I. From Pit to Palace
Gen 41:1-57
How do evil people like Hitler and Stalin attain positions of power? How do good people like George Washington and Abe Lincoln come to power? Maybe you know someone at work that got elevated that treats people horribly, and you are distressed. How did he get the job? Did a candidate win your High School student body election that was a bad pick. If so, why? The answer is this: All promotion and demotion comes from the Lord.
(Psalm 75:6–7) "6 For not from the east or from the west and not from the wilderness comes lifting up, 7 but it is God who executes judgment, putting down one and lifting up another."
Genesis 41 is about Joseph’s rise to power.
Our Proposition? To save the world from famine, God sovereignly elevated Joseph.
When I use the word “sovereignty” many Christians become anxious. They are not sure about God’s sovereignty. Here is a Report on a Harris Poll by the Washington Times:
“Beliefs about God's involvement in events on Earth also varies. Twenty-seven percent of Catholics said God "controls what happens on Earth," compared with 41 percent among Protestants and 57 percent among Born-Agains. Forty-four percent said God "observes but does not control" what happens here. That figure rises to 58 percent among Catholics, but falls to 37 percent among Born-Agains.”[1]
The Bible repeatedly teaches the absolute sovereignty of God over all events. In his book, The Doctrine of God, scholar John Frame suggests that God’s sovereignty is the most referred to of all of God’s attributes in the Bible.
When the Bible discusses the sovereignty of God it does so with reference to what theologians call “compatiblism,” ––the idea that the responsible choices of men and God’s sovereign control of all things are both true. We do not understand how they work together, but because they are both in scripture, we believe that they are compatible.
Wilson: “it makes no sense to ask what percentage of this scene in the play was “Shakespeare” and what percentage was “Hamlet.” Every option that adds up to 100 percent is incoherent. The scene is 100 percent Shakespeare and 100 percent Hamlet.”[2]
Key Verse:
(Genesis 41:32) "32 And the doubling of Pharaoh’s dream means that the thing is fixed by God, and God will shortly bring it about."
A. God Elevated Joseph Sovereignly
Pr 16:9 “A man’s mind plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.”
When God acts sovereignly his Timing, his Methods, and his Reasons are seldom ours.
1. Sovereign Timing
God’s timing is not Joseph’s. Although the cupbearer forgets Joseph, God does not forget Joseph.
(Genesis 41:1) "1 After two whole years, Pharaoh dreamed that he was standing by the Nile,"
It was God’s timing. In “the fullness of time” God acted. Joseph’s troubles began at age 17. He was now age 30. He had experienced exactly 14 years of trouble, trial, and testing. 7 X 2=14.
After two years of major trouble, God sovereignly elevated Joseph. When the time for elevation came, it came quickly.
2. Sovereign Methods
To accomplish his pre-ordained plans God uses Circumstances, the Gifts he gives us, our Character, and Supernatural intervention.
In today’s story, God used circumstances that one could forsee, but looking back on Joseph’s life, all these events occurred in perfect sequence bringing Joseph to his eventual elevation.
First, his brothers sold him to Ishmaelite traders on their way down to Egypt. This was no accident. God wanted Joseph in Egypt.
Then the captain of the Pharaoh’s guard, Potiphar, bought him. This was no accident. God wanted Joseph close to Pharaoh’s household.
Then Potiphar sent him to the King’s Prison. This was no accident. It put him in direct contact with two men very close to Pharaoh––The Cupbearer and the Baker.
God also used Joseph’s Character. Joseph resisted the temptations of Potiphar’s wife. Had he succumbed he would have received the death penalty. He would have never become Prime Minister of Egypt. Joseph served both Potiphar and the Jailer. In both cases the responsibilities of these men flourished.
God also used the spiritual gift he had given Joseph. During his lifetime Joseph interprets three sets of dreams. In each set there are two dreams. They all come to pass. In addition, this chapter repeats Pharaoh’s dream three times. Because of this gift Joseph knew the future. He knew what should be done.
Last, God intervened supernaturally. God gave the cupbearer a dream for Joseph to interpret. The dream was a supernatural event. Then he sent the Cupbearer back into Pharaoh’s service. Then God gave Pharaoh a supernatural dream that no one could interpret. The Cupbearer remembered Joseph, and the rest is history.
Then God used his power to supernaturally influence Pharaoh’s heart toward Joseph.
“The Kings heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord. He turns it wherever he wills” (Pr. 21:1).
Wenham, “Above all though, this story describes God’s control of human affairs” (Pg. 399).
B. God Elevated Joseph Purposefully
The doctrine of “Providence” is an angle on God’s sovereignty that emphasizes purpose. Providence is the teaching that––
“The world and humanity are not ruled by chance or by fate but by God, who directs history and creation toward an ultimate goal. Providence therefore refers to God’s superintending activity over human actions and human history, bringing creation to its divinely determined goal.”[3]
God has several important purposes behind Joseph’s elevation.
1. To Glorify Himself
The first reason for these events was the glory of God. Joseph has learned to fear God, not Pharaoh, and now God is going to use this to proclaim his greatness.
(Genesis 41:15–16) "15 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I have had a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it. I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.” 16 Joseph answered Pharaoh, “It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer.”"
The word that Joseph used for God is the Hebrew word, Elohim, a foreign concept to the Egyptians. Elohim was the predominant word for the true God.[4]
Joseph’s willingness to use Elohim is remarkable. Why? Pharaoh was a dictator. He had all power. In addition, both he and the Egyptian people thought that the Pharaoh, not Elohim, was god. In fact, Egyptians believed that in Pharaoh’s person the world and the gods met. It was through Pharaoh that the Egyptians made contact with the deities.
In addition, the Egyptians were polytheists. They worshipped the sun, the moon, and many animals. They were also pantheists. They believed that all people shared in divinity with god, that men are divine, but that the Pharaoh was the greatest of the human-gods.
But remarkably, Joseph is very blunt with Pharaoh. Three times Joseph tells pharaoh that Elohim, not Pharaoh or the gods of Egypt, has shown him the future.
(Genesis 41:25) "25 Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “The dreams of Pharaoh are one; God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do."
(Genesis 41:28) "28 It is as I told Pharaoh; God has shown to Pharaoh what he is about to do."
(Genesis 41:32) "32 And the doubling of Pharaoh’s dream means that the thing is fixed by God, and God will shortly bring it about."
Kent Hughes sums it up.
“Thus to Pharaoh’s face Joseph asserted that his God was superior to and sovereign over the gods of Egypt.”[5] …The temptation to humbly moderate his views must have been intense — to say the acceptable thing, to tell Pharaoh what he thought Pharaoh wanted to hear.”[6]
In essence, Joseph announced to Pharaoh that Elohim was in control of Pharaoh. He was announcing to Pharaoh that Elohim was in control of history. He was proclaiming to Pharaoh that Elohim, not Pharaoh, was in control of Egypt’s destiny, that the future of Egypt was not in Pharaoh’s hands. It was in Elohim’s.
Joseph was speaking as a prophet. In fact, he is one of the first examples of a true prophet in scripture. Again, Kent Hughes sums up Joseph’s interaction with Pharaoh with these words.
“Kings [Pharaohs] do not make history — they only serve history, as Jesus would declare in his answer to Pilate’s question: “So Pilate said to him, ‘You will not speak to me? Do you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you?’ Jesus answered him, ‘You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above’” (John 19:10, 11a).” [7]
2. To Preserve Israel in Famine
Remember, a primary theme of Genesis is God’s passion to bless the seed of the woman. Israel is the seed of the woman. God’s Genesis 12 promise[8] could not come to pass if the patriarchal family died in the famine. So, God sent Joseph ahead of Israel to save them from famine.
(Genesis 41:57) "57 Moreover, all the earth came to Egypt to Joseph to buy grain, because the famine was severe over all the earth."
3. To Move Israel to Egypt
If God is sovereign, why did God allow this famine, and why did he use it to move Israel from Canaan to Egypt? Why would God want Israel in Egypt? God has promised to give Canaan to the Jews. Why didn’t he leave them in Canaan to grow and prosper?
Answer: We have seen the Canaanites eagerness to intermarry with the descendants of Jacob. Joseph’s elevation would eventually move Israel to Egypt and away from the Canaanites. In Egypt there would be no temptation to intermarriage. The Egyptians loathed Hebrews and would not intermarry with them. Therefore, the removal of Israel to Egypt for several hundred years allowed the patriarchal family to grow into a great nation without the threat of intermarriage or the threat of assimilation into Egyptian culture. Last, it exposed Israel to the pros and cons of high culture.
C. Application:
Entrust yourself to God, who sovereingly disposes of all things for the benefit of the church.
If God were evil, or capricious, his sovereignty would be a terrifying doctrine. But, he is not. God is infinitely good. If God is for us, if he is on our side 24 x 7, then the sovereignty of God is the most wonderful doctrine that you or I could hear about. With that in mind, I want to make four applications.
1. God still speaks through dreams
A Moslem Sheikh, a leader of Islam, had a dream one night. A man appeared to him and identified himself as Jesus Christ.
“If you follow me and obey me I will give you all the desires of your heart.”
Then Christ showed him a face and told him to wait under a certain tree in the village until a man with that face appeared. The man with that face would tell him what to do next. The man was a Christian missionary named Wafi.
The Sheikh waited under the tree from early sunrise. For twelve hours the face did not appear. Then the man with the face in the dream appeared. The Sheikh approached him, explained the dream, and Wafi led him to Christ. The Sheikh has since renounced Islam and planted several churches.
2. Rest By Faith In God’s Sovereignty.
Your Advancement is not your life––Christ is…
Your Advancement, and the advancement of those around you, is In God’s Hands.
(Psalm 75:6–7) "6 For not from the east or from the west and not from the wilderness comes lifting up, 7 but it is God who executes judgment, putting down one and lifting up another."
God gives us favor with some and withholds it from others (Frank Lohner vs. Bob Bowles).
God gives or withholds favor with certain romantic interests.
God gives or withholds favor with relatives.
God determines the leaders that exist.
3. Be Active not Passive
Some reason, “If everything is determined by God in advance what difference do my actions make?” Then they lapse into passivity. But, that is not what Joseph did. The knowledge of the future, coupled with confidence in God’s sovereignty, motivated vigorous action. This confidence motivated Joseph to present an unsolicited action plan to Pharaoh.
(Genesis 41:33–36) "33 Select a discerning and wise man, and set him over the land of Egypt. 34 Let Pharaoh proceed to appoint overseers over the land and take one-fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt during the seven plentiful years. 35 And let them gather all the food of these good years that are coming and store up grain under the authority of Pharaoh for food in the cities, and let them keep it. 36 That food shall be a reserve for the land against the seven years of famine that are to occur in the land of Egypt, so that the land may not perish through the famine.”"
Confidence in God’s sovereignty will motivate your prayer life.
Confidence in God’s sovereignty will motivate you to share the gospel.
Confidence in God’s sovereignty impels missionaries to countries that are 99% Moslem. It sends missionaries to Japan where less then 1% of the population are Christian.
4. See the Gospel Through the life of Joseph…
Joseph’s life is a pattern. He is a type of Jesus, our Savior.
God liberated Joseph from Prison and made him Prime Minister of Egypt. In the same way, God liberated Jesus from bondage to death and raised him to new life.
Eventually Joseph will forgive his brothers who sold him into slavery. Jesus forgave those that crucified him. He cried out from the cross, “Forgive them for they know not what they do.”
Joseph sat at the Pharaoh’s right hand and used his power to save the world from famine. Christ sits at the Father’s right hand. He has received all power and authority. He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He is using his power to bring salvation to billions. He is using his power to move the world towards its appointed end––in the words of Peter, to “restore all things.”