Genesis 41:1-23
Joseph was imprisoned
Joseph’s master, Potiphar took him and put him
in prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined. But while Joseph
was there in the prison, the LORD was with him; he showed him kindness and
granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden.
So, the warden put Joseph in charge of all
those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done
there. The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s care, because
the LORD was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.
Not long after that, he met two close
attendants of Pharaoh, the cupbearer and the baker. The cupbearer was
responsible for the drink of Pharaoh by testing it before he passed it to
Pharaoh, and it helped to prevent Pharaoh from any poisoning. The baker was
responsible for baking biscuits. Both of them were thrown into prison because
they had offended Pharaoh, their master.
Joseph and the two of them were prisoners, but
they had different experiences. The cupbearer and the baker committed wrongs
and they offended Pharoah their master, but Joseph did not as he was unwilling
to sin against God and his master (39:9).
One night, both the cupbearer and the baker
had a dream respectively, and they were perplexed after they got up from their
dreams. They were in prison then and were troubled because it would be hard for
them to find a specialist to help them interpret their dreams, and hence they
looked sad.
Seeing their condition, Joseph took the
initiative to help them interpret dreams. After that, both of their dreams came
true according to Joseph’s interpretations.
From a day dreamer (37:19), Joseph became the
interpreter of dreams, for God had given him the gift of interpretation. This
change indicated that Joseph’s wisdom and his life experience made a big
progress again. Now he became a competent official in the palace.
Joseph, during his childhood time, had a dream
that he would become the head over his brothers and the leader of his family.
It is expected that since Joseph could accurately interpret dreams for others
and their dreams were fulfilled exactly, his own dreams would definitely be
fulfilled too. “Dream” is a motif in Joseph’s narrative.
The cupbearer was the official of Pharaoh and
he was very influential. Therefore, Joseph asked him to tell Pharaoh that he
was jailed wrongly, so that he could be released from the prison. The cupbearer
was indeed taken out from the prison and was further restored to his position
as what Joseph had told him, but unfortunately, he had Joseph forgotten, and
did not clear Joseph’s name before Pharaoh (v20-23).
Joseph was first sold away by his brothers in
the Land of Canaan, and later he was framed by the wife of his master and ended
up in prison, where he met the cupbearer. He went through many ups and downs,
and now he was forgotten by the cupbearer again.
His hope was shattered, and how could God make
a way out for him to have a comeback?
Helping Each Other When Calamities Strike,
instead of Gloating over others’ Mishap
Joseph showed his concern for others in
prison, and he offered to help them too. Though he faced his own mishap, and
did not know how long his imprisonment would be, he still chose to go through
thick and thin with them and help them in times of need.
Joseph was even very observant of others’
facial expression, for he asked the cupbearer and the baker, “Why do you
look so sadly today?” (v7) He also spoke honestly and told the cupbearer
and the baker the actual situations of their future encounters.
Joseph explained to the cupbearer that Pharaoh
would release him three days later, and he would be restored to his position.
But as for the baker, he would be executed by Pharaoh three days later.
Then Joseph asked that the cupbearer to speak
for him before Pharaoh so that he could be reinstated. Joseph’s request showed
that he believed strongly that what he had interpreted concerning the dream of
the cupbearer would be fulfilled.
It was indeed a very hard to come by thing for
Joseph to keep a positive attitude and seek opportunities to help others when
he was wrongly framed and ended up unjustly imprisoned.
On the contrary, people by nature tend to
become self-centered, self-pitied and think that they are more miserable than
any others when they are in their pains, be it persecution, poverty or victimization.
They might shout aloud, “How could I afford to care for others? The
whole world should pay attention and care for me instead.” Some will even
become cynical and bitter. They will gloat over others’ sufferings and pains
and imagine that the misfortunes of others are falling on themselves.
Are you going through a depression now? Joseph
reminded us to keep a positive and optimistic attitude. Though you might be
trapped, and are not even able to protect yourself, you must choose to go through
thick and thin with the needy around you, by caring and helping them. Or you
could continue to support ministries by serving and giving financially in the
church in a continual manner.
People who do such will find their lives happy
and meaningful even if they are walking through the valley of death. Moreover,
by taking these acts of faith, they are planting a seed which could help them
to come out of their difficulties in the very near future!
Making Hope Happen in Adversities
We see that though Joseph was in prison, he
did not allow “prison” to enter his heart. He would not allow his misfortune to
form a chain over him. Today, how could we triumph over pains and be set free
from self-pity and many “prisons, lockdown” imposed on us?
The answer is to learn the secret of Joseph,
that he had steadfast faith in God even in prison. He had faith in God in the
midst of his sufferings. Though he never went through any special training for
dream interpretation, he said confidently, “Do not interpretation belong
to God?”
These words that came forth from Joseph’s
mouth were praiseworthy. Joseph was sold out and became prisoner by wrong
accusation, and generally it would be greatly possible that people would
abandon God and refuse to believe in Him when they are in his situation. They
would grumble and say, “If God is real, why don’t He come and help me?”
However, Joseph put his trust in God. Though
he was in the deep valley of his life, his faith was actually making hope
happen!
Joseph’s faith in God was not affected by
changes in his circumstances. He was very staunched in his faith and his faith
went beyond his conditions. He believed that God would continue to be with him
wherever he would be, and he trusted God in everything. His action indeed was creating
hope for himself.
From the world history and the experiences of
many victims turned victors, we are told that “creating hope” is the
requirement for one to survive and have breakthroughs in his difficulties. When
one lives as if he is without hope, he will not be able to brace himself up, and he will not be able to recover after he falls, and
will be devoured by his suffering!
Faith in God does bring us hope. Those who have hope will have their
lives full of positiveness and their minds broadened.
Joseph worked diligently and cared for others
in the prison, and he helped solve the problems for the cupbearer and the
baker, and it was an act of making hope happen.
No matter what circumstance you are in, and
though you might have many difficulties, you must believe God’s providence.
Let’s start taking action, do something, not wait for others to give us hope
but create our very own hope for ourselves.
People will forget you but God will remember
you forever
We should demonstrate a very strong faith that
will not be affected by our situations. A faith that trust God continually and
give birth to hope. However, this faith is not something unreasonable or
subjective, it is built upon the fact that man will forget us and remember us
not, but God will not!
Pharaoh chose to forget the wrong the
cupbearer did to him and showed him favor, but the cupbearer forgot the good
deed Joseph had done for him, and he did not return his kindness by doing what
Joseph asked of him.
One day, after two full years had passed,
Pharaoh had a dream and in the morning his mind was trouble, so he sent for all
the magicians and wise men of Egypt. Pharoah told them his dreams, but no one
could interpret them for him.
Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh,
“Today I am reminded of my short comings.” He then told Pharaoh about Joseph
who had interpreted his dream when they met in the prison. So, Pharaoh sent for
Joseph. Joseph was quickly brought
before Pharaoh. He eventually
interpreted Pharaoh’s dreams.
Who then caused Pharaoh to dream and made all
these things happen? Of course, God was the one who worked silently behind the
scene for He never forgot about Joseph.
God did not forget about Joseph, and he called Joseph out from prison to
successfully interpret dreams for Pharaoh. Not only that, Joseph was promoted
to become the Prime Minister of Egypt.
Hence, God wanted to test Joseph’s faith and
patience by not releasing him for an extended time. In the same way, we can be
sure that God always remember us, and He will never forget about us. He will
take care of us and keep watch over us in accordance to his appointed times and
means, so that one day we can finally be released from our difficulties.
From Joseph’s acts of faith which make hope
happen, we are now moving to God’s faithfulness. God is faithful and He never
changes. Men tend to change and do not keep their promises, and they will
forget us. But God will remember us forever.
God’s faithfulness is the foundation of our
faith and hope. It is because God is faithful that our faith and hope will not
be in vain. Those who are without this belief will be devoured and melted by
their difficulties, and they also could become cynical and create more harm for
others.
Nevertheless, we have a true and living, and
faithful God, and hence we are able to seek God and receive our strength to
handle any situation. One day, we shall overcome all these sufferings. We shall
be promoted. Hence, faith is not purely psychological game—being positive, but
it builds upon the objective fact that there is a loving God who keeps watch
over His people.
Today, are you losing all your fighting spirit
because of your current failures and constraints of bad environment? Are you
frustrated and discouraged because you have been forgotten by someone you trust
and love the most? Are you feeling desperate after many struggles?
You have to remind yourselves always that in
fact there is a God who is faithful, and He is in control of the situation and
He reigns over your circumstances. Moreover, He remembers you all the times and
He never forget you. But, have you forgotten him?
