Genesis 41:17 - Meaning and Application

Pharaoh told Joseph his dream. He said he was standing by the bank of the Nile River and saw the cows, both the fat ones and the thin ones, come up out of the water. Egypt had no rain, as appears in Zechariah 14:18, so the country’s harvest depended on the river flooding at a certain time each year. If the river rose to fifteen or sixteen cubits, there was plenty. If it rose only twelve or thirteen cubits, or less, there was famine. This shows how many ways God can give his gifts through providence, or his wise care over the world. Yet whatever second causes may be, our dependence is still on the first Cause, God, who makes every creature what it is to us, whether rain or river.

Joseph then explained the dream and told Pharaoh that it meant seven years of plenty would come right away, followed by seven years of famine. The two dreams meant the same thing, but the repetition showed the certainty, nearness, and importance of what was coming (Genesis 41:32). In this way, God often shows the unchangeable certainty of his purpose by two unchangeable things (Hebrews 6:17-18). The covenant is sealed with two sacraments, and in one of them there is both bread and wine. In the dream, the meaning is one, yet it is repeated, because the matter is sure.

The two dreams also pointed to two things in which people most feel plenty and shortage, grass and grain. The fat and thin cows showed plenty and scarcity of grass for the cattle. The full and thin ears of grain showed plenty and scarcity of food for people. This is a reminder of how changeable the comforts of this life are. After great plenty, great scarcity may come. No matter how firmly we think our mountain stands, if God speaks the word, it will quickly be moved. We cannot be sure that tomorrow will be like today, or that next year will be better than this one (Isaiah 56:12). We must learn how to go without as well as how to live in abundance.

We also see God’s goodness in sending seven years of plenty before the years of famine, so that people could prepare for what was ahead. He sets one time against another (Ecclesiastes 7:14). Providence, God’s great housekeeper, has wisely ordered the life of this large family from the beginning until now. There have been many changes in the seasons, and the earth’s harvest is sometimes more and sometimes less. Yet, taken over time, what was shown by the manna is usually true in daily providence, “He who gathered much had nothing left over, and he who gathered little had no lack” (Exodus 16:18).

We also see the passing nature of worldly things. The great increase from the years of plenty was swallowed up by the years of famine. Even what seemed like a great surplus only kept people alive (Genesis 41:29-31). Food is for the stomach, and the stomach for food, but God will destroy both one day (1 Corinthians 6:13). There is bread that leads to everlasting life, bread that will never be forgotten, and it is worth working for that bread (John 6:27). Those who make the things of this world their good things will find it painful to remember that they already received their reward in full (Luke 16:25).

We should also notice that God revealed this to Pharaoh ahead of time. As king of Egypt, Pharaoh was meant to be the father of his country and to make wise provision for the people. Rulers are called shepherds, which means they must not only govern, but also feed their people.