Waiting on God

Oh, boy.
Our hero is sitting in prison.
Not because he did anything wrong.
Because he did right!
I'd like to say that at the end of this chapter (Genesis 40) Joseph will be out of there. But that's not how things are going to work.

Let's lay some groundwork for our studies this week, and then I'd like for all of us to read that chapter before we gather again...
It's pretty significant that the Bible even mentions the prison. They weren't used all that often in the ancient world. Punishments of death, mutilation, or huge fines were the usual results of accusations and wrong-doing.  In fact, the usual punishment for adultery was death -- wonder if Potiphar didn't really believe his wife's story?
I found some clues to Joseph's story on a very interesting site on the internet (Bible Archeology) and in some old books we had here (we are crazy about antiquarian books) and I wanted to share some of my notes with you....
There's an old, old piece of papyrus that tells about the prison in Egypt. The main prison of Egypt was called the "Place of Confinement." It had two parts....an administration area and a barracks for the prisoners. These prisoners were forced into labor for the government. It doesn't seem like criminals were given years and years of punishment -- in fact, some of the prisoners were simply being held there until the government decided what their punishment was to be! Let's translate that accurately, according to what we know about the Egyptians and the Pharaohs in particular: they were waiting to find out if they were going to be executed. And that is how Joseph met the "Butler" and the "Baker."
We never learn their names. We do know that the Baker was eventually executed. The Butler was restored to his duties. Perhaps they were accused of being involved in a plot against the Pharaoh. And what were the duties that the "Butler" resumed? I don't think he wore a black suit or that he answered doorbells and supervised the maids as they cleaned the silver. (Grin) The Hebrew word used means "cup bearer," so the person would provide beverages to the king. You would want someone trustworthy doing that; there would be many who would scheme to put something in that cup and "off the Pharaoh."
So, here we have the main prison, at Thebes, where palace peeps who were accused were held. And here is where Joseph is now. The warden is mentioned, and he would be the overseer of the prison. He would have a staff of clerks and scribes, because record-keeping was as important then as in the prisons of today. Top of the heap as far as staff is concerned, is the "Scribe of the Prison." Since he had been the steward of Potiphar's household, we know that Joseph could read and write. It seems likely that he was promoted to this top clerical position, since the Bible states that he was promoted to a high office. He would not only have been the warden's right-hand-man, but also would have been in charge of all the records of the prison.

Now Joseph is waiting. There's actually nothing else he can do. He can't get out of the prison. He can't even appeal his sentence. He certainly can't escape.
It's hard for us to really empathize here, I guess, because we know the end of the story.....but we need to forget that we know how all of this turns out. Try to put ourselves in Joseph's sandals, so to speak. He has no clue how the future is going to work out for him.
So, today if you will, please read the entire chapter -- Genesis 40. Let's read it just as he would have lived it.....no hints about the future.
He's in jail.
He meets two men.
They have dreams.
There are two interpretations.
One man lives, and the other dies.
One man forgets.
Joseph is still in jail.

Sigh.
That's the whole chapter. But there's a lot for us to discover.
And Joseph is waiting.

Be thinking this week: are we willing to wait for God?