Last Sunday we sang that profound African American spiritual, “Were You There?” Its haunting questions invite us to witness the crucifixion, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. One of my favorite renditions of that hymn is by Jubilant Sykes, who often sang at Grace Community Church in California. Sadly, his life was taken earlier this year, but he is literally now jubilant in the presence of the Lord in heaven. Jubilant Sykes always started this hymn singing in a soft, intimate whisper leading the church to lean-in emotionally and spiritually to reflect on Christ’s suffering and death. His powerful baritone voice made you feel the passion as he rumbled the refrain, “Tremble, tremble, tremble”. Were you there when they crucified my Lord? As the song progresses and the orchestra comes in, Jubilant’s voice rises to a thunder as he reaches the final verse, “Were you there when He rose up from the grave?” and instead of trembling, he shouts, “sometimes I feel like shouting Glory, GLORY! GLORY!”
Were you there? In two weeks, we will celebrate again the glory of Christ’s resurrection as we come to Matthew 28. But before we get there, we have one more place to stop, reflect, and ask, “Were you there when they laid Him in the tomb?”
Matthew 27 has taken us on the journey through the last hours of Christ’s life
Today we mark a major milestone in our study of the Bible—we have come to the last chapter of Genesis, the last sermon in our exposition of this first book of the Bible. We started this journey through Genesis in September of 2020, the year of the COVID pandemic. We have spent the better part of two years walking through Genesis. Today’s sermon is lesson number 69. For those of you who have been with us from the beginning, I applaud your perseverance in the word of God and your long-suffering with me as I teach the Bible.
In Genesis 50 three things are brought to a conclusion.[1] First, we conclude the story of Jacob’s descendants, which began in Genesis 37:2 with the words “This is the history of Jacob.” Remember that Genesis is divided into ten major sections, each beginning with the phrase “these are the generations of …” or something similar that translates the Hebrew word תּוֹלְדוֹת (tôlḏôṯ). Here we will see the burial of Jacob, the final patriarch of the nation which bears his new name, Israel.
Second, we conclude the story of Joseph and his incredible journey from being the highly favored son in his father’s house; to being hated by his brothers; thrown into a pit to die; sold into slavery; taken down to Egypt; being faithful in Potipher’s house, yet falsely accused and put in prison; and being forgotten there for years before being raised to the highest position in the court of Pharaoh. Joseph’s story of faith and faithfulness ends in Genesis 50 with his death and preparations for burial.
And third, Genesis 50 concludes the whole book of Genesis. The next page of your bible is the opening chapter of Exodus. Although centuries will pass between Genesis 50 and Exodus 1, the narratives are connected. Exodus does not tell a new story. Instead, it continues the story that was begun in the book of Genesis. We started in Genesis 1-2 with God’s beautiful creation and Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden where “God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good,” (Gen. 1:31). But it didn’t take long for man to ruin that perfect world by sin and rebellion against God. Evil spread rapidly after Adam and Eve disobeyed God’s command in the garden: brother killing brother in the Cain and Abel incident; the repeated phrase in Genesis 5, “and he died”; the corrupt conditions of the world in the days of Noah necessitating God’s judgment through a worldwide, catastrophic flood; the prideful construction of the Tower of Babel–all of these serve as very prominent examples of the evil associated with the Fall and the depravity of mankind.
Yet, we also saw the promise of redemption in the seed of the woman who would crush the serpent’s head, destroying Satan’s usurped dominion over this world (Gen. 3:15). Genesis is the story of God’s divine purpose to bring salvation to mankind. The stories of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and even Judah show how God selected and sanctified a people to fulfill His purposes. Through all of these narratives, we have learned much about the person of God, about His divine election, about God’s holiness and grace, and about His faithfulness to keep His covenant promises.
This final chapter has the two bookends of the death, embalming, and burial of first Jacob and then Joseph. But sandwiched in between is the heart of what God wants to communicate–His prevailing goodness working itself out in the providential governance of His creation.[2]
1. The Burial of Jacob – Foretaste of the Promised Land
Genesis 50:1-14 tells the story of the burial of Jacob. Moses recorded Jacob’s death at the end of Genesis 49, “And when Jacob had finished commanding his sons, he drew his feet up into the bed and breathed his last, and was gathered to his people.” (Gen. 49:33). In Genesis 49 Jacob had blessed his twelve sons in Egypt, but with his eye on Canaan, the promised land.
Here we see Joseph and his brothers carrying out Jacob’s final wishes—to be buried in Canaan in the tomb of the covenant family in the cave of Machpelah. What Moses seems to emphasize here is not only the obedience and care shown by Joseph and the respect and honor shown by his sons but also the honor and mourning demonstrated by the Egyptians. They mourned Jacob’s death for seventy days, only two shy of the customary period of mourning for a Pharaoh in that time. Pharaoh granted Jacob’s request that he be buried in Canaan. What’s more, Pharaoh sent a significant delegation of political and military officials with Jacob’s family on the journey to and from Canaan for the funeral.
Egypt had embraced not only Joseph who saved them from the famine but also Jacob. They honored him. We must never forget that the covenant promises made to Abraham which were passed along to Isaac and Jacob had the nations of the earth in view. God said to Abraham, “In you all the families of the earth will be blessed” (Gen. 12:3). Throughout Genesis, we have been shown little glimpses of this. And here at the end of Genesis, we see that the Egyptians had such love for Joseph the Hebrew and for Jacob his father that they mourned many days at his passing. Yet, in spite of all the honor Jacob received in Egypt, this was not his home.
In Genesis 50, the Hebrew word עָלָה (ʿālâ) meaning ‘to go up’ occurs eight times (Gen. 50:5, 6, 7(2x), 9, 14, 24, 25). It is the word that in the next book will often be used for the exodus–Israel going up from Egypt into the Promised Land. It indicates where Israel really belongs–in the Promised Land. So, this funeral procession foreshadows the going up of the Israelites to Canaan after 400 years in Egypt. Jacob, though he was dead, was a firstfruits of the Israelites from Egypt. He was laid to rest in the cave at Machpelah as a deposit, guaranteeing what the LORD had promised was to come. Just as God had promised Jacob he would be laid to rest in Canaan (Gen. 46:4), so too, did the LORD promise Abraham that his descendants would return to Canaan after a four-hundred-year sojourn in a foreign land (Gen. 15:13). Jacob’s presence in his tomb in Canaan (along with Abraham, Isaac, Sarah, Rebekah, and Leah) would have encouraged the Israelites of the exodus to persevere in their journey. It would have let them know that God had prepared a place for them.
We have a similar but greater promise from our Lord Jesus Christ. He has gone up ahead of us by His death, resurrection, and ascension to prepare a place for us in God’s house. His promise stands that He will return to bring us to Himself, to dwell with Him in His Father’s house as sons and daughters of God (John 14:1-6).
Second in this chapter we see,
2. The Request of Jacob’s Sons – God’s Good Providence
After Jacob died, his ten older sons were worried that Joseph would turn on them and seek vengeance for the wrong they had done him forty years before. They had been living together in Egypt for seventeen years, under Joseph’s provision, but they feared Jacob’s presence was a mediating influence. The restoration of the brothers with Joseph was clearly not complete. There was work to be done still in their own hearts and between them and Joseph. For Joseph’s brothers, the ache of their guilt and shame was still present, manifesting itself in their fear and distrust.
They understood the severity of their sin. They understood that Joseph would do no wrong if he judged them. They feared Joseph. And so they offered sincere repentance, saying, “Before your father died he commanded, saying, ‘Thus you shall say to Joseph: “I beg you, please forgive the trespass of your brothers and their sin; for they did evil to you.” Now, please, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of your father.’” (Gen. 50:16-17). Humbly they fell before Joseph pledging their obedience and submission (Gen. 50:18). They now volunteered to do the very thing which Joseph’s dreams had predicted (Gen. 37:5-9) and which they had sought to avoid by their sin against him (Gen. 37:19-20).
Joseph’s response is a model for all who would respond in a godly way to unfair treatment or ungodly persecution: Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid, for am I in the place of God? 20 But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive. 21 Now therefore, do not be afraid; I will provide for you and your little ones.” And he comforted them and spoke kindly to them. (Gen. 50:19-21).
Vengeance belongs to God, not man. Joseph would not consider usurping a prerogative that belonged only to God (cf. Romans 12:19; I Thessalonians 5:15; I Peter 4:19). Furthermore, while their attitudes and actions were evil, the result was intended by God for the good of all (verse 20; cf. 45:5-8; Acts 2:23). How could Joseph be angry when good had come of their sin through God’s providence? Instead, Joseph returned kindness for cruelty (cf. Proverbs 25:21-22; Romans 12:20,21). The kindness Joseph had shown while his father was alive would continue he reassured them.[3]
We serve a God who is able to use that which is evil to bring about good. Never does this minimize or dismiss the evil that others do, but it does give us hope to know that God is sovereign even over the sinful actions of others. “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28). In the story of Joseph, we have a clear illustration of this. His brothers meant evil against him, but God meant it for good.
Most of us are quick to see God’s goodness in the blessings of life, but not so quick to discern His goodness in the trials. Jacob was like that. When his sons returned from their first trip down to Egypt to buy grain, and the unknown lord of the land (Joseph) had taken Simeon captive and was demanding that Benjamin accompany them on the return visit, Jacob wailed, “You have bereaved me of my children: Joseph is no more, and Simeon is no more, and you would take Benjamin; all these things are against me” (42:36). But, in fact, all these things were not against him. The truth was, that God was for him. Even the trial of the famine was being used to reunite him with his beloved Joseph and to provide for all his needs for the rest of his life.[4]
Joseph knew this. He was able to see that God could use that which was meant for evil for good, and it helped him to forgive, knowing that he was not in the place of God to take vengeance on his brothers. God was working through His providence to unite the fractured family of Jacob into a nation, to preserve them as a people, and to use them to bless the whole world through the Savior-to-come.
Finally, we see,
3. The Death of Joseph – Future Possession
More than 50 years elapsed between Genesis 50:21 and 22. Moses was intent on placing the deaths of Jacob and Joseph side by side so we would see the parallels. Again we can see how truly blessed by God Joseph was with long life and being able to see even his great grandchildren.
But the real emphasis here is on the final words of Joseph in Genesis 50:24-25, “24 And Joseph said to his brethren, “I am dying; but God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land to the land of which He swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.” 25 Then Joseph took an oath from the children of Israel, saying, “God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here.”” Notice the repetition here, “God will surely visit you.” It is interesting and significant that the one event in Joseph’s faithful life on which the New Testament writer of Hebrews comments was this event. “By faith Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the departure of the children of Israel, and gave instructions concerning his bones” (Heb. 11:22).[5]
Although the exodus of Israel from Egypt was not to take place for hundreds of years Joseph’s faith looked forward and said, “Do not forget Canaan to which you are going.”[6] Joseph believed in the promise of God. He not only believed it, he acted on it, making his family swear to carry his bones out of Egypt with them and bury him in Canaan.
The contrast between 1 and 50:26 is surely more than an ordinary coincidence. The book opens with life, it ends with death—“in a coffin in Egypt,” because in between had come sin which brings forth death. And yet Joseph’s coffin spoke of life as well as of death. It was a symbol of hope, a message of patience, a guarantee of life everlasting. When Joseph ordered them to carry his body out of Egypt, he is believing in immortality. Genesis, with its coffin in Egypt, was followed by Exodus, which means departure, deliverance; and Joseph spoke of that exodus, that salvation, which God would accomplish in His time.[7]
After centuries of watching and waiting that coffin was carried up out of Egypt: “And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for he had placed the children of Israel under solemn oath, saying, “God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here with you.”” (Exo. 13:19). Then for forty years, that coffin accompanied the people of Israel wherever they went, and at length came the fulfillment of Joseph’s hopes. In the days of Joshua “The bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel had brought up out of Egypt, they buried at Shechem” (Josh. 24:32).[8]
All this means that “a coffin in Egypt” is not just the end of this great book of beginnings. More importantly, it is part of the beginning of the end. For it is the testimony of one, who like many others, looked for the coming of Him who was to destroy death, crushing Satan’s head.[9]
And so as we bring the book of Genesis to a close, to you want to sum up the message of Genesis we remember that:
Sin kills (Adam)
Judgement is sure (Noah)
Salvation is by grace through faith (Abraham)
God’s salvation comes through substitutionary sacrifice (Isaac)
All whom God saves He conforms into the image of His Son (Jacob)
God causes all things to work together for good (Joseph)
So set your mind on things above, not on earthly things.
Genesis reveals God as a holy God who judges sin. The God of Genesis is one who provides salvation from His judgment apart from man’s efforts and in spite of man’s failures. Genesis reveals a sovereign God who chooses His servants according to grace, not human merit, and who works all things after the counsel of His will. Genesis reveals God not only as Creator, but also as Law-Giver, Judge, Preserver, and Redeemer. Genesis tells us who God is, who we are, and what we must do. Our Savior Jesus Christ is there in promise and in type. God prepares the way for Christ through His divine providence.
Genesis begins with life and ends in death, a sad reminder of the effects of sin on this world and on mankind. But that is the point, isn’t it? Genesis is not the end. It is the beginning. The rest of the Bible will bring us the end of the story, the redemption through Christ that was promised and foreshadowed in Genesis.
As we approach the end of our study in the book of Genesis it’s good to remind ourselves of the big picture. We began the book with God’s good creation where God blessed mankind and gave them dominion over the earth. They lived in Paradise, in the newly created Garden of Eden, where all was right and good in the world under God’s righteous rule. After mankind sinned in Genesis 3 bringing the curse of death, God gave the promise of the seed of the woman who would eventually crush the head of the serpent, that is, destroy the usurped dominion of Satan and bring redemption to mankind and restoration to creation.
In Genesis 4-6 we saw the increasing wickedness of mankind that culminated in the Flood to destroy the earth with God saving only a small remnant in the family of Noah in the ark. As mankind again began to populate the world, man’s pride and rebellion at the Tower of Babel resulted in God’s sovereign judgment of the multiplication of tongues and men’s dispersion on the earth.
Then in Genesis 11 and 12, we saw God call one man, Abraham, to leave his country, his family, and his home to go to the land of Canaan, promising to give all that land to Abraham and his descendants. God promised to bless him and his descendants, to make of them a great nation, and to bless all the families of the earth through Abraham’s seed. God passed on those promises to Abraham’s son Isaac, to his son Jacob, and now to Jacob’s twelve sons.[1]
In all these narratives of Genesis, we have seen God’s sovereign providence at work in protecting and prospering Abraham, then Isaac, then Jacob, and now Joseph to fulfill God’s promises and accomplish God’s ultimate purposes. But it has been a rough road. These men have faltered in their faith at times, have sinned against God and men, and have seemed to jeopardize the very plan of God to save the world. God has tested these men both through prosperity and through affliction. And through all of it, good and bad, God is accomplishing His sovereign purposes and fulfilling His gracious promises.
God had promised to bless Abraham, to make him a great nation, and to bless all nations through his descendants. In Genesis 47 we see God beginning to bless Abraham’s descendants and to use them to be a blessing to others. Throughout this chapter we see the contrast between the prosperity of Israel and the poverty of the Egyptians—yet also how they both were saved through the famine by God’s providence and Joseph’s wise administration.
Let’s divide this chapter into three parts from which we can draw three points of application for our walk with God. In Genesis 47:1-12, Jacob and his sons appear before Pharaoh, settle in Goshen, and God provides for them through Joseph. In this section, we see the principle of distinctness for God’s people. In Genesis 47:13-26, Moses describes the desperate situation of the Egyptians and Joseph’s wise administration in the famine. Here we see the principle of blessing others. Then in Genesis 47:27-31, Jacob has Joseph promise to bury him in Canaan when he dies, not in Egypt. It shows us the principle of priorities.[2]
1. Israel obtains permission from Pharoah to settle in Goshen (Gen. 47:1-12)
At the end of Genesis 46, we saw the reunion of Jacob with his son Joseph (Gen. 46:29-30) and the relocation of Jacob’s entire family to Egypt. Joseph had brought them to the land of Goshen (Gen. 46:28) and prepared his family to meet Pharaoh, instructing them to tell Pharaoh that they are shepherds and keepers of livestock (Gen. 46:31-34) so that Pharaoh would approve of them settling in Goshen. Now In Genesis 47, Joseph brings his family before Pharaoh:
1 Then Joseph went and told Pharaoh, and said, “My father and my brothers, their flocks and their herds and all that they possess, have come from the land of Canaan; and indeed they are in the land of Goshen.” 2 And he took five men from among his brothers and presented them to Pharaoh. 3 Then Pharaoh said to his brothers, “What is your occupation?” And they said to Pharaoh, “Your servants are shepherds, both we and also our fathers.” 4 And they said to Pharaoh, “We have come to dwell in the land, because your servants have no pasture for their flocks, for the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. Now therefore, please let your servants dwell in the land of Goshen.” (Gen. 47:1-4).
Why would Joseph want to keep his family in the land of Goshen? Let me suggest several reasons, beginning with those least important.[3] First, Goshen must have been some of the best land in Egypt. When Pharaoh heard about Joseph’s family in Genesis 45, he had said to Joseph, “Bring your father and your households and come to me; I will give you the best of the land of Egypt, and you will eat the fat of the land.” (Gen. 45:18). Now, here in Genesis 47, that is what Pharaoh says he is giving them in the land of Goshen:
5 Then Pharaoh spoke to Joseph, saying, “Your father and your brothers have come to you. 6 The land of Egypt is before you. Have your father and brothers dwell in the best of the land; let them dwell in the land of Goshen. And if you know any competent men among them, then make them chief herdsmen over my livestock.” (Gen. 47:5-6).
Second, Goshen was located close to Joseph so it made it easy for him to provide for them in the famine. In Genesis 45:10-11, Joseph told his brothers, “You shall dwell in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near to me, you and your children, your children’s children, your flocks and your herds, and all that you have. There I will provide for you, lest you and your household, and all that you have, come to poverty; for there are still five years of famine.”
But by far the most important reason for Joseph settling his family in the land of Goshen was to keep them isolated and insulated from the culture and religion of Egypt. They were to tell Pharaoh the truth that they were shepherds because as Joseph pointed out in Genesis 46:34, “every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians.” Joseph saw the disdain for shepherds as a blessing in that it would keep the two cultures from merging.
Joseph was spiritually strong enough to survive life in the city, at the palace, and amid a pagan culture, but his brothers had already proven their propensity to compromise and even intermarry with pagans in Canaan. What would become of the nation Israel if they were integrated into Egyptian life? Joseph clearly saw the need for separation, and thus he ensured that his family settled in Goshen. Joseph’s concern was that God’s people, Joseph’s family, maintain their distinctiveness.
When I look at Jacob’s sons as they approach the Pharaoh, king of Egypt, I can’t help but think of what Peter writes in the New Testament,
11 Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul ,12 having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation.
13 Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to the king as supreme, 14 or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good. 15 For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men–16 as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God.17 Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.
One of the greatest needs for God’s people today is that we would be distinct from the world, set apart unto God. The biblical term for that is holiness.[4] Biblical holiness is not asceticism, not cloistering yourself away in your own Christian monastery. It is standing apart from the corrupt culture of this world by living according to God’s word. One reason holiness is hard is that we all want to be liked by the world.
Jacob’s family had to anticipate the scorn of the Egyptians in their commitment to live separately unto God in Goshen because shepherds were loathsome to the Egyptians (Gen. 46:34). “You have to recognize upfront that if you’re going to follow the Lord, you may not win any popularity contests. You may be respected, as Joseph was. But more often than not, the world ridicules you behind your back, if not to your face, for living a holy life.”[5]
In Genesis 47:7-10 we see Jacob’s interview before Pharaoh:
7 Then Joseph brought in his father Jacob and set him before Pharaoh; and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. 8 Pharaoh said to Jacob, “How old are you?” 9 And Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The days of the years of my pilgrimage are one hundred and thirty years; few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.” 10 So Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from before Pharaoh.
Jacob’s emphasis as he describes his life is that he is a pilgrim. He has been a sojourner. He has endured evil from circumstances, from others, and as consequences of his own sins. But the hand of God’s providence has been on Jacob all along. So Jacob has lived as his father Isaac and his grandfather Abraham, as a pilgrim of God, as one who belongs to a better country, as a stranger in this world.
So, in partial fulfillment of the promise of God to bless the nations of the earth through Israel, Jacob blessed Pharaoh. The exact words are not recorded, but probably it was a prayer that God would prosper Pharaoh and be gracious to him. Hebrews 7:7 reminds us “Now beyond all contradiction the lesser is blessed by the better.” Although Pharaoh is the ruler of the land, he is the lesser. In God’s plan, this lowly shepherd Jacob is the greater. God’s hand of providence is upon Jacob. The presence of Jacob in Egypt was a blessing to the emerging nation of Israel, but it also greatly blessed Pharaoh and the Egyptians. The Abrahamic Covenant is finding partial fulfillment in this sojourn.
Then finally we see God providing for Jacob and his family through Joseph.
11 And Joseph situated his father and his brothers, and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded. 12 Then Joseph provided his father, his brothers, and all his father’s household with bread, according to the number in their families. (Gen. 47:11-12).
In the next section we see that,
2. Joseph administers resources during the famine (Gen. 47:13-26)
Listen to how God worked through Joseph’s wisdom to provide for Egypt during the famine:
13 Now there was no bread in all the land; for the famine was very severe, so that the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan languished because of the famine. 14 And Joseph gathered up all the money that was found in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, for the grain which they bought; and Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh’s house. 15 So when the money failed in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came to Joseph and said, “Give us bread, for why should we die in your presence? For the money has failed.” 16 Then Joseph said, “Give your livestock, and I will give you bread for your livestock, if the money is gone.” 17 So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and Joseph gave them bread in exchange for the horses, the flocks, the cattle of the herds, and for the donkeys. Thus he fed them with bread in exchange for all their livestock that year. 18 When that year had ended, they came to him the next year and said to him, “We will not hide from my lord that our money is gone; my lord also has our herds of livestock. There is nothing left in the sight of my lord but our bodies and our lands. 19 Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land for bread, and we and our land will be servants of Pharaoh; give us seed, that we may live and not die, that the land may not be desolate.” 20 Then Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh; for every man of the Egyptians sold his field, because the famine was severe upon them. So the land became Pharaoh’s. 21 And as for the people, he moved them into the cities, from one end of the borders of Egypt to the other end. 22 Only the land of the priests he did not buy; for the priests had rations allotted to them by Pharaoh, and they ate their rations which Pharaoh gave them; therefore they did not sell their lands. 23 Then Joseph said to the people, “Indeed I have bought you and your land this day for Pharaoh. Look, here is seed for you, and you shall sow the land. 24 And it shall come to pass in the harvest that you shall give one-fifth to Pharaoh. Four-fifths shall be your own, as seed for the field and for your food, for those of your households and as food for your little ones.” 25 So they said, “You have saved our lives; let us find favor in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh’s servants.” 26 And Joseph made it a law over the land of Egypt to this day, that Pharaoh should have one-fifth, except for the land of the priests only, which did not become Pharaoh’s.
Jacob’s word of blessing to Pharaoh was fulfilled in deed by Joseph’s wise administration on Pharaoh’s behalf. Notice the contrast between Genesis 47:12, which states that Joseph provided his family with food, and Genesis 47:13 which says that there was no food in the land because of the famine. God’s people prospered while the Egyptians used up their money, then their cattle, then offered their land, and finally themselves to become Pharaoh’s slaves so that they could survive this famine.
Some commentators criticize Joseph for being harsh and degrading these people through slavery. But it is a mistake to read this story through the lens of our own history with slavery or our modern culture. The Egyptians’ evaluation of Joseph was, “You have saved our lives; let us find favor in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh’s servants” (Gen. 47:25). If they were happy with him, who are we to criticize him? This was a life-and-death situation. Their concern wasn’t democracy; it was survival and this Joseph ensured for them.[6]
It was no small feat for Joseph to please Pharaoh while at the same time pleasing the people so much that they thank him while he sells them into slavery and taxes them at 20 percent! Joseph did what few have done: he was a skillful administrator while at the same time he was a man who put first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. He was truly a blessing to others.
This is the principle of blessing others. Whether at work, in the neighborhood, or at school, God wants you to bless others. Seek the best interests of your employer and fellow employees at work. He wants you to be His channel for blessing to those around you. How do you do that? The same way that Joseph did—by maintaining your integrity through a close walk with God.
So wherever God has you, God has designed for you to be distinct as a Christian and to be a blessing to those around you through your godly behavior and your gracious words of witness.
Finally, we see in the last section,
3. Joseph promises to bury Jacob in Canaan (Gen. 47:27-31)
27 So Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the country of Goshen; and they had possessions there and grew and multiplied exceedingly. 28 And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years. So the length of Jacob’s life was one hundred and forty-seven years. 29 When the time drew near that Israel must die, he called his son Joseph and said to him, “Now if I have found favor in your sight, please put your hand under my thigh, and deal kindly and truly with me. Please do not bury me in Egypt, 30 but let me lie with my fathers; you shall carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their burial place.” And he said, “I will do as you have said.” 31 Then he said, “Swear to me.” And he swore to him. So Israel bowed himself on the head of the bed. (Gen 47:27-31).
The final 17 years of Jacob’s life were probably some of his best. He had all his children with him. His family prospered in Egypt. They enjoyed favor with Pharaoh. It might have been easy for Jacob to think, “Egypt isn’t such a bad place. We’ve had a good life here. God has taken care of us. We could just settle here permanently.” But instead, as he came near to death, he called Joseph and made him swear that he would bury him in Canaan, not in Egypt. He wanted his posterity to remember that God had promised them the land of Canaan, not Egypt. Jacob knew that this was only part of the journey, part of the pilgrimage. He was not home yet.
The writer of Hebrews says about these Patriarchs:
13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. 14 For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland. 15 And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them. (Hebrews 11:13-16).
We must have this same attitude about our homeland. Jesus has gone to prepare a place for us (John 14:1-2). Our citizenship is in heaven (Phil. 3:20). So, “Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.” (Col. 3:2). Jacob had known much adversity. He said, “few and evil have been the days of the years of my life” (Gen. 47:8). Jacob also knew prosperity. Both of them drove him to long for his ultimate home.
If you’re suffering right now, I don’t have to tell you to long for heaven, That is a natural response. But if you are prospering, let me remind you what Jacob knew: don’t get too attached to this place. This is not the end—it’s a pilgrimage. We are aliens and strangers on this earth. All that God has done, is doing, and will do, Is NOT about the betterment of this life, It is about fulfilling His plan for eternity.
This is the principle of priorities. The call is whether things are bad here or good here, remember that either way, we will not stay here. Jacob never lost sight of the promise. We must remember that our purpose for being here is not to accumulate the things Egypt has to offer. We’re here to further God’s purpose, to proclaim the good news of the kingdom of Jesus Christ. The plan of God is to prepare you for eternity. The plan of God is to take you to heaven, the land of promise. Regardless of how good it gets in Egypt, determine not to settle for it over what God has in store.
Jesus said,
19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; 20 “but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matt. 6:19-21)
If Jesus is your true treasure, heaven is your home. If you’ve never received Christ as your Savior, you may be very successful by this world’s standards, but you’ve missed the prosperity that really counts. Someday soon you will die and then who will own all that you have worked to accumulate? Jesus advises us to be rich toward God. That process begins when by faith you receive God’s offer to forgive your sins and give you eternal life as His free gift.
In Genesis 45 we come to the climax of Joseph’s story. In this text, Joseph, who was hated by his brothers and sold by them into slavery (Gen 37), had been exalted to governor of Egypt (Gen 41). God had been using him to provide for Egypt during a severe famine. In Genesis 42, this same famine caused his own brothers to come from Canaan to Egypt for buy grain. Since Joseph’s brothers didn’t recognize him, he was able to test their character through both harsh treatment and kindness. In his last test when the brothers returned to Egypt with Jacob’s youngest son Benjamin, he prepared an elaborate feast for them and sent them home with great provisions (Gen 43). However, Joseph had his servant plant his silver cup in Benjamin’s luggage, accused him of stealing it, and was going to enslave him. Would the brothers take the resources and leave Benjamin, as they did twenty-two years previously when they sold Joseph into slavery? No, confessed their guilt before God. Judah then made an impassioned appeal for mercy on his aged father, offering himself in place of Benjamin (44:18-34). Speaking for the brothers, Judah poured out his soul evidencing an amazing change of heart. He ended his speech by saying, “Now therefore, please let your servant remain instead of the lad as a slave to my lord, and let the lad go up with his brothers. For how shall I go up to my father if the lad is not with me, lest perhaps I see the evil that would come upon my father?” (Gen. 44:33-34).
The brothers have shown true repentance. God has done a work in their hearts. They are no longer the same men who jealously hated Joseph and callously grieved their father. The stage is set for reconciliation. Now, it is Joseph’s turn to respond. We have witnessed the kindness of Joseph toward his brothers over the last few chapters. Joseph has forgiveness in his heart. Now that the brothers have demonstrated repentance, that forgiveness can be transacted. Reconciliation comes through repentance and forgiveness.
But I want you to notice that although the brothers’ repentance was the occasion for Joseph to express his forgiveness, the basis for Joseph’s forgiveness lies elsewhere. Genesis 45:5-9 Joseph makes one of the most astonishing faith statements found anywhere in the Bible. Joseph bases his forgiveness on the sovereignty of God and His good providence. The key to forgiveness and reconciliation is recognizing the providence of God and submitting ourselves to His sovereignty.
We are going to see that Joseph had a heart of forgiveness, a heart that promoted reconciliation because he had confidence in God. He trusted in God’s providence and submitted himself to God’s sovereign purposes.
Genesis 45 breaks into three parts. In Genesis 45:1-15 we see Joseph revealing himself to his brothers and their reconciliation. Genesis 45:16-24 gives us Pharoah’s response of generosity and Joseph’s instructions. Finally, Genesis 45:25-28 shows us the report of Joseph’s brothers to their father Jacob and his faith-filled response.
1. Reconciliation between brothers (Genesis 45:1-15)
In the first four verses of Genesis 45, Joseph finally reveals himself to his brothers.
1 Then Joseph could not restrain himself before all those who stood by him, and he cried out, “Make everyone go out from me!” So no one stood with him while Joseph made himself known to his brothers. 2 And he wept aloud, and the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard it. 3 Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph; does my father still live?” But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed in his presence. 4 And Joseph said to his brothers, “Please come near to me.” So they came near. Then he said: “I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt.
Now that it was time to reveal himself, Joseph made all the Egyptians leave the room. Why did Joseph wish this to be done alone? For one thing, this was a family matter. It was to be an intimate time between brothers, outsiders might be a distraction. Also, Joseph was overcome by his emotions and did not wish to be a spectacle in front of the Egyptians. Mainly, however, I believe that Joseph commanded everyone to leave except his brothers so that he could deal with the matter of the sin of his brothers in strictest privacy. Personal sin and forgiveness is best dealt with personally, not publicly.
To hear Joseph then command everyone to leave them alone must have struck terror into his brothers’ hearts. Perhaps they would all be thrown into prison or worse yet, sentenced to death. After all, they had been caught with the money and the silver cup. Joseph, powerful the Egyptian governor, then weeps aloud. Was this an expression of deep personal grief or pent-up anger? No—for Joseph, who had previously hidden his emotions from his brothers, these were tears of relief and joy at this long-awaited reconciliation and restoration of fellowship with his brothers.
Finally, Joseph reveals his identity. “I am Joseph; does my father still live?” (Gen. 45:3). They were so surprised and terrified by this revelation they were dumbstruck: “his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed in his presence” (Gen. 45:3). This word for “dismayed” describes a deep, visceral fear. How foolish and fearful they must be after having told Joseph several times that their brother (Joseph) was dead, only to see the dead man standing before them! No wonder he had been so interested in their younger brother and their father. No wonder he knew their ages when he seated them at the banquet in birth order. No wonder they had bowed down to him—his dreams that they had tried to prevent had shockingly come true!
“Fear and guilt were written on their ashen faces.”[1] It was bad enough to stand before a powerful Egyptian governor who was angered at the theft of a cup—but to realize that this same man was their brother whom they had mistreated and sold into slavery—that was too much! Before this, they might have hoped that the Egyptian would be impartial and show mercy. But now how could they hope for mercy from the one to whom they had been enemies? No wonder they were petrified. Their sin had found them out for sure.
Joseph eases their fears by initiating intimacy. Joseph says: “Please come near to me.” Now, no longer is Joseph the seemingly stern, demanding ruler of Egypt, but their brother. Suddenly they must have understood all the initially harsh treatment from Joseph, the tests he had put them through, the cross-examinations about their father and Benjamin, the money returned in their sacks, their royal luncheon in the governor’s mansion, and the trap of the silver cup.
When they came close enough to truly look at their lost brother, he said, “I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt” (Gen. 45:4). He does not remind them of their sin to rub it in or to hurt them, but to prove that he truly was their long-lost brother. He does not minimize their sin but forgives it.
In Genesis 45:5-8 we learn how Joseph was able to forgive the great evil his brothers had done against him, how he was able to look past all the affliction he endured from them, from Potiphar, in the prison—all his years of suffering—Joseph believed that God ordained all these things for good. Listen to Joseph’s faith:
5 But now, do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life. 6 For these two years the famine has been in the land, and there are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. 7 And God sent me before you to preserve a posterity for you in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. 8 So now it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.
From verse 5 to verse 9, Joseph mentions God’s name four times: “God sent me before you to preserve life” (Gen. 45:5); “God sent me before you to preserve a posterity for you in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance,” (Gen. 45:7); “So now it was not you who sent me here, but God,” (Gen. 45:8); “God has made me lord of all Egypt,” (Gen. 45:9).
Joseph’s focus was on God, on God’s providence, God’s preservation, and God’s purposes. Joseph was a man who saw God in everything. Remember when Potiphar’s wife tried to seduce Joseph? He immediately thought of God: “How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?” (Gen. 39:9). When Joseph was in the dungeon and the cupbearer and baker had their dreams, Joseph’s response was, “Do not interpretations belong to God?” (Gen. 40:8). When he was called before Pharaoh to interpret his dreams, Joseph said, “It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace.” (Gen. 41:16). And in giving Pharaoh God’s interpretation, Joseph used God’s name four times to underscore that “the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass,” (Gen. 41:32; also 41:25, 28).
When Joseph’s wife bore him two sons, he gave them names that bore witness to God’s faithfulness. He named the first Manasseh, saying, “For God has made me forget all my toil and all my father’s house”; and he named the second Ephraim, saying, “For God has caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction,” (Gen. 41:51, 52). When Joseph’s brothers came to buy grain, even though Joseph wanted to disguise himself from them, he could not hide his relationship with God. He told them, “Do this and live, for I fear God” (Gen. 42:18). When they returned with Benjamin, Joseph, still disguising himself, said to his brother, “God be gracious to you, my son,” (Gen. 43:29). Joseph obviously instructed his steward to tell the worried brothers concerning the money returned to their sacks, “Your God and the God of your father has given you treasure in your sacks,” (Gen. 43:23).
More than anything else, this was the secret of Joseph’s life: He saw God everywhere. He had such a profound sense of God’s presence that he understood that every event in his life must somehow be ascribed to the hand of God working behind the scenes. The sovereign God was at the center of Joseph’s life and now God is at the center of Joseph’s forgiveness.
When Joseph says, “So now it was not you who sent me here, but God” (Gen. 45:8), he means to say more than simply “God was there” when all the bad things happened. That is true, of course, but it does not comprehend the full sense of his words. Joseph means to say, “God was in charge of the whole process.” It’s not as if the brothers sold him into slavery and then God intervened to bring about a good result. His words demand something more than that. Joseph means that everything that happened—the good and the bad—was part of God’s ultimate plan for his life. He was sent to Egypt to save the lives of his own family—the very brothers who had betrayed him. This was God’s plan from the beginning, and that fact alone explains all that happened to him. What a profound view this is of the sovereignty of God.[2]
Joseph says to his brothers, “But now, do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life.” (Gen. 45:5). Though what the brothers did to Joseph was cruel (and they were fully responsible for what they did), nonetheless God was at work, using their wicked treatment of Joseph to accomplish His sovereign purposes. God was in control of his life, not the brothers. Nothing had happened by chance or coincidence. God ordained the brothers’ evil actions to achieve His good purposes. Joseph sees God’s good purpose worked out in three ways: to preserve life (Gen. 45:5); to preserve a posterity (Gen. 45:7), and to save by a great deliverance (Gen. 45:7).
If we believe in the sovereignty of God, we have a reason to forgive those who hurt us deeply. To forgive means to clear the record so that we no longer cling to the hurts of the past. This is only possible when we come to see that those who have hurt us, even our enemies, are agents of the Lord, sent by Him for reasons that we may never fully understand. These things have not happened just because of evil men—but because of a good God.
When we understand that God is sovereign over all things, even over the evil that men do, it frees us to forgive even as we have been forgiven in Christ. How do we do this? By faith. We choose to believe that God is at work in everything that happens to us. And we choose to believe that even when we see nothing at all that makes sense to us. Faith like that is made strong when it is based on the Word of God. And that’s why the story of Joseph is so important.
The unsaved have no hope in this world. To those who don’t know Christ, bad things happen with no ultimate purpose. Not so for those who know the Lord. As the Christian navigates a tempestuous ocean, he does so knowing that an All-wise, Almighty Pilot is at the helm. Even when the waves rise around him and threaten to cast him into the deep, he has no fear. Though he does not know what will happen in the short run, he is certain that in the long run God’s plan for his life will be worked out perfectly. Therefore, he is satisfied and has perfect peace in his soul.[3]
The Christian firmly believes that Romans 8:28 is true in every circumstance. He believes that all things work together for his good and for God’s glory because God has said it is so. Thus he walks by faith, not by sight. He firmly believes that someday he will see all the links in the chain of circumstances that led him from earth to heaven. And in that day he will bless the Lord for his sovereign wisdom displayed in every circumstance of life. With that confidence, he can rest in the Lord now, knowing all will be well later.
That’s the main point of this chapter. The rest of Genesis 45 just reinforces that point.
2. Pharoah’s blessing and charge to Joseph (Genesis 45:16-24)
16 Now the report of it was heard in Pharaoh’s house, saying, “Joseph’s brothers have come.” So it pleased Pharaoh and his servants well. 17 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Say to your brothers, “Do this: Load your animals and depart; go to the land of Canaan. 18 Bring your father and your households and come to me; I will give you the best of the land of Egypt, and you will eat the fat of the land. 19 Now you are commanded–do this: Take carts out of the land of Egypt for your little ones and your wives; bring your father and come. 20 Also do not be concerned about your goods, for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours.”‘
Can you see God at work here? By God’s providence when Pharaoh heard about Joseph’s family he welcomed them and provided for them for Joseph’s sake. This was an extravagant and abundant provision for their needs. This is the heart of God, who provides for us “abundantly above all that we could ask or think” (Eph. 3:20). This is the heart of God to those who are repentant, forgiven, and reconciled.[4]
21 Then the sons of Israel did so; and Joseph gave them carts, according to the command of Pharaoh, and he gave them provisions for the journey. 22 He gave to all of them, to each man, changes of garments; but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver and five changes of garments. 23 And he sent to his father these things: ten donkeys loaded with the good things of Egypt, and ten female donkeys loaded with grain, bread, and food for his father for the journey. 24 So he sent his brothers away, and they departed; and he said to them, “See that you do not become troubled along the way.”
Joseph’s forgiveness was expressed in his generosity and kindness to his brothers. He believed that God had a plan to bring his family, God’s covenant people, to Egypt for a time just as God had promised to Abraham many years before. By this God would make them a great nation and provide for them a great deliverance.
Joseph tells them, “See that you do not become troubled along the way” (Gen. 45:24). They would naturally be troubled about what to say to Jacob, for now, for the first time in all these years, they would have to tell him the truth about Joseph. Now they were caught in the lie that they had concealed so long and so well. Also, they might be troubled about returning to Egypt. How would they live among the Egyptians, people of different language, culture, and religion? How would they be treated when they returned? Would their relationship with Joseph be smooth and happy?
Joseph wanted them to trust in God as he did. That trust in God would keep them from becoming troubled.
Finally, we see,
3. Revival in the heart of Jacob (Genesis 45:25-28)
25 Then they went up out of Egypt, and came to the land of Canaan to Jacob their father. 26 And they told him, saying, “Joseph is still alive, and he is governor over all the land of Egypt.” And Jacob’s heart stood still, because he did not believe them. 27 But when they told him all the words which Joseph had said to them, and when he saw the carts which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob their father revived. 28 Then Israel said, “It is enough. Joseph my son is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.”
Notice Jacob’s response is one of faith also, “It is enough. Joseph my son is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.” Jacob is convinced that Joseph is alive, and that realization breathes new life into him. Suddenly he has the courage to make the long trek to Egypt. Words of truth, words of good news bring Jacob comfort and courage. God has brought Jacob’s son back from the dead. He will trust in God’s providence.
God is sovereign over all the events in our lives. Therefore, nothing happens outside the good purposes of God. Sometimes God uses the evil deeds of evildoers to further His own plans in the world. When Christ was born, the Father used the paranoia of Herod the Great to guide the Magi to Bethlehem. Later He used Herod’s slaughter of the innocents to lead Mary and Joseph and the baby Jesus to Egypt so that the Scripture could be fulfilled that says, “Out of Egypt I called my Son” (Matt. 2:13-15).
We see this even clearer in the events surrounding the death of Christ. Who killed Jesus? For 2,000 years men have argued that question. Did the Jews kill Jesus? Yes, plotted to have Him killed; they called for Him to be crucified and handed Him over to Pilate and asked for a murderer to be released instead of Jesus. What about the Pilate? He knew Jesus was not guilty and still handed Him over to be crucified. The Romans were the only ones with the legal power to put someone to death—and they put to death this innocent man. And in a larger sense, is not the whole sinful world of humanity guilty of His death? Did not our sins put Him on the cross? There is plenty of guilt to go around in the death of Jesus Christ.
But what about God? Though God cannot be “guilty” of the death of Christ, was not the death of Jesus part of the Father’s plan from the beginning? The answer is yes. Jesus was the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8). How do we reconcile the plan of God with human guilt in the death of Christ? Here is Peter’s answer as he preached in Jerusalem to some of the very men who participated in the death of our Lord: “Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death” (Acts 2:23). Jesus’ death was not some afterthought with God, as if it happened because events suddenly spun out of control. He died according to the “definite plan and foreknowledge” of God, and He could not have died otherwise. But His death took place at the hands of “lawless men” who stand guilty before the Lord. Even though we may not fully see it, there is perfect harmony between God’s predestination and the free moral choices of sinful men. In the case of Christ, God used the wicked deeds of wicked men in crucifying the Son of God to bring salvation to the world.
In our journey through this last section of Genesis which tells the story of Joseph, we have observed two predominant themes.[1] First, we have seen the providence of God—that God works in all the circumstances of this world and our lives to accomplish His will for His glory. God’s providence is Him actively sustaining and governing the universe for His purposes. Even when God is not seen or recognized, He is not absent or passive. Secondly, we have seen that God is fulfilling His promises to Abraham and His purpose to make of Jacob’s family a great nation through whom He will bless the whole world. Like all of scripture, this story in Genesis finds its ultimate meaning and fulfillment in the Savior of the world, our Lord Jesus Christ.
Genesis 41 is a long chapter, so we will not read the whole thing at the beginning, but in sections as we walk through the text. We can outline Genesis 41 in four words:[2] dreams, interpretation, plan, promotion. Pharaoh had two disturbing dreams which none of his advisors could interpret. Joseph was brought before Pharoah and God enabled him to interpret the dreams which predicted seven years of plenty followed by seven years of famine. Joseph advised Pharoah of a plan of action for the future of Egypt. Pharoah then promoted Joseph to second-highest in Egypt and Joseph implemented his program to save Egypt from the coming famine. In all of this, we will see the hand of God’s sovereign providence directing these events according to His purpose.
1. Pharaoh’s dreams (Gen. 41:1-13)
1 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. (Gen. 41:1-8).
Moses informs us that “two full years” had passed since Joseph had given the chief butler a favorable interpretation of his dream and had implored him to remember him and rescue him from prison. But we know from the last verse of Genesis 40 that, “the chief butler did not remember Joseph, but forgot him,” (Gen. 40:23). God had a perfect time for Joseph’s release and elevation.
The occasion for it was the dreams of Pharoah, king of Egypt. Later in the chapter, we will learn that God gave these dreams to Pharoah (Gen. 41:25, 28, 32). The dreams were dramatic and disturbing. After each, Pharaoh was awakened (Gen. 41:4, 7). The dreams were distressing to Pharaoh because they followed one-on-another, interrupted by him being awakened. Their meaning was puzzling, for the seven lean cows remained lean and gaunt, even after consuming the fat cattle. The same was true with the grain. It was not normal for cows to eat cows or grain to consume grain, but surely the lean things should have been fattened by what they ate. Something had to be wrong, but what was it?
The king’s usual sources of information, “all the magicians of Egypt and all its wise men” (Gen. 41:8), were totally baffled, as was Pharaoh. These were the wisest, best-educated men of Pharaoh’s kingdom, schooled in the art of interpreting dreams but could not fathom the meaning of the dream. Ligon Duncan comments:
Moses is putting before you a picture of the god of Egypt, Pharaoh, stumped. He hasn’t a clue what is going to happen in his own land, the land over which he reigns. And so he’s showing us a picture of the weakness of the gods of this age and of this world, and he’s preparing us to contrast Pharaoh with Himself, the God of Joseph, who knows and reveals the future.[3]
Though Pharaoh was the mightiest man in Egypt and thought to be a god by his subjects, he was helpless to understand his own dream. Money and power and worldly success may gain many things, but it is all worthless in discerning the things of God. The magicians were stumped as well. A thousand years of pagan religion could not reveal the truth. This crisis exposes the futility of the world in the things that matter most. It reveals the true condition of the human mind and heart apart from God. Without divine revelation, human wisdom and power can never discover the truth of God or salvation. That must “come down” from God above.
Paul asks in 1 Corinthians 1:20, “Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?” and then answers, “But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Cor. 2:14).
The king’s frustration at having such impressive dreams and yet being unable to know their meaning reminded the chief butler of his dream and of Joseph. Look at Genesis 41:9-13:
9 Then the chief butler spoke to Pharaoh, saying: “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 interpretation 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.” (Gen. 41:9-13).
Now we begin to see God’s providence in sending the butler to the prison where Joseph served him and interpreted his dream. We might have wondered why the chief butler forgot Joseph and why God let him languish in prison for two more years. But now we see that God had prepared Joseph for this appointed time. So Joseph was hurriedly brought out of Potiphar’s dungeon to stand before the king.
2. Joseph’s interpretation (Gen. 41:14-32).
14 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. 15 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.” 16 So Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, “It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace.” (Gen. 41:14-16).
Moses gives us the little details of his accurate account that Joseph shaved and changed clothes before bring brought before Pharoah. This was not just “cleaning up,” which surely was needed; it was a cultural necessity. To the Hebrews, a beard was a mark of dignity (cf. II Samuel 10:4-5; Ezra 9:3), but for the Egyptian, it was an offensive thing.[4]
Don’t you love Joseph’s answer to Pharoah about his ability to interpret dreams? “It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace.” (Gen. 41:16). The ability to interpret dreams, which the butler and Pharaoh had credited to Joseph, was not his at all. Only God can interpret dreams, Joseph quickly corrected.
God is the revealer of the future. Joseph is going to reveal the future, not because he has some innate power to know the interpretations of dreams, but because God Himself controls the future and reveals it as He wills. Joseph was clear on that. He didn’t let the splendor of Pharaoh and his palace make him forget, “Without God, I’m nothing. He is the source of any ability I have to interpret dreams.”[5] And Joseph didn’t just think to himself that God was the source of his ability to interpret dreams; he gave that testimony to Pharaoh. H. C. Leupold writes, “After twelve years and more of injustice Joseph’s first consideration is not deliverance but to take care that his relation to his God be entirely upright”.[6]
Is that your first thought when someone asks you about your talents or success? If your daily aim is to do all things to the glory of God, then you’ll be quick to speak bear witness of Him when opportunities arise.
Pharaoh then eagerly repeated his dreams to Joseph, closing by confessing the inability of his most able counselors to give him any word of explanation:
17 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph: “Behold, in my dream I stood on the bank of the river. 18 Suddenly seven cows came up out of the river, fine looking and fat; and they fed in the meadow. 19 Then behold, seven other cows came up after them, poor and very ugly and gaunt, such ugliness as I have never seen in all the land of Egypt. 20 And the gaunt and ugly cows ate up the first seven, the fat cows. 21 When they had eaten them up, no one would have known that they had eaten them, for they were just as ugly as at the beginning. So I awoke. 22 Also I saw in my dream, and suddenly seven heads came up on one stalk, full and good. 23 Then behold, seven heads, withered, thin, and blighted by the east wind, sprang up after them. 24 And the thin heads devoured the seven good heads. So I told this to the magicians, but there was no one who could explain it to me.”
Joseph immediately has the interpretation from God:
25 Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “The dreams of Pharaoh are one; God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do: 26 The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good heads are seven years; the dreams are one. 27 And the seven thin and ugly cows which came up after them are seven years, and the seven empty heads blighted by the east wind are seven years of famine. 28 This is the thing which I have spoken to Pharaoh. God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do. 29 Indeed seven years of great plenty will come throughout all the land of Egypt; 30 but after them seven years of famine will arise, and all the plenty will be forgotten in the land of Egypt; and the famine will deplete the land. 31 So the plenty will not be known in the land because of the famine following, for it will be very severe. 32 And the dream was repeated to Pharaoh twice because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass.
Joseph interprets and explains the dreams to Pharaoh. But as he does so, he makes it clear that God is not only the revealer of dreams, He is the one who, in fact, ordains the future. His God not only knows what is going to happen, but He knows what is going to happen because He has ordained what is going to happen.[7] Twice Joseph says, “God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do” (Gen. 41:25, 28). And again in Genesis 41:32, Joseph testifies, “the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass.” The future of Egypt does not depend on Pharoah—it is God who is sovereign over the events of this world. He directs the events of this world according to His purposes for His glory.
Job came to this realization and said to the LORD, “I know that You can do everything, And that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You” (Job 42:2). Nebuchadnezzar, the powerful King of Babylon, also came to understand this after being humbled by the LORD. He said “And at the end of the time I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my understanding returned to me; and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever: For His dominion is an everlasting dominion, And His kingdom is from generation to generation. All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; He does according to His will in the army of heaven And among the inhabitants of the earth. No one can restrain His hand Or say to Him, ‘What have You done?’” (Dan. 4:34-35).
God is able to reveal the future because God ordains the future. So God enabled Joseph to interpret the dreams. How easy it would have been to stop here. There was good news and bad news for Pharaoh—abundance followed by famine. But Joseph gives Pharoah more, a plan for the future.
3. Joseph’s plan (Gen. 14:33-37).
33 “Now therefore, let Pharaoh select a discerning and wise man, and set him over the land of Egypt. 34 Let Pharaoh do this, and let him appoint officers over the land, to collect one-fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt in the seven plentiful years. 35 And let them gather all the food of those good years that are coming, and store up grain under the authority of Pharaoh, and let them keep food in the cities. 36 Then that food shall be as a reserve for the land for the seven years of famine which shall be in the land of Egypt, that the land may not perish during the famine.” 37 So the advice was good in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of all his servants. (Gen. 41:33-37).
When God used Joseph to reveal to Pharaoh what it was that he was about to do in bringing seven years of famine after seven years of great plenty, Joseph did not throw his hands up in the air and say, oh well, what will be, will be. Instead, he proposed a plan of action. Do you see again the conjunction of God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility? This is what God is going to do. This is what you need to do in response. God’s revelation, everywhere in Scripture, always requires a response. If God reveals that He is bringing judgment, what is our response to be?—repentance. If He is bringing us a revelation of warning like this one, what is our response to be?—responsible activity in accordance with what He has revealed.[8]
Joseph’s plan was in five steps:[9] 1) Put the right man in charge (Gen. 41:33); 2) appoint overseers in the land (Gen. 41:34); 3) collect a heavy tax of grain in the seven plentiful years (Gen. 41:34); 4) strategically store and guard the grain (Gen. 41:35); 5) distribute the reserve grain in the seven lean years (Gen. 41:36). Everyone saw the wisdom in Joseph’s plan. So this was the impetus for,
4. Joseph’s promotion and program (Gen. 41:38-57).
38 And Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find such a one as this, a man in whom is the Spirit of God?” 39 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.” 41 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.” 42 Then Pharaoh took his signet ring off his hand and put it on Joseph’s hand; and he clothed him in garments of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck. 43 And he had him ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried out before him, “Bow the knee!” So he set him over all the land of Egypt. 44 Pharaoh also said to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh, and without your consent no man may lift his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.” 45 And Pharaoh called Joseph’s name Zaphnath-Paaneah. And he gave him as a wife Asenath, the daughter of Poti-Pherah priest of On. So Joseph went out over all the land of Egypt.
Though he was a pagan ruler, Pharaoh recognized the work of God’s Spirit when he saw it. He made Joseph the second-in-command, which really made him the second most powerful man in the world. Then he sealed the deal in regal fashion: he gave Joseph his signet ring (like having the King’s credit card); he gave him linen clothing (a sign of high honor); he gave him a gold chain (a sign of royal authority); he gave him a chariot for transportation (so he could go wherever he wished); he had the soldiers call out “Bow down!” when Joseph passed by (so everyone got the message);[10] he gave him a name that to the Egyptians would mean “Savior of the world,” which is exactly what Joseph was to them, and to the Hebrews would mean “Revealer of secrets,” which he would be to his brothers; and finally Pharoah gave Joseph a wife from a priestly family (making him nobility).
How much of this did Joseph see in advance? Not a bit. How much of it happened by chance? None of it. Who was behind it all? God.
The final section serves several purposes. First, it reveals the accuracy of Joseph’s interpretation. Second, it evidences the administrative astuteness of Joseph in handling the affairs of state in preparation for the famine to come. Finally, it reveals to us Joseph’s continued spiritual commitment to the God of his fathers.[11]
46 Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went throughout all the land of Egypt. 47 Now in the seven plentiful years the ground brought forth abundantly. 48 So he gathered up all the food of the seven years which were in the land of Egypt, and laid up the food in the cities; he laid up in every city the food of the fields which surrounded them. 49 Joseph gathered very much grain, as the sand of the sea, until he stopped counting, for it was immeasurable. 50 And to Joseph were born two sons before the years of famine came, whom Asenath, the daughter of Poti-Pherah priest of On, bore to him. 51 Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh: “For God has made me forget all my toil and all my father’s house.” 52 And the name of the second he called Ephraim: “For God has caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction.”
Joseph displays his faith in God in the naming of his sons. Manasseh and Ephraim are Hebrew names. Even though he was living in Egypt and even though he married an Egyptian woman who was the daughter of a pagan priest, Joseph gave his two sons names that would remind them forever of their true heritage. It tells us that though he appeared to be Egyptian on the outside, on the inside he still worshiped the God of his fathers.
He named his firstborn son Manasseh, which sounds like the Hebrew word “forget.” He even spelled out the meaning so no one could mistake it. “God has made me forget all my hardship and my father’s house.” He didn’t mean he had forgotten his family. As we will see later in the story, they remained always close to his heart. But it means that God had enabled him to forget the pain of the rejection and betrayal by his brothers.
The second child he called Ephraim, which means made fruitful. The Hebrew is a form that means something like “super-fruitful.” The “land of my affliction” refers to all that he suffered in Egypt-the false accusation, the unjust imprisonment, and the years of total abandonment. Yet in that place where he had suffered so much, he now experiences untold blessing. J. Vernon McGee called Joseph’s two sons Amnesia (forgotten) and Ambrosia (fruitful).[12]
The order of these names is important. Manasseh must come before Ephraim. First we are set free from bitterness, then we experience God’s blessing. That too was because of God’s sovereignty. When a man believes in a sovereign God, he can let go and move on.[13]
Let me conclude with three observations:
One, this story demonstrates that the LORD is God Most High and Sovereign over all creation. He not only knows the future, He ordains it for His own good purposes.
Two, this story highlights how God begins to fulfill the promises made to Abraham. God had promised to bless him, to make his name great, to make of him a great nation, and to bless the world through him. In Joseph, these promises were initially and partially fulfilled. They are ultimately fulfilled in the seed of Abraham, Jesus Christ, the Son of God who died for our sins and was raised for our justification.
Three, the story of Joseph demonstrates that the proper response to the knowledge of God’s sovereign will is responsible and wise action. It is the same for us. God has revealed His sovereign will to save a people for Himself from every tribe, nation, and language. But God has also given us the responsibility of preaching the gospel to all the world so that men might be saved.
In Genesis 40 we continue the story of Joseph. Remember that Joseph was the favored son of Jacob (Gen. 37:3). At the age of seventeen, his brothers plotted to kill him out of hatred and envy. They hated him for being the favorite (Gen. 37:4), for bringing a bad report to his father about them (Gen. 37:2), and because of his dreams (Gen. 37:5, 11). Those dreams seemed to indicate that Joseph would be exalted above his brothers and rule over them (Gen. 37:8, 10). When Jacob sent Joseph to check on his brothers who were keeping the sheep, they seized the opportunity to kill him, throwing him into a pit and leaving him for dead. Finally, they sold him to Ishmaelite traders who took him captive to Egypt and sold him to Potiphar, a high-ranking official, the captain of the guard.
While a slave to Potiphar Joseph was blessed by the LORD. In time he rose to a position of power within Potiphar’s house. In Genesis 39:4 we read, “So Joseph found favor in his sight, and served him. Then he made him overseer of his house, and all that he had he put under his authority” (Gen. 39:4). Trouble arose when Potiphar’s wife took notice of Joseph—he was a successful and skilled man, handsome in form and appearance. When Joseph refused to sin by lying with her out of his love for God and man, she grew envious and falsely accused him of assault. Potiphar was enraged, and Joseph was sent to prison, “a place where the king’s prisoners were confined …” (Gen. 39:20). At the end of Genesis 39 we read,
21 But the LORD was with Joseph and showed him mercy, and He gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. 22 And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph’s hand all the prisoners who were in the prison; whatever they did there, it was his doing. 23 The keeper of the prison did not look into anything that was under Joseph’s authority, because the LORD was with him; and whatever he did, the LORD made it prosper.” (Gen. 39:21–23).
Joseph is the main human character throughout these passages but God Himself is the central actor, and in His providence, the LORD is steering the course of Joseph’s life to God’s good end, according to His own purpose and sovereign will for the glory of His name. Everything is according to God’s plan and in His timing. But Joseph doesn’t know how or when all these things are going to turn out. Yes, God had given him dreams of being elevated over his brothers—but that was years ago and his circumstances had gone from bad to worse.
So Genesis 40 opens up with Joseph still in prison, but he had been blessed by the LORD there. Considered from a merely human perspective, the trajectory of Joseph’s life to this point was downward. Not only was he removed from his father’s house, enslaved in Egypt, but also wrongly imprisoned. But notice the pattern of Joseph’s life—he remained faithful in every circumstance. And notice the quality of Joseph’s life—although the circumstances were very trying and difficult, Genesis 39 reminds us four times, “The LORD was with Joseph” (Gen. 39:2, 3, 21, 23). Warren Wiersbe writes,
God permitted Joseph to be treated unjustly and put in prison to help build his character and prepare him for the tasks that lay ahead. The prison would be a school where Joseph would learn to wait on the Lord until it was His time to vindicate him and fulfill his dreams. … He would learn that God’s delays are not God’s denials.[1]
Our text falls into three sections. In Genesis 40:1-4 we see Joseph’s Prison Duties—Pharaoh imprisoned two of his officials who offended him and Joseph served them. Then in Genesis 40:5-19, we see the Prison Dreams—both the cupbearer and the baker had dreams which Joseph interpreted. Finally, in Genesis 40:20-23 we see the Prison Disappointment—Joseph’s interpretations come true, but Joseph is forgotten and left in prison.[2] Let’s read Genesis 40:
1 It came to pass after these things that the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt offended their lord, the king of Egypt. 2 And Pharaoh was angry with his two officers, the chief butler and the chief baker. 3 So he put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the prison, the place where Joseph was confined. 4 And the captain of the guard charged Joseph with them, and he served them; so they were in custody for a while.
5 Then the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were confined in the prison, had a dream, both of them, each man’s dream in one night and each man’s dream with its own interpretation. 6 And Joseph came in to them in the morning and looked at them, and saw that they were sad. 7 So he asked Pharaoh’s officers who were with him in the custody of his lord’s house, saying, “Why do you look so sad today?” 8 And 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.” 9 Then the chief butler told his dream to Joseph, and said to him, “Behold, in my dream a vine was before me, 10 and in the vine were three branches; it was as though it budded, its blossoms shot forth, and its clusters brought forth ripe grapes. 11 Then Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand; and I took the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh’s cup, and placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.” 12 And Joseph said to him, “This is the interpretation of it: The three branches are three days. 13 Now within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your place, and you will put Pharaoh’s cup in his hand according to the former manner, when you were his butler. 14 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. 15 For 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.” 16 When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was good, he said to Joseph, “I also was in my dream, and there were three white baskets on my head. 17 In the uppermost basket were all kinds of baked goods for Pharaoh, and the birds ate them out of the basket on my head.” 18 So Joseph answered and said, “This is the interpretation of it: The three baskets are three days. 19 Within three days Pharaoh will lift off your head from you and hang you on a tree; and the birds will eat your flesh from you.”
20 Now it came to pass on the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, that he made a feast for all his servants; and he lifted up the head of the chief butler and of the chief baker among his servants. 21 Then he restored the chief butler to his butlership again, and he placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand. 22 But he hanged the chief baker, as Joseph had interpreted to them. 23 Yet the chief butler did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.
1. Prison Duties (Gen. 40:1-4)
Genesis 40 begins with two of Pharoah’s officials, the butler and the baker. The butler and the baker were high-ranking and valued officials in ancient courts. The butler, or cupbearer, was in charge of Pharaoh’s wine and the chief baker was in charge of Pharaoh’s food. They were imprisoned because they “offended their lord, the king of Egypt” (Gen. 40:1). It wasn’t that Pharoah was just arbitrarily displeased with them—there was an offense committed. Moses doesn’t tell us the specific offense because it doesn’t matter for the purpose of his narrative. Whatever they had done was serious enough to land them both in prison. And naturally, they were put in the royal prison, “the place where Joseph was confined” (Gen. 40:3).
There “the captain of the guard charged Joseph with them, and he served them” (Gen. 40:4). The “captain of the guard” has already been identified at Potiphar, Joseph’s Egyptian master who had put him in prison. Joseph had proved himself trustworthy in the prison and was given greater and greater responsibilities there (Gen. 39:22-23). On the surface, this might appear to be just another assignment given to a slave in the prison. In reality, this was the providence of the sovereign LORD. God will eventually use one of these men to secure Joseph’s release from prison.
The text says “they were in custody for a while,” (Gen. 40:4), literally “for days.” How long? Long enough for Joseph to perform his duties in serving these men and caring for them. What we see and a “chance” encounter may just be a divine appointment for you. There is no such thing as a real “coincidence.” God’s wise providence is working all things according to His good purpose. Psalm 37:23 says, “The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD, And He delights in his way.” Proverbs says, “A man’s heart plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps,” (Pro. 16:9). And Jeremiah prays “O LORD, I know the way of man is not in himself; It is not in man who walks to direct his own steps,” (Jer. 10:23).
In this waiting room of Joseph’s life he is not idle, grumbling, or insubordinate. He is faithful to discharge his duties. God is training him for greatness in the school of servitude. This is the way that our Lord Jesus Christ lived. He “did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). Jesus, “who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.” (Philippians 2:5–8). Faithful, humble service is always the path to greatness in the sight of God.
Will we be faithful where we are even when life seems to make no sense?
2. Prison Dreams (Gen. 40:5-19)
Both the butler and the baker had dreams on the same night—different dreams with different meanings (Gen. 40:5). There are dreams all through Joseph’s story. First, he has them (Gen. 37), then these two men have them (Gen. 40), then finally Pharaoh will have a two-part dream (Gen. 41).
What are we to think of these dreams? Does God regularly speak through dreams? God was certainly in these dreams both in giving them and in giving their interpretation to Joseph. We must admit that God is involved in all the dreams of this story since each dream actually did forecast what was to happen.
You might get the impression from this that God normally speaks through dreams—but I don’t think that is a valid conclusion. The Bible is a big book covering many thousands of years of history but there are only three places in the Bible where dreams figure prominently. In the Old Testament, they are restricted to Genesis and Daniel. In the New Testament people sometimes had visions, like Peter in Acts or John in Revelation. But strictly speaking, there are only six dreams, and all these occur in Matthew.[3]
Did God speak through these dreams? Yes, but at a time when the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament had not been completed. We are not instructed to study dreams, but to study scripture, the word of God. Paul writes to Timothy, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” (2 Tim. 2:15). For true and trustworthy revelation we are to turn to Scripture alone.
Derek Kidner points out that it was a common belief in Egypt that dreams were predictive of the future.[4] A professional class of dream interpreters arose for this purpose. But being in prison, the butler and baker had no access to the diviners of the court to interpret their dreams. They believed their futures had been revealed to them in their dreams, but they could not be interpreted, and the realization of this brought great distress to them. They were dejected.
Joseph was quick to observe that something was wrong. And what does Joseph do? He points them to God, “Do not interpretations belong to God?” (Gen. 40:8). Joseph takes this opportunity to testify to the greatness and glory of God—the one true God. Interpretations don’t come from diviners, they come from God. In the next chapter, Joseph will give the same testimony to Pharoah, saying, “It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh an answer,” (Gen. 41:16). Centuries later the prophet Daniel, like Joseph, will tell the powerful pagan king, “there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days,” (Dan. 2:28). Joseph takes the opportunity of these dreams to show that it’s the one true God who holds the future and thus reveals it.
So in Genesis 40:9-15, the butler tells his dream and Joseph interprets it as God enables him. His dream corresponded closely with his previous position under Pharaoh—it was about a vine that produced wine that he gave to Pharoah to drink. Joseph tells him, “The three branches are three days. Now within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your place, and you will put Pharaoh’s cup in his hand according to the former manner, when you were his butler,” (Gen. 40:12-13).
Joseph tells the butler that the king “will lift up your head,” a phrase that can mean to elevate, lift up from his humble position to be restored. This was good news for the butler.
So confident was Joseph that God had given him the interpretation that he made a request of the cupbearer, saying, “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. For 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.” (Gen. 40:14–15). Joseph was convinced that God had spoken through him. While content to remain in the dungeon so long as God willed, Joseph also made every effort to be removed from that place through the channels legitimately available to him.
The butler shared his dream with Joseph on the basis of God’s ability to interpret dreams and his confidence in Joseph’s relationship with his God. The baker, however, was motivated only by the fact that Joseph’s interpretation was good news to the butler. He, too, was now eager to report his dream to Joseph and thus to have an optimistic prediction of his future. But the forecast is not favorable for the baker. He tells him, “This is the interpretation of it: The three baskets are three days. Within three days Pharaoh will lift off your head from you and hang you on a tree; and the birds will eat your flesh from you.” (Gen. 40:18-19). It was a horrible prophecy, but Joseph gives the bad news as faithfully as the good news.
These two dreams and their interpretations contain a striking parallel to the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Both the butler and the baker had “sinned” against their king and had rightfully incurred his wrath. Both awaited the condemnation they deserved. One was pardoned and granted a restoration of fellowship and function at the hand of his master. The other received the punishment that he was due and paid the penalty of death.
The Bible declares to us that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). As guilty sinners, we deserve the penalty of our sins, which is eternal death and separation from God, but there is for us the offer of forgiveness through the provision of Jesus Christ: “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom. 6:23). When Christ comes again and the dead are raised, some will spend eternity with Him, while others will live in eternal separation from His love and power in hell.
The gospel is good news for those who are being saved. Faithful preachers of the gospel “are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life.” (2 Cor. 2:15-16). We must tell people the good news of John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” But we must also tell people John 3:18, “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” Robert Deffinbaugh comments, “The gospel is not our message to men; it is God’s. We can no more alter it than Joseph could change the interpretation of these men’s dreams. We must tell it like it is.”[5]
3. Prison Disappointment (Gen. 40:20-23)
Joseph’s hopes must have soared when the three days passed and both the butler and baker experienced the exact fulfillment of his prophecies. The butler was restored just as Joseph said and the baker was hanged, just as Joseph said. Surely the butler would not fail to show his gratitude by speaking a word to Pharaoh, and hopefully, this would be soon. However, this was not to be the case. Joseph is forgotten. Joseph’s rising hopes were dashed upon the rocks of reality as days turned into weeks, months, and years.
What is God doing? Ligon Duncan points out that in God’s providence He is doing at least three things simultaneously.[6] First, God is strengthening Joseph’s faith, patience, and endurance in the waiting. James writes to suffering Christians,
2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. (James 1:2-4)
Paul writes in Romans,
3 And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; 4 and perseverance, character; and character, hope. (Rom. 5:3-4)
Second, God is furthering His own glory by delaying the answer to Joseph’s desires to get out of this prison. If God had gotten Joseph out of prison quickly through the cupbearer, this man might be seen as his rescuer. By delaying the answer to Joseph’s prayers, God made it clear that He and He alone would come to Joseph’s rescue.
Finally, in delaying the answer to Joseph’s desires, God is establishing His plan for the salvation of Israel. God’s plan to save Jacob’s family from famine depends upon Joseph’s exaltation to the right hand of Pharaoh. If Joseph is freed from prison through the mere appeal of the cupbearer at this point, he never gets the appointment in the house of Pharaoh. If he doesn’t get the appointment in the house of Pharaoh, he cannot save his family. God had a better plan and a better purpose and that plan meant waiting, and it meant being forgotten by men. But Joseph was not forsaken by God. God was bringing all these strands together so that all was working according to His schedule. Nothing is outside of God’s sovereignty, even though it may seem like it those who have to sit in a dungeon for two more years.
In a greater way than Joseph, Jesus our Savior also suffered for us. He met us in the prison of our sin. He was forsaken so that we could be set free. Isaiah 53 says,
4 Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:4-6).
As we come to the Lord’s Table today, have you repented of your sin and believed on the Lord Jesus Christ to save you? Or are you still condemned because you have not believed on the only begotten Son of God who died for your sins and was raised for your justification? Turn from your sin and your selfish ways. Look to Jesus. He is the only Savior.
