The LORD Longs to be Gracious to You

 

Isaiah 30:1-18

The LORD longs to be Gracious to You

Many truths of the Bible, like this one found in Isaiah 30:1-18, seems to be inappropriate for people now who seek practical and pragmatic ways of living. How could one receive power through quietness and trust? This sounds ridiculous to the modern-day society.

We shall look into Isaiah 30:1-18 to discover how we could be saved and empowered in a turbulent and changing world today. I summarize it into three points as follow:

Being Practical and Pragmatic are not Golden

To be practical or pragmatic is a prevalent atmosphere in the current society. It is an ideology that values everything by questioning whether it is practical or not for the people.

Thus, people tend to measure everything in accordance with its results and achievements. They measure their life and self-worth by how high an income they earn. In school reunion gatherings, we tend to find out about each other’s career and income earned.

A pastor or a seminary teacher will not be able to earn a high income no matter how qualified he is. Does it mean that he or she is worthless?

Given such pragmatic ideology and peer pressure, men would continue to work hard, be occupied and wrestle to climb high. They believe they would become more valuable with more work done, and more useful if they were busier. Hence, they would not have time to quiet down themselves. The whole society is fully occupied, and nobody even has time to ponder, “What indeed am I busying for?”

“Busyness” causes majority of people to look lightly the need of quietness and still. In fact, many people feel useless and insecured when idle and isolated. They don’t feel easy being alone with God.

How do you feel living under MCO period, when most of the economic and social activities are shut down?

In short, the emphasis of pragmatism has brought forth bad influences on our faith. Believers are tempted to believe that nothing could be achieved without hard work, and hence, they are busy doing things, and overlook the importance of quietness and trust before God.

Many believers have become “Martha” who are worried and upset about many things.” (Luke 10:41) They have forgotten about one thing that is needed for them, and that they have to be like Mary, who in quietness, waited at the feet of the Lord Jesus.

In the times of King Hezekiah, the Jews were terrified and worried over their own nation. They were hard-pressed by many nations, and hence they sought help from the Assyrians. However, they were afraid to be controlled by the Assyrians, and thus, they sought helps from the Egyptians too. The Jews thought that Egypt could deliver them from the bondage of Assyria. They forgot to put their trust in God for their rescue.

Therefore, Isaiah 30:1-18 is an instruction from God to the Jews to return to Him and not to put their trust in Egypt. In the same way, God is calling us today not to be over worried by the pandemic, and thereby trust in our own efforts to find relief, but to return to Him and trust Him only.

In repentance and rest is your salvation; In quietness and trust is your strength

The issue of the Jews then was that, instead of seeking God first, they sought the aid of Egypt (Isa 30:1-5). Therefore, God rebuked them through the prophet Isaiah and said, “Woe to the obstinate children, to those who carry out plans that are not mine, forming an alliance, but not by my Spirit, heaping sin upon sin; who go down to Egypt without consulting me; who look for help to Pharaoh’ protection, to Egypt’s shade for refuge.” (vv.1-2)

“In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it.” (v. 15)

In other words, what God meant is, “You believe that the Egyptians can rescue you, but what you believe is in vain. There is a God who is in control of everything, and He shall come and judge you, for it is in repentance and rest that you can be saved.”

We are reminded here that to be saved and delivered is only through returning to God and resting in Him. Return means to go back to God, with a true repentance, and turn away from the path where we make our own choices. Rest means to cease from trusting ourselves and go on doing things in our own way which may be even displeasing to God.

The Jews were busy in sending envoys with carriers of gifts to please the hearts of the Egyptians. They were very active and busy trying to save themselves. Unfortunately, this could not save them. In fact, salvation lies on rest, and it means that we must cease from human activities and rely on God’s grace for rest.

Rest in God is not solely passive and idling, but it includes overcoming sins and behaving the way of a genuine child of God. Judah needed this kind of power, the real power to resist their enemies. Yet this must be acquired through quietness, putting aside their busyness and concerns, as well as those desires that they had been hotly pursuing, and instead, trust God in their hearts.

It means that they must have an ability of self-denial, and to return to God wholeheartedly (Ps 46:10; 29:10-11;28:7).　

When we encounter attacks from others and viruses, the message of Isaiah found in this scripture reminds us to be still, to be patient, return to God and him in order to persevere through this difficult time. We shall see our salvation and strength in this manner of resting in God.

For some people, it also means that we do not pick a fight with others, for God says, “Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay.” (Romans 12:19) We should pray to God by faith and wait on God to execute His justice and shower on us His mercy.  This prayer will change the whole situation and God shall become our rescue.

Never be fearful and lose our hope when we face the widespread of viruses, and when we are uncertain of our future. We should instead take heed of the instructions of Isaiah, “in repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength.” It was in repentance and returning to God and resting in Him that the Israelites could be saved.

For those who long to receive power and strength, we must put aside our own ideas and return to God fully, and to receive His strength as we wait upon Him and trust in Him.

However, as what is found in the above-mentioned text, it is not human nature or our inclination to wait and trust, and neither were the Israelites. They sought helps everywhere! Because of this, God spoke to them agonizingly through the prophet, “but you would have none of it.” (Isa 30:15) This is the reality of human tragedy, because all of us have neglected the source of true power, and we hope to find it somewhere else!

When the Israelites rejected the true means of their deliverance, and sought their own ways out, they turned to the Egyptians for helps, and hence acquired from them a big number of horses. They thought that by having these horses and chariots, they could be free from the pursuit of their enemies.

The Consequences of Unbelief

In the ancient time, horse signified someone who was fearless because he had something or someone to back him up and it was a sign of arrogance and haughtiness (Ps 20:7).

The Jews rode on their horses, but their enemies rode on their horses as well. Hence, they had no way to run away from their enemies. The Jews’ problem also lied about the fact that they believed they had outnumbered their enemies and they hoped to defeat them with a majority. They thought by recruiting soldiers from Egypt, they could overcome the Assyrians chariots. However, it was just an illusion without hope.

God says in verse 17, “thousand will flee at the threat of one; at the threat of five you will all flee away…” One man’s threat caused one thousand Jews to flee, and with five enemies, all the Jews would flee away! This was God’s punishment. God set His heart to punish His rebellious children, and hence, nobody could escape from it.

The truth is that the punishment mentioned in verse 17 is a reverse to the promises that God had given to the Israelites before. In the historic period of Israelites’ exodus and their entry into the land of Canaan, God promised that He would be with them and bless them, so that they could chase out their enemies (Lev 26:8; Deut 32:30).

The rebellious children would have to stand alone. God says, “till you are left like a flagstaff on a mountaintop, like a banner on a hill.” (Isa 30:17b) This situation looks like it is describing those Israelites who had placed their trust on the Egyptians.

“Egypt” is sometimes used in the Bible to represent the secular world. Believers must never put their trust in this world and seek their helps from it. Instead, we should trust only God and seek His aid.

No doubt, God is the Lord of judgment, but He is also a God that is full of mercy. Verse 18 points out the lovingkindness of God, “Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; therefore, he will rise up to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!”

Our God is full of mercy and righteousness. In fact, God’s mercy is built upon His righteousness. God is waiting to reveal His favor and mercy, but are we willing to wait upon Him? Those who wait upon God are the blessed, for they shall receive deliverance and strength in Him.

Later, the Israelites obeyed the message of prophet Isaiah, and they returned to God under the leading of Hezekiah and found their rescue and strength in Him. According to the records found in Isaiah 37:36 and 2 Kings 19:34-37, God sent His angels to the Assyrian camps and killed about 185,000 men. He destroyed the entire Assyrian army just in a second! The Israelites won the battle without a real fight!

Conclusion

May we today come to realize that resting in God is the source of our strength, that we will return to God, rest in Him, and trust Him to lead us through this stormy life journey, until the day we meet Him face to face. Let us make adjustments to our life now, retune ourselves by spending quiet time with God, let us be occupied with God’s words not with Egypt concerns, walk in his way and not our own ways.

The LORD longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!

God's New Covenant

Jeremiah 31:31-34

God Made A New Covenant with His People

The main theme of Jeremiah 31:31-34 relates to the new covenant that the Lord has promised will take place. The basic concept of a covenant is an agreement or contract between two persons. The new covenant inaugurates and establishes the new page between the relationship of God and the Israelites.

We will discuss this topic in four areas by explaining this passage of scripture.  Notice that there is repetition of the phrase “I will”:

1. I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and the people of Judah.

2.I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts.

3.I will be their God and they will be my people.

4.I will forgive their wickedness and remember their sins no more.

“I will” indicates that it is the Lord who shall personally, actively, and willingly initiate the actions. In between these actions is the phrase that keeps repeating, “declares the LORD,” and thus it is something that is very discreet and sacred, and something that the LORD will surely accomplish.

The Old Covenant was replaced by the New

“The days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them,” declares the LORD. (Jeremiah 31:31-32)

The LORD wanted to make a new covenant, and it meant that there was an old covenant to be replaced by it. What was this old covenant then?

The Scripture tells us clearly that the old covenant was the Covenant of Moses or the Covenant of Mount Sinai. It was the covenant made by the LORD with the Israelites on Mount Sinai after He had led them out of Egypt.

The Sinai Covenant established the relationship between the LORD and the people of Israel, and scripture denoted this relationship to signify the relationship between a husband and his wife. Therefore, many times when the Israelites forsook the LORD, they were described as an adulterous woman or a harlot in the Bible.

Because the Israelites had violated their relationship with their LORD, the old covenant had to be replaced by the new covenant. What then is this new covenant?

We remember these words of the Lord Jesus Christ whenever we observe our communion, “This cup is the new covenant made in my blood, that is shed for the sins of many. Take and drink it in remembrance of me.”

The new covenant prophesied by Jeremiah refers to the salvation, and the forgiveness of sin by our Lord Jesus Christ, enabling sinners to build an intimate relationship with the holy God. This relationship is not about the relationship of a husband and his wife, but of a father and his son. Hence, we call God our heavenly Father.

Christians are the children of God, and we live under the love, mercy, and grace of God. May we never forget the Father who loves us. Sometimes we pray and the heavenly Father refuses to answer us, and we might get angry and say that God doesn’t love us; sometimes we go through unpleasant moments and we complain that the heavenly Father has ignored us; sometimes we are low in spirits, and we condemn the heavenly Father for not comforting us.

Is God answerable to us? Do we not know who our heavenly Father is? The heavenly Father is unchanging, and He loves us fully yesterday, today, and tomorrow. The amazing thing is that, though we often break His heart, He still loves us fully.

We have a new covenantal relationship with our heavenly Father, and it is a loving relationship. We must remind one another frequently that God loves both you and me.

The Law of God in the New Covenant

“This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the LORD. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts.” (Jeremiah 31:33a). 

The covenant of Moses was engraved on the tablets of stone and parchment, but the law of the new covenant will be written on our hearts.

The law was summarized by the Lord Jesus into two main items, the first is to love God with one’s entire being, and the second is to love your neighbour as yourself. It hangs on the measurement of loving God and loving others.

We must be careful with this application of love because many people allow themselves and others to sin with love as their excuse. For example, homosexuality might be approved by men but not by God. It also means that the action of loving God must be our actions to love people, but the action of loving people is not necessarily an action of loving God.

Let’s change our perspective as we reflect upon the application of law under the old and the new covenants.

The law is the obvious will of God, and by submitting to God’s law, it is equal to submitting to the will of God. However, from Moses to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Israelites failed to submit themselves under the will of God. They were not able to solve their rebellion of going against God. Hence, the old covenant had to be replaced by the new.

In the old covenant, the laws influence others from without, and it changes the hearts of people as long as they submit to it. However, the new covenant influences the hearts of people from within.

When the Lord Jesus Christ by the power of the Spirit, changes our rebellious hearts to hearts that submit to God, we can obey God’s will right from our hearts. By then, the laws of God can be said to be truly written in our hearts.

Just take offering as an example. Many Christians perceive that the new covenant does not command us to give tithe and the practicing of tithe giving is legalistic. Hence, they only give according to their willingness with cheerful hearts. As a result, their giving often ends up giving God what is excessive or left over.

However, since our lives now belong to God in the new covenant, why not our money as well? Not to mention the 10% to be given to God, we should give cheerfully and willingly if we were to give 20% of our income. Under the new covenant, a person who loves God with his entire being will do beyond what the laws require of him. By doing so, the laws would be truly considered written in our hearts.

Knowing God in the New Covenant

I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will they teach their neighbour, or say to one another, ‘Know the LORD,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest” (Jeremiah 31:33b-34a)

“I will be their God and they will be my people.” This is a very precious statement found in the Bible, and these are words of a holy covenant that establishes the relationship of God and the Israelites. The following statement explains the concept of this relationship, “because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest.”

The new covenant enables the LORD to have an intimate, personal, direct and mutual loving relationship with the Israelites.

Under the new covenant, God not merely keeps a covenantal relationship with us, but we can have a personal, direct, and intimate knowledge of God. Therefore, we can pray to God directly, be it confessing our sins or offering our petitions, and there is no need for us to go through a mediator.

People tend to have a wrong thinking that pastors are closer to God than any others, and hence God will listen more to their prayers. Therefore, it is more effective to ask their pastors to pray. This misunderstanding is specially revealing in Catholics, for Catholics believe that a clergy is a bridge between believers and God.

For example, Catholics will go to a priest to confess their sins, and the priest will instruct them to do something after listening to their confession (like reciting the Lord’s Prayer for a thousand times) as a means of showing their genuine repentance. After that, the priest will declare that the sins of the believers are forgiven.

However, the new covenant that is made by the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ institutes a personal, direct, and intimate relationship between us and God. God knows us and we know Him, and there is no need for a pastor or a priest to stand in between us and God.

The Forgiveness of Sin in the New Covenant

“For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” (Jeremiah 31:34b)

The declaration of the forgiveness of sin by the LORD has two main elements, firstly, the forgiveness of sins; and secondly, the sins will be remembered no more. We put our focuses on the two verbs mentioned here: forgive and forget.

The forgiveness of God is a complete pardon, and it counts no more of our sins and trespasses. People in the old Testament had to offer their guilt offerings whenever they sinned, and each offering could only wash away the sin committed at that moment. They would have to offer sacrifices to redeem themselves if they were to sin again next round.

After a while it produced a superstitious belief, that they presumed it was the blood of the animal that cleansed their sins and forget about it was the grace of the LORD that pardoned their sins.

In the new covenant, the Lord Jesus Christ has become our atonement of sin, and He was offered for all times one sacrifice for sins and rescued fully all those who put their trust in Him (Hebrews 10:11-14). It is through the Lord Jesus Christ that God pardons and remembers no more all our sins.

When we accept the forgiveness of the Lord Jesus Christ, we should forgive one another too. We must forgive those who have hurt us and offended us with the love of God. It is impossible for men to do so, and it is only through the forgiving love of the Lord Jesus Christ that we can learn and practice it. We should forgive and remember no more the sins of one another as how the Lord Jesus Christ has forgiven us and remembered our sins no more.

Conclusion

Whatever that could not be achieved by the old covenant has now been accomplished by the new covenant. The old covenant is replaced by the new covenant. The new covenant reveals to us that the LORD is magnanimous, that He is a God that is full of initiative, mercy, grace, love and forgiveness.

The New Covenant enables us to see our own unworthiness and the greatness of God. If God didn’t take His initiative by sending the Lord Jesus Christ to be crucified on the cross for us, to resurrect on the third day and ascend to heaven and sit on the right hand of the Almighty God, the Father, we would still be observing the laws, worshipping idols, and our sins shall remain unforgiven.

Moreover, it would not be possible for us to be called His people and His sons.

The mercy, sovereignty, greatness, and glory of God have been revealed through the new covenant. We see it and we come to understand that we are a blessed sinner by His grace. We could only give thanks and worship God, and give ourselves fully to be used by Him, and love others as how God has loved us.

Psalms and the Seven Sayings on the Cross

 

Psalm 22:1-21, 69:1-21

Psalms and the Suffering of Christ

In Luke 22:44, the resurrected Lord spoke to His disciples, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.”

Psalm has a close relationship with the suffering of Jesus. Jesus said, “Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Psalms.”

What He referred to as “everything” is the fulfilment of His suffering that was written in the Scripture. Psalm can be used as parallel readings to the suffering of Jesus. This is the most advance way of interpreting the scriptures, and it is called either “inter-textuality” or “canonical approach”.

We shall focus on the several phrases of the famous seven sayings of Jesus on the cross. Actually, the seven sayings of Jesus on the cross reveal the theology of “laments” in Psalms!

1.    Psalm 22

“About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’” （Matthew 27:46）

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish?” （Psalm 22:1）

People used to ask a question from their theological perspective. “Why was the Holy Father and the Holy Son separated?”

In fact, there is a more relevant perspective from the theology of lamentation here: In Psalm, the psalmist cried out in such a way in order to express that he was indeed extremely agonized, as well as lonely and helpless.

When we are extremely painful, we might ask why God abandons us. Didn’t Job ask the same question before?

The question Jesus asked should not be a theological question in view of His painful suffering on the cross. It was plainly His heartfelt cry in the midst of His extreme pain, sorrow and helplessness.

The content of the whole Psalm 22 enables us to see that the predicament and sorrow of the psalmist were fully embodied on Jesus. “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish?” （v 1）

“But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by everyone, despised by the people. All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads. “He trusts in the Lord,” they say, “let the Lord rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him.” (v 6-8)

“Many bulls surround me; strong bulls of Bashan encircle me. Roaring lions that tear their prey open their mouths wide against me. I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart has turned to wax; it has melted within me. My mouth is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you lay me in the dust of death. Dogs surround me, a pack of villains encircles me; they pierce my hands and my feet. All my bones are on display; people stare and gloat over me. They divide my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment.” (vv.12-18)

If we were to read it in comparison with the sufferings of Jesus in the books of Gospel（Refer Matthew 27:32-46; John 19:23-24）, the “I” and “he” in the psalm is no other than “Jesus”, “God”, “Jews and Romans” in the books of Gospel.

Jesus experienced the sadness and the context of the lamentation in Psalm 22. Jesus was experiencing the same sadness described by the psalmist in order to redeem the sin of the world.

Jesus was in an extreme pain, and he was bullied by others and was further crucified on the cross. It was not that he couldn’t run away from it, but willingly he went to the cross to be pushed around by people and be crucified on it. It wasn’t that He couldn’t avoid it, but willingly, He went on the cross and bore the punishment of sinners.

May the sacrificial love of the Lord Jesus, and the suffering that He had gone through touch us and inspire us to follow Him and respond to Him with love. Shouldn’t we also suffer in some ways as we follow and serve God this day? Why should we keep complaining then?

When we are persecuted and when we suffer, we should know that the Lord Jesus suffered through all these hardships too. Therefore, Jesus could understand our pain and suffering, and He would walk with us through the valley of death. His presence brings us much comfort and healing.

2.    Psalm 69

Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” 

A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. (John 19:28-30).

“I am thirsty” is another phrase found in the seven sayings of Jesus on the Cross. “I am thirsty” is also another climax of the suffering of Jesus. He was enduring the ill-treatment and humiliation of the soldiers who stood under the cross.

“I am thirsty” is also a phrase quoted from Psalm 69:21 in the Old Testament. “I am thirsty” is the climax and pivotal point in this entire Psalm.

The Psalmist said sadly, “Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck.” (v1)

“Those who hate me without reason outnumber the hairs of my head; many are my enemies without cause, those who seek to destroy me. I am forced to restore what I did not steal.” (v4)

“For I endure scorn for your sake, and shame covers my face. I am a foreigner to my own family, a stranger to my own mother’s children; for zeal for your house consumes me, and the insults of those who insult you fall on me.” （v7-9）

“You know how I am scorned, disgraced and shamed; all my enemies are before you. Scorn has broken my heart and has left me helpless; I looked for sympathy, but there was none, for comforters, but I found none. They put gall in my food and gave me vinegar for my thirst.” (v19-21)

“I am thirsty” is an important dividing crest in Psalm 69, for after this verse, all the scriptures are about curses, and all these curses are against the “enemies.”

Verses 22-28:

“May the table set before them become a snare; may it become retribution and a trap. May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see, and their backs be bent forever. Pour out your wrath on them; let your fierce anger overtake them. May their place be deserted; let there be no one to dwell in their tents. For they persecute those you wound and talk about the pain of those you hurt. Charge them with crime upon crime; do not let them share in your salvation. May they be blotted out of the book of life and not be listed with the righteous.”

When Jesus quoted the phrase “I am thirsty” in Psalm 69, He was aware that all the seven verses subsequent to this phrase were all curses! Jesus was trapped in a severe test amidst His extreme pain, hatred and grievances that could tempt Him to utter curses out of His flesh.

However, Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34）

Jesus broke through the bottleneck of the theology of lamentation. The great love of the cross shall remove curses for one’s enemy (“he”). This is because the great love of God brings forth revolutionary breakthrough and turnaround for people. It changes the relationship between God and men, and between men and men, the “You, he and I” relationship.

 “For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.” (Ephesians 2:14-16)

This word of Jesus out of His seven sayings on the cross refers to His death and resurrection. Just like Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights, all these refer to God’s great love – that through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God wants to save all the Jews and the Gentiles, and this includes both the two thieves who were nailed beside His cross, whose deaths were reserved mercilessly, and the high priest, scribes, and Roman soldiers, etc., who stood under the cross.

God enabled Jonah to see that His greatest love was not merely rescuing the Israelites but rescuing those people of Nineveh who were not only sinful and wicked, but extremely vicious and violent as well.

“Father, forgive them, for they do not knowing what they are doing.” The most powerful gift of God is love and forgiveness. There is the strongest resilience within it that removes all bitterness and hatred completely.

May we be touched by the love and forgiveness offered by Christ to the world, that we come to understand that we are sinners who have received the grace of God!

We have received freely from Jesus His grace to forgive our sins, and hence, we should respond to the sacrificial love of our Lord, and go and serve others, and be gracious to them and pardon those who have offended us somehow.

The Lord gives us grace, and we should also be gracious to others. One who is not gracious to others shows that he never truly knows Christ’s grace, and he is ungrateful for it.

Making Hope Happen

 

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?