Genesis 41:1-57

Sometimes the way up is down.  Joseph starts this chapter in prison and ends it in the palace.  Had he never been sent to prison, the likelihood of him rising to this position was negligible.  However, God place him in prison so that he could open a door through the prison into a position of great authority in Egypt.  Pharaoh’s dream presented the perfect opportunity for Joseph to be promoted due to the dreams he had interpreted in the previous chapter.  God’s orchestrating hand is obvious to us as we read these chapters side by side.  I think it is important for us to remember that in real life and real time these connections were not so obvious to Joseph just as they are not obvious to us in our daily walks.  That is where faith and obedience come into play.  Here are a few stepping stones that marked Joseph’s path from the poverty of prison to the prosperity of the palace.

JOSEPH WAS REQUIRED TO WAIT: Years ago Joseph had been given a dream that he would rule over his own family in some way.  Since then he had been sold as a slave, falsely imprisoned for attempted rape and then forgotten by the cupbearer.  We don’t know how much time elapsed between all of these events, but Joseph was approximately fifteen years old when he was sold as a slave and was thirty years old when he was promoted from the prison.  We do know that he spent two years after the cupbearer left the prison still serving in the prison.  At any rate, Joseph spent about half of his life having no clue what in the world God could be doing through his circumstances.  What is important and impressive to notice is that Joseph remained faithful to God while in this extended holding pattern.  That is usually the hardest thing for us to do in life… wait.  We must remember that God has all the time in the world and He knows just how much time we need and the best time for the proper events to transpire in our lives.  Patience and perseverance and fundamental qualities that every servant of God must seek to promote in their own character.

JOSEPH REVEALED HIS WISDOM: When Joseph was given the opportunity to stand before Pharaoh, he didn’t waste time trying to defend himself or hurling accusations at Potiphar’s wife.  He listened to the problem that was set before him and simply told Pharaoh that God was the giver and revealer of these dreams.  Joseph does not claim to have some magical ability; he simply lets it be known that God was able to reveal the future to men through the interpretation of the dream.  He takes advantage of the opportunity to not only reveal the content of the dream but to give advice as to what should be done in light of this revelation.  His advice was solid and made sense.  Too often when we reveal God’s will to people we are satisfied with simply teaching content and do not apply these truths to their lives.  True wisdom not only teaches truth but applies it to life.  Joseph teaches a principle of saving during times of plenty in order to have food available during difficult days in the future.  We have a tendency to spend everything that we make and then when the difficult days hit us we end up having to go into debt to meet emergency needs.  We must learn to be wise with our finances and practice the principle of saving for the future instead of spending more than we can afford.

JOSEPH REPORTS TO WORK: Having a plan is one thing, but executing the plan is quite another thing.  Joseph not only had the wisdom to know what needed to be done but he had the discipline to carry it out.  Storage bins needed to be built.  A twenty percent tax needed to be implemented.  The logistics and administration of such an undertaking are mind boggling. Joseph went to work.  He traveled throughout the land and implemented this program of preservation.  Just like God had revealed the abundance was great for seven years but then the famine came.  Egypt was prepared thanks to God’s revelation through Joseph and the hard work that followed.  God blessed Joseph with sons and a position of great prominence in the land.  We must remember that nothing was handed to him on a silver platter.  Joseph had to wait for a long time and faithfully serve, he had to exercise great wisdom and exert a great amount of work all along the way.  Anything that we strive to undertake in the promotion of the kingdom of God will likely require waiting, wisdom and work.