Highs and Lows in the Life of Joseph

Transcript

GRS 2-11
2/13/2005
Highs and Lows in the Life of Joseph
Genesis 38-41
Gil Rugh

All right, we are going to Genesis 38. Genesis Chapter 38 in your Bibles, we move through this foundational book. If you don’t understand the Book of Genesis, how we are you going to understand the rest of the Scripture? Everything that is developed throughout the rest of the Bible to the end of the Book of Revelation is based on the events taking place in the Book of Genesis. Even the stories that are unfolded are not just interesting stories of ancient characters’ lives, but they are an explanation if you will of how God is working to accomplish His plans that unfold in greater detail through the rest of Scripture.

Chapter 37 was about Joseph, the conflict in Joseph’s family. When he was about 17 years of age, God brought him some dreams. He shared those dreams, the dreams that basically showed his brothers and even his parents bowing down before him. This aggravated in an already tensed family situation. Joseph was the clear favorite of his father. This caused his brothers to dislike him and then when Joseph shared his dreams that indicated that Joseph would be in a position of superiority over them, they hated him all the more. When his father sent Joseph to check on his brothers, they were out tending the sheep and that tells you something. The brothers are out roaming the country, traveling many miles to care for the sheep, but Joseph is at his home. But now his father sends him out to check on his brothers and the brothers decide they will kill him. But then they come up with an alternative plan. They sell him to slave traders and then the slave traders take him to Egypt to sell him there, so Chapter 37 ended. The Midianites sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, Pharaoh’s officer, the captain of the bodyguard.

Now we have Chapter 38 that somewhat intrudes into the narrative because the narrative will flow as we will see from Chapter 37 to Chapter 39 without a break. So Chapter 38 comes as something of a parenthetical development in the flow of the story of Joseph, but it’s a necessary explanation because it helps us appreciate why God is sending Joseph down into Egypt, why it will be necessary for God to shelter his people Israel. They just exist as a family now in the land of Egypt for 400 years because Chapter 38 not only gives some important information on the Messianic line that would develop from Judah, but it also shows the dangerous corruption that is already impacting the family of Jacob.

Chapter 38 opens up, it came about at that time. So here we have additional information that was taking place not particularly regarding Joseph, but the family of Jacob. It came about at that time that Judah departed from his brothers and visited a certain Adullamite, whose name was Hirah. Judah saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was Shua; he took her and went in to her. Now previously there had been a great concern among the patriarchs that there not be intermarriage among the Canaanites. Remember Abraham sent his servant back to his home land to get a bride for his son Isaac. Then Jacob himself had journeyed back to his parent’s homeland and gotten a bride for himself. There was an avoiding of marital entanglements and the mixing of the line of Abraham with the Canaanites.

But now here we find Judah taking a Canaanite wife and she bears him children. Three children I mentioned, Er in verse 3, Onan in verse 4, and Shelah in verse 5. This helps us to appreciate, remember keep the background why is Joseph going to Egypt, why is this account clarified here and explained here. Joseph has been sold into Egypt. Now let’s come to understand what’s taking place in the family of Jacob. That will give us a greater appreciation why God’s plan is to take his children into Egypt and isolate them there. Amongst the people that would have nothing to do with the shepherd people and so they are cutoff from those kinds of entanglements. This is an ugly Chapter and things had happened here are not pleasant.

We start out, Judah takes a wife and keep in mind Judah is the son from which the Messianic line will develop. Jesus will be of the tribe of Judah. You know, he is not from Joseph’s line. You think Joseph with his stature here would be the one who would be the head of the line from which Messiah would come. That’s not the case. Judah, the son here that takes the Canaanite wife is the line from which the Messiah would come. Now Judah verse 6 took a wife for Er, his first born, her name was Tamar. Er, Judah’s first born was evil in the sight of the Lord, so the Lord took his life. We are not told what his evil conduct was, but it was serious enough that the Lord struck him dead, took his life. Then Judah said to Onan, go in to your brother's wife and perform your duty as a brother-in-law to her, raise up offspring for your brother. Onan knew that the offspring would not be his; so when he went in to his brother's wife, he wasted his seed on the ground in order not to give offspring to his brother. What he did was displeasing in the sight of the Lord. So the Lord took his life also, so Judah has three sons. Two of them had been struck dead by the Lord for sin, rebellion against him. This action of taking your deceased brothers’ wife as your own will later be incorporated into the Mosaic Law in Deuteronomy Chapter 25. We know it as the levirate marriage from the Latin word “levir” which is your brother-in-law. What the point is this kept the family line going. So when Onan took his brother’s wife, went in and had relations with her, the son that would be born of that relationship would be considered his dead brother’s son, so all the land and so on would be passed on through that line.

So you see it kept that line from coming to an end because Er died without children. So what happens to the land he had the possessions he had would come to an end. This was a way that the line was kept intact. But it also had the potential to create conflict and here Onan doesn’t want to provide an heir for his brother. We can understand some of his selfish motive here. If his brother has no heir, who will get his brother’s possession who is next in line? Who is the next oldest Onan? So what Onan does here is sinful. This passage says nothing about birth control and God’s attitude toward birth control, things like that. Now you may have feelings about those things that have to be taken from other parts of Scripture. This has to do with the special action in a special context that is explained and clearly understood. This was his repeated practice, this was not a one-time mistake and noted in the notes that whenever he went in to his brother’s wife, this was his practice. So he was in a constant state of rebellion. He was not going to do what the Lord required of him. So he’s gone.

Now Judah has a third son, he is the youngest. So he says to his daughter-in-law wait and when my son Shelah is old enough, he will marry you and continue the line of your deceased husband. But his real motivation in verse 11 as God tells us what was going on to his mind, he is afraid if Shelah marry Tamar, there goes number three sons. Then what will I have? So he tells her this, but he is being deceptive. I am going to give you my third son and you can have children by him, but you need to wait until he is older, but in his mind he has no plan to do that because he is afraid that it may result in the death of his son, doesn’t have great confidence in the obedience of the third son either. Here you have Judah and the Messiah going to be the line of the tribe of Judah and what a family and it is not going to get better. It gets worse. We are moving now to incest. And this will involve Judah.

Verses 12 to 19 talk about the deception now that Tamar carries out on her father, passing of time comes and Judah’s wife dies. So he is asked to see about tending sheep and then and his daughter-in-law Tamar realizes Shelah’s gotten older, the third son of Judah and he hasn’t been given to me as a husband. My father-in-law Judah has no intention of keeping his word on this. So she knows where he is going and so she goes and disguises herself as a prostitute, a temple prostitute sits by the road, disappointing character of Judah here. He sees a temple prostitute sitting by the road. So he goes up and negotiates with her. How much would it cost for me to have sex with you? And they agree. He will give her an animal from his herd and until we can send the animal, you give her certain of his possessions that identify him. His signet, his staff, cord that would hold his signet around his neck that guarantees her that he will send a sheep because he wants these back. Okay, so you know the story. He goes in and has sexual relationship with Tamar. He does not know it’s her. She has her face covered. So he goes in and then leaves. He sends by his friend. I mean there is no embarrassment here. He does not even go and get the animal and take it back.

As you know, he does not want everybody around to know that you have knobbed with prostitutes. It does not bother Judah, he has his friend take the animal back and he can’t find the temple prostitute. He says, oh, where’s the temple prostitute? That was here and the man of the area down in verse 21 say there has been no temple prostitute here. I mean if there is a temple prostitute there, this would be a regular practice that she would be there regularly. They say, we don’t have any temple prostitute here. So there is no one around. So this is puzzling, why would a lady do this? I mean she can’t spend the staff or the signet or that, but the animal would have been a value to her, but she is not there. So Judah’s response to his friend, the Dolomite down in verse 23 is well, let’s just drop the matter. We don’t want to become a laughingstock running around here asking where is the temple prostitute, so we can pay her for what I did. So let’s just drop the matter and get out of here. She is happy, we are happy and it’s done.

Well then few months later, Tamar shows up pregnant and of course Judah is a very righteous man and says well, she has been a pros played the role of a prostitute. She has to die, bring her on, we will execute her, and of course this will resolve the problem of Shelah, his son as well because that will take care of it, but she says in verse 25 when they are bringing her out for execution, to be burned, I am with child by the man to whom these belong. Examine these, see whose signet ring, cords, staffs, are these? Judah recognized them into his credit. He says she is more righteous than I. I didn’t give her my son Shelah. It was my sin that led to this sin. He doesn’t have relations with her again. But now there will be children born and in verses 27 to 30 she gives birth to twins. Now when the twins were born, the midwife would one who identified the first born because that becomes significant for rights of heritance and that.

So it took place, verse 28 while she was giving birth, one put out a hand, the midwife took and tied a scarlet around the hand, so this one came out first. All right this is the one that comes out first but then he pulls the hands back and his brother came out. And she said what a breach you have made for yourself, so he was named Perez. Afterward his brother came out with a scarlet thread on his hand and he was named Zerah. Now even though the first born was identified by the cord, Perez does become the dominant figure. Perez replaces him really and does become the first born. He appears first in the subsequent genealogies, so indicating that since his birth, the first he takes that recognition even though they did identify his brother and interestingly most interesting to us the line of the Messiah will come from Judah through Perez and in Mathew Chapter 1 verse 3, Tamar becomes one of the few women in the line of the Messiah recorded there in Mathew.

Strange the way of God carries out his work and plan. How are we going to hold up an example for families when this is what we have? What kind of family you have here? I mean now here you are going to have these two twin sons raised in the home here and who is your father? Who is your mother? Wait a minute and explain us. I tell your mother was married to the son of that man who died and then the second son of that man who died, but you say now that man is your father. He is really your grandfather, not your father right? No, he is our father. You don’t want to know the details. Well that he married your mother; well it wasn’t really like that. You see my mother was sitting out on the road dressed as a temple prostitute and the man who is my father stopped and had relationship with her not knowing who she was. I don’t think we will just bother writing your family records, but God puts it in here and it is significant and when you realized there do need to be some walls around the family of Jacob to protect them from what’s going on and the potential involvement with the Canaanite culture and life and lifestyle, it’s already affecting them.

Judah is going out, then having sex with a temple prostitute or one he thinks as the temple prostitute, you will see something of the morals of Canaan are already taking whole of the family, not embarrassed. He sends his friend, the Dolomite back to pay off the prostitute and now you have the line, but God’s hand is in this and the line of the Messiah will come from Judah through Perez. As a result of this relationship that we have just looked at, now understanding something of what is going on in the family of Jacob. We can go back to Joseph in Egypt and appreciate not only that we have a better understanding of how the Messianic line is coming and will be able to understand Genesis when Tamar and Perez show up in the Messianic line how that came about, but we also appreciate the hand of God in putting Joseph in Egypt, so he could bring the family of Jacob down there, develop the nation.

All right, so Chapter 39 begins, now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt and Potiphar, an Egyptian officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the bodyguard, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him down there. If we go back to Chapter 37 verse 36 that’s exactly where the Chapter left off. Though if I say Chapter 38 is something of a parenthetical revelation to us, so that not only the information in the Chapter of the Messianic line from Judah, but also the reasons that is going to be necessary for the family of Jacob to go to Egypt. So now Joseph is going down to Egypt. Chapter 39 there is a repeated emphasis on the expression the Lord was with Joseph. Note verse 2, the Lord was with Joseph.

Verse 3, now his master saw that the Lord was with him. Verse 21, but the Lord was with Joseph. Verse 23 middle of the verse, because the Lord was with him. Now they are going to be 13 years before Joseph is elevated to the position that we are familiar with as ruler of Egypt. And it’s going to have its ups and downs. The ups will be being an important slave. The downs will be being an imprisoned slave. You understand all 13 years he is a servant or slave. But for some of that time, he has an important role, but for a portion of that time he is a slave imprisoned in the dungeon eon, Pharaoh’s dungeon. Even there he will be given responsibility, but it is in that context. Alright, first 6 verses talk about the elevation of Joseph, his brothers sell him to the Midianites through the Ishmaelites. Both names are used. Remember the Ishmaelite was a broad name from the descendants of Ishmael. They covered a variety of peoples in that land including the Midianites. So it was the Midianites, but the general name for those people would have been Ishmaelites. They take him and sell him in Egypt. They come down and somebody they bought, they sell him to an officer of Pharaoh.

Verse 2, the Lord was with Joseph, so he became a successful man. He was in the house of his master, the Egyptian. His master saw the Lord was with him and how the Lord caused all he did, to prosper in his hand. So Joseph found favor in his sight, became his personal servant, he made him overseer of his house, put him in charge of all that he owns. You know, it’s a strange combination and interesting. Here is a man who’s carried down in to Egypt as a slave, who is sold into the household of this important official of Pharaoh as a slave and yet there is a recognition that the hand of the Lord is upon him. You might think if you have any kind of special relationship with the Lord and he was doing anything in your life, you wouldn’t be a slave and you wouldn’t be being sold from one group to another as a slave, but Potiphar recognizes the hand of the Lord is upon him, the Lord’s with him. Lord has given him an ability. It seems whatever he does, comes out well. And I am benefiting because he is my slave. So he gives Joseph responsibility, seems like well, here is the Lord brought him down to Egypt and things are going to go well because as an important slave with a great responsibility in the household of an important man, he could have a relatively comfortable life.

Verses 7 to 18, things take a turn, although there is a real opportunity here with Joseph because the wife of Potiphar and Potiphar is an important man. He is evidently gone enough that his wife decides Joseph looks pretty good, he is young, he is handsome, pretty well built. I would enjoy some side activity with this servant. You know she is the master’s wife. Let’s just cut to the chase. Verse 7, it came about after these events. His master’s wife looked with desire to Joseph and said lie with me. Give her credit, she gets right to the point. She doesn’t say I am looking for someone to talk to. Let’s go to bed together. He refused; two reasons, your husband my master is honored me, he has given me great responsibility. How could I do this to him? I mean, here is a man who is entrusted me with everything and I would do this to him and secondly verse 9 the end of the verse, how then could I do this great evil and sin against God? So those two reasons; I wouldn’t sin against your husband in this way and I wouldn’t sin against God in this way. She is persisted.

Verse 10 she spokes to Joseph day after day. This could be a great temptation. Joseph is a young man. He is in the prime of life. It has been difficult for him and he is not the initiator, I mean I am just a slave and become you know he could make his excused, he wouldn’t do it. One day he goes in the house to carry out some responsibilities and it’s all happens, there is no other servants in the house at this time, just Potiphar’s wife. So she becomes more aggressive, she grabs on to his outer robe and says lie with me and Joseph realizes this is no time to talk about it. You know, let him who thinks he stand take heed lest he fall, sometimes the better part of valor is turning around, and that’s the better part of wisdom and that is exactly what Joseph does. He heads for the door. I think that he realizes he stands here; he could succumb to what he should not succumb to. So the best thing is don’t get away from the opportunity. So he turns and runs and his outer robe just pulls off.

Well that’s not the important thing to him. You know, he is not going to run back in there and say give me my robe. He’s got to get away from there. Put some verses down. First Corinthian 6:18, flee immorality. Second Timothy 2:22, flee youthful lusts, let’s be honest. People get in trouble with these things because they do not turn around. They begin to develop a relationship with someone. They want to develop a relationship where they put themselves in a context where it can develop and they don’t want to get away. There is pleasure in sin. Even though it may only be for a season, it is pleasurable. You think Joseph would not have enjoyed the kind of relationship with Potiphar’s wife. I would take it she what have been an appealing woman. A man of his position would have a wife befitting his position. You think Joseph would not have enjoyed this, not put yourself in that occasion and if the occasion comes, Joseph couldn’t avoid it. He had responsibility, but when it came, he is going to get away, no matter what it takes.

Verses 16 to 18, there is no raft like that of a spurned woman, they say. When she realizes Joseph has turned and ran away and she is left with his garment, now she is really angry at Joseph. So when her husband comes home, she tells him what has happened. First she tells all the servants, look what this Hebrews slave has done in our house. He came and tried to rape me and I screamed and he ran out and left his robe. I have got the evidence, so when her husband comes home, she tells him and you know nobody can get you worked up like your life. You know, your wife tells you some and all of a sudden you are steaming. Well, I put this man, I trusted him, how could he try to do with my wife? You think he calls Joseph in and says Joseph I would like to hear your side of this story. He didn’t need to hear anything else. You know where Joseph has gone, he has gone to the dungeon. Now you think, what has Joseph done? He has only done the right thing. Why would God want to boot his out of Potiphar’s house? He could have kept him here. God has better things for Joseph, but the road to those things is not going to be pleasant. So Joseph goes to the dungeon at the end of the Chapter.

Joseph’s master took him, verse 20, put him to jail, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined. You see this is a man of importance. I mean, he can use Pharaoh’s dungeon. You can be sure this is not a pleasant place and he is confined there. Verse 21, but the Lord was with Joseph. You know looking at the life of Joseph, it is good that God constantly reminds us as he was with Joseph because I tried to put myself in Joseph’s position here and now here he sits in the dungeon, I again gone to bottom, God all I did was tried to be faithful to you. Lord I tried to honor you. You know, here is a man who has been torn from his family, taken to a strange land, sold into slavery and even there he tries to be as faithful to God as he can be and he is faithful. And all what does is make his life worse, but there he is and the Lord was with Joseph and extending kindness to him and gave him favor in the sight of the chief Jailor. So even here, God is with him, gives him favor in the sight of the chief jailor. Now Lord I appreciate that, rather you gave me favor with Potiphar, get me out of the dungeon. But God is doing something here. Now we don’t mind it with Joseph because we have read the last Chapter, it’s when we were going through.

Turn over to Psalm 105. We don’t get any indication here of what is going on in the dungeon, so it’s easy for us to think Joseph has a pretty good life here. He is given responsibility in the dungeon, but you understand he is not in a good position here, but God is honoring him within that framework. In Psalm 105, verse 17, verse 16, he called for a famine upon the land. He broke the whole staff of bread that is the coming famine that is going to come on Egypt. He sent a man before them, Joseph who was sold as a slave. Note this; they afflicted his feet with fetters. He himself was laid in irons. You get some idea what he had to go through. We think that Joseph, you know, even in prison having, you know, somewhat of a good life, but you he was in fetters, he was an irons, so much of his time here was very unpleasant and he is going to be seeking relief as will come out in the account, but the Lord is with Joseph and how does the Chapter end.

The Lord was with him, whatever he did, the Lord made to prosper and the chief jailor recognizes that the Lord is with him and gives him responsibility within the frame work of being in Pharaoh’s dungeon. So the chapter ends the way it began. The Lord was with Joseph. The Lord was with Joseph when Joseph was given a position of owner in Potiphar’s house. And you understand the Lord was just as much with Joseph when he is in the dungeon and good reminder you for us. the Lord is just is as much with me, just as much working his purposes in my life, just as much using me for his honor and doing what is good for me at the lowest points of my life as he is at the highest points. Now I usually acknowledged at the highest points, I say thank you for Lord all you bless with me, thank you Lord for taking care of it, thank you Lord for bring these good things into my life. Important thing for me is when I am in the dungeon so to speak to rather comparison, I recognized Lord thank you for being with me. Thank you Lord that your hands upon me. I tend to raise a question. Lord if your hand was upon me, I wouldn’t be here. Lord if you were prospering me, I wouldn’t be at this low point. The Lord is with him.

Chapter 40, three people, Joseph, the butler, and the baker. Now what happens in prison and when you are in Pharaoh’s prison, you get to meet some formally important people. Another factor in Pharaoh’s dungeon means, they were formally important. It is not the place you go to make contacts normally. But God doesn’t do things normally. You would have thought that God could to done at this way in Potiphar’s house; Joseph has become the chief servant. Potiphar is one of Pharaoh’s leading officials, think of how many important people come to dinner at Potiphar’s. What an opportunity for Joseph to meet the important people and be forgot to use those contacts to move him along, that’s the way I would have done it, not the way God does it. He takes him to the dungeon, where you are going to meet some important people, who are now out of favor with Pharaoh and some on their way to execution and this is the way he is going to elevate Joseph. So that’s the account here. The first 8 verses tell us about the cupbearer and the baker. They did something to offend Pharaoh. We are not told why. The cupbearer the one who brought his cup to trust his servant, you know, the food taster, so on and the baker who prepares things for the Pharaoh. Both of them did something to offend Pharaoh. Verse 2, Pharaoh was furious with these two officials and so he put them in the confinement

In verse 3, the captain of the bodyguard in the jail, the place where Joseph was imprisoned. This gives you an idea of what kind of place this is. You know it’s like in English History going to the Tower of London, not a good place to be going, not a pleasant place to stay. It is the place that the people who have offended Pharaoh go. This is where these two officials go and it happens to be where Joseph was imprisoned and the captain of the bodyguard put Joseph in charge of them. I mean, you think oh, he has elevated Joseph; let’s face it, his life gotten easier. We can know he has somebody to do all the work, here two people, you are responsible for them. And Joseph took care of them and they were in confinement for some time and then they both have dreams, oh, here we are with dreams. Joseph got into trouble with dreams earlier remember. His brothers and his parents and now he doesn’t have the dreams, but the chief baker and the butler have the dreams, the cupbearer, and so Joseph sees in the morning and they are dejected. And he says why are you dejected? And they say, we had a dream and we do not know the interpretation.

You know, they understood there was something significant in these dreams, but they don’t know what they mean. Joseph said to them, do not interpretations belong to God, tell it to me. In other words, I don’t have this power enough on myself, but God will reveal it through me. The cupbearer tells his dream and the outcome of it’s good. Joseph says this is the interpretation, verse 12, the three branches are three days. Within three more days Pharaoh will lift up your head, restore you to your office. You will put Pharaoh’s cup into his hand according to your formal custom when you were his cupbearer. So you had a dream and that is the dream, that dream brings good news. Three days you are going to be restored. That’s got to be great news to the cupbearer because he is in a position he wouldn’t know which way he is going and now you get an idea of what Joseph’s situation is light by his request to the cupbearer. Verse 14, only keep me in mind when it goes well with you, please do me a kindness by mentioning me to Pharaoh and get me out of this house for I was in fact kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews, even here I have done nothing that they should put me into the dungeon, when you restored. Note Joseph has no doubt at all that his interpretation of the dream is from God. It will happen exactly as he says and he seeks mercy from the cupbearer to remember him. This tells you something of the situation. Well the chief baker, he says vow, that was a good interpretation. I had like one of those too. So he tells Joseph. But Joseph’s interpretation is he also has three days and then have Pharaoh’s going to hang him and the birds are going to eat his flesh. Not good. Imagine, what would be like the next three days for these men, one waiting with anticipation and the other waiting with fear, happens exactly as Joseph said.

But the Chapter ends verse 23, the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him. And you understand it humanly looking at it. God loses misses a lot of opportunities. I mean, here is a great opportunity, cut right through it, get Joseph out of dungeon, because the cupbearer when he is restored can say to Pharaoh, you know what, there is a young man in the dungeon that told me exactly what would happen to me. But the cupbearer forgets all about Joseph. He is excited to be back. He is back in the swing of things, got his responsibilities back, and things are good again and he has forgotten Joseph. And so languishes in the prison for days and weeks and months for two more years he is in the dungeon. I think Lord, what are you doing? Now 13 years have gone by. Came down into Egypt as a 17-year-old boy, Joseph is now about 30 years of age. We will see that in a moment.

13 years, what is God is doing? Life’s going by. The prime of the life is passing him by. I mean, those years from 17 to 30 and it has been nothing but trouble, I mean he had a position of honor as a servant in the Potiphar’s house for a while, but from there was to the dungeon and in there opportunity to have contact with the cupbearer of Pharaoh, perhaps that what the Lord has, nothing, I am sure two years go by, you begin to think, I guess this what the Lord asks for me. You know we don’t have anything going on. You know, nobody comes to counsel Joseph because of his traumatic childhood, being raised in a family where his brothers hated him and ultimately sold him into slavery, how will he ever recover from that trauma? I mean, you know with that in your background, you know, it will take years, but I don’t think they had any counseling going on in this dungeon. It happened at the end of two years. Now God is going to intervene on Joseph’s behalf. He has been with Joseph all this time. He will be looking out for Joseph. Joseph has been in the center of God’s will. He has been in the exact place of divine appointment.

Now at the end of two years, Pharaoh has a dream. Dreams play an important part in Joseph’s life. Beginning with his own dreams about his future and now the realization of Joseph’s own dreams come about using other people’s dreams. Pharaoh had a dream. He was standing by the Nile and you are familiar seven cows come up from the Nile and it was customary that the cows like to stand down in the river because of the heat, because of the flies and insects and they would come up and graze and here these sleek, fat, healthy cows come up and they are grazing in the grass and then seven other cows come up, that are scrawny and ugly and they eat up the healthy cows, but they don’t gain any weight. They are still scrawny and ugly and then Pharaoh dreamed the second dream. In his dream he sees you know full stalks of grain and then seven scrawny scorch stalks of grain and the thin scrawny stalk swallowed up the seven healthy stalks. Well you know, the recognized dreams mean something here. So Pharaoh calls all his magicians, all his wise men, and tells them his dream and says, alright now tell me what they meant. They couldn’t come up with an interpretation.

Verse 9, the cupbearer all of a sudden, he remembered something. I remember a man who interpreted dreams and he interpreted them correctly. And he says Pharaoh; now remember cupbearer has immediate access to Pharaoh on a regular basis. I mean, he is the one there to test the food and so on. So he brings the food to Pharaoh and he says you know what, I have committed wrong. When I was in prison when you were angry and furious with me and the chief baker you put us prison, we both had dreams and you know what, there was a young Hebrew in the prison and he interpreted our dreams and it was exactly what he said would take place. You hung the chief baker and you restored me.

Verse 4, then Pharaoh sent and called for Joseph and they hurriedly brought him out of the dungeon. When Pharaoh speaks, things happen and first he’s got to get cleaned up. You know, Joseph has been in the dungeon. So he’s got to get shaved, he’s got to get clothes on, that will make him, he’s got to look presentable to come into the appearance of Pharaoh. He does not bring him out as he appears in the dungeon scraggly with those kinds of clothes and so on. Pharaoh says to Joseph I had a dream, no one can interpret it. I have heard it said about you, you can hear and interpret a dream. Joseph answered, verse 16, it is not me; God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer. Joseph’s confidence in God has not been shaken, amazing. You think at this point after 13 years you might be saying you know, you think if I had any real in with God that would be prison, not at all. We don’t know what is going on in Joseph’s mind and it really doesn’t matter. Here he is still confident in God. God can interpret dreams, He will give the favorable answer, and I am going to be His spokesman. So Pharaoh tells him his dream and Joseph ends up telling him both the dreams mean the same thing.

They have been repeated because the matter is settled and sure and God is emphasizing it to Pharaoh the finality of it. You are going to have seven years of great plenty in Egypt. You are going to have more than you know what to do with. The land is gone to be overflowing with abundance, but that is going to be followed by seven of the worse years, and the famine will be so great. Joseph not only interprets the dream, but also God gives him the wisdom to tell Pharaoh what he must do. So after interpreting the dream, verse 32 as for the repeating of the dream to Pharaoh, Joseph speaking twice it means the matter is determined by God. God will quickly bring it about. We are on the verge of those 7 years of plenty beginning. Now let Pharaoh look for a man discerning and wise set him over the land of Egypt. Let Pharaoh take action to appoint overseers in charge of the land. Let him exact a fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt in the seven years of abundance. So there is going to be a 20% tax.

There is going to be such abundance that people won’t mind paying it and what the Pharaoh’s going to do then is store this added tax in warehouses, then gather all the food of those of good years that are coming, store them in grain for food for the cities under Pharaoh’s authority and let him guard it. Let the food become a reserve for the land for the seven years of famine. The proposal seemed good to Pharaoh to all his servants. And now finally when Joseph according to verse 46, is 30 years of age, back in Chapter 37 verse 2 he was 17 in that Chapter of the events of he is being sold into slavery. No he is 30, 13 years later God is ready to elevate him to a position of owner.

Pharaoh says to his servants can we find a man, verse 38, like this and whom is a divine spirit. Pharaoh said to Joseph since God has informed you of all this, there is no one so discerning and wise as you are. You shall be over my house, according to your command all my people shall do homage, only in the throne I will be greater than you. Pharaoh said to Joseph, see, I have set you over all the land of Egypt. I mean this is remarkable. Pharaoh doesn’t say well, that is interesting, we will wait and see what happens. Again it’s the work of God that causes Pharaoh to realize what Joseph has shared is true. And on the spot he acts to implement to act on what Joseph has said and implement what Joseph has recommended. And I mean Joseph goes in a matter of a day or two, probably a day he has been taken out of the dungeon, shaved, washed up, clothed, brought before pharaoh, given the interpretation and so he goes from being in the dungeon with the criminals to verse 42.

Pharaoh took off his signet ring from his hand, put it on Joseph’s hand, clothed him in garments of fine linen, put the gold necklace around his neck, had him ride in his second chariot, and they proclaim before him, bow the knee, make away, he set him over the land of Egypt. What a turnaround in a day, from being confined in the dungeon to riding in the second chariot of Pharaoh with an entourage going before having people declare your greatness, so they can bow and make way for you. You are wearing Pharaoh’s signet, so you can stamp things, you have his full authority to act. When you speak, it’s done. It’s just as good as if Pharaoh had done it. The only person who could overrule Joseph in the whole land of Egypt is Pharaoh himself. That’s remarkable, I mean, the God does not have to have a process.

His process of preparing Joseph was all the turmoil of those 13 years. When He is ready to do it, He does it in a day. Who would have thought you could take a man from the dungeon and give him such an honored position so immediately. Furthermore, Joseph needs a wife befitting his position. So Pharaoh said to Joseph, though I am Pharaoh, yet without your permission no one shall raise his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt. I mean I am Pharaoh, but nobody will do anything that you don’t approve in all of Egypt. Then Pharaoh named Joseph Zaphenath-paneah. If you are looking for a son’s name, that hasn’t been used lately. He gave him Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, Heliopolis 7 miles north of Cairo. So now Joseph has an important wife, interestingly it is the wife of a priest, a pagan priest, that daughter, but this would be woman from a family of importance, a wife befitting Joseph’s new position in Egypt. Joseph goes out now. He comes in being brought from the dungeon, when he walks out from the presence of Pharaoh; he is the most important person in all of Egypt, apart from Pharaoh himself.

Joseph was 30 years old when he stood before Pharaoh, king of Egypt, verse 46. He went out from the presence of Pharaoh, went all the land of Egypt during the seven years of plenty, the land brought forth abundantly, he gathered all the food of those 7 years and he created store cities and places to store the grain and so on. Verse 49, Joseph stored up grain in great abundance like the sand of the sea. He stopped measuring it. You see these 7 years of abundance, this 20% tax results in such huge overflow. They can’t even keep track of it anymore. They just keep bringing it in and storing it up. They don’t even bother trying to keep measurements any longer. Now before the year of famine came, two sons were born to Joseph, whom Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, bore to him.

Joseph named the first born Manasseh, for he said God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father’s household. He named the second Ephraim, for he said God made me fruitful in the land of my affliction. Now remember Joseph is going to be given the right of first born and he will get a double portion of the double portion when his father gives the blessing will be each of Joseph’s son is given a portion. But the Messianic line does not come through Joseph. So Joseph is elevated to replace his brother Reuben, who remember sinned by having sex with his father’s concubine and looses the right of first born. The Messianic line will come through Judah, but the right of first born is passed on to Joseph in receiving the double portion and that will come later.

The seven years of famine of plenty ended. Seven years of famine began to come just as Joseph has said. There is famine on all the lands. This famine is not just in Egypt, it spreads out through Cannon and the whole region. But it there is plenty in Egypt. So when all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried out to Pharaoh for bread. Pharaoh said to the Egyptians, go to Joseph. When the famine was spread over the face of the earth, Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold to the Egyptians. The famine was severe in the land of Egypt. People of all the earth came to the Egypt to buy grain from Joseph because the famine was severe in all the earth. Now we are prepared for the next phase and the coming down into Egypt of the rest of Joseph’s family, the sovereign hand of God.

Two things were done, number one, God causes all things to work together for good, to those who love him, to those with the color according to his purpose. You and I can have that confidence. We read the life of Joseph and listen I know, but you know we have read the last Chapter there. But we have read the last Chapter for us. It comes out good. Now that doesn’t mean there will be some difficulties, but all those difficulties are what? God preparing us for the great blessings He has promised for us. You think, Joseph now looks back as the ruler of Egypt under Pharaoh and says you know I wish I had taken that opportunity with Potiphar’s wife. I don’t think so. You know I wish I hadn’t been so faithful to the Lord, I do not think so. God’s brought him honor beyond what he could have imagined. That’s what God has promised for us, the Lord beyond to compare.

Secondly and I want to keep reminding you of this. There are no perfect families. We need to be aware all the emphasis on the past and you know, what went on in our family and how that has a traumatic affect and all of that is all pagan nonsense. That doesn’t mean we are not supposed to have godly families and concentrate on that, but you understand that Joseph’s life is not hopelessly marked because of the traumatic experiences he has been through. As he submits himself to God, they are simply part of what God uses to shape and mold Joseph’s life. So no one can rule in God’s plan for me. No one can frustrate God’s plan for me. And we get all tight knots, what you going to do, I mean in these kinds of situations, these are, what about, I have to be a faithful person. I have to be faithful to my God. What about all these experiences and what is going to happen and we get so concerned and worried about our kids and what might happen and again we want to be guard the people. We will keep our focus biblical. And see even the most traumatic experiences in the life of Joseph, all part of God’s plan, to accomplish his purposes. What a great God we serve.

Let’s pray together. Thank you Lord for Your greatness, we are encouraged not only to learn something of the history of your people, even more to see Your sovereign hand to bringing about Your purposes in the most unusual of the circumstances, in the most tragic situations where Your purposes and plans cannot be frustrated. We are blessed to belong the You. We are encouraged to know that You are with us. We have the assured promise You will never leave us or for sake us. You are working your purposes in our lives at the high points and at the low points and even the low points or high points because You are working Your purposes for good for us as your children and bringing us to glory. You encourage your hearts, strengthen our resolve in faithfulness. Lord we are thankful that even the difficulties and tragedy that come to homes and families do not upset Your purposes and plans. You overrule all and we serve you with confidence. We praise you for your greatness in Christ’s name, amen.