DIVINE FORGETFULNESS

DIVINE FORGETFULNESS

 “And it came to pass after these things, that the butler of the King of Egypt and his  baker had offended their lord the King of Egypt.

And Pharaoh was wrath against two of his officers, against the Chief of the butlers and against the chief of the bakers.

And he put them in ward in the house of the captain of the guard, into the prison, the place where Joseph was bound.”

Genesis 40 : 1 – 3,

 “And the Chief butler told his dream to Joseph, and said to him, in my dream, behold a vine was before me;

And in the vine were three branches and it was as though it budded, and her blossoms shot forth; and the cluster thereof brought forth ripe grapes.

And Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand: and I took the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh’s cup, and I gave the cup into Pharaoh’s hand.

And Joseph said unto him, this is the interpretation of it: the three branches are three days.

Yet within three days shall Pharaoh lift up thine head, and restore thee unto they place; and thou shalt deliver Pharaoh’s cup into his hand, after the former manner when thou wast his butler.

But think on me when it shall be well with thee, and shew kindness, I pray thee, unto me, and make mention of me unto Pharaoh, and bring me out of this house.

Genesis 40 : 9 – 14

 “And it came to pass the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, that he made a feast unto all his servants; and he lifted up the head of the chief butler and of the chief baker among the servants.

And he restored the chief butler unto his butlership again; and he gave the cup into Pharaoh’s hand’

But he hanged the chief baker; as Joseph had interpreted to them.

Yet did not the Chief Butler remember Joseph, but forgat him”.

Genesis 40 : 20 – 23 (KJV)

 “And it came to pass at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh dreamed and behold, he stood by the river”.

 “And 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 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 put me in ward in the captain of the guards’ house, both me and the chief baker.

And we dreamed a dream in 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, an 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; me he restored unto mine office and him he hanged.

Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they brought him hastily out of the dungeon and he shaved himself, and changed his raiment and came in unto Pharaoh”.

Genesis 41 : 1, 8 – 14

 “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?

And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, forasmuch as God hath 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.

Genesis 41 : 37 – 40 (KJV)

Two important officials in the courts of Pharaoh, his butler and his baker offended him. He was upset enough to have them thrown into prison, where Joseph was unjustly incarcerated. Then while in prison, they both had dreams that perplexed them. Joseph offered to help by interpreting their dreams. The interpretations meant the butler would be restored to his position in three days while the baker would be executed in three days.

But there is an interesting twist in this otherwise straight forward story. Joseph opens up to the butler about his plight. He let it be known that he is in prison for committing absolutely NO crime. He pleaded with the Chief Butler of Pharaoh whom he Joseph had just done a massive, massive favour – “But think on me when it shall be well with thee, and shew kindness, I pray thee, unto me, and make mention of me unto Pharaoh, and bring me out of this house…”

Well, exactly three days later he was restored back to his position by Pharaoh as Joseph predicted will happen while the baker was executed as he also predicted. Now under normal circumstance, you never forget such a man. But wonders of wonders happen. As soon as he was restored back to his enviable office, he forget Joseph!

“Yet did not the Chief Butler remember Joseph, but forgat him”!!! Genesis 40 : 23 (KJV) Emphasis mine.

Now how can you forget such a man completely, totally, absolutely. Yes I know a lot about human beings. I know much about their use and dump antics, their giant size ingratitude which is bigger than mount Everest. I know how slippery and self conceited they can become once fortune smiles on them. But to not even make some half hearted attempt to help Joseph just to massage his conscience that he at least did something is abnormal. And that exactly is the point. His forgetfulness about Joseph is DIVINE This is a classic example of divine forgetfulness.

Well, you wonder in your mind before quickly rejecting it whether God is cruel and unjust to make the butler forget Joseph. Why in the world would God do that you wonder? Here is why God did it. If the Butler had remembered Joseph and secured his release, Joseph would have left prison prematurely! He would have left Egypt and gone back to his father’s house in the Middle East. Never forget that Egypt until then was a house of horror, sorrow, pain, despair and hopelessness for Joseph. He would have gone back to his coat of many colours that he was wearing in his father’s house. That coat of many colour was a distraction for Joseph, an enemy of his destiny. He would have gone back to frivolous rivalry with his brothers that led him to nowhere.

This fine young man with a special purpose in life would have aborted his glorious destiny which in turn would have led to the extinction of God’s covenant people through hunger and starvation.

You see only God sees the total picture. He knew well ahead of the coming famine. He was the one who sent Joseph to Egypt even if it was through slavery and fetters. Or how else was God going to convince Joseph to leave his comfort zone in his father’s house and his coat of many colours? God knew about his going to prison and divinely arranged his destiny meeting with the butler there. How then will God fold his hands and allow the human emotions of Joseph and the Butler to mess up all His carefully and intricately woven divine plan. He will not. So He taps the Butler’s brain and says to him – “forget Joseph”.

May be you are experiencing divine forgetfulness right now, hang in there with God. Let me repeat again, it is not every case of delay that is a satanic attack, or the work of so called enemies, or the result of ancestral spirits, or family curses, witchcraft. Many delays are divinely orchestrated by God Himself. Stay with God friend, He does make all things beautiful in HIS TIME!

Watch out for the continuation of DIVINE DELAY with the next sub topic DIVINE VINDICATION.

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