You Are Not Forgotten

You Are Not Forgotten

 

Gen 40: 23 The chief cupbearer, however, did not remember Joseph; he forgot him.

 

Joseph is the premier story in the Book of Genesis. No character has more space devoted to him in all of Genesis, than Joseph. More than Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. His life leaves so many lessons for us as we continue in our walk with God. When we join Joseph he is but a 17 year old teenager, despised by his ten brothers for being the favorite child of Jacob. His brothers plot to kill him but eventually decide to sell him into slavery and tell their father that a wild animal had killed him. Joseph is sold into the house of Potiphar in Egypt as a slave. He has to adjust to a new culture and learn a new language. The bible tells us that he prospered in the house of Potiphar and was put in charge of his entire household. We can sometimes read "prosper" and think that everything was grand but remember, he was still a slave. When he refuses the sexual advances of Potiphar's wife, Joseph finds himself falsely accused of rape and thrown into prison. The bible then tells us that he prospered in prison and we can often read this as Joseph's life once again being grand. Remember though, he was still in prison for something he did not do; for many, many years.

 

Eleven years in all when Joseph met the Cupbearer and Baker from the court of Pharaoh, who were also thrown into prison at that time. The Cupbearer was the person that tested all the food and drink for Pharaoh to make sure it was not poisoned. He checked it by eating and drinking it first. Great job! In prison Joseph correctly interpreted a dream for the Cupbearer and asks him to remember him when he was restored to his position. What better person! The Cupbearer was in a trusted position and had the ear of Pharaoh! Unfortunately, the Cupbearer did not remember Joseph, he forgot him. Because he forgot him, Joseph spent another two years in prison before God orchestrated his release and rise to prominence as the Prime Minister of all Egypt. It was in this capacity that Joseph saved countless lives during a severe, seven year famine. It was through this position that Joseph saved the nation of Israel from that same famine as well as set the backdrop for the exodus and deliverance of Israel to the Promised Land, some 400 years later.

 

But for now, Joseph was forgotten by the Cupbearer. God however, never forgot Joseph. We too can find ourselves in the wilderness. Maybe we can be in slavery to our past or falsely accused. We can feel as if we are alone too; forgotten or abandoned. God is saying today to you that you are never forgotten. The Prophet Isaiah once lamented:

 

But Zion said, "The LORD has forsaken me, the Lord has forgotten me." Isaiah 49:14

 

And the response of God should provide comfort for us all:

 

"Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me. Isaiah 49: 15-16

The Lord will not forget you beloved. Your name is engraved on the palms of His hands! The problem often times is we can spend so much time trying to figure out how to get out of the wilderness, or bemoaning the fact that we are in the wilderness, that we lose sight of God. But it is God that needs to be your lead in the wilderness. When Moses was leading the Israelites through the desert we see: