Joseph’s Misunderstood Exaltation
Genesis 41:1-57
March 8, 2015
Ok, let me start by saying “Put the brakes on for a second”
• I know the temptation…
• I know what you’re waiting for…
• I know what you’ve been told…
Preacher, we’ve been waiting for that silver lining and it finally arrived!
You told us Joseph’s prosperity in Potiphar’s house wasn’t the silver lining…
You told us the favor of the jailer wasn’t the silver lining…
But there is no way you can tell us that this isn’t the silver lining.
I mean, this has got to be one of the top 5 feel good stories of all time.
Broken, rejected, disowned, mistreated, forgotten youth
Finally arrives and ascends to power.
Role the credits we finally got the happy ending we were waiting for.
Now admit it, in the back of your mind
That is what many of you are expecting.
If there was ever a Romans 8:28 story, this is it:
Romans 8:28 “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”
If there was ever a Jeremiah 29:11 story, this is it:
Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.”
By most accounts we just got the happy ending we were waiting for.
Well, “I hate to burst your bubble this morning”
(but someone has to do it)
Now first let me go ahead and state the obvious.
Yes, it is obvious that Joseph’s circumstances have improved.
• He has moved from Potiphar’s prison to Pharaoh’s palace.
• He now has all the worldly comforts at his disposal that he could ever want.
• He now has the respect that any man could hope for.
But I still want to ask you to put on the brakes for a moment,
Because I need to tell you that Joseph’s circumstances
Still aren’t as good as you think they are.
(We’ll get to that in a moment)
The other thing I need to tell you is that if you tie up the story here
And roll the credits for a happy ending you missed the whole point.
I told you from the outset that this story is not about Joseph.
Who is it about? (Judah)
If Judah doesn’t get saved this story doesn’t end well.
Oh sure, we’re happy for Joseph,
But the big story doesn’t end well.
And I have to remind you that
Before you open the champagne and blow the confetti,
You must remember that Judah is still in a world of danger.
He is still immoral
He is still corrupt
He is still selfish
And based on the famine that is coming, he is still in extreme danger.
If you celebrate now your celebration is going to be extremely short-lived.
That, by the way, is why Genesis has 50 chapters and not 41 chapters.
This is NOT the “Happily Ever After” part of the story.
THIS IS the next step in God’s Providential Plan of Saving Judah.
And it is so important that you see this.
See, the last few chapters have done a good job of helping us see
That our suffering may be for a purpose greater than ourselves.
But you also need to see that when God does choose
To pull you out of suffering, that still may not be about you.
Joseph’s suffering was not entirely about Joseph,
And Joseph’s rise to power was not entirely about Joseph.
Now let me walk you through this chapter and show you the next step in God’s providential plan. (oddly enough it isn’t that different from the last 3)
5 points
#1 JOSEPH’S WARRANTED OPPORTUNITY
Genesis 41:1-37
Now that is certainly a big chunk to cover all at once,
So let’s break it down just a bit further to fully grasp what is happing.
1) HIS SUDDEN IMPORTANCE (1-14)
Well first we remember what we talked about last week,
Joseph’s prison stay lasted way longer than any would have expected.
“Now it happened at the end of two full years…”
I won’t rehash the agony inherent in this that we spoke of last week,
But you are reminded that Joseph has been here a while.
In fact, you’ll see in a minute that Joseph is now 30 years old,
Which means he has been in Egypt for 13 years,
And a great deal of that has been spent in prison.
But God is once again at work…
There is a famine coming…
We talked about this several weeks ago as the real enemy of the story.
It is representative of the sin curse and it is coming to destroy Israel.
God however has been preemptively working ahead of time
To deliver God’s people by placing Joseph right where he needed to be.
And now it is time to move Joseph once again.
And the means by which God does that
Is a dream that Pharaoh cannot interpret.
(READ 1-8)
Well you can imagine the anxiety floating through Pharaoh’s court.
After all Pharaoh is not the type of man you want to disappoint.
If you don’t’ believe me ask the cup bearer who was in prison
And the baker who has been killed.
Things could get pretty dicey around here
If someone doesn’t come up with an interpretation to this dream.
And that is where we find that Joseph
Suddenly becomes more important than he has ever been in his life.
Now the cup bearer remembers.
(READ 9-13)
So suddenly Joseph becomes pretty important
To the entire court that waits on Pharaoh.
And Pharaoh is curious too so he calls for Joseph.
(READ 14)
So we see Joseph’s sudden importance
2) HIS SOBERING INTERPRETATION (15-32)
And again you have to love Joseph’s focus don’t you?
Just as he did with the cup bearer and the baker,
Joseph is still using his gift for the glory of God.
When Pharaoh tells Joseph that he heard that he can interpret dreams, Joseph says, (16) “It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer.”
And so Pharaoh restates the dream to Joseph.
And just as we said last week,
God has placed Joseph in the right spot at the right time
According to the gift He has placed in him.
He is the perfect man for the job.
And Joseph instantly gives the interpretation.
(READ 25-32)
God gives Joseph the accurate interpretation of the dream.
But this isn’t just about interpretation.
God has a plan
God has something in mind
And God uses Joseph to go above and beyond just a simple interpretation.
3) HIS SOUND INSIGHT (33-36)
Now this may not seem like much to you,
But I promise you this is not a normal incident.
The interpretation was expected, the advice most certainly was not.
No one just up and gave advice to Pharaoh,
Especially not a 30 year old convict.
And yet, God has so orchestrated the situation
To soften Pharaoh’s heart to receive it.
This isn’t Joseph’s plan, this is God’s plan.
Joseph isn’t even lobbying for a new job here, he is merely expressing what God has laid on his heart.
I promise you from Joseph’s perspective
It is probably more likely that Pharaoh punishes him for this advice
Than it is that Pharaoh promotes him for it.
But God is at work, and so Pharaoh accepts what Joseph says.
(37) “Now the proposal seemed good to Pharaoh and to all his servants.”
Please take a moment and see God’s fingerprints all over that situation.
This is not chance
• This is God working through natural circumstances
• This is God working through confusing dreams
• This is God working through spiritual gifts
• This is God working through revealed wisdom
• This is God working through softened hearts
God is all over this.
And so Joseph received the opportunity he deserved.
And then comes the MOST MISINTERPRETED part of the whole story.
Joseph’s Warranted Opportunity
#2 JOSEPH’S CURIOUS PROMOTION
Genesis 41:37-45
I know…I know…
We read that and all the prosperity gospel folks cry “Victory!”
And the children’s stories just started rolling off the press.
“Ok kids, if you will be faithful to God, and if you will do what is right, and stay sexually pure, and if you will endure, then someday God will promote you to a position of power and prestige too!”
Admit it; you’ve heard it just like that.
It appears to be the payoff we’ve all been waiting for.
Here is where I want you to tap the brakes.
This isn’t as good as it sounds.
I know,
• Joseph is second in command
• No one is more important than Joseph
• Joseph is honored and loved and clothed and cared for
• Joseph is calling the shots and making the decisions
Now stop for a second…
DOES THAT SOUND FAMILIAR TO ANYONE?
IT SHOULD, IT’S THE CONTINUOUS CYCLE OF JOSEPH’S LIFE.
• Joseph was Jacob’s favorite too, clothed in honor, second in command, checking up on all his brothers…and it landed him in Egypt
• Joseph was Potiphar’s favorite slave, clothed in honor, second in command, conducting all the affairs of his house…and it landed him in prison
• Joseph was the jailors favorite prisoner, clothed in honor, second in command, overseeing all the prisoners…and he ended up being forgotten
DO YOU SEE THE CYCLE?
Can I fill you in on something shocking to most people?
Joseph is just as much a slave of Pharaoh as he ever was of Potiphar.
Oh sure, he’s a slave in better surroundings, but he’s still a slave.
And yes, I know he’s second in command,
But what happens when Pharaoh’s wife gets upset with Joseph?
JOSEPH IS STILL A SLAVE…
Now, let me take you even one step further.
(I really hate to burst your bubble here, but you need to see it)
Joseph is promoted and rewarded and all of that stuff,
But it is not as though it seems.
Let me tell you a story:
(It’s a story Voddie Baucham shared in his book: “Joseph and the Gospel of Many Colors” – pg. 73-74)
“Helen is a concerned mother. She has a son named Christian who keeps her on her knees. She has frequently called upon the elders of her church to pray for her boy. Christian was always a talented, handsome young man. He went to a great university, earned an impressive degree, and landed a great job. Whatever he touched seemed to turn to gold. However, his pursuits came with a price.
Christian ended up working for a company whose moral reputation was less than desirable. He also moved quite far away from home – to another country in fact. He never went to church, and he never saw his family, not even for holidays. Eventually, he even started to go by a different name. Nobody knew him as Christian; his friends called him Darwin because of his ability to thrive in their “survival of the fittest” company culture.
Eventually, Christian married an unbeliever, the granddaughter of one of the founders of the company. They had a couple of kids, but Helen never got to see them – she had never even seen a picture of her grandsons. She did know, however, that they had never seen the inside of a church. Needless to say, Helen was heartbroken!
Now think about the elements of Helen’s story. Did you notice where they came from?…straight from Genesis 41! How on earth, then, can this chapter be considered the big payoff?”
Does that help you see Joseph’s predicament a little clearer?
Joseph
• Is in the wrong land
• In the wrong house
• With the wrong master
• With the wrong compensation
• With the wrong honor
• With the wrong name
• With the wrong wife
(40-45) “You shall be over my house, and 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.” Then Pharaoh took off his signet ring from his hand and put it on Joseph’s hand, and clothed him in garments of fine linen and put the gold necklace around his neck. He had him ride in his second chariot; and they proclaimed before him, “Bow the knee!” And he set him over all the land of Egypt. Moreover, 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.” Then Pharaoh named Joseph Zaphenath-paneah; and he gave him Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of On, as his wife. And Joseph went forth over the land of Egypt.”
Is that really the message of prosperity we are after?
Is that really the reward for faithfulness?
Hey kids, be faithful and God will exalt you to…
To a situation with lots of money and power,
But one that is totally pagan, void of Him in every respect.
This is NOT the happy ending you’ve been waiting for.
• Joseph is not in Canaan
• Joseph is not with his father
• Joseph is not in the company of God’s people
AND LOOK THE PARALLEL TO US IS EASY TO SPOT.
I don’t’ care how successful or rich or powerful you get in this world – OBTAINING THIS WORLD IS NOT THE GOAL
We are citizens of heaven – that is our payoff!
Philippians 3:7-11 “But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.”
Listen to Asaph talk about those who gain the world.
Psalms 73:18-20 “Surely You set them in slippery places; You cast them down to destruction. How they are destroyed in a moment! They are utterly swept away by sudden terrors! Like a dream when one awakes, O Lord, when aroused, You will despise their form.”
This reality caused Asaph to say:
Psalms 73:25-28 “Whom have I in heaven but You? And besides You, I desire nothing on earth. My flesh and my heart may fail, But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. For, behold, those who are far from You will perish; You have destroyed all those who are unfaithful to You. But as for me, the nearness of God is my good; I have made the Lord GOD my refuge, That I may tell of all Your works.”
Take the prosperity gospel and wad it up
And throw it as far out of your brain as you can get it!
We aren’t looking for an earthly reward, we’re looking for an eternal one!
We are those who are called to sacrifice this life for the sake of the next.
Matthew 16:24-27 “Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? “For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and WILL THEN REPAY EVERY MAN ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS.”
And when God looks at you and dreams about what you could become,
His mind does not wander off to places of prosperity and ease.
He dreams of you being holy and just like Jesus!
Yes Joseph has been promoted, but it is a curious promotion.
DO NOT read this section and go to quoting Rom 8:28 and Jer 29:11.
THIS IS NOT THE PAYOFF.
If this is the end…then Judah dies.
This is merely another step in God’s providential plan to save Judah.
Yes, it is a noticeably more comfortable step for Joseph,
But A STEP NONE THE LESS.
And we know that because the story doesn’t end here.
There is more to read.
#3 JOSEPH’S USUAL SUCCESS
Genesis 41:46-49
Again, the pattern is extremely familiar.
• Just like in Potiphar’s house
• Just like in the prison
Pharaoh does not regret putting anything in Joseph’s care.
Everything he touches turns to gold, and the reason is still the same
GOD IS OBVIOUSLY WITH HIM
This prosperity is not Joseph’s reward,
But it has been the means by which God
Continues to place Joseph where He wants him to be.
And here is the remarkable part.
• Up until now the story has been moving really slow for Joseph.
• We’ve even been wondering if his life was being wasted.
• We’ve even wondered if he was being sold cheaply.
But look at this.
(46) “Now Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh, king of Egypt.”
It has been thirteen years since Joseph was sold by his brother.
And look where he has come in just 13 years.
All of a sudden it looks like
God might have been moving quicker than we thought.
I mean, take any 17 year old kid you know and ask them, “Where do you see yourself in 13 years?”
If any of them says, “I’ll be Vice President of the United States”,
You’d laugh out loud at them.
In just 13 years God took Joseph from a normal teenage boy
To second in command of the most powerful nation in the world.
It may have seemed slow going for a while,
But actually I’d say God was moving rather quickly.
There is not another path in the world Joseph could have taken
To be ruler in Egypt this quickly.
THAT IS THE AMAZING PROVIDENCE OF GOD
He accomplishes the impossible for His perfect plan.
And by the way, that plan STILL isn’t finished,
That is why God is yet again prospering Joseph.
You get the feeling that God is not quite finished yet.
• He moved him from Canaan to Egypt
• He moved him from Potiphar to Prison
• He moved him from Prison to Pharaoh
And yet God is still doing the same thing…
Could it be that He has more in mind?
Absolutely!
Now, let me give you a wonderful part of the story.
#4 JOSEPH’S TELLING DECISION
Genesis 41:50-52
These verses are not necessary so far as the order of events is concerned.
But it was obviously important to Moses that you understand something.
WHAT DOES MOSES WANT YOU TO SEE?
JOSEPH IS CONTENT IN EGYPT,
BUT HE IS NOT SATISFIED THERE
I told you that he is a slave of Pharaoh.
• Later he won’t even be able to go see his father or to bring Jacob to Egypt without Pharaoh’s permission.
Joseph is a slave.
• He had no say in his new name
• He had no say in his new wife
• He had no say in his new position
• He had no say in his new living arrangements
And we would not know what Joseph thought of his predicament,
Where it not for these three verses.
For here we find that Joseph had two sons, and the names of those two sons give us an enormous amount of insight regarding Joseph.
(51) “Joseph named the firstborn Manasseh, “For,” he said, “God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father’s household.”
“Manasseh” simply means “forget”
And Joseph tells you why he selected that name.
“God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father’s household.”
Now don’t’ misread that.
It DOESN’T mean that Joseph forgot his father or his people.
If he had done that, then his boys would have Egyptian names
Just like he does.
He is saying that he has forgotten (or forgiven)
All the trouble and pain they put him through.
Joseph is rejecting the Egyptian heritage for his Hebrew heritage.
Joseph was not at home in Egypt.
And if you still doubt that, look at the name of his second son.
(52) “He named the second Ephraim, “For”, he said, “God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction.”
“Ephraim” means “fruitful”
And Joseph clarifies it as well.
That “God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction.”
That is a very telling statement.
• It was Canaan that started all his troubles.
• It was Canaan that rejected him and sent him away.
• Egypt has actually ended up treating Joseph rather well.
But what does he call Egypt?
“the land of my affliction.”
Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that Joseph is satisfied in Egypt.
• He has learned to be content there.
• He has learned to forgive and be grateful.
• But Joseph knows he is not home.
• Many people see this as the “pay off” – but Joseph didn’t!
In fact, later in the story,
Joseph is only going to require one thing of his people.
Genesis 50:25 “Then Joseph made the sons of Israel swear, saying, “God will surely take care of you, and you shall carry my bones up from here.”
Moses is making the unmistakable point.
This is NOT the payoff
Joseph has his sights set on a greater reward…a greater country…
A heavenly one!
Now, there is one more point, and it is in fact the next step of God’s providential plan.
#5 JOSEPH’S PREDETERMINED ROLE
Genesis 41:53-57
Do you see what God has been doing?
• God made Joseph special to his father so his brothers would hate him.
• God made his brothers hate him so they would sell him to Egypt.
• God sold him to Egypt so he’d meet Potiphar and his wife.
• God used them to put Joseph in prison so he’d meet a cup bearer.
• God had him meet the cup bearer who would introduce him to Pharaoh.
• God had him meet Pharaoh who would put him in charge.
And God then prospered him when he was in charge
So that Joseph would be sought after by the entire world.
(57) “The people of all the earth came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph, because the famine was severe in all the earth.”
I promise you he never saw that coming
When he was in chains headed to Egypt.
THAT IS THE PROVIDENTIAL PLAN OF GOD.
THE STAGE IS NOW SET
Joseph is now in position to deliver his family.
Joseph is now in position to save Judah.
And now I remind you of what we talked about at the beginning.
We’ve seen how God can use our suffering for the greater good in other people’s lives.
I want you to understand that the same is true for your exaltation.
Too many times we suffer
And we genuinely go looking for how God wants to use us,
And then God delivers us and we assume it was all about us.
He afflicted me for you, but He delivered me for me.
That certainly wasn’t true in Joseph’s life.
Do you realize that God may have restored you for an even greater purpose?
Did God make Esther queen just because she was so faithful and He wanted to reward her with life in the palace?
No, she was placed there for “such a time as this”
This was not Joseph’s reward, it was His purpose!
And the same is true for you.
Wherever you are
• God has you there for a purpose.
• He desires to use you there.
Don’t allow yourself to think that it is somehow all about you.
Your suffering is not all about you and your neither is your prosperity.
And this is hard to do
Most people will willingly surrender their suffering for God’s use,
But very few are willing to surrender their prosperity for His use.
God delivers them and somehow they assume that
Their deliverance is some sort of just reward for their endurance.
(No wonder we read the story of Joseph wrong)
Friends, the reward comes in heaven – not here!
You are meant to use your present condition for the glory of God.
My encouragement is that you let Him use you today.
Open your eyes to the bigger picture.
Quit seeking to obtain this world and seek to be used of God.
That is the true testimony of Joseph’s exaltation.
