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The God Who Reveals and Rules (Genesis 41:25-37) · Reformed Thinking

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Usually when we talk about a diagnosis, we expect a lot of
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precision. Right, we want things to be very
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clear cut. Yeah, think about going to a
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hospital with a shattered arm. You know, the doctor takes an
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X-ray, throws it up on the light board, and points to a very
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clear, jagged white line. It is a totally binary situation
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at that point. Yes, the bone is broken or the
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bone is not broken. It is a clean assessment.
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And there is a strange comfort in that clarity, I think.
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There really is. We like our problems to be
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visible, to be categorized, and most of all, we like them to be
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within the realm of human solutions.
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We want to be able to fix it ourselves.
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Right. Well, welcome to reformed
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thinking. Today, our Depp Dive looks at a
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massive stack of historical and theological commentaries
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regarding Genesis 41. It is quite a stack of sources
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today. It is, and our mission today is
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to look at a diagnostic landscape that completely defies
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human intervention. We're going to see how a text
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about an ancient, catastrophic Egyptian famine shatters all of
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our modern illusions of human autonomy.
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Yeah, and it points directly to the absolute sovereignty of God.
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The commentators we are looking at today present this narrative
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as the ultimate disruption of human pride.
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Which is something we constantly struggle with, right?
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Oh, absolutely. When you think you are the
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captain of your own soul, or when a civilization believes it
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has insulated itself from disaster, this text acts as a
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theological Wrecking Ball. A Wrecking Ball is a great way
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to put it, yeah. The sources argue that Genesis
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41 is not just an ancient historical record.
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It is a striking demonstration that worldly wisdom is entirely
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bankrupt when it comes face to face with the decree of heaven.
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And the scene itself is incredibly theatrical.
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It really plays out like a movie.
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It does. The commentaries paint this
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vivid picture of a grand reversal to have Joseph a
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forgotten Hebrew prisoner. He has been languishing in a
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subterranean dungeon for years. Right falsely accused, stripped
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of his family, his dignity and his freedom, and in a matter of
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moments he has shaved, given clean garments and pushed into
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the throne room. The throne room of the most
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commanding, unassailable monarch on the face of the earth.
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But the tension in the scene is that Joseph is not standing
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there to beg for his life. No, he is not asking for a
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pardon at all. He is standing there to deliver
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a divine decree that the king cannot change.
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To grasp the sheer shock of that encounter, the sources say, we
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first need to build out the psychological and political
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world of ancient Egypt. Because we cannot read this as
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some fable happening in a vacuum.
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Right. The authors of these
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commentaries insist that we anger our reading in the precise
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historical setting. And they get very specific about
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that, don't they? They do.
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In fact, many of the sources we reviewed spend considerable time
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rejecting the Graph Wellhausen documentary hypothesis.
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Remind everyone what that hypothesis is.
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Well, it was a 19th century critical theory attempting to
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strip the Book of Genesis of its historical reliability.
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Oh, suggesting it was stitched together much later by different
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editors, Yes. But the commentators argue that
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the specific Egyptian court customs, the loan words used and
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the political structure described in Genesis 41 prove
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otherwise. Prove that it is a highly
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accurate historical account. Yes, situated in a very real
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Royal Court. I want to pause on that
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historical setting because it frames everything that follows.
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We are looking at roughly 1885 BC.
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Right during the era of the Middle Kingdom.
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The commentaries mention the reign of Cisosteros the second
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or Cisosteros the third of the 12th dynasty.
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What does the world look like at that specific moment in time?
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During the 12th Dynasty, Egypt was experiencing a golden age.
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So they were at the top of their game.
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Absolutely. This is a period characterized
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by unparalleled architectural advancement, massive irrigation
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projects, and a vast centralized government.
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Wow. Sesastras, the third in
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particular, was known for breaking the backs of the
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regional governors, the Nomarch. And centralizing all authority
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directly under the Pharaoh. So you have an empire operating
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at peak efficiency. They had staggering agricultural
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wealth. And the commentators point out
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that Egypt was universally recognized as the bread basket
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of the ancient Near East. It was the absolute economic
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center. Let us dig into that
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agricultural reality, because as I read through the stack of
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research, it became clear that agriculture was the engine
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driving this entire civilization's worldview.
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It dictated how they saw the cosmos.
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The contrast between Egypt and a place like Canaan is
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fascinating. Canaan was heavily dependent on
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unpredictable weather. They relied on the early and the
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latter seasonal rains. Right.
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If you lived in Canaan, you looked up to the sky and you
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lived in a state of constant dependence.
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But Egypt was a completely different story.
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Yeah, they relied almost entirely on the annual flooding
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of the Nile River. The mechanics of the Nile are
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essential to understanding the Egyptian psyche.
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How so? Well, every single summer,
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driven by monsoon rains far to the South in the Ethiopian
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Highlands, the Nile would flood its banks.
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And the Egyptians called this season a KET.
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Yes, a KET. And we have to understand this
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was not a terrifying, destructive flood like a
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tsunami. Right, it was a slow,
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predictable, life giving inundation.
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As the water spread out over the floodplains and then receded,
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they deposited an incredibly fertile black silt.
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This natural mechanism practically guaranteed a massive
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bountiful harvest year after year, without fail.
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Because of that closed loop predictable cycle, the
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commentaries argue that the Egyptian people developed a
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massive cultural sense of self-sufficiency.
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They did not look to the heavens and pray for rain.
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No, they look down at the river, right at their feet.
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They essentially felt like they had hacked nature.
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It created a psychological state of absolute invulnerability.
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They really thought they were untouchable.
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And that sense of invulnerability bled directly
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into their religious structures. Completely.
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The theology of the Empire was inextricably linked to this
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agricultural mechanism. The Egyptian pantheon was
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essentially a deification of their economy.
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Yes, the sources point out that they worshipped Happy, the deity
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specifically associated with the annual flooding of the Nile.
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And they worshipped Osiris too. Right, the God of the underworld
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and agriculture, whom they believed caused the crops to
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sprout from the black earth. It was a deeply entrenched,
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highly organized system of idolatry.
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And sitting at the absolute pinnacle of that idolatrous
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system is the Pharaoh himself. He is not just a political
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figurehead, is he? Not at all.
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That is a crucial point made by all the historical scholars.
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The reigning pharaoh was considered a divine being
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walking on Earth. He was viewed as the living
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incarnation of the Falcon God Horus.
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Wow. He acted as the supreme mediator
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between the gods and the Egyptian populace.
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And his primary religious and cosmic duty was maintaining a
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concept they called Mott. Yes, Mott.
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It translates roughly to universal order, balance,
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justice and harmony. So keeping the cosmos running
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smoothly, ensuring the sun rose and the river flooded, was
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essentially Pharaoh's job description.
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That was his entire purpose in their eyes.
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The commentators draw a really sharp line from that ancient
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mindset to our current cultural mindset.
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There are a lot of parallels. There are.
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That supreme confidence in an unending cycle of provision
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feels incredibly familiar. Today, we have our unquestioned
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reliance on global supply chains.
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Right, our digital stock market markets, our government safety
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Nets and our advanced agricultural technology.
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We operate under the assumption that the grocery store shelves
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will always be fully stocked. We assume the digital digits in
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our bank accounts represent concrete security.
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The authors suggest that we place our ultimate trust in our
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own versions of the Nile River. But this raises a massive
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question regarding the narrative.
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What is that? If Pharaoh is viewed as a God
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whose primary function is maintaining universal order,
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what happened psychologically to the entire empire when he is
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suddenly struck by a terrifying dream?
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A dream that his own occult experts cannot decode.
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Right. What happens then?
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The commentaries describe it as an existential crisis of the
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highest order. I can imagine.
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When Pharaoh experiences these twin dreams of the fat and gaunt
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cows and the plump and blighted ears of grain, it is not just a
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psychological disturbance. It is not just a bad night of
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sleep. No, it represents a direct,
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terrifying threat to the concept of map.
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The cosmos is communicating A disruption that Pharaoh cannot
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control. Furthermore, the failure of
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Pharaoh's magicians is a monumental intellectual
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disaster. Let us talk about those
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magicians, a group the Hebrew text calls the Hartamim.
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Yes, the Hartamim. 'Cause I think modern readers
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picture guys doing cheap card tricks, you know?
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Right, but the sources indicate these men were the intellectual
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elite of the Empire. They were Lecter priests.
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They were the supreme experts in the occult, the custodians of
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the Book of the Dead, and scholars who consulted vast
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libraries of ancient dream manuals.
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They represented the absolute pinnacle of secular philosophy
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and scientific observation in the ancient world.
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They were the men who had an answer for everything.
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And yet, when confronted with the dream sent by the sovereign
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God of Israel, their ancient manuals are useless.
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Completely useless. The commentators know that God
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entirely confounds their dark arts and their academic
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credentials. They are met with total silence.
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Pharaoh tells them the dream and they have absolutely nothing to
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say. The sources interpret this
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silence as a devastating theological polemic.
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A polemic against what? Against their entire system, the
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silence of the Egyptian wise men demonstrates that worldly wisdom
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completely fails before the throne of the true God.
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So this entire situation is God launching a direct attack on the
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false deities of Egypt. Yes, by decreeing A7 year
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famine, God is publicly demonstrating that neither Hoppy
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nor Osiris nor Pharaoh himself have any actual control.
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Control over the Nile or the harvest.
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Right. Jehovah alone holds the waters
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of the earth and the weather patterns of the globe in the
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hollow of his hand. Once those Pagan experts are
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silenced and the bankruptcy of their system is exposed, the
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stage is perfectly set. Joseph is brought out of the
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dungeon. But what the commentaries find
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so striking is how Joseph handles the moment.
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He does not offer a psychic guess.
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He does not try to flatter the king or pull out his own dream
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manual. No, he delivers an unbending
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divine decree. The text shows Joseph
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immediately directing the monarch's gaze away from the
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earth and toward the heavens. If we look closely at the
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commentary on verses 25 to 27, the scholars highlight how
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Joseph breaks down the interpretation with absolute
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clarity. He attributes the knowledge
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entirely to God, utilizing the Hebrew term Elohim.
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Yes, Joseph says, God has shown Pharaoh what he's about to do.
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He does not use speculative language.
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He gives definitive declarative statements.
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He states that the seven good cows are 7 years of plenty.
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And he states that the seven lean cows are 7 years of severe
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famine. He defines the repetition in the
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dreams with an absolute equivalence.
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The structure of his speech is entirely authoritative.
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And the severity of this famine is staggering.
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Yeah, Joseph says. The famine will be so total, so
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devastating, that the previous seven years of unprecedented
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abundance will be entirely forgotten.
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Forgotten in the land of Egypt, the text actually says the
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famine will consume the land. That imagery of the land being
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eaten alive by starvation is terrifying.
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It is the commentators spent a great deal of time analyzing
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verse 32 where Joseph explains why the dream was doubled.
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Joseph tells Pharaoh that the dream was repeated because The
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thing is fixed by God. And God will shortly bring it
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about. Now the commentaries dive
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heavily into the original Hebrew grammar here.
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The word translated as fixed or established is Nikon.
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Right, it is a nephal participle derived from the root verb kun.
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Hold on, let us translate that from Hebrew grammar.
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Speak for a moment. Sure thing.
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What does a nephal participle actually do to a sentence?
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Why does that specific grammatical classification
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matter so much to these theologians?
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It is a great question. In Hebrew grammar, verbs operate
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in different stems that indicate the relationship between the
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subject and the action. You have stems for simple
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action, intensive action, and causative action.
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So where does knee fall fit in? The knee fall stem frequently
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functions as a passive or reflexive voice.
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In this specific context, the scholars identify it as a divine
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passive. A divine passive, meaning the
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action is being done to the subject by an unseen divine
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actor. Yes, the theological meaning is
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massive. The matter of the famine is
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firmly, unalterably fixed, prepared, and determined by God
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Himself. It is not a possibility.
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It is a locked decree, right? So to be clear, Joseph is not
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looking at meteorological data. He is not offering a prediction
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of what might happen based on some shifting atmospheric
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pressures over the Mediterranean Sea.
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Or a disruption in the Ethiopian monsoon season?
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That is right, the sources argue.
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This is the immutable decree of the Almighty.
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And many of the theological commentaries utilize this single
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Hebrew word Nakon to dismantle certain modern theological
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frameworks. Specifically, they argue that
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this passage destroys the philosophical concept known as
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open theism. We should define open theism for
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you listening because it is a term that gets thrown around in
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academic circles. But the implications of it
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affect how everyday people view God.
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From what I understand, open theism is the idea that God does
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not possess exhaustive, definite foreknowledge of the future.
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Primarily because he chooses to leave the future open to react
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to the free will of human beings.
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The commentators describe open theism as a framework that
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presents a highly reactionary deity.
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In that view, God is essentially guessing at the future.
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Adapting his plans on the fly based on what humans decide to
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do. Or passively observing weather
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patterns and doing his best to to mitigate the damage.
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The reform scholars writing these commentaries argue
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violently against that view. They point to Genesis 41 to show
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that God is not reacting to the Egyptian climate.
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He decrees the unprecedented plenty, he decrees the
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devastating famine, and he ordains the precise means by
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which the people will survive it.
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The sources argue that God from all eternity did freely and
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unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass.
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He is the active sovereign cause behind the seven years of
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wealth. And he is equally the act of
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sovereign cause behind the seven years of drought.
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I can hear the pushback forming in the minds of the audience
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right now. Oh, absolutely.
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Because whenever the concept of an unalterable divine decree is
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introduced, the immediate reaction is philosophical
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pushback. We struggle with it.
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If God has already fixed the famine unalterably, if it is
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completely locked in by a divine passive decree, and nothing
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Pharaoh does can change the weather, the natural human
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reaction is fatalism. People will ask why do anything
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at all? Right.
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If the outcome of the next 14 years is 100% determined by God,
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why not just sit back, enjoy the seven good years, and wait for
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the starmation to happen? The commentators anticipate that
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exact objection. How did they address it?
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They acknowledge that fatalism is the natural secular reaction
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to absolute sovereignty, but they argue it is entirely
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foreign to biblical Providence. In the theological framework of
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the text, certainty never breeds passivity.
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The scholars point out a fascinating paradox.
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A fixed divine decree is the very catalyst that makes human
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action urgent and necessary. Because the matter is
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unalterably fixed by God, taking action to prepare for it becomes
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an absolute requirement. The text illustrates that
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massive shift from theological fact to human action right in
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verse 33. The commentaries call this the
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hinge of the entire application. Yes, the Hebrew text utilizes a
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specific transition word, wupa. Which translates to now,
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therefore. The commentators note how
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drastically the tone of the speech shifts at this word.
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Up until this point, Joseph has been dealing in indicative
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revelation. An indicative statement is
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simply a statement of what is true, a declaration duration of
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reality. But with wiata the text moves
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into imperative application. Meaning it shifts to statements
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of what must be done in response to that reality.
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NOW therefore bridges the gap between knowing the theology and
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executing the action. And the grammatical analysis of
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the sources highlights something astonishing here.
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Joseph begins using just a verbs.
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In Hebrew, Joseph's are third person commands that carry a
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strong expression of desire or imperative force.
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Joseph looks at the king and says, let Pharaoh look at a
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discerning and wise man. And let him appoint overseers
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over the land. We really need to pause and
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appreciate the sheer audacity of this historical moment.
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Think about the power dynamics in that room.
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You have a prisoner, a Hebrew. A man who was considered
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culturally lower than an Egyptian.
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A man who was literally shaving his face in a subterranean
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prison just moments ago. Standing before the absolute
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ruler of the known world, a man believed to be a God.
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And he is using Justif commands. He is telling the Supreme
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Monarch how to run his empire. The commentaries view this as a
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demonstration of the supreme confidence granted to a man
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filled with the Holy Spirit. Joseph does not cower.
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He does not hedge his words. He aggressively advocates for
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the appointment of a mediator, an administrator who possesses
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the divine wisdom necessary to handle the coming wrath of the
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famine. Joseph uses 2 specific Hebrew
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adjectives to describe this necessary man, Nabon, meaning
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discerning or understanding. And hakam meaning wise.
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Joseph then proceeds to lay out a highly specific administrative
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plan. He tells Pharaoh to collect 1/5
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of all the agricultural produce during the seven Years of
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Plenty. And to store that grain under
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royal authority in the various cities.
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It is a highly disciplined communal economic plan.
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The underlying principle is that the private abundance of the
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citizens must be organized and centralized for public
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preservation. Ensuring that the entire land
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does not perish when the drought hits.
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The theological commentaries use this specific economic plan to
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illustrate a vital concept from systematic theology known as
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concurrence. This is how they address the
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fatalism objection we discussed earlier.
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Concurrence is the doctrine stating that God's primary
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decree, in this case the unalterable famine, operates in
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perfect harmony with secondary causes.
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God's absolute sovereignty does not negate Egyptian weather
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patterns, human psychology, or physical labor.
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It certainly does not negate Joseph's physical duty to
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construct actual physical storehouses and employ
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accountants to track the grain. The theologians argue that God
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ordains the ultimate end, which is the survival of the people.
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But he equally ordains the precise practical means by which
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that survival is achieved, which is the intense labor of
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gathering the grain. To make that concept of
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concurrence a bit more accessible, let us think about
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it like an author writing a highly detailed novel.
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The author has absolute sovereignty over the story.
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The author has decreed exactly how the final chapter will end.
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But within the reality of the narrative, the characters still
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have to make choices, run from danger, build alliances and
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swing swords to reach that ending.
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Their actions are the ordained means to the ordained ends.
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If a character knows a hurricane is guaranteed to hit their city
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in chapter 10, they do not sit on the couch and shrug.
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The certainty of the hurricane drives them to board up the
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windows and evacuate. The absolute certainty requires
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Regent prudent action. But looking back at the
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narrative in the Royal Court, how does Pharaoh's
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administration react to this? You have a Hebrew slave
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proposing a complete national economic overhaul to the
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greatest superpower on earth. The reaction detailed in verse
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37 is staggering, and the commentators point to it as a
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miracle of divine persuasion. The proposal seemed good to
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Pharaoh and to all his servants. Think about the men in that
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room. This is the same Pagan court,
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the same group of elite magicians and advisors who could
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not interpret the dreams themselves.
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Yet they are forced to recognize a transcendent, undeniable
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wisdom in Joseph. The sources argued this sets the
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stage for his massive exaltation.
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They recognize the spirit of the gods resting upon him, even if
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their theological understanding is flawed.
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The commentators draw a theological principle from this
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When God intends to save a people, he raises up a specific
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anointed mediator whose divine wisdom completely silences and
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overrides the folly of the world.
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As fascinating as the economic and political maneuvering is,
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the commentaries insist that this narrative is not just about
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surviving A7 year drought. They argue it is not simply an
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ancient manual for agricultural administration.
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It is a localized rescue mission, yes, but it carries
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massive cosmic and historical stakes for one very specific,
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seemingly insignificant family. To understand those stakes, the
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scholars demand that we place this passage within the larger
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literary structure of the Book of Genesis.
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Genesis is organized around a Hebrew word, teledot.
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This word translates roughly to generations or the account of.
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The book is divided into these different family histories.
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At this point in the text, we are situated within the teledot
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of Jacob. And the overarching theological
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tension of this entire section of Genesis is the preservation
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of the Abrahamic covenant. God had made a binding promise
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to Abraham, promising him a specific land, a numerous seed,
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and a universal blessing that would impact all the nations of
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the earth. That covenant is the theological
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burden of the entire book. The commentators trace the logic
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here. If Jacob's family, who are
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currently residing as small time shepherds in Canaan, starved to
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death during this severe region wide famine, the entire covenant
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fails. The messianic line of Judah is
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permanently extinguished. The promised savior of the world
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never comes. The historical stakes could not
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possibly be higher. The sources paint this picture
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of God's hidden hand moving behind the scenes of global
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politics. They argue that God is
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orchestrating the entire complex machinery of the Egyptian
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Empire. Giving a Pagan king terrifying
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nightmares and manipulating the macroeconomics of the ancient
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Near East. Solely to position his chosen
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deliverer in the exact back spot necessary to save this fragile,
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dysfunctional covenant family. The commentators frequently
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referenced Psalm 105 to demonstrate this overarching
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Providence in preserving the promised seed.
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The Psalm reflects backward on this history, stating He called
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down a famine on the land and destroyed all their supplies of
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food, and he sent a man before them, Joseph, sold as a slave.
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They bruised his feet with shackles.
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His neck was put in irons till what he foretold came to pass,
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till the word of the Lord proved him true.
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The scholars argue this proves God uses immense suffering and
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global upheaval as the instruments of his saving grace.
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And that leads us into the massive amount of commentary
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dedicated to the typology in this text.
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Now we need to be careful here because the sources clarify that
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Joseph is not Jesus. They are not making an identical
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1 to 1 allegorical comparison where every minor detail means
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something hidden. They define biblical typology as
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historical patterns is ordained by God that find their ultimate
23:12
fulfillment in Christ. Joseph's life traces A
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deliberate redemptive pattern. The parallels drawn by the
23:18
theologians are extensive and, they argue, entirely textually
23:22
warranted. They map out the lives of both
23:24
figures to show the ordained pattern.
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Both Jesus and Joseph were the dearly beloved sons of their
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fathers. Both were vehemently hated,
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misunderstood and betrayed by their own brethren.
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Both were sold for pieces of silver out of envy and greed.
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Both were stripped of their garments and a public display of
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humiliation. Both descended into the pit, a
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place representing severe suffering and the shadow of
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death. Both were falsely accused by a
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wicked world despite their absolute innocence.
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The commentators also point out that both suffered alongside 2
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criminals saving one while the other perished.
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They compare the fate of the cupbearer and the Baker in the
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Egyptian prison to the fate of the two thieves crucified
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alongside Christ. The connection heavily
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emphasized in our specific text today centers on that dramatic
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movement from the depths of humiliation to the heights of
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glory. The theological pattern is
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clear. After the deep, unjust
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humiliation comes the glorious, vindicating exaltation.
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Joseph is brought out of the darkness of the dungeon.
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He is openly filled with the Spirit of God.
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And he is exalted to the right hand of the Supreme Ruler to
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distribute the Bread of Life to a starving world.
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The commentaries argue that in the exact same historical
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pattern, the Lord Jesus Christ is raised from the darkness of
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the tomb. Vindicated by the Spirit and
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exalted to the right hand of God the Father Almighty.
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They argue that Christ currently reigns as King of Kings, holding
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the keys to eternal life, offering the bread of life to a
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spiritually starving world. I do want to ask about the
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timeline regarding who gets saved and when, because the
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commentaries point out a specific sequence of events.
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If we track the historical story of who receives the grain,
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Joseph saves the Egyptians first.
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He distributes the Bread of Life to the Gentile nations long
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before his own Hebrew family gets any help.
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How do the sources fit that sequence into the prophetic
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pattern? That sequence is a major of
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discussion, particularly among commentators who utilize A
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dispensational premillennial understanding of Scripture.
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They argue there is a highly specific prophetic pattern at
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work in the timeline. They note that Joseph is
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rejected by his brothers, goes into Egypt and takes a Gentile
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bride named Asana. He then distributes bread to the
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Gentiles first during the beginning of the famine.
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It is only later, deep into the agonizing severity of the
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drought, that his brethren representing national Israel
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finally come to him for salvation.
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And the commentators emphasize a crucial detail.
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The brothers do not recognize Joseph the first time they meet
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him. That makes sense historically
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because he is dressed in Egyptian royal garments.
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Speaking the Egyptian language through an interpreter and
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carrying an Egyptian name, Zaphaneth Pena.
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He looks completely foreign to them.
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The theologians argue this typifies the current state of
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redemptive history. They claim that Christ, having
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been rejected by his brethren, is currently taking a Gentile
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bride, the Church. And saving the nations while
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national Israel remains in a state state of spiritual
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blindness, failing to recognize him.
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However, the Genesis narrative shows that the second time the
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brothers meet Joseph, he makes himself known to them.
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And there's weeping and reconciliation.
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The commentators argue this foreshadows a future time of
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intense tribulation, often called Jacob's Trouble.
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Which is mirrored by the severe famine.
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They assert that at Christ's second coming, the second
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meeting, God will break their stubborn rebellion.
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And national Israel will finally look upon the one they pierced,
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recognizing their true brother and Savior.
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That is an incredibly intricate parallel.
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But the commentators do not just leave this as an academic
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exercise in finding historical patterns.
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They take this historical event and point it like a laser at the
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modern reader. They argue that Genesis 41 acts
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as a harsh mirror, forcing us to confront our own modern idols
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and false theological systems. First and foremost, the sources
27:15
we reviewed argue that this text thoroughly dismantles the modern
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television prosperity gospel. For those who might not use that
27:22
term, the prosperity gospel is the teaching that God always
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desires earthly wealth, unbroken physical health, and constant
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financial increase for humanity. And that suffering or lack is a
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sign of weak faith. The commentators assert that the
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prosperity gospel claims abundance is the guaranteed
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right of every believer. But they argue the text of
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Genesis 41 completely contradicts that premise.
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The narrative clearly shows shows God explicitly and
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purposefully ordaining an economy crushing, devastating
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famine. He inflicts this massive loss of
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wealth and comfort for his own higher redemptive purposes.
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The scholars argue that God is infinitely more concerned with
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preserving the Messianic line, crushing the idolatry of the
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Egyptian pantheon, and bringing Jacob's sons to repentance.
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Than he is with maintaining the gross domestic product of the
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ancient Near East. The theological warning is that
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earthly abundance is incredibly fragile and can be sovereignly
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vanished in a single moment. And beyond targeting the
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prosperity gospel, the commentaries also use this text
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to critique the secular pragmatism they see infecting
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modern religious institutions. The authors draw a comparison
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between modern church growth strategies and Pharaoh's
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magicians. They argue there is a heavy
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reliance today on seeker sensitive methodologies.
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Where leaders believe that by analyzing demographic data,
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conducting market surveys, and employing corporate marketing
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strategies, they can manufacture growth and secure the future.
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The commentators argue these leaders act just like the heart
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of them. The Egyptian magicians had all
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the ancient manuals, all the sociological data, and all the
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academic credentials of their day.
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But they possessed no actual truth when the crisis hit.
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The sources warned that the famine of God's judgment will
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utterly consume shallow man centered methodologies.
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And they insist that true preservation only comes from
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relying entirely on the revealed Word of God.
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So bringing all this theology down to the individual reading
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the commentaries today. Most people listening are not
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running an ancient empire. We are not managing the state
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agriculture of a superpower. We do not have literal
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storehouses to build, so. What does gathering grain look
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like for a person right now, during their own years of
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plenty, according to the sources?
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The commentators frame this application using a concept
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known as the third use of the law.
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Let us define that quickly, because that assumes knowledge
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of the 1st 2 uses. As I recall, the first use of
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the law is like a mirror, exposing human sin and driving a
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person to seek a Savior. The second use is like a bridal
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restraining civil evil in society through the spread of
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punishment. So what is the third use?
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The third use of the law acts as a guide for the believer in
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their grateful obedience to God. The commentators argue that
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because God has revealed in his Word that spiritual famine and
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judgement are coming, believers are commanded to take prudent,
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urgent action in response. They argue that gathering grain
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means utilizing your current season of peace, freedom and
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plenty to stockpile spiritual truth.
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They suggest this involves catechizing children, intensely
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memorizing Scripture, and grounding families in robust
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historical dogmatics. A logic being that a famine is
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inevitable. The sources frequently cite the
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prophet Amos, who warns of a coming famine, not of bread or
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water, but of hearing the words of the Lord.
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The commentators argue that when that spiritual famine strikes a
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culture, if a family has built those internal storehouses of
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truth during the good years, their household will not starve.
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They will possess a massive reserve of divine wisdom to draw
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upon when the surrounding culture offers nothing but
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silence. Much like the Egyptian
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magicians. But the commentaries push the
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application even further. Building storehouses of truth is
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the practical response. But the highest, most severe
31:03
warning in the sources is the command to flee to the true
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Joseph. The authors argue this is the
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hinge of personal salvation. They point out that the
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Egyptians false refuges, the predictable Nile River, the
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brilliant magicians, their massive accumulation of wealth,
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were completely consumed and rendered useless by the drought.
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The commentators warned that modern securities will face the
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same fate under the scrutiny of God's holy justice.
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They argue that a person's retirement accounts, their
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political affiliations, and their perceived moral self
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righteousness will not survive the judgement.
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The theological claim is that on our own we possess no grain.
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We are entirely spiritually bankrupt.
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The commentators state that the only viable answer for the
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modern reader is to do precisely what Pharaoh commanded the
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starving Egyptian citizens to do.
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When the famine hit its peak and the people cried out to the
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throne for bread, Pharaoh simply pointed and said, going to
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Joseph. The sources draw a Direct Line
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from that command to the modern call of the Gospel.
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They note that as Joseph rode in his royal chariot, the vanguard
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cried out abrek, meaning bow the knee.
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The commentators argue that just as every knee in Egypt had to
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bow to Joseph to receive physical bread, every human
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being must eventually bow the knee to the exalted Christ.
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They argued the text demands that individuals abandon all
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trust in their own self righteousness and go to the
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appointed mediator to receive the bread of eternal life.
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Because he alone holds the keys to the storehouses of heaven.
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To wrap up our deep dive into these sources today, it is clear
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the commentaries view Genesis 41 as vastly more than a moralistic
32:40
fable about the benefits of agricultural planning.
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They reject the idea that it is just an ancient rags to riches
32:46
story about a slave climbing the corporate ladder in a royal.
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Court. The sources present this text as
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a striking, definitive declaration of God's absolute
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supremacy over nations, over the intricacies of weather patterns,
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and over for the entire span of human history.
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They argue that God orchestrates all these massive geopolitical
33:05
events to exalt his son and to save his people.
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And the scholars clarify that he accomplishes this with absolute
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microscopic precision, utilizing the very real actions of men,
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even when the circumstances appear entirely chaotic and
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hopeless to the human eye. I want to leave you with a final
33:23
thought to ponder something that builds on the warnings we found
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in these commentaries. We talked extensively about the
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Egyptian arrogance born of their reliance on the Nile and how
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comfortable we are today with our own modern conveniences, our
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supply chains and our wealth. What if the current abundance
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and the daily comforts you enjoy right now are not actually a
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reward for your own cleverness or hard work?
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What if they are in reality a divine test of your stewardship?
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A season purposefully granted to you right now, not for your own
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indulgence, but so you can urgently build storehouses of
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truth for a generation that will inevitably face a devastating
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famine of faith. Remember that X-ray machine we
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talked about at the beginning? We all want a clean, simple
34:03
picture of our lives, something we can easily control,
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categorize, and point to. But the commentaries argue that
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God is operating on a scale that completely defies our human
34:13
instruments, decreeing the future with absolute,
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unalterable certainty. So that we have absolutely no
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choice but to trust the physician instead of trying to
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control the diagnosis. Thank you for joining us on this
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deep dive. Keep seeking truth.