The ill favoured and leanfleshed kine did eat up the seven well favoured and fat kine.As Joseph interprets for pharaoh, the lean kine -- "kine" being an archaic word for "cows" -- represents a seven-year famine that would follow seven years of economic success. Joseph advises pharaoh to save during the seven successful years in order to prepare for the lean years.
But as Charles Spurgeon points out, those lean kine also represent our own unfortunate experiences with spiritual backsliding. As Spurgeon puts it,
My days of sloth have ruinously destroyed all that I had achieved in times of zealous industry ... my fits of worldliness have thrown me back from my advances in the divine life.How do we avoid those times of "lean kine"? An answer comes in Exodus, where God instructs the Israelites on construction of the holy tabernacle. A seemingly trivial detail in those instructions involves the burning of the lamp (Exodus 27: 20, KJV),
Command the children of Israel, that they bring thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamp to burn always.It's easy to fall asleep while reading details of Hebrew law in the Old Testament. But those details help emphasize spiritual commitment and/or foreshadow the arrival of Jesus. The detail of the lamp obviously serves as a reminder to keep our spiritual zeal burning. And we can achieve that through "praying without ceasing."
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