God Meant It For Good Only Remember Me

Only Remember Me Genesis 40:1-23

As we start Genesis 40, we find Joseph sitting in an Egyptian prison. Remember where he has come from. Joseph was born in Mesopotamia and as an infant was brought into the land of Canaan and lived near Shechem. His older half-brothers Simeon and Levi murdered all the men of the city of Shechem while his other brothers plundered the city. As he grew older his mother gave birth to his only full brother Benjamin. Rachel would die and be buried on the road to Bethlehem. Joseph grows up and as a 17-year-old young man, he receives a special gift from his father, a coat of many colors. His half-brothers grow jealous of him and begin to hate him. Joseph brings a bad report concerning some of his brothers and they begin to hate him. God gives Joseph two dreams which drive the brothers to desire murder. As the brothers were out keeping the flocks, Joseph went to check in on them for their father. The brothers plotted against him first devising murder, then leaving him for dead in a pit, but finally settled on selling him into slavery. Joseph is bought by some Ishmaelite traders who were on their way to Egypt to sell their goods. While in Egypt, they sell Joseph to Potiphar, the captain of the guard. Joseph is blessed by God and rises in importance in the house, equal to his master. Potiphar’s wife desires Joseph but he refuses which leads her to falsely accuse Joseph of attacking her. Joseph is thrown into prison, where he suffers at first but later rises in favor with the jailer, who puts him in charge of the care of those in the jail. Joseph, a man who walks blamelessly before the Lord, serves his God diligently as he works in the prison. As John Angell James put it, “Joseph was imprisoned, but he was infinitely happier there, with God’s smiling conscience…No place is frightful to a good man, but the ‘dungeon of a bad conscience’. Free from that, Joseph is at liberty, though in prison…Here again, in this seemingly hard condition, we see Joseph maintaining his self-respect, his confidence in God, his benevolent activity, his accommodating disposition, and his general good conduct. By this course of action, he subdued even his jailor…” As we continue Joseph’s story, we first find that there is a key appointment that leads to the continuation of his story. In verses 5-19, we find the bulk of this episode where Joseph interprets the dreams of two fellow prisoners. The last verses of this chapter will show us if Joseph is indeed able to do what he says he can do: interpret dreams.

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