Genesis 41:1-57 - God’s promises are worth the wait

This is our 19th sermon in Genesis.

There’s only 4 left!

Eden coming early—Enjoy the gift in its proper time.

Pregnancy is an amazing thing.

There’s an anticipation of 40 weeks is almost overbearing at times.

You just want to hold that little baby in your arms, and it feels like it’ll never get here.

Mom’s also will be around week 34-36 and say, “I’m ready for them to be here.”

I thought the same thing with both of my kids the moment I found out they were coming.

I can’t wait to for Silas/Eden to get here.

When Hilary woke me up last July to tell me something was wrong and needed to go to the hospital, all that anticipation turned into anxiety.

Her water broke at 26 weeks, which meant our new goal was to keep her as pregnant as possible for as long as possible.

Where weeks leading up to that, the anticipation and the angst for Eden to get here was met with this reality—This good gift has to wait as long as possible.

In one moment, I went from “I can’t wait to hold this little girl” to “We need to wait as long as possible.”

This goes against how our world has been currated in our culture.

We have an instant gratification culture that we need to be satisfied in a moment’s notice at all times.

The idea of waiting for anything exhausts us.

I want my Amazon packages within 2 days.

But there’s something more grand about waiting and anticipation building until we’re finally able to see it come to reality.

Big Idea: God’s promises are worth the wait

Context

God gave Joseph two visions (Genesis 37:5-9) telling he would be a great ruler

He would be so elevated that his family would bow to him and he would rule over them.

Now, he has been imprisoned because Potiphar’s wife lied and tried to frame him for coming onto her.

While he’s imprisoned, he meets Pharaoh’s former chief baker/cup-bearer.

They ask that he interpreted their dreams and it happened!

Pharaoh hanged the baker and restored the cup bearer.

But the cupbearer forgot about Joseph in prison for TWO YEARS.

Joseph sat in prison who two whole years before Pharaoh began having dreams.

Stand to read

Genesis 41:1–16 ESV

1 After two whole years, Pharaoh dreamed that he was standing by the Nile, 2 and behold, there came up out of the Nile seven cows, attractive and plump, and they fed in the reed grass. 3 And behold, seven other cows, ugly and thin, came up out of the Nile after them, and stood by the other cows on the bank of the Nile. 4 And the ugly, thin cows ate up the seven attractive, plump cows. And Pharaoh awoke. 5 And he fell asleep and dreamed a second time. And behold, seven ears of grain, plump and good, were growing on one stalk. 6 And behold, after them sprouted seven ears, thin and blighted by the east wind. 7 And the thin ears swallowed up the seven plump, full ears. And Pharaoh awoke, and behold, it was a dream. 8 So in the morning his spirit was troubled, and he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt and all its wise men. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but there was none who could interpret them to Pharaoh. 9 Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh, “I remember my offenses today. 10 When Pharaoh was angry with his servants and put me and the chief baker in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, 11 we dreamed on the same night, he and I, each having a dream with its own interpretation. 12 A young Hebrew was there with us, a servant of the captain of the guard. When we told him, he interpreted our dreams to us, giving an interpretation to each man according to his dream. 13 And as he interpreted to us, so it came about. I was restored to my office, and the baker was hanged.” 14 Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they quickly brought him out of the pit. And when he had shaved himself and changed his clothes, he came in before Pharaoh. 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.”

Leader: This is God’s Word

Everyone: Thanks be to God

Joseph had been sitting in prison because of Potiphar’s lying wife.

He was in their with the chief baker and the chief cup bearer, who each had dreams.

Joseph explained the meaning of their dreams to them and was totally accurate.

The chief baker was hanged, but the cupbearer was restored to his position, but he forgot Joseph.

Joseph spent another two years in prison before Pharaoh started having some dreams of his own.

The cupbearer remembered, “Oh yeah, there’s this dude that can interpret dreams! He was a big part of my stay in prison!”

Pharaoh retells his dreams to Joseph, and Joseph explains.

Genesis 41:25–32 ESV

25 Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “The dreams of Pharaoh are one; God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do. 26 The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good ears are seven years; the dreams are one. 27 The seven lean and ugly cows that came up after them are seven years, and the seven empty ears blighted by the east wind are also seven years of famine. 28 It is as I told Pharaoh; God has shown to Pharaoh what he is about to do. 29 There will come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt, 30 but after them there will arise seven years of famine, and all the plenty will be forgotten in the land of Egypt. The famine will consume the land, 31 and the plenty will be unknown in the land by reason of the famine that will follow, for it will be very severe. 32 And the doubling of Pharaoh’s dream means that the thing is fixed by God, and God will shortly bring it about.

He explains that the dreams are revealing one thing that God is about to do.

He’s going to provide seven good years for plenty crops, but then famine is going to come upon the land for seven years.

It will wreck those who are not prepared.

He reveals that this is a total act of God

Then Joseph offers Pharaoh a solution to this problem.

We suggests we take a fifth of the produce for the good seven years and store it up for the bad seven years.

Hold back enough produce to be able to sustain Egypt through the famine.

Pharaoh is amazed by this solution, so Pharaoh promotes him.

Genesis 41:39–43 ESV

39 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has shown you all this, there is none so discerning and wise as you are. 40 You shall be over my house, and all my people shall order themselves as you command. Only as regards the throne will I be greater than you.” 41 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.” 42 Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his hand and put it on Joseph’s hand, and clothed him in garments of fine linen and put a gold chain about his neck. 43 And he made him ride in his second chariot. And they called out before him, “Bow the knee!” Thus he set him over all the land of Egypt.

Joseph’s new position is marked with new clothes.

All his troubles mention him being stripped of clothing.

His brothers stripped him of the multicolored coat his dad gave him (Genesis 37:23).

Potiphar’s wife stripped him of his cloak, which led to his imprisonment (Genesis 39:12)

Now, Joseph is wearing designer clothes that reflect his new status.

God is doing all of this to make much of Joseph and to bring about salvation for Egypt.

Church,

We wait patiently for God’s plan.

Joseph spent years suffering before God gave him the meeting with Pharaoh.

In the proper time, God revealed His plan.

God’s plan to provide salvation to Egypt came through a thirty year old man, who had been sold into slavery, imprisoned because of a lie.

Waiting for the Lord to reveal His plan is hard.

We’ve all been in spots where hope begins to fade overtime.

There was once a woman who had a condition, where she bled.

She had gone to the best dr, the worst drs, all the drs.

No one could help her. She went for second opinions, and there was no answer. No cure. No hope.

She bled for twelve years.

She lived her life separated from people because of her condition.

She was a social outcast.

Then she heard a crowd gathering, and that there would be a man there who has been causing quite a stir.

She had heard about Jesus, and she had determined that there was enough healing power in the hem of his garment to heal her.

Waiting for God’s plan is more than the unknowns in our lives.

What’s God’s plan for my career, my kids?

What’s God plan in times of sorrow, hurt, and anger?

She had wanted to be made whole for so long and she lived a hopeless life, until she met Jesus.

Jesus is God’s promise to her realized.

It took twelve years, but God’s promises are worth the wait.

Two years passed in prison from the time the cupbearer was restored in chapter 40 to Joseph meeting with Pharaoh.

Transition

Joseph exercised his plan just as he recommended.

Through the plentiful years, he stored up food in a storehouse for the future.

Every deposit was a day in the future the people of Egypt would not have to hunger.

God used Joseph mightily to spare the people of Egypt.

Genesis 41:53–57 ESV

53 The seven years of plenty that occurred in the land of Egypt came to an end, 54 and the seven years of famine began to come, as Joseph had said. There was famine in all lands, but in all the land of Egypt there was bread. 55 When all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread. Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph. What he says to you, do.” 56 So when the famine had spread over all the land, Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold to the Egyptians, for the famine was severe in the land of Egypt. 57 Moreover, all the earth came to Egypt to Joseph to buy grain, because the famine was severe over all the earth.

At first, the famine didn’t even seem to touch Egypt because of Joseph’s work.

The whole known world was now going to Joseph for food because of God’s providence working through Joseph.

Joseph was God’s instrument for saving the world.

God promised Abraham, “In you all the families of the world will be blessed” (Genesis 12:3).

We get to see this promise to Abraham kept through Joseph.

Do you know who else was included in “all the earth”?

Joseph’s brothers.

In His providence, God exalted Joseph the prisoner to Joseph the ruler of Egypt to save the world from famine.

God has set Joseph in a position to provide for his family, after many years of being away.

God is fulfilled the vision he gave to Joseph (Gen. 37) when he least expected it.

Moses writes this to the people of Israel to remind them of a major truth that we must embrace.

Church,

We can trust God to keep His promises.

Joseph waited for years for God to bring Him up out of prison.

The whole story of Genesis is God keeping His promises.

He promised Eve in the garden that there would be an offspring who would be the Savior.

He promised Abraham that he would father many nations and bless the world.

Just as He exalted Joseph from suffering to kingship, He has done through His Son.

Joseph’s sufferings and exaltations are just a shadow of even greater sufferings and a more worthy exaltation to come.

Gospel presentation

God sent His Son to become a servant for us.

Jesus lived perfect according to God’s will on our behalf

He suffered and died on the cross to provide a way for us to be saved.

He used Joseph to provide food for Egypt in the famine..

He provided Christ to give us salvation because we were dead in our sins.

Then, when He raised Jesus from the dead, He exalts Him and gives Him the name that is above every name!

Now we can trust in Jesus to save us from our sins and give us eternal life!

God promised us a Savior who would give us eternal life!

Will you trust in Christ and receive this free give of grace?

If you’re not a Christian, perhaps Joseph’s story of suffering resonates with you.

You are praying for the Lord to bring you up and out, but there’s little hope of deliverance.

I want to invite you to trust in Jesus for salvation.

Take the next step

Believe that God’s promises are worth the wait.

Give someone confidence in God’s promises.

Tell them how He has kept His promises in your life.

Invite to receive, repent, and respond.