Refinement in Waiting // Genesis 40 // Elizabeth Rico

Let us ask the Holy Spirit's grace on the reading of God's word.

God of mercy, grant that the word you speak this day will take root in our hearts and bear fruit to your honour and

glory, for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

A reading from Genesis chapter 40.

Sometime later, the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt offended their master, the king of Egypt.

Pharaoh was angry with his two officials, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker, and put them in custody in the house of the captain of the

guard, in the same prison where Joseph was confined.

The captain of the guard assigned them to Joseph, and he attended them.

After they had been in custody for some time, each of the two men, the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt who were being held in prison,

had a dream the same night.

night, and each dream had a meaning of its own.

When Joseph came to them the next morning, he saw that they were dejected.

So he asked Pharaoh's officials who were in custody with him in his master's house, 'Why do you look so sad today?'

'We both had dreams,' they answered, 'but there was no one to interpret them.'

Then Joseph said to them, 'Do not interpretations belong to God?

Tell me your dreams.'

So the chief cupbearer told Joseph his dream.

'He said to him, "In my dream I saw a vine in front of me, and on the vine were three branches.

As soon as it budded, it blossomed, and its clusters ripened into grapes.

Pharaoh's cup was in my hand, and I took the grapes, squeezed them into Pharaoh's cup, and put the cup in his hand."

"This is what it means," Joseph said to him.

"The three branches are three days.

Within three days Pharaoh will lift your will lift up your head and restore you to your position, and you will put Pharaoh's cup in his hand,

just as you used to do when you were his cupbearer.

But when all goes well with you, remember me and show me kindness.

Mention me to Pharaoh and get me out of this prison.

I was forcibly carried off from the land of Egypt.

I do

not deserve being put in a dungeon.

When the baker saw that Joseph had given a favorable interpretation, he said to Joseph, I too had a dream.

On my head were three bunches 3 baskets of bread.

In the top basket were all kinds of baked goods for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating them out of the basket on my head.

This is what it means, Joseph said.

The 3 baskets are 3 days.

Within 3 days, Pharaoh will lift off your head and impale your body on a pole, and the birds will eat away your flesh.

Now the 3rd day was Pharaoh's birthday, and he gave a feast for all his officials.

He lifted up the heads of the chief cupbearer and the chief baker in the presence of his officials.

He restored the chief cupbearer to his position, so that he once again put the cup into Pharaoh's hand.

But he impaled the chief baker, just as Joseph had said to them in his interpretation.

The chief cupbearer, however, did not remember Joseph; he forgot him.

This is the word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

Let's sit with Joseph for a minute.

With this story particularly, we must resist the urge to skip through the suffering and remember the triumphant ending.

Let's take a moment to sit with Joseph in his suffering.

He had been betrayed by his brothers, sold as a slave, wrongly accused of rape, and now he sits in

prison.

It's dark.

He's alone.

The promises God made to him are probably a faint dream compared to his reality.

We don't know how long he was in prison, but we know his entire suffering process started when he was 17 until he was 30.

13 years between the dream and its visible fulfillment.

13 years of slavery, imprisonment, and injustice.

At this point, we can already see how much suffering and trials are shaping Joseph's character.

The juvenile errors of the past are being corrected.

He wants to told his dreams freely and without wisdom, to the point where his father rebuked him.

And also though, it's kind of natural that a 17-year-old would be pleased at the thought of great power and eminence, but that feeling of pride can

produce evil and wickedness.

Yet what we see here is that God refines us during seasons of waiting.

What does it mean to be refined.

To be refined means to undergo a process of purification where impurities are removed so that something becomes more

pure, valuable, or fit for its intended purpose.

The word is commonly associated with refining precious metals, especially gold and silver.

When gold is refined, it is subjected to intense heat so that impurities can be separated from the metal.

The heat doesn't create the gold's value, but it reveals and purifies what is already there.

In scripture, refinement describes the process by which God shapes, purifies, and strengthens his people,

often through trials, suffering, discipline, and waiting.

Refinement doesn't mean that someone better.

Where God can turn the heat up and work through suffering to cultivate faith, perseverance, humility,

wisdom, and greater dependence on him.

The Lord sent Joseph through a refining process to prepare his character, his faithfulness, and his trust in the Lord for what

God has in store for him.

The heat has been turning up at this point in the story, and his imperfections his imperfections and impurities are being separated in order to

prepare Joseph for what God has in store.

It was in quietness, solitude, and suffering where Joseph found his true confidence and strength in the

Lord.

If you don't know what happens in the next chapter, here's a little spoiler alert.

The next chapter takes place 2 years after this incident, and the Pharaoh has a dream that no one can interpret.

interpret.

Then the cupbearer remembers Joseph and his ability, and Joseph is given the opportunity to interpret Pharaoh's dream,

and he's able to do so faithfully while giving God glory.

But right now, where we are in the story, Joseph doesn't know that any of that is coming.

He doesn't know what the finished product of refinement will be.

Instead, He just knows prison and one trial after another.

This process is going to continue to turn the heat up of loneliness, the friction of servitude, and the edges are

being sanded off.

Let's take a look at the chief cupbearer and the chief baker.

The chief cupbearer was an especially trusted official because he handled what Pharaoh drank drink.

His responsibility likely included oversight of the royal wine supply and personally presenting drink to the king.

Was an obvious danger in this.

The person serving the king's drink had to be someone Pharaoh trusted.

The chief cupbearer would become— is a confidant of the king and could even wield political influence.

So he had regular close access to Pharaoh, which becomes very important in the next chapter.

The chief baker also was an official overseer of the royal bakery.

That likely means not just merely baking, but administration and supervision.

A royal household would require bread and cakes and other prepared foods on a large scale.

The chief baker would presumably be responsible for the operation that supplied Pharaoh's table, quality and preparation of the foods,

and the staff under him.

So in modern terms, both men are department heads in Pharaoh's household rather than ordinary domestic

servants.

So Joseph isn't just randomly thrown together with two random kitchen employees, but suddenly he has under his

care two senior officials from Pharaoh's own household, one of whom has direct access to Pharaoh and will

eventually stand beside Pharaoh again.

There are not that many people who had that sort of privilege and power.

They were the few in a position close enough to know not just Pharaoh's political life but his personal life.

They would get to hear all of Pharaoh's issues and problems and dreams.

Scripture never tells us what their offense was, but really they were imprisoned because God wanted them there to meet Joseph.

Whatever brought them there, humanly speaking, God in his providence was bringing two men with direct access to Pharaoh into Joseph's

world.

And here we find God connecting Joseph to these two significant individuals, ultimately as a way of connecting Joseph to Pharaoh

and thus fulfilling Joseph's calling.

We see that in prison Joseph is prosperous, blessed, and given responsibilities over other prisoners.

He's a trusted figure.

And what stands out most about Joseph during this time is that he's growing in character, gaining wisdom, continuing to hone his administration

skills, continues to grow close to the Lord, and he's growing in humbleness.

He is being refined in character, and the prison is merely a training ground for him to prophetically interpret dreams.

Now Joseph had experience with dreams.

His two dreams about future greatness antagonized his family, and he was mocked as the dreamer.

However, the process has brought a lot of humbling, and now he is once again confronted by two dreams.

Before verse 8, we don't really see a lot of indication of him being a dream interpreter.

So through God's help and wisdom, Joseph grows from dreamer to dream interpreter.

And then we even see his character development when he maturely responds, "Do not interpretations belong to God?"

Perhaps his ability to interpret dreams came out of his time communing with God.

The closer he became to God in his time of suffering, the more in tune he became with God and the more he was able to be used by God.

And if this was true of Joseph, then why can't it also be true of us?

God was going to use the situation of persevere— for the perseverance of his faith.

The reality is that he had to learn how to boldly speak God's message, even if the message is not particularly favorable to someone.

1.

This is essentially his rehearsal to be truthful to Pharaoh, because if Pharaoh wanted to, he could have killed Joseph for giving a

truthful interpretation of his dream.

First, Joseph faces the temptation to lie to the cupbearer and baker.

Imagine you meet someone who regularly hangs out with the president.

You're probably not going to act weird or say something that might offend them.

Instead, you're probably gonna try to be on your best behavior or maybe even tell them what they want to hear.

You're gonna try to play it cool.

And for Joseph, the stakes are even higher because these connections could get him out of prison.

So it would have been tempting to tell both of them what they wanted to hear, especially if it meant improving their circumstances.

Not only that, but it would have been a very great temptation for Joseph to take credit for God's wisdom.

Instead, Instead, he learns even in prison to tell the truth even if it's difficult to hear and to give God glory first.

Dreams and interpretations belong to God.

Joseph was equally faithful to give a message of judgment to the baker as he was to give the message of deliverance to the cupbearer.

This is the mark of a godly messenger who does not fail to bring the whole whole message of God.

Joseph essentially passes the test during this rehearsal.

The refinement period is showing his growth and the productivity of it, even though it's painful, but it's going to pay off in the future.

Egyptian religion took dreams very seriously, and these are especially jarring visions.

The men are disturbed enough by their dreams that Joseph takes notice.

'Why are you sad today?'

He was not consumed by his own grief and suffering and problems, and instead we see his heart towards those that he served.

The dreams God gave them made sense to both men as it directly drew imagery from their professions.

Joseph was bold enough to give an interpretation that could be proved right or wrong in 3 days.

And in only 3 days everyone would know if he was correct or or not.

Now scripture says in 3 days it's Pharaoh's birthday party and they're feasting.

There were likely vast amounts of food and wine, so it makes sense that the chief cupbearer and the chief baker are remembered that day and

brought out of prison.

And on that day Pharaoh lifted up the heads of the cupbearer and the baker.

The expression to lift one's head evokes a person looking downwards in defeat or shame as their face is

lifted or raised into a more confident posture.

Both men had their heads lifted up by Pharaoh, but the baker was immediately executed, exactly as Joseph had said.

The cupbearer was restored to his position, the baker condemned, dying a disgraceful death.

And when— within 3 days, Joseph had been proven right and proven to be a true messenger of God.

Now remember what Joseph had said to the cupbearer after interpreting his dream: When all goes well with you, remember me and show me kindness.

Mention me to the Pharaoh and get me out of this prison.

At this point, we see through Joseph's life that God uses suffering and waiting to refine us.

James James 1 says to consider it pure joy whenever we face trials of many kinds, for the testing of our faith produces

perseverance.

But like, realistically, nobody wants to suffer, and pain is not something we necessarily enjoy.

So it's not that Joseph was lacking in wanting to do God's will, but of course he's going to advocate for himself.

He saw the opportunity for an out, and he's pleading his case.

Joseph was in a constant state of suffering, and I'm sure he felt it every day, longing for it to be removed.

While we don't know too much about Joseph's feelings at this point, this appeal reveals a sadness, an impatient longing for release.

Joseph, with all his faith and strong connection to the Lord, could not rid himself of this desperation that plagues

all of humanity.

humanity.

When will our suffering end?

When will we be free?

How much longer do I need to suffer, God?

Have you forgotten me?

Why are you being silent?

Where are you?

I'm sure everyone in this room can identify with this sort of suffering.

We know God is with us.

We know he's there.

And yet he's silent.

The trials don't stop coming, and even though we know logically to count it all joy when we go through trials,

all we can feel is the devastation and the weight of our circumstances.

I gave my life to Christ when I was 13.

My profession was sincere, but I Unfortunately, I didn't have good discipleship or mentors around me to encourage me in my faith.

So once I started high school, I sort of fell away from my relationship with the Lord, even though I was still active in church and in youth—

—group.

Um, over the— over those years, I became very depressed and hopeless to the point where I began to have thoughts of

wanting to commit suicide.

So I was a senior in high school and I was hospitalized for 2 months.

I had missed a lot of school, I was failing, and I felt like my friends had abandoned me.

I couldn't feel relief from the deep pain that I was experiencing, and I knew logically God was there, but I couldn't see him or feel him with me.

So I thought maybe he just didn't see me or care about my suffering, which only made my suicidal thoughts worse.

After weeks of being in and out of the hospital and doing outpatient programs, the doctors warned me that I was starting to run out of options.

So out of desperation, I cried out to God and I asked why this was happening.

I had a very angry and hurt prayer towards God, and I told him, like, I felt like you abandoned me when I needed you most.

And I wanted nothing more than to be released from this prison.

Amen.

Nothing happened immediately after that prayer, and I remember feeling very numb and emotionless.

And 3 days later, I had a dream that I was at my grandparents' church.

The worship team was playing the most beautiful worship song I had ever heard, and I was so overwhelmed by tears, and I was

touched by the song.

And when they finished playing, I asked the pianist, I was like, wow, what song was that?

That was so amazing.

that touched my heart.

And he kind of looked at me funny and was like, "Well, you wrote that song."

And then I then heard this audible voice tell me, "This is my will for you.

Your purpose in life is to serve me and to serve my church."

And I woke up crying uncontrollably.

And finally I had heard God.

And he saw every tear out and all the pain that I had felt.

I felt a huge relief of burden and freedom.

And a few hours after this experience, I was like, am I crazy?

Did God really just do that?

Like, did He just heal everything in an instant?

Like, why am I still here in this hospital?

And that same day as I'm having these thoughts, I got my acceptance package to the Christian university that I would go to.

And I heard the same audible voice repeat to me what was in the dream.

And my life changed dramatically after that.

That day.

And suddenly I was full of inexplicable joy.

I had motivation to move forward with my life, and God was revealing himself to me in ways that blew my mind.

And even though I didn't see it before, God was incredibly kind to me during the whole process.

And I ended up finishing high school early, and God made it financially possible for me to go to school.

God does— waste any of our suffering.

He uses waiting and suffering for refinement.

Isaiah 64:8 says, yet you, Lord, are our Father.

We are the clay, you are the potter.

We are all the work of your hand.

How encouraging is it that the same hands that created the stars, the moon, and the sun, that created us too, those hands hold

us.

And not only do they hold us, but we're being gracefully shaped like clay by the hands of the Potter.

Joseph had done nothing to deserve this kind of pain and disappointment.

In fact, he did the right thing time and time and again.

It's acceptable to not like the situation we're in because waiting is painful.

At work, we must keep trusting that God's timing is perfect and always on time.

Time.

Those 13 years that Joseph spent suffering, God did not waste a single one of them.

The chapter ends on an unresolved minor note again.

After the cupbearer was restored, he did not do as Joseph asked.

What is happening?

If God perfectly curated a connection between Pharaoh and Joseph, then why did God allow the cupbearer to forget

Joseph.

Of course Joseph wanted to be out of prison, but if Joseph had been released out of prison then, he would have missed out on everything that God was

trying to accomplish.

Being released from prison would have immediately resolved the pain, but it would have dissolved his higher calling.

Imagine if the cupbearer had immediately told Pharaoh about this strange, seemingly innocent man he met in prison who could interpret dreams.

dreams at his birthday party.

That's kind of one way to bring down the vibe of a party.

If the cupbearer had remembered Joseph and tried to make a case for Joseph right then and there, the whole thing would have fallen flat.

The cupbearer needed to forget in order for Joseph to be positioned rightly.

At that point, Pharaoh wouldn't have cared because it wasn't relevant or important to him.

So why release a this seemingly innocent nobody from prison?

Surely Pharaoh had better things to do.

And even more so, why would he give this random guy from prison one of the highest positions of authority in his kingdom?

The cupbearer needed to remember Joseph only when he would be a valuable, relevant, and important person to Pharaoh.

That's why God, in his sovereign will, made the cupbearer forget.

There's no other explanation for someone forgetting the person who predicted your future and your salvation.

Allowed the cupbearer to forget.

Timing was not right yet.

God was still setting the stage to fulfill his purpose for Joseph.

His reasoning was hidden to Joseph, but God was still working in the background.

And later, God is faithful to accomplish his promise.

In our our seasons of waiting, we must also remember that there are other factors going on that we're unaware of and that we must also wait

for.

We don't know how the timing of all the factors will play out and what factors are currently involved and at stake, but we must

wait on the Lord and for his perfect timing, just as Joseph did.

The Bible pleads with us to believe that this is true, even if current circumstances suggest that everything possible is turned against you.

And while Joseph couldn't possibly guess as to what God was accomplishing during his time of suffering, he trusted God's promise

to see him through.

And the same, of course, is true for us.

How do we see Jesus in this story?

What I love about the Old Testament is you can literally see Jesus in every every single story.

Before Jesus was crucified, he faced betrayal over and over.

His disciples scattered and no one stood with him.

Joseph was betrayed by his brothers and employer.

Joseph was innocent and was punished even though he only did what was right and pleasing to God.

He didn't use his authority to make others serve him, but instead he was compassionate and served others.

He was faithful and excellent even though his circumstances were heavy.

He took time to put himself aside and notice the countenance of the other men in prison.

Joseph's faithfulness under suffering ultimately serves God's purpose of preserving life.

Jesus's faithfulness through suffering accomplishes something infinitely greater, which is the salvation of his people.

Jesus is the greater Joseph.

An innocent man came into humanity's prison and lived our hardships and temptations.

Jesus suffered unjustly, suffering worse than all, yet he never looked for our pity.

And instead, in a sense, Jesus asks us, "Why do you look sad today?"

And after the 3 days, Jesus too proved himself to be the true messenger of God.

God.

Jesus died, rose again, and was exalted.

Jesus— Joseph's suffering ultimately helped preserve people from famine, but Christ's suffering and resurrection secured redemption from sin and

death.

And what can we take away from this story?

We can understand that God uses suffering and seasons of waiting to refine our character, our faithfulness to him, and our trust in him.

We see Joseph continue to grow in his skills, humbleness, administration, etc.

He is undoubtedly loyal to God and trusts him even at the cost of his life.

We cannot be properly refined without trust in Jesus.

The building of character and perseverance of faith comes from trust in him first.

If we are suffering and we don't see what God God is doing.

We can be encouraged through Joseph's story that God is still at work.

He has not abandoned us.

It might take days or years, but God is faithful and doesn't waste any of our suffering.

From Joseph's example, we can learn to be patient in our waiting and allow God to refine us as he sees fit.

We too can trust that the God God who is sovereign, who gives and takes away, who holds us in the palm of his hands,

he knows exactly what he's doing.

He sees the bigger picture, and he knows the right path to take.

We are merely clay in the hands of the Maker.

We might be frustrated now because we don't see what he's doing, but God is always at work and is always working for the good of those

who love him.

God uses suffering and seasons of waiting to refine us.

Let us pray.

Heavenly Father, you are perfect in all of your ways.

You know what is best for us and what we need.

You put things in our way to refine us and make us more like Christ.

Help us to ever trust you.

Help us to live for your glory and to to please you.

You are our rock, our helper in time of need.

You count every tear we cry and store them in your bottle.

You see the desperate cry of our hearts in our helpless estate, and you look at us with kindness, gentleness, and

compassion.

You rescue us from the deep pits of death and embrace us as a father embraces his children.

We can cannot express a deeper form of gratitude from the reality of what you have saved us from.

We love you, Lord.

In Jesus' name,