Central thought: All things work for good for the children of God.
Hymn: God moves in a mysterious way.
Text: Genesis 41:1-57
Joseph was blameless in his behavior in Egypt, be it in Potiphar’s house as a servant, in prison, or as a ruler. He was faithful to God in every way and God made him to be successful in everything.
God did not remove Joseph from “the darkness and the filth of the dungeon”. Instead, He was with him right there and blessed all that he did and said, thus he continued to a position of trust and responsibility even in prison.
Dreams played a significant role in Joseph’s story/life. This time it was not his dreams but the interpretation of the dreams of others that brought him to limelight. God can and does in fact use dreams sometimes to guide the Christian but dreams are subject to interpretation.
The Butler abandoned Joseph to his fate in prison and it took two full years and an incident that shook the empire before he remembered the young man. There is a time set for the deliverance of God’s people- that time will come though it may seem to delay but when it comes it will be the best time.
Lesson Objectives:
- To know that God works out any situation to favor His children.
- To comprehend that God does not forget His own.
- To appreciate that God must fulfill His promise.
- To know how to react to those who hate us, and
- To know the benefit of waiting on God.
Question 1.) Can God work out the situation to favor his children?
Joseph as the “officer-in-charge” of the prisoners showed concern for the sad look on the faces of Pharaoh’s officers that were with him in the prison. This concern for others even in an unpleasant situation when he should have been more concerned with his personal freedom was a demonstration of Godly character. Someone of his caliber (a personer) in charge of a whole prison would not have been bothered about other prisoners if he had not the Spirit of God.
On inquiry, Joseph was told that they had dreamed and there was no interpreter of it. This turned out to be opportunity for Joseph to speak to the sad officers about God, letting them know that interpretation belonged to God. He then asked them to tell him their dreams, which Joseph promptly interpreted.
Here things started working, though slowly, towards Joseph’s advancement. He modestly requested the favor of the chief butler whose preferment he foretold. “But think of me when it shall be well with thee”. This was all the opportunity needed to turn Joseph’s situation around. Thus it can be rightly said that God allowed Pharaoh’s butler and baker to have the prison experience so as to come in contact with Joseph, which was to become the ladder that he would climb to his lime-light. God gave Joseph the gift of interpretation of dreams and created situations where he could use the gift of his favor.
Question 2.) How did god cause Joseph to be remembered?
There is a time set for the deliverance of God’s people. That time will come though it may seem delayed, when it comes, it will definitely be the best time. One would have expected the chief butler to immediately order the release of Joseph from prison when things became well with him, but this was not the case as he forgot him for two full years.
God decided to give Pharaoh dreams that no one in the land could interpret. This thus became the means of Joseph’s advancement as it was only at this point that the chief butler remembered him. The dreams, which Pharaoh had (which were sent from God) troubled his spirit when he woke up. Because it was divinely arranged, his magicians were puzzled and the rules of their art failed them. This made Joseph’s performance by the Spirit of God the more admirable.
The chief Butler in recommending Joseph as an interpreter, did it in compassion for Pharaoh rather than as gratitude to Joseph. Listen to what he said “And there was there with us a young man, an Hebrew servant to the captain of the guard…” Genesis 41:12. This obscure young man in the king’s prison, who had very properly interpreted his dream was then recommended to the king for an interpreter.
God’s time for the upliftment of His people will definitely be the most suitable. If the chief butler had at first used his initiative to bring Joseph out of prison, he would have probably returned to his home land of the Hebrews and would not have probably been found to interpreter Pharaoh’s dream and to bring to pass God’s purpose for his life.
Question 3.) How did God fulfill his promise in Joseph’s life?
Joseph was remembered at last by the chief butler to interpret the kings dreams. The introduction of Joseph to Pharaoh was done expediently. Pharaoh immediately without inquiring who he was and where he came from, told him the purpose of his invitation, which was to interpret his dream. Joseph gave him a very modest decent reply in which he gave honor to God. “It is not in me, God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace”. Genesis 41:16.
Pharaoh related his dream to Joseph who gave him the right interpretation. The interpretation and the good advice that Joseph gave Pharaoh made him to be absolutely sure that there was no better person than Joseph to be appointed to the exalted position of that person to preside in the affair.
Pharaoh acknowledged that Joseph was a man in whom was the spirit of God. Since this (Spirit) puts a great excellency upon any man, such a man ought to be highly valued. Therefore Pharaoh had no choice but to value Joseph. He was put into an honorable office and had all the marks of honor imaginable to recommend him to the esteem and respect of the people.
God had been liberal in giving wisdom and other merits while Pharaoh did not spare conferring honors on Joseph.
Question 4.) How did Joseph react to his brothers?
The Bible is quite clear on how we are to react to those who hate us. In Romans 12:19-21, we read “Dearly beloved, avenge not yourself….therefore, if thine enemy hunger, feed him…. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good”. Joseph seemed to have understood this principle when his brethren (those who hated him) came to him to buy corn for their family.
Joseph in this twenty years in Egypt never visited Canaan to see his aged father nor his brethren though it was quite close. This could also be divine as the management of himself in this affair was by special direction from heaven, that the purpose of God concerning him and his family might be accomplished. So when his brethren came, he knew them but they did not know him, most probably because they did not expect him to be in such a position.
Joseph remembered his dream and showed himself very harsh with them charging them with bad intention against his government, and treated them as dangerous persons. This was done to probably know if his brethren were still their old selves or to bring them to repentance and surely not of the spirit of revenge. It was also get out of them an account of the state of their family, which he longed to know. Not seeing his brother Benjamin with them may have raised some questions in his mind, which needed clarification and to further be sure of their truthfulness.
Ordinarily, one would expect that Joseph would maltreat his brethren who were now at his mercy for their hatred for him, but his reaction was different. He ordered that they should be given enough corn, and their money returned to them in their sacks. However, this again added to their frightened state when it was discovered later.
Good consciences are apt to take ill-gotten providences with remorse, as exhibited by Joseph’s brethren when they found their money in their sacks. They knew that Egyptians abhorred Hebrews and therefore could not have expected to receive any kindness from them so they concluded that this was done with the design to pick a quarrel with them. When Joseph could no longer control himself, he ordered his attendants including his interpreter to depart and to the utter consternation and dismay of his brethren, he spoke to them in their vernacular as he revealed his true identity. Joseph forgave his brethren though it was hard for them to accept, but at last, they accepted that forgiveness, were able to speak freely with him whom they had hated and rejected. It can be right therefore to say that this is one of the great scenes of reconciliation in the history of our faith.
Question 5.) What was Joseph’s benefits for waiting on the Lord?
No doubt, the benefits of waiting on God for anything are too numerous to count here. However, the case of Joseph will suffice. Joseph bore all the ugly experiences he had, patiently believing God to work out to His purpose for his life even when it seemed foolish to do so. He could have questioned God when he was innocently sold as a slave by his brethren and jailed for an offense he was quite innocent of and possibly lose his trust in God.
However, he trusted in God who was taking him to an expected end. Even when the chief Butler to Pharaoh forgot him in the dungeon for two more years after he regained his position in the palace, Joseph still held on to God and did not fail to mention Him any time he had the opportunity to do as he did when he appeared before Pharaoh.
Little wonder therefore, that at God’s appointed time, He lifted Joseph above all his fellows including Potiphar and his wife among others and there was nothing anybody could do about it. If Joseph had not waited on God, he would have missed out of God’s plan for his life which would have been most unfortunate. We are enjoined in Isaiah 40:31 to wait on the Lord so that we shall have our strength renewed. Many of us Christians are today in a hurry to get things from God the way we want it and the result is that we either get the wrong thing or we end up in one problem or the other. The importance of waiting on God in all situations therefore cannot be overemphasized at all.
Daily Living Application
The enemy may try to frustrate the plan of God for an individual’s life, but he will surely fail as long as the individuals faith is anchored in the Lord who can never lie. At best, the plan may seem delayed when viewed from a human point of view, but at God’s appointed time, the plan will come out as He ordained it.
Let us therefore as His dear children always wait patiently on Him to bring to pass His purpose for our lives, because “Faithful is He that has promised and who will also bring it to pass”.
Memory Verse:
Habakkuk 2:3
“For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry”.