READ | SERMON NOTES
The Seasons God Gives Us
Fullness and famine are part and parcel of our human experience. While we cannot control their occurrence, we can control how we respond to such seasons.
Fullness-Famine Inversions in Joseph’s Journey (Genesis 37-41)
- Fullness to Famine: Jacob’s large family is settled together in Canaan. They have large flocks, abundance and Joseph is favored. This quickly changes when Joseph’s brothers conspire against and betray him. (Gen 37)
- Joseph is sold as a slave in Egypt, far from his home and family. Despite this season of personal famine, he gains favor with Potiphar and is entrusted with the management of his entire household. This season of fullness turns when Potiphar’s wife attempts to seduce Joseph and falsely accuses him when he rejects her. This results in him getting thrown into jail despite his loyal and faithful service to his master. (Gen 39)
- Despite being a prisoner, Joseph finds favor with the prison warden who places him in charge of the other prisoners. It is in this same prison that he meets the cupbearer and baker, both of whom bring him very similar dreams. He correctly interprets their dreams, but his help is forgotten. (Gen 39-40)
- Joseph remained forgotten in prison for two more years until, at the appointed time, the cupbearer remembered him, and he was asked to interpret Pharaoh’s dreams. This turn of events resulted in his sudden elevation to the highest place in Pharaoh’s empire.
Famine does not reflect God’s absence
Often, we use our circumstances as a litmus test to determine if God is with us. We often associate a season of fullness as a sign of God being with us, and a season of famine with God being absent. Joseph’s journey exposes the falsehood of this assumption.
- We are told that ‘the Lord was with Joseph’ while he served as a slave in Potiphar’s household. Even Potiphar, his master, saw that ‘the Lord was with him’. (Gen 39:1-3)
- When Joseph was thrown into prison, ‘the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love; he gave him favor in the sight of the chief jailer’. (Gen 39:20-23)
We are reminded of Psalm 1:1-3 and Jeremiah 17:7-8.
– The man who turns away from sin and delights in the Lord, is like a tree planted by streams of water, and is fruitful and prosperous.
– A tree that is planted by streams of water is not fearful of heat or drought, for its leaves remain green and it does not cease to bear fruit in season.
– This reflects Joseph’s journey. No matter his circumstances, he remains rooted in the streams of living water that are found in God himself, and continues to prosper.
Like Joseph, we do not need to fear famine or try to avoid it at all costs. Fullness and famine are inevitable. More important is our response which will enable us to be like the tree rooted always in God.
– ‘Fullness’ is often the setting for temptation, betrayal and catastrophe.
– ‘Famine’ is often the setting for faithfulness, formation and redemption.
Today’s fullness often prepares us for tomorrow’s famine. Today’s famine often prepares us for tomorrow’s fullness. (Gen 41:33-36)
Famine in God’s church in Singapore
The 2025 General Household Survey showed for the first time, a decline in the number of Christians in Singapore. Instinctively, we may look for strategies to fix this decline but it is God who will build and grow His church.
- We are not called to build God’s church. We are called to build one another up to be in Christ.
– Jesus says, “I will build my church” (Matthew 16:18)
– He is the chief cornerstone…in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his spirit (Ephesians 2:20-22)
- We are not called to grow God’s church. We are called to faithfulness; the results belong to God
-I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. (1 Corinthians 3:6-7)
Let us remember our role as His church: to practice repentance, forgiveness and love; to show kindness and compassion; to pray and intercede; and to walk the path of the cross, dying to ourselves daily.
The People God Makes Us
Through seasons of fullness and famine, God prepares and transforms Joseph. Joseph’s faithful responses position him as the new Adam, Noah and Isaac, bringing blessing and redemption to many.
1. Joseph – a New Adam who would not give in to temptation
– Joseph had oversight over all of Potiphar’s household, and the blessing of the Lord was on all that he had. Potiphar has put everything in Joseph’s care. (Gen 39:4-6, 7-9)
– In the creation story, Adam was also given everything and prohibited from just one thing – eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. (Gen 2:15-17)
– Joseph, unlike Adam, refuses to disobey God. Despite Potiphar’s wife’s daily harassment, he would not listen to her (Gen 39:10). In contrast, Adam had listened to the voice of his wife (Gen 3:17) and ate the forbidden fruit.
2. Joseph – a New Noah preserving life before devastation
– Joseph had 7 years to prepare for the strong famine that would eradicate everything from the land (Gen 41:29-31). He urges Pharaoh to prepare so that the “land will not be cut off in the famine” (Gen 41:36).
– Noah had 7 days to prepare the ark for the mighty flood that would eradicate everything from the land (Gen 7:4, 6,13). God establishes His covenant with Noah so that “never again shall flesh be cut off in the flood” (Gen 9:11)
3. Joseph – a New Isaac, the blessed son bringing blessing to many
– Potiphar’s wife refers to Joseph as the Hebrew who has come to “insult” her (Gen 39:14,17). The Hebrew verb used means “to laugh” – the verb form of Isaac’s name.
– In the cupbearer’s recount of Joseph’s interpretation of his dream, he refers to Joseph as the “young Hebrew” (Gen 41:11-12), meaning “adolescent boy” (which Joseph is unlikely to be at that point).
– These descriptions present Joseph as the chosen and blessed son, foreshadowing the fulfilment of Gen 12:2-3 “in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed”.
– Joseph “the very first of Abraham’s descendants who was a blessing to multiple nations was not a prophet, preacher, or priest, but rather a civic administrator who ran a massive hunger relief program.” (Tim Keller)
The path to fullness is through famine
This is not a justification for the bad things people go through.
In a world where we have become increasingly accustomed to finding the easiest path forward, it is important to recognise that it is on the hard road that we are shaped the most. The most poignant seasons of growth in our lives are most likely also seasons where we experienced loss and difficulty.
We see this path unfold with beautiful symmetry as Joseph’s dreams, garments, descent and ascent come full circle. He is not able to receive the royal robe until he is first stripped of the robe his father gave him.
- Joseph receives 2 dreams of himself as ruler. His robe, given by his father, is taken by his brothers. He is thrown into a pit. (Gen 37)
- Joseph’s garments are taken by Potiphar’s wife. He is thrown into prison/pit. (Gen 39a)
- Joseph interprets 2 dreams for the cupbearer and baker. He is later remembered by the cupbearer, and is lifted from the pit. (Gen 39b-40)
- Joseph was given new garments when called to interpret Pharaoh’s dreams (Gen 41a)
- Joseph interprets Pharaoh’s 2 dreams and a royal robe is given to him. He is elevated as ruler. (Gen 41b)
Joseph’s journey from famine to fullness reflects in miniature, the cruciform path we see fulfilled in Christ. (Philippians 2)
- Christ made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant (v6-7)
- He humbled himself by being obedient to death, even death on a cross! (v8)
- Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name (v9)
- That at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (v10-11)
As people who follow Christ, this is also our path, and the place where we find strength to remain faithful in both seasons of fullness and famine.
“I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:11-13)
(Sermon notes by Stella Chiam)
PONDER | REFLECTION QUESTIONS
- Study Scripture
a. In Genesis 39, Joseph is repeatedly described as successful even though he is a slave and later a prisoner. What does the chapter say about the relationship between Joseph’s circumstances and the LORD’s presence with him?
b. Compare Genesis 39:1-9 with Genesis 2:15-17 and 3:1-7. What similarities do you notice between Joseph’s situation in Potiphar’s house and Adam and Eve’s situation in the garden? What is different about Joseph’s response?
c. Now look at Genesis 41:28-36. Why does Pharaoh’s abundance matter only in light of the famine that will follow? What does Joseph’s interpretation suggest about the purpose of the years of plenty?
d. Looking across Genesis 37-41, identify as many reversals as you can. Where do circumstances appear to move from fullness to lack, or from lack to fullness? What do these reversals suggest about how Genesis wants us to understand success, failure, abundance and hardship? - Recall Sermon
a. How do we traditionally approach good seasons and bad seasons in life? how does the story of Joseph reframe our approach?
b. What do seasons of ‘fullness’ often become the setting for?
c. What do seasons of ‘famine’ often become the setting for? - Relate Personally
a. Think about the season of life you are in right now. Would you describe it as a season of fullness, famine, or something in between? What might God be inviting you to learn, practice, or entrust to him in this particular season?
b. Is there a particular circumstance in your life that you are tempted to see simply as an obstacle or setback? How might Joseph’s story invite you to see that circumstance differently – not by assuming that you know why God has allowed it, but by asking how you can remain faithful within it? - Commit to Action
a. What is one thing you can do this week to practise faithfulness with what God has entrusted to you in your present season – whether that feels like abundance or lack?
