, which is really for us. We are afflicted in body, estate, name, and in our relations; and think all these things are against us, whereas they are really working for us a weight of glory. Thus does the Lord Jesus conceal himself and his favour, thus he rebukes and chastens those for whom he has purposes of love. By sharp corrections and humbling convictions he will break the stoutness and mar the pride of the heart, and bring to true repentance. Yet before sinners fully know him, or taste that he is gracious, he consults their good, and sustains their souls, to wait for him. May we do thus, never yielding to discouragement, determining to seek no other refuge, and humbling ourselves more and more under his mighty hand. In due time he will answer our petitions, and do for us more than we can expect. (Henry)

39.b. “Ought you not to walk in the fear of our God”

Genesis 42:18 On the third day Joseph said to them, “Do this and you will live, for I fear God: if you are honest men, let one of your brothers remain confined where you are in custody, and let the rest go and carry grain for the famine of your households, and bring your youngest brother to me. So your words will be verified, and you shall not die.” And they did so. Then they said to one another, “In truth we are guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the distress of his soul, when he begged us and we did not listen. That is why this distress has come upon us.” And Reuben answered them, “Did I not tell you not to sin against the boy? But you did not listen. So now there comes a reckoning for his blood.” They did not know that Joseph understood them, for there was an interpreter between them. Then he turned away from them and wept. And he returned to them and spoke to them. And he took Simeon from them and bound him before their eyes. And Joseph gave orders to fill their bags with grain, and to replace every man’s money in his sack, and to give them provisions for the journey. This was done for them.

Leviticus 25:43   You shall not rule over him ruthlessly but shall fear your God.

Nehemiah 5:9    So I said, “The thing that you are doing is not good. Ought you not to walk in the fear of our God

Luke 18:2   He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man.

Nehemiah 5:15   But I did not do so, because of the fear of God.

On the third day Joseph modified his severity. “This do and live,” i.e., then ye shall live: “I fear God.” One shall remain in prison, but let the rest of you take home “corn for the famine of your families,” and fetch your youngest brother, that your words may be verified, and ye may not die, i.e., may not suffer the death that spies deserve. That he might not present the appearance of despotic caprice and tyranny by too great severity, and so render his brethren obdurate, Joseph stated as the reason for his new decision, that he feared God. From the fear of God, he, the lord of Egypt, would not punish or slay these strangers upon mere suspicion, but would judge them justly. How differently had they acted towards their brother! The ruler of all Egypt had compassion on their families who were in Canaan suffering from hunger; but they had intended to leave their brother in the pit to starve! These and similar thoughts could hardly fail to pass involuntarily through their minds at Joseph’s words, and to lead them to a penitential acknowledgement of their sin and unrighteousness. The notion that Joseph altered his first intention merely from regard to his much afflicted father, appears improbable, for the simple reason, that he can only have given utterance to the threat that he should keep them all in prison till one of them had gone and fetched Benjamin, for the purpose of giving the greater force to his accusation, that they were spies. But as he was not serious in making this charge, he could not for a moment have thought of actually carrying out the threat. “And they did so:” in these words the writer anticipates the result of the colloquy which ensued, and which is more fully narrated afterwards. Joseph’s intention was fulfilled. The brothers now saw in what had happened to them a divine retribution: “Surely we atone because of our brother, whose anguish of soul we saw, when he entreated us and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us.” And Reuben reminded them how he had warned them to no purpose, not to sin against the boy – “and even his blood…behold it is required”; i.e., not merely the sin of casting him into the pit and then selling him, but his death also, of which we have been guilty through that sale. Thus they accused themselves in Joseph’s presence, not knowing that he could understand; “for the interpreter was between them.” Joseph had conversed with them through an interpreter, as an Egyptian who was ignorant of their language. “The interpreter,” viz., the one appointed for that purpose. But Joseph understood their words, and “turned away and wept”, with inward emotion at the wonderful leadings of divine grace, and at the change in his brothers’ feelings. He then turned to them again, and, continuing the conversation with them, had Simeon bound before their eyes, to be detained as a hostage (not Reuben, who had dissuaded them from killing Joseph, and had taken no part in the sale, but Simeon, the next in age). He then ordered his men to fill their sacks with corn, to give every one his money back in his sack, and to provide them with food for the journey. (Keil and Delitzsch )

It is most noteworthy to see Joseph feared God in the decisions he made, what he did, and what he said. In contrast, the minds of his brothers were seared with a hot iron in remembrance of how they treated Joseph. They had acted out of envy, jealousy, and without any fear of God.

Our lives are to be living sacrifices that humbly honor and glorify Jesus Christ in all that we think, say, and do. When we have this single purpose goal for our lives, it is then we will discern fleshly non-God honoring thoughts, actions, and words and be able to cast them out before they take root and cause harm to ourselves or others and more importantly dishonor God.

39.a. “Why do you look at one another?”

Genesis 42:1 When Jacob learned that there was grain for sale in Egypt, he said to his sons, “Why do you look at one another?” And he said, “Behold, I have heard that there is grain for sale in Egypt. Go down and buy grain for us there, that we may live and not die.” So ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain in Egypt. But Jacob did not send Benjamin, Joseph’s brother, with his brothers, for he feared that harm might happen to him. Thus the sons of Israel came to buy among the others who came, for the famine was in the land of Canaan.

Genesis 41:54 and the seven years of famine began to come, as Joseph had said. There was famine

Joshua 7:10 The LORD said to Joshua, “Get up! Why have you fallen on your face?

Jeremiah 8:14 Why do we sit still? Gather together; let us go into the fortified cities and perish there, for the LORD our God has doomed us to perish and has given us poisoned water to drink, because we have sinned against the LORD.

How easy is it to become arrogant and complacent in times of plenty and prosperity? How easy is it to sit back and rest giving little thought to the opposite? How easy is it to forget God in times of prosperity?

If this famine occurred right now there would be shouts of global warming, climate change. and the need for man’s wisdom to put things back into order. Don’t get me wrong on this. We certainly need to be good stewards of God’s resources and mindful of waste and pollution but weather patterns, both short and long-term are in the Creator’s hands.

I am intrigued by Jacob’s question to his sons; “Why do you look at one another?” They have heard just like Jacob that there is grain for sale in Egypt. Their lack of making a decision to go and buy grain to survive baffled Jacob. He could see the answer to their immediate need but his sons were standing around looking at each other without any kind of action or plan of action. The famine had them stupefied. If you had a cow that no longer was giving milk and you needed milk, and your neighbor had more than enough milking cows to produce a surplus of milk, wouldn’t it seem like an easy enough decision to go buy some from them? Coming off 7 years of prosperity seems to have taken the creative thinking and problem-resolving ability from their brains concerning their current situation.

There are times in our lives that require action and there are times that require waiting. How can a person discerns when to apply constraints and wait, or take action and move on? For those who are believers, this can still be a time of indecision. Do I wait or do I move on? When we look to God in Faith the answer will come. In fact, it might be totally the opposite for two believers. God can move one to stay and another to move on. The key is by faith, reliance, and trust in and on God to speak to your heart and mind through the indwelling Holy Spirit. Faith is built on hope, trust, and reliance in and on God. Taking action while others are waiting or waiting while others are taking action is very hard to understand, but to those who have their hearts and minds reliant on God and ever-seeking to hear His quiet whispers leading them in their decisions will find a peace that passes all understanding in these times.

Too often times of prosperity result in neglect and complacency to things of God so that when times of famine, trials, and troubles arrive at your doorstep you are void of the ability to rely and trust in and on God. It is so sad this is the way of many who proclaim to be believers. If your life’s purpose is void of honoring and glorifying Jesus Christ in all you think, say, and do in times of prosperity it surely will be void in times of famine, trials, and troubles.

Now is the time to change the way you live. No longer live for self, but rather by the renewing of your mind and intentionally choosing to live in such a way that all you think, say, and do honors and glorifies Jesus Christ. Now is the time for in this purpose we find our faith, hope, trust, and reliance will grow and mature into that which honors and glorifies Jesus Christ.

39. “Famine had spread over all the land”

Genesis 41:56 So when the famine had spread over all the land, Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold to the Egyptians, for the famine was severe in the land of Egypt. Moreover, all the earth came to Egypt to Joseph to buy grain, because the famine was severe over all the earth.

Psalms 105:16-17 When he summoned a famine on the land and broke all supply of bread, he had sent a man ahead of them, Joseph, who was sold as a slave.

In the names of his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, Joseph owned the Divine providence. 1. He was made to forget his misery. 2. He was made fruitful in the land of his affliction. The seven plenteous years came, and were ended. We ought to look forward to the end of the days, both of our prosperity and of our opportunity. We must not be secure in prosperity, nor slothful in making good use of opportunity. Years of plenty will end; what thy hand finds to do, do it; and gather in gathering time. The dearth came, and the famine was not only in Egypt, but in other lands. Joseph was diligent in laying up, while the plenty lasted. He was prudent and careful in giving out, when the famine came. Joseph was engaged in useful and important labours. Yet it was in the midst of this his activity that his father Jacob said, Joseph is not! What a large portion of our troubles would be done away if we knew the whole truth! Let these events lead us to Jesus. There is a famine of the bread of life throughout the whole earth. Go to Jesus, and what he bids you, do. Attend to His voice, apply to him; he will open his treasures, and satisfy with goodness the hungry soul of every age and nation, without money and without price. But those who slight this provision must starve, and his enemies will be destroyed. (Henry)

Seven years of plenty and seven years of famine are God-ordained. How impressive it is that Pharaoh would be inclined to listen to Joseph and believe him. Right now we live in a time where man will try to make sense of God-Ordained occurrences through worldly wisdom and attribute causes to a host of meaningless reasons for purposes of financial gain and restrictive policies to gain more money and power for themselves.

Each believer should be seeking discernment from God to understand the signs of the times, the famine of the Word of God that is prevalent, and how easily worldly wisdom is being accepted as fact and truth.

38.z. “For the Lord GOD does nothing without revealing his secret to his servants the prophets.”

Genesis 40:9 So the chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph and said to him, “In my dream there was a vine before me, and on the vine there were three branches. As soon as it budded, its blossoms shot forth, and the clusters ripened into grapes. Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand, and I took the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh’s cup and placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.” Then Joseph said to him, “This is its interpretation: the three branches are three days. In three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your office, and you shall place Pharaoh’s cup in his hand as formerly, when you were his cupbearer. Only remember me, when it is well with you, and please do me the kindness to mention me to Pharaoh, and so get me out of this house. For I was indeed stolen out of the land of the Hebrews, and here also I have done nothing that they should put me into the pit.”

When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was favorable, he said to Joseph, “I also had a dream: there were three cake baskets on my head, and in the uppermost basket there were all sorts of baked food for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating it out of the basket on my head.” And Joseph answered and said, “This is its interpretation: the three baskets are three days. In three days Pharaoh will lift up your head—from you!—and hang you on a tree. And the birds will eat the flesh from you.” On the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, he made a feast for all his servants and lifted up the head of the chief cupbearer and the head of the chief baker among his servants. He restored the chief cupbearer to his position, and he placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand. But he hanged the chief baker, as Joseph had interpreted to them. Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.

God may certainly speak through dreams, and many passages of the Bible show this.

· God spoke to the pagan ruler Abimelech in a dream (Genesis 20:3).

· God spoke to Jacob in dreams (Genesis 28:12, 31:11).

· God spoke to Laban in a dream (Genesis 31:24).

· God spoke to the Midianite in a dream (Judges 7:13).

· God spoke to Solomon in a dream (1 Kings 3:5).

· God spoke to Nebuchadnezzar in a dream (Daniel 2:1).

· God spoke to Daniel in a dream (Daniel 7:1).

· God spoke to Joseph in dreams (Matthew 1:20, 2:13, 2:22).

· God spoke to Pilate’s wife in a dream (Matthew 27:19).

It’s always important to remember that not every dream is a revelation from God. Dreams can come just because our minds are busy: A dream comes through much activity… For in the multitude of dreams and many words there is also vanity (Ecclesiastes 5:3, 5:7) Still, we should be open to ways that God might speak – even if it might be in a dream. Our message is the same: Don’t look for messages from God anywhere else than the Bible – it is God’s voice. Yet we recognize that from time to time God will choose an unusual way to speak to us, yet never against the Bible or never even equal to the Bible. (Guzik)

I don’t know what to say about dreams. I have had many meaningless dreams and only a few dreams clearly from God. I knew these dreams from God because the Holy Spirit made it clear they were. We have to realize there was no written Word of God and there was no permanent indwelling of the Holy Spirit like there is now in believers since Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection and in-filling at Pentecost. God will speak clearly to us through His Word and lead us to knowledge, wisdom, and understanding through the Holy Spirit speaking to our hearts and minds. It is good for us to seek God’s leading and to make sense of the world we live in and the events of each day by and through His Word and the Holy Spirit’s leading. Have a heart and mind ever-seeking and always ready for the quiet whispers of God speaking through His Word. Searching for meaning in dreams has little benefit compared to His Word and the Holy Spirit.