Joseph is in prison. He seems to have befriended two fellow prisoners who had come from the household of Pharaoh himself. Evidently there had been some kind of plot uncovered, or poison found ... and not knowing who all was culpable, both the baker and the butler were imprisoned while, I suspect, the investigation was ongoing. And then we read of their dreams ... and Joseph's ability, through God, to give them interpretations of those dreams ... one favorable, one not.
We do not know exactly how long Joseph has already been in the prison. All we know about the timing is that Joseph was 17 when sold into slavery ... and 30 when Pharaoh releases him from prison. So 13 years pass while Joseph is serving in Potiphar's house and then languishes in the prison. Thirteen years since he had been sent from his home, his family. Thirteen years since he had seen his Dad. Thirteen years alone in a foreign land. Thirteen years ...
When Pharaoh's Butler is released and restored to his former position, don't you know that Joseph got excited about his own possible release! He asked the Butler to remember him ... and was assured by the Butler that he would indeed do just that. I suspect every time the door of the prison opened, he expectantly and eagerly went to see who was coming with what news! I wonder how long he watched? The first verse of chapter 41 tells us the total time period ... 2 years. I wonder how many days passed before Joseph stopped looking eagerly at the door. I wonder if there came a time when he did not even look up.
Genesis 40:23 tells us that the Butler forgot Joseph. After all ... his life was back to normal. And Joseph is forgotten. Being forgotten tends to do one of two things. Being forgotten ... being overlooked ... can embitter a person. Have you ever been on that side of the fence? Someone forgot a promise? You were overlooked and felt totally invisible and disregarded? If you have, you know the temptation to let bitterness set roots down in your own spirit. It's deadly. Paul says in Ephesians 4: 31 to "Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice ..."
The writer of the book of Hebrews tells us in Hebrews 12:15: "See to it that ... no root of bitterness springs up and causes trouble, and through it many become defiled." Bad stuff ... bitterness. Is there any root of bitterness trying to grow into a mature plant in your soul? Go to God ... ask the Spirit of God in you to chop that thing down! It may take some forgiveness on your part. It may take A LOT of forgiveness on your part!
Being forgotten did not seem to embitter Joseph ... instead, it seemed to steady and deepen his character. Disappointment, monotony, being forgotten and ignored, do not have to make you rebellious and bitter. It will take the power of God ... but God can handle that!
We must remember ... God does not forget His people ... EVER! Men do ... men (and women) forget. Have you ever forgotten your child somewhere? I left my baby #3 in the church nursery one Sunday because I was not used to picking her up. And the wildness of getting #s 1 and 2 into the car with all bags and bows in tow ... I forgot her. God does not forget His people ... EVER! He did not forget Noah while Noah sat on a boat for 120 days. He did not forget Saul while he waited, blinded, in Damascus for 3 days. He did not forget ... He waited. There is a huge difference. He did not forget Joseph ... He was waiting ... for the right time ... for the maturing ... for the mellowing ... for the readiness.
There are 3 lessons for us to learn as we think about this "forgotten" business.
1. Stop trusting in men ... all of whom are ultimately undependable. Stop entrusting yourself, your ultimate well being, into the hands of man. Isaiah 2:22 "Stop trusting in man, who has but a breath in his nostrils. Of what account is he?"
2. When disillusioned with men, turn your focus to the love and faithfulness of God. Timothy tells us in 2 Timothy 2:13 that even when we are faithless, God will forever be faithful.
Remember Proverbs 3: 5 - 6?
And listen to Jeremiah 17: 5, 7:
3. The third lesson is practice waiting on God. It's so hard in our culture - our instant gratification world - our no-wait mentality. God does not work on our timetable. He never has worked according to man's wisdom ... and He will not begin with you! God told Joseph how long the butler and the baker had to wait - 3 days. He did not tell Joseph how long he would have to wait for his release. And Joseph waited ... and continued to do his work, in prison, honorably and with integrity.
Take the following words from Isaiah 40: 31 and turn them into your own prayer today. Where are you having to "wait"? Where have you been "forgotten"? Never doubt ... God has not forgotten you!
But those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.
Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the Lord ... But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.
I love what Beth Moore says about the things God decides to forget or remember! She points out that when Scripture says God "forgets" something -- our "sins and lawless acts," for example (Hebrews 10:17) -- He isn't being absent-minded; He simply does not act in judgment on them anymore.
ReplyDeleteBy contrast (says Beth)"The vast majority of references to God remembering also record a subsequent action or promise of action... God never forgets His people. When the Word says that God remembers, we can assume a subsequent action on His part, even if it is not specified... God acts on what He remembers."