The Bible In Paintings, #21: JOSEPH, Part 3

1 When two full years had passed, Pharaoh had a dream: He was standing by the Nile, 2 when out of the river there came up seven cows, sleek and fat, and they grazed among the reeds. 3 After them, seven other cows, ugly and gaunt, came up out of the Nile and stood beside those on the riverbank. 4 And the cows that were ugly and gaunt ate up the seven sleek, fat cows. Then Pharaoh woke up.

5 He fell asleep again and had a second dream: Seven heads of grain, healthy and good, were growing on a single stalk. 6 After them, seven other heads of grain sprouted—thin and scorched by the east wind. 7 The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven healthy, full heads. Then Pharaoh woke up; it had been a dream.

8 In the morning his mind was troubled, so he sent for all the magicians and wise men of Egypt. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but no one could interpret them for him.

9 Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh, “…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, giving each man the interpretation of his dream. 13 And things turned out exactly as he interpreted them to us”

15 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.”

16 “I cannot do it,” Joseph replied to Pharaoh, “but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires.”

17 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “In my dream…I told this to the magicians, but none of them could explain it to me.”

25 Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “The dreams of Pharaoh are one and the same. God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do. 26 The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good heads of grain are seven years; it is one and the same dream. 27 The seven lean, ugly cows that came up afterward are seven years, and so are the seven worthless heads of grain scorched by the east wind: They are seven years of famine.

28 “It is just as I said to Pharaoh: God has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do. 29 Seven years of great abundance are coming throughout the land of Egypt, 30 but seven years of famine will follow them. Then all the abundance in Egypt will be forgotten, and the famine will ravage the land. 31 The abundance in the land will not be remembered, because the famine that follows it will be so severe. 32 The reason the dream was given to Pharaoh in two forms is that the matter has been firmly decided by God, and God will do it soon.

33 “And now let Pharaoh look for a discerning and wise man and put him in charge of the land of Egypt.”

37 The plan seemed good to Pharaoh and to all his officials. 38 So Pharaoh asked them, “Can we find anyone like this man, one in whom is the spirit of God?”

39 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one so discerning and wise as you. 40 You shall be in charge of my palace, and all my people are to submit to your orders. Only with respect to the throne will I be greater than you.”

41 So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I hereby put you in charge of the whole land of Egypt.” 42 Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his finger and put it on Joseph’s finger. He dressed him in robes of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck. 43 He had him ride in a chariot as his second-in-command, and people shouted before him, “Make way!” Thus he put him in charge of the whole land of Egypt.

47 During the seven years of abundance the land produced plentifully. 48 Joseph collected all the food produced in those seven years of abundance in Egypt and stored it in the cities. In each city he put the food grown in the fields surrounding it. 49 Joseph stored up huge quantities of grain, like the sand of the sea; it was so much that he stopped keeping records because it was beyond measure.

53 The seven years of abundance in Egypt came to an end, 54 and the seven years of famine began, just as Joseph had said. There was famine in all the other lands, but in the whole land of Egypt there was food. 55 When all Egypt began to feel the famine, the people cried to Pharaoh for food. Then Pharaoh told all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph and do what he tells you.”

56 When the famine had spread over the whole country, Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold grain to the Egyptians, for the famine was severe throughout Egypt. 57 And all the world came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph, because the famine was severe everywhere.

I am surveying "Bible art" for my own amusement and learning (at the Holy Spirit's prompting) and thought others might enjoy it, too. My intent is to proceed methodically left-to right, Genesis to Revelation, as the Lord wills. Back soon with another.

The Bible encourages us to meditate on it (Ps. 1:1-3, 119:11-16, etc.); these artists have done so, and their works can assist us and enrich our own thoughts about biblical characters, incidents and concepts. As you encounter and consider these images and the related Scriptures and the Spirit enlightens your understanding, please share it with us!

But it is not only oil-on-canvas that can so help us; I refer to the astonishing video series The Chosen, which strolls through the four Gospels at the most leisurely pace. The eight episodes of Season 1 are finished, and the second of a planned seven seasons is coming soon. I say "leisurely" because after an entire year’ viewing Jesus still has only seven of the apostles (although He's preparing to call up Thomas from the minor leagues--but Thomas is skeptical, of course). Anticipating a canvas of fifty-plus hours instead of a movie's paltry two hours, The Chosen turns the characters (especially including Jesus!) into three-dimensional humans and brings the Gospels alive--you have never seen anything even remotely like it! Here is the Official Trailer.

Here is a link for free viewing of The Chosen: “Works with your phone, tablet, and you can cast to your Roku or Chromecast.” Last fall I paid $34.98 for DVDs and ongoing internet access—best 35 bucks I’ve ever spent (I don’t recall how much our marriage license cost, but then it was 42 years ago).

Here is what I posted on the 10th anniversary of “Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem”:

HAPPY 10th BIRTHDAY TO THE GARDEN OF PRAYER FOR JERUSALEM!

I can’t believe it’s been TEN YEARS since we began coming together to pray on this thread! On this special occasion, I would like to share with you how I came to join FR, and, barely eight months after joining, starting this Thread. Some of the people involved are still making news today, as you will soon see.

From 9/11/01 onward, I was very active on the Internet, seeking out conservative commentary and listening to Talk Radio. (Of course, Rush was my favorite, but I also listened to Michael Savage, Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, and others. Soon I signed up onto a conservative (I thought) GOP site, and became a regular writer on the site. I was kind of a “smart-aleck” (who ME??) and got into trouble with the Administrator on more than one occasion, but generally got along well with everybody.

Then came the 2008 Primaries. Just like here on our own beloved FR, Primary Season causes a lot of rancor. Having been a Massachusetts resident all my life, I despised Romney and refused to vote for him. I voted for Giuliani in the Republican Primary, and was roundly excoriated for it. I had plenty to say about Romney and had a number of my posts removed. Then Obama got elected. I promptly named him “The Lyin’ King” and was once again chastised roundly for disrespecting the office of President. “Instead of calling him names”, I was scolded, “I should be PRAYING for him.”

So I tried and tried, but the prayers wouldn’t come. I was on The Presidential Prayer Team, which was also sending me emails and pamphlets telling me I should pray for this president, but I just couldn’t. My fail, I guess.

Anyway, I was out driving and saw this bumper-sticker:

PRAY FOR OBAMA PSALM 109:8.

I went home and looked it up and got today’s Psalm (and no, I did NOT plan this!) Well, I thought it was the funniest thing, so I posted it on the GOP site.

Well, you would think I had burned a Bible and a Flag at the same time! Man did I get trashed! And that is when I “left that other site” and joined Free Republic.

Now, let’s look at the characters in my story: Rudy Giuliani, Rush Limbaugh, Mitt Romney, and Obama. Some of these characters have been elevated to positions of honor, and others have been put to shame. As in Psalm 109, another has taken Obama’s office. The establishment GOP has shown themselves to be less-than-conservative. That “other site” is a shadow of its former self, and FR is going strong, is member-supported, and STILL does not have annoying pop-up ads. (That Other Site is nearly unreadable with the ads now). Romney has proven me right, and Rudy too. False accusers have been exposed, and my prayers have been answered.

The election of Donald Trump has also brought more answers to prayer. One of the first things he did was move the US Embassy to Jerusalem. I’ve been praying for that since 1984! Bringing home the remains of our Korean War Vets was another biggie for me, since I was born during that war, in which my Dad fought. And I rejoiced when President Trump finally “took out” the mastermind of Iranian Terrorism, something we’ve been waiting for since 1979.

The crowning glory was, in my opinion, President Trump’s speech at the March for Life. Lot’s of presidents SAID they were Pro-Life, but nobody except Trump put his money where his mouth was.

Is is any wonder there is an army of slanderers, false accusers, libelers, liars, and just plain evil jerks constantly growling and snapping at the President? Satan never sleeps, and he uses these weak-minded people to do his bidding. And while we are admonished to “pray for those in authority” (1 Timothy 2:2), I can’t imagine that Our Lord intended for us to pray for evil to flourish.

And that’s why I “left that other site” and started this thread! And who would have guessed that Psalm 109 would come up TODAY of all days. To quote Dear Rush, “You Can’t Make This Stuff Up!”

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