The Christ Church Wednesday Bible Study Group is studying God's providence or divine providence in the lives of David and Joseph and how we can apply His providence in their lives to our lives today.
The providence of God is the governance of God by which He, with wisdom and love, cares for and directs all things in the universe. Divine providence asserts that God is in complete control of all things. He is sovereign over the universe. He is in control of the physical world. He is in control of the affairs of nations. He is in control of human destiny. He is in control of human successes and failures. He protects His people.
Last week we discussed that although the Lord was with Joseph in all situations, his life was one of mistreatment, disappointment, and abandonment which would have caused the average person to become disillusioned and embittered, but not Joseph who continued to trust God. He had been sold into slavery, he had been falsely accused and put into prison, and he had been forgotten by someone he helped while in prison.
This week, in Session 27, we see evidence of God's favor toward Joseph although a lot of time had passed. Joseph was still in prison. when Pharoah's cupbearer finally remembered Joseph and his ability to hear God through the interpretation of dreams.
God taught Joseph and teaches us ;
1. During the waiting period, trust God without panic. Be faithful during the waiting periods of life. God will not forget you or forsake you.
2. When the reward comes, thank God without pride. Only God can bring you through and out of the tough times. Only God can reward you for your faithfulness. Be grateful, not proud.
For our study we are using Great Lives: David: A Man of Passion and Destiny, and Joseph: A Man of Integrity and Forgiveness by Charles R. Swindoll. To study along with us you can purchase the books by clicking the Links here or the images after the notes.
The providence of God or divine providence is the governance of God by which He, with wisdom and love, cares for and directs all things in the universe. Divine providence asserts that God is in complete control of all things. He is sovereign over the universe as a whole, He is in control of the physical world, He is in control of the affairs of nations, He’s in control of human destiny, He’s in control of human successes and failures, He protects His people. Through divine providence God accomplishes His will.
Last week we talked about Joseph who had been wrongly sold as a slave by his brothers and then wrongly imprisoned for holding on to his integrity and resisting temptation, still not becoming bitter or vengeful. In fact, in every situation scripture tells us that “the Lord was with him.
Genesis 39:2-4 NIV The Lord was with Joseph so that he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. When his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord gave him success in everything he did, Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned.
Genesis 39:21 NIV the Lord was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden.
While in prison he was genuinely interested in other people, although he knew he hadn’t done anything that should have caused him to be in prison. I don’t think he even thought about what they may have done, he was just interested in them and fellow human beings. This trait caused him to see that something troubled two men who were close to Pharoah. They both had a dream which Joseph interpreted through a God given gift.
Genesis 40:8 NIV “We both had dreams,” they answered, “but there is no one to interpret them.” Then Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell me your dreams.”
One was a great interpretation, the other not so good. One interpretation was that the cupbearer, or chief butler would be reinstated to his former position and the other the chief baker would be executed.
Genesis 40:9-13 NIV So the chief cupbearer told Joseph his dream. He said to him, “In my dream I saw a vine in front of me, and on the vine were three branches. As soon as it budded, it blossomed, and its clusters ripened into grapes. Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand, and I took the grapes, squeezed them into Pharaoh’s cup and put the cup in his hand.” “This is what it means,” Joseph said to him. “The three branches are three days. Within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your position, and you will put Pharaoh’s cup in his hand, just as you used to do when you were his cupbearer.
Genesis 40:16-19 NIV When the chief baker saw that Joseph had given a favorable interpretation, he said to Joseph, “I too had a dream: On my head were three baskets of bread. In the top basket were all kinds of baked goods for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating them out of the basket on my head.” “This is what it means,” Joseph said. “The three baskets are three days. Within three days Pharaoh will lift off your head and impale your body on a pole. And the birds will eat away your flesh.”
Joseph seeing that the chief butler would be reinstated asked him to talk to Pharoah and tell him about him.
Genesis 40:14-15 NIV But when all goes well with you, remember me and show me kindness; mention me to Pharaoh and get me out of this prison. I was forcibly carried off from the land of the Hebrews, and even here I have done nothing to deserve being put in a dungeon.”
However when he chief butler got out of jail he forgot all about Joseph.
Genesis 40:23 NIV The chief cupbearer, however, did not remember Joseph; he forgot him.
So here we have Joseph who has suffered wrongdoing is now forgotten after giving the chief butler good news which comes through. The average person would be devastated. There is one form of mistreatment after another.
When we are mistreated, we have two choices. We have two choices: We can become disillusioned and embittered, or we can use that difficulty as a platform for putting our hope and trust in the living God.
Joseph obviously took the second choice because we never see him become bitter or discouraged. Joseph’s life, to this point, had been very somber. It has been a life filled with disappointment, mistreatment, and rejection, with fear and false accusations, with slavery and abandonment.
But the only indication that we see that he just accepted his plight was the time he told the chief butler to let Pharaoh know that he had been wrongly accused and punished going back to his original enslavement.
Genesis 40:15 NIV I was forcibly carried off from the land of the Hebrews, and even here I have done nothing to deserve being put in a dungeon.”
Still God had not forgotten Joseph. He was waiting for the right time in Joseph’s life. Remember Joseph, in his time as a slave and a prisoner, had acquired great administrative skills.
Genesis 39:4-6, 20-23 NIV Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned. From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the Lord blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of the Lord was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field. So Potiphar left everything he had in Joseph’s care; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate. Now Joseph was well-built and handsome, Joseph’s master 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.
Often when God has us in a holding pattern, or we are waiting for an answer to prayer for direction God is using this time to develop us both spiritually and secularly. God can use the skills that He has given us in the marketplace for the advancement of his kingdom. This may be what was happening with Joseph.
Our book uses Job as another example of someone who suffered a loss of material things, his children and who was not comforted by in wife or his friends. We know Job’s story, so we are not going to spend any time on it other than to mention that Job never lost his integrity. He still felt that although he couldn’t understand why all this happened to him that he could still go to God, and that somehow God would deliver him.
Job 23:10-12 NIV But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold. My feet have closely followed his steps; I have kept to his way without turning aside. I have not departed from the commands of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread.
When God is preparing us for big things in is kingdom He is never in a hurry. He takes His time to refine us like gold.
Let me read something from the August 17, 2020, Daily Bread
"Twenty-four–karat gold is nearly 100 percent gold with few impurities. But that percentage is difficult to achieve. Refiners most commonly use one of two methods for the purification process. The Miller process is the quickest and least expensive, but the resulting gold is only about 99.95 percent pure. The Wohlwill process takes a little more time and costs more, but the gold produced is 99.99 percent pure.
In Bible times, refiners used fire as a gold purifier. Fire caused impurities to rise to the surface for easier removal. In his first letter to believers in Jesus throughout Asia Minor (northern Turkey), the apostle Peter used the gold-refining process as a metaphor for the way trials work in the life of a believer. At that time, many believers were being persecuted by the Romans for their faith in Christ. Peter knew what that was like firsthand. But persecution, Peter explained, brings out the “genuineness of [our] faith”.
1 Peter 1:6-9 NIV In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
You feel like you’re in a refiner’s fire—feeling the heat of setbacks, illness, or other challenges. But hardship is often the process by which God purifies the gold of our faith. In our pain we might beg God to quickly end the process, but He knows what’s best for us, even when life hurts. Keep connected to the Savior, seeking His comfort and peace.
Abraham waited for the birth of Isaac. Moses didn’t lead the Exodus until he was eighty. Elijah waited beside the brook.
1 Kings 17:2-16 NIV Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah: “Leave here, turn eastward and hide in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan. You will drink from the brook, and I have directed the ravens to supply you with food there.” So he did what the Lord had told him. He went to the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan, and stayed there. The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook. Some time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land. Then the word of the Lord came to him: “Go at once to Zarephath in the region of Sidon and stay there. I have directed a widow there to supply you with food.” So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, “Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?” As she was going to get it, he called, “And bring me, please, a piece of bread.” “As surely as the Lord your God lives,” she replied, “I don’t have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die.” Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the land.’ ” She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the Lord spoken by Elijah.
Noah waited 120 years for rain. Paul was hidden away for three years in Arabia. The list doesn’t end. God is working while His people are waiting, waiting, waiting. Joseph is being shaped for a significant future.
When the time was right God gave Pharoh two dreams that his wise men couldn’t interpret for him. It has been two years since the chief butler was reinstated.
Genesis 40:20-23 NIV Now the third day was Pharaoh’s birthday, and he gave a feast for all his officials. He lifted up the heads of the chief cupbearer and the chief baker in the presence of his officials: He restored the chief cupbearer to his position, so that he once again put the cup into Pharaoh’s hand— but he impaled the chief baker, just as Joseph had said to them in his interpretation. The chief cupbearer, however, did not remember Joseph; he forgot him.
Genesis 41:1-8 NIV When two full years had passed, Pharaoh had a dream: He was standing by the Nile, when out of the river there came up seven cows, sleek and fat, and they grazed among the reeds. After them, seven other cows, ugly and gaunt, came up out of the Nile and stood beside those on the riverbank. And the cows that were ugly and gaunt ate up the seven sleek, fat cows. Then Pharaoh woke up. He fell asleep again and had a second dream: Seven heads of grain, healthy and good, were growing on a single stalk. After them, seven other heads of grain sprouted—thin and scorched by the east wind. The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven healthy, full heads. Then Pharaoh woke up; it had been a dream. In the morning his mind was troubled, so he sent for all the magicians and wise men of Egypt. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but no one could interpret them for him.
It finally dawns on the chief butler that oh my goodness I forgot all about the guy that may be able to help,
Genesis 41:9-14 NIV Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh, “Today I am reminded of my shortcomings. Pharaoh was once angry with his servants, and he imprisoned me and the chief baker in the house of the captain of the guard. Each of us had a dream the same night, and each dream had a meaning of its own. Now a young Hebrew was there with us, a servant of the captain of the guard. We told him our dreams, and he interpreted them for us, giving each man the interpretation of his dream. And things turned out exactly as he interpreted them to us: I was restored to my position, and the other man was impaled.” So Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and he was quickly brought from the dungeon. When he had shaved and changed his clothes, he came before Pharaoh.
All Joseph knows is that Pharaoh wants to see him so he freshens up. Now is his chance to tell Pharaoh about his plight. Maybe the chief butler has told Pharaoh about him and his false imprisonment. Finally!
So here is in front of Pharaoh.
Genesis 41:15-16 NIV Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I had a dream, and no one can interpret it. But I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.” “I cannot do it,” Joseph replied to Pharaoh, “but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires.”
Like he did with the other two guys Joseph says it not me but it is God who will give you the interpretation.
So, after Pharaoh tells Joseph he gives him a detailed interpretation and tells him both dreams mean the same thing and the fact that had two dreams meant that God was going to make it a reality and quickly, so he needs to get ready. This was God’s doing so take heed Pharaoh. God is mentioned several times in Joseph’s interpretation.
Genesis 41:25-32 NIV Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “The dreams of Pharaoh are one and the same. God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do. The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good heads of grain are seven years; it is one and the same dream. The seven lean, ugly cows that came up afterward are seven years, and so are the seven worthless heads of grain scorched by the east wind: They are seven years of famine. “It is just as I said to Pharaoh: God has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do. Seven years of great abundance are coming throughout the land of Egypt, but seven years of famine will follow them. Then all the abundance in Egypt will be forgotten, and the famine will ravage the land. The abundance in the land will not be remembered, because the famine that follows it will be so severe. The reason the dream was given to Pharaoh in two forms is that the matter has been firmly decided by God, and God will do it soon.
Remember what I said earlier Joseph had in his years and Potipher and in prison had become a great administrator so after giving the interpretation he give Pharaoh some advice as how to handle what God was going to bring to pass.
Genesis 41:33-36 NIV “And now let Pharaoh look for a discerning and wise man and put him in charge of the land of Egypt. Let Pharaoh appoint commissioners over the land to take a fifth of the harvest of Egypt during the seven years of abundance. They should collect all the food of these good years that are coming and store up the grain under the authority of Pharaoh, to be kept in the cities for food. This food should be held in reserve for the country, to be used during the seven years of famine that will come upon Egypt, so that the country may not be ruined by the famine.”
So, here’s Pharaoh having heard the interpretation and the counsel thinking this guy is brilliant let’s hire him to oversee this whole deal.
Genesis 41:37-40 NIV The plan seemed good to Pharaoh and to all his officials. So Pharaoh asked them, “Can we find anyone like this man, one in whom is the spirit of God?” Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one so discerning and wise as you. You shall be in charge of my palace, and all my people are to submit to your orders. Only with respect to the throne will I be greater than you.”
So, here’s Joseph going from the dungeon to the second in command in Egypt in one day. Of course, it wasn’t a one-day process it the process took from the time that Joseph was about 17 years old and sold into slavery until he was now 30 years old and gone through years of slavery and false imprisonment.
Genesis 37:2 NIV This is the account of Jacob’s family line. Joseph, a young man of seventeen, was tending the flocks with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives, and he brought their father a bad report about them.
Genesis 41:46 NIV Joseph was thirty years old when he entered the service of Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from Pharaoh’s presence and traveled throughout Egypt.
Joseph’s Cinderella-like promotion was incredible. But when God determines the time is right, that’s the way He operates. Joseph has been appointed, chosen, selected, prepared, and refined into gold by Almighty God.
God had taught him in the past thirty years, things God also wants to teach us.
First: During the waiting period, trust God without panic. Count on Him to handle the cupbearers of your life, the people who forget you, the people who break their promises. It’s God’s job to deal with the cupbearers of your past. It’s your job to be the kind of servant He has designed you to be. Be faithful during the waiting periods of life. God will not forget you or forsake you
Second: When the reward comes, thank God without pride. Only God can bring you through and out of the dungeon. Only God can reward you for your faithfulness. If He has, be grateful, not proud. Sure, there will always be some who will find a reason to say that you’re not deserving, that you’re not qualified for a reward or promotion. But you remember, with humility, that it is God who has put you there.
Joseph learned that a broken and contrite heart is not the end, but the beginning.
Bruised and crushed by the blows of disappointment and unrealized dreams, he discovered that God had never left his side. When the affliction ended, he had been refined and he came forth as gold. He had become a person of greater stability, of deeper quality, of profound character.
Philippians 4:6-7 NIV Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Trust God and learn and lean on His promises.
God’s promises are just as much for us as they were for Joseph. His grace is still at work. His tender mercies accompany us from the pit to the pinnacle.
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