Genesis Ch40v1-23 - Where Is God?

Thank you.

Thank you.

We're going to read all of chapter 40 this morning. I'm going to pray and then we'll hear what God has to say to us. So let's read God's word, starting at verse 1.

Some time later, the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt offended their master, the king of Egypt.

Pharaoh was angry with his two officials, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker, and put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard in the same prison where Joseph was confined.

The captain of the guard assigned them to Joseph and he served them.

After they had been in custody for some time, each of the two men, the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were being held in prison, had a dream the same night.

And each dream had a meaning of its own.

When Joseph came to them the next morning, he saw that they were dejected.

So he asked Pharaoh's officials who were in custody with him in his master's house, why do you look so sad today?

We both had dreams, they answered, but there is no one to interpret them.

Then Joseph said to them, do not interpretations belong to God?

Tell me your dreams.

So the chief cupbearer told Joseph his dream.

He said to him, in my dream I saw a vine in front of me and on the vine were three branches.

As soon as it budded, it blossomed and its clusters ripened into grapes.

Pharaoh's cup was in my hand and I took the grapes, squeezed them into Pharaoh's cup and put the cup in his hand.

This is what it means, Joseph said to him.

The three branches are three days.

Within three days, Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your position.

And you will put Pharaoh's cup in his hand, just as you used to do when you were his cupbearer.

But when all goes well with you, remember me and show me kindness.

Mention me to Pharaoh and get me out of this prison.

I was forcibly carried off from the land of the Hebrews.

And even here, I have done nothing to deserve being put in a dungeon.

When the chief baker saw that Joseph had been given a favorable interpretation,

he said to Joseph, I too had a dream.

And on my head were three baskets of bread.

In the top basket were all kinds of baked goods for Pharaoh,

but the birds were eating them out of the basket on my head.

This is what it means, Joseph said.

The three baskets are three days.

Within three days, Pharaoh will lift off your head and impale your body on a pole.

And the birds will eat away your flesh.

Now, the third day was Pharaoh's birthday.

And he gave a feast for all his officials.

He lifted up the heads of the chief cupbearer and the chief baker in the presence of his officials.

He restored the chief cupbearer to his position,

so that he once again put the cup into Pharaoh's hand.

But he impaled the chief baker,

just as Joseph had said to them in his interpretation.

The chief cupbearer, however, did not remember Joseph.

He forgot him.

Well, let's pray together.

Father, thank you for your word.

Thank you for this true account of the life of Joseph.

We ask for your spirit's help to have understanding with our minds,

but that it would also be driven deep into our hearts.

And it would change us and affect us in such a way

that it affects our week in what we do and how we live.

We pray that what we hear today will be good for us

and will help us.

Thank you that you are present here now

through your word to us today.

Amen.

Well, not much has changed in the last 10 years of Joseph's life.

At 17, he was thrown into a pit of a well by his brothers

and sold off as a slave.

Now 27, Joseph is thrown into the pit of a dungeon by his master

and is working as a slave.

Nothing new to report.

Just the same old struggle and suffering.

In fact, by the time we get to the end of chapter 40,

guess what?

Joseph is still in the pit of a dungeon

and he's still doing slave stuff.

One wonders if God has moved on and left Joseph behind.

You see, life can be like that for God's people, can't it?

We long for a change in our circumstances,

but the problem is nothing ever seems to change.

We cry out to God for a better life,

but life, it seems, gets no better.

There's trouble at work

and weeks later,

the same trouble is there.

Or maybe you develop an illness

and months down the line,

there's no improvement,

there's no relief.

Or you're struggling with a relationship

that's broken down

and years later,

it's still not right.

Nothing new to report,

just the same old struggle

and suffering.

One wonders if God has lost interest in me.

Maybe he's forgotten me altogether.

Well, God has not forgotten his people

and God has not forgotten Joseph.

You see, in the unchanging struggles of life,

God is consistently unchanging towards us.

In our unchanging sufferings of life,

God is consistently unchanging towards us.

We're going to look at three main things

from our text this morning

that are going to encourage us,

comfort us,

and assure us

in this time of struggle.

So first,

we want to be encouraged

by God's sovereign design.

Encouraged by God's sovereign design.

Joseph is in prison

and he's soon to have some new friends.

Look at verse 1.

Sometime later, the cupbearer,

so he was the winemaker

or the wine buyer

and the baker,

he's the pastry chef

of the king of Egypt,

offended their master,

the king of Egypt.

So something must have ticked Pharaoh off.

Maybe he didn't like the choice of wine

with the steak he was having that evening

or perhaps he found the croissants

just a little too flaky.

Whatever it was,

he's got annoyed.

That's what powerful people do.

They throw a wobbly

and he throws the baker

and the cupbearer

into prison

where Joseph was.

Now the problem for Joseph is

they're not quite on an equal friendship.

They're still the king's attendants.

They still hold a special status.

So, verse 4,

the captain of the guard

assigned them to Joseph

where he served them.

Well, you can't get much lower than that,

can you?

Joseph's not only in prison,

but he's at the bottom of the pile

where he's serving the other prisoners.

What is God doing?

What is God up to?

Has he forgotten Joseph?

Well, not so.

God is working.

In fact,

we have here

a spoiler alert.

You see,

the cupbearer

is going to have a big part

to play

in Joseph's life.

In fact,

he's going to be the person

that God uses

to get Joseph

out of prison

and into a position of power

to serve

alongside

Pharaoh.

Read on in the story

and you will find out.

But we're getting

a bit ahead of ourselves.

At this point,

we just need to know

that God is working

and he's working out

his purposes

even though

we don't know

and we can't always see

what God is doing.

Which means

we just get on

serving.

You see,

our role

is not to try

and figure out

what God is doing.

His ways

are not our ways.

His thoughts

are not our thoughts.

No,

we simply trust

that God is sovereign

and we keep on serving.

And that's exactly

what Joseph did.

Look at verse 6.

When Joseph came

to the other prisoners

the next morning,

he saw

that they were dejected.

they were down

as they were eating

their breakfast.

Now,

if I were Joseph

and I were at the bottom

of the pile,

I might feel

a little bit

delighted

in their trouble.

I mean,

there's nothing better

than seeing those

who are above you

suffer and struggle,

isn't there?

But not Joseph.

He sees an opportunity

to serve.

Verse 7.

So he asked

Pharaoh's officials

who were in custody

with him

in his master's house,

why do you look

so sad today?

I mean,

it's not a big thing.

Just a sympathetic

observation.

They're glum.

They're not the same

jovial selves.

Something's not right.

Why are you so sad?

And sure enough,

it led to some

God talk.

Verse 8.

Oh,

we both had dreams,

they answered,

but there is no one

to interpret them.

Then Joseph said to them,

well,

I know someone,

don't I?

Do not interpretations

belong to God?

Tell me your dreams.

Joseph does the one thing

he can do

to help lift the burden.

He points them to God

who sees all things

and knows all things.

In his suffering,

he sees the suffering

of those around them

and he points them to God

who is sovereign over all.

You see,

God has not lost interest

in you or me.

He's not forgotten us.

God has a design

for your struggles

in life.

Our sufferings

might not be the path

we would choose.

Our troubles

mightn't be

what we would plan.

But God knows

and God has a sovereign design

for every circumstance

of your life.

In other words,

God is in control

of your day to day.

in what you face

when you go to work

tomorrow morning.

The news

that you might receive

in the doctor's surgery.

The relationship

that you're struggling with.

God is sovereign

over every single detail

and it's in moments like that

we don't need to panic.

In fact,

we get on serving.

Our suffering

that we face

with God's help

can make us sensitive

to the needs

and the suffering

of those around us.

Just as we run to God

in our struggle

so we can point others

to our God

who sees all things

and knows all things.

So when we struggle,

don't look down.

Look up.

You might see

someone who is sad

and someone

who needs help.

You see,

in the unchanging

struggles of life,

God is consistently

unchanging

towards us.

In your suffering,

be encouraged

by God's

sovereign design

for your life.

So first,

be encouraged.

second,

we can be comforted.

Comforted

by God's

steadfast

love.

So the cupbearer

and the baker

tell their dreams

to Joseph.

They take it in turns.

And God,

through Joseph,

gives the interpretation.

The cupbearer

dreams means

he's going to be

restored

to being

chief cupbearer.

the baker's dream

means he will be,

well,

it's brown bread

for him,

isn't it?

We'll come back

to that shortly.

Now,

while the dreams

are very important,

it's Joseph's response

that should get

our attention.

With the cupbearer

looking forward

to his restoration,

Joseph sees

an opportunity.

verse 14.

He says

to the chief

cupbearer,

when all goes

well with you,

remember me

and show me

kindness.

Mention me

to Pharaoh

and get me

out of this

prison.

Now,

I don't blame

Joseph,

do you?

I don't think

there's much

wrong in asking

those with influence.

it's okay

to be asking

others for help

when we're in

a tight spot.

Who wouldn't

ask?

But it's not

that he asked,

but what

he's asking

for.

Because Joseph

was to learn

that God

is sufficient

in his

struggle.

look at

Joseph's

request again

in verse 14.

When all

goes well

with you,

remember

me

and show

me

kindness.

Now,

that word

kindness

means

covenant

love.

It's a

steadfast

love.

It's a

faithful

love.

It's the

same

word

that God

used

to show

his love

to Joseph

just

previously.

Just look

back to

chapter 39

at the

end of

verse 20.

Chapter

39,

the middle

of verse

20.

But while

Joseph was

there in

the prison,

the Lord

was with

him.

He

showed

him

kindness

and

granted

him

favour

in the

eyes

of

the

prison

warder.

God

showed

Joseph

kindness.

God

remained

loyal,

committed,

faithful to

Joseph in

all his

trials and

troubles.

That's what

covenant

love does.

It doesn't

give up,

let out,

run out,

or burn

out.

It's a

steadfast

love.

You see,

God's

love is

enough.

God's

love is

sufficient,

which means

we can

keep on

trusting.

I think

Joseph was

beginning to

wonder if

God had

forgotten

him.

Maybe

God doesn't

love me.

But we

got to

remember that

God had

made a

covenant

promise to

Joseph and

his family,

and here

in chapter

40,

Joseph is

asking another

prisoner for

the same

loyal

commitment.

Remember me

and show me

kindness.

But why

ask others

to promise

what only

God can

promise?

Why would

you put your

trust and

your hope in

people who

can't deliver

on their

promise?

promise?

This was a

lesson Joseph

would soon

learn.

Despite

whatever

commitments the

cupbearer

made, look

at verse

23, back

in chapter

40, verse

23.

The chief

cupbearer,

however, did

not remember

Joseph.

He forgot

him.

You see,

there is only

one we can

ultimately

trust.

trust.

Look, when

we're going

through our

ongoing

struggles, we

can turn to

the good of

others or to

the power of

others.

We can get

help from one

another, which

is a good

thing.

There's nothing

wrong with

that.

But let's

not put all

our hope and

trust in

people.

Why trust the

steadfast failure

of people when

we have the

comfort of God's

steadfast love?

God's covenant

love, his

kindness remains

no matter what

our suffering

is, as the

writer of

Lamentations

reminds us,

because of the

Lord's great

kindness, or

the Lord's

steadfast love,

we are not

consumed, for

his compassions

never fail.

They are new

every morning.

Great is your

faithfulness.

You see, in the

unchanging

struggles of

life, God is

consistently

unchanging

towards us.

So in your

suffering today,

in your struggle

today, be

comforted by

God's steadfast

love.

Third,

encouraged,

comforted,

and assured

by God's

saving

promise.

Let's get

back to the

dreamers.

The dreamers

were told,

or the dreams

were told,

and the

dreams were

interpreted.

For the

cupbearer,

the

interpretation

was favourable,

wasn't it?

Verse 13.

Within three

days, this is

the interpretation,

Pharaoh will

lift up your

head and

restore you to

your position,

and you will

put Pharaoh's

cup in his

hand, just as

you used to do

when you were

his cupbearer.

All is well.

But for the

baker, the

interpretation was

less favourable.

Verse 19.

Within three

days, Pharaoh

will lift off

your head

and impale

your body on

a pole and

the birds will

eat away

your flesh.

For one,

his head will

be lifted up,

for the

other, his

head will be

lifted off.

Now, the

question is,

will the

interpretation

of these

dreams

be fulfilled?

Remember what

Joseph had

said back in

verse 8.

Do not

interpretations

belong to

God.

So can what

God said

be trusted?

well, yes,

God is

always true

to his

word.

Let's see

how this gets

worked out.

Verse 20.

Let's read.

Now, the

third day

was Pharaoh's

birthday and

he gave a

feast for all

his officials.

He lifted up

the heads of

the chief

cupbearer and

the chief

baker in

the presence

of his

officials.

He

restored the

chief cupbearer

to his

position.

so that he

once again

put the

cup into

Pharaoh's

hand.

But he

impaled the

chief baker

just as

Joseph had

said to

them in

his

interpretation.

You see,

the interpretation

given by

God through

Joseph came

to pass.

What God

said would

happen did

happen.

God's

word is

faithfully

fulfilled.

You see,

when God

speaks,

God acts.

What he

says always

comes to

pass.

Now, what

are we to

take from

this?

Well, there's

a big

capital A

assurance

for

Joseph.

You see,

these two

dreams are

a reminder

of the

two dreams

that Joseph

had had

ten years

before.

Can you

remember

them?

Have a

look back

with me

to

chapter

37.

Back in

chapter 37,

he was a

17-year-old

and he

has a

dream.

Verse 6,

Joseph said

to them,

that is

his eleven

brothers,

listen to

this dream

I had.

We were

binding

sheaves of

corn out

in the

field when

suddenly my

sheaf rose

and stood

upright,

while all

your sheaves

gathered round

mine and

bowed down

to it.

a place

of position

of authority

to which

others are

bowing.

Verse 9,

then he had

another dream

and he told

this to his

brothers,

listen he

said,

I had

another

dream and

this time

the sun

and moon,

probably

speaking of

his mother

and father

and eleven

stars of

his eleven

brothers were

bowing down

to me.

Let's go

back to

chapter 40.

You see

God had

spoken

through these

dreams to

Joseph to

tell him

that he

would rise

to a

position of

power and

authority where

his brothers

would bow

down to

him and

serve him.

Well would

God's word

stand?

Can God

be trusted?

Well ten

years later

nobody's

bowing down

to Joseph,

he's stuck

in a prison.

Seems

the promised

word has

failed.

But not

so.

God has

given a

capital A

assurance.

You see

God is

saying to

Joseph,

just as

the dreams

of the

cupbearer

and the

baker

were fulfilled,

so will

my promise

to you

be fulfilled.

You can

trust God's

word.

God always

does what

he says

he will

do.

Which means

for Joseph

and for

us.

We keep

on

believing.

You see

Joseph had

been given

a promise.

A promise

that, well

I expect

he had

hoped would

have been

fulfilled a

long time

ago.

But our

timing is

not always

God's

timing.

Joseph

would have

to wait

until God

fulfilled his

promise to

him.

How long

was that

going to

be?

Well

Joseph

isn't

told,

is he?

He's not

given any

days or

number of

how long

he'll have

to wait.

But he

does get

assurance

that God's

word can

be trusted.

God's

saving

promise to

Joseph

will be

fulfilled.

And Joseph

must learn

to trust

God's

timing,

to go on

believing

God's

word that

it will

come to

pass.

you see

like

Joseph

we can

find

ourselves

in a

season

of

suffering

where

we

long

for

things

to

change

and

we

hope

for

better

days

but

nothing

ever

seems

to

give.

Ten

years

can

pass

and

we're

still

in

that

same

old

struggle

and

one

wonders

has

God

forgotten

me?

Has

God

moved

on

and

just

left

me

in

this

mess?

Well

we

too

have

been

given

the

assured

word

of

God's

saving

promise.

You

see

the

promise

given

to

Joseph

would

only

serve

of a

much

greater

promise

that

was

to

come

the

promise

of

the

Savior

Jesus

Christ.

You

see

at

just

the

right

time

in

God's

time

according

to

God's

great

sovereign

design

God

sent

his

son

Jesus

into

the

world.

Jesus

entered

into

the

dark

dungeon

of

this

world

to

lift

us

up.

Jesus

has

come

so

that

we

might

experience

his

steadfast

love

in

all

of

our

suffering.

This

is

God's

saving

promise

to

all

who

will

trust

in

him.

turn

with

me

please

to

1st

Peter

chapter

5.

It's

towards

the

end

of

your

Bible

so

you

might

want

to

go

to

the

very

end

which

is

Revelation

and

then

you

come

to

Jude

and

then

John

John

and

John

and

2nd

Peter

1st

Peter

1st

Peter

chapter

5

right at

the

back

of

the

Bible

so

as

you

think

of

the

trouble

the

suffering

that

you're

going

through

as

we

turn

to

Jesus

we

discover

that

he

is

sufficient

he

is

enough

in

all

of

our

suffering

let's

pick

it

up

in

the

middle

of

verse

5

1

1 Peter 5:5

Peter

chapter

5

verse

5

God

God

God

God

opposes

the

proud

but

shows

favour

to

the

humble

verse

6

humble

yourselves

therefore

under

God's

mighty

hand

that

he

may

lift

you

up

in

due

time

in

other

words

it's

a

call

to

trust

God's

sovereign

design

for

your

life

humble

yourself

before

God

well

what

does

that

look

like

how

do

we

do

that

well

look

at

verse

7

cast

all

your

anxiety

on

him

because

he

cares

for

you

in

your

struggle

in

your

suffering

humble

yourself

by

crying

it

out

to

the

only

one

who

can

deal

with

it

we

can

cry

out

to

God

remember

me

show

me

kindness

and

he

will

he

will

show

you

his

steadfast

love

because

he

doesn't

forget

his

people

but

more

than

that

look

at

verse

10

and

the

God

of

all

grace

who

called

you

to

his

eternal

glory

in

Christ

after

you

have

suffered

a

little

while

will

himself

restore

you

well

it's

strange

to

think

of

our

sufferings

as

lasting

as

it

says

here

in

verse

10

a

little

while

Johnny

do you

not

understand

what

I'm

going

through

how

can

you

say

it's

a

little

while

when

we've

been

struggling

for

years

with

pain

or

loss

or

heart

break

it

doesn't

seem

a

little

while

but

in

the

light

of

eternal

glory

our

sufferings

and

struggles

today

are

just

a

blip

a

blink

of

the

eye

in

the

light

of

God's

eternity

one

day

the

risen

Lord

will

come

again

and

he

will

restore

you

for

those

who

are

trusting

in

him

he

will

lift

you

up

but

for

those

who

refuse

him

and

ignore

him

it

will

be

a

very

different

ending

but

as

we

trust

and

as

we

wait

verse

10

he

will

make

you

strong

firm

and

steadfast

in

the

midst

of

all

of

our

struggles

he

will

keep

you

so

that

you

will

endure

through

all

things

this

is

the

kindness

of

our

God

he

is

faithfully

committed

to

you

the

covenant

love

of

God

expressed

to

us

in

Jesus

Christ

is

new

every

single

morning

whatever

you're

suffering

you

see

in

the

unchanging

struggles

of

life

God

is

consistently

unchanging

towards

us

so we

can all

read

together

verse

11

to

him

be the

power

forever

and

ever

amen

let's

pray

our

father

god

we

thank you

that

you

know

and

you

understand

each

of

our

struggle

and

suffering

today

you

know

the

things

that

are

weighing

us

down

the

things

that

ask

us

where

are

you

lord

have

you

forgotten

me

so

help

us

today

that

we

might

humble

ourselves

before

god

that

we

would

cast

all

our

anxiety

that

we

would

tell

him

all

our

fears

and

all

our

concerns

knowing

that

he

loves

us

with

a

steadfast

love

that

he

cares

for

every

single

detail

thank

you

father

god

that

in

christ

you

lift

us

up

you

restore

us

you

make

us

strong

firm

and

steadfast

and

you

will

hold

us

and

you

will

keep

us

as

we

wait

for

the

eternal

glory

to

come

thank

you

that

you

are

with

us

and

that

we

can

trust

you

in

Jesus

name

amen

well

the

end

of

first

Peter

that

we

read

says

the

God

of

all

grace

who

called

you

to

his

eternal

glory

in

Christ

ward

o

Christ