Joseph in Prison (Genesis 40)
Once again, we must take care to not rush through the story of Joseph. Chapter 40 has some important plot points, but they don’t take a lot of time to read through. There is a lot of time represented here, however.
Joseph has again acquired a lot of responsibility. His character, ethics, and conduct seem to push him into a leadership role wherever he goes. But, he is still in prison as a prisoner. One day, presumably after he has been in prison for a long time—long enough to be put in charge of things, two servants of Pharaoh are thrown in with him. They each have a dream one night and Joseph tells them what the dreams mean.
Simple enough, but as we know, important to the plot and to God’s plan. Joseph will now be known by someone in Pharaoh’s court and he is known to be able to interpret dreams. All of this will become important in two years’ time, but for now Joseph will sit, forgotten by the world, in prison.
He is not forgotten by God, though. We can try to take encouragement from that truth today. But it must have been disheartening for Joseph. And it feels that way for us when we languish in hard places in life, even though we may know for certain that those hard places are a part of God’s plan. So, remember that God has a plan and will never forget or abandon His people in the hard places of life. But remember too that there are hard places in God’s plan for all His people, and that they will not become any easier in the knowledge that there is purpose in the pain.
People who try to tell you that following Christ is the key to an easy, pleasant life don’t know what they are talking about. But the hard times are worth it, as we will see with Joseph.
Joseph has again acquired a lot of responsibility. His character, ethics, and conduct seem to push him into a leadership role wherever he goes. But, he is still in prison as a prisoner. One day, presumably after he has been in prison for a long time—long enough to be put in charge of things, two servants of Pharaoh are thrown in with him. They each have a dream one night and Joseph tells them what the dreams mean.
Simple enough, but as we know, important to the plot and to God’s plan. Joseph will now be known by someone in Pharaoh’s court and he is known to be able to interpret dreams. All of this will become important in two years’ time, but for now Joseph will sit, forgotten by the world, in prison.
He is not forgotten by God, though. We can try to take encouragement from that truth today. But it must have been disheartening for Joseph. And it feels that way for us when we languish in hard places in life, even though we may know for certain that those hard places are a part of God’s plan. So, remember that God has a plan and will never forget or abandon His people in the hard places of life. But remember too that there are hard places in God’s plan for all His people, and that they will not become any easier in the knowledge that there is purpose in the pain.
People who try to tell you that following Christ is the key to an easy, pleasant life don’t know what they are talking about. But the hard times are worth it, as we will see with Joseph.
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