Genesis 42

God has made an unconditional covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to give them a land and make them a great nation.  To say that the covenant is unconditional is not the same as saying that God will not work to make His people righteous.  One of the great promises of the Messiah is found in Rom. 11:26-27: “The Deliverer will come out of Zion, and He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob; for this is My covenant with them, when I take away their sins.”Christ will come to Israel; that is God’s unconditional promise.  But His coming will bring with it the cleansing of Israel.  “Whom He loves He chastens” (Heb. 12:5-6).  We have seen this in the lives of the Patriarchs; we now see it in the lives of the sons of Jacob.  And Joseph, who is in Egypt to save his family from death by famine is also there to cleanse them from sin.

Joseph’s initial attitude towards his brothers is not one of revenge or self-exaltation.  Joseph, ever-mindful of those dreams given him by God, knows he stands for the deliverance of his family (45:5-13; 50:20-21).  God is working through Jospeh.  

The attitude of the brothers is seen in v11, in the words “we are honest men”.  They don’t realize it, but the man they are talking to knows differently.  This indicates that in the approximately 20 years since they sold Joseph into slavery, they have not changed.  They have apparently not come clean about their sin.

In fact, the heart of the brothers is revealed in v21: they have been living with their guilt the entire time, unable or unwilling to find relief through confession.  In some sense their consciences are awakened here, as Joseph deals with them.  They can hardly miss the correlation between the charge that they are spies and the unfair way in which they had treated Joseph.  There is further revidence that they are being awakened to their sin when they open their sacks and find their money.  The response is, “What is this that God has done to us?” (v28)

We have noted before the need to pay attention to Reuben and Judah.  In the case of Reuben, the firstborn who has been rejected as such by his father, we again see his inability to think right about the situation.  While the brothers are in prison his words are, in essence, “I told you so” (v22).  When they return home his words to his answer to his father is to say, “If I don’t return with Benjamin you can kill my 2 sons, your grandsons” (v37).  None of this is helpful.

We must also note the words of Jacob in v36: “All these things are against me.”  This is Jacob’s view, but clearly it is not true.  In fact God is at work, fulfilling His unconditional covenant, and Jacob needs to trust God.

God is at work.  Again, “Whom He loves He chastens.”  God is working on His chosen people.  He has brought about a famine.  Through Joseph He has spoken roughly to the brothers.  Yet He encourages them by grace through it all.  Do you accept God’s chastening?  Or do you despise it?  Our trials are meant for our good, to grow us into the likeness of Christ.  Hear God’s voice and submit yourself to the Savior.

Genesis 41

If we look at our circumstances only from the earthly or human perspective we will tend to be angry, frustrated or discouraged by those that do not fit our likes.  But if we seek, by God’s grace, to view them from His perspective, we will know that God is always working through them for our benefit and His glory.  The seeming “delay” in Joseph’s life was used by God for the amazing exaltation to power that finally comes in this chapter.  Let us review the story.

·        v1-8: Pharaoh’s dreams have a decided Egyptian setting, with reference to the Nile River and its annual flooding, the cows and corn which were agricultural staples in Egypt, and the scribes and wise men who were part of Pharaoh’s “administration”.

·        v9-14: Joseph’s rise to power is quite sudden, though this is not unusual considering the despotic power of the Pharaoh in Egypt.  Other aspects of the story fit Egypt in the era these events occurred, such as fascination with dreams and the occult sciences.

·        v15-32: Joseph interprets the dreams giving God glory as usual.  References to God are critical given the belief in Egypt that Pharaoh himself was “god”.

·        v33-57: Joseph is exalted to the right hand of majesty.  Pharaoh recognizes the power of Joseph’s God since he alone could interpret the dreams (v38).  Joseph is given a new name, the meaning of which is somewhat in doubt (“supporter, sustainer, savior of life” are good possibilities).  And he is given an Egyptian wife.

·        v46-57: God blesses Joseph.  He had been in Egypt 13 years before his exaltation.  There will be another 7 years plus before his brothers come to Egypt.  Joseph’s 2 sons are a comfort to him, indicating that indeed the years of slavery and prison were certainly difficult.  All of that is no longer an issue for Joseph; God has made him forget.

With this chapter the first “phase” of Joseph’s life involving “humiliation and exaltation” has been completed.  This chapter has powerful reminders of our Lord Jesus Christ: there is no man like Him (v38); in Him are riches of wisdom and knowledge (v39); He is over God’s house (v40), His authority is from the Sovereign (v42); all will bow the knee to Him (v43); He is Lord over all (v44); His name is above all (v45); and His bride is from the Gentiles (v45). As we have noted before, Phil. 2:5-11 clearly presents the necessary connection between the humiliation and exaltation of Christ.

The Bible always sees in Christ the summation of every good thing from God.  As amazing as is the exaltation of Joseph, that of Christ far exceeds it.  Hear the words of 1 Cor. 1:30-31 and ask, Is this the Christ I know and worship?  Have I and am I bowing the knee to this One.

But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God – and righteousness and sanctification and redemption – that, as it is written, “He who glories, let him glory in the Lord.”

Genesis 40

The outstanding feature of Joseph’s life was faithful loyalty to God under all circumstances.  He carried his convictions with him and lived them out.  The well-known phrase, “When in Rome do as Rome does,” has brought infinite trouble upon those who have followed its guidance.  Joseph never compromised his position and as a consequence he never lost spiritual power or weakened his witness for God.  Someone has said that true independence is to act in the crowd as one thinks in solitude.  (From Wm. H Griffith Thomas)

Consider this evaluation in light of today’s passage.

·        v1-4: Joseph continues to serve, even in prison.  He is blessed and honored because God is with him (39:21-23).  We may conclude that because our lives are difficult that God does not favor us.  But this is contrary to the life of our Lord and the live of every saint recorded in Scripture.  Our trials are in fact the place where God’s grace shines brightest.

·        v5-19: Joseph continues to be God’s means of revealing truth.  Two very important prisoners are put in Joseph’s charge.  Because of his faithful service he is in a position to explain their dreams.  As we will see, this is God’s sovereign plan to put Joseph in line for the eventual fulfillment of his own God-ordained path of good works (Eph. 2:10).

·        v20-23: Joseph continues to wait.  Joseph did what made sense, asking the butler to plead his case before Pharaoh.  But it was not God’s time or plan and Joseph continued to wait and serve in prison for another two years.

Why do we have such sufferings?  We may think it is because of our sin, and sometimes that is true (1 Cor. 11:29-31).  But that was certainly not why Joseph languished in prison for something he did not do.  Suffering is for our good, to make us like Christ (1 Peter 1:6-7).  And suffering provides us opportunities to testify of Christ, opportunities that we would not otherwise have.  In the end, as with all things in our lives, suffering provides an opportunity to glorify God.  Paul desired nothing more or less than that God would be magnified in his body, whether by life or by death (Phil. 1:20).

Perhaps a better question is, “How do I remain faithful in suffering?”  Hear God’s word from 2 Cor. 4:16-18:

¹⁶ Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. ¹⁷ For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, ¹⁸ while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

Ultimately we must have a proper focus that comes from abandonment to God.  What must be supreme for us are the things of God and a commitment to His time and direction for our lives.  Joseph had this.  Do I?  Do you?