Our series Joseph: A Life with Many Colors has been on hold for two full months. And I’m sorry. Cannabis Came Calling to the state of Illinois and directly to the Village I call home. A long time ago it seems, when I was concluding my preaching time at Plymouth Congregational Church of Racine, WI, I mentioned that if pastors cannot take biblical principles and apply them to civic life, they have no business standing at a pulpit to preach. So, our series on Joseph has been on hold while I’ve been standing before public officials, almost role-playing Joseph’s life in my hometown. No, I wasn’t thrown in prison, and I wasn’t interpreting dreams-it’s just a truism when I said in our last Joseph installment, “timely intervention is evidence of God’s benevolence.”

Into the turbulent mess of life (or Pharaoh’s dreams), God displays His goodness. He changes someone’s trajectory and makes another thing their priority because it’s God’s priority. He sends a messenger with a message to minister like a cold drink quenches thirst on a hot day.

Thankfully, I’ve arrived at a waystation, a resting place at least until next month, so I pick up again the work I truly love: God’s Word. An easier obedience, by far.

Way back in July, Joseph had interpreted Pharaoh’s dreams and outlined a Very Good Plan for how to stem the catastrophe that was about to come on Egypt: a dreaded famine (Genesis 41:32-37).

Joseph’s strategic outline was perfect for the moment…all the hope, all the organization, all the future, all the opportunity for Pharaoh to look good. Now all that was needed was to choose someone to implement it. God had someone in mind, and no one but Joseph would do.

Genesis 41:37 The plan seemed good to Pharaoh and to all his officials. 38 So Pharaoh asked them, “Can we find anyone like this man, one in whom is the spirit of God?”

Now, that’s one outstanding credential! It’s not like Joseph was standing there pointing at himself or raising his hand, shouting, “Oh, oh, oh, pick me”! No need for any of that. God had it covered. Pharaoh could see who had the vision and the right spirit for the job. Joseph stood alone as the one who could interpret Pharaoh’s dreams…because God had Joseph’s elevation in mind. It was time.

Genesis 41:39 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one so discerning and wise as you. 40 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.” 41 So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I hereby put you in charge of the whole land of Egypt.”

Think about it:

• Proverbs 25:13 “Like a snow-cooled drink at harvest time is a trustworthy messenger to the one who sends him; he refreshes the spirit of his master.” How did “Joseph’s Very Good Plan” set Pharaoh’s mind at ease and refresh his spirit?
• God is in the hope and redemption business. How did the plan give Pharaoh hope?
• The prison years of Joseph cultivated his relationship with God and resulted in a growing discernment and wisdom that would be required for the task to come. What areas of your life has God been cultivating for use at some future point…maybe character or skills…that you acquire now for His timely purpose later?
• When God’s timing arrives (and His timing is perfect), all the obstacles melt away. Did it matter to Pharaoh that Joseph was a Hebrew? When someone truly needs emergency help, like a paramedic’s job, do differences of race, gender, or political affiliation remain a priority? Or will the person’s skill, willingness, and availability carry the day?

Taking a moment away from our series “Joseph: A Life with Many Colors” to address what’s going on in our culture seems like the right thing to do.  The minister in me knows we have a world of hurting people right now.  There are those grieving the loss of civility, the loss of peace, the loss of joy, and yes, the loss of loved ones in the wake of the recent mass shootings.

Why is all this happening? 

There is a simple answer: we’re at war in the spiritual realm.  It’s been a war for some time, a battle of good and evil. It will remain a war often bubbling beneath the surface and erupting as lava…timely reminders that this is what is happening 24/7. (It’s happening even when we cannot see the ferocity of the war in hidden realms).  It will continue until Jesus returns.

In Revelation 12, there is an end times image of a woman with a crown of stars (a symbol of God’s people including the Church) and a terrifying dragon with seven heads who earlier sought to devour the Messiah. When that failed, the dragon seethed with rage against God and the woman, and it turned its attentions towards the woman’s “offspring.”  As it is written,

“Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring– those who keep God’s commands and hold fast their testimony about Jesus” (Revelation 12:17).

So regarding mass shootings and other atrocities, I’d like to encourage a spirit of calm and wisdom.  We have been told this type of horror will happen.  Mass shootings are terrible, and when the perpetrators are captured alive, they need to be held to account within the fullest extent of the law. But consider this: we do the battle of good and evil a genuine disservice when we focus only on the terrifying and fail to see the mundane. A focus on mass events amplifies the panic and diminishes the true reality around us.

A mundane evil has become our baseline comfort level. 

It doesn’t sell papers the way rage or fear does, or the way panic does.  A politicized evil gets ratings, raises money, and promotes a political agenda.  But here’s the ugly truth: a regular evil–we wake up with every morning–is on our televisions, smart phones, and computers as entertainment all the live-long day; is part of the very fabric of our society; and is, frankly, mundane. 

An evil so normal, it’s background noise.

But what are mass shootings, if not those concentrated in one location and point in time?  The victims may be adults, but sometimes it’s children whose lives have been cut short. When the dead are children, we hear enhanced sighs of tragedy exhaled from the very pundits and activists who demand that women have the right to end the life of someone a mere 2 years younger.  In El Paso, TX where a 2-year-old was injured and 22 people lost their lives in the mass shooting (August 2019), a heroic and noble mother, Jordan Anchondo, age 25, died shielding her 2-month-old baby. 

Yet in El Paso, not including nearby Santa Teresa, a search reveals there are 2 of Texas’ 36 abortion clinics which—if available statewide statistics average out—result in the deaths of 11 babies every single day.  It’s not hyped.  It’s not sensationalized.  It never sells papers or makes the news despite the majority of El Paso’s abortions being babies “of color.”  It’s never called racism or bigotry or hate.  No one calls those performing abortions “white nationalists” even if they are white and are purposely eliminating children “of color” for profit.  We just take it as the normal course for everyday life with sexually active people in El Paso.  Mundane.  The children who died remain nameless and won’t make headlines.  No one mourns for them with half-staff flags, thoughts and prayers, expert panels, or TV specials.

Having normalized it to mundane, we fail to see that “death-count to death-count”, an equivalent mass murder happens in El Paso every 2 days, all year long.  I raise this issue—not to minimize or trivialize the deaths of those from Mexico and El Paso at the Walmart—but to implore us to look at our baseline and give the other children’s lives their lost dignity. Their lives mattered too. The noise of battle between good and evil has become a constant sound like summer cicadas, but for those with eyes to see by faith, there is The Dragon, the Woman, and the Rage of battle between good and evil all around us. Let’s remember the deeper, hidden reality that surfaces as sensational tragedies in these dark days.

Think about it:

• A very fine commentary on the Book of Revelation by Grant Osborne states: “Spiritual warfare is all too often neglected in the life of the average Christian.  It seems as if we are all trying to be Switzerlands and remain neutral in this war.  To be neutral is to lose, however, for Satan is real, and his hatred towards all who are made in the image of God dare not be ignored.”  Are you awake or a Switzerland?
• Have you ever thought about adopting a wartime mindset regarding your faith in God, your personal restraint in panic, and caution in getting wrapped in emotion instead of remaining firmly grounded in the Truth? 
• How does the armor of God, including Truth, prepare you for the spiritual battle? 
• How does prayer act as a weapon, and why do prayers for our leaders amplify the battle even prompting the dragon’s rage and visible eruptions?  
• Do you believe Satan is real? 
• Jesus reminds us that no one, not even Satan can snatch us out of His hands.  How should this change our attitude about engaging in prayer, acts of faith and love, and preaching the Gospel as we wait for Jesus’ return?

Genesis 41:32 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.

Joseph follows up the interpretation with assurance this is a settled matter, one which is time critical.  He then outlines a plan. 

Genesis 41:33 “And now let Pharaoh look for a discerning and wise man and put him in charge of the land of Egypt. 34 Let Pharaoh appoint commissioners over the land to take a fifth of the harvest of Egypt during the seven years of abundance. 35 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. 36 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.” 37 The plan seemed good to Pharaoh and to all his officials.

As much as Joseph wants to be out of prison for good and may have wanted to go back to Canaan to the Valley of Hebron and his father Jacob’s tent in the shade, he followed up the interpretation of Pharaoh’s dreams and assurance of their fixed future with a prompt proposal and a strategic plan to be implemented immediately.   Timely intervention is evidence of God’s benevolence.

Think about it:

• While it is tempting to think Joseph might have steered the situation to his own benefit, how did Joseph know the interpretation of the dreams? 
• Who gave Joseph the plan for dealing with what was presented?  
• How did the urgency of the situation and the prior blessing of abundance offset the negative assurance of a famine? 
• How did the prompt strategic plan honor Pharaoh in the present and make him look good?  How would such planning make Pharaoh look wise in the future? 
• How did the years of grace prepare Egypt for the years of suffering so they would not be ruined? 
• Does God care about pagan people?  As the story unfolds, Joseph’s family will come to Egypt.  How does God’s care for Egypt become care for Jacob and all of Joseph’s family? 
• How does it set the stage for fulfilling Genesis 15:13-16?

Genesis 41:25 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.

After hearing the dreams, there is no hesitation.  Joseph explains what could have been bad news, except that it’s not.  It’s advance warning, helpful intel for the purpose of planning. 

Genesis 41:26 The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good heads of grain are seven years; it is one and the same dream. 27 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. 28 It is just as I said to Pharaoh: God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do.

It’s like Joseph is following a sermon outline, telling Pharaoh what the dream means, and then he says what it means again.  And now again, just to make sure he drives the point home.  “God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do.” Got it.

Genesis 41:29 Seven years of great abundance are coming throughout the land of Egypt, 30 but seven years of famine will follow them. Then all the abundance in Egypt will be forgotten, and the famine will ravage the land. 31 The abundance in the land will not be remembered, because the famine that follows it will be so severe. 32 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.

That’s the bad news.  The good news is “soon” is not immediate even if it is surely there.  There’s time to plan, there’s advance intel so that Pharaoh can develop and implement the plan, and an opportunity to partner with a planner whose mind is tuned to the Planner.  The Planner knows what He’s doing.

Isaiah 14:24 The LORD Almighty has sworn, “Surely, as I have planned, so it will be, and as I have purposed, so it will happen.”

Think about it:

• Planning in the earthly realm requires information, time, and people.  When God plans, the information is true and certain, the timing is perfect, and the people are hand-picked for the task.  God’s plans never fail.  How do we see these elements in the passage of Scripture for today? 
• Why did God reveal the information to Pharaoh in two parallel dreams? 
• Why was Joseph necessary for the big picture? 
• How does even the bad news of a famine get offset by the advance intel and the presence of a planner? 
• Does God work even using pagan people and rulers? 
• Does God’s plan get thwarted by using imperfect or even irreligious people?  Is God compromised in any way by the people He has chosen, or does this alter the certainty of His plan coming to pass? 
• How does God bless Egypt fully in preparation for the famine?  How is this testimony to God’s grace?

Joseph, all cleaned up for his appearance before the one of the most powerful men in the world, is brought before Pharaoh to hear the perplexing dreams and asked to interpret them. 

Genesis 41:16 “I cannot do it,” Joseph replied to Pharaoh, “but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires.” 17 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “In my dream I was standing on the bank of the Nile, 18 when out of the river there came up seven cows, fat and sleek, and they grazed among the reeds. 19 After them, seven other cows came up– scrawny and very ugly and lean. I had never seen such ugly cows in all the land of Egypt. 20 The lean, ugly cows ate up the seven fat cows that came up first. 21 But even after they ate them, no one could tell that they had done so; they looked just as ugly as before. Then I woke up. 22 “In my dream I saw seven heads of grain, full and good, growing on a single stalk. 23 After them, seven other heads sprouted– withered and thin and scorched by the east wind. 24 The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven good heads. I told this to the magicians, but none of them could explain it to me.” 25 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.”

Think about it:

• Two dreams, one and the same.  How do the two dreams, both meaning the same thing, contrast with the two dreamers in prison, each dream with its own meaning? 
• Numbers mean things in the Bible.  Two dreams add to the certainty.  Seven cows doubled.  Seven heads of grain doubled.  Seven is a number representing completion, perfection, and guarantee.  What do you think it means that the seven cows and seven heads of grain are each doubled? 
• Good followed by (and swallowed by) bad.  How does this set up the dreams as not having a fairytale happy ending? 
• Think back to the dreams of the cupbearer and baker (good outcome followed by bad).  How does this offer insight into Joseph’s accuracy and prove he’s no flatterer? 
• How does this add to Joseph’s credibility when he says that God has revealed to Pharaoh what He is about to do? 

Genesis 41:10 “Pharaoh was once angry with his servants, and he imprisoned me and the chief baker in the house of the captain of the guard.  11 Each of us had a dream the same night, and each dream had a meaning of its own.  12 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.  13 And things turned out exactly as he interpreted them to us: I was restored to my position, and the other man was impaled.”

A young Hebrew?  Not a fellow prisoner but a “servant of the captain of the guard”?  Other translations say a slave?  Belonging to the captain of the guard?  That’s the cupbearer’s recounting of Joseph’s profile.

Genesis 41:14 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.  

Job interview time.  Joseph doesn’t show up looking like a hairy Hebrew who’s been jailed for two full years beyond the arrival of the double dreamers.  He is rescued out of jail and given new clothes to wear for the interview.  After all, the appointment was with Pharaoh.

Genesis 41:15 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.”

A glowing recommendation!  All the stakes are high for unjustly imprisoned Joseph who desperately wants to be released from prison (and permanently).  He’s been waiting at least two years for this big break.  What would be wrong with a little fluffing one’s feathers in a job interview?  Too much for a man of Joseph’s character.

Genesis 41:16 “I cannot do it,” Joseph replied to Pharaoh, “but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires.”

Think about it:

• Integrity is painstakingly built layer by layer but it can be destroyed with a single act.  Why does it take so long to form integrity? 
• What does integrity have in common with purity? Why does one act ruin it? 
• What might have been problematic had the cupbearer described Joseph foremost as a prisoner? 
• In Genesis 41:16 (“I cannot do it,” Joseph replied to Pharaoh, “but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires”), what does it mean that God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires?  Scholars discuss this greatly.  It doesn’t mean flattery and Joseph as a “yes-man” who tells the Pharaoh what he wants to hear.  It doesn’t mean that Joseph is making up something to get himself released from prison.  The phrase in the Hebrew is literally “Answer the peace of Pharaoh”, basically to put Pharaoh’s mind at ease by providing an answer to the unsettling dreams. 
• When the stakes are high, why was it remarkable that Joseph said he couldn’t do it and instead credited “God”?
• The word used in the Hebrew is not Yahweh (which would have identified God as the One worshipped by the Hebrews) but the more generic notation Elohim (which would leave Pharaoh to draw his own conclusions about which god or gods or God was providing the answer). How does this open Pharaoh to the coming interpretation without creating cultural or religious barriers to the plan of God?
• In what way does even an answer that presents a problem still answer the peace of Pharaoh? 

Genesis 41:1 When two full years had passed, Pharaoh had a dream: He was standing by the Nile, 2 when out of the river there came up seven cows, sleek and fat, and they grazed among the reeds. 3 After them, seven other cows, ugly and gaunt, came up out of the Nile and stood beside those on the riverbank. 4 And the cows that were ugly and gaunt ate up the seven sleek, fat cows. Then Pharaoh woke up. 5 He fell asleep again and had a second dream: Seven heads of grain, healthy and good, were growing on a single stalk. 6 After them, seven other heads of grain sprouted– thin and scorched by the east wind. 7 The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven healthy, full heads. Then Pharaoh woke up; it had been a dream. 8 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.  9 Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh, “Today I am reminded of my shortcomings.”

Memory is a strange thing.  Dementia aside, often we remember what we want to remember and recall what’s important to us.  Memories can fade with time, but in the cupbearer’s case, he had every reason to remember Joseph earlier, but he didn’t.  This memory had not faded, it was just not front-of-mind.  Only when the Pharaoh was troubled by a dream, did the cupbearer remember. It’s as if God unleashed the memory in His perfect timing.

The artful use of time in God’s plan is evident as the cupbearer
finally remembers when it will make a true difference and accomplish God’s purpose.

Think about it:

• If the cupbearer remembered right away and had spoken promptly, what reason would Pharaoh have had to free Joseph? 
• How does genuine need make action more urgent?  How did the Pharaoh’s need prompt the cupbearer to offer what he now remembered? 
• With God, timing is perfect.  Whether it was the timing of two years passing (above), or the enslavement of the Hebrews for 400 years (Genesis 15:13-16), sealing up the word of prophecy (Daniel 9:24-27), the arrival of the Messiah (Galatians 4:4-5), Jesus’ departure and the coming of the Holy Spirit (John 16), the hardening of the Israelites (Romans 11:25-36),  or His Second Advent for final Judgment (Matthew 24:29-36).
• How do all of these display God’s use of time, even delay, extending further opportunities for us to remember … Him?

Two full years and everyone was in the dark about God’s hidden working.  Joseph was going about daily prison life.  The cupbearer in forgetful living. Pharaoh had a dream.

Genesis 41:1 When two full years had passed, Pharaoh had a dream: He was standing by the Nile, 2 when out of the river there came up seven cows, sleek and fat, and they grazed among the reeds. 3 After them, seven other cows, ugly and gaunt, came up out of the Nile and stood beside those on the riverbank. 4 And the cows that were ugly and gaunt ate up the seven sleek, fat cows. Then Pharaoh woke up. 5 He fell asleep again and had a second dream: Seven heads of grain, healthy and good, were growing on a single stalk. 6 After them, seven other heads of grain sprouted– thin and scorched by the east wind. 7 The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven healthy, full heads. Then Pharaoh woke up; it had been a dream. 8 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.

Pharaoh’s mind was troubled.  No wonder.  What a backward, upside down, nonsensical dream!  Doubled.

It must mean something, he thought.  But what?

Think about it:

• Have you ever had disturbing dreams?  In Pharaoh’s culture, he was considered not just a king, but quasi-divine. How might this have made the king more concerned about his dreams being meaningful? 
• God had in mind one interpreter (named Joseph) so when Pharaoh called everyone whose job it was to interpret dreams, divine circumstances, and understand how the puzzle fits together, no one could interpret.  How is that possible apart from God? 
• What do you think this means?  Was it that no one tried, no one dared to guess, or that no one gave a satisfactory answer? 
• Does it matter for the story, or is it simply that in some way or another Pharaoh needed Joseph for more than interpreting dreams, and this is how God advances the storyline?  
• What does this tell us about God’s hidden working in the life of Pharaoh, Joseph, Joseph’s family, the Hebrews, and perhaps in your life too?

Joseph awoke every morning probably never knowing whether the cupbearer had said something (but Pharaoh did nothing), or whether the cupbearer had resumed his position, remaining ever silent about Joseph’s dream interpretation.

Genesis 41:1 When two full years had passed, Pharaoh had a dream.

Two full years.   Watching.  Waiting.  Seeing if anything would change.
Two full years.  Nothing to be seen.  Nothing to happen.  Nothing changed.

Two full years. 
Two … full … years.

Think about it:

• No one likes waiting.  What do we do during shorter periods of waiting, like in a line at the store or the post office?  How does that differ from behaviors during long periods of waiting?
• What happens to hope during longer waits, particularly long periods of waiting upon God? 
• Read Isaiah 51:4 “Listen to me, my people; hear me, my nation: Instruction will go out from me; my justice will become a light to the nations. 5 My righteousness draws near speedily, my salvation is on the way, and my arm will bring justice to the nations. The islands will look to me and wait in hope for my arm. 6 Lift up your eyes to the heavens, look at the earth beneath; the heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment and its inhabitants die like flies. But my salvation will last forever, my righteousness will never fail.”  God says, “speedily” and “on the way” but to “wait in hope.”  How do those seem contradictory?  What forms our confidence during the long wait?
• Joseph didn’t know if the cupbearer tried to help him but was ineffective, forgot to help him, or simply decided not to.  What attitudes are present in each of those situations?  Have you ever been there for other people, helping them, but when it came time for them to encourage you, they were nowhere to be seen?  How does that feel?

Joseph was probably both gratified and sad about the outcome.  He was glad that the interpretations from God were correct, and happy also for the cupbearer’s being restored to serving Pharaoh.  However, he must have been sad that the baker was killed. After all, relationships even in prison are relationships nonetheless, and they can be significant– especially when one has time in prison to think about it all.

Joseph had asked the cupbearer to remember him when restored to serving Pharaoh.

Genesis 40:23 The chief cupbearer, however, did not remember Joseph; he forgot him.

The chapter ends and Joseph remains in prison.  Being forgotten stinks.

Think about it:

• Joseph was minus two fellow prisoners, one through freedom and one through death.  He was left alone in prison with his correct interpretations to console him.  God was still with him, but it probably didn’t feel like it, as day after day went by and still no release from unjust imprisonment.  Does God’s favor always display itself as good vibes? 
• What types of emotions go along with being forgotten or passed over? 
• Do you think Joseph was probably grieved that the cupbearer (who had received the favorable interpretation and lived through its fulfillment), didn’t speak a word about it to share the amazing story?  Or do you think Joseph didn’t know whether the cupbearer had been unfaithful to his promise? How would Joseph have known in the flow of time…what we know by reading his story?
• Might Joseph have been angry at the ingratitude? Might he have been depressed at having been forgotten?  Might he have resented that his friendship was deemed insignificant and that his willingness to interpret was insulted?  Do you think he might have felt slighted because God gave the interpretation and God got no credit for it?  Scripture doesn’t say anything about ANY of this.  We don’t even know for sure that Joseph knew.
• What we can surmise is that time alone to think about things can create those feelings. How might Joseph’s parenthesis of being forgotten (as if he didn’t exist and didn’t matter) have prepared Joseph for what would come next? 
  
• To be sure, there’s no indication that Joseph’s character needed reformation at all.  Read 2 Peter 3:8 “But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.”  How might God have felt like He received glory through Joseph’s parenthesis attitude, and what was to come in Joseph’s life, plus in the recording of this story in Scripture?