glory

1) Why is the timing in these verses recorded and how is it emphasized in the narrative? (verses 1-14)
Immediately before the introductory sentence of chapter 41, “At the end of two years […]”, we read the closing sentence of chapter 40 which provides significant context, “Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph; he forgot him.” While imprisoned for a crime he didn’t commit, Joseph interpreted the dreams of two fellow prisoners. Joseph pleaded with the Cupbearer to remember Joseph and his unjust treatment when he was returned to his previous royal position, but the Cupbearer forgot him, and so Joseph stayed in prison for two more years. The author (Moses) also included the small words “the end” to emphasize completion of a term. The Lord God is never in a rush. Though Joseph had surely pleaded with God for freedom from injustice many times in the 2+years he’d been imprisoned, the Lord would answer Joseph’s prayer at just the right time. The series of events, though certainly chaotic and without reason to Joseph, was carefully arranged and allowed by the Lord. The famine was coming, the good years were coming, and the Lord would use Joseph to position him at just the right time in order to save not only his family, but also allow for the flourishing of a new, budding nation of Israel. The Lord loved Joseph, and Israel, too much to allow Joseph’s shortsighted pleadings to short-circuit Joseph’s coming redemption and Israel’s growth. More markers of time passage are included in this passage to emphasize the preciseness of the Lord’s arrangement. “When morning came” (verse 8) speaking of Pharaoh’s passage of time and “today” (verse 9) speaking of the Cupbearer’s negligent forgetfulness and “then” (verse 14) speaking of Pharaoh’s conclusion to send for Joseph all underscore the reality that nothing in this narrative was happenstance. God used every single detail to bring about the next steps in His plan of redemption.

2) What is the reader to learn about God and His revelations from this passage? (verses 15-27)
God is not aloof, far-off, and neither has He posted a “Do Not Disturb” sign on His door. He wants to be known; He wants humanity to seek Him, follow His ways, and learn to trust Him. Though He, as sovereign Lord of the Universe, is absolutely not required to give dreams to people, He does, precisely because He wants to be known. The Lord is also a God of clarity, not mystique, deception, or confusion. God provided dreams to Pharaoh, a man who did not worship the Lord God in any fashion, in order to make Himself known to Pharaoh, but also to demonstrate to Pharaoh His character of orderliness and understanding. Pharaoh didn’t understand the meanings, but that didn’t negate that clear meanings were both intended and would be provided by the Lord. The Lord raised up the “dream expert” in His own time, and in His own way, after He had allowed Joseph time to wrestle with his faith for many years and land in a place of trust in the Almighty. Through the man of God’s own choosing, what had appeared confusing at first, was plainly revealed. In the same way, Jesus, to whom Joseph points us, would one day make very clear what seemed hidden to the Jews. He would shine clarifying light on the Old Testament and show how Jesus’ death and resurrection fulfilled every promising hope hidden in its pages. (1 Corinthians 2:7-8) While the Lord provided a clear interpretation to the dreams, we mustn’t miss there was only one correct interpretation, and everyone knew it, even the pagans. The magicians and wise men in all of Egypt, on hearing the dreams, knew they couldn’t correctly interpret it, for the Lord was holding its meaning. (verse 8) Only the man the Lord had chosen to interpret would have the correct interpretation.

3) Why would the author record Joseph’s statement regarding the Lord’s determination of His plans? What does this reveal about Joseph’s faith? (verse 32)
Joseph was given dreams and their interpretation from the Lord since he was a youth, but now as he stood before Pharaoh, his faith had grown and deepened in ways he couldn’t have fathomed all those years ago when he’d received his first dream. Joseph’s first dreams promised a coming time when his own brothers would bow down to him, but the timing of this dream’s realization, and the picture of what its actualization looked like in real life were likely radically different from Joseph’s first thoughts. Would he be king? Would he move from his father’s house into the lap of luxury? Would his dream make him powerful enough to silence his brothers once and for all? Maybe the “dream expert” spent many hours wondering how his dream would play out and when. In his thoughts, how easily could he cast aside that it was Yahweh, the Lord of All, who had given the dreams and would bring them about in His time? Did Joseph fall for the deception that these dreams were his destiny and it was up to him to make it happen? Perhaps pride puffed him up for years before the Lord began to bring him low, and lovingly teach Joseph how the Lord’s dreams weren’t about Joseph, but about the Lord God. The provision would be the Lord’s, just as the dreams were. The interpretation belonged to the Lord, just as Joseph did. The timing was the Lord’s, not Joseph’s to control. The fulfillment of the dreams rested solely on the Lord. Joseph emphasized how determined the Lord was to bring about the fulfillment of Pharaoh’s dreams because it was a lesson he had well-learned in his time of training with the Lord.