The Berean Pursuit
After two full years had passed, Pharaoh had a dream: He was standing beside the Nile, when seven cows, sleek and well-fed, came up from the river and began to graze among the reeds. After them, seven other cows, sickly and thin, came up from the Nile and stood beside the well-fed cows on the bank of the river. And the cows that were sickly and thin devoured the seven sleek, well-fed cows.
Then Pharaoh woke up, but he fell back asleep and dreamed a second time: Seven heads of grain, plump and ripe, came up on one stalk. After them, seven other heads of grain sprouted, thin and scorched by the east wind. And the thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven plump, ripe ones. Then Pharaoh awoke and realized it was a dream.
In the morning his spirit was troubled, so he summoned all the magicians and wise men of Egypt. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but no one could interpret them for him.
Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh, "Today I recall my failures. Pharaoh was once angry with his servants, and he put me and the chief baker in the custody of the captain of the guard. One night both the chief baker and I had dreams, and each dream had its own meaning. Now a young Hebrew was there with us, a servant of the captain of the guard. We told him our dreams and he interpreted them for us individually. And it happened to us just as he had interpreted: I was restored to my position, and the other man was hanged."
So Pharaoh sent for Joseph, who was quickly brought out of the dungeon. After he had shaved and changed his clothes, he went in before Pharaoh.
Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I had a dream, and no one can interpret it. But I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it."
"I myself cannot do it," Joseph replied, "but God will give Pharaoh a sound answer."
Then Pharaoh said to Joseph: "In my dream I was standing on the bank of the Nile, when seven cows, well-fed and sleek, came up from the river and began to graze among the reeds. After them, seven other cows-sickly, ugly, and thin-came up. I have never seen such ugly cows in all the land of Egypt! Then the thin, ugly cows devoured the seven well-fed cows that were there first. When they had devoured them, however, no one could tell that they had done so; their appearance was as ugly as it had been before. Then I awoke.
In my dream I also saw seven heads of grain, plump and ripe, growing on a single stalk. After them, seven other heads of grain sprouted-withered, thin, and scorched by the east wind. And the thin heads of grain swallowed the seven plump ones.
I told this dream to the magicians, but no one could explain it to me."
At this, Joseph said to Pharaoh, "The dreams of Pharaoh are one and the same. God has revealed to Pharaoh what He is about to do. The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven ripe heads of grain are seven years. The dreams have the same meaning. Moreover, the seven thin, ugly cows that came up after them are seven years, and so are the seven worthless heads of grain scorched by the east wind-they are seven years of famine.
It is just as I said to Pharaoh: God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do. Behold, seven years of great abundance are coming throughout the land of Egypt, but seven years of famine will follow them. Then all the abundance in the land of Egypt will be forgotten, and the famine will devastate the land. The abundance in the land will not be remembered, since the famine that follows it will be so severe.
Moreover, because the dream was given to Pharaoh in two versions, the matter has been decreed by God, and He will carry it out shortly.
Now, therefore, Pharaoh should look for a discerning and wise man and set him over the land of Egypt. Let Pharaoh take action and appoint commissioners over the land to take a fifth of the harvest of Egypt during the seven years of abundance. Under the authority of Pharaoh, let them collect all the excess food from these good years, that they may come and lay up the grain to be preserved as food in the cities. This food will be a reserve for the land during the seven years of famine to come upon the land of Egypt. Then the country will not perish in the famine."
This proposal pleased Pharaoh and all his officials. So Pharaoh asked them, "Can we find anyone like this man, in whom the Spirit of God abides?"
Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one as discerning and wise as you. You shall be in charge of my house, and all my people are to obey your commands. Only with regard to the throne will I be greater than you."
Pharaoh also told Joseph, "I hereby place you over all the land of Egypt." Then Pharaoh removed the signet ring from his finger, put it on Joseph's finger, clothed him in garments of fine linen, and placed a gold chain around his neck. He had Joseph ride in his second chariot, with men calling out before him, "Bow the knee!" So he placed him over all the land of Egypt.
And Pharaoh declared to Joseph, "I am Pharaoh, but without your permission, no one in all the land of Egypt shall lift his hand or foot."
Pharaoh gave Joseph the name Zaphenath-paneah, and he gave him Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, to be his wife. And Joseph took charge of all the land of Egypt.
Now Joseph was thirty years old when he entered the service of Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph left Pharaoh's presence and traveled throughout the land of Egypt.
During the seven years of abundance, the land brought forth bountifully. During those seven years, Joseph collected all the excess food in the land of Egypt and stored it in the cities. In every city he laid up the food from the fields around it. So Joseph stored up grain in such abundance, like the sand of the sea, that he stopped keeping track of it; for it was beyond measure.
Before the years of famine arrived, two sons were born to Joseph by Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On. Joseph named the firstborn Manasseh, saying, "God has made me forget all my hardship and all my father's household." And the second son he named Ephraim, saying, "God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction."
When the seven years of abundance in the land of Egypt came to an end, the seven years of famine began, just as Joseph had said. And although there was famine in every country, there was food throughout the land of Egypt. When extreme hunger came to all the land of Egypt and the people cried out to Pharaoh for food, he told all the Egyptians, "Go to Joseph and do whatever he tells you."
When the famine had spread over all the land, Joseph opened up all the storehouses and sold grain to the Egyptians; for the famine was severe in the land of Egypt. And every nation came to Joseph in Egypt to buy grain, because the famine was severe over all the earth.
When Jacob learned that there was grain in Egypt, he said to his sons, "Why are you staring at one another?"
"Look," he added, "I have heard that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us, so that we may live and not die."
So ten of Joseph's brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt. But Jacob did not send Joseph's brother Benjamin with his brothers, for he said, "I am afraid that harm might befall him."
So the sons of Israel were among those who came to buy grain, since the famine had also spread to the land of Canaan.
Now Joseph was the ruler of the land; he was the one who sold grain to all its people. So when his brothers arrived, they bowed down before him with their faces to the ground. And when Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he treated them as strangers and spoke harshly to them. "Where have you come from?" he asked.
"From the land of Canaan," they replied. "We are here to buy food."
Although Joseph recognized his brothers, they did not recognize him. Joseph remembered his dreams about them and said, "You are spies! You have come to see if our land is vulnerable."
"Not so, my lord," they replied. "Your servants have come to buy food. We are all sons of one man. Your servants are honest men, not spies."
"No," he told them. "You have come to see if our land is vulnerable."
But they answered, "Your servants are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan. The youngest is now with our father, and one is no more."
Then Joseph declared, "Just as I said, you are spies! And this is how you will be tested: As surely as Pharaoh lives, you shall not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here. Send one of your number to get your brother; the rest of you will be confined so that the truth of your words may be tested. If they are untrue, then as surely as Pharaoh lives, you are spies!"
So Joseph imprisoned them for three days, and on the third day he said to them, "I fear God. So do this and you will live: If you are honest, leave one of your brothers in custody while the rest of you go and take back grain to relieve the hunger of your households. Then bring your youngest brother to me so that your words can be verified, that you may not die."
And to this they consented.
Then they said to one another, "Surely we are being punished because of our brother. We saw his anguish when he pleaded with us, but we would not listen. That is why this distress has come upon us."
And Reuben responded, "Didn't I tell you not to sin against the boy? But you would not listen. Now we must account for his blood!"
They did not realize that Joseph understood them, since there was an interpreter between them. And he turned away from them and wept. When he turned back and spoke to them, he took Simeon from them and had him bound before their eyes.
Then Joseph gave orders to fill their bags with grain, to return each man's silver to his sack, and to give them provisions for their journey. This order was carried out, and they loaded the grain on their donkeys and departed.
At the place where they lodged for the night, one of them opened his sack to get feed for his donkey, and he saw his silver in the mouth of the sack. "My silver has been returned!" he said to his brothers. "It is here in my sack."
Their hearts sank, and trembling, they turned to one another and said, "What is this that God has done to us?"
When they reached their father Jacob in the land of Canaan, they described to him all that had happened to them: "The man who is lord of the land spoke harshly to us and accused us of spying on the country.
But we told him, 'We are honest men, not spies. We are twelve brothers, sons of one father. One is no more, and the youngest is now with our father in the land of Canaan.'
Then the man who is lord of the land said to us, 'This is how I will know whether you are honest: Leave one brother with me, take food to relieve the hunger of your households, and go. But bring your youngest brother back to me so I will know that you are not spies but honest men. Then I will give your brother back to you, and you can trade in the land.'?"
As they began emptying their sacks, there in each man's sack was his bag of silver! And when they and their father saw the bags of silver, they were dismayed.
Their father Jacob said to them, "You have deprived me of my sons. Joseph is gone and Simeon is no more. Now you want to take Benjamin. Everything is going against me!"
Then Reuben said to his father, "You may kill my two sons if I fail to bring him back to you. Put him in my care, and I will return him."
But Jacob replied, "My son will not go down there with you, for his brother is dead, and he alone is left. If any harm comes to him on your journey, you will bring my gray hair down to Sheol in sorrow."
When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so they could go and anoint the body of Jesus. Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they went to the tomb. They were asking one another, "Who will roll away the stone from the entrance of the tomb?" But when they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away, even though it was extremely large.
When they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed. But he said to them, "Do not be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here! See the place where they put Him. But go, tell His disciples and Peter, 'He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see Him, just as He told you.'?"
So the women left the tomb and ran away, trembling and bewildered. And in their fear they did not say a word to anyone.
Early on the first day of the week, after Jesus had risen, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom He had driven out seven demons. She went and told those who had been with Him, who were mourning and weeping. And when they heard that Jesus was alive and she had seen Him, they did not believe it.
After this, Jesus appeared in a different form to two of them as they walked along in the country.
And they went back and reported it to the rest, but they did not believe them either.
Later, as they were eating, Jesus appeared to the Eleven and rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen.
And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: In My name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not harm them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will be made well."
After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, He was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.
And they went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked through them, confirming His word by the signs that accompanied it.