Genesis 40:9-23
In our last message we saw Joseph in prison, after being falsely accused by Potiphar’s wife. But the LORD was with Joseph and brought him success even in prison – He impressed the chief jailer so much that Joseph was basically running the prison.
One day, both the chief cupbearer and the chief baker offended the king of Egypt and were thrown into prison. The captain of the guard put Joseph in charge of them. Then one night both had troubling dreams. It was apparent to Joseph that something was bothering the cupbearer and the baker, so he asked them what was upsetting them, and they confided to Joseph that they both had had troubling dreams, and they had no idea what they meant. Joseph convinced them that God was able to interpret dreams, so they agreed to tell their dreams to Joseph.
The interpretation of the chief cupbearer’s dream was that he would regain his former position. The interpretation of the chief baker’s dream was not so positive – that Pharaoh would have him executed.
To the chief cupbearer, Joseph requested that when he had been restored to his former position and things were well with him, he would remember Joseph and plead his case with Pharaoh to let him out of prison. But when the time came, the chief cupbearer promptly forgot about Joseph, so Joseph remained in prison. In fact, we learn in the next chapter that he would remain in prison for two more years.
Even though Joseph was falsely imprisoned, the LORD continued to bless him and those around him. Joseph does not know when help is going to come for him, but we get a sense that he is doing his best to hang onto God’s promise. He takes his job seriously and excels at it – We can see that in the fact that the chief cupbearer and the chief baker trusts Joseph enough to tell him their dreams.
Joseph also makes it clear that it is God who can do great things, and that he serves this God. He does not declare that he can interpret dreams, but that God can. This implies that Joseph serves this God that can interpret dreams.
In the interpretation of the chief cupbearer’s dream, Joseph senses a chance to get out of prison, so he requests that when the chief cupbearer is restored, that he tells Pharaoh about what Joseph has done, in hopes that he would be able to get out.
We may conclude that the chief cupbearer was self-centered and promptly forgot about Joseph. Seems like an ungrateful type of person. But chapter 41 will tell us that this would be a wrong assumption. When an incident happens that reminds the chief cupbearer about Joseph, he regrets that he had not spoken about Joseph to Pharaoh for two years. We also can see that had he spoken about Joesph earlier, it probably would not have gotten him out of prison. Chapter 41 is the perfect time for Joseph to be remembered as someone who serves the God that can interpret dreams.
Often, things do not go according to our plans. We may think that we have done everything we can to get the results we want, but nothing happens – Especially when we believe that we are in God’s will. We forget that God has His timeline for things to happen, but we are often impatient.
Although Joseph believed that God was going to get him out of prison someday, he probably got a little impatient waiting, and so when he realized that the chief cupbearer’s dream meant that he was going to get released, Joseph took the opportunity to ask the chief cupbearer to put in a good word to the king for him. But God had a different timing for Joseph’s release.
Once I was asked to pick up from the airport a missionary to Japan who was on home assignment. When she found out that I was just starting my seminary studies and was taking a class on world missions, she asked me who the professor was. When I told her his name, she shared with me that this professor used to be on the board of the mission society that she had applied to, and was the one who had rejected her application for candidacy. The man’s opinion was that she was not quite ready to go out on the field, and that she should shore up her knowledge base, and suggested that she enroll in a program at a Bible college.
She was a bit perplexed and disappointed. She was sure that God had called her into missions and to the Japanese. Since she kept hearing that there was a great need for more missionaries, she assumed that they would welcome her in and send her to Japan after some training.
She also shared that looking back, she realized there was God’s timing in all of this. Even though she was not happy with the assessment, she did go to Prairie Bible Institute, and she felt that the knowledge she gained there and more importantly the lifelong friendships she formed with others who would end up in missions were valuable and necessary.
What about us? Are there things that we are getting a little impatient about while waiting for God to act? Just know that He knows the perfect timing for things to happen. It is not for us to try to hurry God or force Him to act. Like Joseph, we need to focus on our immediate situation and act in ways that God commands – With integrity, with honor, and in faithful service to God.
Or are there people who seem to be getting in our way of serving God for no reason? It is quite possible that God is influencing them so that God’s plan will be done in His timing, and not ours.
Like Joseph, there will come times that we are a little impatient, but like Joseph, we need to hang our hopes on God’s promises.
Instead of getting impatient with God and acting like He needs our help, we need to remind ourselves that there is nothing impossible with God, and He certainly can make His promises come true without our advice on when or how.
When we acknowledge God and His power and wisdom, it will help us to be more patient while we wait for His timing. It will also help us when God invites us to do things that we do not think we can do – With God providing His Holy Spirit to help us, we can be confident that He will get us through any tasks He assigns us. This is the lesson that Joseph is learning. And this is the lesson that we too can learn from Joseph.
(the above is a summary of the message shared by Shun Takano during our worship on November 12, 2023.)
Japanese Congregational Church 