WE CAN'T BUT GOD CAN

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

When two full years had passed, Pharaoh had a dream:

He was standing by the Nile, when out of the river there came up seven cows, sleek and fat, and they grazed among the reeds. After them, seven other cows, ugly and gaunt, came up out of the Nile and stood beside those on the riverbank. And the cows that were ugly and gaunt ate up the seven sleek, fat cows.

Then Pharaoh woke up. He fell asleep again and had a second dream:

Seven heads of grain, healthy and good, were growing on a single stalk. After them, seven other heads of grain sprouted—thin and scorched by the east wind. The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven healthy, full heads.

Then Pharaoh woke up; it had been a dream.

In the morning his mind was troubled, so he sent for all the magicians and wise men of Egypt. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but no one could interpret them for him.

Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh, "Today I am reminded of my shortcomings. Pharaoh was once angry with his servants, and he imprisoned me and the chief baker in the house of the captain of the guard. Each of us had a dream the same night, and each dream had a meaning of its own. Now a young Hebrew was there with us, a servant of the captain of the guard. We told him our dreams, and he interpreted them for us, giving each man the interpretation of his dream. And things turned out exactly as he interpreted them to us: I was restored to my position, and the other man was hanged."

So Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and he was quickly brought from the dungeon.

When he had shaved and changed his clothes, he came before Pharaoh. Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I had a dream, and no one can interpret it. But I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it."

"I cannot do it," Joseph replied to Pharaoh, "but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires."

Genesis 41:1-16

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Two years or 730 days.  

That’s the length of time that Joseph continued to spend in prison after he interpreted the dream of Pharaoh’s cupbearer, a cupbearer who then was restored to full service just as Joseph said he would.

We learn this in the opening verse of Genesis, chapter 41 where ironically, we now find Pharaoh having dreams that trouble him. Look again at our passage here:

When two full years had passed, Pharaoh had a dream:

He was standing by the Nile, when out of the river there came up seven cows, sleek and fat, and they grazed among the reeds. After them, seven other cows, ugly and gaunt, came up out of the Nile and stood beside those on the riverbank. And the cows that were ugly and gaunt ate up the seven sleek, fat cows.

Then Pharaoh woke up. He fell asleep again and had a second dream:

Seven heads of grain, healthy and good, were growing on a single stalk. After them, seven other heads of grain sprouted—thin and scorched by the east wind. The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven healthy, full heads.

Then Pharaoh woke up; it had been a dream.

In the morning his mind was troubled, so he sent for all the magicians and wise men of Egypt. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but no one could interpret them for him.

Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh, "Today I am reminded of my shortcomings. Pharaoh was once angry with his servants, and he imprisoned me and the chief baker in the house of the captain of the guard. Each of us had a dream the same night, and each dream had a meaning of its own. Now a young Hebrew was there with us, a servant of the captain of the guard. We told him our dreams, and he interpreted them for us, giving each man the interpretation of his dream. And things turned out exactly as he interpreted them to us: I was restored to my position, and the other man was hanged."

So Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and he was quickly brought from the dungeon.

When he had shaved and changed his clothes, he came before Pharaoh. Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I had a dream, and no one can interpret it. But I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it."

"I cannot do it," Joseph replied to Pharaoh, "but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires." Vv.1-16

Here, we see where Egypt’s leader was so troubled by the dreams, first about the cows and then the grain stalks, that he summoned his magicians and wise men so that they might tell him their meaning but none of his so-called visionaries could do so. We can only imagine that Pharaoh must have voiced his frustration openly with his servants for it’s obvious the cupbearer became aware of his situation. It was only then that he remembered what Joseph had done for him and the now deceased baker while they were in prison. He shared the experience with Pharaoh saying:

"Today I am reminded of my shortcomings. Pharaoh was once angry with his servants, and he imprisoned me and the chief baker in the house of the captain of the guard. Each of us had a dream the same night, and each dream had a meaning of its own. Now a young Hebrew was there with us, a servant of the captain of the guard. We told him our dreams, and he interpreted them for us, giving each man the interpretation of his dream. And things turned out exactly as he interpreted them to us: I was restored to my position, and the other man was hanged."

Now, this must have sounded like sweet music to Pharaoh’s ears for we read where he “sent for Joseph” who was “quickly brought up from the dungeon." And after a change of clothes and a shave, something Joseph badly needed, the scriptures tell us that he is brought before Pharaoh who quickly explains why he was summoned saying:

"I had a dream, and no one can interpret it. But I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it."

To which Joseph replied:

"I cannot do it but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires."

Through this amazing statement while in the company of Egypt’s most powerful figure, we find three key takeaways that we can use as we go forth every day in service to our Lord.

First, Joseph denied himself.

When Pharaoh asked for his dream to be interpreted, Joseph could have said, "Tell me what you have dreamed, O Pharaoh, and I will tell you what it means" or “You have wisely chosen the right person to help you learn what the dream means. No, Joseph didn’t say anything that would gain him glory over the Lord. He refused to take credit for what he was about to do, instead giving all the honor to God.

This leads to a convicting question. For how many times do we fail to deny ourselves and give the Lord the credit when He deserves it the most?

Unfortunately, our human nature naturally craves and seeks the praise of others but we must ward off that temptation when it’s God who warrants the glory. We can do this if we remember the example that Joseph set as well as remember the words of our Savior Jesus as He said this to His disciples:

“If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me." Matthew 16:24

Second, Joseph proclaimed the Lord, the One who could accomplish what Pharaoh wanted.

In our passage for today, we find Joseph informing, and even evangelizing, the Egyptian leader, the one who believed in many gods, making sure he understood that the one and only true God could provide the answers he desired. No other entity could do that.

Through his actions, we see Joseph considering himself as nothing more than an instrument of God’s will and making sure Pharaoh understood that fully. We should note that all of this was done before any interpretation began so Egypt’s leader would know who to acclaim.

As we get set to carry out the Lord’s purposes for other, we should make sure that He is the One responsible for making what we do possible. Whether it is using a talent He was provided or possibly helping someone financially, we need to make sure we always deflect the praise to the God who can and does make all things happen.

Finally, Joseph never doubted what God could do.

We shouldn’t overlook how Joseph had not provided one word of interpretation to Pharaoh but he was completely confident that God was going to deliver. He knew that God had been with him through every ordeal in his young life up to that point from the cisterns where he faced possible death to being sold into slavery and bought by Potiphar, to being falsely accused and imprisoned to that very moment in the presence of Pharaoh himself. Through it all, God had never left Joseph’s side and he knew it fully. It was this assurance that allowed him to speak boldly in the name of the Lord.

Friends, through this Joseph story, we have seen a recurring theme. For over and over, we find God doing for Joseph what he could have never done for himself.

How often has this happened for us? How many times has God come through to deliver us out of circumstances that we couldn’t handle on our own?

I don’t know about you but these times have been more than I can number.

So let us remember that when on our own, we might say what Joseph did, “I cannot do it”, before quickly following that up with our statement of steadfast faith in what our Lord can do saying, "But God can."

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.