What Joseph Couldn’t See
Genesis 40:1-23
March 1, 2015
Well this morning the saga continues,
But I’ll tell you from the outset it’s still hard to see that “silver lining” we’ve been in search of.
So far we’ve seen nothing but injustice and wrong.
• The good son sold into slavery by the wicked brothers, and the wicked brothers get off scot free.
• The most wicked (Judah) brother living in blatant immorality while the good son suffers in prison.
• The good son, despite his religious conviction, is falsely accused and goes from slavery to prison.
It is all wrong and very tough to swallow.
And yet today, in one verse,
We get the biggest “kick in the gut” of the entire story.
See, up until now everything has been bad and wrong,
But for the first time in our story HOPE enters the equation.
Now, hope is a good thing.
I’m never a fan of stealing someone’s hope.
However, hope can also be a tricky thing,
Because when you dare to hope and then see that hope crushed
It’s actually harder to swallow than if you’d never had hope at all.
And that is what Joseph is about to face.
In short, this story moves from injustices to just plain cruelty.
Just when it appears that Joseph
Is finally going to get the break that we all know he deserves
WOOSH! The rug is pulled right out from under him.
And for those in here who have faced long battles against difficulty,
You know how hard that can be.
SO HOW DO WE HANDLE THAT?
Well, there are a couple of things you need to remember
(and it’s what we’ve been learning in the Joseph story).
Hope is always present
1 Corinthians 13:13 “But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.”
Hope does still abide.
But our hope cannot be based on
The expectation of favorable circumstances in this life.
Where is the Christian’s hope realized?
Eternity
Romans 5:1-5 “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God. And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”
• The Christian hope is based on the fact that this life is not all there is.
• The Christian hope is based on the reality that someday Christ will make all things new.
• The Christian hope is rooted in the sovereign providence of God and in understanding that God has a plan and it will be worth it.
Consider Paul for a moment:
2 Corinthians 4:8-11 “we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.”
Now his list is actually very telling.
On a physical level Paul is receiving nothing but pain and hardship.
Notice the words that describe his physical life “afflicted”, “perplexed”, “persecuted”, “struck down”, “constantly being delivered over to death”
Those are harsh realities.
Yet, despite those realities, Paul gives insight to the inner man.
“not crushed”, “not despairing”, “not forsaken”, “not destroyed”
Paul is in an awful predicament, and it doesn’t promise to get any better
(at least in a physical sense)
So where does Paul get this optimistic mindset from?
2 Corinthians 4:16-18 “Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
Paul could clearly see that the outer man was “decaying”,
But that didn’t mean the inner man was.
His answer?
“we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things we are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
Paul knew (even if he couldn’t see it)
That “momentary, light affliction is producing…an eternal weight of glory”
Paul learned to look at what he couldn’t see, not at what he could see.
And this is very good advice.
Now, I am in no way going to imply
That Joseph was looking at the wrong thing.
There is not a hint in this chapter of Joseph losing hope,
Or of Joseph growing bitter, or of Joseph giving up.
For all we know, Joseph was doing exactly as Paul directed.
So this chapter is not in the least intended to be
Some sort of sermon directed at what Joseph should have done.
By my estimation Joseph is doing great.
Rather, this is a sermon directed at how you read this chapter.
(And then how you read hardships in your life)
We are going to work our way through this chapter two separate times.
I want to show you this chapter through two different lenses.
• I want you to see it through Joseph’s eyes (the way we commonly look)
• Then I want you to see it through God’s eyes (the way we should look)
And if we’ll learn to look at “the things which are not seen”
Then our hope will never fail us, even in the darkest moments.
So let’s work through this chapter.
#1 THROUGH JOSEPH’S EYES
Genesis 40:1-23
Now obviously we are going to break this point down a little further
To make the scene easier to digest.
I do want to begin, however, by remind you of where we are in the story.
• Joseph is a slave in Egypt, he served Potiphar, and he did such an amazing job that Potiphar put Joseph in charge of everything.
• This new found responsibility ultimately found Joseph in the house alone with Potiphar’s wife who tried to seduce him and then framed him when he was unwilling to consent to her request.
• Joseph was then wrongly imprisoned.
Genesis 39:20-23 “So Joseph’s master took him and put him into the jail, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined; and he was there in the jail. But the LORD was with Joseph and extended kindness to him, and gave him favor in the sight of the chief jailer. The chief jailer committed to Joseph’s charge all the prisoners who were in the jail; so that whatever was done there, he was responsible for it. The chief jailer did not supervise anything under Joseph’s charge because the LORD was with him; and whatever he did, the LORD made to prosper.”
So Joseph is in jail, but again God is using prosperity
As a means to position Joseph exactly where he wants him.
“Then it came about after these things”
We are moving on to the next step in God’s providential plan.
So let me walk you through this chapter and show you “what is seen”. Let me show you the obvious from this chapter.
1) THE MAN JOSEPH SERVED (1-4)
I hope you caught that as you read.
• Yes the cupbearer and the baker offended Pharaoh and landed in prison.
• Yes Pharaoh was furious with those men.
• And yes they were put in prison in the same place as Joseph.
Look at verse 4, “The captain of the bodyguard put Joseph in charge of them, and he took care of them; and they were in confinement for some time.”
Now at the end of chapter 39 we were talking about the jailer,
But now Joseph is serving someone else.
“The captain of the bodyguard put Joseph in charge…”
Who is that?
Genesis 39:1 “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.”
Joseph is once again serving Potiphar,
Only not in his home, but now in his prison.
Let me just ask you how you’d feel about that?
• Would you have a little bitterness?
• Would you feel a little less-inclined to give it your all?
• Would you be content to just mope in cell and tell Potiphar to forget it?
Joseph didn’t.
Even though he has already been wronged by Potiphar once,
He is still serving to the best of his ability, and God is blessing that.
I want you to see that Joseph is making the most of his suffering,
And from our perspective is passing the test with flying colors.
The Man He Served
2) THE OPPORTUNITY JOSEPH SEIZED (5-8)
If you don’t love Joseph by now, you simply have to love him here.
I told you last week that many times in the midst of our trials and pain
We do go in search of how God might use us.
• There are many stories of sick people witnessing to their doctor or to other
patients.
• Certainly we are familiar with men like Paul who wrote letters from Prison or
John Bunyan who wrote the famous “Pilgrim’s Progress” from prison.
• I’ve seen numerous people strive to still be used of God even in the midst of
their suffering.
And that is precisely where we find Joseph.
He is making his rounds, serving the other prisoners and he notices
That two of the prisoners just aren’t having good days.
(6-7) “When Joseph came to them in the morning and observed them, behold, they were dejected. He asked Pharaoh’s officials who were with him in confinement in his master’s house, “Why are your faces so sad today?”
Well we certainly give an “A” to Joseph for compassion and caring.
It is refreshing to see a man in a horrific circumstance
Still concerned about the suffering of others.
But understand, his compassion is for an even greater purpose.
Joseph sees this as a witnessing opportunity.
(8) “Then they said to him, “We have had a dream and there is no one to interpret it.” Then Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell it to me, please.”
Now it is true that in a moment Joseph will begin to see
This as an opportunity for his release,
But that is not what he is seeing now.
He has no idea what the dream is going to be.
Right now his only concern
Is to teach these men that God is sovereign over their lives
And is capable of giving them wisdom of how to live.
Joseph is taking their misfortune
And using it to turn their hearts toward God.
What a great young man!
And what a tremendous example of suffering the right way!
Peter said:
1 Peter 3:15-16 “but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence; and keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame.”
That was certainly Joseph.
He was serving with humility and seizing opportunity.
The man he served, The opportunity he seized
3) THE DELIVERANCE HE SOUGHT (9-15)
And here comes the “hope” for Joseph.
• He was serving with the right attitude
• He was ministering with the right attitude
• And all of a sudden Joseph is confronted with the hope that he might have a way out of here.
When he hears the dream of the cupbearer,
Joseph realizes that this man is about to be out of prison in 3 days
And in the company of Pharaoh.
This is just the shot he’s been waiting for.
And Joseph jumps on the opportunity.
(14-15) “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. “For I was in fact kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews, and even here I have done nothing that they should have put me into the dungeon.”
Do you blame Joseph for this?
ABSOLUTELY NOT
If you’re in a bad situation and you get the chance to get out of it,
I’ll never fault you for taking it.
Paul said:
1 Corinthians 7:21-22 “Were you called while a slave? Do not worry about it; but if you are able also to become free, rather do that. For he who was called in the Lord while a slave, is the Lord’s freedman; likewise he who was called while free, is Christ’s slave.”
There is no way we’d fault Joseph for seeing this as an opportunity
To not only get out of prison, but also out of Egypt.
Now, we are called to be content in whatever circumstance,
But that doesn’t mean if given a way out we can’t take it.
But what I want you to see here is this story through Joseph’s eyes.
• I can only imagine that Joseph has felt the sting of his injustice (he says so here),
• But you know he’s maintained his hope that God will deliver him because he has continued to live in a manner that glorifies God.
You have to see that Joseph was waiting on God to deliver him.
You also have to see that from Joseph’s perspective,
It must have looked like that is precisely what God was doing.
I can almost imagine Joseph laying down that night
With prayers of thanksgiving to God for sending a way of deliverance.
This is the best shot Joseph has had of returning to Canaan yet.
And let me show you why he would want it so badly.
4) THE END JOSEPH SAW (16-19)
There were two dreams in that jail,
One ended favorably, but the other did not.
The baker’s dream had a much more harsh interpretation.
The cupbearer might be delivered, but the baker would be decapitated.
And please understand that this would not have been easy for anyone in that prison to swallow.
• There was no due process
• There were no appeals
• There was no trial by jury
Every man in that prison was subject to
The exact same daily whims of Pharaoh as that baker was.
On any given day, Potiphar could decide that
He was still mad at Joseph and do the exact same to him.
This reality would have only heightened Joseph’s desire to escape.
And now it appears he has his chance.
And then we see it.
5) THE DISAPPOINTMENT JOSEPH SUFFERED (20-23)
Does that not just punch you right in the gut?
Read the next chapter and it will get worse.
Genesis 41:1 “Now it happened at the end of two full years that Pharaoh had a dream, and behold, he was standing by the Nile.”
“two full years”?
Three little words to you in your Bible,
But it must have felt like an eternity to Joseph.
We have Joseph, and innocent man, a faithful man, a humble man,
And for a brief moment he was an optimistic man.
But now that has been crushed!
AND IF WE LOOK AT WHAT IS SEEN
WE ARE PRONE TO BE THROWN IN A PIT OF DESPAIR
• It looks like Joseph is forgotten
• It looks like this will never end
• It looks like Joseph’s life is absolutely being wasted
Why would God take a man like Joseph, with his abilities, and his commitment, and bury him away in some Egyptian prison and waste all these years?
And listen, there is more than one Christian who has fallen victim to that type of thinking.
• I can’t tell you the number of preachers I know of who spent most of their ministry just trying to get to a bigger church where they could be really used of God.
• How many people have suffered with an illness in the prime of life which took them out of service and wondered why God would waste those prime years of serving opportunity?
• How many have lost a loved one too soon and wondered why God would let such a productive life be cut short?
All of those look like wasted opportunities.
It’s like what we read last week in Psalm 44
Psalms 44:12 “You sell Your people cheaply, And have not profited by their sale.”
And if you look at what is seen, that is EXACTLY how it appears.
Paul, however, said that the secret was to look at what was not seen.
2 Corinthians 4:16-18 “Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
So having looked at this situation through Joseph’s eyes,
Now let’s look at it through God’s eyes.
#2 THROUGH GOD’S EYES
Genesis 40:1-23
And again we can break this whole chapter down a little
To make it easier to digest.
From God’s perspective Joseph’s life was not being wasted.
In fact, God had placed Joseph
In the most important role in the history of Israel.
The Psalmist said that it appeared that God was selling His people cheaply and not profiting from their sale.
But God is going to get a better return on Joseph’s life than on any other.
The point being: Things aren’t always as they seem.
Look at this through God’s eyes.
1) THE PERFECT LOCATION (1-4)
I don’t know that any of us would see prison
As the prime location from which to be used of God.
From our way of thinking freedom and opportunity run hand in hand,
But not by God’s way of thinking.
When you consider what God was doing,
Joseph could not have been in a better place at a better time
Than in this prison on this day.
It is a divine appointment to say the least!
2) THE PERFECT OPPORTUNITY (5-22)
Now remember that
Joseph saw this as a perfect opportunity to secure his release.
God saw it in a totally different way.
God orchestrated it as a perfect opportunity
For Joseph to use his unique gifts to make a lasting impression
On the person who would one day give advice to Pharaoh.
Now think about this.
• God not only orchestrated the scenario, but God orchestrated it according to the gift that He also placed in Joseph.
God put that gift in Joseph
Because He knew where He planned on using Joseph.
Now think about this for a second.
Paul said:
1 Corinthians 12:14-18 “For the body is not one member, but many. If the foot says, “Because I am not a hand, I am not a part of the body,” it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. And if the ear says, “Because I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body,” it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired.”
In regard to spiritual gifts, Paul said:
1 Corinthians 12:11 “But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills.”
Did you catch the “just as He desired” or the “just as He wills” part?
Listen, Joseph was not a square peg in a round hole.
Joseph fit this scenario perfectly.
And if you are a child of God, so do you!
Your suffering, your predicament, your hardship seems wrong,
But it only seems wrong through temporal eyes.
The God who providentially guided you into this dilemma
Did so because you (like no one else)
Were divinely chosen and equipped to handle it.
You were specifically gifted
You were specifically molded
You were specifically placed
AND ALL THAT TO FIT WHAT GOD WAS DOING
IN A WAY THAT YOU COULD NOT SEE
This situation was tailor made for Joseph.
• Joseph might not have been able to handle Laban
• Jacob might not have been able to handle Abimelech
• Abraham might not have been able to handle prison
God knew what He was doing in each of those lives
And He always picks the right man or woman for the job.
I know it all looks wrong, but believe me, it only looks that way
Joseph is the perfect location at the perfect time
To seize the perfect opportunity.
And then there is one more thing.
3) THE PERFECT TIMING (23)
Now granted this one is harder to swallow.
We probably have more trouble with this one than with any other.
We can generally rationalize the necessity of suffering.
We can generally come to grips with our pain.
The issue we most commonly have difficulty with
Is why our suffering is allowed to linger.
Ok God, I get it, suffering has to happen. We live in a sin-stained world where things like sickness and death occur. I can see that believers are not exempt.
But what I have trouble with is why You seemingly ignored my prayers and just let it endure for so long.
If I were God, I would have fixed the situation long ago, and yet You just seem to let it go on and on and on.
I have a tough time imagining that
This isn’t exactly how Joseph must have thought at times.
But the answer?
GOD’S TIMING IS PERFECT
THERE WAS NO FAMINE YET
THERE WAS NO NEED FOR JOSEPH YET
AND HERE IS THE KICKER
If God had granted Joseph’s request the way Joseph wanted it,
Then all that Joseph had been through would have been for naught
Let’s suppose Joseph’s desire is granted:
• The cupbearer goes to Pharaoh and tells him everything
• Pharaoh has sympathy on Joseph
• Pharaoh releases Joseph and supplies him escort back home
• Would Joseph have been happy? Yes
• Would Jacob have been happy? Yes
• Would Joseph’s brothers have been in trouble? Yes
And the story would look great for 9 years.
Because in 2 years those 7 years of plenty will arrive
And then after that will come 7 years of unbearable famine.
Israel will starve, Israel will die, and the Messianic line will be wiped out.
That cupbearer HAD to forget about Joseph
If Israel was to be saved.
You didn’t realize that your salvation depended upon that cupbearer forgetting about Joseph did you?
I think it’s safe to say that
It’s a good thing that God is in charge, and not us.
It looks wrong through human eyes,
But through God’s eyes the timing is perfect.
And might I remind you that God’s timing is always perfect.
Galatians 4:4-5 “But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.”
John 7:6-8 “So Jesus said to them, “My time is not yet here, but your time is always opportune. “The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it, that its deeds are evil. “Go up to the feast yourselves; I do not go up to this feast because My time has not yet fully come.”
Romans 5:6 “For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.”
God knows what He is doing.
It is all happening exactly according to His time table.
GOD’S PLAN OF REDEMPTION IS RUNNING RIGHT ON SCHEDULE!
And again we read:
Romans 11:33-36 “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, OR WHO BECAME HIS COUNSELOR? Or WHO HAS FIRST GIVEN TO HIM THAT IT MIGHT BE PAID BACK TO HIM AGAIN? For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.”
I just want you to know that it doesn’t benefit you to look at what is seen,
But hope is found in looking to what is not seen.
Listen to this passage about your suffering:
1 Peter 5:6-11 “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you. Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world. After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you. To Him be dominion forever and ever. Amen.”
Did you catch it?
“exalt you at the proper time”
“suffered for a little while”
You hardship is not lost on God and your life is not being wasted.
You are not being sold cheaply.
God has created you (like Esther) “for such a time as this”.
And what you must realize is that it will be worth it!
SO AGAIN I ASK,
• Are you willing to present your life to the providential hand of God?
• Are you willing to endure things that seem wrong and hold to the hope that God is making it all right?
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.”
