God's Timing: Genesis 41:1-8
God will move in glory, but God moves according to His timing. God is the one in control. He is the omniscient one. His glory is most visible when He sets His plans into motion. Our job is to align with God’s plan, not venture out on our own.
Several years go by. Joseph sits in prison. Nothing significant happens. He hopes the cupbearer will be able to help him get out of prison, but God is not ready for him to be free yet. He goes through life, day after day, doing who knows what. We can assume he continues to earn people’s respect and stay in a position of relative power within the prison system, but nothing significant enough for the Bible to record happens in his life.
This is a relatively common experience in human existence. We cannot always live on the mountaintop. Sometimes, we feel powerless to escape our circumstances. We feel stuck in our position. Sometimes we just live. That’s not a bad thing. We want the emotional rush of doing something new and cool. God asks Joseph to stay in prison for two years before he’s ready to unveil his plan. God asks Joseph to prosper, but to do it in prison.
Eventually, Pharoah has a couple dreams. Big cows come out of the Nile followed by skinny cows. The skinny cows eat the big cows. Seven plump ears of grain grow on a single stalk, only to be swallowed up by seven thin and blighted ears of grain. When Pharoah wakes, he is troubled by the dreams. None of his court magicians can interpret the dreams.
These dreams don’t sound particularly difficult to interpret. A group of seven prosperous things are followed and consumed by a group of seven underdeveloped things. A time of plenty is followed by a time of scarcity. That doesn’t feel too difficult a situation out of which to make a connection. Certainly, wise men and court magicians – people accustomed to reading between the lines and making jumps in understanding – had plenty of material to work with in determining an interpretation of Pharoah’s dreams.
Remember Joseph’s claim to the baker and the cupbearer. The interpretation of dreams belongs to God. For God to work His plan, God needed to bring Pharoah and Joseph together. How difficult would it be for God to confuse the court magicians of Pharoah? How difficult would it be to set Joseph up for success?
Also remember Joseph’s ability to speak truth as truth. The proper interpretation of the dreams involves giving Pharoah a hard message of impending famine. Perhaps it wasn’t God confusing the court magicians but rather the magicians being too afraid to speak a true interpretation and risk Pharoah’s wrath.
Whatever the reason, Pharoah doesn’t get his interpretation. God sets the scene for His hand to be at work. God will move in glory, but God moves according to His timing.
