GENESIS 41

Well, it was only a matter of time before this was the blog title! It’s difficult to read Genesis 41 and not just see God in charge all over the place! He’s sending dreams to Pharaoh. He’s got His ready-made interpreter (Joseph) in place. He’s gearing up to save the whole world from a terrible famine, and He knows just how to do it.

One of the things that strikes me so deeply in this chapter is that God is perfectly able to communicate with Pharaoh. I mean, this is a man who is deeply, deeply entrenched in a heathen culture. He worships everything — from the sun to the river to the animals. Yet, God knows just what to do in order to talk to Pharaoh.

He sends dreams with images that Pharaoh can understand and relate to, dreams that wake him up (pun intended). And, when these dreams trouble Pharaoh and nobody can help him out, God has already prepared a way for Pharaoh to discover Joseph — through Joseph’s interpretation of the cupbearer’s and baker’s dreams.

And of course, all of this is designed to help Pharaoh understand an even bigger message — that there is a God greater than all the gods in Egypt. There is a God who can actually discern the future and provide help in times of trouble. None of those Egyptian gods told Pharaoh about the impending famine, even though he worshiped them and sacrificed to them every single day. No, it was only the God of heaven who knew... and approached Pharaoh in order to let him know.

God isn’t offended when we are ignorant of His existence or even when we ignore Him. And He’s not even limited by the fact that we don’t know Him. He can come to us anytime, anywhere and make Himself known. He knows just how to communicate so we can hear and see and understand.

With such a God, we are never at a disadvantage. In all things, He definitely knows exactly what He’s doing!