Gtcotr/ws080112
Sometime
after Joseph was imprisoned he encountered two officers of Pharaoh who had
offended their King and were therefore placed in the dungeon. After a season
each of these two men had dreams which troubled them greatly. Joseph correctly
interpreted each man’s dream which led to one being restored to his former
office as Chief Butler to Pharaoh and the other being hanged.
The
only thing Joseph asked of the butler was that he be remembered. However, when
the butler was released and restored, he forgot all about Joseph. We pick up
the account of Joseph’s life in:
Genesis 41
1 Then it came to pass, at
the end of two full years, that Pharaoh had a dream; and behold, he stood by
the river.
8 Now it came to pass in the
morning that his spirit was troubled, and he sent and called for all the
magicians of Egypt and all its wise men. And Pharaoh told them his dreams, but there
was no one who could interpret them for Pharaoh.
9 Then the chief butler spoke
to Pharaoh, saying: "I remember my faults this day.
25 Then Joseph said to
Pharaoh, "The dreams of Pharaoh are one; God has shown Pharaoh what
He is about to do:
33 Now therefore, let Pharaoh
select a discerning and wise man, and set him over the land of Egypt.
34 "Let Pharaoh do this,
and let him appoint officers over the land, to collect one-fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt in the
seven plentiful years.
36 "Then that food shall
be as a reserve for the land for the seven years of famine which shall be in
the land of Egypt, that the land may not perish during the famine."
39 Then Pharaoh said to
Joseph, "Inasmuch as God has shown you all this, there is no one as
discerning and wise as you.
40 "You shall be over my
house, and all my people shall be ruled according to your word; only in regard
to the throne will I be greater than you."
46 Joseph was thirty years
old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the
presence of Pharaoh, and went throughout all the land of Egypt.
51 Joseph called the name of
the firstborn Manasseh: "For God
has made me forget all my toil and all my father’s house."
52 And the name of the second
he called Ephraim: "For God has
caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction."
53 Then the seven years of
plenty which were in the land of Egypt ended,
56 The famine was over all
the face of the earth, and Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold to the
Egyptians. And the famine became severe in the land of Egypt.
57 So all countries came to
Joseph in Egypt to buy grain, because the famine was severe in all lands.
Joseph’s
life teaches us to be both wise and discerning
Wise in the sense
that we look farther down the road and contemplate the consequences of our
actions
Discerning in the
sense that we choose to do now what will best serve our future
The
prophet Jeremiah reveals the heart of God towards each one of us:
Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the
thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of
evil, to give you a future and a hope.
Seeing
that God is so interested in and focused on our future … should not we be also?
Three
things Genesis 41 teaches us that wise and discerning people do:
1. Release the past
a. Refuse to focus on
the pains of the past
b. How hard it was to
get here or how hard it is to be here
Wise and discerning people do not allow their past to become a
roadblock to their future.
2. Increase in affliction
a. Principles of
increase work wherever we are
b. Have you ever
noticed the vegetable gardens on prison grounds? – The soil does not say that
because the person planting the seed is in prison, “I will not produce for
him.”
c. The earth does not
care who it is that plants, waters or cultivates. Principles of increase work
because they are worked.
d. God watches over the
harvest of the righteous … Isaac sowed in the land of famine – Genesis 26:12
and increased 100 fold
e. The harvest belongs
to those who sow (1 Co 9:10; 2Ti 2:6)
Wise and discerning people keep sowing.
3. Save for the future
a. 1/5 was gathered
during the good years
b. That’s 20%
c. Remember the 10
Apples
i. Live on 6 Apples
ii. Give 2 Apples
1. 1 Apple as a Tithe
2. 1 Apple as an
Offering
iii. Save 2 Apples
1. 1/5th
2. 20%
The
life of Joseph encourages us to:
·
Release
the past
·
Keep
Sowing, even in hard times
·
Save
for the future
