The Life Of Joseph - From Prison To Prime Minister - Part 7
God's Delays Are Not God's Denials! Genesis 41:1-36
We all experience high and low points in our daily lives. There are peak times and there are troughs. There are good times and there are bad times. Times when the sun is shining and the skies are blue, and others when the dark thunder clouds seem to lie heavily over our heads. There are days when the adrenalin flows, and other times when we have no “Get Up and Go”! If you experience such times, then you can identify with Joseph. One day he is a seventeen year old lad with his father's smile always on him; he could do nothing wrong - the next, he’s in a pit awaiting a knife in his back. Then he’s sold to traders and marketed as a slave. Just a little while later the sun shone again and he was his master's favourite; the work had been hard and the road rough, but he'd been recognised and it was all worthwhile. He was in charge of everything in the household. Then disaster struck, his master's wife cast her eyes upon him and he had to take a firm stand to avoid real trouble; at least he'd come through it! But no! She wasn't finished with him yet, and when his master returned, he was falsely accused of attempted rape and sent to prison. The clouds really were dark and the future was bleak. Again he was determined not to give in and by working hard and long he was at last recognised by the Prison Governor and promoted to a position of responsibility. The sun was shining once more, and to improve matters God gave him the opportunity of interpreting the dream given to the former Chief Butler of Pharaoh. We can imagine him saying to the court official, as he returned to his position of responsibility, "put in a good word for me". "Of course, I won't forget" - he was on a high! But the days lengthened into weeks, then months, now over two years had passed and there was no hope of an early release! This may well have been Joseph’s darkest hour. The skies were black once again. The picture was one of…
Distress - Verses 1-8
Joseph was totally innocent of any crime, and was only in prison because of the fury of a malicious woman. We can easily picture his distress, which may well have been turning into despair. Has the chief butler completely forgotten him? Or did he speak to Pharaoh and the request fell on deaf ears? Has Potiphar's wife been up to her tricks again? Worse still has God forgotten him? Would he ever see his father and the old homestead again or was he to serve a "life sentence"? What had become of the dreams which he was so sure had come from God? No doubt these and many other thoughts would sweep over the young man filling his heart with distress and despair! Perhaps he wondered if his prayers would ever be answered! You, too, may have similar feelings of distress and even despair; your heart is breaking and you don't know which way to turn! You wonder if the sun will ever shine again. You feel just like Joseph! You can identify with the psalmist, when he cried "Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck. I sink in deep mire where there is no foothold" (Psalm 69 verses 1-2). Knowing Joseph as well as we do, it may well be that his was the prayer of David in Psalm 101 "I will behave wisely in a perfect way. Oh, when will You come to me? I will walk...with a perfect heart". Or, perhaps, he was praying as the writer of Psalm 102 "Hear my prayer, O LORD, and let my cry come unto You ... I am like a pelican of the wilderness: I am like an owl of the desert. I lie awake and am as a sparrow alone upon the house top." Be encouraged, God knows the closing chapters of the book of your life, even though He hasn't revealed them to you yet. Just think for a moment of the dreadful loss to Egypt, Israel and Joseph himself if the butler had arranged his release immediately. A famine in Egypt with the loss of thousands of lives; no hope for Jacob and his family and the whole salvation of the world in disarray. Ultimately there would have been no Moses as a man of God for a great work for God. This was Joseph's darkest hour and he didn't know that it was just before the dawn! Is this your darkest hour; remember that the dawn of every day is in God's hands! He is still in control. He was still on His throne just when Joseph stood in the greatest need, and his long wait was to end shortly. This was actually going to involve the distress of Pharaoh. Two dreams had been given by the Sovereign Lord, both having two pairs of sevens, cows and grain. The amazing thing is that Pharaoh's courtiers were dumbfounded. This really was most remarkable, for the magicians belonged to a guild expert in handling the books of magic and priestcraft. There was no-one in the whole of Egypt who was in touch with God; no-one who could bring a message from Him. This world is not looking for better preachers, but it is desperately looking for people who are really in touch with the living God! Are we amongst their number? God's hand was clearly upon the situation! The little war-time chorus holds good today "God is still on the Throne, and He will remember His own, His promise is true, He will not forget you, God is still on the Throne". God was working His purpose out. If you're feeling distressed and even distraught, God has not forgotten you. He is just the same today as in Joseph's day, and He is still the "worker of miracles, large and small"! God had His plan, and although no-one could foresee what would happen, He knew! Very soon there would be a divine...
Disclosure - Verses 9-32.
Note carefully the opening word of verse 9 "Then". God had been working in the minds of many different people in many different ways in order to achieve His purpose. First of all I believe that he had caused the Butler to forget Joseph's request; then He filled Pharaoh's mind with the dreams; He then caused the wise men's minds to be filled with confusion, and finally He prodded the memory of the chief butler! Is there someone who is waiting for us to acknowledge our failure? Will we do it today or let them remain in the prison from which we should be delivering them? God had done His perfect work and His timing was perfect. God's delays are not His denials! Joseph, with typical humility, wanted no credit for himself , "I can't interpret dreams but God will" (verse 16). Joseph realised that God had given him a special gift but he only wanted to use it for His glory!" God desires messengers who will be like that today...no glory or even credit for themselves but all the glory for God. With perfect clarity and simplicity the dreams were interpreted, and so wise and humble was Joseph's demeanour that Pharaoh and his court accepted the interpretation immediately. This gave Joseph the opening which God had planned, and in the following verses we see his...
Discernment - Verses 33-36
Joseph told Pharaoh to look for “a discerning and wise man” and as he gave him the "Job Description" it was almost as though he was describing himself. God's plans for the ultimate good of His people Israel were beginning to take real shape and form. His will would not be thwarted. His purposes must come to pass. Pharaoh immediately responded “Can we find anyone like this man, one in whom is the spirit of God?” There are clear lessons in this story for us today:
When our family and friends fail us, and the road is rough, we must never forget that "God has said 'Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you" (Hebrews 13 verse 5). He is looking for our confident trust; we can safely leave our future with Him. Then, when we serve God, it is of the utmost importance that we seek His glory, not our own. He will always honour and bless His humble servants. Finally, we must be careful to share God's Word clearly, simply and honestly. We can then safely leave the results with Him. If you’re feeling down, may you know that underneath you are God’s everlasting arms. He will never fail His own.