DONNIE DAILY GEMS FOR SUNDAY JANUARY 14:
DAILY BIBLE READING
Genesis 40-42The Message (MSG)
40 1-4 As time went on, it happened that the cupbearer and the baker of the
king of Egypt crossed their master, the king of Egypt. Pharaoh was furious
with his two officials, the head cupbearer and the head baker, and put them
in custody under the captain of the guard; it was the same jail where Joseph
was held. The captain of the guard assigned Joseph to see to their needs.
4-7 After they had been in custody for a while, the king's cupbearer and
baker, while being held in the jail, both had a dream on the same night,
each dream having its own meaning. When Joseph arrived in the morning, he
noticed that they were feeling low. So he asked them, the two officials of
Pharaoh who had been thrown into jail with him, "What's wrong? Why the long
faces?"
8 They said, "We dreamed dreams and there's no one to interpret them."
Joseph said, "Don't interpretations come from God? Tell me the dreams."
9-11 First the head cupbearer told his dream to Joseph: "In my dream there
was a vine in front of me with three branches on it: It budded, blossomed,
and the clusters ripened into grapes. I was holding Pharaoh's cup; I took
the grapes, squeezed them into Pharaoh's cup, and gave the cup to Pharaoh."
12-15 Joseph said, "Here's the meaning. The three branches are three days.
Within three days, Pharaoh will get you out of here and put you back to your
old work-you'll be giving Pharaoh his cup just as you used to do when you
were his cupbearer. Only remember me when things are going well with you
again-tell Pharaoh about me and get me out of this place. I was kidnapped
from the land of the Hebrews. And since I've been here, I've done nothing to
deserve being put in this hole."
16-17 When the head baker saw how well Joseph's interpretation turned out,
he spoke up: "My dream went like this: I saw three wicker baskets on my
head; the top basket had assorted pastries from the bakery and birds were
picking at them from the basket on my head."
18-19 Joseph said, "This is the interpretation: The three baskets are three
days; within three days Pharaoh will take off your head, impale you on a
post, and the birds will pick your bones clean."
20-22 And sure enough, on the third day it was Pharaoh's birthday and he
threw a feast for all his servants. He set the head cupbearer and the head
baker in places of honor in the presence of all the guests. Then he restored
the head cupbearer to his cupbearing post; he handed Pharaoh his cup just as
before. And then he impaled the head baker on a post, following Joseph's
interpretations exactly.
23 But the head cupbearer never gave Joseph another thought; he forgot all
about him.
41 1-4 Two years passed and Pharaoh had a dream: He was standing by the Nile
River. Seven cows came up out of the Nile, all shimmering with health, and
grazed on the marsh grass. Then seven other cows, all skin and bones, came
up out of the river after them and stood by them on the bank of the Nile.
The skinny cows ate the seven healthy cows. Then Pharaoh woke up.
5-7 He went back to sleep and dreamed a second time: Seven ears of grain,
full-bodied and lush, grew out of a single stalk. Then seven more ears grew
up, but these were thin and dried out by the east wind. The thin ears
swallowed up the full, healthy ears. Then Pharaoh woke up-another dream.
8 When morning came, he was upset. He sent for all the magicians and sages
of Egypt. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but they couldn't interpret them to
him.
9-13 The head cupbearer then spoke up and said to Pharaoh, "I just now
remembered something-I'm sorry, I should have told you this long ago. Once
when Pharaoh got angry with his servants, he locked me and the head baker in
the house of the captain of the guard. We both had dreams on the same night,
each dream with its own meaning. It so happened that there was a young
Hebrew slave there with us; he belonged to the captain of the guard. We told
him our dreams and he interpreted them for us, each dream separately. Things
turned out just as he interpreted. I was returned to my position and the
head baker was impaled."
14 Pharaoh at once sent for Joseph. They brought him on the run from the
jail cell. He cut his hair, put on clean clothes, and came to Pharaoh.
15 "I dreamed a dream," Pharaoh told Joseph. "Nobody can interpret it. But
I've heard that just by hearing a dream you can interpret it."
16 Joseph answered, "Not I, but God. God will set Pharaoh's mind at ease."
17-21 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "In my dream I was standing on the bank
of the Nile. Seven cows, shimmering with health, came up out of the river
and grazed on the marsh grass. On their heels seven more cows, all skin and
bones, came up. I've never seen uglier cows anywhere in Egypt. Then the
seven skinny, ugly cows ate up the first seven healthy cows. But you
couldn't tell by looking-after eating them up they were just as skinny and
ugly as before. Then I woke up.
22-24 "In my second dream I saw seven ears of grain, full-bodied and lush,
growing out of a single stalk, and right behind them, seven other ears,
shriveled, thin, and dried out by the east wind. And the thin ears swallowed
up the full ears. I've told all this to the magicians but they can't figure
it out."
25-27 Joseph said to Pharaoh, "Pharaoh's two dreams both mean the same
thing. God is telling Pharaoh what he is going to do. The seven healthy cows
are seven years and the seven healthy ears of grain are seven years-they're
the same dream. The seven sick and ugly cows that followed them up are seven
years and the seven scrawny ears of grain dried out by the east wind are the
same-seven years of famine.
28-32 "The meaning is what I said earlier: God is letting Pharaoh in on what
he is going to do. Seven years of plenty are on their way throughout Egypt.
But on their heels will come seven years of famine, leaving no trace of the
Egyptian plenty. As the country is emptied by famine, there won't be even a
scrap left of the previous plenty-the famine will be total. The fact that
Pharaoh dreamed the same dream twice emphasizes God's determination to do
this and do it soon.
33-36 "So, Pharaoh needs to look for a wise and experienced man and put him
in charge of the country. Then Pharaoh needs to appoint managers throughout
the country of Egypt to organize it during the years of plenty. Their job
will be to collect all the food produced in the good years ahead and
stockpile the grain under Pharaoh's authority, storing it in the towns for
food. This grain will be held back to be used later during the seven years
of famine that are coming on Egypt. This way the country won't be devastated
by the famine."
37 This seemed like a good idea to Pharaoh and his officials.
38 Then Pharaoh said to his officials, "Isn't this the man we need? Are we
going to find anyone else who has God's spirit in him like this?"
39-40 So Pharaoh said to Joseph, "You're the man for us. God has given you
the inside story-no one is as qualified as you in experience and wisdom.
From now on, you're in charge of my affairs; all my people will report to
you. Only as king will I be over you."
41-43 So Pharaoh commissioned Joseph: "I'm putting you in charge of the
entire country of Egypt." Then Pharaoh removed his signet ring from his
finger and slipped it on Joseph's hand. He outfitted him in robes of the
best linen and put a gold chain around his neck. He put the
second-in-command chariot at his disposal, and as he rode people shouted
"Bravo!"
Joseph was in charge of the entire country of Egypt.
44 Pharaoh told Joseph, "I am Pharaoh, but no one in Egypt will make a
single move without your stamp of approval."
45 Then Pharaoh gave Joseph an Egyptian name, Zaphenath-Paneah (God Speaks
and He Lives). He also gave him an Egyptian wife, Asenath, the daughter of
Potiphera, the priest of On (Heliopolis).
And Joseph took up his duties over the land of Egypt.
46 Joseph was thirty years old when he went to work for Pharaoh the king of
Egypt. As soon as Joseph left Pharaoh's presence, he began his work in
Egypt.
47-49 During the next seven years of plenty the land produced bumper crops.
Joseph gathered up the food of the seven good years in Egypt and stored the
food in cities. In each city he stockpiled surplus from the surrounding
fields. Joseph collected so much grain-it was like the sand of the
ocean!-that he finally quit keeping track.
50-52 Joseph had two sons born to him before the years of famine came.
Asenath, daughter of Potiphera the priest of On, was their mother. Joseph
named the firstborn Manasseh (Forget), saying, "God made me forget all my
hardships and my parental home." He named his second son Ephraim (Double
Prosperity), saying, "God has prospered me in the land of my sorrow."
53-54 Then Egypt's seven good years came to an end and the seven years of
famine arrived, just as Joseph had said. All countries experienced famine;
Egypt was the only country that had bread.
55 When the famine spread throughout Egypt, the people called out in
distress to Pharaoh, calling for bread. He told the Egyptians, "Go to
Joseph. Do what he tells you."
56-57 As the famine got worse all over the country, Joseph opened the
store-houses and sold emergency supplies to the Egyptians. The famine was
very bad. Soon the whole world was coming to buy supplies from Joseph. The
famine was bad all over.
42 1-2 When Jacob learned that there was food in Egypt, he said to his sons,
"Why do you sit around here and look at one another? I've heard that there
is food in Egypt. Go down there and buy some so that we can survive and not
starve to death."
3-5 Ten of Joseph's brothers went down to Egypt to get food. Jacob didn't
send Joseph's brother Benjamin with them; he was afraid that something bad
might happen to him. So Israel's sons joined everyone else that was going to
Egypt to buy food, for Canaan, too, was hit hard by the famine.
6-7 Joseph was running the country; he was the one who gave out rations to
all the people. When Joseph's brothers arrived, they treated him with honor,
bowing to him. Joseph recognized them immediately, but treated them as
strangers and spoke roughly to them.
He said, "Where do you come from?"
"From Canaan," they said. "We've come to buy food."
8 Joseph knew who they were, but they didn't know who he was.
9 Joseph, remembering the dreams he had dreamed of them, said, "You're
spies. You've come to look for our weak spots."
10-11 "No, master," they said. "We've only come to buy food. We're all the
sons of the same man; we're honest men; we'd never think of spying."
12 He said, "No. You're spies. You've come to look for our weak spots."
13 They said, "There were twelve of us brothers-sons of the same father in
the country of Canaan. The youngest is with our father, and one is no more."
14-16 But Joseph said, "It's just as I said, you're spies. This is how I'll
test you. As Pharaoh lives, you're not going to leave this place until your
younger brother comes here. Send one of you to get your brother while the
rest of you stay here in jail. We'll see if you're telling the truth or not.
As Pharaoh lives, I say you're spies."
17 Then he threw them into jail for three days.
18-20 On the third day, Joseph spoke to them. "Do this and you'll live. I'm
a God-fearing man. If you're as honest as you say you are, one of your
brothers will stay here in jail while the rest of you take the food back to
your hungry families. But you have to bring your youngest brother back to
me, confirming the truth of your speech-and not one of you will die." They
agreed.
21 Then they started talking among themselves. "Now we're paying for what we
did to our brother-we saw how terrified he was when he was begging us for
mercy. We wouldn't listen to him and now we're the ones in trouble."
22 Reuben broke in. "Didn't I tell you, 'Don't hurt the boy'? But no, you
wouldn't listen. And now we're paying for his murder."
23-24 Joseph had been using an interpreter, so they didn't know that Joseph
was understanding every word. Joseph turned away from them and cried. When
he was able to speak again, he took Simeon and had him tied up, making a
prisoner of him while they all watched.
25 Then Joseph ordered that their sacks be filled with grain, that their
money be put back in each sack, and that they be given rations for the road.
That was all done for them.
26 They loaded their food supplies on their donkeys and set off.
27-28 When they stopped for the night, one of them opened his sack to get
food for his donkey; there at the mouth of his bag was his money. He called
out to his brothers, "My money has been returned; it's right here in my
bag!" They were puzzled-and frightened. "What's God doing to us?"
29-32 When they got back to their father Jacob, back in the land of Canaan,
they told him everything that had happened, saying, "The man who runs the
country spoke to us roughly and accused us of being spies. We told him, 'We
are honest men and in no way spies. There were twelve of us brothers, sons
of one father; one is gone and the youngest is with our father in Canaan.'
33-34 "But the master of the country said, 'Leave one of your brothers with
me, take food for your starving families, and go. Bring your youngest
brother back to me, proving that you're honest men and not spies. And then
I'll give your brother back to you and you'll be free to come and go in this
country.'"
35 As they were emptying their food sacks, each man came on his purse of
money. On seeing their money, they and their father were upset.
36 Their father said to them, "You're taking everything I've got! Joseph's
gone, Simeon's gone, and now you want to take Benjamin. If you have your
way, I'll be left with nothing."
37 Reuben spoke up: "I'll put my two sons in your hands as hostages. If I
don't bring Benjamin back, you can kill them. Trust me with Benjamin; I'll
bring him back."
38 But Jacob refused. "My son will not go down with you. His brother is dead
and he is all I have left. If something bad happens to him on the road,
you'll put my gray, sorrowing head in the grave."
