Joseph’s Waiting is Over, Or Is It? (Genesis 41)

Joseph had no way of knowing that the restored cupbearer had forgotten all about him. Therefore we cannot really know what his response would have been when nothing happened immediately. He could have wondered if the cupbearer had mentioned him, but that Pharaoh had refused to release a prisoner. But we know that Pharaoh did not even know that Joseph existed. Joseph is in the dark about how he will be released because he is a royal prisoner, and Pharaoh is in the dark about the fact that he will yet release a royal prisoner.

 

Having to wait for God’s timetable

The answer to the dilemma is obviously God. All that Joseph knows is that God has told him thirteen years previously that the day will come when his father, his mother (Leah) and his brothers will bow down to him. If he was thinking about that promise, he would know some things would still be true. He would know that his aged father was still living, and that the other family members were also alive. But he would not know how God was going to fulfil the dream/promise that he had given. There is no indication that God had given him any further information since he came to Egypt.

 

One of the hardest matters to deal with in providence is the silence of God. Joseph had remained loyal to God, as in the temptation from Potiphar’s wife. He had even been used by God to explain the dreams of the cupbearer and the baker, and these dreams had been fulfilled quickly three days later. But for Joseph himself, there was no extra word. We know that we can pray earnestly for something, but the answer does not seem to come, and we have no assurance that it will come. Instead we have to live by faith. It may even be the case that God will give something else a lot quicker, even as what happened to Joseph when the dreams of the two officials were fulfilled very quickly whereas his own situation was still dark after a dozen years.

 

When God moves

Perhaps time dragged on for Joseph. Day after day after day. Then one night, unknown to Joseph, the Lord started to change things in his life. And when he wants to, God can use the most powerful man in the world. We should not be surprised by this because we know that when Jesus was born, the Lord caused the Roman emperor to enact a census which required every person to go to their home location in order to be registered. And in Joseph’s case, the Lord disturbed the sleep of Pharaoh. Again we know that the Lord did this with other powerful rulers such as Nebuchadnezzar and Artaxerxes. 

 

At the same time, the Lord also caused those who normally had something to say to become silent. He spoke to Pharaoh in a manner that would incur his interest. Most people at that time paid attention to dreams and if you were powerful enough you would employ people to interpret them. It was also part of the religious outlook of the Egyptians. So we should not be surprised to read that the magicians of Pharaoh and the counsellors of Pharaoh were asked to come up with an explanation. But they were unable to do so, perhaps because the dreams seem to cancel one another out, or because it is unusual to dream about cannibal cows and hungry ears of grain.

 

Moreover, the Lord moved a man to admit his mistake when the cupbearer suddenly recalled that he had forgotten that Joseph had interpreted dreams correctly. We should not pass over this man’s forgetfulness too easily. Normally, there would not be much likelihood that a person who had been helped in such a dramatic manner would have forgotten the events of his recovery so easily. Yet this man did. The fact that he admitted his failure indicates that he was not a callous person because he speaks quite nicely about Joseph. It was not something that made him forget Joseph, but rather Someone; the Lord did so because he knew back then that it was not the right time for Joseph to be released. Now the time had come, and a restored memory was used by God as well as puzzled counsellors and a troubled ruler.

 

Who can God influence in order for his will in a person’s life to be fulfilled? Whoever he wishes, is the answer. I read this story recently of Ira Sankey in the American Civil War. He fought on the side of the Northern army. One night he was on sentry duty. A sniper in the Southern army saw him and lined up his gun. At that moment, Sankey began to sing a hymn and the sniper heard him, took his finger of the trigger and put down his rifle. Years later, the sniper was on a boat and heard Sankey singing the same hymn. He recalled the voice and informed Sankey of that circumstance. Who can God influence when he wishes to do so? Whoever he wishes.

 

How is Joseph?

As we know, Joseph has been in prison for a long time. He went there as an upright man determined to honour God; indeed it was determination to honour God that caused his problem. Even in prison, Joseph had honoured the Lord by saying that any ability to interpret the dream would be given by him. Has he changed because of the silence of God? We can see that the answer is that he has not changed because when Pharaoh says that Joseph has the power to interpret dreams he makes clear that only God can enable him to do so. It would have been easy for Joseph to take a little credit, but he made sure that God would get all the glory.

 

Moreover, the words of Joseph which said that God would reveal the meaning were very brave. Everybody else in the room would have regarded Pharaoh as a god – he was regarded as divine. Egypt had more than one god, so Pharaoh would have accepted that other gods could exist. But here he was being told by Joseph that there was a greater God, one who had spoken to Pharaoh and distressed and agitated him.  

 

After he had been told the contents of the dreams of Pharaoh, Joseph immediately knew what they meant. Not only did he know what they meant, but he was able to inform Pharaoh what he should do about what had been revealed. Without realising it, Joseph was describing himself. His experiences have enabled him to speak in a humble way. After all, who would want to tell a king what to do? Only someone who realises that the message of God has power and who is overwhelmed by how it can be worked out in life. 

 

No doubt, the application to us is whether or not we believe that the message given to us to convey to others has power to change people. Joseph passed on the message he had received, and he did so without knowing beforehand how it would be received. For all he knew, Pharaoh could have been offended to be told that God was going to send a famine on Egypt. Joseph was faithful to the message God had given him and great results took place. Who can say what faithfulness to the message of God will bring about?

 

Joseph in charge once more

Previously, as we have noticed, Joseph was placed in charge of matters by those in authority over him. Jacob had put him in charge of his brothers, Potiphar had put him in charge of his household, the jailer had put him in some kind of authority in the prison. In each of them, Joseph had shown faithfulness to the one who had placed him there. Of course, in comparison to the authority that Pharaoh now gave him, the previous roles were small. Yet is it not the case that a suitable verse to describe what happened to Joseph is the statement of Jesus when he said, ‘One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much’ (Luke 16:10).

 

Pharaoh recognised that the God of Joseph was with him: ‘Can we find a man like this, in whom is the Spirit of God?’ ‘Since God has shown you all this, there is none so discerning and wise as you are. You shall be over my house, and all my people shall order themselves as you command. Only as regards the throne will I be greater than you.’ This does not mean that Pharaoh embraced the God of Joseph, but it does mean that he recognised that Joseph’s God had given exceptional skills to him, suitable for the role of First or Prime Minister under Pharaoh. 

 

Pharaoh also wanted to give Joseph a religious status, which is probably why he was given a new name and the daughter of the priest of On as his wife. The name given to Joseph was Zaphenath-paneah, which means ‘God speaks and lives’. After all, it was obvious that a divine being had spoken through Joseph. Yet there is obviously danger here for Joseph. Promotion comes with a challenge. He remained faithful to God when he was being persecuted, but will he remain faithful to God now that he is promoted to exceptional prominence? After all, God had promised him that his family would bow to him. No sign of that yet, but everyone in Egypt is bowing to him. How will Joseph handle this? Will he remain faithful to God?

 

We get the answer to this question in the names that he gives to his children. It is interesting that they were born as the years of plenty were coming to a close. Both of them are Hebrew names and the author of Genesis insists on telling us what their names mean because each indicates the perspective Joseph had on life. Manasseh means ‘God has made me forget all my hardship and all my father’s house’ and Ephraim means ‘For God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction’. It is obvious from their names that Joseph recognised the involvement of God in his life. Forgetfulness of the wrongs his brothers had done to him and fruitfulness in the place where he had undergone trial. Joseph now was going to have to deal with the seven years of famine, and as he faces them he affirms his faith in God by the names he gives his sons.

 

Why does Joseph express appreciation for being fruitful? Remember that he is the heir of Jacob. Now he has children to carry on the line. Yet the reader can see more in this reference because he will know that the two sons of Joseph were each regarded as a separate tribe in Israel. No other tribe had this privilege. We can see here that Joseph had received the double blessing that was the privilege of the heir. The firstborn of Rachel, the one selected by Jacob for this role, had been given this blessing by God. Yet we know that at that moment Jacob had no idea that this was taking place. Instead he believed that Joseph was dead whereas the opposite was the case. His son would yet save the family.

 

So Joseph remained faithful to God through the seven years of plenty and through the seven years of famine. Nevertheless, God’s promise to him about his family bowing to him had not yet been fulfilled. Although he now has a lot of power, he still does not have the power to engineer God’s promise. Joseph had power in Egypt, but he had no power outside Egypt. Did he wonder how God would yet do this? After all, the Lord had done a great deal for him so far.

 

Applications

The first application we can observe is that Joseph is a wonderful example of the biblical statement: ‘Them that honour me, I will honour.’ Throughout his life, as he sunk under one hardship after another, Joseph did not cease to honour God. His honouring of God in places of difficulty lasted about thirteen years; God’s honouring of him in Egypt would last for the rest of his life, and he lived to be one hundred and ten years.

 

The second application is the difference that one believing leader can make in a heathen society. There is no evidence that Joseph caused any of the other leaders to believe in God. Yet he did participate in the government of the country and we can see how through him many blessings that we would connect to common grace were dispensed through him. It is a remarkable achievement to govern a country through a disastrous famine. The obvious application here is that we should pray for Christians who are prominent in places of power and doing good connected to common grace.

 

The third application is the importance of honouring God’s Word. Joseph became a great leader through the seven years of plenty and the seven years of famine. He put into plan a programme that would meet the needs of the people and develop their loyalty to the government. Yet he based his programme on what God had revealed through the dreams he gave to Pharaoh. Joseph did not have a Bible, but we can see what he did with what God revealed to him.

 

The fourth application is that we should observe that the Lord was planning ahead for the preservation of his kingdom. Where was his kingdom? The family of Jacob living somewhere in Canaan and soon to have nothing. Did they have anything to worry about? Probably, because they did not know what God was doing. But would God let them die of hunger, since he had indicated that the future Saviour would come through them, and that to their descendants he would give the land of Canaan? Will God’s kingdom disappear in the twenty-first century? No.

 

The fifth application is that Joseph is a picture of Jesus. There are many incidents in Joseph’s life where we can see parallels with the life of Jesus. In this chapter, we see the humiliation and exaltation of Joseph. Of course, there are differences between them. The humiliation of Joseph was not voluntary, whereas the humiliation of Jesus was. Moreover, the exaltation of Joseph was too low in comparison to what happened to Jesus at his ascension. But Joseph does point us to consider a greater than himself, to gaze on the One who humbled himself and who was highly exalted at his ascension.