“When Life is The Pits”
A Study of the Life of Joseph
Sermon # 5
“Dealing With Delay”
Genesis 40: 23- 41:1-40
What we are talking about today is the “waiting rooms” of life. Have you ever noticed that some rooms seem to speak for themselves. Walking into a new freshly decorated nursery prepared by proud parents and immediately the room speaks of joy, excitement and anticipation. Enter into a cozy den on a cold winters evening. A large fire in the fireplace casting shadows from the cracking fire, cast a invitation to come in, sit down and enjoy its atmosphere. Or walk into a dining room just before the thanksgiving meal, smell the food and hear the sound of friendly voices, the room reverberates with welcome.
But other rooms are not nearly so inviting. Some rooms are distinctly lonely regardless of how many people may be in them. There a frightened uncertainty prevails. Those are the waiting rooms.
As a pastor part of my daily routine I often have the opportunity to spend a lot of time in the waiting room of medical institutions. There you can experience the full gamut of human emotions. These waiting rooms are difficult and challenging to cope with and yet throughout our lives here on earth we have many experiences that develop into “waiting rooms.”
It may be that you are waiting to start a new area of your education. It may be that your health has put you in a waiting room? It may be that the opportunities that you have thought would come have not visualized. But regardless of what kind of “waiting room” you find yourself in today, it is difficult to deal with. We are not use to waiting? We do not like to wait for anything!
It is here that Joseph again teaches us some critical insights to successful living. He too was faced with a “waiting room.” You will remember that Joseph had been imprisoned on false charges. While he was in prison two of the kings chief officials, the kings cupbearer and the king’s baker, were also thrown into prison for displeasing the king. The two men both had dreams and were distressed as to there meaning. Joseph volunteered to interpret their dreams. The cupbearer was to be restored to his former position and the baker was to be hanged. When Joseph interpreted the cupbearer dream (40:14), he had asked the Pharaohs cupbearer for a favor, “But remember me when it is well with you, and please show kindness to me; make mention of me to Pharaoh, and get me out of this house.” Some have suggested that Joseph is showing a lack of faith in making this request. That he is placing his confidence in men rather than God. I don’t know if this is true, but even the strongest at times have wavered. The prophet Elijah sank down in despair and asked to be allowed to die. John the Baptist, confined to Herod’s prison, send a messenger to ask if Jesus was indeed the Christ. Who among us as not professed to be waiting on God, only to hinted at or openly show our needs to anyone we thought could help?
As is the case so often when we are in a period of waiting, things don’t work out like we as we would wish. In Genesis 40:23 we read, “Yet the chief butler did not remember Joseph, but forgot him. When we left Joseph last week he was alone in prison forgotten by the man who had promised to remember him. Here again Joseph teaches us a critical insight to successful living. He too was faced with a “waiting room.” Now after a gap of two full years we pick up his story again. In Genesis 41:1 we read, “Then it came to pass, at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh had a dream; and behold, he stood by the river.” (NKJV). Those two full years as far as we know were neither exciting nor eventful. They represented a long, dull, monotonous grind. Month after month, of the same old prison walls. That is what it is like when you’re in a period of waiting. Nothing seems to happen! You just wait, and wait, and wait.
There are several thoughts I want to you to see with me this morning about how to successful deal with delay.
I. We Should Not be Surprised by Periods of Delay
The New Testament tells us in 1 Peter 4:12, “Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you;” (NKJV). If your read through any of the books of the Bible you will find that the saints had to deal with disappointment, frustration and all kinds of hardship. Abraham had to wait for decades to have the son that God promised him. Moses spent 40 years on the backside of the desert, tending sheep before getting the opportunity at age 80 to lead the children of Israel out of captivity in the land of Egypt. Even then Moses spent another 40 years leading Israel in circles before getting to the promised land and when they arrived God did not allow him to go in. God worked while his people were waiting, waiting, waiting.
Disappointment comes into all our lives. Things don’t always go the way we expect them to. People we love die. We don’t always get the credit we deserve. Sometimes we are victims of injustice. Sometimes life can be a struggle. But has there ever been a life in which there more wild ups and downs than that of Joseph? From favorite son to slave in a foreign land; from slave in Potiphar’s house to overseer of all of Potiphar’s house; from overseer to prisoner, from prison to counselor to Pharaoh. Certainly we all have our ups and downs in life, but Joseph must have felt as if he were on a roller coaster.
II. When We Experience Delays We Need to Learn to Trust In God Alone
Jeremiah 17:5
“Thus says the LORD:“Cursed is the man who trusts in man And makes flesh his strength, Whose heart departs from the LORD. (6) For he shall be like a shrub in the desert, And shall not see when good comes, But shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, In a salt land which is not inhabited.” (NKJV)
Joseph’s life was not however, all fluctuation and change. There was one great constant in his life and we see it shining through in each situation that Joseph encounters. What was this abiding constant in Joseph’s life? It was God. In every situation encountered by Joseph we see him give priority to God in his life. Joseph had hope beyond mere earthly hope. His faith was in God, not in Potiphar, not in the cupbearer, not even in the king of Egypt. When men failed him, he knew that God was still with him, even in prison. The forgetfulness of man should cause us to reflect upon the faithfulness of God. The prophet Isaiah (44:21) reveals that God has promised, “…. you will not be forgotten by Me!” (NKJV) This is what enabled Joseph to endure in the midst of deep sorrow and distress. When find our selves in a “waiting room,” a holding pattern we need to remember that God is with us there and that he uses these experiences to mature us.
III. When We find Ourselves in a Waiting Period We Need to Listen for What God May be Trying to Teach Us!
When we find ourselves in a “waiting room” we need to ask ourselves two questions. First, we need to ask ourselves, “Is there something God is trying to teach me during this time of waiting?”
“The story is told of a French engineer who was traveling on the Mediterranean Sea when a fellow stranger became sick with a contagious disease, resulting in the ship which he was traveling on being quarantined. The confinement was terribly frustrating for de Lesseps. To help pass the time he read the memoirs of Charles le Pere, who had studied the feasibility of building a canal from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean. Reading that volume led the engineer to devise a detailed plan for the construction of the Suez Canal, which was completed under his leadership in 1869. That quarantine, that “waiting room” experience, seven years earlier proved to be immensely valuable to de Lesseps and to the World.”
It may be that God is trying to slow you down enough that he can teach you something.
Secondly, we need to ask ourselves, “Is there something God is attempting to change in my life during this time?” I don’t know about you but I fear that I have wasted a lot of my time in the “waiting rooms” of life because I was not asking the right questions.
IV. When We find Ourselves in a Waiting Period We Need to Wait for God’s Timing! (41:1-15)
“Then it came to pass, at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh had a dream; and behold, he stood by the river. (2) Suddenly there came up out of the river seven cows, fine looking and fat; and they fed in the meadow. (3) Then behold, seven other cows came up after them out of the river, ugly and gaunt, and stood by the other cows on the bank of the river. (4)And the ugly and gaunt cows ate up the seven fine looking and fat cows. So Pharaoh awoke. (5) He slept and dreamed a second time; and suddenly seven heads of grain came up on one stalk, plump and good. (6) Then behold, seven thin heads, blighted by the east wind, sprang up after them. (7) And the seven thin heads devoured the seven plump and full heads. So Pharaoh awoke, and indeed, it was a dream. (8) Now it came to pass in the morning that his spirit was troubled, and he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt and all its wise men. And Pharaoh told them his dreams, but there was no one who could interpret them for Pharaoh. (NKJV)
The king had a dream. In this dream (40:1-4) he saw seven well-fed cows come up out of the Nile River. Then he immediately saw seven undernourished cows come up out of the Nile. They immediately devoured the seven well-fed cows.
While he was still puzzling as to the meaning of this dream he went back to sleep and had a second dream. This time we are told in (41:5-7), that seven healthy heads of grain, were devoured by seven thin and scorched heads of grain. When the Pharaoh awakened a second time he was deeply “troubled.”
Pharaoh no doubt saw the similarities and contrasts in the two dreams. In both dreams there were a series of “sevens” followed by a second set of “sevens.” The first set of “sevens” involved prosperity and the second set of “sevens” involved a lack of prosperity. Also notable was that the second set of “sevens” in each dream devoured the first set of that had been prosperous. But what did it all mean? Pharaoh consulted with the wisest men of Egypt but no one could interpret his dreams. Then in the middle of all the panic in the palace the cupbearer suddenly remember his prison experiences and told the king of the young captive Hebrew. He said, (vv. 9-13), “I remember my faults this day. (10) When Pharaoh was angry with his servants, and put me in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, both me and the chief baker, (11) we each had a dream in one night, he and I. Each of us dreamed according to the interpret-ation of his own dream. (12) Now there was a young Hebrew man with us there, a servant of the captain of the guard. And we told him, and he interpreted our dreams for us; to each man he interpreted according to his own dream. (13) And it came to pass, just as he interpreted for us, so it happened. He restored me to my office, and he hanged him.”
V. When We find Ourselves in a Waiting Period We Need to Remember that We Choose How We Will Respond to Difficult Times (41:14-40)
“Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they brought him quickly out of the dungeon; and he shaved, changed his clothing, and came to Pharaoh.”
Joseph was hurriedly brought out of the dungeon but he did not face Pharaoh until he first had shaved and changed his clothing. This was not just a matter of getting cleaned up but was also a cultural concession. To the Hebrews a beard was a mark of dignity but to the Egyptian it was an offensive thing. Joseph took the time to shave in order as not to unnecessarily offend the king of Egypt. When Joseph was brought into Pharaoh’s presence the king immediately told him of his distressing dreams and how he had heard that Joseph could interpret them. In verse fifteen, “And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I have had a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it. But I have heard it said of you that you can understand a dream, to interpret it.”
When he was called upon to interpret Pharaohs dreams how could he help but remember his own dreams as a seventeen year old – dreams that stirred up jealousy and hatred. It seems that every time Joseph uses his God given gift he ended getting burned. He used it anyway because he deeply trusted God in every situation.
It is significant that Joseph’s first and foremost concern was for God’s glory. Two year earlier (40:14-15) he had used his opportunity to tell of his own plight to the cupbearer, about his origins and the injustice he has suffered. But not this time he uses the occasion to talk to Pharaoh about his dream, Egypt’s plight and nothing about himself. Joseph says (41:16), “It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace.”
It is impressive to note Joseph’s repeated references to God. “It is not me, God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace” (v. 16). “God has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do.” (v. 25), “The thing is established by God and God is about to do it.” (v. 32). Joseph did not in any way seek to accommodate the theological belief system of the Pharaoh. Instead Joseph immediately focused all the attention to the one true God. Likewise, if we are to take advantage of the opportunities that God may give us, we will have to overcome the hesitant, and compromising tendency to try to accommodate everyone’s belief system and to never offend anyone, and like Joseph take a stand for God.
Pharaoh then recounts his dreams to Joseph (vv. 17-24). Pharaoh says that he has consulted with the wisest men of the realm but none could interpret the dreams (v. 24). Joseph replies that the two dreams while different in some details were one in their meaning (v. 25). Both dreams were given to reinforce the certainty of what was about to occur (v. 32). In each instance “seven” was the time involved – seven years. The fat cows and the plump heads of grain indicated seven years of abundance and seven gaunt cows and the seven scorched and withered heads of wheat were indicative of seven years of famine that were to follow the years of plenty. The bottom line was that Egypt would experience seven years of plenty followed by seven year of famine so severe that all the previous reserves would be used up.
Joseph not only interpreted the dreams he went on to give wise discernment on how to deal with the coming famine (vv. 33- 36). He said “Pharaoh here is what you need to do as soon as possible, (1) find a discerning and wise man and put him in charge of the land of Egypt and (2) appoint commission-ers over the land to take 1/5 of all the grain from the farmers each harvest during the seven good years to be used during the seven years of famine, so that the nation will not be ruined by the famine.
It is my own belief that Joseph did not give this advice with any idea that he would be the one appointed over this project. If he dared to hope at all it would have been to be released from his imprisonment. How far beyond his imagination must have been his elevation to a position of power and prestige. So it is with God and us.
Genesis 41:37-38 tells us, “So the advice was good in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of all his servants. (38) And Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find such a one as this, a man in whom is the Spirit of God?” (NKJV) It was obvious even to the Pharoah that Joseph is speaking not from his own wisdom but under the influence of the Holy Spirit. Even the pagan advisors of the king and the king himself could not resist his words. Oh that we as Christians might carry with us, into our relationships in the world, the undeniable stamp of the Spirit of God.
The end result is seen in Genesis 41:39-40, “Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Inasmuch as God has shown you all this, there is no one as discerning and wise as you. (40) You shall be over my house, and all my people shall be ruled according to your word; only in regard to the throne will I be greater than you.” (NKJV)
Pharaoh deemed Joseph as “wise and understanding.” The biblical expression, “wise and understanding” is applied to only one other person – King Solomon (1 Kings 3:12).
Perhaps to the casual observer it would seem that all of this there is just a great deal of chance what we like call coincidence. But Moses acting as the historian here, directed by the Holy Spirit lifts the veil and allows us to see that God has been at work the whole time, step by step, working out his own infinite plans. Joseph probably had little or no idea of what God was doing in his life but he did understand the God had a plan bigger than Joseph himself. It was more than just elevating and rewarding Joseph’s faithful-ness, it was all a part of a great plan. It consisted of bringing his people Israel back to a living faith and causing them to grow into a great nation. All of Joseph’s circumstances flowed out of that plan. Each circumstance in Joseph’s life advanced that plan. Joseph excelled because he accept that God had a plan for his life, and that the circumstances of his life flowed from that plan, and he gave himself to the business of using whatever his circum-stances were to honor and glorify God. All to often we are more concerned about trying to dictate to God what our circum-stances should be rather than seeking to use our circumstances to glorify God. We not only have the method by which we think that our problems should be solved but we have the timetable as well. And yet God will often not work according to either our method or our timetable.
We should be living in such a way that an unbelieving world that they would see that there is a God and that we think well of Him. When difficult situations unfold or we find ourselves in a waiting period instead of asking why we should be asking how we can use them to bring honor and glory to his name.
` Let me close with these words for F.B. Meyer, “It was a wonderful assent, sheer in a single bound from the dungeon to the steps of the throne. His father had rebuked him, now Pharaoh, the greatest monarch of his time, welcomes him. His brethren despised him; now the proudest priesthood of the world opens their ranks to receive him by marriage into their midst, considering it wiser to conciliate a man who was from that moment to be the greatest force in Egyptian politics and life. The hands that were hard with toils of a slave are adorned with a signet ring. The feet are no longer tormented by fetters; a chain of gold is linked around his neck. The coat of many colors, torn from him by violence and defiled by blood, and the garment left in the hand of the adulteress are exchanged for the vestures of fine linen drawn from the royal wardrobe. He was once trampled upon as the offscouring of all things, now all Egypt is commanded to bow before him as he rides forth in the second chariot, prime minister of Egypt and second only to the king.” [F.B. Meyer. The Life of Joseph: Beloved, Hated, Exalted. (Lynnwood, WA. : Emerald Books, 1995) p.56]
