From the Pit to the Palace

If you have your Bible, I would invite you to turn with me to Genesis chapter 41. Genesis chapter 41. And as you do, I want to read to you from the book of Ecclesiastes. Because there's a verse here that I think is very important to our time together this morning. Ecclesiastes 7, verse number 8. The end of a matter is better than its beginning. Isn't that good? It's not only good because it's in the Word of God, it's good because it's true concerning the life of Joseph. And it's true concerning your life and mine.

That's good news. I don't know where you are today, and I don't know what's going on in your life. I don't know what kind of mistreatment you have faced, or disappointment you have faced, or difficulties you have faced this week or throughout your life. But be assured of this, the end of a thing is better than its beginning. For Joseph, this is true. We're going to see him today go from the pit to the palace. We're going to see Joseph's promotion. All the while, there were 13 years in there. I'm not quite sure Joseph understood that.

But the Bible says that the end of a thing is better than its beginning. God is at work in your life. God wants to do a marvelous work through your life. So you need to be patient and wait for God to work. If God has called you, then God is faithful to bring about His great purposes in your life. Joseph is a classic illustration of this. And God uses Joseph to teach us so many lessons. If you have your Bible, turn there with me if you would, please. Genesis chapter 41. Today, we see where Joseph goes from the pit to the palace.

Let's read it. Genesis 41. Now it happened at the end of two full years that Pharaoh had a dream. And behold, he was standing by the Nile. And lo, from the Nile there came up seven cows, sleek and fat, and they grazed in the marsh grass. Then behold, seven other cows came up after them from the Nile, ugly and gaunt. And they stood by the other cows on the bank of the Nile. And the ugly and gaunt cows ate up the seven sleek and fat cows. Then Pharaoh awoke, and he fell asleep and dreamed a second time.

And behold, seven ears of grain came up on a single stalk, plump and good. Then behold, seven ears, thin and scorched, by the east wind sprouted up after them. And the thin ears swatted up the seven plump and full ears. Then Pharaoh awoke, and behold, it was a dream. Now it came about in the morning that his spirit was troubled. So he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt and all its wise men. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but there was no one who could interpret them to Pharaoh. Then the chief cupbearer spoke to Pharaoh saying, I would make mention today of my own offenses.

Pharaoh was furious with his servants, and he put me in confinement in the house of the captain of the bodyguard, both me and the chief baker. And we had a dream on the same night, he and I. Each of us dreamed according to the interpretation of his own dream. Now a Hebrew youth was there with us. They are a servant of the captain of the bodyguard, and we related them to him. And he interpreted our dreams for us. Each one he interpreted according to his own dream. And it came about that just as he interpreted for us, so it happened, he restored me in my office, but he hanged him.

Then Pharaoh sent and called for Joseph, and they hurriedly brought him out of the dungeon. And when he had shaved himself and changed his clothes, he came to Pharaoh. Pharaoh said to Joseph, I have had a dream, but no one can interpret it. And I have heard it said about you, that when you hear a dream, you can interpret it. Joseph then answered Pharaoh saying, it is not in me. God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer. So Pharaoh spoke to Joseph, and in my dream, behold, I was standing on the bank of the Nile.

And behold, seven cows, fat and sleek, came up out of the Nile, and they grazed in the marsh grass. And lo, seven other cows came up after them, poor and very ugly and gaunt, each as I had never seen for ugliness in all the land of Egypt. And the lean and ugly cows ate up the first seven fat cows.

Yet when they had devoured them, it could not be detected that they had devoured them, for they were just as ugly as before. Then I awoke, I saw also in my dream, and behold, seven ears, full and good, came up on a single stalk. And lo, seven ears withered thin, and scorched by the east wind, sprouted up after them. And the thin ear swallowed the seven good ears. Then I told it to the magicians, but there was no one who could explain it to me. Now Joseph said to Pharaoh, Pharaoh's dreams are one and the same.

God has told Pharaoh what He is about to do. The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good ears are seven years. The dreams are one and the same. The seven lean and ugly cows that came up after them are seven years, and the seven thin ears scorched by the east wind shall be seven years of famine. It is as I have spoken to Pharaoh. God has shown to Pharaoh what He is about to do. Behold, seven years of great abundance are coming in all the land of Egypt, and after them seven years of famine will come, and all the abundance will be forgotten in the land of Egypt.

And the famine will ravage the land, so the abundance will be unknown in the land because of the subsequent famine, for it will be very severe. Now as for the repeating of the dream to Pharaoh twice, it means that the matter is determined by God, and God will quickly bring it about. And now let Pharaoh look for a man, discerning and wise, and send him over the land of Egypt. Let Pharaoh take action to appoint overseers in charge of the land, and let him exact a fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt in the seven years of abundance.

Then let them gather all the food of these good years that are coming and store up the grain for food in the cities under Pharaoh's authority, and let them guard it. Let the food become as a reserve for the land for the seven years of famine which will occur in the land of Egypt, so that the land may not perish during the famine. Now the proposal seemed good to Pharaoh and to all his servants. Then Pharaoh said to his servants, Can we find a man like this in whom is the Divine Spirit? So Pharaoh said to Joseph, Since God has informed you of all this, there is no one so discerning and wise as you are.

You shall be over my house, and according to your command all my people shall do homage. Only in the throne I will be greater than you. And Pharaoh said to Joseph, See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt. Then Pharaoh took off his signet ring from his hand, and put it on Joseph's hand, and clothed him in garments of fine linen, and put the gold necklace around his neck. And he had him ride in his second chariot, and they proclaimed before him, And he set him over all the land of Egypt.

Moreover, Pharaoh said to Joseph, Though I am Pharaoh, yet without your permission, no one shall raise his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt. Then Pharaoh named Joseph Zaphonath-Pahonia, and he gave him Asenath, the daughter of Potiphar, priest of On, as his wife. And Joseph went forth over the land of Egypt. Yes, we are committed to the reading of the Scriptures. We could just bypass the story, because a lot of you already know the story, but at Christ Community Church, we are committed to the reading, the teaching, and the exhortation, as Paul says in 1 Timothy chapter 4.

Three things I want you to see. The setting, the story, and the summary. First of all, the setting. It's very important for us to understand. When God takes a man from the pit and promotes him to a place of prominence, it's important to understand the setting that all this takes place in. And four things I want you to notice about the setting, perspectives from the pit.

One is mistreatment. Two, imprisonment. Three, abandonment. Four, enlightenment. First of all, mistreatment.

It came undeserved from his family and unexpected in Potiphar's house. It came, first of all, undeserved from his family.

Joseph was a man of supreme character. We read about it in Genesis chapter 39. His father had showed favor toward him, not because he was his favorite son, but because he was a son who demonstrated a godly character. And his father gave him a coat to represent his authority in the home. And he had some dreams, and so he would tell his dreams to his family because he wanted them in on what was happening. And yet, they did not accept him. They wanted to kill him. Threw him in a pit, sold him to slavery.

Undeserved. His mistreatment was from his family. And then as he was a slave in Potiphar's home, and he was attacked by Potiphar's wife, and he refused her and ran, and again he did the honorable thing, again he was honoring God and serving God and pleasing God and glorifying God. She lied about him, and he was thrown into prison. Unexpected. Undeserved was his mistreatment. Amazing. Here was a man who, for all practical purposes, did nothing wrong, and yet was in prison. The question comes, how long was he in prison?

So, how long he was with the Ishmaelites, we don't know. How long he was in Potiphar's house, we don't know. And exactly how long he was in prison, we don't know. We know he was at least there two years. But we know that for 13 years, there was mistreatment. For 13 years, there was disappointment. From mistreatment, I want you to see his imprisonment. That's unfair. He didn't do anything wrong. And yet, there he was. But there was something significant about the life of Joseph. You don't read about him complaining.

You don't read about his bitter spirit. And we keep reviewing this for you because you need to understand that when you're in the pit, before there's ever a promotion, you have to have an attitude that honors and glorifies God. Joseph did. He had a great attitude. Remember Psalm 105, verse number 19? It talks about Joseph being in prison, and why was he there? So the word of the Lord would come to pass, and so Joseph's life would be proven. It would be tested. Even in spite of a godly character, even in spite of the fact that he never did anything wrong that we read about in the Bible, although he was a sinner, we realize that this man's character needed to be developed and needed to be perfected, even though, from our standpoint, the man did nothing wrong.

God was at work in his life amidst the mistreatment and amidst the imprisonment. And Peter would say, over in 1 Peter chapter 4, when those things happened, he said, Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange things were happening to you. Why? Because but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of his glory you may rejoice with exaltation. Listen, if God wills for you to suffer in some capacity, you have one responsibility.

Commit yourself to doing that which is right. That was Joseph. He did that which was right. He sought to honor his God, even in prison, even when forgotten, which leads us to our third aspect, the mistreatment, the imprisonment, and thirdly, the abandonment.

I mean, how disillusioned could Joseph be? He interprets the dreams. Everything happens just as he says. He waits for a few weeks, and no one's coming to the door and says, Hey, Joseph, you interpreter of dreams, come on out of there. And those weeks turned to months, and those months turned to years. You think he was disillusioned? Probably to some degree. Baffled? Probably. I would be, wouldn't you? What happened? How could I be abandoned? And Joseph remains in prison. But fourthly, I want you to see the enlightenment.

The light goes on for all of us, even in Joseph's life. And for Joseph, he's able to see. Joseph was able to see God was at work. And I don't know what pit you find yourself in today. You might think that you're not in any pit, and everything is going fine and dandy for you. That's great. Praise the Lord. I'm happy for you. But know this, that in the midst of your difficulty, in the midst of your hardship, God says, I'm at work.

I'm at work in your life. As Job would say over in Job 23, verse number 10, when he has tried me, I shall come forth as gold. I'll come forth better than I was before. And that's the true perspective from the pit, right? You see, as godly as Joseph was, Christ was doing a work in the refining process in Joseph's life. Because you see, God had a specific task for Joseph. And if it wasn't for mistreatment, if it wasn't for disappointment, if it wasn't for imprisonment, and it wasn't for abandonment, he would never be able to occupy that position.

He would never be able to do what God had called him to do. So God would use all those things to bring about a great purpose for Joseph so that at this time, 13 years later, when Pharaoh has a dream, Joseph's the man. Joseph comes out of the pit and is promoted to the palace. And God does exceedingly, abundantly, above all that Joseph could ever ask or think. And that's what God wants to do in your life. And that's what God wants to do in my life. The end of a thing is better than the beginning. Why?

Because God's involved in it, that's why. What a tremendous story. That's why Peter says these words in 1 Peter chapter 5. Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God. That's a great phrase. I want you to submit yourself under God's mighty hand of destiny. Because God's got a purpose. Humble yourselves under God's mighty hand that He might exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety upon Him because He cares for you. Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary the devil prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

But resist him firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world. And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen, and establish you to Him be dominion forever and ever. Amen. God's got a purpose. He's going to strengthen you. He's going to establish you. He's going to confirm you. You submit yourself to the mighty hand of God.

Be like Joseph. Be patient. That's the perspective from the pit. Let's move to main point number two.

The promotion to the palace. Several things I want you to see. First of all, Proverbs 21 says, The king's heart is like channels of water.

In the hand of the Lord, he turns it whenever he wishes. Isn't that good? The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord. I don't care if you're Saddam Hussein. I don't care if you're George Bush. I don't care if you're Adolf Hitler. The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord. And God turns it wherever He wishes. God's in charge. First thing I want you to see is the declaration of the dream.

The declaration. Two years. And of course, that took place around Pharaoh's birthday. So we can assume that this was probably somewhere around Pharaoh's birthday. Again, Pharaoh has two dreams. Two dreams. Dreams about cows and ears of corn. Seven beautiful cows. Unbelievable cows. Swallowed up and devoured by these ugly, gaunt cows. He wakes from his dream. Goes back to sleep. You been there? Had a dream? Wake up? Get a drink of water? Go back to sleep? Pharaoh went back to sleep again. Had another dream.

Oh, man. Seven ears of corn, man. On this one stalk. It was unbelievable. And then these nasty ears. Swallowed him up, devoured him. He woke up. He was troubled in the spirit. Didn't understand what was happening. Point number two, the confusion.

What's he going to do? So he calls for the magicians. He calls for them to come in and interpret the dream for him. Hey, can you tell me what's going on here, guys? They had no idea. No idea. But you know what? God would use the dream of a king to change the course of a man, to change the course of a nation. It's amazing. You see, God had a plan. You see, Joseph wasn't to go back to his family. God was going to bring Joseph's family to him. That was God's plan. And he wasn't going to bring them to him until the fulfillment of his dreams way back when.

So they would come and bow before him. And then the light would go on in Joseph's mind and remember the dreams from years earlier. You see, God had a plan and he was working it perfectly in the life of Joseph. So you had the declaration of this dream, then you had the confusion, then you had the confession. The cupbearer says, you know what, Pharaoh? Remember when I did those offenses and you threw me in prison, me and the butler? There was a guy there, a Hebrew guy. We had some dreams, both of us, same night.

And we had this dream and there was this Hebrew guy, he interpreted the dreams. And the key phrase is down in verse number 13, and it came about just as he interpreted for us. So it happened. The cupbearer makes his confession. So what do you have? You have the interpretation. Verses 14 to 32, Pharaoh quickly calls this man Joseph out. Joseph gets shaven. He changes his clothes. He goes before Pharaoh and Pharaoh says, I've heard about you, Joseph. I need you to tell me what I dreamt the night before.

And listen to what Joseph's words. It is not in me. Verse 16, God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer. Look at the humility in this man.

Look at the man who has been mistreated, who's been disappointed, who's been disillusioned, who's been imprisoned unfairly, unjustly.

And what does he say? It's not about me, Pharaoh. It's all about God. He wants to give God the glory. You see, that's why Joseph was such a great man. His whole life was about giving God the glory. No matter where he was, no matter what happened in his life, no matter whether it was bad or good, he was focused on giving God the glory. It was all about God, not about Joseph. That's why God could use Joseph. Because God could be put on display through his life very clearly. And that's why Pharaoh would go on to say over in verse number 38, that can we find a man like this in whom is a divine spirit?

Of course not. Because most men are out for their own purposes, right? But not Joseph. He was out to give glory to God. So Pharaoh, in verse 17 and following, tells Joseph about his dream. And Joseph says very clearly in verse number 25, Pharaoh's dreams are one and the same. God has told Pharaoh what he is about to do. Who caused the abundance? God did. Ah, who caused the famine? God did. God did. Folks, we need a perspective here. We need to understand God's in control. Consider the work of God, Ecclesiastes 7, 13.

For who was able to straighten what he has bent? So consider the work of God. In the day of prosperity, be happy. In the seven years of abundance, be happy. But in the day of adversity, God has made the one as well as the other. What's that say? It says that God makes the day of adversity. You see, in our modern day evangelicalism, we don't like to think that way. We have such a misconstrued view of God that when the Bible is read and when the Bible is explained, we think that the preacher's wrong.

Or the Bible's wrong. But so many times our view of God is messed up. And then it says, God has made the one as well as the other so that man may not discover anything that will be after him. You know why God does that? So you realize that you have control of nothing and you understand nothing that God understands. God caused famine in the land of Egypt and beyond the land of Egypt. And many people suffered and many people died so that 70 people, the nation of Israel, Jacob's family would move from Israel to Egypt.

So that they'd be in Egypt. So there would be a king who did not know Joseph, who would rise up and keep Israel in bondage for 400 years so that God could have raised up another deliverer, a man by the name of Moses, who would come in and lead them out of Egyptian bondage to the land of promise that God had given to Abraham way back in Genesis chapter 12. I don't understand all that stuff. I just know that's what the Bible says.

The book of Proverbs says it this way, the Lord has made everything for its own purpose. Then it says this, even the wicked for the day of evil. Do you agree with that? You have to. It's in the Bible. You see, God creates the wicked for the day of evil. God uses the wrath of man to praise his name. See the bottom line is that God's in charge. And when you find yourself in the midst of a calamity, in the midst of a crisis, guess what? The end of a thing is better than the beginning, Ecclesiastes 7.

Why? Because God is in it and God is going to use events, purposes, and people to bring about his image in your life in such a way that others will see Christ through you. That's important. Think of it this way. Everything in the world happens so you will better glorify the Lord. That's what God wants. He wants you to honor him and glorify his name. And so Joseph says to Pharaoh, this is what God's going to do. God is going to give seven years of abundance. And Pharaoh's thinking, that's good. And then Joseph says to Pharaoh, boy's going to give you seven years of famine.

And they're going to be so bad that you're going to forget about the seven years of abundance. Fifthly comes a proposition. Joseph says, this is what you need to do. You're going to have to find somebody, look for a man, discerning and wise, set him over the land of Egypt. Did Joseph think that was him? I don't think so. Here's what I propose you do, Pharaoh. So what does Pharaoh do? Pharaoh promotes Joseph. You're the man. I can't think of anybody more discerning than you. You're the man, Joseph.

Was Joseph expecting that? I don't think so. I don't think he was interviewing him for the job. I think he was just telling the truth, directly, forthright. He didn't know if the seven years of famine, telling Pharaoh the truth about that, that he'd lose his life because of that. He didn't know. Pharaoh promoted him. Gave him the signet ring, which signifies his royalty. Gave him the clothes, which signified a new identity. Gave him the gold chain, which signified his authority. Put him in a chariot that he'd be able to ride around, second to command, and everybody would bow to them.

And it's so interesting. You can't even go into Egypt. You can't even raise your hand in Egypt unless you have Joseph's permission. Wow. What a promotion, man. This is great. Unbelievable. He says, I'm going to change your name. I'm going to change your name from Joseph to Zaphonath Pa'ania, which is Egyptian, which some people say means savior of the world. Now think about that for a minute. The famine not only hit Egypt, but it hit the surrounding nations as well, hit Israel. So, he changes his name because in all reality, Joseph's plan saves the world.

Amazing. Two principles I want you to ponder. It's our third point in summary. First one is this. When your life is in the pit, remember, it is God who orchestrates his divine purposes. It is God who orchestrates his divine purposes. Can you remember that? You have to. Joseph would see and understand that God was at work. Remember Jonah? When your life is in the pit, you need to remember that God orchestrates the events of life for his divine purposes. And what happened? The fish vomited him up on the shore.

He was promoted from the pit, not necessarily to the palace, but to Nineveh, which in God's terms is a palace because it's where God wanted him to go, right? He remembered when he was in the pit. That's what you got to remember.

Number two, when you have been promoted, and if the end of the thing is better than its beginning, you will one day be promoted.

When you are promoted, realize it is God who elevates for his own pleasure. God does not elevate you from the pit for your pleasure. He does it for his pleasure, for his glory, for his honor. Remember the words of Hannah in 1 Samuel 2, when she prayed these words after she had dedicated her son to the Lord? My heart exults in the Lord. My horn is exalted in the Lord. My mouth speaks boldly against my enemies because I rejoice in thy salvation. There is no one holy like the Lord. Indeed, there is no one besides thee.

Nor is there any rock like our God. Boast no more so very proudly. Do not let arrogance come out of your mouth, for the Lord is a God of knowledge, and with him actions are weighed. The bows of the mighty are shattered, but the feeble gird on strength. Those who are full hire themselves out for bread, but those who are hungry cease to hunger. Even the barren gives birth to seven, but she who languishes has many children languishes. The Lord kills, and the Lord makes alive. What's that say? The Lord kills, and the Lord makes alive.

The Lord brings down to Sheol, and the Lord raises up. The Lord makes poor, and the Lord makes rich. The Lord raises the poor from the dust. He lifts the needy from the ash heap to make them sit with nobles and inherit a seat of honor. For the pillars of the earth are the Lord's, and he sets the world on them. He keeps the feet of his godly ones, but the wicked ones are silenced in darkness. For not by might shall a man prevail. Those who contend with the Lord shall be shattered. Against them he will thunder in the heavens.

The Lord will judge the ends of the earth, and he will give strength to his king and will exalt the horn of his anointed. God is going to do what God is going to do for his pleasure and for his glory. And so when God takes you from the pit and promotes you to a palace, it's for his pleasure and not for yours. Joseph learned those lessons well. May we learn them as well. Let's pray.