Joseph Series: Pit to Palace #4
God never leaves us to endure a trial one instant longer than is necessary to accomplish his intent. Joseph was in jail two more years after the cupbearer was released. We have already seen how that timing was necessary, both to Joseph's survival and the fulfillment of God's plan. Now all of that purpose is fulfilled and suddenly, perhaps with no advance warning, the keys are in the cell door, it swings open, and Joseph is rushed out of his dark world and into the opulence of Pharaoh's palace!
Introduction
In 1965, naval aviator James B. Stockdale became one of the first American pilots to be shot down over North Vietnam. As a prisoner of the Vietcong, he spent seven years in POW camps. During that time his captors frequently tortured him as they tried again and again to break his spirit and get him to denounce U.S. involvement in the war. He was chained for days at a time with his hands above his head so that he could not even swat the mosquitoes. Today, he still can't bend his left knee and he walks with a severe limp from having his leg broken and never reset. One of the worst things done to him, Stockdale says, was when he was held in isolation, away from the other American POWs and allowed only to see his guards and interrogators.
How could anyone survive seven years of such treatment? As he looks back on that time, Stockdale says that it was his hope that kept him alive. He managed to hold onto the hope that one day he would go home and that each day could be the day of his release. Without hope, he said he knew that he would have died as he had seen others in the camp do.
I imagine that Joseph, jailed so long ago in the roundhouse compound of Potiphar, must have grappled with that same issue of hope. If you've been with us over the last few weeks, you already know part of the story. You know how he was hated by his brothers, thrown into a pit, then sold as a slave in Egypt. He was accused of something he didn't do and finally jailed without even a hearing. We left him last time with his hopes of getting out and going home elevated as he interpreted the dreams of two of Pharaoh's court officials, a cupbearer and a baker. These men were both jailed with Joseph, but were released on Pharaoh's birthday. The cupbearer was restored to his post. The baker was hanged. Joseph made a special request of the cupbearer. It is recorded in Genesis 40:14:
"Only keep me in mind when it goes well with you, and please do me a kindness by mentioning me to Pharaoh, and get me out of this house."
Knowing the great favor he had done for the cupbearer, Joseph must have been certain he would soon be released as his case was brought before the king. It wasn't to be, however. We read last time in Genesis 40:23:
"Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him."
Have your hopes ever been dashed like that? Have you ever been disappointed when you expected something important to happen and it didn't?
Joseph didn't curl up in a corner and die, though. Obviously, somehow, he managed to hang onto his hope of getting out. The object of that hope was his God.
Many people under such dismal circumstances simply quit trying. They lose hope and conclude, "What's the use. It isn't going to get any better. I may as well give it up now and spare myself further disappointment."
Some become embittered against God. They wonder, "How could He let something like this happen? Build my hopes up, only to have them fall through!"
Joseph clung to his hope and his trust in God. Many years before this he had some childhood dreams - dreams that told him that someday his brothers and the rest of his family would bow down to him. This hadn't happened yet, but Joseph believed that God was good on His promises nonetheless. He doggedly continued to hope even when things didn't seem to be going well. Through all this, Joseph proved that he was a man of faith. Hebrews 11:1 says, "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen."
Are you a person of faith or are you one who caves in when things get tough? I believe this is an appropriate time in our study to ask such a question.
Joseph hadn't seen how God was going to carry out his promise. Nonetheless, he had faith that it would come about.
You may be thinking right now, "Well, yes, Joseph had faith, but, after all, God had revealed Himself in dreams. I could have faith, too, if God would show Himself to me like that."
Don't you realize that we living in the Christian age today have more information available to us about God than Joseph ever had? We have example after example, promise after promise to read in our Bibles. Joseph had only a childhood dream. He couldn't refer to his Bible to be reminded of God's faithfulness. He didn't have one. Sure, he could recall God's faithfulness to his father, Jacob, but he hadn't seen his father for years.
Please listen to me. These Old Testament people didn't have any more reason to trust God than we do today. They did not do what they did because they had some special insight or personal revelation. They did what they did because they made a conscious decision that God could be trusted and then they doggedly stuck with that decision. The only difference between them and us when we fail in our faith is simply that we don't make and stick to that decision to trust God.
Are you in the midst of a trial from which it seems there is no escape? Are things looking worse today than they did yesterday? Then it is time for you to learn the promises of God in the Scriptures that are yours and hang onto them.
The real turning point for Joseph didn't come for two years. Finally, Pharaoh had a dream that turned out to be the vehicle that took Joseph out of prison. We're going to read about it in a few minutes. First, though, I want you to consider one more question: Why did God leave Joseph in prison for two more years? Where is the wisdom in that?
To answer to that really isn't hard if you will think through it with me.
Had Joseph been freed within a few weeks of the cupbearer's release, would Egypt have been prepared for the famine that was to come? No. Joseph would probably have gone home. Had Joseph gone home at this point, would Jacob and his sons have survived the coming famine? Probably not. There would have been no place to go for food and no favorable treatment once they got there. They would have starved. Would Joseph himself have survived when he returned home? (Picture what his brothers might have done to him in order to keep their father from discovering the lie about his death.) Had the family of Jacob perished in that famine, what would have become of God's plans of Messiah being born through Jacob's bloodline? That would probably have been the end of it. God has plans and God has timing. His plans and timing are perfect. They are always best. Want some good advice when you are in a hard spot and you can't find your way out? Let me give it to you straight from God's word. This comes from Psalm 27:14:
"Wait for the Lord; Be strong, and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the Lord."
Behind that verse is the assumption that there may be a delay. You shouldn't be surprised if it comes. Simply wait.
Let's get on with the story.
(Read Gen. 41:1)
The Egyptians worshipped the Nile River. They believed it was a god. Perhaps in his dream, Pharaoh was on his knees paying homage to the great river.
(Read v. 2)
For Pharaoh, the cows, too, would have religious significance. The cow was a symbol of Isis, the Egyptian goddess of fertility and prosperity.
So far everything was OK. Pharaoh would be familiar with these two sights. The peaceful Nile and a small herd of seven heavy, healthy cows. It was a pleasant picture of prosperity.
Suddenly, however, the dream turned ugly.
(Read v. 3-4)
Have you ever been wakened by a nightmare that caused you to sit straight up in bed in momentary terror? This was that kind of dream. The lingering picture of those peaceful, contented cows, emblems of prosperity, suddenly eaten up (the Hebrew word there means literally, "chewed up") by a group of seven emaciated, scrawny looking cows startled Pharaoh awake.
Then, after the adrenaline in his body began to dissipate, the king dozed off again.
(Read v. 5)
Once again, this would be a significant picture to Pharaoh. Egypt was known as the granary of the ancient world. Much of her prosperity was due to the successful irrigation and planting of the Nile Valley. This second dream also turned ugly.
(Read v. 6-7)
Egypt seldom has an east wind. In the years it does, when the southeast winds blow, the whole land dries out and becomes parched.
This dream was as disturbing to Pharaoh as a dream might be if the President of our country dreamed that the Persian Gulf dried up!
The King probably didn't sleep well at all for the rest of the night. Were the gods somehow warning him of the demise of the prosperity of his kingdom? The symbols certainly suggested that. He must have been up with the dawn. He needed answers!
(Read v. 8)
Wise men, magicians, conjurers... they were all called in one after another to hear the description of the strange dreams, but not a single one could interpret.
Suddenly, while this parade of occultists was coming and going from the palace, a long forgotten memory and obligation stirred in the mind of the king's chief cupbearer. Joseph! He suddenly remembered Joseph!
Quickly he secured an audience with Pharaoh.
(Read v. 9-13)
We get a glimpse of just how desperate Pharaoh was because under normal circumstances, to summon a foreigner, and a jailed slave at that, would be unheard of.
(Read v. 14a)
Let's stop right there. I want to savor that for just a moment. After all, it's the culmination of nearly ten years of life for Joseph as a slave and a prisoner. Now it is about to come to an end.
Yet, let's not leave Joseph there too long, either. Indeed, we find that God didn't leave Joseph in his prison and trials for an instant longer than necessary!
Look at the way the account reads:
(Read v. 14)
That word "hurriedly" in Hebrew means literally, "caused him to run." Joseph was rushed out of the prison house!
I believe it is appropriate here to stop and note that God never leaves us to endure a trial one instant longer than is necessary to accomplish his intent. Joseph was in jail two more years after the cupbearer was released. We have already seen how that timing was necessary, both to Joseph's survival and the fulfillment of God's plan. Now all of that purpose is fulfilled and suddenly, perhaps with no advance warning, the keys are in the cell door, it swings open, and Joseph is rushed out of his dark world and into the opulence of Pharaoh's palace!
God's ways are perfect. There is no discrepancy in His timing. He doesn't get so buried in the details of running the universe that He forgets us and lets us burn in the crucible or twist in the wind. Deuteronomy 32:4 says,
"The Rock! His work is perfect, For all His ways are just; A God of faithfulness and without injustice, Righteous and upright is He."
A perfect and just God does not allow one of His to suffer needlessly or without purpose! The only thing that even slowed Joseph down in his trip from the prison to the palace once God's plan was ready was a shave and a haircut! After all that time in the prison, that was probably worth stopping for! Egyptians were fanatics for cleanliness and they didn't wear beards like the Hebrews.
Joseph was granted immediate audience with Pharaoh in his court. Probably not very much time was wasted on the customary etiquette of entering the palace.
(Read v. 15)
At this point I can imagine Pharaoh's right hand man, the chief cupbearer and Joseph exchanging a knowing glance.
(Read v. 16)
Isn't this Joseph something? Two years of living in prison, forgotten by men, and he still doesn't question God's existence or ability. Do we do as well? Is our faith that strong?
Pharaoh recounts the dreams to Joseph just as he had been doing all day to the others. It's all in verses 17-24. I'm not going to read it because it is nearly a repeat of what was recounted earlier. The only difference between this account and the first one we read in this chapter is that Pharaoh adds that the skinny cows grew no fatter when they ate up the fat ones. Joseph's interpretation begins in verse 25.
(Read v. 25)
Why would God tell a foreign king who worshipped idols "what He was going to do...?" Because it intimately involved His people!
God does work in the lives of those outside the circle of His people in order to bless His own. We have already seen how He blessed Potiphar's house because of Joseph. We've also seen the chief jailer similarly blessed because of Joseph. God blesses the lives of those apart from Him when it benefits His own. You might also recall how God would have been willing to spare Sodom and Gomorrah had there been just ten righteous people present. (1)
I firmly believe that God has shown His favor to America for just the same reason. Many of God's people are here, so the ungodly reap the benefits of His blessing. Those who would strive to eradicate Christianity from modern life would do well to look at the way God blessed Egypt with prosperity while Joseph, and later, Joseph's descendants, were there. They would also do well to note how He plundered Egypt when Israel left.(2) If America ends up silencing the Christian witness from public life, as some seem determined to do, she may have effectively killed the "goose that laid the golden egg."
Joseph continues his interpretation in the next verse:
(Read v. 26-32)
So confident was Joseph in God's revelation of these things that he, imprisoned slave that he was, speaking to the most powerful monarch on the face of the earth at that time - continued by giving Pharaoh advice!
(Read v. 33-36)
What confidence Joseph had in God! Remember, to Pharaoh he's a jailed slave. Ah, but to God, he is the man for the hour!
People who strive to be right with God will exhibit that kind of confidence in time. They will gain confidence in God's promises. They will speak confidently of His Word. They will have the courage of their convictions even in the company of those more powerful than they are. It is one of the results of having been tested and tried.
On the tombstone of a well-known British statesman are these words: "He feared man so little because he feared God so much." I think that was the case with Joseph.
I'm reminded of one of the most noticeable traits of the early Christians as they witnessed to their generation. Luke records some of it in Acts 4:13:
"Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John, and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were marveling, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus.
How can a person speak with that kind of confidence and assurance? It comes when one is right with God and knows it. When a person has put his trust in God and seen Him come through! Confidence is one of the rewards of hanging tough in trials. Pharaoh may have been great, but Joseph's God was greater and Joseph knew it.
A preacher of several generations ago wrote to the people that he taught something that our generation needs to hear. He said, "Oh, do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men. Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. Pray for powers equal to your tasks."
Frederick the Great was an unbeliever and a scoffer, but one of his greatest generals, a man named Von Zealand, was a believer in Christ. One day at a gathering of his generals, the king was telling dirty jokes and making fun of Christ and anyone foolish enough to be His follower. The place was ringing with laughter and guffaws. After awhile, Von Zealand arose stiffly and said, "Sire, you know that I have not feared death. I have fought and won 38 battles for you. I am an old man; I shall soon have to go into the presence of One Greater than you, the mighty God who saved me from my sin, the Lord Jesus Christ whom you are blaspheming. I salute you, sire, as an old man, who loves his Savior, on the edge of eternity."
There was silence in the hall. Then, with trembling voice, Frederick the Great, replied: "General Von Zealand, I beg your pardon. I beg your pardon! I beg your pardon!"
Von Zealand was a general in the company of a King. Joseph was a jailed slave in the company of a Pharaoh. Both had confidence in the one they represented.
Do we have that kind of confidence? Perhaps if we did we would see more of this world at the feet of its Maker.
John Wesley once said, "Give me a hundred man who fear nothing but sin, and desire nothing but God, and I will shake the world. I care not a straw whether they be clergymen or laymen; and such alone will overthrow the kingdom of Satan and build up the Kingdom of God on earth."
Conclusion
God is looking today for people who will take Him seriously. He wants people who do not bellyache in their trials, but who hang on and trust Him. He wants people that He can toughen and mold and shape for his purposes. Such people, though they be few in numbers, can be great in effect. They will stand before the Pharaohs of their lives and testify, not on their own behalf, but on His behalf, speaking the things He has said.
Are you such a one? Could you be? Why not determine right now that you will be what God wants to make you, even if it means trials.
This morning I'm calling you out. I'm calling you out of mediocrity into a life that can make a difference in the time you have remaining. I'm calling you out of fear and distrust into a life of bold confidence. Are you up to it? Are you willing?
View Other Messages in this Series
Dave Redick is Minister of the Hwy 20 Church of Christ in Sweet Home, Oregon and Editor of The Preacher's Study. He may be reached at pstudysupport@comcast.net.
Copyright © 1996-2008 by The Preacher's Study. Permission is granted to subscribers to use this document in total or in sermon preparation in the context of the local congregation only. Publishing it in a book, on the Internet, or anyplace beyond the local congregation is prohibited.
All Scripture quotations and references are from the New American Standard Version unless otherwise stated.
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