Faith in the sovereignty of God (Genesis 40)

People who experience a short-term difficulty whether a recovery from an accident or a brief period of financial difficulty often rise to the challenge because there is an end in sight. Keeping up morale when an illness is long-term and debilitating or a relational conflict seems unending is much harder and many lose heart. They may question God’s goodness, His presence or power and become embittered or even angry with Him. What is striking about Joseph is his endurance on a roller-coaster ride as his conditions improve and then plummet to the depth again. He is often portrayed by interpreters as a ‘spoiled brat’ initially but such characterisation seems to me overdrawn. It is uncertain whether he brings a slanderous report to his father and actually lies about his brothers or if he reports their genuinely bad behaviour (the Hebrew allows for both possibilities; Gen 37:2). Telling his dreams (Gen 37:5-7, 9-10) is insensitive even if true and shows a level of immaturity, perhaps, but interpreters seem to exaggerate his faults only to highlight the enormity of his transformation.

Joseph, a man of God

Whatever the truth or otherwise of this early portrait of him, he is shown in adversity as a man who feels accountable to God and his master and will not compromise his commitment to them even if this leads to unjust accusations and imprisonment (Gen 39:8-9). This is not a man who rebels against God’s authority because he had been thwarted, nor one whose moral convictions are only skin-deep. If the captain of the bodyguard is still Potiphar in today’s reading, then Joseph’s former master also recognises his qualities when he entrusts the high-profile political prisoners to his care (Gen 39:1; 40:4). Although suffering himself, Joseph is not so self-absorbed that he does not notice others’ pain and asks the chief cupbearer and baker why they look so dejected (Gen 40:6-7).

Faith in the sovereignty of God

More than anything, however, our reading highlights his faith and confidence in God. When the two prisoners explain their distress over the lack of interpreters for their dreams, his response in offering to interpret himself is staggering. He is a foreigner unfamiliar with dream interpretations in Egypt, which was a skilled art with certain rules about it that took learning. Yet, this is not self-assurance but trust in God (Gen 40:8). His statement is a testimony to his faith in the sovereignty of God who can give dreams, interpretations and make things happen. In fact, he is so sure that the interpretation he gives is correct and will come true that he asks the cupbearer to do him a favour in turn when he is reinstalled in Pharaoh’s graces (Gen 40:14). The fact that he correctly interprets both dreams reminds us of his own dreams as a young man and readers encountering his story for the first time may wonder how his dreams will be fulfilled. There is suspense here and we can imagine that Joseph felt God’s hand in the events. Yet the days went by and there was no word from the palace, no release for him in prison. We know that the cupbearer promptly forgot him – it only took him three days – once his situation improved (Gen 40:23), but Joseph could only hope and wait. In fact, it would be another two long years before God dramatically changed Joseph’s circumstances (Gen 41:1).

God has not forgotten us

Once again, reading someone’s story with its setbacks and long periods of silent waiting remind us that just because we do not see God working does not mean that He has forgotten us! Reading Joseph’s story as outsiders, we have the privilege of detecting God’s providence in ways that we do not necessarily see in our own lives. Neither did Joseph know in the midst of his trials how things would turn out, but he trusted the sovereignty of God and lived in the light of it with faithfulness and integrity. His example encourages us to strengthen our faltering step when disheartened about our circumstances and remind ourselves that God knows exactly what our situation is.

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