Joseph in the Prison house

Normally, it's a dangerous thing to tell a speaker to do what he wants with the time, but since someone told me at the break the best thing about today is it ends at three o'clock, I will do my best not to ruin your day. Maybe a few minutes over three, but you must have a football game to watch or something. We're going to turn to chapter 39 again, Genesis chapter 39, and we're going to pick up again at the end of the chapter.

Again, thank you very much for being with us. I know some cannot be here tomorrow, so we want to mention that now that we appreciate the fact that some made a long trip to be with us, and we do appreciate that, recognizing your own responsibilities locally. Genesis 39, and picking up at verse number 20, and Joseph's master took him and put him into the prison, a place where the king's prisoners were bound, and he was there in the prison roundhouse.

But the Lord went with Joseph and showed him mercy and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison, and the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph's hand all the prisoners that were in the prison, and whatsoever they did there, he was the doer of it. The keeper of the prison looked not to anything that was under his hand, because the Lord was with him, and that which he did, the Lord made it to prosper. And it came to pass after these things, the butler of the king of Egypt and the baker had offended their lord, the king of Egypt, and Pharaoh was wroth against two of his officers, against the chief of the butlers and against the chief of the bakers, and he put them in the ward in the house of the captain of the guard, into the prison, the place where Joseph was bound.

The captain of the guard charged Joseph with them, and he served them, and they continued a season in ward, and they dreamed a dream, both of them, each man his dream in one night, each man according to the interpretation of the dream, the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt, which were bound in the prison. Joseph came in unto them in the morning and looked upon them, and behold, they were sad. And he asked Pharaoh's officers that were with him in the ward of his lord's house, saying, Wherefore look ye so sadly today? And they said unto him, We have dreamed a dream, and there is no interpreter of it.

Joseph said to them, Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell me them, I pray you. And the chief butler told his dream to Joseph, and said to him, In my dream, behold, a vine was before me, in the vine were three branches, and it was as though it budded, and her blossoms shot forth, and the clusters were brought forth ripe grapes. Pharaoh's cup was in my hand, and I took the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh's cup, and gave the cup into Pharaoh's hand.

Joseph said unto him, This is the interpretation of it. The three branches are three days, yet within three days shall Pharaoh lift up thine head and restore thee unto thy place, and thou shalt deliver Pharaoh's cup into his hand after the former manner when thou wast his butler. Think on me when it shall be well with thee, and show kindness, I pray thee, unto me, and make mention of me unto Pharaoh, and bring me out of this house.

For indeed, I was stolen away out of the land of the Hebrews, and here also have I done nothing that they should put me into the dungeon. And the chief baker saw that the interpretation was good, he said unto Joseph, I also was in my dream, behold, I had three white baskets on my head, and in every most basket there was of all manner of baked meat for Pharaoh, and the birds that eat of them, and I had a basket upon my head. And Joseph answered and said, This is the interpretation thereof, the three baskets are three days, yet within three days shall Pharaoh lift up thine head.

Lift it from off thee, and shall hang thee on a tree, and the birds shall eat thy flesh from off thee. And it came to pass the third day, which was Pharaoh's birthday, he made a feast unto all his servants, lifted up the head of the chief butler, and of the chief baker among his servants. He restored the chief butler unto his butlership again, and he gave the cup into Pharaoh's hand.

But he hanged the chief baker as Joseph had interpreted of them. Yet did not the chief butler remember Joseph, but forgot him. And it came to pass at the end of two full years.

One of the margin has two full years of days that Pharaoh dreamed, and behold, he stood by a river, and so on. Now we trust that God will... Joseph in the prison house. More lessons to be learned.

I want to talk to you first of all about the fact that adversity does not mean abandonment. Adversity does not mean abandonment. Here he is amidst adversity.

He is not just sold as a slave into Egypt, but now falsely accused, in some ways languishing in a prison house. The presence of God is above circumstances. It is independent of circumstances.

It is made known through the circumstances. And so Joseph is in adversity, but he is not abandoned by God. Why is it that believers are called upon to suffer? What does the word of God tell us about adversity in the Christian life, and suffering in the Christian life, and difficulty in the Christian life? Now you may add to my list.

You may refine it. You may tweak it in one way or another. I'm just going to suggest to you.

The word of God would bring before us perhaps five different reasons why believers are called upon to pass through trial and to pass through suffering. Let me maybe deal with the first one and get it out of the way, because to my mind, it is the least common reason believers suffer. And that is for punitive reasons.

God punishing because of transgression. To my mind, that is the least common reason for suffering. It is certainly absent in Joseph's life, and in many worthies of the word of God, trial and suffering had nothing to do with anything on their part as far as transgression.

But we are called upon to pass through trial, and God at times does it punitively because we are subjects in his kingdom. And as such, God does carry out the moral principle of sowing and reaping, and so there is punitive suffering. But beyond that, there is suffering which is preparatory, that God is preparing individuals as sons in his family, preparing them for greater usefulness, preparing them for other aspects of work he has in mind.

So at times, suffering can be preparatory. Certainly it is with Joseph, it was with David, it was with Daniel, and as we go through scripture and think of different ones who are called to pass through trial, many times adversity was a result of God's preparation for future service. Trial and suffering can also be preventative because we are servants in his work.

You recall what Paul says, because of the abundance of the revelations there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, lest I should be exalted. So suffering was preventative. God allowed something in Paul's life to prevent Paul becoming disqualified because of pride.

And so there was something that God allowed, whatever it may be, whether it was something visible, something physical, something relative to his speech or his vision, we don't know for sure, a lot of different suggestions. But God allowed trial and suffering to prevent pride and to prevent something which would have hindered Paul from being active in, or would have prevented Paul from being active in service. And so many times we should be thankful for some of the adversity we experience because it is God's way of preserving us.

We may not do it that way, but certainly we can make all kinds of, if only I were, if this weren't true, I would be able to serve so much better, and if only this were different, think how much more useful I would be. God makes no mistakes. God does not somehow not know what is best for you and for me in life, and so God was able to frame the very best set of circumstances for the maximum usefulness for Paul in his life of service for God.

So we sometimes have adversity, God preventing us. But then at times as well, suffering and adversity occurs because God wants to reveal or proclaim himself through us. You remember, don't you, the three Hebrew servants who would not bow to the idol at the sound of the music, and the fiery furnace they were thrown into, so that God could magnify his power to a heathen nation.

And so at times believers are called to pass through trial and illness and suffering, and it seems to our idea and to our thinking, what is the value of all of this? And really what God is showing is his grace sufficient for that. Many times you see, and again I hesitate even to mention things like this because there are things that are so hard for us to understand, but you think of someone who has a severe condition such as Alzheimer's and you wonder, what is the value of living like that? What's the value of that kind of an existence? Many times it is the caregiver displaying their care and faithfulness and love to that situation, displaying to others the grace of God and the tremendous honor that God gets from that. And so many times God allows trials that we cannot understand.

Remember a sister here mentioning to me years ago, it always stuck with me, as she pondered the feeble, weakened condition of so many believers late in life. And sometimes minds not able to appreciate things and bodies frail and sickly. And why wasn't the Lord allowed them to keep living when it seemed like their usefulness was done? Many times it's so those who are giving care, those who are rendering the care can display something of the kindness and grace of God to those who can't even return appreciation for it.

And that displays for others to view something of the character of God. Never forget, your God is a giving God. Your God is a God who gives even when no one says thank you.

God causes his reign to fall upon the just and the unjust alike. God is blessing billions of people on planet Earth today who will not bow their knees to thank him for it, yet he keeps giving. That's the kind of God you have, a God who is unidirectional in his giving.

And God wants us to have that same character, to give even when there's no reciprocation, to give even when there's no appreciation. Tremendous to think that God allows sometimes trials for that very purpose to proclaim his character and proclaim his name. But then God also allows sufferings, not just for punitive reasons, not just for preparatory reasons, not just for preventative reasons, not just to proclaim his character and name, but God does it to perfect his saints.

That's James chapter one, isn't it? Let, as James writes to believers, let patience have a perfect work that you may be perfect and complete and so on, lacking in nothing. And so God allows trial, as he does with Joseph here, to add to a believer's character and to bring him to perfection relative to moral qualities and to character. It's interesting that both James and Peter say the same thing about trial.

James chapter one, first Peter chapter one, they use the exact same expression. You know what they say? They refer to the trial of your faith. That doesn't mean doubts are coming in and it doesn't mean you're being tempted relative to do you believe the Bible and do you? That's not the idea of trial of your faith.

The idea of a trial of your faith is just this, that every trial tests what I think of God. Bottom line, maybe not at the top line, but bottom line, okay? Is God worthy to be obeyed? Does God deserve my passing through this trial, even though I don't know the reason? Is God really deserving of my faithfulness, even though my family is not getting saved and even though my job is not doing well and even though I can't find a partner in life and even though the service I'm doing seems to be so unfruitful, no one's getting saved and nothing seems to be happening from all I'm doing? Is God still worthy that I should continue to serve Him and continue to seek to be faithful even though nothing good seems to be happening? That's the ultimate bottom line of our trials. Is God worthy? Does He really deserve what I'm going through? Can I really trust Him for my life? Can I really depend upon God that He is going to eventually bring this out to my good and to my blessing? When we draw back, it's because we think God isn't going to do His part and I'd better take things under my own wing and start manipulating this for my own good.

But every trial becomes a trial of your faith. What do you think of God and His Word? Willing to be trusted, able to be trusted, worthy to be trusted. So you will understand then that here then is a man in bondage, but we learn that bondage will not mean barrenness.

He is still fruitful for God amidst all the circumstances of life. He is still fruitful for God even in a prison. And we see as well that His circumstances do not cancel out His character.

He is the same person whether in His Father's house, whether in Potiphar's house, or whether in the prison house. He's the same person. He's not a chameleon.

He doesn't fit in and make himself adaptable to please whoever he's with. He is the same person. He is serving God.

He is faithful. He is marked by fidelity, dependability, prosperity. The same man wherever he is.

Character that does not change. You may think I am stressing character too much, but let me just say this. I learned a very valuable lesson in 1 Corinthians chapter 1. The church at Corinth came behind in no gift.

They had everything you needed as far as gift. The most gifted assembly possibly in the New Testament, yet they were in danger of absolute destruction. There was chaos at Corinth.

So the lesson I learned is this, that an assembly can survive without gift, but it cannot survive without character. Now I'm not minimizing the value of gift, but you understand what I mean when I say that an assembly could survive without gift, but it cannot survive without character. If there is not character built into believers, young believers, middle-aged believers, assemblies won't survive.

Just go down like Corinth. You may be gifted, you may be able to speak well, preach well, teach well, but without character it carries no weight, and it will do nothing for God and for the testimony. So let me then just leave that by reminding you that adversity does not mean abandonment.

Let me tell you also that menial does not mean minor. Menial does not mean minor. Can you think of anything more menial for a man who is destined to be sovereign than to be in a prison, shackled, serving other prisoners? He's serving them.

Did you notice that in chapter 40? It says that he served them in verse number 4. So not only is he a prisoner, not only is he in shackles, but he's actually taking the responsibility of serving the needs of other prisoners. So could I just emphasize, underline again, menial never means minor if it's in the will of God. There's nothing too menial to do if you're doing it for the Lord.

Nothing too menial to do if God has directed you to do it. Nothing too menial to do if God has brought you into that. There was somewhere else in the country, there was a dear sister who was incapacitated for a number of years, and her daughter and her son-in-law took care of her during that period of time.

Please the Lord to take that sister home, and I just, you know, this is a day of emails, you can shoot a quick email to somebody without the trouble of sending that in writing or typing it, just send a quick email telling how highly I thought of all they had done and how wonderful it was that they had taken such good care and so on. And the email that came back was, yes, we're very thankful we could do that, now we really want to get on and live our lives. And I hope I wasn't being contrary, you know, or super spiritual.

But I just wrote back and said, you lived the life God gave you to live during that period of time. You're not beginning to live life. That was the life God gave you at that time of your life to live, and you did it faithfully.

Now there's another phase you're coming into. So if God brings you into a set of circumstances that may seem to you to be menial, just remember there is no such thing as menial, it's never minor in the will of God. God doesn't have minor roles in his will.

So maybe it's just taking care of a small Sunday school class, preschool children who hardly can take anything in, and what they're appreciating is the very basic elemental things of the word of God. And you may think, this is really just kind of babysitting. Listen, if that's where God has put you, that's not menial.

Let me make it more real. Maybe it's taking care of a few little infants, you know, diapers, bottles. Doesn't seem very glamorous.

Doesn't seem like the kind of thing you put in the magazine, you know, so-and-so changed ten diapers today, and you know, you just don't put that in the magazine. And it may seem very menial to you, but it's not minor. You're doing what God wants you to do.

Joseph is doing the menial here, and he's not doing it because, you know, he's calculating this is the way to get to the top. Start at the bottom and you... No, he's not doing it for that reason. He's doing it because this is where God put him.

And character plus circumstances lead to conduct. And so his character is such, and his circumstances are such, that he stoops to serve others. I fear that many times young believers, and some who are once young and are now middle-aged, sat on the sidelines waiting for the big thing to come along that they could give themselves to, and as a result, never did anything.

If there's something small God has given you to do, do it. Do it to the very best of your ability, because you may find out looking back from eternity that that was God's big thing for you in life. The little thing may well have been the big thing.

And if God does have some bigger thing for you, he'll bring you to it. Don't worry about that. But start out doing the little thing, what you would call the menial thing, because there is nothing in God's will that is minor.

It's all major. The menial is major if God has brought you there. And so David is seen here.

You can't help but see his conduct and his consecration in these sections, and the condescension that marks him. He served them. Let me just say this, have to leave it, can't enlarge on it.

Every leadership role is ultimately a role of serving others. Every leadership role in the Word of God, whether it is a husband who is in leadership with his wife, he is to serve her. Whether it is the overseers who are in leadership in God's assembly, they are serving the needs of the saints.

And we need nothing else but the words of the Lord Jesus Christ to remind us. He that is greatest among you, let him be servant. And so he is serving them here in this capacity.

But the other corollary of that is, the man who has never learned to serve will never learn to lead. The man who has never learned to submit will never be fit to lead God's people. And so the man who can bow is the man who can stand and lead, as we see in Joseph.

Time doesn't permit more there, let me just leave that. Menial does not mean minor. But number three, not only does adversity not mean abandonment, not only does menial not mean minor, but sensitivity doesn't mean self-pity.

Sensitivity does not mean self-pity. You can't help but read these stories of Joseph, scenes in the life of Joseph, without being moved at God's strange ways. Here's Joseph imprisoned, and what began the whole cascade of events were two dreams back in his father's house, and all of a sudden into jail are thrust two men, and each is about to dream a dream.

So that here are God's strange ways. Dreams put Joseph in prison, dreams are going to take Joseph out of prison. So you'll allow me then to put it in this way, the word of God brought Joseph into prison, faithfulness with the word of God is going to take Joseph out of prison.

You see, God has no other way of working with you and with me other than through His word. It isn't that we use His word for some things, but for other things we've got to fend for ourselves. Now, we are responsible to do what we can, what's in our power to do, what's in our ability to do.

For example, when the angel came and when Peter was in prison there in Acts 13 and the angel smote the guards with sleep and opened the doors, before the angel opened the door the angel told Peter, Peter put on your shoes. The angel didn't put Peter's shoes on for him, Peter could put his own shoes on, but Peter couldn't open locked doors and couldn't break through iron bars. The angel had to do that, but Peter could put his own shoes on.

Yeah, God expects us to do what we can do, but you'll understand what I mean when I say that here in this context, dreams put him in, dreams will take him out. The word of God brings people into trial, the word of God takes people out of trial. Faithfulness to the word of God at both ends is what is vital.

So let me just come then to what I have called not just God's strange ways, but God's slender threads. God's slender threads, you know what I mean by that? Did you notice what happened in chapter 40? Everything hung, everything hung upon this slender thread. Would Joseph care that two men look sad? Would Joseph care that two men look sad? Now the reason I said that sensitivity is not self-pity is, I want to tell you where I would be in chapter 40, okay? I'd be sitting in that prison, wallowing in self-pity, you know, why me? And after all I've done, here I am, what's the use, you know, it doesn't seem like, I'd be wallowing in my self-pity, thinking about myself, self-centered.

I would be just thinking, you know, what am I going to do now and why is this happening? But Joseph isn't thinking about himself. Joseph is sensitive enough to the needs of others. Why are you sad today? Oh, now that you've asked, we'll tell you.

So can you see what I'm getting at? That here was a man not marked by self-pity. He didn't get taken up with his own negative circumstances, didn't get wallowing in his own sense of life being unfair, but he recognizes there are others in life that have needs. I'm here to serve others.

I'm not here to be occupied with self. I am here to meet the needs of others. God has brought me here to serve him and in that sphere, how can I be of service to others? The slender thread.

Ever notice in your Bible the little things that God uses? That's 1 Corinthians 1, isn't it? He uses the tears of a baby. Nothing weaker than that. The tears of a baby to overthrow the counsel of a pharaoh.

He uses a nephew of Paul's, a little boy, to frustrate the 40 men that have vowed to not eat until they slay Paul. And you can go through Scripture and think of the minor, the slender threads upon which divine purposes hinge. And here is Joseph in the prison house.

It's not now moral impurity that is going to be the test of this man, but what is going to test and be the slender thread for this man is self-pity or sensitivity to others. So you will understand then what is being stressed here in this section. Here is a man who recognizes that as I am going through trials in life, I am not to be self-absorbed.

Others have needs. Others have cares and burdens. I should be thinking of them as well.

Now if you want another scriptural example of that, let me give it to you and then hurry on. James chapter 1. Remember how that chapter begins? Where James speaks about the trial of your faith and he speaks about the double-minded man and if any man lack wisdom let him ask of God who gives to all men liberally and upbraids not and so on. And the brother of high degree and the brother of low degree rejoicing and so forth.

And he comes to the end and he says that the man who has tried when he has tried receives a crown of life that fades not away. And then he digresses into not thinking that God tempts men with evil. And then strangely enough he comes to the end of the chapter and it seems like, James what are you saying? Pure religion and undefiled before God is this.

To visit the fatherless and the widow and to keep himself unspotted from the world. James what has that got to do with the whole chapter you are dealing with? So the man who has tried, he is reminded at the end of the chapter, visit the fatherless and the widows. Which is being reminded that you are not the only one going through trial.

There are others, there are those who are fatherless, those who are widows. Don't forget them, don't forget to visit them. Don't forget that amidst your trial others have trials.

Don't forget that as you see need in your own life that others also are experiencing heartache and need and grief and pain and reach out to them as well. So here was a man who was preserved from self-pity and was able to help others. That was the slender thread upon which everything hung.

Would he have a care for others? So sometimes just observe an eye, an open ear, a neighbor, someone else in the assembly, some unsafe family you have contact with. Don't be so absorbed with self. Even if you're going through a trial, don't be so absorbed with self.

We forget really God has sent us here for others, for the sake of others. And as Joseph was going to find, caring for others eventually was going to be the answer to his own needs and his own burden in trial. So we should always be sensitive to the fact that others are going through trial.

I think I'm supposed to be done. Give me just a couple more minutes, I apologize. Quickly, let me just mention one other thing about this.

What I see as Joseph deals with these two men is something else. Could I call it for want of a better expression, his spirituality rises to the top for us to see? What do I mean? Tell me what's wrong with you boys. Why do you look so sad today? Well, we've each dreamed a dream.

Dreams? Look, fellas, I've kind of sworn off of dreams. For a while, you know, it's kind of gotten me into a bit of hot water. You don't mind if I don't go there with you.

Is there something else we can talk about today besides your dreams? No, that's not what Joseph says, is it? Do not dreams belong to God? I think if I were in Joseph's place, the last thing I'd want to touch are dreams. The last thing I'd want to deal with are dreams. Listen, dreams have been a source of difficulty for me in life.

And you'll understand that it's just not. No, no, that's not Joseph. Do not dreams belong, not to me.

Do not dreams belong to God? Now, remember, this is a heathen nation. This is a nation that had multiplicity of gods, as you find out when you come to the story of the exodus and all. Further on, just a few chapters.

So to stand faithfully before heathen men and say, there's one God and dreams belong to him. You tell me the dream, God will give the interpretation. To me, that's a tremendous point of spirituality.

And again, recognizing dreams as revelations from God. What Joseph is telling us here is, he did not think lightly of the word of God, despite all it had cost him. He still valued it.

It had cost, to this point in time, it had cost Joseph everything. He still valued it. Still was willing to basically venture his life upon it.

I'll tell you what God has to say. So you see his spirit. Let me come quickly, though.

One or two other things and I will leave it then. Carefree does not mean careless. Carefree does not mean careless.

He was carefree in the sense that he was not limited. He was not hindered. He was not in any way overwhelmed with his circumstances.

He was careful with the truth of God, wasn't he? He faithfully and accurately told the butler what the word of God meant. And I want you to notice something. He did not use the word of God for his own ends.

He didn't say, now, wait a minute. If I tell you the dream, if I tell you the interpretation, will you promise to let me out of prison? I'll make a deal with you. He never used the word of God to accomplish something for himself.

Now, let me put that in modern, everyday terms. I have heard of husbands who, to get their way with their wives, say the word of God says you got to be submissive to me. You be quiet.

We're going to do it my way. See a few wives looking at their husbands. I won't mention names.

That's using the word of God as a billy club for your own ends. That's just using the word of God as a billy club to get what you want. God forbid that we ever use the Bible, the word of God, to get what we want from another person.

That includes the oversight with the assembly. It includes a husband with his wife, parents with children. We do not use the word of God to get what we want from someone.

Joseph didn't. The Lord Jesus didn't. We use the word of God to instruct and teach.

Yes, we have a responsibility with our wives, with our children, with the assembly to use the word of God to teach and instruct. But it's never for our ends. It's never for our benefit.

It's for the Lord's honor. Vast difference. Joseph does not use the word of God as a manipulative tool.

He values it too highly. So he is careful with the word of God. He's careful with the testimony of his brothers.

You notice what he says to the butler? Doesn't mention his brothers, does he? I have done nothing. He says in verse number 13, rather verse 15, I was sold by my brothers. No, I was stolen away.

I was stolen away. He never mentions his brothers. He is careful with the testimony of his brothers.

What brothers did to him was not something for ungodly ears to hear. OK, what Joseph's brothers did to him was not something for ungodly ears ever to hear. And before we come to the end of the story, we'll find they never did.

They never did. They never heard it. Joseph simply says, I was stolen away.

Now, look, you make sure, not just in matters of discipline, but in every aspect of Christian life, make sure that the failures, the flaws, the faults of believers never become the subject of your conversation with your closest unsaved relative, even if it's a spouse, and especially your children, because the believers do have flaws. They do have faults. We do have inconsistencies.

We do have blind spots. We do sometimes strain at a gnat and swallow a camel. Yes, we're all marred by the same problems, but they're not the subject of conversation for our relatives, for our friends, for others.

It is not for unsaved ears to hear of the inconsistencies. But he is also careful, not just with the truth of God and the testimony of his brothers, he's careful with the trust that is given to him to interpret the word of God. I would think, now this is just a personal view, I think that the baker did not really trust Joseph.

He seems hesitant. It says that when the baker saw the interpretation was good, he's marked by unbelief. Joseph, you're going to tell me my interpretation? So he's going to sit back and wait.

Let me see how this thing plays out. As soon as he sees the interpretation is good, then he jumps in. Okay, here's my dream.

And Joseph has to faithfully tell him the interpretation of his dream. Doesn't quibble, doesn't compromise divine truth. He is faithful with the word of God, even to this man to whom it means death.

So here's a man who is not careless with divine things, careful with the truth of God, careful with the testimony of his brothers, careful with the trust God has given him to speak to others. He is not careless. But if we had time, we could talk about the fact that he is faithful yet forgotten.

We read those words that begin chapter two, chapter, I'm sorry, chapter 40, 41. It came to pass at the end of two full years of days. So chapter 40 ends with the butler forgetting Joseph, and chapter 41 begins with two full years.

It's as though God was counting every moment. Every day was being marked on God's calendar, that Joseph was enduring affliction and difficulty and suffering and forgotten by those he had befriended and helped. God was counting every day, God counting our tears and so on from the book of Psalm.

You would all know those verses. But what we have here then is just this great thought that, bottom rung, bottom rung? I think so. I think he couldn't get much lower than this in this young man's life.

Think of the steps down. He was hated by his brethren. He was sold by his brethren, stripped and put in a pit, enslaved, falsely accused, imprisoned, now forgotten.

And at this moment in time, it must be the darkest hour of Joseph's life. We didn't mention it. Let me just mention it and pass on from it.

If you were to trace from chapter 39 and verse number 23, from that point on until we come to the end of chapter 41 and verse 38, it never says the Lord is with him. Now, the Lord was, obviously. But that recurring refrain that has marked so much of our reading thus far, it's absent.

It doesn't tell us, and the Lord was with Joseph, and the Lord was with Joseph, and the Lord was with Joseph. It's as though he is totally alone, totally forgotten. His darkest hour, his greatest grief.

And yet, in that darkest of moments, God is about to come in tremendous miraculous power and wonder to bring Joseph to his ultimate purposes for his life. So may the Lord encourage us that amidst the darkness, God is working. Amidst the difficult circumstances, God is working.

To remember that abandonment, or rather the fact that he has been incarcerated, does not mean that God has abandoned him. That menial never means minor in the will of God. That sensitivity is not the same as self-pity.

Far different. That to be carefree doesn't mean that I'm careless. And finally, to be faithful may mean that I am forsaken by men.

And circumstances may look so dark, but God is still working out his purposes for me in my life amidst every set of circumstances. Shall we pray?