The Joseph Experience – Humble And Ready 04 Series

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Homework: Who read the chapters? Did you go any farther?

Did everyone pray the Holy Spirit prayers? Does anyone want to quickly share something that is not too personal? We have a lot to cover today, but we love testimonies too!

Did you ever stop and think that many people’s ancient relatives survived this famine in the Joseph story and that’s why they’re alive today? And if your family isn’t from the middle east, then they may have survived the bubonic plague many years later. Amazing!

Let’s get into this week’s study! We’re going through Genesis 40 and 41. I removed some words for time’s sake, so please go back and read the story later. Today, we’re going to see Joseph’s transformation from arrogant to humble. Joseph was highly intelligent and blessed, but nowhere near ready for what God had planned for him.

Joseph didn’t have access to 1 Peter 5:6-7, but God is the same yesterday, today, and forever; so this verse still applies to the story.

6Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, 7casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

Humbling yourself under God’s Hand isn’t a bad thing. It just means that you willingly submit to humble yourself with His help and direction. Why do it this way? Because there’s safety under the mighty Hand of God. If we don’t work on our Attitude City by reading the Word, praise and worship, and spending time with Him; we could be in the process of paving the path to receive a bad harvest. Humbling ourselves under the Mighty Hand of God can hold off that bad harvest until it’s eliminated, and we never receive it. Amen! The second part of this verse is about casting your care on Him. We don’t have to care about our status, are we important, will we be recognized for our talents, and so on. Humbling yourself will allow God to handle the recognition for you. When we try to press for recognition, we can sometimes attract the wrong kind of recognition or even accidentally slip over into unrighteous behavior trying to climb the ladder of success. We’re all heard statements like, “You make an omelet you have to break a few eggs.” A way to downplay saying how you have to crush people to get ahead.

Let’s look at Joseph’s transformation, as we keep in mind how we’re instructed to become humbled.

Genesis 40 NKJV

1It came to pass after these things that the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt offended … the king of Egypt. 2And Pharaoh was angry with … the chief butler and the chief baker. 3So he put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the prison, the place where Joseph was confined. 4And the captain of the guard charged Joseph with them, and he served them; … for a while.

We read the “prison” being called custody, house, prison, and place. As I mentioned in the last study, this was just a room not far from the king’s court area. I would assume, the prison being close to the pharaoh’s court, it wasn’t a disgusting place. Egyptians were very clean people. I’m not suggesting it was luxurious, but what I am suggesting is that there probably weren’t any more roaches, rats, and other bugs in that prison than anywhere else.

Again, we went over in this in the last study, that the captain of the guard was Potiphar or another captain of the guard that worked with Potiphar. There probably was some familiarity with Joseph.

5Then the butler and the baker … had a dream, …. 6And Joseph came in to them in the morning and looked at them, and saw that they were sad. 7So he asked Pharaoh’s officers … “Why do you look so sad today?” 8And they said to him, “We each have had a dream, and there is no interpreter of it.” So Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell them to me, please.”

This is a good change! Joseph didn’t say anything about himself at first.

The butler goes on to tell Joseph his dream, and then Joseph interprets the dream by the power of The Holy Spirit, of course…

14But 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. 15For indeed I was stolen away from the land of the Hebrews; and also I have done nothing here that they should put me into the dungeon.”

Joseph is calling the prison a house, which lines up with archeology and Egyptian history. Then, as he feels sorry for himself, telling his sob story, the prison turns into a dungeon. The meaning of dungeon in Hebrew is pit or hole. This was a feel-bad-for-me drama, because it was a house or room as Joseph said before. This would have been a great time for Joseph to stop and ask God how do You want me to get out.