Forgotten By God Series

The story acts like a mini-novel tucked away at the end of Genesis. With every turn of the page, you find yourself saying, “You’re not going to believe what happens next!” Joseph’s life is a roller coaster ride with incredible highs and depressing lows. Last week we saw the first “big dip” and this week – sold into slavery and falsely accused Today, we observe the second “big dip” in the life of Joseph, forgotten in prison. This is the 3rd week for our series, The Gospel According to Joseph, and it’s the third straight Sunday for rain – maybe I should have preached on Noah instead ?.

Here’s the Back-story to today. Joseph’s story rises from a family that is dysfunctional where women are in competition, a father favors one of children over the others, and the sibling rivalry is so great, the older brothers literally sell their younger brother into slavery. Joseph, the 11th of 12 sons to his father, Jacob, awakes to find himself a slave in Egypt. The Lord has him rise in the ranks to essentially run the house of a prominent Egyptian, only to be falsely accused by a woman.

Now if you’re not careful, you’re likely to miss the big point of Joseph’s life. The big point of Joseph’s life is that he is God’s agent… …his family is God’s change agent to redeem the world. Starting with Joseph’s great-grandfather, Abraham… … to his grandfather, Isaac, and his father, Jacob. The grace of God runs like a river through this one family’s life. All through Genesis, there’s this river flowing straight through the book to highlight this one family. Joseph’s story is like a river, flowing into the grand design of God’s big purpose in working with His people. Don’t lose sight of that river down through time. We’ll see this reappear later… But hold it in your mind’s eye as we God making sense of chaos of your lives and the world itself.

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Joseph’s story is really this: God moving this one man to just the right place at just the right time. Now, so much good that comes from Joseph’s life comes from pain he suffers. “Pastor, could you say that again?” Yes, I could. So much good that comes from Joseph’s life comes from pain he suffers. And Joseph’s life teaches us this: Your suffering has a deeper purpose than you can presently see.

Today, he finds himself in prison and it’s where we pick up his story: Some time after this, the cupbearer of the king of Egypt and his baker committed an offense against their lord the king of Egypt. 2 And Pharaoh was angry with his two officers, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker, 3 and he put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the prison where Joseph was confined. 4 The captain of the guard appointed Joseph to be with them, and he attended them. They continued for some time in custody.

5 And one night they both dreamed—the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were confined in the prison—each his own dream, and each dream with its own interpretation. 6 When Joseph came to them in the morning, he saw that they were troubled. 7 So he asked Pharaoh's officers who were with him in custody in his master's house, “Why are your faces downcast today?” 8 They said to him, “We have had dreams, and there is no one to interpret them.” And Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Please tell them to me.”

9 So the chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph … 12 Then Joseph said to him, “This is its interpretation: the three branches are three days. 13 In three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your office, and you shall place Pharaoh's cup in his hand as formerly, when you were his cupbearer. 14 Only remember me, when it is well with you, and please do me the kindness to mention me to Pharaoh, and so get me out of this house. 15 For I was indeed stolen out of the land of the Hebrews, and here also I have done nothing that they should put me into the pit.”

16 When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was favorable, he said to Joseph, “I also had a dream … 18 And Joseph answered and said, “This is its interpretation: the three baskets are three days. 19 In three days Pharaoh will lift up your head—from you!—and hang you on a tree. And the birds will eat the flesh from you.”

20 On the third day, which was Pharaoh's birthday, he made a feast for all his servants and lifted up the head of the chief cupbearer and the head of the chief baker among his servants. 21 He restored the chief cupbearer to his position, and he placed the cup in Pharaoh's hand. 22 But he hanged the chief baker, as Joseph had interpreted to them. 23 Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him. (Genesis 40:1-23)