This sermon was preached at University Park Baptist Church in Houston, Texas. For more information about UPBC, visit upbchouston.org. Morning. Time for Children's Church, so kids go ahead and head that way toward the back door. If you're a parent and you have not signed your kid in yet for Children's Church, be sure to go and do that so that we know who's there and we have a record of everyone. watching over in Children's Church today. If you're gonna stay in here, our text this morning is Genesis chapter 40, so go ahead and turn there in your Bible or your app. Genesis chapter 40. If you don't have a Bible, we have Bibles in these little cubbies on the sides, and it'll be around page 33. I didn't check for sure, but I think it's around there, page 33 in those Bibles. Before we get started, let's pray and ask for the Lord's help. Father, you are pleased to use weak clay pots to hold your all surpassing power. And you are pleased to do so this morning. We ask that as we look at your word that you would give us hope, that you would strengthen our faith, that you would convict us of sin, and call us to repentance. That your Holy Spirit would do his work in and among us through the power of the proclaimed word for your glory. We pray this in Jesus' name, amen. In his book, The Invisible Hand, pastor and theologian R.C. Sproul wrote, in theory, it is easy to understand the premise that all things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to his purpose. But to get this into our bloodstreams is another matter. It is one of the most difficult tasks of the practicing Christian. It involves not only believing in God, but believing God. Now when you're the friendly observer untouched by the tragedy of the moment, it may seem all too easy to rattle off this promise of God as if that's all there is to it. And to be fair, oftentimes that is what a person who is enduring hardship needs to hear the most. But when you're in the pit, when you're stretched thin, When you're waiting for resolution with no end in sight, you're forced to answer this question. Do I truly believe God? Do I believe he is in control of all the details of my life? Do I trust that he will do me good because he promised to do so and he keeps his word? This morning we're continuing our study in the book of Genesis and our exploration of the life of Joseph, and here we come to what may be a familiar passage, but one that, when taken by itself, doesn't really give us much resolution. Let's get the spoilers out of the way at first. At the end of Genesis 39 and the beginning of Genesis 40, Joseph is in prison, remanded to the house of the captain of the guard and held there for years. And by the end of chapter 40 that we'll cover today, Joseph is still in prison, In fact, he will continue to be in prison for another two years after the events that unfold in this chapter. From a purely human perspective, this is a terrible tragedy, a miscarriage of justice, a waste of human life. Yet if we put chapter 40 in proper context, we can see the threads of God's sovereign plan woven throughout this episode. Through this story, we are reminded of a vital truth that underlines our study this morning. God orchestrates and directs all the events of our lives as his children. And even when we don't understand his plan, we can trust that his will toward us is for our ultimate good and his greater glory. So let's dig into the details before we can see that big picture. We can break this chapter down into three main sections. First, The New Prisoners in verses one through eight. Second, The Dreams Explained in verses nine through 19. And then The Prophecies Fulfilled in verses 20 through 23. The New Prisoners, The Dreams Explained, and The Prophecies Fulfilled. So let's begin with the introduction of two new minor characters in our story, the Pharaoh's cupbearer and baker. Genesis 40, starting in verse one, sometime after this, the cup bearer of the king of Egypt and his baker committed an offense against their Lord, the king of Egypt. And Pharaoh was angry with his two officers, the chief cup bearer and the chief baker. And he put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard in the prison where Joseph was confined. The captain of the guard appointed Joseph to be with them and he attended them. They continued for some time in custody. Now this phrase, some time after this, that begins with is vague, but we're told that Joseph remains in prison for years after years of assault by Potiphar's wife. As Travis emphasized last week, Joseph is able to endure and even thrive during this painful situation because the Lord was with Joseph. No matter how long Joseph was in bondage with no sign of release, the Lord was still with him. Now verse one tells us that the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt had committed an offense against their Lord. The word here could be translated as they sinned against their Lord. I think this is a nice counterpoint to the previous chapter when in the face of temptation, Joseph says, how can I sin against my God? So just as Joseph would not sin against his greater Lord, but these two men somehow offended. Now it's unclear what the offenses were that landed these men in prison. Both of these men were court officials with unique and privileged access to the monarch. They were in charge of giving him food and drinks. So their positions required absolute trust from the throne. Some writers speculate that their crimes could have been as serious as planning a coup or an assassination attempt, or as minor as a spilled cup or a badly baked loaf of bread, depending on how capricious the pharaoh was that day. No matter the reason, by God's providence, these men no longer found favor with the pharaoh and were remanded to the very prison house of the captain of the guard, where Joseph was basically functioning as a trustee. Now the text doesn't explicitly say if this captain of the guard was Potiphar himself or someone else of his rank. If this was referring to Potiphar himself, it might signal that Potiphar was softening from his previous indignation against Joseph, but we don't know if that was him for sure. Even if it wasn't him, what matters to our passage today is that the captain of the guard put these royal officials under the care and supervision of Joseph. And since they were of high rank, Joseph attended to or ministered to them. in the prison every day for some time. Now see how God reveals he is at work here in the next paragraph. Verse 5 of chapter 40. And one night they both dreamed, the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were confined in the prison, each his own dream and each dream with its own interpretation. When Joseph came to them in the morning, he saw that they were troubled. So he asked Pharaoh's officers who were with him in custody in his master's house, why are your faces downcast today? They said to him, we have had dreams and there is no one to interpret them. And Joseph said to them, do not interpretations belong to God, please tell them to me. In a single night, God gives both the cupbearer and the baker a confusing and troubling dream. Two distinct dreams, the text very clearly says to us, with two distinct interpretations. Now, dreams in the ancient Near East were often thought to be a source of divine revelation. And in Egypt, there was an entire class of court magicians who were trained in occultic arts of divination and dream interpretation. Though, as we see in the scriptures, their track record was a little questionable. As royal officials, these two men would have normally had access to the court magicians to seek their counsel, but in prison, they were left with troubling visions and no answers. And Joseph the Hebrew. The next morning, Joseph showed up to perform his faithful service and recognized there was such a change in their demeanor, he recognized they were both troubled. And what does he do? He has compassion on them. And he asked them what's wrong. Consider this. Joseph was betrayed by his brothers and sold into slavery. He worked hard to make the best of his position in Potiphar's house and was blessed by God for his labors before being falsely accused by Potiphar's wife and thrown into prison for several years. He was put in charge of all the prisoners, but then was forced to attend to personally these two court officials. And yet through all of this, Rather than focusing solely on the wrongs that were done against him, Joseph is looking outward toward these two men that he's tasked with serving. He notices that there's a change in their demeanor and he has compassion on them. There's something instructive for us here. As we are faithfully walking through hardship of one kind or another, we still have opportunity to look for ways to be a blessing to others and to ease their burdens. This reflects the character of Jesus who even from the agony of the cross took some of his precious final breaths to entrust the care of his mother to John. When we are wounded, we are tempted to look inward and only see our own pain. Matthew Henry comments on this section that communion in sufferings helps to work compassion towards those who do suffer. When these two officials tell Joseph that they had dreams that no one can interpret him, see what he says next. Do not interpretations belong to God. Please tell them to me. He doesn't say, as a matter of fact, I have some experience with dreams predicting the future. No, he immediately gives glory to God and then confidently seeks to help, trusting that God will give him wisdom in the moment. What faith we see in this simple statement, this Dreamer from the house of Israel, who once was given visions of future honor and power, sits in a prison. And from human perspective, any hope of the future is all but dead. Yet Joseph trusted in his God, the God of his father, the God of his grandfather, the God of his great-grandfather, the God who made impossible promises and brought them all to pass. Even at his lowest point, Joseph trusted God, and he believed that God could provide the answers to the dreams of the cupbearer and the baker. And Spurgeon describes it this way. It's not that Joseph had knowledge of any occultic art or was clever at guessing, but the spirit of God rested on him, and so he understood the secrets veiled beneath the dreams. Well, let's look at those two dreams and their explanations, the next section of our passage, starting in verse nine. So the chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph and said to him, in my dream there was a vine before me, and on the vine there were three branches. As soon as it budded, its blossoms shot forth and clusters ripened into grapes. Pharaoh's cup was in my hand and I took the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh's cup and placed the cup in Pharaoh's hand. Then Joseph said to him, This is the interpretation. The three branches are three days. In three days, Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your office. And you shall place Pharaoh's cup in his hand as formerly when you were his cup bearer. Only remember me when it is well with you. And please do me the kindness to mention me to Pharaoh and so get me out of this house. For I was indeed stolen out of the land of the Hebrews, and here also I have done nothing that they should put me into the pit." Cupbearer tells the details of his dream to Joseph. A vine with three branches, bearing buds, blossoms, and then clusters of grapes, a vision of life and growth. Pharaoh's cup was in his hand, a familiar sight to him, as that was his job as the wine taster and personal steward to the monarch. He squeezed the juice of the new grapes into the cup and placed it in his master's hand again. Joseph immediately gives him the answer, three days and you will be restored. Now this phrase, lift up your head, he says the Pharaoh will lift up your head. The phrase lift up your head has a few different meanings in the Old Testament. In some cases being lifted up is actually has to do with being brought before the royal court and put on trial. We see that in places like first Kings. Sometimes it takes on a more sinister meaning. We'll see that in the next couple of verses. But the phrase is most often associated with hope. The raising up of the downcast. We're familiar with this language from the Psalms. In Psalm three, verse three, David says, but you, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory and the lifter of my head. In Psalm 27, verse six, David says, and now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me. Joseph gave the cupbearer a message of hope, a message of restoration in his interpretation of the dream. And he makes his appeal then immediately after, remember me. He asked the cupbearer to mention him to Pharaoh once the cupbearer is back in his old position and settled into normal life. Joseph pleads with him to be his advocate in light of the injustices that have been done against him. And it's important to note here in verse 15 that Joseph doesn't accuse or blame others. The fourth century church father John Chrysostom points to Joseph in this verse as an example of how we should defend ourselves when we are falsely accused. He doesn't denounce or malign those who have sinned against him. His goal is not vengeance or retribution upon those who have wronged him, but simple justice, the clearing of his name. Joseph humbly asked the cupbearer to bring his case before Pharaoh, not even in the hopes of personal advancement, but solely to be released from bondage. Well, the baker heard the interpretation of the first dream, thought it sounded pretty good, so he tried to jump in on that as well. Look at the next four verses, look at verse 16. When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was favorable, see a little glimpse into the baker's heart, He said to Joseph, well, I also had a dream. There were three cake baskets on my head. And in the uppermost basket, there were all sorts of baked food for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating it out of the basket on my head. Joseph answered and said, this is the interpretation. The three baskets are three days. In three days, Pharaoh will lift up your head from you and hang you from a tree. and the birds will eat the flesh from you. Quite a different scenario being described. The baker's dream, images of loss as birds stole away the baked goods he was to serve his lord, involved another symbol for the number three in the image of his returning to his former position. But Joseph delivers the news that in three days' time, the baker's head would also be lifted up, as in lifted practically off his body as he was executed, either by hanging or possibly could be translated by impaling. Either way, bad news. Now in commenting on this verse, Matthew Henry says that God's ministers are but interpreters. They cannot make the thing otherwise than it is. We can't know the tone or delivery of Joseph's comments, but given that he was already demonstrating compassion for this man, delivering such news could not have been easy. This recalls to mind a later account to the story of the young boy Samuel, who was given a difficult message from God to deliver to his mentor Eli about his sons. Sometimes when we are tasked with relaying the word of the Lord, which we now have clearly written in the pages of his word, we may be tempted to soft pedal or sugarcoat the difficult parts of the message. But to do so is not truthful, loving, or kind. Joseph was delivering the interpretation that the Lord had given him. And the punishment hanging over the baker had nothing to do with Joseph or his actions or desires. His responsibility was simply to be faithful in conveying the message. Friends, I and every other minister of the gospel have the same responsibility. My job here is not primarily to make you feel better about your life or to help you achieve your dreams or desires. My job here, and the job of every man who stands behind this pulpit, is to tell you what the word of God says. Here we have two men who find themselves in the same immediate circumstances, but their future takes very sudden and different turns. In this case, they were given a glimpse of what to expect, but the rest of us don't have that, do we? While we may be humming along, thinking that we're following the path of the cupbearer, We don't know if we're actually facing the baker's outcome. That's why, my friends, you cannot treat the question of eternity lightly. Young man, young woman, you may be in the blush of youth, the peak of your strength, the bloom of your beauty, but you don't know what the next hour holds. You who are in the prime of adulthood, striving for achievement in work or success with your family or the approval of your community, do you truly have any idea what may come in three days' time? You don't, but God does. And even now, he calls to us through the writer of Hebrews who says, take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. but exhort one another as long as it is called today that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. Today, friends, do not harden your hearts. As Jesus says, unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Repent, turn away from your sin, trust in Jesus Christ, the Son of God who came into the world to be the sacrifice God appointed to pay for your sins. Jesus lived the perfect life you could not live and he died on a cross in the place of sinners to rescue us from the judgment that awaits us all. Then Jesus was lifted up three days later out of the most fearsome dungeon of all, the grave. Jesus rose in victory, conquering death, hell, and the devil, and he now offers forgiveness and everlasting life to all who believe on his name. If you do not know Jesus like this, we wanna talk to you about that immediately after service. We'll stay as long as you need. Don't wait even another day if there's any question in your mind about where you stand with Jesus. Let's conclude our chapter and see what happens next. This is point number three, the prophecies fulfilled, starting in verse 20. On the third day, which was Pharaoh's birthday, He made a feast for all his servants, and lifted up the head of the chief cupbearer and the head of the chief baker among his servants. And he restored the chief cupbearer to his position, and he placed the cup in Pharaoh's hand. But he hanged the chief baker as Joseph had interpreted to them." Stop right there. So on the third day, just so happened to be Pharaoh's birthday, either his actual birthday or the date of his ascension to the throne that was being celebrated, he threw a feast. And at this feast he lifted up the cup bearer and the baker out of prison, presumably to stand trial, to face sentencing, or just to put them up in front of his servants. Now we know from The translation of the Rosetta Stone, which was written about 2,000 years later than this, that around 190 to 200 BC, the pharaoh at that time threw a feast on or around his birthday and released prisoners. So it's possible that this was actually a tradition that had been going on since the time of the patriarchs. We don't know for sure if this is connected, but it just seems like an interesting inconsistency. The Pharaoh threw a feast and he released a prisoner. And the interpretation that the Lord had given to Joseph came true. The cupbearer was restored, the baker was executed. And yet the chapter closes with verse 23, which may feel like a letdown after Joseph's faith and God's faithfulness are vindicated. Yet the cupbearer did not remember Joseph. but forgot him. Not only that, but we can see in the next verse, verse one of chapter 41, that two whole years go by after that. You can almost imagine the heartbreaking scene. Joseph hears through the grapevine what has happened to his former cellmates, and perhaps he waits with a bit more expectation, watching the door, looking for the fateful day when his cell would be open and his chains would be released. then days turn into weeks, and weeks to months, with no change. The cupbearer's forgetfulness provides a bitter reminder that we cannot put our trust in the faithfulness of man to rescue us. So we reach the end of chapter 40, and as I said at the beginning, Joseph is still in prison. From a human standpoint, nothing in his situation has changed. And yet, What we can see now, looking backwards at the complete story, is that God was supernaturally moving pieces into place. Not just for Joseph's good, but for the good of many, many people. Consider what might have happened if the cupbearer had immediately reported Joseph's request to Pharaoh. The king could have ignored it, and that would have ended the matter. The king could have responded immediately. released Pharaoh from prison, sent him back home to his people. But that's not what happened. We know from the text what happens next. Two years later, there's another troubling dream. And Joseph's divinely appointed gift is called into even greater service with greater consequences. Because the cupbearer failed to remember Joseph, that left Joseph in the right place at the perfect time to be of service to the king of Egypt and step into the next phase of God's sovereignly directed plan for his life. That's a teaser for next week. It was the will of God for Joseph to wait in prison for two more years. And this resulted in the saving of not only himself, but multitudes. Again, this is a shadow of the greater Joseph that was to come. The son of God, the suffering servant who was crushed by the will and good pleasure of the father in order to rescue his people. All things work together for good. Admittedly, that is a bit easier to say when you have the benefit of 20-20 hindsight. But when you're in the prison, you don't have that. Sometimes all we can really see are the shackles on our wrist or the band of iron around our neck. Incidentally, that description of Joseph's imprisonment from Psalm 105, Travis talked about that last week, there's an interesting element to that description. In Psalm 105, verse 18, the psalmist writes of Joseph, his feet were hurt with fetters, his neck was put in a collar of iron. Now some translations of the Hebrew, some paraphrases of this text in Protestant prayer books, for example, actually render this phrase this way. The iron entered into his soul. That phrase has the sense of a kind of anguish that affects not only the body physically, but the inner man as well. And while that may or may not be the best translation of the original Hebrew, that does resonate, doesn't it? When you have been waiting so long, when you've been hurting and the iron feels like it is entering your soul. Brothers and sisters, I don't have to wonder how many of you have felt the iron enter your soul over the last few years. You have shared your heartache and your trials with your elders and deacons, and you have given us the privilege of praying with and over you. I can tell you firsthand that your elders pray for you regularly, sometimes with tears. You have suffered heartache. You have grieved the loss of friends and loved ones who have died. You have grieved relationships that have been strained or severed, physical illnesses. suffering family members, financial hardship, job loss, fears of the future. While we are and should be quick to recognize and praise God for his great and many mercies and providences, we should also be willing to acknowledge that life can be very challenging on this side of the veil. And in those seasons, When things are especially hard, we can struggle to see God's heart and hand at work in our circumstances. But it is in these very moments that we must, we must cling to the truth of God's word. That there is nothing in all of creation that is not at this moment under our Lord's command. As Spurgeon writes, God's way is the way. Our Lord's path to his mediatorial throne ran by the cross of Calvary. Our road to glory runs by the rivers of grief. Through all of this, we turn to the scriptures to see that there is purpose in our suffering. In 2 Corinthians 1, Paul is recalling the afflictions that he and his companions have faced. And he says something vital in 2 Corinthians 1 verse 9. He says, indeed we felt we have received the sentence of death but that was to make us rely not on ourselves, but on God who raises the dead. Did you catch that? The reason they had suffered hardship and affliction is so that they would rely on God instead of themselves. Loved ones, I am not saying there is an easy answer to your situation, whatever it is. I'm saying there is a right response. And the right response is to rely on God more, to make Him your hope, to trust in His goodness, to not just to believe in Him, but to believe Him. The Puritan minister Thomas Watson wrote a beautiful exposition of Romans 8.28 called All Things for Good. That's the current title. I think it was called the Cordial for the Soul or something like that previously. It's now called All Things for Good. It's available on Banner of Truth, Puritan, paperbacks, go grab it, it's great. In that book, he has this to say about the blessing of affliction. It may be said, how do afflictions make us happy? We reply that, being sanctified, they bring us nearer to God. The moon in the full is furthest off from the sun. So are many further off from God in the full moon of prosperity. Afflictions bring them nearer to God. The magnet of mercy does not draw us so near to God as the cords of affliction. When Absalom set Joab's corn on fire in 2 Samuel 14, then he came running to Absalom. When God sets our worldly comforts on fire, then we run to him and make our peace with him. When the prodigal is pinched with want, then he returned home to his father. When the dove could not find any rest for the sole of her foot, then she flew into the ark. When God brings a deluge of affliction upon us, then we fly to the ark of Christ. Thus, affliction makes us happy in bringing us nearer to God. Faith can make use of the waters of affliction to swim faster to Christ. You may be in the midst of affliction right now. Your strength may be fading and your hope may be strained. I am here to tell you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ that the Lord does not forget his own. He will never leave you or abandon you. We are not only certain of our God's sovereign plan, but we are certain of his boundless love. So hear now the Lord's encouragement to you as we close. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing to the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together, as in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who are the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this we hope, for in this hope we are saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope, for who hopes in what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. Likewise, the Spirit helps us in our weakness, for we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God, all things, all things, all things work together for good. for those who were called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined, he also called. Those whom he called, he also justified. And those whom he justified, he also glorified. What then shall we say to these things? God is for us. Who can be against us? He who did not spare his own son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died. More than this, who is raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation or distress or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword. As it is written, for your sake we are being killed all day long. We are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered, but no, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. I have nothing more to say. That's it. Your Lord will not forget you. He's never left you. And if you don't know him this morning, you need to know him because he is your only hope. Let's pray. Lord God, you are good and you are strong and you do all things well. Lord, I pray for my loved ones here who are going through all manner of things, some are at the top of success and they are warmed by the light of your blessing and prosperity and we praise you for that because we know that all good gifts come from you. And for my brothers and sisters who may be in the shadow right now, who may be waiting for something to change, who may be in a hard season with many demands, Lord, I pray that you would be near to them, that you would bind up the brokenhearted, that you would remind them of your love, and you would remind them that all things work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose. And this is our hope, and this hope will carry us through to the end, because we know whom we have believed, and we are convinced that you are faithful to do what you have promised. We pray these things in the name of our risen Savior and King, Jesus, amen.