Genesis 41:1 - Meaning and Application

Notice, first, the delay in Joseph’s rise to honor. It was not until the end of two full years (Genesis 41:1), after he had put his case in the chief butler’s hands and had begun to hope for relief. We need patience, not only while suffering, but while waiting. Joseph stayed in prison until the time when his word came (Psalm 105:19).

God has a set time for delivering his people. That time will come, even if it seems slow. When it does come, it will prove to have been the best time, so we should wait for it (Habakkuk 2:3). We should not think two full years is too long to wait.

Notice also the means of Joseph’s release, Pharaoh’s dreams, which are described here. If we looked at them as ordinary dreams, we would see only the strange and foolish wanderings of an active mind. It imagines cows as wild beasts, even beasts that eat their own kind, and ears of grain as eating one another. In many dreams, and even in one dream, there is much emptiness and nonsense (Ecclesiastes 5:7).

Since God no longer speaks to us in that way, there is little need to pay close attention to such dreams or repeat them. Telling foolish dreams only leads to foolish talk. But Pharaoh’s dreams carried clear signs that they came from God. So when he woke up, his spirit was troubled (Genesis 41:8).

It is natural to be shaken when we receive any unusual message from heaven, because we know we have no right to expect good news from there on our own. Pharaoh’s magicians were stumped, and their art failed them. These dreams did not fit within what they could explain, so they could not interpret them.

This made Joseph’s explanation by the Spirit of God stand out even more clearly. Human reason, skill, and foresight had to fail so that divine revelation could shine more brightly in the work of our redemption (1 Corinthians 2:13-14). Compare this with Daniel 2:27, Daniel 4:7, and Daniel 5:8.

Joseph’s own dreams had led to his suffering, and now Pharaoh’s dreams became the means of his release.