Joseph Remembered What God Had Spoken
Genesis 42:6-20
6 And Joseph was the governor over the land, and he it was that sold to all the people of the land: and Joseph’s brethren came, and bowed down themselves before him with their faces to the earth.
7 And Joseph saw his brethren, and he knew them, but made himself strange unto them, and spake roughly unto them; and he said unto them, Whence come ye? And they said, From the land of Canaan to buy food.
8 And Joseph knew his brethren, but they knew not him.
9 And Joseph remembered the dreams which he dreamed of them, and said unto them, Ye are spies; to see the nakedness of the land ye are come.
10 And they said unto him, Nay, my lord, but to buy food are thy servants come.
11 We are all one man’s sons; we are true men, thy servants are no spies.
12 And he said unto them, Nay, but to see the nakedness of the land ye are come.
13 And they said, Thy servants are twelve brethren, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and, behold, the youngest is this day with our father, and one is not.
14 And Joseph said unto them, That is it that I spake unto you, saying, Ye are spies:
15 Hereby ye shall be proved: By the life of Pharaoh ye shall not go forth hence, except your youngest brother come hither.
16 Send one of you, and let him fetch your brother, and ye shall be kept in prison, that your words may be proved, whether there be any truth in you: or else by the life of Pharaoh surely ye are spies.
17 And he put them all together into ward three days.
18 And Joseph said unto them the third day, This do, and live; for I fear God:
19 If ye be true men, let one of your brethren be bound in the house of your prison: go ye, carry corn for the famine of your houses:
20 But bring your youngest brother unto me; so shall your words be verified, and ye shall not die. And they did so.
I have entitled this today: “Joseph Remembered What God Had Spoken”.
The Lord is not slack concerning his promises, but all of His promises are yea and amen.
Don’t become discouraged when what the Lord has revealed does not come to pass right away.
If God has really spoken it then stay faithful to God and in His time it will come to pass.
God had spoken to Joseph as a young lad of 17 years old.
He gave him two Prophetic dreams, and in the dreams his brothers were going to bow to him.
His dreams caused a lot of heartache for him, they led him to the pit, where there was no water and led him into Egyptian prison.
Even though it looked like what the Lord had spoken would not come to pass, Joseph stayed faithful to God and he held on to the Word that had been given to him.
Church, hold onto the Word that has been spoken to you. Don’t become discouraged when all hell seems to come at you, understand that God has a God given Destiny for you.
He is taking you somewhere in His Scheme of plans.
In our opening Scripture, Joseph has been taken out of the pit, and he has been sold into Egyptian slavery.
God takes what looks hopeless and He works it out for His good.
Joseph, at this time, has been promoted to Governor over the land of Egypt.
Joseph, a man of great wisdom, had interpreted the King’s dream when no one else could and because of this he has received the blessing that God had intended for him to receive.
Joseph had laid back grain for 7 years during the good times, and when the 7 years of drought hit he was prepared.
Genesis 42:6
6 And Joseph was the governor over the land, and he it was that sold to all the people of the land: and Joseph’s brethren came, and bowed down themselves before him with their faces to the earth.
Look at Genesis 37:7-8
7 For, behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf.
8 And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words.
What God had spoken was now taking place.
Genesis 42:7
7 And Joseph saw his brethren, and he knew them, but made himself strange unto them, and spake roughly unto them; and he said unto them, Whence come ye? And they said, From the land of Canaan to buy food.
Had Joseph thought about his own dignity and affection, he would have revealed himself at once to his brothers.
Such a revelation would have only brought about confusion, but not repentance.
Joseph wanted them to remember their sin and confess it with their lips.
Ro 10:10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Genesis 42:8-9
8 And Joseph knew his brethren, but they knew not him.
9 And Joseph remembered the dreams which he dreamed of them, and said unto them, Ye are spies; to see the nakedness of the land ye are come.
This accusation was morally true, for the men were guilty of treachery, cruelty, and stupidity.
But the brothers had changed as we shall see.
Joseph now wanted to see if they really had changed so he told them to go get his brother Benjamin and he would hold one of the brothers till they returned with Benjamin.
Genesis 42: 20-23
20 But bring your youngest brother unto me; so shall your words be verified, and ye shall not die. And they did so.
21 And they said one to another, We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us.
22 And Reuben answered them, saying, Spake I not unto you, saying, Do not sin against the child; and ye would not hear? therefore, behold, also his blood is required.
23 And they knew not that Joseph understood them; for he spake unto them by an interpreter.
Joseph understood everything his brothers were saying.
They knew they were guilty concerning Joseph all of those years ago, and they really were sorry for what they had done.
Sin can only be forgotten when it is properly forgiven by our Lord, and it cannot be properly forgiven until one properly confesses such to the Lord.
Ro 10:10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Joseph remembered the dreams that he had had and can you imagine what might have been going through his mind.
Thrown into a pit, delivered into prison and maybe thinking God had deserted him.
Through it all he stayed faithful to God and was not swayed when the enemy tried to take him down.
God had a God given destiny for Joseph and all he had to do was keep the Word that had been given to him.
De 29:29 The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.
There was a revelation that was given to Joseph many years before and even though at times it looked hopeless, it seemed as if the dreams would not come to pass. Joseph just kept on serving God.
Hab 2:3 For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.
Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
Joseph had faith that was not going to be waivered and he believed that God was God.
He understood that God was a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
Maybe we feel that we have been thrown into a pit where there is no water.
Maybe we feel that we have been abandoned.
Maybe we feel that God has given up on us.
Believe that God is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
Some might have a problem with what the Lord has spoken to you.
Hold onto that Word and stay faithful to God and your dream will speak!
Dream 1-29-08 page 34 Tuesday afternoon
I dreamed that a house was being built. I knew that it was a house being built through a God given dream. It did not matter if other people believed that God could and would build this house this way. I was telling Debra about this house and about how people would be saved through this house. Debra was in agreement with me. She said that people can be saved through this God given house.
Interpretation
Psalm 127:1-2
1 Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.
2 It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep.
Except the Lord build the house they labor in vain that build it.
This Church is a house that is being built by a God given dream.
Joseph’s life was dependent on His God given dream.
Closing
Joseph remembered what God had spoken. Do we?
Church, open up the Word of God and believe what the Word says can happen in your lives.
Is Satan trying to steal your God given destiny?
Come up around the Altars.
If you are interested in seeing some God given dreams given to me and others in our church go to:
http://www.ourchurch.com/member/w/windoffaithdrea/
Go to the new text page for the God given dreams.
