Chapter VII.
Joseph's dream is presented and explained, in which he is taken out of the king's prison. Ambrose applies this not only to the events of his own time but also to the present and future age. Afterwards, he interprets mystically the rewards, marriage, children, and distribution of grain for Joseph as referring to Christ; and finally, he urges us to buy spiritual food.
36. But let us return to that superintendent of the wine, who, as if very drunken with the wine, forgot the author of his benefit for a long time: sometimes, however, in order to provide an interpreter for the king, he informed him of the sequence of events, not as if grateful, but as if cunning. When this was known, the king also ordered him to be summoned, and having been brought out of prison, he asked him if he could interpret a dream for him. Delighted with his explanation, he removed the punishment and bestowed honor upon him. Therefore, see if these things do not agree with the present. The offense was committed before it was known by the king; gratitude was expressed when it was known to the king. Thus the king is free from blame; because both what the holy man suffered as an injury was not his own, and what he received as gratitude belongs to the king.
37. However, the dream and its interpretation is as follows: Whatever God does, He shows to Pharaoh. The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good ears of grain are seven years. The dream of Pharaoh is one. And the seven lean, ugly cows that came up after them are seven years, as are the seven empty ears of grain blighted by the east wind. There will be seven years of famine. Now the matter was firmly established by God, and God will quickly bring it to pass. Behold, seven years of great abundance are coming to the whole land of Egypt. But there will come seven years of famine after these, and the abundance in all of Egypt will be forgotten; and the famine will consume the whole land, and the abundance of the land will not be recognized because of the famine that will come after. It is indeed severe. What Pharaoh's dream reiterated twice, because the word from God will be true, and God will hasten to make it happen. (Gen. XLI, 25 et seq.)
38. An old dream, recent things. The later have consumed the earlier: and where there was previous abundance, there has become a need for all things. But if anyone had given such advice to this king, that he should preserve something of the previous abundance for his later reign, the overflowing generosity would also have overflowed to the remaining time. But the excessive expenditure of the previous age has also left the later generations destitute, and people who are pillaging everything were unwilling to have a Joseph. Even though I, Joseph (for who else would it be), was not crying out loud, those fat cows not only signify lust but also negligence of divine reverence (for it is said of the unfaithful: Fat bulls have surrounded me (Psalm 22:13); and it is written of the Jewish people (Deuteronomy 32:15): He became fat, he became thick and gross, and he forsook the God who made him). Therefore, that dream cannot be interpreted as a mere secular abundance, but rather as a time when severe famine would follow.
However, I do not think that this dream is demonstrated to one or two, but to all; because the seven fat years of this world, rich with secular abundance, are absorbed by those ages which are yet to come, in which there will be perpetual rest and observance of the spiritual law, which Ephraem holds dear to God and fruitful for the three patriarchs. A good cow, not one with a distended body but abundant in spiritual milk and grace, on whose beauty God says He will sit, as it is written: Ephraem, the learned cow, loves victory. But I passed over the beauty of her neck (Hos. X, 11). Therefore, our head should not be fattened by the oil of sinners, nor should false fruits delight us, lest it be said of us: You have sown wickedness and harvested iniquity (Ibid., 13). I am not moved by her thin and rotten ears of grain, for even David was better when he wasted away like a spider's web; and a contrite spirit is a sacrifice to God; and those who have been oppressed by the spirit of evil in this world will be saved by a more excellent one.
40. Therefore, I believe that Joseph deserved the more mystical rewards because he spoke of mysteries. For what does the ring inserted on his finger mean, if not that the priesthood of faith was bestowed upon him, so that he might mark others himself? What does the stole, which is the garment of wisdom, mean, if not the tribute given to him by the heavenly king, the principality of prudence? The golden torque also seems to express good understanding. The chariot, likewise, signifies the lofty peak of merits. But who is there that took a wife from among the nations, except those who gathered the Church for themselves from the nations, and took from her the son Manasseh, through whom he forgot all his sorrows that he had because of the sacrileges of the Jews? He also took another son, Ephraim, through whose progress it became clear that the humility assumed in the flesh did not diminish the divinity, but rather enhanced the glory.
41. Finally, whoever was suffering from hunger, was sent to Joseph. Who are these people, if not those of whom it is said: They will turn back at evening, and suffer hunger like dogs (Psalm 59:7)? However, the hunger was not limited to one place, but was all over the land; because there was no one who would do good. Therefore, the Lord Jesus, having mercy on earthly fasts, opened His storehouses and revealed the hidden treasures of celestial mysteries and knowledge, so that no one would lack sustenance. For Wisdom says: Come, eat my bread (Prov. 9:5). And therefore it is said of Him alone: The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want (Psalm 23:1), who is satisfied by Christ. Therefore, Christ opened His storehouses and sold, not for the price of money, but for the price of faith, and seeking the reward of devotion. But He sold not to a few in Judea, but He sold to all, so that He might be believed by all nations.
And all the regions came into Egypt to Joseph to buy (Gen. XLI, 5 and 7); for famine had obtained. For all hunger, whom Christ did not feed. Therefore, let us buy food, with which we can repel hunger. Let no one be discouraged by contemplating his poverty, let no one be afraid who does not have money. Christ does not seek silver, but faith, which is more precious than silver. Finally, Peter bought it, who did not have money. Silver and gold, I do not have, but what I have, I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ, rise up and walk (Acts 3:6). And the prophet Isaiah says: You who thirst, go to the water; and you who do not have silver, go, buy, and drink, and eat: buy wine and fat without silver and price (Isaiah 55:1). For he did not seek a price from us, who paid the price of his own blood for us; for he redeemed us not with gold and silver, but with precious blood. Therefore, you must pay the price for what you have bought; and even if he does not always demand it, you still must. Therefore, buy Christ for yourself not because few have him, but because everyone has him. Everyone has him by nature, few offer themselves out of fear. What Christ requires from you is what is rightfully his. He himself gave life to everyone, he himself offered his death for everyone. Pay for the author what you are obligated to pay by law. This contract is not insignificant. Not everyone easily sees him. Finally, those virgins in the Gospel (Matt. 25:9ff) whom the coming bridegroom excluded were left outside because they did not buy the available oil. Therefore, it is said to them: 'Rather, go to the sellers and buy for yourselves.' And the merchant is rightly praised, who sold all his possessions and bought a pearl (Matt. 13:46).