And the thin, ugly cows ate up the first seven plump cows,
Pharaoh is retelling his two dreams to Joseph. Here the starved, ugly cows swallow the strong, well-fed ones. Why would God send a king such a picture, and what is it meant to teach?
The Picture and Its Plain Meaning
The dreams told Egypt's future in advance — and they came twice for a reason.
F. B. HoleAgain the dreams were prophetic. God was revealing what He was about to bring upon the land of Egypt. First would come seven years of very great abundance. Then would follow seven years of severe scarcity and famine. Both depended on the waters of the Nile. At the end of the seven years of famine all the fatness of the good years would have disappeared. In the picture-language of the dream the seven lean cattle would be just as they were at the beginning. What is more, the dream came twice to Pharaoh so that he would realise the matter was settled, beyond any hope of reversal, and that God would soon bring it to pass.
Everything in Egypt depended on one river.
G C WillisIn Egypt there is no rain. Without the Nile all Egypt would be dry like the desert. The Nile floods every year and waters the land on both sides. The Egyptians always plant their crops where the flood water has been, and so they get good crops. So the Egyptians did not worship the true God in heaven. They worshipped the River Nile.
God Telling a Pagan King His Plans
Joseph told Pharaoh that God was announcing His own plans. One writer sets that against the way the world's leaders plan today.
Hamilton SmithFirst he twice repeats that "God has showed Pharaoh what He is about to do." The wise men of Egypt no doubt had their theories about the future of Egypt. They shaped their policies and made their plans according to their own ideas. The leaders of this world do the same today — political, religious, intellectual, capitalist or labour. Each has his own theory about the future government of the world... all the theories of men leave God out of God's world.
Why Egypt's Experts Were Useless
Pharaoh had already put the dream to the best minds in Egypt. They came up with nothing.
Hamilton SmithFirst God reveals what He is about to do; but even so man cannot profit by the revelation... then as now, the wise men of this world are at a complete loss when they try to interpret the Word of God. So Pharaoh appeals to the "magicians of Egypt and all its wise men," only to find "there was none to interpret" his dreams. Man's natural pride of intellect blinds him to a simple fact: only God can interpret a message from God.
The Lesson God Was Driving At
Why let the good years vanish with nothing to show for them?
Leslie M. GrantThen the famine would be so severe that the good years would be forgotten. It would be as though the bad years had eaten them up, leaving nothing helpful behind. God does such things to wake people up. He wants them to see that their blessing does not depend on circumstances, but on the God who brings about every circumstance.
A Warning Still Ahead, and One Already Here
Some writers read the devouring years as a picture of what still lies ahead for the world.
Frederick W GrantSeven years of plenty, then seven years of famine to devour them up — such is the prophecy of Pharaoh's dream. Even now the world is enjoying its years of plenty, and it hardly believes the future clearly foretold for it. Yet the time of famine is certainly not far off. It will show the resources of Him who will then be seen as the only one able to meet its terrible needs.
The same pattern fits closer to home, in seasons of rich teaching.
The Christian's FriendIn time of plenty who thinks of famine? But famine sometimes follows plenty. It was so in Egypt... and all the plenty was forgotten when the famine consumed the land. So it is sometimes with the ministry of the word of God. Many honoured servants of the Lord are busy ministering Christ to souls. At such a time, perhaps few consider that scarcity could follow the plenty.
Summary
- Plenty — Seven fat years came from God, through the river Egypt worshipped in His place.
- Devoured — The lean cattle ate the fat and stayed lean; at the end of the famine every trace of the good years was gone.
- Revealed — God told Pharaoh in advance what He would do. The world's leaders still plan as if God were not there.
- Unread — Egypt's wisest men had the dream and could do nothing with it. Only God can interpret a message from God.
- Purpose — God strips the plenty away so people learn that blessing rests on Him, not on circumstances. The world's own years of plenty will end the same way.