Fixing Family Feuds
Precursor to the Great: Faithfulness in the Small
Genesis 40
As we have studied the life of Joseph, a fair question we might ask is there are any modern-day examples of lives that have been blessed like godly Joseph's ultimately was.
This week the Christian world has mourned and haven has rejoiced at the passing of evangelist Billy Graham at the age of 99. Often called America's pastor and mentioned as the most significant Christian personality of the 20th Century, one of the articles I came across suggests that Graham's life, at least on some respects, may have been parallel to that of the Joseph of Bible times.
For it was shortly before Graham became famous in his 1949 Los Angeles Crusade, actually in 1948, that the Billy Graham team of evangelists became concerned about the common problem of scandals associated with other young evangelists of their era. A Christianity Today article entitled, "Lead us not into Scandal," detailed how while he was in the midst of an evangelistic campaign in Modesto, California in November of 1948, Graham called his associates to his motel room and asked that they spend an hour prayerfully considering how their ministry could avoid falling to the temptations of money, sex and power that had assailed the ministries of other itinerant evangelists.
The result was ultimately called the Modesto Manifesto—a list of concerns that all of Graham and his associates had agreed upon, and a plan for dealing not only with temptations but even the appearances of evil. And so it was after consulting with each other, they pledged not to emphasize the offering, and they tried to keep themselves free from suspicion regarding the way they handled the money by asking members of the sponsoring committee to oversee the payment of all bills and disbursement of funds to the revival team.
Also, as energetic young men in full bloom, often traveling without their families, charged with the raw excitement of standing before large and admiring crowds, and living in anonymous hotels and tourist courts, they knew well the power and possibilities of sexual temptation, and they had seen promising ministerial careers shipwrecked by the potent combination of lust and opportunity. They asked God "to guard us, to keep us true, to really help us be sensitive in this area, to keep us even from the appearance of evil," and they began to follow simple but effective rules. They avoided situations that would put them alone with a woman—lunch, a counseling session, even a ride to an auditorium or an airport. On the road, they roomed in close proximity to each other. And always, they prayed for supernatural assistance in keeping them "clean."
In addition to these major issues, Graham's team also pledged to avoid sensationalism, excessive emotionalism, anti-intellectualism, overemphasis on biblical prophecy or other controversial topics, and lack of proper follow-up on inquirers.
So, in retrospect, it's not surprising, that within a year of the Modesto Manifesto, that God exalted Billy Graham's Ministry by bringing tens of thousands of inquirers to his tent meetings in Los Angeles, extending the crusade for many weeks beyond what had been planned, ultimately filling the Los Angeles Coliseum with 100,000 people for his crusade and making him a national figure for decades to come.
Graham's life illustrates what also was demonstrated by the life of Joseph. The Precursor to great things is often a faithful in small, but significant things.
Last week we saw how Joseph was faithful in the small, but significant things regarding his relationship with God. When aggressively and repeatedly tempted by an adulteress, Potiphar's wife, Joseph remained faithful to God, even fleeing when she caught him by his shirt and attempted to pull him into bed.
This week, as we examine his life in Genesis 40, we see Joseph continues to be faithful to the Lord despite the great disappointment and difficult circumstances he has been placed in. Because as we saw at the end of Genesis 39, the result of his faithful avoidance of temptation was this: He was unjustly accused, and wrongly imprisoned.
Now all I can say is Joseph is one incredible young man. At the end of Genesis 39, we're told once again that God was with Joseph, which equates with the concept that Joseph was still faithful to God after this great disappointment. Life was still very difficult for Joseph—he had really reached a low point. Think of all the disappointments and discouraging circumstances Joseph had experienced by this point. He had been hated by his brothers, not for anything he had done wrong, but for his father's favoritism, and because his brothers likely had deserved the bad report he had brought back about him. Then he had been betrayed by his brothers, nearly killed, and then sold into slavery in Egypt, all without deserving any of the evil that had come upon him. And just as things begin to go really well for him in Egypt as Potiphar's overseer, he is falsely accused, the false accusation is believed, and now he's in prison. Joseph could have easily concluded that no good deed goes unpunished, that God was not with him, that it didn't pay to serve God or avoid temptation, or faithfully to accomplish his responsibilities, and given up on God. He could have blown up spiritually at this point, really believing God had abandoned him. But he remains faithful. And the result is that God has blessed him and given him favor with the chief jailer. And more than that, he is put in charge of two very important prisoners who show up in prison who are intimately associated with the great king of Egypt, Pharaoh—the chief cup-bearer and the chief baker.
Now I find it interesting that once again Joseph is entrusted with the important responsibility of taking care of these two important prisoners. What's surprising to notice here is who puts him in charge of these two important prisoners. It's the captain of Pharaoh's body guard. If you'll check in Genesis 39, you'll notice that Potiphar was the captain of Pharaoh's body guard. So I take it that it is indeed very possible that Potiphar himself may have been the person who entrusted to Joseph the care of these two very important prisoners—an indication that perhaps Potiphar knew all along that Joseph was still trustworthy—who perhaps had imprisoned Joseph only as a way of placating a wife that he knew was less than truthful or faithful.
But the first thing we should learn from Joseph is this: Remain faithful in small things in difficult times. Remain faithful in small things at difficult times. We've got to believe that God is working in and through our lives even when things don't go our way, even when circumstances fall out against us, as they did with Joseph time after time. Proverbs 16:9 tells us this about our lives: "The mind of man plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps." In other words, our plan and God's plan are often going to be two different things. And the Lord's plan is going to prevail. And so it was for Joseph. The difficulty for us is remaining faithful when God's route his ends is different from our route to his end. I find this a real challenge. I Timothy 6:6 gives us instruction for how we ought to behave during these times. It says, "But godliness is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment." How can we experience contentment—by believing God has a good plan, a good end in mind, despite what comes in between—even as Joseph did here.
So maybe you've experienced a demotion. Maybe a romantic break-up. It may be that God is using that to launch you into something greater and better than you ever imagined, even as he was doing so in Joseph's case.
And it's because Joseph is faithful in these small things in difficult times that he is given the opportunity to be greatly blessed. He makes the most of these circumstances for God's Glory.
Now we know that Pharaoh at first was furious with both of these special servants of his. These men had been responsible for what Pharaoh both ate and drank, an incredibly important position of trust in ancient days when there were many plots by enemies of kings to poison them. Apparently both had come under suspicion by Pharaoh, and their cases were being investigated. And they were both in confinement in the same prison where Joseph was confined, being cared for by Joseph for some time, according to verse four.
Then, on the same night, both of them had had a dream. They were both dejected the next morning, because, apparently, their dreams were very vivid and very disturbing and we're told that there was no one to interpret their dream. In other words, the dreams were so impressive that they anticipated they had meaning. And they were right.
And because their care had been entrusted to faithful Joseph, I imagine Joseph was one of the first people they saw that morning. And because he cared about his charges, he inquired as to why they were so dejected. When they explained, because Joseph had had some experience with dreams, and knew that dreams sometimes were divine revelations, as they had been in his own experience, and he knew God he offered to interpret them.
Of course the chief cup-bearer was the first to offer his dream to Joseph. A vine with three branches was budding, blossomed produced grapes, and he squeezed them into Pharaoh's cup. Immediately Joseph had the interpretation, thanks be to God, and successfully predicted that in three days, Pharaoh would return the cup-bearer to his former privileged position.
The chief baker, then seeing that Joseph's interpretation had been favorable to the cup-bearer, was encouraged to offer his dream up for interpretation. So Joseph properly interpreted his dream, but with the opposite result, the baker would be executed.
In the midst of this, we see that Joseph, though faithful to God, was hoping for a change in his circumstances—as any prisoner we might imagine would. He's acutely aware that life has not been fair to him. This is evident in verses 14 and 15: Notice he asks the chief cup-bearer to remember him when he gets out, and to report his case to the ultimate authority and judge in his situation—Pharaoh. He says, "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 in the dungeon." And so it's as any of us might have thought. Joseph is not happy about his circumstances. He wants a change. But despite his circumstances, he remains faithful to God. In fact, he's making the most of His circumstances for God's glory, as well as for his advantage.
And so that our second point this morning. You may not be happy about your circumstances. But make the most of those circumstances for God's glory. And if you can, improve your situation. That's what Joseph did. He recognized that he could perhaps help these two fellows, demonstrate God's in control, and improve his situation all at the same time. He trusts God will give him the interpretation to their dreams, and He does. And as it turns out, his predictions come to pass, and it's again demonstrated that God is with Joseph. And it appears that all this will work for Joseph's release, but not yet.
Now before we go further, some of you might have questions about dreams. Joseph has said that all dreams belong to God. So can we assume that all dreams come from God? That all dreams are divine revelations of the future?
Well, it's important to note here that even in Joseph's life, there are only six dreams in his 110 years that prove to be divine revelation, and yes these six dreams are critical in determining the outcome of his life. So, yes, dreams can be divine revelations. But how do we know when they are when they're not? Scripture records that there are dreams and revelations that come in the night from other sources—even as Eliphaz's night vision in Job 4 is clearly demonic. So how should we approach dreams? I think we approach dreams as we would any other possible divine revelation—knowing that most dreams may be from us, but that God can indeed use dreams on occasion for his purposes. And when we suspect that a dream may have greater significance, that for some reason it may have a divine origin, then we use the same principles to determine whether it could be from God as would any other supposed divine revelation or spiritual gift—the same principles found in I Thessalonians 5:19-21: "Do not quench the Spirit; 20 do not despise prophetic utterances. 21 But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; 22 abstain from every form of evil."
So Joseph has an opportunity to speak for God. He makes the most of it for God's purposes and for our good, and eventually, God will use it to bring about his good purpose, His great purpose, His predicted outcome for Joseph's life—that Joseph will be exalted as predicted by the dreams of his youth. And it's been at least 11 long years in Egypt at this time.
But it won't happen, quite yet. God doesn't explain himself to us, or to Joseph, as to why this happens. It just does: Verse 23 tells us "Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him."
Another great disappointment for Joseph.
Well, you know what. I identify. I bet a bunch of you here do, too. We want to cry out with the Psalmist, in Psalm 13, "How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart all the day? How long will my enemy be exalted over me?"
Now I don't know if Psalm 13 was a Psalm of David's. But it sure sounds like it, doesn’t it? How long was it before David was delivered from Solomon who sought his life for no good reason? It was years, maybe a decade. How long was it before Daniel was exalted in Babylon? I don't think that happened overnight. Many of us wait for a long time before we see God bless. For Joseph, it had been at least 11 years at the time that the chief cup-bearer forgot him.
How long has it been for you? How long has it been for me? Maybe a very long time.
I found solace this week when I ran across Psalm 71:20 in the prayer of an old man: "You who have shown me many troubles and distresses will revive me again, and will bring me up again from the depths of the earth."
And I found myself reciting this verse to myself one night to console myself as I went to sleep. It gave me hope in a time of great distress.
And then there's Isaiah 40:28-31 which illustrates what Joseph was forced to do for two more years in prison—to wait on the Lord. To wait on the Lord in faithfulness until He hears, until He blesses as He has promised, and it goes like this:
"Do you not know? Have you not heard?
The Everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth
Does not become weary or tired.
His understanding is inscrutable.
29 He gives strength to the weary,
And to him who lacks might He increases power.
30 Though youths grow weary and tired,
And vigorous young men stumble badly,
31 Yet those who wait for the LORD
Will gain new strength;
They will mount up with wings like eagles,
They will run and not get tired,
They will walk and not become weary."
And that's our final point this morning. Sometimes, for reasons known only to God, we simply have to wait in faith for His blessing. Wait in faith for his blessing.
For Joseph, it would be two more years, 13 in all, before the dreams of His youth would begin to be fulfilled. Nevertheless, God will show himself faithful to the one who is faithful in small things in difficult times.
Faithfulness in small things in difficult times, is often a precursor to God's great blessing.
At the outset, I mentioned the matter of whether there are modern day examples of Joseph's life. Yes, I believe Billy Graham is one in many respects. But perhaps another not as well-known, but even more parallel to the life of Joseph is that of Randy Alcorn, a very successful Christian author, who is in fact the author of a book we offer freely to all of you called The Tithing Principle.
In the 1980s Randy Alcorn was one of three successful pastors of a major Bible church in Oregon when he thought his Christian duty to protest against an abortion clinic in Portland by standing with a sign in front of it. The abortion clinic sued and won such a judgment against Alcorn that it put him out of pastoral ministry. For it required that his salary be attached and the most significant portion of it be given to the abortion clinic to satisfy the judgment against him.
Since Randy didn't believe in abortion, he wasn't willing for any of his salary or the church's money be used to further the ends of the abortion clinic, so he resigned. He began a writing ministry with his wife as his secretary and the provider for the household, except for what he might gain through his writing ministry. He was faithful to God to tithe all this time, and the result was that he became such a successful Christian author that he has given over $8 million to various Christian causes over the last three decades.
In other words, sometimes faithfulness in small things in difficult circumstances, like our money, even in the most challenging of circumstances can be indeed the precursor to great blessing.
This morning, maybe the challenge for you, as it is with me, is to believe that. You're still in the midst of the difficult circumstances, and you're being tested, even as I am by my own circumstances. You want God to give you that faith and faithfulness of a Joseph, and I'm with you. You're crying, "How long, O Lord, will you forget me forever." So cry out with me as we pray this morning, "How long, O Lord? We're believing this morning, that you will not forget us forever, because of the story of Joseph, and the story of Billy Graham and the story of Randy Alcorn. But still we long to see you act on our behalf, to fulfill your good promises to us, and to begin to bless us has we have longed for. We pray for the faith of a Joseph, and the faithfulness of a Billy Graham, and the patience of a Randy Alcorn, and a David and Daniel and even a Noah, that we would see the day also that your name might be glorified by blessing us. We pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen!
