I CAN SEE CLEARLY NOW (GENESIS 41:1-41)
Growing up, I had my fair share of “Why” and “Why not” questions. Why was I the overlooked youngest child, and not the popular middle or influential eldest child in the family? Why was I not better looking, better built or better off? Why did I have a flat nose, bad teeth and weak knees?
Of course, some questions do not bother me anymore, like “Who will I marry?” “Will she love me?” “Will we be happy together?” However, some questions refuse to go away, like “Why were my parents divorced?” “Why did they not reconcile?” “Why did the kids have to suffer the consequences?”
Life is not a crystal ball, a fortune cookie or a psychic hotline. Not all questions have an answer and not all answers are satisfactory. Further, not all questions are worth asking and not all answers are worth knowing. Sometimes secrets are better left buried, history is better left undisturbed and questions are better left unanswered. They are better off known to God, taken to God and left to God. A song says, “Many things about tomorrow I don’t seem to understand; But I know who holds tomorrow, And I know He holds my hand.”
Joseph did not know why he experienced so much heartaches, misunderstandings and garbage in life. Nothing made sense, everything went wrong and something was amiss. However, he did not think negatively, envy others and blame God throughout his ordeals. Instead, his faith in God was strengthened, his belief in humanity was genuine and his patience was rewarded.
What do you do when you feel life is passing you by, throwing you a lemon and spiraling out of control? What if you do not find help, deliverance or relief today, tomorrow or soon? What if things are unclear, unconvincing or uncomfortable? What is true when things change, time flies and people disappoint, as they always do?
Surrender to God’s Will
41:1 When two full years had passed, Pharaoh had a dream (Gen 41:1)
14 So Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and he was quickly brought from the dungeon. When he had shaved and changed his clothes, he came before Pharaoh. (Gen 41:14)
The Wall Street Journal reported the unusual case of a 35 year-old Japanese man who was so tired of doing nothing for five months that he sued his company. Toshiyuki Sakai was told by his bosses at video-game maker Sega Enterprises Ltd that his work was below par. They suggested that he quit and offered him a severance package of 2.6 million yen (US$23,900).
Mr. Sakai turned the offer down on the spot. He felt his performance was fine and that he was a scapegoat. Three days later, Sega told him to take home all personal belongings, turn in all company property and report to an office dubbed the Personnel Room. To his surprise, he found a desk, three chairs, a bare locker and a telephone that couldn’t make outside calls. He was also given no work to perform, allowed no diversions and ordered to stay in the room every day from precisely 8:30 a.m. to 5:15 p.m., with 55 minutes break for lunch. The company also barred him from bringing in personal belongings.
Life in solitary confinement took a toll on Mr. Sakai. He stared at the phone that hardly rang, at the digital clock that barely moved and at anything that occupied his time till the long day was over. His resolve to survive the day was often tested by his fear of returning the next. Every day, he got up from his chair, did leg bents, or lied on the floor to stretch his back. Pretty soon, he was snapping at store clerks over trivial matters, sleeping for as little as two hours a night and eating nothing but ice-cream for lunch. An unnamed Sega worker at the same Personnel Room who was also going nuts after a couple of days said, “Its just negative thinking- and more negative thinking.” (Wall Street Journal 9/14/99)
Joseph was a strapping seventeen year-old teenager when he had the first of his unusual dreams of success, but eleven long years later, after he had done his part to communicate to Pharaoh, his chief cupbearer and all who cared to listen to his identity, ordeal and innocence, the twenty-eight year old Joseph was still languishing in prison. Though no bad news visited Joseph in prison, no good news came either. While he had relative freedom, he was still behind bars, doing time and conveniently forgotten for still another two full years (Gen 41:1) before the chief cupbearer remembered his earnest plea, his unlikely story and his talent of unraveling dreams (Gen 40:23). His release was due Pharaoh’s bad night sleep, Egypt’s long crippling famine and the cupbearer’s awakened delayed response (Gen 41:9). Joseph left home at seventeen (Gen 37:2) and met Pharaoh when he was thirty (Gen 41:46), so altogether he waited thirteen years before Pharaoh summoned him to interpret his dreams.
Thirteen years is a long time – enough for a baby to turn to a teenager, enough for a child to qualify for college and enough for a youth to complete a doctoral degree.
For more than a decade, Joseph was out of sight, out of mind and out on a limb.
Time and tide did not wait for Joseph, his brothers did not look for him and the chief cupbearer did not call on him.
Someone once said, “Idle hands are the devil’s playthings.” Joseph had been enslaved, imprisoned and betrayed for more than a decade, but his surroundings, status and setbacks did not change him. He faced the dangers of isolation, inactivity and ineffectiveness, but his mind was not dulled, idle or wasted in prison. Neither did he harbor resentment against the cupbearer, keep record of the ungrateful or lose hope in all people. It was the worst of times and the best of times. He was locked but the key was not lost. The bottom slid out but it did not fall off. God was not finished with him yet. As before, his well-being, fate and success were in the hands of God alone. When Joseph reached Pharaoh he was fit as a fiddle, strong as an ox and wise as an owl.
Are you hurt, surprised or discouraged by people’s disregard, irresponsibility and unreliability? Only God knows His purpose, plans and path for you. In the meantime, have you kept yourself spiritually, mentally, physically, rationally, emotionally fit for God’s use? Have you kept hobbies, pursued activities, read books, updated information and done tasks to improve your life, maintain your vigor and keep the course? Have you surrendered your life unconditionally, unreservedly and untiringly to God?
Speak of God’s Work
25 Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “The dreams of Pharaoh are one and the same. God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do. 26 The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good heads of grain are seven years; it is one and the same dream. 27 The seven lean, ugly cows that came up afterward are seven years, and so are the seven worthless heads of grain scorched by the east wind: They are seven years of famine. 28 “It is just as I said to Pharaoh: God has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do. 29 Seven years of great abundance are coming throughout the land of Egypt, 30 but seven years of famine will follow them. Then all the abundance in Egypt will be forgotten, and the famine will ravage the land. 31 The abundance in the land will not be remembered, because the famine that follows it will be so severe. 32 The reason the dream was given to Pharaoh in two forms is that the matter has been firmly decided by God, and God will do it soon. (Gen 41:25-32)
The Lord appeared in a dream to a man, showed him a large rock and charged him to push against the rock with all his might. For many years he toiled from sun up to sun down, his shoulder set squarely against the cold, massive surface of the unmoving rock, pushing it with all his might. Each night the man returned to his cabin sore and worn out, feeling that his whole day had been spent in vain.
One day, the adversary effectively placed thoughts into the man’s weary mind: “You have been pushing against the rock for a long time, and it hasn’t budged. Why kill yourself over this? You are never going to move it.” “Why kill myself over this?” the man agreed. “I’ll just put in my time, giving just the minimum effort and that will be good enough.” But the man also took his thoughts to the Lord. “Lord, he said, “I have labored long and hard in your service, putting all my strength to do which you have asked. Yet, after all this time, I have not been able to budge that rock. What is wrong? Why am I failing?”
The Lord responded compassionately, “My friend, when I asked you to serve me with all your strength, which you have done, never once did I mention to you that I expected you to move it. Your task was to push. And now you come to me with your strength spent, thinking that you have failed. But, is that really so? Look at yourself. Your arms are strong and muscled, your back sinewy and brown, and your legs have become massive and hard. Through opposition you have grown much and your abilities now surpass that which you used to have, yet you haven’t moved the rock. But your calling was to be obedient and to push and to exercise your faith and trust in my wisdom.”
Even after enduring thirteen grueling, taxing and boring years, Joseph gave glory, honor and praise to God for his overnight success, the cupbearer’s coming around and Pharaoh’s good mood and instant liking. Once, he was a jailbird, a number and a victim; now he is the top dog, big cheese and head honcho. Prison did not cause him to doubt, distrust or deny God. The concentric circles of Joseph’s influence were getting larger. Before, he had to care only for himself, later he looked after the sullen baker and cupbearer’s well-being. The stage was finally set for him to be the primary provider for Egypt, neighboring nations and the rest of mankind. Given the greatest stage of his life, Joseph gave glory and testimony to God’s work in his life. In his lengthy reply to Pharaoh (vv 25-32), Joseph mentioned himself just once, God four times (Gen 41:25, 28, 32) and God’s name before Pharaoh’s name twice (Gen 41:25, “God has revealed to Pharaoh” & v 28 “God has shown Pharaoh”). He punctuated his ending with a double reference to God (v 32, “the matter has been firmly decided by God, and God will do it soon”). Two years ago (Gen 40:14-15), given a lesser stage, Joseph’s words to the cupbearer was about himself, his origins and his plight, but now he used the opportunity, occasion and opening with Pharaoh to talk about Pharaoh’s dream, Egypt’s plight and God’s decree – anything but himself and nothing of himself. Joseph eventually understood he was an instrument, a mouthpiece and a beacon for God’s use.
God was guiding, testing and preparing Joseph all these years, working on him, in him and through him. Joseph knew he could not have made that much improvement or success by himself, even if he tried. Before, his youthful dreams were short single verses (Gen 37:7, 9), but the two dreams he interpreted for the baker (Gen 40:12-15) and cupbearer were extended to two to three verses each (Gen 40:16-17), but now the explanation to Pharaoh’s two dreams extended to eleven verses. The longer Joseph lived, the more bizarre the dreams he experienced, but the more astute, accurate and articulate he was. Joseph needed supernatural, heavenly and miraculous insight and help to sort through the layers, the nuances and the complexities of Pharaoh’s dreams.
The teenage Joseph’s playful nature, carefree attitude and youthful ways were mischievous, misdirected and mishandled, but the adult Joseph cared more for God’s name, His work and glory than at any time in his life. His eyes were opened to God’s perspective in things, God’s priorities in life and God’s purpose for himself.
Would you believe, confess and follow your Lord Jesus Christ if you undergo two, 11, or 13 tempestuous, troubling and testing years?
Serve in God’s Wisdom
33 “And now let Pharaoh look for a discerning and wise man and put him in charge of the land of Egypt. 34 Let Pharaoh appoint commissioners over the land to take a fifth of the harvest of Egypt during the seven years of abundance. 35 They should collect all the food of these good years that are coming and store up the grain under the authority of Pharaoh, to be kept in the cities for food. 36 This food should be held in reserve for the country, to be used during the seven years of famine that will come upon Egypt, so that the country may not be ruined by the famine.” 37 The plan seemed good to Pharaoh and to all his officials. 38 So Pharaoh asked them, “Can we find anyone like this man, one in whom is the spirit of God?” 39 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one so discerning and wise as you. 40 You shall be in charge of my palace, and all my people are to submit to your orders. Only with respect to the throne will I be greater than you.” 41 So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I hereby put you in charge of the whole land of Egypt.” (Gen 41:33-41)
A chicken farmer was losing a lot of his flock, and wrote to the Department of Agriculture: “Gentlemen: Something is wrong with my chickens. Every morning when I come out, I find two or three lying on the ground cold and stiff with their feet in the air. Can you tell me what is the matter?”
Eight weeks later he received this letter from Washington: “Dear Sir: Your chickens are dead.” (Toastmasters # 461)
It’s been said, “To look is one thing. To see what you look is another. To understand what you see is a third. To learn from what you understand is still something else. But to act on what you learn is all that really matters.” (Quotable Quotations 11)
Previously Joseph was a dreamer, a novice and an underachiever. As a youth, he could not handle all the knowledge, potential and favors he had. He had no interpretation for his own dreams, offered no solution to the baker and cupbearer, but two years later he had a simple, practical and effective proposal that made sense, convinced Pharaoh and transformed Egypt into a rich, powerful, and superior nation.
Joseph was a genius. He had no equal in his generation. Pharaoh deemed Joseph wise and understanding (v 39). Charles Spurgeon said: “Wisdom is the right use of knowledge. To know is not to be wise. Many men know a great deal, and are all the greater fools for it. There is no fool so great as a knowing fool. But to know how to use knowledge is to have wisdom” (3,000 Quotation on Christian Themes #2661, Carroll E. Simcox, The Seabury Press, 1975). Generations later, centuries passed and lands apart another such person would appear. The biblical expression “wise and understanding” was applied to only one other person - King Solomon (1 Ki 3:12). Joseph rose above, soared over and got through the troubles, the turns and the turmoil in his life. The teenage dreams of Joseph did not count until thirteen years later. When he was twenty-eight, he told the baker and cupbearer what would happen to them in the next three days. Now at thirty, his plan was implemented overnight. His wisdom was a work in progress.
The truthful, trustworthy and transparent Joseph wisely allowed Pharaoh to take the lead. In his advice to Pharaoh, the word “I” never left his mouth. He was unimportant, unnecessary and unflustered. He told Pharaoh what the dream meant (Gen 41:29-32), how to solve the crisis and withheld nothing from Pharaoh, including giving away his game plan to Pharaoh - to find an overseer for the job who will appoint commissioners to levy a sore 20% tax plan over the next seven years of abundance to save for the coming seven years of famine.
Joseph was a wise and understanding man. The more he told, the more he was trusted; the more he spoke, the more God was glorified; the more he humbled himself, the more others were blessed. He understood God’s wisdom was at work in his life, too. God saw the unlimited potential in him, stuck with him for thirteen years and, in the end, slowly introduced him to the waiting world.
Conclusion: John Bainbridge said, “A man with 50 problems is twice as alive as a man with 25. If you haven’t got any problems, you should get down on your knees and ask, Lord, don’t you trust me anymore?” Do you know that The LORD is your refuge and your strength in times of trouble (Ps 9:9, 37:39)? That your times are in His hands (Ps 31:15)? And that you can trust in Him at all times (Ps 62:8)? Ecclesiastes 3:1 says, “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.” What is His purpose, plans and path for your life?
Victor Yap
Other sermons in the series and other sermon series:
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