Title: While Waiting
Genesis 40
We continue in our series focusing on the Life of Joseph.
So far, we’ve only stepped in and out of Joseph’s life during pivotal times.
We’ve learn about him being sold to slave traders and taken to Egypt.
But we don’t know anything about his trip through the wilderness of the Sinai.
We can assume it wasn’t comfortable.
We know that he served in Potiphar’s house until he was accused unjustly by the lady of the house.
But we don’t know much about the decade that he spent there except that he was trustworthy.
We get to fast forward through Joseph’s life.
But he didn’t have that luxury
This morning we’re focusing on life while we wait.
I heard something recently that cut me to my core.
Did you know that the time difference between 1980 and today is the same as 1980 and 1935?
Ouch! Man, did that make me feel old.
One way things are different now than they were in the 1980s is how much less we have to wait on stuff.
Think about the things that have been invented since 1980 that cut down on how much we have to wait.
If I wanted to watch an episode of the A-Team, I had to be sitting in front of my TV at exactly 8PM on
Thursday night.
If I wanted to watch the next episode, I had to wait a week.
The only way you might be able to binge watch a show, was if you picked up the 12-pack VHS tapes of the
season years after it was over.
Oh Blockbuster didn’t exist until 1985.
If you wanted to invite someone to come and visit you from another state, you had to write it on a piece of
paper, put it in the mailbox, and wait at least a week to get their reply – if they replied at all.
Now, I can text or call someone in another country immediately.
In fact, I just heard from a rich prince in Nigeria!
Instead of video chatting, if you wanted to see how big your grandkids were getting, you had to drive to see
them or wait for their school picture to arrive in the mail.
If you wanted to buy something that wasn’t at the store, you looked through something called a catalog.
Then you might pick up the phone, call the number, and pay by credit card.
But more likely, you’d tear out the order form, write a check for the amount “plus shipping and handling.”
Either way, you’d wait several weeks for the item to arrive at your home.
Today, I can order something and it might be on my doorstep tomorrow.
Speaking of phones, if you wanted to talk to someone, on one, you were going to be sitting on the family
room couch or standing in the kitchen.
If your mom had one of those long corded phones of the kitchen wall, you might make the mistake of
walking right into it, yanking it out of her hand – good times.
But you couldn’t talk on the phone if your parent told you, “Stay off the phone, I’m expecting a call.”
Things take place so much faster these days.
But where’s all the extra time we should have on our hands?
And how do we now respond to situations where we have to wait?
We don’t like waiting on anything.
Even in our comfortable home environments – we don’t like to wait.
This morning, we find Joseph waiting.
But he’s not in a comfortable home environment, he’s in prison – a place he calls “the pit.”
1 Some time after this, the cupbearer of the king of Egypt and his baker committed an offense against their
lord the king of Egypt. 2 And Pharaoh was angry with his two officers, the chief cupbearer and the chief
baker, 3 and he put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the prison where Joseph
was confined.
4 The captain of the guard appointed Joseph to be with them, and he attended them. They continued for
some time in custody. 5 And one night they both dreamed—the cupbearer and the baker of the king of
Egypt, who were confined in the prison—each his own dream, and each dream with its own interpretation.
6 When Joseph came to them in the morning, he saw that they were troubled.
7 So he asked Pharaoh’s officers who were with him in custody in his master’s house, “Why are your faces
downcast today?” 8 They said to him, “We have had dreams, and there is no one to interpret them.” And
Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Please tell them to me.”
9 So the chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph and said to him, “In my dream there was a vine before
me, 10 and on the vine there were three branches. As soon as it budded, its blossoms shot forth, and the
clusters ripened into grapes. 11 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 Then Joseph said to him, “This is its interpretation: the three branches are three days. 13 In three days
Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your office, and you shall place Pharaoh’s cup in his hand
as formerly, when you were his cupbearer.
14 Only remember me, when it is well with you, and please do me the kindness to mention me to Pharaoh,
and so get me out of this house. 15 For I was indeed stolen out of the land of the Hebrews, and here also I
have done nothing that they should put me into the pit.”
16 When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was favorable, he said to Joseph, “I also had a dream:
there were three cake baskets on my head, 17 and in the uppermost basket there were all sorts of baked
food for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating it out of the basket on my head.”
18 And Joseph answered and said, “This is its interpretation: the three baskets are three days. 19 In three days
Pharaoh will lift up your head—from you!—and hang you on a tree. And the birds will eat the flesh from
you.”
20 On the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, he made a feast for all his servants and lifted up the head
of the chief cupbearer and the head of the chief baker among his servants. 21 He restored the chief
cupbearer to his position, 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 cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.
We’re not told how long Joseph is in prison before he’s put into the place of influence described at the close
of Ch 39.
We are reminded that He’s confined to the prison.
This definitely represents a further downward spiral of Joseph’s freedom.
He’s gone from his father’s favored son – to supervising slave with freedom to roam – to supervising
prisoner, confined to the Pharaoh’s prison.
We’re told that Some time after his rise to the role of “chief prisoner,” officials of Pharaoh join him.
They’re in trouble due to committing an offense against their lord the king of Egypt.
This is no small thing.
The term is the same as when Joseph says he won’t SIN against God.
The mention of Pharaoh is significant because it highlights how God is moving Joseph one step closer to is
ultimate position of huge influence.
These men would’ve been very close to Pharaoh and would’ve been trusted because they provided him with
his food and drink.
These officials are given into Joseph’s care to serve and take care of.
I think we can be challenged from Josephs story that while we wait, we should -
1. LOVE GOD & LOVE OTHERS
7 So he asked Pharaoh’s officers who were with him in custody in his master’s house, “Why are your faces
downcast today?” 8 They said to him, “We have had dreams, and there is no one to interpret them.” And
Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Please tell them to me.”
Joseph looks on them with genuine concern and asks about what is troubling them.
The officials share that they both had disturbing dreams but had no hope of knowing what they meant.
It may be that they would’ve gone to Pharaoh’s wise men but weren’t able to do so since they were in
prison.
Joseph spoke of God in Ch. 39 in reference to his conviction about the immorality he was tempted with.
Recall his response – “How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?”
We learned from this that God deserves to define what is wicked.
And we also took note that God deserves to be remembered when we’re tempted
Here, Joseph’s faith in God shines once again as he insists that God is the one who owns interpretations.
And God is not limited to working only in the fields of Canaan or in Pharaoh’s courts.
One writer states about Joseph, “His faith was not destroyed by his circumstances.”
Jesus tells us what are the greatest commandments in * Matthew 22:37–40
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is
the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On
these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
What Jesus meant by this is that all of God’s commands are summed up in the call to love God and others.
We can see from Joseph’s concern for these men and his unfaltering faith in God that Joseph was keeping
the main thing the main thing even in his busyness within undesirable circumstances.
Joseph shows us that we can keep our eyes on God as our provider no matter what our circumstances.
I have a neighbor who’s dying from cancer.
He will sit on his porch and just wait, or he might hang his head in discomfort.
It’s so easy for me to just rush to and from my car in the busyness of life.
But I’ve been trying to stop when I see him out (which isn’t often these days) and walk over and talk.
And I’m hoping that the Lord will open the door for me to share more of the gospel than I’ve shared already
– sometimes I ask him if I can pray for him.
Whatever I have on the forefront of my mind isn’t nearly as important as my neighbor’s soul.
In all of our busyness and false expectations that end up disappointing us about our lives, we must keep the
main thing the main thing.
* Philippians 2:3–8 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more
significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of
others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form
of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a
servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by
becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
What are your “eyes” looking to for your purpose right now?
Are you looking for opportunities to bring God glory in the hearts & minds of others?
Are you looking to the needs of others and how you might meet those needs.
One of the more difficult aspects waiting is in knowing that we’re not in charge of the world.
And so I want to also encourage you from Joseph’s story –
2. WHILE YOU WAIT, TRUST GOD’S TIMING
14 Only remember me, when it is well with you, and please do me the kindness to mention me to Pharaoh,
and so get me out of this house. 15 For I was indeed stolen out of the land of the Hebrews, and here also I
have done nothing that they should put me into the pit.”… 23 Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember
Joseph, but forgot him.
God blesses Joseph with the interpretation of the cupbearer’s dream.
What will be said of Joseph in 41:38 is true here as well – he’s one “in whom is the Spirit of God.”
Joseph describes himself as having been put into “the pit.”
This is the same term used of where his brother put him as they schemed about how to get rid of him.
He has one request - ONLY remember me.
But we see that the chief cupbearer forgot him.
We have to wonder how it could be possible that the cup bearer would forget Joseph.
But he did.
According to 41:1, Joseph would stay in the pit he’s confined in for 2 more WHOLE years.
Yet, in the next Chapter we’ll see that the cupbearer does remember Joseph.
And he remembers him, not in the timing that fit Joseph’s plan but God’s plan.
Think about it.
What would’ve happened if the cupbearer remembered Joseph?
Maybe Pharaoh would’ve granted Joseph clemency
Maybe Joseph would’ve stuck around and disappeared into obscurity in Egypt.
Maybe he would’ve made his way back to Canaan and surprised his father and brothers…
and then all of them would’ve died in the famine just 9 years later.
Spoiler Alert: Joseph is going to come out and be used by God
He’ll be placed into the most perfect position to move into the most powerful position in Egypt.
God will orchestrate world meteorological events to bring his family to Egypt.
And the rest of the known world around Egypt will be saved from starvation, and to glorify God.
But for now, God has Joseph waiting in “the pit” for two whole years so that He can bring him before
Pharaoh in His perfect timing.
A man planted a fern and a bamboo seed.
The fern grew quickly.
The bamboo seed didn’t sprout for years.
Still, the man watered both daily.
After five years, the bamboo finally emerged—and then grew 90 feet in six weeks.
It had been developing a strong root system all that time.
We want to have a significance to our lives that we can see today.
God is at work in ways that will make an impact for eternity.
We want immediate comfort to our pain and suffering.
God’s timing takes into account how we might experience maximum reward for forever.
Ask yourself, “Can I trust God to have perfect timing with what He brings into my life?”
Do you trust Him?
What is your attitude like when you’re stuck waiting in an uncomfortable situation?
Lastly this morning, I want to point this out to you –
3. WHILE YOU WAIT, BE ENCOURAGED BY GOD’S LONG-TERM PLAN
Next week, Pastor Josh will share how God’s long-term plan was to bring Joseph before Pharaoh in the
perfect moment for him to be used to save others.
We’ll start to see what God’s long-term plan was for this man who has been unjustly condemned to the pit.
But, you might be thinking, “This is easy for JD to talk about. We know what happens to Joseph in the end.”
Friend, if you know Christ, I know what happens to you in the end as well.
And it’s far better than being second in command of a powerful nation.
We’re told in 1 Corinthians 2:9 that there’s nothing to compare to what God has in mind for His saints.
* 1 Corinthians 2:9 9 However, as it is written: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has
conceived what God has prepared for those who love him” (NIV)
Ephesians 2:4-7 gives us a beautiful overview of God’s saving grace for today and our eternal future.
* Ephesians 2:4–7 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even
when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—
6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the
coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
A man named John Chapman lived in the late 1700’s to mid 1800’s.
He traveled the frontier (which consisted of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois).
He didn’t have much to his name, and is known to have dressed in not much more than rags.
But history remembers him as Johnny Appleseed because wherever he went, he planted apple trees.
Years later, families were able to harvest the fruit of his labor as they settled the land.
What I learned is that Johnny Appleseed didn’t just spread apple trees.
He also preached the gospel as he went.
And, I think we’d agree that, as great as the trees were for others, those who received Christ through his
ministry have a million times greater blessing than apple pie could ever bring.
We should find ourselves encouraged by God’s long-term plan no matter what our present circumstances.
This is true if we know that god’s long-term plan for us is the richness of God’s presence in heaven.
Where are you going to spend eternity?
Do you think about how this physical life will be a small blur in comparison to the millions of years you’ll
have after death?
If you’re treating your physical life as a time of preparation for eternity, what should you change in your
life?
As we celebrate with Tim and Gabby as they follow Christ in being baptized, it should be a reminder to us.
We should be reminded that salvation is a matter of being transfered from the kingdom of darkness into the
kingdom of God.
Their baptism symbolizes their having been immersed into Christ and being raised to a new life.
And our new lives in Christ should be ones in which we –
Love God & Love Others
Trust God’s Timing
Be Encouraged by God’s Long-Term Plan
Even as we wait and wait and wait.
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