#1097;I slept with her about that. But she was refused again and again. One day, when no one was in the house, Potiphar’s wife grabbed him by his clothes and began to ask him to stay with her. He left his clothes in her hands and ran out of the house. Potiphar’s wife called the servants. When they met, she lied, accusing Joseph of trying to take her by force (Genesis 39:14-15).
She kept Joseph’s clothes with her until Potiphar returned home, and then she told him this lying story as well. Upon hearing this, Potiphar became furious and imprisoned Joseph where the king’s prisoners were.
But the Lord was with Joseph and was merciful to him. The Lord gave him reverence in the eyes of the warden, and he gave into the hands of Joseph all the prisoners who were there, and Joseph was in charge of everything they did there. The warden did not look after anything that was under the leadership of Joseph (Genesis 39:23).
While Joseph was in prison, there was an attempt to poison Pharaoh in Egypt. As a result, the pharaoh sent his chief cupbearer and chief breadwinner to the prison where Joseph was. Potiphar himself ordered Joseph to watch over them (Genesis 40:4). This indicates that, most likely, Potiphar did not believe that Joseph was guilty of anything.
Over time, Joseph became friends with these two people. One morning he noticed that they were extremely sad. Joseph asked what they were so worried about. They told him that last night they had both had a disturbing dream, the meaning of which they could not understand. Joseph, who was kind to everyone, asked them to tell him their dream (Genesis 40:5-8). He knew that if God really wanted to tell them something through a dream, He would also reveal the hidden meaning to them.
The cupbearer dreamed of a vine on which there were three branches that blossomed, their color appeared, and berries grew and ripened. He took the berries, squeezed them into Pharaoh’s cup and gave him to drink. With God’s help, Joseph understood the meaning of this dream. He told the cupbearer that in three days he would be released from prison and he would again become the chief cupbearer (Genesis 40:9-13).
Joseph asked the cupbearer to remember him when this dream came true. He asked the cupbearer to tell Pharaoh that Joseph was innocent and asked him to release him from prison. However, we will see later that the cupbearer did not mention this for a long time (Genesis 40:23; 41:9-14).
The farmer’s dream did not have such a pleasant interpretation. He dreamed that he was carrying three baskets of food on Pharaoh’s head. But hungry birds flew in and began to peck at the food. It was difficult for Joseph to tell the farmer the truth, but he knew he had to do it. And he told the farmer that in three days Pharaoh will take off his head, hang his body on a tree, and the birds will peck at his flesh (1M 40:16-19). Horrible forecast, isn’t it?
Three days later it was Pharaoh’s birthday. On this day, a feast was arranged, and by the special favor of the pharaoh, some prisoners were released from prison. The butler was dismissed and took his former place. On the same day, the breadwinner was hanged, and the birds pecked at his flesh. Everything happened exactly as Joseph predicted.
Joseph is released from prison
Another two years passed, and one day Pharaoh had two dreams that surprised him. He sent two wise men to Egypt to find out what these dreams meant. But none of them could explain what these strange dreams meant. And then the butler remembered Joseph. He told Pharaoh about Joseph and how he interpreted dreams for him and the breadwinner.
Of course, Pharaoh sent for Joseph. Finally, he was able to leave the prison. He cut his hair and changed his clothes before being brought to Pharaoh. Joseph said that he himself did not have the power to interpret dreams, but God did, and He would give the interpretation through Joseph.
In the first dream, Pharaoh dreamed that he was standing near a river, and seven fat cows were coming out of it. After them, seven other cows emerge from the river, thin in appearance and lean in flesh, and eat the first seven. The strange thing was that even after they ate them, they remained thin (Genesis 41:17-21).
In the second dream, the pharaoh saw that on one stalk there were seven ears of corn, plump and good. After that, seven thin and wind-dried ears of corn grew. And the lean ears devoured the seven fat ears (1M 41:22-24).
Joseph told Pharaoh that the meaning of both dreams was the same. The reason for this was that God wanted Pharaoh to listen to the warnings contained in them. Joseph said that the seven fat cows and seven good ears of corn represent seven years of great abundance in the land of Egypt. Seven lean cows and wind-dried ears of corn meant that these seven years would be followed by seven years of famine. Cattle will die, there will be no harvest, neither people nor animals will have enough sustenance. Then there will be a great famine in Egypt that will last seven years.
Joseph rules Egypt
Pharaoh was amazed at what God revealed to Joseph. He asked Joseph what they could do to be prepared for a great famine. Joseph answered: “and now let Pharaoh find a man of understanding and wisdom, and let him set him over the land of Egypt. Let Pharaoh do it, and let him appoint governors over the land, and let him collect a fifth of the harvest of the Egyptian land in seven years of prosperity. And let them gather all the food of those good years that are coming, and let them gather the grain under Pharaoh’s hand, for food in the cities, and let them keep it. And that food will be in reserve for the land for the seven years of famine that will come in the land of Egypt – and the land will not be destroyed by famine” (1M 41:33-36). This seemed like a reasonable decision to the rulers of Egypt. If they preserve what the earth will give in the years of abundance, then when famine comes, they will have enough. Rachel, and he wanted to take her as his wife. But for him then everything did not turn out as well as he would have liked. Laban tricked him by marrying Jacob to his other daughter, Leah. However, after seven years of hard work, he was given the opportunity to marry Rachel. Thus, he had two wives. from you” (1M 41:40).
So we see that God gave his obedient servant Joseph a rather powerful post. Remember, He did much the same for Moses.
Joseph obeyed God even in those moments when it seemed that everything in his life was not going well. After difficult years, God blessed Joseph, placing him in charge of Egypt second in importance after Pharaoh. This is a good lesson for us too. We must entrust our destiny to God and obey His laws, and then He will not leave us.
Thirteen years after he was sold into slavery at seventeen, Joseph became the head of the most powerful state of that time. He was thirty years old then. Pharaoh gave Joseph precious clothes, put a gold chain around his neck, and gave him his ring, which was a state seal (Genesis 41:42). He also gave Joseph a wife. Her name was Asenefa, and she was the daughter of a priest.
Time passed, and Joseph began to notice that the land began to give food in abundance. He was able to see that God was fulfilling his promise of seven years of abundance. And they began to collect surpluses in the cities, in order to store them in special warehouses and thus prepare for the coming seven years of famine. So much grain was gathered for storage that Joseph could not even count it (Genesis 41:46-49).
Before the famine came, Joseph became the father of two sons. Their names were Manasseh and Ephraim. This God-given blessing helped Joseph to forget the long, lonely years he had spent in prison and the evil his brothers had done to him.
Meanwhile, seven years of prosperity came to an end, and seven years of famine began. The rains stopped, dry winds began to blow, and the harvest began to die. It happened as predicted by Joseph. Famine befell all lands, except Egypt, where food was sufficient. When the people of Egypt ran out of their own supplies, they begged Pharaoh to help them. Pharaoh sent them to Joseph and ordered them to do as he told them (1M 41:54-55).
The famine in the land increased, and Joseph opened storehouses and began to sell bread to the Egyptians. There was famine throughout the land, so not only Egyptians, but also residents of other countries came to Joseph.
Thus, Joseph’s prediction came true. He listened to God and saved grain for many years, which saved the lives of many people during the famine. If we follow God’s laws, He will not leave us either. We will continue the story about Joseph in the article Joseph : son of Jacob Part 2 [DB15].