Genesis chapter 41. Genesis 41. And tonight we're going to look at how Joseph went from the prison to the palace in 24 hours. Probably the most remarkable reversal of fortune in human history. how a young man, a prisoner, a slave, a foreigner, inexperienced, went from the very bottom of society in the world's most powerful empire at that time, an enemy of Potiphar, one of the most powerful men in the empire. And in 24 hours, God took him from the bottom. And he became the second most powerful man in the most powerful empire of human history to that point. Now, that is some reversal of fortune. Joseph couldn't have done this. No promotion guru could have, or careers advisor could have helped him achieve this. Only God could have done this. And this is why this story is so important. for us to study. Well, let's read it. It's a long chapter. We won't read it all, but we'll try and maybe read till verse 44. It says, And it came to pass at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh dreamed, and behold, he stood by the river. Behold, there came up out of the river seven well-favored kine, or cattle, and fat-fleshed, and they fed in a meadow, And behold, seven other kind came up after them out of the river, ill-favoured and lean-fleshed, and stood by the other kind upon the brink of the river. The ill-favoured and the lean-fleshed kind did eat up the seven well-favoured and fat kind. So Pharaoh awoke. And he slept and dreamed the second time, and behold, seven ears of corn came up upon one stalk, rank and good. And behold, seven thin ears, and blasted with the east wind, sprung up after them. And the seven thin ears devoured the seven rank and full ears. And Pharaoh awoke, and behold, it was a dream. And it came to pass in the morning that his spirit was troubled. They sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt and all the wise men thereof. And Pharaoh told them his dream, but there was none that could interpret them unto Pharaoh. Then spake the chief butler unto Pharaoh, saying, I do remember my faults this day. Pharaoh was wroth with his servants, and he put me in ward in the captain of the guard's house, both me and the chief baker. We dreamed a dream, and one night I and he, we dreamed each man according to the interpretation of his dream. And there was there with us a young man, a Hebrew, servant to the captain of the guard, and we told him, and he interpreted to us our dreams to each man according to his dream he did interpret. And it came to pass, as he interpreted to us, so it was. He restored unto mine office, me he restored unto mine office, and him he hanged. Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and brought him hastily out of the dungeon, and he shaved himself and changed his raiment, and came in unto Pharaoh. And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I have dreamed a dream, and there is none that can interpret it. And I have heard say of thee that thou canst understand a dream to interpret it. And Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, It is not in me. God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace. And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, In my dream, behold, I stood upon the bank of the river. Behold, there came up out of the river seven kind, fat-fleshed and well-favoured, and they fed in a meadow. And behold, seven other kind came up after them, poor and very ill-favoured and lean-fleshed, such as I never saw in all the land of Egypt for badness. And the lean and the ill-favoured kind did eat up the full, the first seven fat kind. But when they had eaten them up, it could not be known that they had eaten them. But they were still ill-favored as at the beginning. So I awoke. And I saw in my dream, and behold, seven ears came up in one stalk full and good. And behold, seven ears withered thin and blasted with the east wind sprung up after them. And the thin ears devoured the seven good ears. And I told this unto the magicians. but there was none that could declare it to me. And Joseph said unto Pharaoh, The dream of Pharaoh is one. God has showed Pharaoh what he is about to do. The seven good kind are seven years, and the seven good years are seven years. The dream is one. And the seven thin and ill-favored kind that came up after them are seven years. and the seven empty ears blasted with the east wind shall be seven years of famine. This is the thing which I have spoken unto Pharaoh. What God is about to do he showeth unto Pharaoh. Behold, there come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt. and there shall arise after them seven years of famine, and all the plenty shall be forgotten in the land of Egypt, and the famine shall consume the land, and the plenty shall not be known in the land by reason of that famine following, for it shall be very grievous. And for that the dream was doubled unto Pharaoh twice. It is because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass. Now therefore let Pharaoh look out a man discreet and wise, and set him over the land of Egypt. Let Pharaoh do this. Let him appoint officers over the land, and take up the fifth part of the land of Egypt in the seven plenteous years. And let them gather all the food of those good years that come, and lay up corn unto under the hand of Pharaoh, and let them keep food in the cities. And that food shall be for store to the land against the seven years of famine, which shall be in the land of Egypt, that the land perish not through the famine. And the thing was good in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of all his servants. And Pharaoh said unto his servants, Can we find such a one as this is, a man in whom the Spirit of God is? Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Forasmuch as God hast shewed thee all this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou art. Thou shalt be over my house, and according unto thy word shall all my people be ruled, only in the throne will I be greater than thou. And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, See, I have set thee over all the land of Egypt, Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand, and he put it upon Joseph's hand, and arrayed him in vestures of vine linen, and put a gold chain upon his neck, and he made him to ride in the second chariot which he had. And they cried before him, Bow the knee! And he made him ruler over all the land of Egypt. And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I am Pharaoh, And without thee shall no man lift up his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt." Well, we stop there. What a story. And what a dramatic reversal of fortune. And no man in history, no man in Scripture has ever had such a dramatic turnaround in just 24 hours. And no doubt the day began just like every other day of the past two years for Joseph in that prison. No doubt it just appeared that it was just going to be another boring, mundane day in prison, but the story really is going to tell us that no one knows what a day will bring forth. Only God. And only God could step in to a person's life. And there's no indication from chapter 40 to chapter 41 that God ever spoke to Joseph in those two years. Those two years of silence, those two years where he waited for the chief butler and the chief baker's dreams that were interpreted for the reward to come to him, but it never came. Maybe after the two years, Joseph had given up hope. These two years must have been hard years, painful years, years of questioning, maybe even times of doubt, as what was God doing? Why was he waiting so long? But you know, sometimes God fulfills dreams in a short time, but other times he takes a long time. Because time as we see it, God doesn't see it the same way. What seems long for us is a short to God. And God makes Joseph wait until it's the right place at the right time for God to step in. And you know, sudden reversals of fortune are difficult for us, difficult for all humans, and just as difficult for Christians. And how we react when circumstances don't go the way we planned really reveals our true character. It reveals our true faith. And Joseph throughout these years, although it must have been very painful for him, and we get a little insight into the pain because it says in verse 51 of this chapter 41, when his first son was born, Manasseh, He chose the name Manasseh, and why did he choose the name? Look at the words, verse 51. For God said he hath made me forget all my toil. So Joseph lets us know, even in the naming of his son, that he suffered in that time. He felt the loss, he felt the loneliness, he felt the humiliation, he felt the difficulty of being a slave and then being a prisoner and all of that. But if you look at this chapter carefully, you'll see the wisdom of God in the promotion of Joseph. You know, if Joseph had been instantly promoted by the chief butler the moment the chief butler left the jail, Joseph may have thought, well, my cleverness got me out of that prison. Because remember, Joseph said to the chief butler, remember me when you leave the prison. And if God had let Joseph just suddenly be elevated because of the intervention of the chief butler at the moment he was taken out of the prison, Joseph may think, well, I did this. Maybe God helped, but I certainly was the prime mover. But the fact that God made him wait two years, Joseph is going to know absolutely, unequivocally, that when God lifts him from this prison, puts him in the palace that day, that there's only one person responsible. There's only one person that gets the glory. There's only one hero in the story, and that's God. And you know, sometimes God makes us wait for the same reason, because he wants us to come to a point where we have nobody else to turn to, but him. The other thing you're going to notice is this, that although Joseph has many, many gifts and talents, the one thing that Joseph needed to develop in prison was character. And character takes a lot longer. Talents and gifts are bestowed by God himself, but character has to be forged through adversity, through difficulty. God's going to make Joseph, we had all those years from the age of 17, well, actually before 17, because he grew up in that difficult, dysfunctional home. And then from the age of 17 to the age of 30, those 13 tough years, God is going to shape and mold this man, Joseph, so that when he eventually becomes prime minister, He has real character. He knows what it is to trust God in the dark. He knows what it is to keep your eye on God when circumstances turn against you. God is silent. Now let's get into the chapter, verse one. And we read this. And it came to pass, the end of two full years, that Pharaoh dreamed. Even that statement is telling us this is something out of the ordinary, that God's going to be at work here. And God can control the thoughts of a king, the greatest king on earth at this time, even when he's asleep. No doubt Joseph's asleep. And while Joseph's asleep and Pharaoh's asleep and all of Egypt's asleep, God's at work. And he's working to send a message, a message that will not just speak to Pharaoh, but ultimately be the means of lifting Joseph out of the prison. And the dreams that God sent him shake Pharaoh up. So this story that we're about to go through is not a rags to riches story. It is not a good luck story. Now, this story is a drama that is instigated by God from beginning to end. Don't miss that. And then don't miss the application, because you have a story like Joseph has a story, and everything in your life from beginning to end, the same God that was involved intimately, personally, in the life of Joseph is the same God that's involved in your life. And everybody else may have forgotten about Joseph in that prison, but God hadn't. And everybody else you may think forgets about you in your home, in your workplace, but God hasn't. God's got his eye upon you. And even when you're asleep, he's working. to engineer and direct the circumstances to change your life and to change your situation. And it is true that when God opens a door, no man can shut it. But the emphasis must be when God, when God does it, not when you try to open it. And as you read the end of the previous chapter, it seemed impossible, humanly speaking, for Joseph ever to get out of that prison, ever to get out of Egypt, ever to get out of the slavery. But you know, God specializes in the impossible. And he's going to demonstrate it here in this story. Now, having heard the dream, the Bible tells us In verse 8, it came to pass in the morning that Pharaoh's spirit was troubled. He knew there was something different. This wasn't, you know, some emotion in his brain, a biochemical reaction because he ate the wrong food the night before. No, Pharaoh knew this was a message. This was God speaking to him. He knew there was something deeply significant that happened that time. And despite all his wealth and his power, despite the fact that he himself was worshiped as a God in Egypt, Pharaoh knew there was something beyond him in this dream that he needed to understand, he needed to pay attention to. And you've often heard me say this, in the life of an individual, an unsaved person, there's always a moment, generally speaking, that are sometimes more than one moment, but there's always at least one moment, if you observe them, that God steps in and shakes their life, and shakes their circumstance, and makes them think of something beyond themselves. And wisdom for us as Christians is watching and observing because People that you may be witness to, maybe a family member, maybe a neighbor, maybe a work colleague for years, and maybe they rejected you in very colorful language and made it clear to you, don't you ever talk to me about that person. Don't you ever bring up that religion again. I have no time for that. You just be patient because invariably there'll come a time. when God starts to shake their life up. And it may take a financial crisis, a health crisis, a relationship crisis, or some other type of crisis, maybe a discontentment with something in their lives. And if you watch carefully, that'll be a moment that you can step in and say, can I speak to you about God? Have you thought about eternity? Or they may even come to you and say, I'm troubled. Troubled about my daughter. I'm troubled about my granddaughter. I'm troubled about my husband or my wife. I'm troubled about this situation in the workplace. Will you pray for me? You shake your head and say, I thought this person was an atheist. I thought this person had no time for God. And I'm sure Pharaoh up to this moment never gave God much attention in his life. But God now decides to shake him up. And when Pharaoh wakes up from this dream, as many ungodly people do for a short time, there's a little window of opportunity for a servant of God to tell them the truth about who the real God is. And as we'll see in this story, Joseph will not miss the talk. He'll not waffle. He'll not talk about Joseph. He'll talk about God to Pharaoh and in a very direct way. Pharaoh's troubled, and he calls all his special advisors and all his magicians and wise men, the people that claim to understand mysteries and difficult questions, the astrologers, who claim to be able to tell the future, and he tells them his dream, and we're told at the end of verse eight, there was none that could interpret the amount to Pharaoh. And you sometimes find that with unsafe people. They'll go around, they'll chase everybody. They'll go to the psychologists, the psychiatrists. They'll go to the astrologers and the spiritualists. They'll go to the yoga, they'll go to the tarot cards. They'll try everything when they're in trouble, when their family's in a mess. Sometimes you just let them run through the whole gamut. Until they've come to the end, there's nobody else to talk They've tried everything in this field. And Pharaoh tries everything here to solve this problem. To answer these questions that is really troubling him. And now he's at his wit's end. And that's where God has deliberately brought him. Because God has a man, a very unlikely man, in a very unlikely place, that God is going to use to solve this problem. And that man doesn't even know it yet. Only God knows it. And we're told, verse 9, and sometimes we ignore even these details. It says, then speak the chief Bible. It's amazing this man speaks. It's amazing what he says, for a whole host of reasons. Because everybody else has spoken And you think, well, I'll just keep quiet. If I was him, in the presence of a man who's a tyrant, who's a dictator, who no doubt is a ruthless, volatile individual, who has already put one man to death, the Chief Baker, and already put him in prison, and it's surprising that this man speaks up. decides to intervene in this situation. But it's even more surprising that what he says, because when he speaks up, he brings up a subject that I'm sure, humanly speaking, he would never want to bring up before Pharaoh. His imprisonment just two years before, when Pharaoh and him had a disagreement. That's not something you'd want to talk about with Pharaoh. But he does, and that's the amazing thing. Now, he not only speaks up, But what he says when he speaks up, he didn't say to Pharaoh, well, listen, you know, I know a man who can interpret dreams. He didn't say that. Notice what he says. Verse nine. I do remember my faults this day. The fact that he was so honest, I think maybe even convinced Pharaoh that what he's about to tell him must be true. And he says, Pharaoh was wroth with his servants. And he put me in ward or in prison in the captain of the guard's house, both me and the chief baker, and we dreamed a dream. And he says, and there was with us, verse 12, a young man, so he's saying, he's an inexperienced man. Now Pharaoh, he's been listening to all these old men, these magicians, these astrologers, these wise men, maybe some of them 90, 100 years of age, the brain trusts of Egypt. Now remember, Egypt at this moment in history is the world's most advanced civilization. building pyramids, great engineers, great astrologers, great mathematicians. In fact, some of their things that they accomplished, we still don't know today how they did it. So Pharaoh was surrounded by the cream of human wisdom. And this man, this cheap butler speaks up and he reminds Pharaoh of their argument and their disagreement and how Pharaoh had wronged him That's really the implication. Put him into jail. And he also said to Sparrow, there's a young man by contrast, compared to all the wise old men, there's this young man. And then he adds this, an Hebrew, a foreigner, not one of our Egyptians. one of the subjugated racists that we look down on. And then he says, servant to the captain of the guard. He's just a slave. It's not sounding too promising, is it? He didn't say, well, there's this Cambridge philosopher and a very educated man, one of the old wise men of the East, and he can interpret dreams. No, he says to Pharaoh, there's this guy, he's a nobody. He's at the bottom of society. And he says, we told him our dreams, notice it says plural, dreams. And he says, to each man according to his dream he did interpret and it came to pass as he interpreted to us. You know, it was just as important that the Chief Baker's interpretation came to pass as well as the Chief Butler's, you notice that? Although the good job Joseph told the truth to both of them. And now he's going to be rewarded in this testimony for having the courage to tell the truth when it was not a popular thing to say. To be honest to the chief butler and warn him that he's about to die in three days time, even though that would have been received in a very unpopular and uncomfortable way. And now two years later, Joseph's going to be rewarded because this chief butler is going to tell Pharaoh, this man's honest. This man can see the good news as well as the bad news, Pharaoh. So if you're looking for the truth, he's the guy. Integrity is his middle name. Truthfulness is his character. And it's wonderful, you know, when people can see that in you. And people who are not believers can testify that of you. And if you live that way, you may not get the reward immediately, but down the road, people will notice, and people will testify of it. And Pharaoh, if that was a remarkable testimony in those circumstances, I think we sometimes underestimate this. Pharaoh's response to that recommendation is equally remarkable, because he doesn't argue He doesn't dismiss the chief butler and say, well, what would you know about dreams? What would you know about these profound philosophical things? You're just a butler. And your description of this man, he's just a, he's a nobody. Why waste my time? But no, notice what happens. Verse 14. Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, doesn't hesitate. And they brought him up hastily. So clearly Pharaoh said this, get him here as fast as you can. Maybe he was persuaded by the honesty of Joseph's character as described by this man. And the fact that this man dared bring it up may no doubt impress Pharaoh's heart. Touch Pharaoh. And by the way, the fact that Joseph found himself meeting this man in the first place was no coincidence now. Sure it wasn't. We now see why God put him in the prison two years before, to meet Joseph at the right place at the right time. Now, Pharaoh calls him and he comes up. We're told he shaved himself, changed his clothes, and came in unto Pharaoh. He got himself prepared to meet this great king. And you can imagine having been two years in the prison, away even from Potiphar's house, this is going to be a daunting thing. To come and stand before this mighty emperor, this ruthless man, this tyrant, a man, no doubt, that was very intelligent, a very capable individual, didn't get to where he was by being a fool, and Joseph's languishing in prison for two years. He has to come up in new clothes, body all shaved, all his hair shaved, beard shaved off him, according to the Egyptian style. Talk about feeling like a fish out of water. And this is going to be a real challenge for Joseph, a real test for him. Will he tell the truth? Will he take his stand for God? Will he try to manipulate the situation like his father Jacob would have done and his uncle Laban would have done and his brothers would have done? Would he try to do a deal with Pharaoh and say, listen, I'll help you Pharaoh if you help me. And here's a list of things, not big things. I'd like revenge on Potiphar's wife. I'd like my freedom. I'd like revenge on my brothers. And I'll help you Pharaoh. He could have done all those things, couldn't he? And no doubt the devil whispered in his ear and said, Joseph, ask. This is your golden moment. This is like your Willy Wonka chocolate factory, the golden ticket. Go for it. When Pharaoh's desperate, he'll agree, Joseph. And you notice, Joseph still says nothing. doesn't do any deals, doesn't ask for any arrangements to be agreed. He just waits. And he knows he's on a divine appointment, just as he was in the prison, just as he was in Potiphar's house. He's ready to serve the Lord. He's ready to testify of God. And Pharaoh begins to speak. And he begins with this word of flattery. Now, I can't imagine Joseph heard many words of flattery in the prison. I'm sure he didn't hear many words of encouragement in those two years that he was languishing in that jail. And Pharaoh, this is no ordinary person paying you this compliment. This is the king. This is the emperor of the world's greatest civilization who has exhausted all human remedies from the world's most advanced civilization. And he's speaking to you. He's giving you an audience, and he's paying you a compliment. Well, that could go to your head, to the wrong type of person. And he says to Joseph, I have heard. Well, he begins, he says, I have dreamed a dream, and there is none that can interpret it. He says, everybody else is blind to the answer. That could feed your pride. And then the next statement definitely will feed your pride. I have heard say of thee that thou canst understand a dream to interpret. Yeah, I've heard that you're special, Joseph. I've heard that you're unique. I've heard you can do things that nobody else can do. Now, how will Joseph respond? And I think this is one of the most amazing examples of meekness and self-control and humility in all of Scripture. Because look how Joseph responds, first time he speaks, it is not in me. Don't be impressed with Joseph. When in reality, everybody else will be trying to impress, well, Pharaoh's just said, I'm impressed by you. I hear great things about you, boy. And Joseph just says, no, not me. Don't get too excited about Joseph. And then he says this, God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace. It's not Joseph is great, but there is someone who is great, and it's Joseph's God. and he will speak to you." And Joseph immediately understands that this is a divine appointment for him to speak truth. Now, he doesn't know if he loses life over what he's about to say or do, but Joseph, he's committed. I'm going to tell the truth. And no matter what the consequences are, I'm just going to say it. And maybe this is the only opportunity Pharaoh will ever have to hear the truth of God. And I'm not going to miss it. And within his first sentence, he's introduced God into the conversation. What an amazing character this man is. And Pharaoh then begins to retell the dream. Of the two dreams, but really one dream. The seven fat cows and the seven thin cows, and how the seven thin ones ate the seven fat ones and they still stayed thin. And then they, ears, of corn or whatever it was. The plants, seven ears, the weak ones ate the full and good ones and still remained withered. And after Pharaoh had finished saying this, he says at the verse 24, I told this unto the magicians, but there was none that could declare it to me. So again, he brings up this point and nobody knows the answer. And Joseph could have said, well, I know the answer. This is his moment to shine. I give God the glory, but maybe this is the time for me to say something good about Joseph. And what does Joseph say? Verse 25. And notice the emphasis again. The dream of Pharaoh is one. God, here he goes. I'm sure if Joseph had talked to any of Pharaoh's servants before he went in there, they would have said to him, now, you're a Hebrew, you're a foreigner, you're the prisoner. Don't talk about religion in front of Pharaoh. If you've got some voices in your head telling you the interpretation of this, you just tell them, but cut out all that religious stuff, because we're down in Egypt, we have our gods, and Pharaoh, he's a god, and don't you bring in your Hebrew stuff, your hocus-pocus, You keep that to yourself, but not Joseph. Straight away, God. Sons in dreams told him, God. And notice what he says, God has showed Pharaoh, and this is also a very powerful testimony by Joseph. Because remember I said the Egyptians believed that their gods were the superior ones. After all, they ruled the world. They had the greatest civilization and Pharaoh was the top of the tree and he was treated as a God himself and worshipped as a God himself. It was almost treated as blasphemy for anybody to come along and say, there's this God and he's greater than Pharaoh and he's over Pharaoh and he tells Pharaoh what to do and he controls this world and he controls Egypt. This would be a very, very unpopular message. In fact, That would be a message that could lose you your life in a very painful way. And what does Joseph do? As soon as he hears the drink, without giving the interpretation of it, he kneels this down. He says, God has showed Pharaoh, and I like these next two words, what he, not Pharaoh, not fate, not the gods of Egypt, what God is about to do. I'm telling you, I'm sure all the servants and the magicians had a gasp of breath. Did he really say that? That his God, that he's in touch with, that hits the future and controls the future? Well, yes, he did say it. And he said it unequivocally. He said it without apology. He didn't waffle as he said it. He was a very simple, short, blunt, but perfectly clear message. The little child in the room could understand what Joseph said and the implication of it. And then he begins the interpretation. And he tells him, the seven good years and the seven ill years or seven years of famine. Just one dream, but just two parts to it. But really the dream is really one dream with two separate metaphors, if I could use such a term, to explain the fact there's going to be seven good years followed by seven bad years in the economy of Egypt. And then he says in verse 20, having given that simple understanding, he breaks in again, he says, this is the thing which I have spoken unto Pharaoh, what God is about to do, he showeth, he reveals, but Pharaoh is not God. This is God. He's the real God. Now, I'm sure people are saying, Joseph, you brought that up, you got away with it, don't talk about God again. Just tell Pharaoh what he wants to hear. But not Joseph. He just keeps driving. It's like he hits it in with a hammer and then he brings a hammer and keeps hammering it away. It's all about God. It's all about what God's doing. It's all about what God knows. It's all about what God controls. He goes on to say, Behold, there come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt. And then he goes on and says after that, the famine, and it shall be very grievous. Verse 31. And then here he goes again. And for that, the dream was doubled unto Pharaoh twice. Because no doubt Pharaoh wondered, why is there two dreams? He says, God's done this to emphasize the truth of this Pharaoh. Once you do, be so clear in your mind what is the message he's trying to send you. He says this twice, because the thing is established by God. God has decreed this in his sovereign wisdom. He's in control of Egypt, not you. He's in control of the future, not you, Pharaoh. He's the real ruler of Egypt, not you, Pharaoh. And he says, God will shortly bring it past. Whether you like it or don't like it, whether you believe it or don't believe it, Pharaoh, it's going to happen. These are powerful words. These are, you could say, provocative words for Joseph to say, but he says them fearlessly, without equivocation. And he nails us down. And then he gives Pharaoh's solution in verse 33. He says, well, go and choose a wise man to practically react to what God has decreed. And he says, go and get a man. And during these seven good years, he says, take 20% of the surplus. And by the way, if you're looking for a good bit of advice, If you have money coming into your house and you have enough to save, save 20%. I always think that's a good advice. When things are going well in your life, don't spend every penny that comes in every month and every year. You know, there are some people, whenever it comes, they look at what they've left in the end and say, well, I'm going to splurge. I need to get rid of that money. A lot of people, they just save everything. That's not wise either, but I always think the advice that Joseph gave here, if you're in a good time in the working and bringing in money to your family and there's money left over, keep it set aside 20%. Lock it away for the hard times that inevitably follow the good times. And I think that should be true for governments. I think it should be true for churches. I know when we had the church in Singapore, whatever surplus was left over, we shut away a certain percentage in a fixed deposit every year because we knew there may come a hard time. When the economy went down and maybe you needed to do renovations or some other significant emergency came into the church that was needed help, Joseph, he says, put away 20%. Now, how will Pharaoh react? Not only to being told that he doesn't control the future and then being told by Joseph how to deal with the problem. Well, my time is up. I feel like one of those soap operas. Come back next week and we'll finish it there. We'll find out next time. How will Pharaoh react to this amazing revelation by God and the advice that no doubt God gave Joseph to give to him? How to respond to it? Well, that's going to be the next great test. Let us pray. Father, we thank you for your word. We thank you that even the lessons that we learned from Joseph, what a man he was, but what a God he served. Help us to meditate and think about all of these things. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.