Gtcotr/ss072912
By
the time we get to Genesis 40 Joseph had been sold into slavery, spitefully
accused, wrongfully judged and unjustly placed into prison. However while
there, Joseph worked hard to prove himself and ultimately became the most
trusted prisoner. He was put in charge of all of the other prisoners. Whatever
they did it was because Joseph allowed it and the warden checked nothing which
was under Joseph’s authority.
Genesis 40
1 ¶ It came to pass after these
things that the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt offended their
lord, the king of Egypt.
2 And Pharaoh was angry with his
two officers, the chief butler and the chief baker.
3 So he put them in
custody in the house of the captain of the
guard, in the prison, the place where Joseph was confined.
4 And the captain of the
guard charged Joseph
with them, and he served
them; so they were in custody for a while.
5 ¶ Then the butler and
the baker of the king of Egypt, who were confined in the prison, had a dream, both of them,
each man’s dream in one night and each man’s dream with its own
interpretation.
6 And Joseph came
in to them in the morning and looked at them, and saw that
they were sad.
7 So he
asked Pharaoh’s officers who were with him in the custody of
his lord’s house, saying, "Why do you look so sad
today?"
8 And they said to him,
"We each have had a dream, and there is no
interpreter of it." So Joseph said to them, "Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell them
to me, please."
9 Then the
chief butler told his dream to Joseph, and said to him,
"Behold, in my dream a vine was before me,
10 "and in the vine were
three branches; it was as though it budded, its blossoms shot forth, and
its clusters brought forth ripe grapes.
11 "Then 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 And Joseph
said to him, "This is the interpretation of it: The
three branches are three days.
13 "Now within
three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to
your place, and you will put Pharaoh’s cup in his hand according to the former
manner, when you were his butler.
14 "But remember
me when it is well with you, and please show kindness to me; make
mention of me to Pharaoh, and get me out of this house.
15 "For indeed I was
stolen away from the land of the Hebrews; and also I have
done nothing here that they should put me into the dungeon."
16 When the
chief baker saw that the interpretation was good, he said to Joseph, "I
also was in my dream, and there were three white
baskets on my head.
17 "In the uppermost
basket were all kinds of baked goods for Pharaoh, and the birds ate them
out of the basket on my head."
18 So Joseph
answered and said, "This is the interpretation of it: The three
baskets are three days.
19 "Within
three days Pharaoh will lift off your head from you and hang you on a
tree; and the birds will eat your flesh from you."
20 ¶ Now it came to pass
on the third day, which was Pharaoh’s
birthday, that he made a feast for all his servants; and he lifted up
the head of the chief butler and of the chief baker among his servants.
21 Then he restored
the chief butler to his butlership again, 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 butler did
not remember Joseph, but forgot him.
Note
the account of the Chief Butler and the Chief Baker of Pharaoh
· Joseph served them
· Joseph ask about
their day and their sadness
· Joseph listened to their
dreams
· Joseph gave them the
interpretations
· After 3 days every
word Joseph spoke came to pass
· But Joseph was forgotten
– no thank you, nothing … just forgotten
What
do we learn from this account that we can apply to our lives today?
1. Bloom where you are planted
a. We cannot always
control what we go through but we can decide how we are going to go through it
b. Fair or unfair
c. It’s not what you
are going through but what you are going to
d. You are not the only
one going through difficult times
e. Nothing says “I
care” like taking time to listen
f. People will care
what you know when they know that you care
g. It will help you to
help others – bloom where you are planted
2. Not every word of God will be found in a
Promise Book
a.
The butler got a good word – the baker did
not
b.
We can’t live our life only out of a promise
book
When Paul and Barnabas were in Lystra they
were thought to be gods, Zeus and Hermes, who possessed power to heal because
of a miracle received by a man who had not before been able to walk. It was all
Paul and Barnabas could do to restrain the people from sacrificing to them.
Even the priest of the Temple of Zeus brought oxen and garlands to do sacrifice
to them. But …
Acts 14
19 Then Jews from Antioch and
Iconium came there; and having persuaded the multitudes, they stoned Paul and
dragged him out of the city, supposing him to be dead.
20 However, when the
disciples gathered around him, he rose up and went into the city. And the next
day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe.
21 And when they had preached
the gospel to that city and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra,
Iconium, and Antioch,
22 strengthening the souls of
the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying,
"We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God."
Did you read verse 19 – they stoned Paul to
the point they believed him to be dead so they drug him out of the city and put
him on the trash pile. He went back into the city and told the new converts to
Christ that they too must through many tribulations press themselves into this
Kingdom of God. Paul encouraged them to continue in the faith whatever the
costs …
Have
you ever read:
2 Timothy 3:12 Yes, and all
who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution
Not every word of God can be found in a Promise Book …
c. Sometimes God’s will
cost
d. At some point God’s
will is going to cost each one of us
e. But life goes on …
we need to go on with it
f. At some point we may
be disappointed, hurt, unjustly treated … we cannot allow those times to
convince us to quit
g. Not everything turns
out the way or in the time we imagine
h. The future, good or
bad, takes time to unfold
i. Some things we can
change and some things we cannot
j. The officers of
Pharaoh only had to wait 3 days – Joseph had to wait 2 years – The future takes
time to unfold – give it time – God knows what He is doing and He works all
things in His time
k. What we do while we
wait makes a difference
3. Remember
a. Everyone desires to
be and many ought to be remembered for some decent thing which they sacrificed
to provide
b. Don’t forget those
God used to help you
c. Thanks can mean more
than one might imagine
d. The 1 Leper out of
the 10 who were healed returned to give thanks (Luke 17) – Jesus remarked that
he remembered
e. Musa remembered the
South African missionary who led his family to the Lord in the 50’s. Thanks was
not given until the 90’s …
f. The word remember is
spoken 144 times in the Bible …
Luke
23:42 Then he said to Jesus, "Lord,
remember me when You come into Your kingdom."
Colossians
3:15 And let the peace of God rule in
your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.
Philippians 4:16 For even in Thessalonica
you sent aid once and again for my necessities.
Let’s
all pledge this week to remember at least one person God has used to bless us …
then simply thank them in some small way.
