Gen 40:23 The chief cupbearer, however, did not remember Joseph; he forgot him.
Gen 41
1 When two full years had passed, Pharaoh had a dream: ...
9 Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh, “Today I am reminded of my shortcomings.
16 “I cannot do it,” Joseph replied to Pharaoh, “but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires.”
41 So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I hereby put you in charge of the whole land of Egypt.”
This past Sunday our pastor used some Greek interpretations of the Bible to point out differences that may not be apparent in the NIV. He spoke of chronos and kairos time. Chronos being things happening in order through the passage of time, kairos being in the right time or God's time.
I read two chapters today because I didn't know what to say about ch40. Then looking at it I thought about kairos time for Joseph. How he must have been frustrated to get stuck in the jail for two more years. But how well God's plan worked to position the cupbearer to enlighten the Pharaoh at just the right time that ultimately resulted in Joseph being put in charge of Egypt.
just a little reminder for us to both pray for God to do his will through us and then be willing to trust that He is and though the plan may not make sense to us it is perfect in the end.
knut
That's a great point. There has been several times when I knew God was responsible for something happening, but then there wasn't IMMEDIATE follow-up to it. It all works out in his time. I guess when you think about it, when you have all of eternity, and your scope is that large, why would you be in a rush to move from step 1 to step 2?
ReplyDeleteSo, here's what I was thinking as I read thru this one;
Most of the rulers of this day were more like mayors. They ruled over a small city/town. In this case, we are talking about the king of Egypt. This is no small stature to attain. He is extremely powerful. The other thing that came along with the rulers of these days, is a paranoiyance of all of those around them. They usually didn't rule for long because someone would kill them and take over the empire. So, they were extremely careful, and guarded their power with caution. I know what you're thinking, and I agree. Hold on, I'm almost there.
So, it seems really strange to me that after interpreting 1 dream......the king would put Joseph in change of ALL OF EGYPT!!!????? Come on. That doesn't make sense on any level! I could see having Joseph be one of his trusted advisors.......but, to give him the reigns? He's a foreigner to Egypt, and a prisoner. Does this seems strange to you? And on top of that, Pharoh doesn't even wait to see if the dream interpretation is right. WOW! I'm not sayin I don't believe it. But, perhaps there's something in this that I'm not seeing.
Thoughts?
you make a good point, i went back and read it and don't see anything that shows why the Pharoh was so convinced but he certainly believed Joseph had a better connection to God than anyone else he knew so he put him in charge. Its not explicit but maybe he had a lot of trust in the cupbearer and his story validated the legitimacy of Joseph. beyond that i dont think you are missing anything.
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