And Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, It is not in me: God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace.
Genesis 41:16 KJV
Pharaoh had some disturbing dreams. Seven fat cows and sheaves of corn got eaten up by seven thin ones. He didn’t know what to make of them. But his cupbearer finally remembered that Joseph might be able to interpret the dreams.
So Pharaoh called Joseph out of prison and told him he’d heard that Joseph could interpret dreams. This verse is Joseph’s honest, humble reply. He admitted that he himself wasn’t able to interpret the dream.
Freudian sleep analysts etc. would claim to know intrinsically the interpretation of dreams. But the honest truth is that only God can give the interpretation of dreams. The world has a high view of man; the Bible has a high view of God.
So the dreams meant that seven years of bounty would be followed by seven years of famine. Joseph, with his divinely inspired wisdom, knew that Egypt needed to store up plenty in the bountiful years in order to stave off the famine in the scarce years. For that, he became Pharaoh’s right hand man to implement his plan.
“Dear Lord, please help us to interpret the dreams and visions that come our way, and to know how to respond to their messages, in Christ’s name, amen”
