John Calvin Commentary Genesis 41:32

John Calvin Commentary

Genesis 41:32

1509–1564
Protestant
John Calvin
John Calvin

John Calvin Commentary

Genesis 41:32

1509–1564
Protestant
SCRIPTURE

"And for that the dream was doubled unto Pharaoh, it is because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass." — Genesis 41:32 (ASV)

And for that the dream was doubled. Joseph does not mean to say that what God may have declared only once is changeable; instead, he intended to prevent Pharaoh’s confidence regarding the revealed event from being shaken. For since God pronounces nothing except from His own fixed and steadfast purpose, His speaking once is sufficient.

But our dullness and inconstancy cause Him to repeat the same thing more frequently, so that what He has certainly decreed may be fixed in our hearts. Otherwise, since our nature is changeable, what we have once heard from His mouth is tossed about by us until it entirely escapes our memory.

Moreover, Joseph not only emphasizes the stability of the heavenly decree but also declares that what God has determined to do is near at hand, lest Pharaoh himself become complacent in the confident expectation of a longer delay. For though we confess that the judgments of God are always hanging over our heads, yet unless we are stimulated by the thought of their speedy approach, we are only slightly affected by anxiety and fear concerning them.