"Do Not Interpretations Belong to God?"

"I NEED NOT BE CONSIDERED"

Two full years passed. (Genesis 41:1) Imagine how frustrating that must have been for Joseph! Perhaps his hopes were high after Jehovah gave him the understanding of the puzzling dreams of the cup-bearer and the baker.  Thereafter,  as each day dawned, Joseph may have awakened with renewed hope that this would be the day of his release-only to find once again that the dull routine of prison  life dragged on, unchanged. Those two years might well have been the most challenging of all for Joseph to endure. Yet, he never gave up his trust to his God, Jehovah.  Rather than giving in to despair, he was determined to endure, and he emerged from that trying time all the stronger. -James 1:4. 

In these difficult times, who of us does not need to work on our endurance? In order to face life's ongoing trials, we need the kind of determination, patience, and inner peace that only God can give us. As he did with Joseph, he can help us to fight despair and hold on to hope. -Romans 12:12; 15:13.

The cup-bearer may have forgotten Joseph, but Jehovah never did. One night, he sent Pharaoh a pair of unforgettable dreams. In the first, the king saw seven fine-looking, fat cows emerge from the Nile River, followed by seven ugly, thin cows.  The thin ones devoured the fat ones. Later, Pharaoh dreamed that he saw a stalk of grain sprouting seven choice ears.  But then another seven ears, wind-parched and sickly sprouted up and devoured the choice ones.  In the morning, Pharaoh awoke deeply agitated over the dreams, so he called on all his wise men and magic-practicing priests to interpret them.  They all failed. (Genesis 41:1-8) Whether that means that they were dumbfounded or that they came up with  a variety of conflicting ideas, we do not know. At any rate, Pharaoh was let down-yet he was more desperate  than ever to find an answer to this puzzle.  

Finally, the cup-bearer remembered Joseph! His conscience stung, and he told Pharaoh about the remarkable young man in prison who two years earlier had correctly interpreted his dream and that of the baker. Immediately, Pharaoh had Joseph  summoned from prison. - Genesis 41:9-13.

Next time: Conclusion of "I NEED NOT BE CONSIDERED"

From the Watchtower magazine, 2015