1/16/26- Friday Night Bible Study

CH-PCS Bible Study                                                                                                                   Friday, 1-16-26

Joseph's Dream: FROM PIT TO POWER

                                          GENESIS 37-50                                       

Romans 8:28 “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”

Disturbing Dream

Jacob’s Favor (Genesis 37:2-4) Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brothers… sons of his father’s wives; and Joseph brought a bad report of them to his father. ³ Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age. Also he made him a tunic of many colors. ⁴ But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peaceably to him.

Joseph’s dream (Genesis 37:5-10) Now Joseph had a dream, and he told it to his brothers; and they hated him even more. ⁶ So he said to them, “Please hear this dream which I have dreamed: ⁷ There we were, binding sheaves in the field. Then behold, my sheaf arose and also stood upright; and indeed your sheaves stood all around and bowed down to my sheaf.” ⁸ And his brothers said to him, “Shall you indeed reign over us? Or shall you indeed have dominion over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words. ⁹ Then he dreamed still another dream and told it to his brothers, and said, “Look, I have dreamed another dream. And this time, the sun, the moon, and the eleven stars bowed down to me.”¹⁰ So he told it to his father and his brothers; and his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall your mother and I and your brothers indeed come to bow down to the earth before you?”

Question 1. Was Joseph’s disfavor with his brothers avoidable? Explain.

Joseph’s Rise to Power

The Pit (Genesis 37:19-20, 24, 26-27a,36) Then they said to one another, “Look, this dreamer is coming! ²⁰ Come therefore, let us now kill him and cast him into some pit; and we shall say, ‘Some wild beast has devoured him.’ We shall see what will become of his dreams!” ²⁴ Then they took him and cast him into a pit. And the pit was empty; there was no water in it. ²⁶ So Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is there if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? ²⁷ Come and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother and our flesh.” And his brothers listened. ²⁸ Then Midianite traders passed by; so the brothers pulled Joseph up … out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt. 

Question 2. Were Joseph’s brothers accountable for their actions? How does Joseph’s brothers’ wrong fit into God’s plan? (Read Genesis 13:15)

Potipher’s House (Genesis 39:1-6) Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. And Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him down there. ² The Lord was with Joseph, and he was a successful man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. ³ And his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord made all he did to prosper in his hand. ⁴ So Joseph found favor in his sight, and served him. Then he made him overseer of his house, and all that he had he put under his authority. ⁵ So it was, from the time that he had made him overseer of his house and all that he had, that the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; and the blessing of the Lord was on all that he had in the house and in the field. ⁶ Thus he left all that he had in Joseph’s hand, and he did not know what he had except for the bread which he ate.

(Genesis 39: 7-9, 11-13, 16-18, 20) And it came to pass after these things that his master’s wife cast longing eyes on Joseph, and she said, “Lie with me.” ⁸ But he refused and said to his master’s wife, “Look, my master does not know what is with me in the house, and he has committed all that he has to my hand. ⁹ There is no one greater in this house than I, nor has he kept back anything from me but you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?” ¹¹ But it happened about this time, when Joseph went into the house to do his work, and none of the men of the house was inside, ¹² that she caught him by his garment, saying, “Lie with me.” But he left his garment in her hand, and fled and ran outside. ¹³ And so it was, when she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and fled outside. ¹⁶ So she kept his garment with her until his master came home. ¹⁷ Then she spoke to him with words like these, saying, “The Hebrew servant whom you brought to us came in to me to mock me; ¹⁸ so it happened, as I lifted my voice and cried out, that he left his garment with me and fled outside.” 

Question 3. What accounts for Joseph’s continued favor in the eyes of the Lord?

The Prison (Genesis 39:20, 23) ²⁰ Then Joseph’s master took him and put him into the prison, a place where the king’s prisoners were confined…. ²³ The keeper of the prison did not look into anything that was under Joseph’s authority, because the Lord was with him; and whatever he did, the Lord made it prosper. 

(Genesis 41:1a, 8-12) Then it came to pass, at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh had a dream…. (8) ⁸ Now it came to pass in the morning that his spirit was troubled, and he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt and all its wise men. And Pharaoh told them his dreams, but there was no one who could interpret them for Pharaoh. (9-12) ⁹ Then the chief butler spoke to Pharaoh, saying: “I remember my faults this day. ¹⁰ When Pharaoh was angry with his servants, and put me in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, both me and the chief baker, ¹¹ we each had a dream in one night, he and I…. ¹² Now there was a young Hebrew man with us there, a servant of the captain of the guard. And we told him, and he interpreted our dreams for us….” 

(Genesis 14a-17, 25a, 28-31, 33) ¹⁴ Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph…. ¹⁵ And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I have had a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it. But I have heard it said of you that you can understand a dream, to interpret it.” ¹⁶ So Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, “It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace.” ¹⁷ Then Pharaoh said to Joseph: “Behold…my dream ….” ²⁸Joseph responded, “God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do. ²⁹ Indeed seven years of great plenty will come throughout all the land of Egypt; ³⁰ but after them seven years of famine will arise, and all the plenty will be forgotten in the land of Egypt; and the famine will deplete the land. ³¹ So the plenty will not be known in the land because of the famine following, for it will be very severe. (33) ³³ Now therefore, let Pharaoh select a discerning and wise man, and set him over the land of Egypt.” 

Question 4. What qualities in Joseph’s character are displayed in his prison experience?

The Palace (41:39-42, 44) ³⁹ Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Inasmuch as God has shown you all this, there is no one as discerning and wise as you. ⁴⁰ You shall be over my house, and all my people shall be ruled according to your word; only in regard to the throne will I be greater than you.” ⁴¹ And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.” ⁴² Then Pharaoh took his signet ring off his hand and put it on Joseph’s hand; and he clothed him in garments of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck. ⁴³ And he had him ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried out before him, “Bow the knee!” So he set him over all the land of Egypt. ⁴⁴ Pharaoh also said to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh, and without your consent no man may lift his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.”

Question 5. How is Joseph’s life a testimony regarding the God he serves?

The Family’s Plight

Brothers’ Plea and Repentance (Genesis 42:1-5) When Jacob saw that there was grain in Egypt, (he) said to his sons, “Why do you look at one another?” ² ….“Indeed I have heard that there is grain in Egypt; go down … and buy for us there, that we may live and not die.” ³ So Joseph’s ten brothers went down to buy grain in Egypt. ⁴ But Jacob did not send Joseph’s brother Benjamin with his brothers, for he said, “Lest some calamity befall him.” ⁵ And the sons of Israel went to buy grain among those who journeyed, for the famine was in the land of Canaan.

⁶ Now Joseph was governor and … sold to all the people of the land. And Joseph’s brothers came and bowed down before him with their faces to the earth. ⁷ Joseph… acted as a stranger … and spoke roughly to them.…  “Where do you come from?” And they said, “From the land of Canaan to buy food.” ⁸ … [They] did not recognize him. ⁹ Then Joseph remembered the dreams which he had … about them, and said ..., “You are spies! You have come to see the ^[nakedness of the land!” ¹⁰ And they said to him, “No, my lord, but your servants have come to buy food….  ¹³ And they said, “Your servants are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and in fact, the youngest is with our father today, and one is no more.”

(18-24) ¹⁸ Then Joseph said to them the third day… ¹⁹ If you are honest men, let one of your brothers be confined to your prison house; but you, go and carry grain for the famine of your houses. ²⁰ And bring your youngest brother to me; so your words will be verified, and you shall not die.” And they did so. 

²¹ Then they said to one another, “We are truly guilty concerning our brother, for we saw the anguish of his soul when he pleaded with us, and we would not hear; therefore this distress has come upon us.” ²² And Reuben answered them, saying, “Did I not speak to you, saying, ‘Do not sin against the boy’…? Therefore behold, his blood is now required of us.” ²³ But they did not know that Joseph understood them, for he spoke to them through an interpreter. ²⁴ And he turned himself away from them and wept. Then he returned to them again, and talked with them. And he took Simeon from them and bound him before their eyes.

(29-31, 33-34b) ²⁹ Then they went to Jacob… in … Canaan and told him …: ³⁰ “The man who is lord of the land … took us for spies …. ³¹ But we said to him, ‘We are honest men; we are not spies. ³² We are twelve brothers, sons of our father; one is no more, and the youngest is with our father this day in the land of Canaan.’ ³³ Then … the lord of the country, said to us, ‘By this I will know that you are honest men: Leave one of your brothers here with me, take food for the famine of your households, and be gone. ³⁴ And bring your youngest brother to me; so I shall know that you are not spies…. I will grant your brother to you, and you may trade in the land.’ ”

(38) ³⁸ But he said, “My son shall not go down with you, for his brother is dead, and he is left alone. If any calamity should befall him …  then you would bring down my gray hair with sorrow to the grave.”

Question 6. (a) How is Joseph’s dream practically fulfilled in this passage? (b) What factors guarantee the brother’s return to Egypt? 

Jacob’s Relent; Joseph’s Reveal (Genesis 43:1-2, 11-15) Now the famine was severe in the land. ² And … when they had eaten up the grain …they had brought from Egypt… their father said to them, “Go back, buy us a little food.” ¹¹ And their father Israel said to them, “If it must be so… take some of the best fruits of the land … a present for the man…. ¹³ Take your brother also, and arise, go back to the man. ¹⁴ And may God Almighty give you mercy … that he may release your other brother and Benjamin. If I am bereaved, I am bereaved!” ¹⁵ So the men took that present and Benjamin…and went down to Egypt; and they stood before Joseph.

(Genesis 45:3-13) ³ Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph; does my father still live?” But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed in his presence. ⁴ And Joseph said to his brothers, “Please come near to me.” So they came near. Then he said: “I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. ⁵ But now, do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life…. ⁷ And God sent me before you to preserve a posterity for you in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.  ⁸ So now it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.

⁹ “Hurry and go up to my father, and say to him, ‘Thus says your son Joseph: “God has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me, do not tarry. ¹⁰ You shall dwell in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near to me, you and your children, your children’s children, your flocks and your herds, and all that you have. ¹¹ There I will provide for you… for there are still five years of famine.” ’

¹² “And behold, your eyes and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see that it is my mouth that speaks to you. ¹³ So you shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt, and of all that you have seen; and you shall hurry and bring my father down here.”

Question 7. How does this passage confirm Romans 8:28?

The Family’s Return (Genesis 45:25-28) ²⁵ Then they went up out of Egypt, and came to the land of Canaan to Jacob their father. ²⁶ And they told him, saying, “Joseph is still alive, and he is governor over all the land of Egypt.” And Jacob’s heart stood still, because he did not believe them. ²⁷ But when they told him all the words which Joseph had said to them, and when he saw the carts which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob their father revived. ²⁸ Then Israel said, “It is enough. Joseph my son is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.”

(46:1-4) So Israel took his journey with all that he had, and came to Beersheba, and offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. ² Then God spoke to Israel in the visions of the night, and said, “Jacob, Jacob!” And he said, “Here I am.” ³ So He said, “I am God, the God of your father; do not fear to go down to Egypt, for I will make of you a great nation there. ⁴ I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also surely bring you up again; and Joseph will put his hand on your eyes.”

(47:1-3, 5-6) Then Joseph went and told Pharaoh, and said, “My father and my brothers, their flocks and their herds and all that they possess, have come from the land of Canaan; and indeed they are in the land of Goshen.” ² And he took five men from among his brothers and presented them to Pharaoh. ³ Then Pharaoh said to his brothers, “What is your occupation?” And they said to Pharaoh, “Your servants are shepherds, both we and also our fathers.” …. ⁵ Then Pharaoh spoke to Joseph, saying, “Your father and your brothers have come to you. ⁶ The land of Egypt is before you. Have your father and brothers dwell in the best of the land; let them dwell in the land of Goshen. And if you know any competent men among them, then make them chief herdsmen over my livestock.”

(49.1,33) And Jacob called his sons and said, “Gather together, that I may tell you what shall befall you in the last days….” ³³ And when Jacob had finished commanding his sons, he drew his feet up into the bed and breathed his last, and was gathered to his people.

(50:15-21) ¹⁵ When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “Perhaps Joseph will hate us, and may ^[a]actually repay us for all the evil which we did to him.” ¹⁶ So they sent messengers to Joseph, saying, “Before your father died he commanded, saying, ¹⁷ ‘Thus you shall say to Joseph: “I beg you, please forgive the trespass of your brothers and their sin; for they did evil to you.” ’ Now, please, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of your father.” And Joseph wept when they spoke to him.

¹⁸ Then his brothers also went and fell down before his face, and they said, “Behold, we are your servants.”¹⁹ Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid, for am I in the place of God? ²⁰ But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive. ²¹ Now therefore, do not be afraid; I will provide for you and your little ones.” And he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.

Question 8. (a) What passage confirms God’s covenant promise to Abraham? (b) How does Joseph’s character reflect the heart of God?