Prison Ministry (Genesis 40)
Joseph was Jacobs favorite son
Gave him a special coat, coat of many colors
His brothers became very jealous and came up with a plan to kill him
Reuben came up with a plan to just throw him in a pit and he would go back and get him out later so that he could live
Some Ishmeelites came by and the brothers sold Joseph to them for 20 pieces of silver
The 20 pieces of silver that Joseph was sold for is worth approximately $20 today
That shows you how strong jealousy and just pure evil really is
He was in there way and needed to go
It wasn’t even about the money
It was merely about getting rid of him b/c he was the favorite
They then took the coat of many colors, killed a goat, dipped the coat in the blood & took it to Jacob and told him that Joseph was killed by a wild beast
Talk about betrayal on a whole new level
Imagine your family doing that, the mental damage it would cause
The Ismeelites then sold Joseph to Potiphar who is over the jail (The Warden) for Pharaoh
Potiphar saw that the Lord was with Joseph and he promoted him to overseer of his house & Joseph served him
Joseph never complained, he just did it b/c God was with him and Joseph knew it
Potiphar’s wife tried to get Joseph to sleep with her
He refused, as he was walking away, she grabbed his clothes and it ripped
She had it in her hand and she framed Joseph
She went and told Potiphar that Joseph tried sleeping with her but she said no
As you could imagine, Potiphar became furious
Potiphar threw him into prison - even though he was innocent
Lets face it, what did Joseph do to deserve any of this
This takes us to where we are going to start today
This is how I came up with my title prison ministry
We have all heard of a few churches that does jail ministry
They will go to the jails and preach and witness to inmates
After they are done, they get to go home
Joseph didn’t get that option, he was in prison, couldn’t leave and still ran a prison ministry
So far, Joseph was betrayed by his brothers, sold into slavery for 20 pieces of silver, got promoted, got tempted by Potiphar’s wife, did the right thing, got framed and now in prison
This doesn’t sound very appealing to me
It just amazes me that Joseph just kept on going, kept serving
God was with Joseph and he knew it
Look at 39:2 - 39:21 - 39:23
I have said it before, if it is in the Bible once, it is important, if it is mentioned in the Bible 3 times, you might want to pay attention to it
People gossip all the time, they did back in this time as well
I personally believe b/c of 39:23 that he saw that the Lord was with Joseph b/c of how he conducted himself that he was innocent of the accusation
You know word got around just like it does now of days
But I also see that Potiphar felt that he had to throw Joseph into prison b/c of what had been said
What I am getting at is yes, accusation happened, he was innocent but the way he conducted himself, you can tell that God was with him
He never defended, he never complained, he never got upset, he served and served and served
He knew he was innocent and he knew that God knew the truth
I would say that is pretty difficult to do
But man, what strength, what courage and I guarantee you that God saw it and I promise you God was pleased with Joseph’s actions
When and if this happens to you, take this approach if you can
There is going to come a time in your life where all hope seems lost, the odds are against you, no answer, no where to turn but to God - that is when he will say I can do something with that
God knows, God will handle it and God will make things right
That is when you will have this peace that overcomes you like you have never had before
I have 100% faith in that
1-4) The butler and baker offended Pharaoh
It doesn’t tell us what they did to offend him but Pharaoh put them in jail where Joesph was at
Scripture tells us that they was the chief of the butlers and the chief of the bakers
That tells me that they was the top in those 2 areas
I am not sure if they called Pharaoh a name, burnt a biscuit or did something pretty severe to get this punishment but it happened
We do know that Pharaoh had some anger issues & did whatever he wanted to and wasn’t the kindest person on earth
I do know that the the chief of the bakers had to be pretty trustworthy - he did all the cooking
The chief of the butlers was the closest to him, he went everywhere with him
He was the one who tasted the wine and food before Pharaoh would eat or drink it
Definitely pretty important people and Pharaoh tossed both men in jail
I know that Pharaoh was an arrogant man but I would say this was probably pretty severe what they did to get this punishment
The captain of the guard put Joseph over them
Again, Joseph didn’t complain, he served them
Who knows exactly how long they were in there for
Scripture says they continued a season in ward
It could have been months like seasons here or it could have been years like seasons of our lives
5-8) The butler and baker both had a dream the same night
Joseph came into their cell the next morning and noticed that they was sad
I am pretty sure that nobody really looks happy in jail
But Joseph could tell they was bothered
He was able to do this b/c of his discernment
How is our discernment today
Listen to this, everything that Joseph has been through up to this point - he has been wronged so many times
Yet, he took the time to notice that something was bothering these 2 men
I find that to be absolutely amazing, this speaks so much of Joseph’s character and his love for God
They answered Joseph and said they each had a dream and don’t know the meaning of it and nobody can interpret it
They knew something wasn't right otherwise, they wouldn’t have really cared that much about it
I have had several dreams that made absolutely no sense whatsoever and never thought no more about it
But they wanted to know,
Joseph points them right to God, recognizing the father as the one who does interpretations
He is making sure that they understand it is not him who can help them, but it will come from God
Anytime we teach and preach, it is God and nothing else
I assure you, it is nothing that I do whatsoever
I am nothing but a willing vessel
Joseph said go ahead and tell me the dreams you had
9-13) 3 days from now, Pharaoh will bring you out of prison and restore you back to your former position
I would say that made the butler pretty happy
I would say that gave him some hope
14-15) Joseph tells the butler, if it is not to much trouble when you get out of here in 3 days
If you would show me some kindness
Tell Pharaoh to get me out of here as well as I have did no wrong
I was stolen out of the land of the Hebrews and placed in prison for being innocent
16-19) The chief baker heard this interpretation and man it was full of good news
He was probably thinking I need this guy to interpret my dream and maybe I will get the same results
He told his dream to Joseph and Joseph interpreted it
You have 3 days as well
Yours is going to be that he will cut off your head and put your body on a pole and let the birds eat your flesh
This brings me back to the question earlier what did he do to offend Pharaoh
The baker is going to be killed and don’t even deserve a grave
Focus on what Joseph did, he didn’t lie to the baker
He didn’t sugar coat it, didn’t tickle his ears
When you teach, preach or witness to people, tell them the truth
Don’t hold back, don’t twist scripture
20-23) On the 3rd day which was Pharaohs birthday
The interpretations was fulfilled
Pharaoh brought the butler and baker out of prison
He restored the chief butler unto his butlershop
As for the baker, he was hanged just as Joseph interpreted
The chief butler forgot about Joseph and did not mention him to Pharaoh
Is that not the truth
You help people out and they forget about you
People will disappoint you at some point
You hang around them long enough and it will happen
What I want you to see is
Joseph had it rough and I mean rough
You ask yourself how he did he do it, The Lord was with him
Famous Quote from Rocky Balboa from the Rocky Movies
It ain't about how hard you hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward.
Here is the truth - Satan hits hard, he hits fast
And he is coming -
I don’t care how hard you hit, he hits harder
It is how much you can get hit and keep going
You can do exactly what Satan wants you to do and quit
Or you can be like Joseph and keep going, keep serving
You can’t stop the punches, you can’t stop the attacks
But you can control what you do
Even when you feel that everything is against you
I pray that you remember that God is with you as he was with Joseph
Whatever it is that you are going through right now, you are not alone - God is with you
Keep walking with God
He knows what you are going through and he knows where he needs to place us - even if it is not desirable
