Pharaoh’s Dream Part 6, 8/1/04

OK we’ve been looking at Genesis and the life of Joseph and we know that during the seven years of plenty Joseph and Pharaoh stored away a fifth of the grain a fifth of the corn was placed in storehouses and this was against the time of famine. Let’s turn to Acts 7 we’re continually referring to this but it’s good to see it because it really establishes the whole story historical account in the book of Genesis and what’s going on in verses 10-13 of Acts 7 we read there:

And delivered him out of all his afflictions, and gave him favour and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and he made him governor over Egypt and all his house. Now there came a dearth over all the land of Egypt and Chanaan, and great affliction: and our fathers found no sustenance. But when Jacob heard that there was corn in Egypt, he sent out our fathers first. And at the second time Joseph was made known to his brethren; and Joseph’s kindred was made known unto Pharaoh.

So here God is telling us that this period of dearth or famine is a time of great affliction. Now the word affliction is the identical word tribulation in Matthew 24. So the writer used the words great affliction but he could have just easily have said great tribulation and those two words great and the word for tribulation are found only four times together in the New Testament, Matthew 24, Revelation 2, Revelation 7 and then Acts 7. And in each place and the other three places it deals with the great tribulation. So God is telling us He’s telling us when we look at that time of famine that it is typifying the great tribulation and that’s what a great tribulation is it’s a famine of hearing the Words of the Lord Amos 8 says that’s what’s going on today in the churches and congregations there’s a famine but not of bread not of water but of hearing the Words of the Lord and therefore as we are learning and reading in Genesis about this famine we are absolutely certain that we can relate it to the great tribulation. There’s no question about it what we are learning here regarding the corn ties in with what is going on today and the great tribulation and so during the years of plenty seven years of plenty Joseph stored away corn he stored it away he put it in storehouses against the time of famine then once the seven years of famine begin they open the storehouses where there is all this corn and they only took a fifth which just tells us how tremendous the harvest the seven years of plenty were they took a fifth of all the corn and they stored it away and that would be sufficient it would be more than sufficient not only to feed all of the Egyptians all the people of Egypt but all the people of the neighboring nations that are coming into Egypt to get corn. It must have been a super plentiful harvest during the seven years of plenty they didn’t take half of it they didn’t take a great amount they only took a fifth and they put it away and we don’t read that they’re too concerned about storing up that corn just for the people of Egypt they open their storehouses and they’re buying and selling. Joseph is in charge of this as the people from neighboring nations come into Egypt you could buy corn and they’re not too concerned that they’re going to run out of that corn so they had a huge a huge stock a huge storehouse of corn and we also learned that the corn is representing the Gospel. The corn is typifying the Word of God the Gospel and let’s go to 1 Timothy 5:17-18 it says:

Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine. For the scripture saith, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. And, The labourer is worthy of his reward.

So first here God is speaking of labouring in the word and doctrine and then He starts talking about the ox treading out the corn because the corn is likened to the word and doctrine it’s the Gospel it’s the Word of God the Lord Jesus Christ is likened to a corn of wheat that falls into the ground and dies and then other corn can begin to develop and grow and there can be a harvest and so the corn must be the Word of God the Gospel. And God opened up the Gospel tremendously once Christ went to the Cross and the New Testament church age began from the feast of Pentecost and throughout the New Testament era truths were being opened up to the Apostle Paul he speaks of the abundance of revelations that he received regarding the mystery of the Gentiles for one all the many passages in the Old Testament that were focused on the Messiah well not all but many of them they began to come to truth on in the early days of the New Testament period it was a tremendous harvest of Gospel corn and yet they didn’t have all the truth not everything was revealed to them God didn’t open up every single passage He kept in reserve certain truths He didn’t open up to the understanding of the people of the New Testament completely the book of Daniel or the book of Ezekiel or the book of Jeremiah or much of the information in Revelation and so forth. You see this is the corn that is stored away that is placed in storehouses against a later time but the people of the New Testament era the church age era did not miss it one bit they didn’t miss it they had their plates full they had plenty of material to go over and to learn in studying the Bible and learning the doctrines that they had to deal with and so this corn is put away the Gospel’s put away as we know Daniel says well let’s read Daniel 12:4 where really it has in mind storing the Word of God away just as the corn was stored away in the account of Joseph:

But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.

That’s the time of the great tribulation the time of the end the time of dearth that these seven years of famine are picturing the great tribulation during the great tribulation God is saying knowledge will increase during the seven years of famine corn reserves are opened up and made available to all the people and the people can come and they can purchase corn. Now we know that Joseph and Pharaoh possess full knowledge of all this because Pharaoh was given the dream Joseph interpreted the dream. They actually set out and they mapped out a plan they mapped out exactly what they were going to do for seven years of plenty they were going to take part of the harvest a fifth and they were going to build storehouses to hold it they would lock it up no one was permitted to touch that corn during the seven years of plenty Joseph and Pharaoh knew exactly how long the years of plenty would last and exactly when the years of famine would begin and they know exactly when the years of famine will come to an end. Joseph and Pharaoh possess that information and we saw before that Pharaoh is a representative of God and Joseph is a type of Christ and of course God the Godhead knows everything about His plan of salvation He knows everything about how He would send forth the Gospel throughout the New Testament age He also knows that that age would come to an end that there would be a conclusion of it. In Revelation 11 remember it says the two witnesses when their testimony is finished and God wrote that in the first century AD. He knew the two witnesses the ministry of the Gospel in the church would reach an end a climax just as it says here in verse 53 of Genesis 41:

And the seven years of plenteousness, that was in the land of Egypt, were ended.

They began it was a wonderful time it was a glorious time they were reaping harvest by handfuls they couldn’t gather enough but then it ended it came and it went and that period of time was over and done with and then the seven years of dearth began to come and God has full knowledge of all this, this is in His plan that there will be the New Testament church age followed by the little season of great tribulation. And now remember we saw how God gives six verses to the seven years of plenty six verses to seven years of plenty and then six plus chapters to the seven years of dearth and we saw how God is seemingly magnifying that time of famine over the time of plenty. You would think that He would lift up the time of plenty that this would be the wonderful period of time that God would greatly be glorified during the seven years of plenty but remember now Pharaoh is typifying God and when is Pharaoh more greatly glorified? Was he more greatly glorified during the seven years of plenty or the seven years of famine? What about Egypt? Egypt was a power a power in the world but did they become weaker when the seven years of famine came? No it was during the seven years of famine it was during the dearth which is typifying the great tribulation that Egypt rose up and was exalted above all the nations of the world they became the greatest power in the world there was no power like in Egypt, why? Well they had corn they had corn remember we read here in Genesis 41:54:

And the seven years of dearth began to come, according as Joseph had said: and the dearth was in all lands; but in all the land of Egypt there was bread.

And then look at verse 57:

And all countries came into Egypt to Joseph for to buy corn; because that the famine was so sore in all lands.

I’m sorry verse 56:

And the famine was over all the face of the earth: …

All the face of the earth at this time all the other nations that were out there the beginnings of the Assyrians and what other nations were great powers of that day they lacked food they lacked food. If Pharaoh wanted to if he was more of a military type Pharaoh as the later Pharaoh of the Exodus was he could march he could send his army forth and he could overcome all the neighboring nations with no problem. He could easily starve them out. Well first of all, all they had to do was close these storehouses and they wouldn’t feed any of the people they wouldn’t feed anyone of the other nations and then they could send in their well fed armies and they could conquer the world that was very possible but you know without question under Joseph’s leading and Joseph’s guidance and this Pharaoh was really blessed by God in having Joseph as his second in command that he was very content he was very happy with the situation of yes Egypt was lifted up to be the greatest power in the world they were without any question a super power of that day because of the fact that Joseph interpreted the dream and they stored away the grain and the corn and so they became the most powerful nation in all the world. And so we can see now what can we learn from that? Well we can learn that during the time of the great tribulation it’s going to be a time where God is greatly exalted because Pharaoh’s typifying God. God is greatly glorified the power and might of God will be seen as never before He’ll be lifted up on high in a way that He was not lifted up during the seven years of plenty during the New Testament church age. The church age glorified God there’s no question about that the church age was a wonderful time where God sent forth the Gospel into all the world and many branches of the church were formed and they the Gospel went into all the nations of the earth it was a glorious time. However, however in this short little season now the church age lasted nineteen hundred and plus years and the great tribulation is going to be a handful of years nothing in comparison of time it’s nothing in comparison of time but in this short little season of great tribulation God is going to save more people more people across the face of the earth then were saved throughout the previous nineteen hundred and some years. In just a few short years and that is what glorifies God that glorifies God that lifts God up and that rebukes the devil that God is working this way and He’s saving people in this way. If you turn to the book of Haggai we get a glimpse of this. Haggai is right before Zechariah which comes before Malachi. In Haggai 1:1 it says:

In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, in the first day of the month, came the word of the LORD by Haggai the prophet unto Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, saying,

So when did this word come? In the first day of the month. Now in verses 14-15 of Haggai 1:

And the LORD stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and did work in the house of the LORD of hosts, their God, In the four and twentieth day of the sixth month, in the second year of Darius the king.

God was faulting them for their inactivity on building the house of God from the first day of the sixth month the word comes. The twenty fourth day of the sixth month they rise up and work God stirs up their spirit and if we would calculate that from the first to the twenty fourth day it’s twenty three days twenty three days typifying the first half of the great tribulation period where there is no work being done on the temple no construction is being worked out the people are not working God faults them for their inactivity then God stirs up their spirit of two men Joshua and Zerubbabel just as we read in Revelation 11 the two witnesses they’re lying dead in the street for three and half days representing the first half of the great tribulation then God stirs up their spirit and they rise and stand on their feet and that would be the second half of the great tribulation. So when we get to Haggai 2 it’s really focused in on the second half of the great tribulation and it says in verses 2-3 of Haggai 2:

Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, and to the residue of the people, saying, Who is left among you that saw this house in her first glory? and how do ye see it now? is it not in your eyes in comparison of it as nothing?

You see this is Zerubbabel’s house this the second temple. There were two temples there was Solomon’s temple which David made great preparation for David put away all kinds of riches to build Solomon’s temple which was a glorious and tremendous temple. People would come from afar to admire that that wonderful building and how tremendous it was and how beautiful it was. Zerubbabel’s temple on the other hand Zerubbabel’s temple is being built via grant a grant given by the king of the Medes and the Persians which would be nothing in comparison to the riches that king David had put away and Solomon had in the glory of his kingdom in building that temple. So Zerubbabel’s temple was on a much lesser scale financially that’s for certain then the first temple and God asked the question how do you see this temple in your eyes what does this temple that you’re building there look like, is it as nothing in comparison? It doesn’t look like anything what would that temple compared to the wonderful glory of Solomon’s temple and yet now read further down, verses 7-9:

And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of hosts. The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the LORD of hosts. The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the LORD of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith the LORD of hosts.

It doesn’t look like anything it doesn’t look like anything at all when you compare it to Solomon’s temple it’s nothing I mean it would be like comparing my house to the Taj Mahal it’s nothing it’s absolutely nothing but God says the glory of this latter temple will be greater than the former because God isn’t interested in what a building looks like that’s not what He has in mind. What glorifies God? But saving people saving people and so God is letting us know the church age was a glorious time and you can’t beat the architecture you can’t beat the number of buildings that are out there all across the world and it’s a tremendous sight. If you would bring all the churches together and all the members of the churches it’s tremendous you can’t say anything more than that and yet in this time of latter rain God is going to use His people a few rag tag group of believers that are going to bound together with their funds bound together with their time and their energy in getting the Gospel out using the electronic medium what’s it look like in comparison what’s it look like honestly? It looks like nothing. Have you been to Family Radio? Have you ever been to Family Radio and that institution is going to send forth the Gospel to blanket the earth to cover the earth so so many individuals are going to become saved? It looks like nothing but, but God is indicating that it will bring greater glory to Him just as the seven years of famine greatly exalt Pharaoh he’s exalted because the corn is in Egypt that’s where the corn is that’s where the sustenance is for the people and God is going to be glorified as He has never been glorified before because it pleases the Lord to use the weak things of the earth it pleases the Lord to take the beggarly things the beggarly elements and to exalt them against the high and mighty and God is going to do this at this time of great tribulation. Well let’s go back to Genesis 42 and read the first few verses there. In verses 1-9 it says:

Now when Jacob saw that there was corn in Egypt, Jacob said unto his sons, Why do ye look one upon another? 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. And Joseph’s ten brethren went down to buy corn in Egypt. But Benjamin, Joseph’s brother, Jacob sent not with his brethren; for he said, Lest peradventure mischief befall him. And the sons of Israel came to buy corn among those that came: for the famine was in the land of Canaan. 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. And Joseph saw his brethren, and he knew them, but made himself strange unto them, and spake roughly unto them; and he said unto them, Whence come ye? And they said, From the land of Canaan to buy food. And Joseph knew his brethren, but they knew not him. And Joseph remembered the dreams which he dreamed of them, and said unto them, Ye are spies; to see the nakedness of the land ye are come.

You see now we can carry this, this whole spiritual idea over. Well first let’s look at it historically where Jacob and his family are in Canaan they’re in Canaan and there’s a severe famine and yet they hear reports that there’s corn in Egypt there’s corn there. They don’t know the degree of this famine they don’t know how long it’s going to last Joseph knows and Pharaoh knows but Jacob and his sons their ignorant they don’t have any proper understanding they don’t have any real understanding of how long the famine is going to last of how severe the famine is they don’t know it’s over the face of the earth it’s covering all the lands as far as we know and yet they hear there’s corn. So Jacob says go to Egypt he tells his ten sons and get us some corn buy for us some corn but he keeps Benjamin back he keeps Benjamin back he won’t send Benjamin to Egypt with the ten brothers he loves Benjamin. Benjamin is the only son left of Rachel he thinks because he believes Joseph was killed by an evil beast so he keeps Benjamin in reserve his youngest son and he sends the other ten sons and the other ten sons go to Egypt and they go directly to Joseph they go directly to Joseph. And it would have been some kind of market and Joseph is in charge of the whole process of distributing the corn distributing the grain to the people from all the lands that are coming and they come before him and they bow down themselves you can see they come up and they bow down before Joseph the ten brothers of Joseph, Joseph recognizes them of course he knows them they don’t recognize Joseph they don’t see that it’s Joseph and that’s for a couple of reasons. One if they had stumbled over Joseph in the street coming in as some slave was doing some type of labor in the street and they had with their asses accidentally kicked him they might have recognized him if they had seen him hanging on the bars of the prison putting his face there they might have recognized him they would expect Joseph to be in that kind of situation but nobody, nobody would expect someone you sell as a slave into Egypt to rise up to be the lord of the land and they do acknowledge him to be as Pharaoh the ten brothers say later on to him you are as Pharaoh they know he’s a very important man he’s the governor of the land so that’s one thing you just wouldn’t think you wouldn’t think that someone you sold to a Midianite trader only some twenty two years or twenty one or twenty two years earlier would be there in royal garments distributing corn to all those that were coming in from the nations of the world you wouldn’t expect that at all and in all probability they had a difficult time even making eye contact with this rich young ruler who is over the land of Egypt. And of course Joseph was a young man of seventeen when he was sold and so he would have developed some more he would have grown some more he would have filled out and that would be further causing them not to recognize him and also we don’t see this here but later on it says that Joseph spoke to them through an interpreter he was not speaking Hebrew to them he spoke to someone who spoke Hebrew who then spoke to the ten sons so he was not directly speaking to the ten sons and therefore he would have been speaking Egyptian to the Hebrew interpreter to conceal his identity and so we can understand why his brethren would not recognize him when you put all these things together you just would not think that this is the man that was your annoying brother that you hated so much and wanted to kill you wouldn’t have guessed that at all. And so they come before him they bow down they fall down before him and you know the world loves these kinds of stories of revenge, revenge this is payback time this is payback. Here they are those are the ones of course Joseph knew them he knew them these are the ten brothers so called brothers that first wanted to kill me threw me into a pit sold me as a slave and they didn’t care where I ended up I could have been killed a long time ago and who knows what else could have happened to me and they didn’t care one bit so let me just turn the screws on them he could have had them immediately executed he could have executed his brothers he could have killed them on the spot and by the way he does he does speak roughly to them and he’s acting as a cruel lord to them he speaks roughly to them he accuses them of being spies you’re spies even though he knows they’re not spies you’re spies you’ve come to search out the emptiness of the land, he does throw them into prison for three days. Was Joseph getting revenge was he taking revenge? No he wasn’t taking revenge if anything he was meting out a little justice because he was the governor of the land he was the authority of the land he had knowledge of a crime that these men had committed and so he was meting out a little justice. Joseph really had a purpose in mind in doing all this and you know what the purpose was, to get his brother Benjamin into Egypt. He wanted Benjamin in Egypt and you see he could not reveal himself to the ten sons because if he says I am Joseph your brother I am Joseph and as soon as he saw them and he hugs them he kisses them and then well they’re shocked they know what they did and now he says go back here is some corn go back and tell my father Jacob that I am here and bring Jacob and bring Benjamin. Oh yes OK we’ll do that we’ll do that and then they would go home and they wouldn’t say a word because they have been covering this up for twenty some years lying to their father lying to everyone that Joseph was destroyed by an evil beast so Joseph is not about to trust these ten brothers he’s not going to trust them at all but he’s going to manipulate events and work out circumstances so that Benjamin is brought into Egypt so that Benjamin comes into Egypt. Well why is that so important? Well we know historically Benjamin’s the innocent brother Benjamin wasn’t there when they threw Joseph into a pit he wasn’t there when they sold him as a slave. Benjamin is his brother of the same mother of Rachel with Joseph he is not half brother as these other sons are these other brethren are half brothers to him are of the same father but different mothers. But more than that if we think of it spiritually, spiritually we have to keep in mind Joseph is the Lord Jesus Christ and these ten sons well they’re representatives of believers but they’re also believers that were very proud and arrogant and very much in opposition to Joseph or to Christ at a earlier time and Joseph at the same time is manipulating things with them and God is working in that area to bring them low God is going to humble these ten sons He’s going to break them before he brings them into Egypt He’s going to bring them as low as they can go but at the same time He’s working to get Benjamin because the name Benjamin means Son of the right hand, Son of My right hand and the Lord Jesus Christ is the right hand of the Father and so Benjamin the Son of My right hand is typifying the children of God the elect of God. We are the sons of Christ and Joseph is a picture of Christ who wants Benjamin he wants the elect of God he wants the sons of God in Egypt he wants them in Egypt. It’s the first part of the great tribulation he has not revealed himself he has not told his brethren who he is but he’s working he’s working behind the scenes he’s orchestrating events he’s manipulating things to get Benjamin into Egypt to bring Benjamin into Egypt where he can take care of him and feed him during this time of famine and so let’s just read this one last part here. In Genesis 42:14-20:

And Joseph said unto them, That is it that I spake unto you, saying, Ye are spies: Hereby ye shall be proved: By the life of Pharaoh ye shall not go forth hence, except your youngest brother come hither. Send one of you, and let him fetch your brother, and ye shall be kept in prison, that your words may be proved, whether there be any truth in you: or else by the life of Pharaoh surely ye are spies. And he put them all together into ward three days. And Joseph said unto them the third day, This do, and live; for I fear God: If ye be true men, let one of your brethren be bound in the house of your prison: go ye, carry corn for the famine of your houses: But bring your youngest brother unto me; so shall your words be verified, and ye shall not die. And they did so.

You see that strong emphasis fetch your brother, bring your brother, get Benjamin, get Benjamin the Son of My right hand and bring him back here bring him here. And that’s because God has a plan and just as Joseph had a plan He has a plan spiritually during the great tribulation remember Canaan is representing the church the corporate church that’s where Jacob and the sons are they thought they could they thought they could just go into Egypt temporarily they heard a report there’s corn there’s a Gospel message outside of Canaan outside of the church we’ll just go there get the necessary food we need and we’ll come back to Canaan we’ll remain in the church we’ll remain in the promise land but you see God has other plans and Jacob even though he wanted to remain he just sent them to provide temporary food for the house Jacob is going to find out about God’s plan very shortly.