Study the Word

Guest (Male): What does it mean to have a continual awareness of God's presence? Is it something God desires you to experience? Here's Pastor Thom Keller.

Pastor Thom Keller: There's a God consciousness that I think God wants all of us to have. The Bible says that we should pray without ceasing. I'm not sure that's really possible in the way we think it typically. I think instead, it's more of a God consciousness as much of every waking moment as possible. But it's a mindset that always has God just on the edge of your mind, on the edge of your thinking, always on the tip of your tongue.

Guest (Male): It's been said we are either ignoring God or conscious of His presence. Many of us don't intend to be rude or thoughtless; we're just busy and prone to get wrapped up in our own circumstances. God knows this, and He also knows how to get our attention, as we'll learn on today's Study the Word.

Study the Word is an outreach of Calvary Chapel Lebanon, and it features the teaching ministry of Pastor Thom Keller. As we continue on today's broadcast in Genesis, we pick up with the story of Joseph, who's keenly aware of God's presence. To learn from his example, let's join Pastor Thom in Genesis chapter 40 as he begins today's lesson.

Pastor Thom Keller: There are 50 chapters in Genesis. 12 of those chapters are on the life of Abraham. 12 of those chapters are on the life of Joseph. It's interesting that as many chapters are dedicated to the study of Joseph's life as the father of the nation of Israel. So out of the 50 chapters, 24 chapters are in those two men's lives. Joseph was a man of character, and Joseph then was sold into Egypt. So that's where geographically we pick up today. Joseph is now in Egypt.

If you remember, he was in Potiphar's house for 11 years through the period of temptation. I just want to read a couple out of Proverbs dealing with that whole area of temptation. This is for young men, old men, middle-aged men, young women, old women, middle-aged women. That when those temptations hit, the Bible says run, flee.

How many of you saw Forrest Gump, the movie? Remember when they're out in the field and the boys start throwing stones at him? Remember what the girl, his girlfriend yells? "Run, Forrest, run, run!" And he takes off down through the field. Well, God's counsel is the same: run, Joe, run! Run, Mike! Run, Bill! Run, Sue! Run, run!

Proverbs 4 says this: "Above all else, guard your affections, for they influence everything else in your life. Spurn the careless kiss of a wayward mouth. Stay far from her. Look straight ahead, don't even turn your head to look. Don't go near her house, lest you fall to her temptations and lose your honor."

Remember a man said one time I was in a Bible study years ago, and he said there's nothing wrong with window shopping as long as you don't buy. And that's a lie. That's a lie because if you stop and you entertain the thought, it's the first step. You're closer to going into that sin than you realize. Run, take off, keep a pair of sneakers nearby. Put them on and high-tail it. Get out of town.

Genesis 40, verse 1: "Sometime later, Pharaoh's chief cupbearer and chief baker offended him. Pharaoh became very angry with these officials and put them in prison where Joseph was, in the palace of Potiphar, the captain of the guard." Some other translations say he was the chief executioner for the Pharaoh. Not one of the best places to be housed.

They remained in prison for quite some time, and Potiphar assigned Joseph to take care of them. Remember, Joseph was living in Potiphar's house; he's second in command only to Potiphar because things run so well in the household. Joseph's number two man, but then he's put in prison, and he's down in prison with these two.

The chief cupbearer, his responsibilities were to choose the wine and to taste the wine for the king. The chief baker was to bake the goods and to taste the goods before he would give them to the king. In case you think what did a chief baker have to do, one commentator said that in the king's house, there were 38 varieties of cake and 57 varieties of bread.

It says that they offended the king. A common thought here was that there was a plot to assassinate the king through poisoning. And again, the wine taster and the baker were to taste and to drink the wine before the king got it, so they dropped dead instead of the king. Not a lot of security in that job. If you made it to your pension, you probably lived a long, long life, but you had to get there.

So there may have been a plot to poison the king, and one of these two was responsible. And it may be that the king at this point didn't know which one was responsible. So that's why they were in prison, or at least on the surface that's why they were in prison. They were really in prison to meet Joseph. All part of God's plan. In verse 4, it says that Joseph remained in prison for quite a long time. He could have been in prison up to 13 years; we don't know exactly how long, but he's in prison for a long time.

Verse 5: "One night, the cupbearer and the baker each had a dream, and each dream had its own meaning. The next morning, Joseph noticed the dejected looks on their faces. 'Why do you look so worried today?' he asked. And they replied, 'We both had dreams last night, but there is no one here to tell us what they mean.' 'Interpreting dreams is God's business,' Joseph replied. 'Tell me what you saw, and I'll tell you what they mean.'"

So Joseph is in prison, chief baker, chief wine taster in there with him. One morning, he can tell from their faces that they're worried, down. Two things stand out here. First of all, Joseph even noticed their dejected look. Joseph was not self-absorbed in his own problems and his own pain.

In the area of counseling, when you start to see that people really start to get healing is when they start to invest themselves in the lives of others. When we live in our own pain and our own misery, there's a self-absorption that takes place that all that really matters is me. It's just what happens. And what breaks somebody out of that is when they start to let go of those things, when they start to get healing, they actually start to go out and start caring about and ministering to others.

Something had to have happened in Joseph's life for him to be that concerned that in prison he wouldn't just sit in his corner and wallow away in self-pity, but that he actually had a concern, saw a change in their faces, and said, "What's wrong?"

The second thing that stands out to me here is that God is on the tip of his mind. They say we had a dream last night, and he said interpreting dreams is God's business. There's a God consciousness that I think God wants all of us to have. The Bible says that we should pray without ceasing. I'm not sure that's really possible in the way we think it typically.

I think instead, it's more of a God consciousness as much of every waking moment as possible, and even off into our nighttime, into our sleep sometimes. But it's a mindset that always has God just on the edge of your mind, on the edge of your thinking, always on the tip of your tongue, that when somebody says something, you think thoughts connected to God. Joseph had that.

Joseph, in verse 8, gives God the credit. He says it's God's business interpreting dreams. Interesting as we go along in this, just the fact that Joseph gave God all the credit, he directed everything to God, is what probably enabled him to become second in command only to Pharaoh. Because if Joseph would have taken the credit for being the holy man, the one that gave all the answers, if he had taken that credit and interpreted the Pharaoh's dream and said it was by my power, by my might, "I'm a holy man," he would have been a threat to the Pharaoh.

Now, what the Pharaoh would have done with that is open for discussion, but he never took that credit. He gave that credit to God. Pharaoh clearly saw from what Joseph told him that the power came from God, and Pharaoh trusted him on the basis of that, that he was just an instrument that God used.

Let's go on to verse 9. The cupbearer told his dream first. "In my dream," he said, "I saw a vine in front of me. It had three branches that began to bud and blossom, and soon there were clusters of ripe grapes. I was holding Pharaoh's wine cup in my hand, so I took the grapes and squeezed the juice into it. Then I placed the cup in Pharaoh's hand."

"I know what the dream means," Joseph said. "The three branches mean three days. Within three days, Pharaoh will take you out of prison and return you to your position as his chief cupbearer. And please, have some pity on me when you are back in his favor. Mention me to Pharaoh and ask him to let me out of here. For I was kidnapped from my homeland, the land of the Hebrews, and now I'm here in jail, but I did nothing to deserve it."

So it's also interesting here, a number of things, but one thing that stands out is he doesn't implicate his brothers in the kidnapping. Someone that has integrity and has left things go isn't really that interested in having people condemned in their retelling of the story.

I've said this before, but I've always found it interesting that when Solomon built the temple, when he told the story of why he built the temple instead of his father David, he never once, every time he told that story, he never said because God said he was a man of blood. He just said God told David the temple's to be built, but you're not the one to do it. There's a way of honoring parents, those in authority, where we don't have to name specifics. Here, he doesn't name his brothers.

It's also interesting that what he foretells is exceptional. He gives predictions which are clearly verifiable. He says within three days you will be restored. Within three days, that's either going to happen or it's not, and it's going to happen real soon. If he is right, it's going to be known within a three-day period of time.

Fortune tellers say you read your horoscopes—which you shouldn't do, by the way—but you read a horoscope and it says you will meet a man or you will walk into a room. Oh wow, isn't that an amazing prediction? Well, he says you're going to be let out. The two are there together listening to this retelling. He says you're going to be let out, and when you do, remember me to the Pharaoh.

There's a lesson here, too, that Joseph is not passive about his imprisonment. He doesn't just sit back and say, "Well, if God wants me out of here, he can get me out. I don't have to do a thing." He has an opportunity here. He speaks to this man and says when you're before the Pharaoh, tell him that I was jailed wrongly and get me out of here. He's not passive. He's not freaking out either, but he's taking the opportunity to present his case.

The baker hears the story, he's listening to this whole thing. The baker thinks, "Great, maybe my ending is like this." He hears he's going to get out in three days, and the baker gets all excited. So the chief baker, in verse 16: "When the chief baker saw that the first dream had such a good meaning, he told his dream to Joseph too. 'In my dream,' he said, 'there were three baskets of pastry on my head. In the top basket were all kinds of bakery goods for Pharaoh, but the birds came and ate them.'"

Verse 18: "I'll tell you what it means," Joseph told him. "The three baskets mean three days. Three days from now, Pharaoh will cut off your head and impale your body on a pole, and then the birds will come and pick away at your flesh." My guess is the baker said, "Let me tell you about a different dream I had last week. Maybe this one's a little better. Two for three, three for five, let's keep going here."

Well, Joseph was faithful to deliver both messages. One commentator said this: "How many are there who are willing to preach the cupbearer's sermon but unwilling to preach the baker's sermon?" There are messages that we should give to encourage. There are also times that we need to speak messages of reproof. Proverbs says wounds from a friend are better than kisses from an enemy, and there's truth to that. There's a time to tell both sides.

Just a few quick things about dreams. There is a whole very questionable science on the art of telling dreams. And I would just suggest if you've ever done a lot of reading about that or if you're ever curious about that, I'd probably just minimize that and go back to the Bible. There are a lot of times in the Bible where God clearly used dreams, especially in the time of Jesus's birth. A lot of dreams were used for accuracy. The apostle Paul, there were times where he took dreams to be clear guidance from God of where to go next and what to do, where to preach, what to preach.

But I remember Bob Kraus saying one time—he said this a number of times in church very wisely—he said, "A dream could be from God, but it also could have been the pizza you had last night." And not to put too much validity in dreams. Just a thought in this, though, it does seem there are some dreams in my life that have been keepers and some are throwaways. There are some dreams that are just so profound, they go someplace different. It just enters a whole different category and realm than the normal dream. Ecclesiastes 5 says this: "For a dream comes through much activity." There's some truth to that.

Just also one more quick thing on this, and that is that I've heard this probably 20 years ago and I've seen this repeatedly: that when somebody starts cleaning their life out, when somebody starts purging their life, when somebody makes a commitment to start giving things up in their life that are detrimental—and I mean the big things, and a real commitment—there's a tendency in a time like that for nightmares to start coming out in somebody's life.

There's just something that in that purging process many times nightmares accompany that process. And if you've ever been in that place, if you're in that place now, that can be just a natural part of that. It doesn't last forever. I went through that myself. I've known many people that have gone through the same thing. Somehow, there's something to just come out that way. It's part of that process.

Verse 20: "Pharaoh's birthday came three days later, and he gave a banquet for all his officials and household staff. He sent for his chief cupbearer and chief baker." What do you think they're thinking? It's been three days. He said three days. They're both sent for. What do you think the chief baker's thinking? I can tell you what the chief wine taster's thinking: "I hope he didn't mix these two up!"

He then restored the chief cupbearer to his former position, but he sentenced the chief baker to be impaled on a pole, just as Joseph had predicted. Pharaoh's cupbearer, however, promptly forgot all about Joseph, never giving him another thought.

This tells us a lot about the Pharaoh that Joseph is going to serve. This is banquet entertainment. This is banquet entertainment for all of his staff. He brings two of his staff back, who the other staff knew. Restores one, cuts off the head of the other one, impales him, and the birds come and eat the flesh. That's the man that Joseph is going to serve. It's too bad that the baker wasn't a NASCAR driver because he had pole position.

Genesis 41: "Two years later, Pharaoh dreamed that he was standing on the bank of the River Nile. In his dream, seven fat, healthy-looking cows suddenly came up out of the river and began grazing along its bank. Then seven other cows came up from the river, but these were very ugly and gaunt—or very thin. These cows went over and stood beside the fat cows." Can you picture this? A whole bunch of skinny cows, a whole bunch of fat cows. "Then the thin, ugly cows ate the fat ones!" At this point in the dream, Pharaoh woke up.

Soon he fell asleep again and he had a second dream. This time he saw seven heads of grain on one stalk, with every kernel well-formed and plump. Then suddenly, seven more heads appeared on the stalk, but these were shriveled and withered by the east wind. And these thin heads swallowed up the seven plump, well-formed heads. Then Pharaoh woke up again and realized it was a dream. The next morning, as he thought about it, Pharaoh became very concerned as to what the dreams might mean. For some reason to the Pharaoh, he knew this was a keeper.

So he called for the magicians and wise men—that really what it says there is experts in handling the ritual books of priestcraft and magic. These were the magicians. He called for all the magicians and wise men of Egypt and told them about his dreams, but not one of them could suggest what they meant. Then the king's cupbearer spoke out: "Today I have been reminded of my failure. Sometime ago, when you were angry with the chief baker and me and you imprisoned us in the palace of the captain of the guard, one night the chief baker and I had a dream, and each dream had a meaning.

"We told the dreams to a young Hebrew man who was a servant of the captain of the guard. He told us what the dreams meant, and everything happened just as he said it would. I was restored to my position as cupbearer, and the chief baker was executed on a pole." Notice he doesn't go on to say, "And he will tell you too." Smart guy. You don't want to set your head up in case he doesn't come through. He's just giving a testimony what happened to him.

Pharaoh sent for Joseph at once, and he was brought hastily from the dungeon. After a quick shave and a change of clothes, he went in and stood in Pharaoh's presence. What a transition, huh? He's in prison for up to 13 years, probably looking a little scraggly by now. They bring him out, shave him, wash him up, make him look presentable, and they bring him in before Pharaoh.

"I had a dream last night," Pharaoh told him, "and none of these men can tell me what it means. But I have heard that you can interpret dreams. That's why I have called for you." In verse 17, Pharaoh told him the dream. I'm not going to read it again; it's just a retelling of the dream. The only thing that is different is in verse 21. He says about the ugly cows that even after they ate the fat ones, it said they were still as ugly and gaunt as before. So in this dream he adds that when the skinny cows ate the fat cows, after they'd eaten the fat cows, they were still as skinny as they were before they ate the fat cows.

The end of verse 24: he says, "I told these dreams to my magicians, but not one of them could tell me what they mean." Verse 25: "Both dreams mean the same thing," Joseph told Pharaoh. "God was telling you what he is about to do. The seven fat cows and the seven plump heads of grain both represent seven years of prosperity. The seven thin, ugly cows and seven withered heads of grain represent seven years of famine. This will happen just as I have described it, for God has shown you what you are to do." Again, it's interesting here that God uses the Pharaoh, these dreams, to provide for the people of Egypt through a famine, as well as Joseph's family.

"The next seven years will be a period of great prosperity throughout the land of Egypt. But afterwards, there will be seven years of famine so great that all the prosperity will be forgotten and wiped out. Famine will destroy the land. This famine will be so terrible that even the memory of the good years will be erased. As for having the dream twice, it means that the latter has been decreed by God and that he will make these events happen soon." Double dreams equal double meaning, double impact. It's going to be soon.

Verse 33: he interpreted the dream, but he goes on. Kind of a little risky before a man that has the kind of banquet entertainment that he has. Verse 33, Joseph still speaking: "My suggestion is that you find the wisest man in Egypt and put him in charge of a nationwide program." This is his gift of administration coming through. He's just heard the dream; he's got a plan already.

"My suggestion is you find the wisest man in Egypt, put him in charge of a nationwide program. Let Pharaoh appoint officials over the land and let them collect one-fifth of the crops during the seven years." That's a 20 percent excise tax on food. "Have them gather all the food and grain of these good years into the royal storehouses and store it away so that there will be food in the cities. That way there will be enough to eat when the seven years of famine come. Otherwise, disaster will surely strike the land and the people will die."

Guest (Male): This is Study the Word. Pastor Thom Keller is leading us through Genesis at the present time. You can hear this message again as well as what you may have missed in the series online at ccleb.com. You can also call and request a CD copy at 717-507-7862. That's 717-507-7862.

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And we'd love to have you visit us at Calvary Chapel Lebanon. See when and where we meet as you visit ccleb.com and download our free church app. Search Calvary Chapel Lebanon in the Google Play Store. Calvary Chapel Lebanon is pleased to present Study the Word with Pastor Thom Keller on this station and many others like it. Come back next time when we'll resume our series in Genesis.