Inequality

Inequality always exists in society for two reasons:

1) Satan is the ruler of this world and gives preferential treatment

2) God has made free will the issue in the angelic conflict which equals freedom there is inequality at birth but we are born with equal opportunity there are degrees of success and failure inequality in itself is not a bad thing, only the arrogance which resents it and the self pity which fails to adjust to the reality of it.

The real solution to inequality is not equality but happiness and the pursuit of happiness

There is inequality in prosperity and adversity ( like the tribulation)

Good Inequality exists in the state of freedom

Bad inequality exitst in the state of tyranny

Those who want to solve the problem of inequality always create new inequality as illustrated by the French revolution

Genesis 39, 40

Gen 39:Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt; and Potiphar (4th in power in the land), an official of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard (the prince of the lifeguards, literally), an Egyptian man, bought him from the Ishmaelites who taken him there. 39:2 And the LORD was with Joseph and he prospered; and he lived in the household of his Egyptian master. 39:3 And his master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD made everything that he was doing successful. 39:4 So Joseph found favor in his sight and became his servant; and Potiphar put him in charge of his whole castle, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned. 39:5 From the time he put him in charge of his castle and all that he owned, the LORD blessed (blessing by association) the estates of the Egyptian because of Joseph. And the blessing of the LORD was on everything that he had, both in his castle and in his estates. 39:6 So he left in Joseph’s care everything he had; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate (Potiphar was very busy on his job). Now Joseph was well built and very handsome. 39:7 And after a while his master’s wife took notice of Joseph, and she said, “Come to bed with me.” 39:8 But he refused (integrity), saying to his master’s wife, “Look, with me in charge, my master does not concern himself with anything in the castle, (humility, orientation to authority) everything he owns he has put into my care. 39:9 No one is greater in this castle than I am, and he has withheld nothing from me—except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a thing and sin against God?” 39:10 And even though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even to be in her presence. 39:11 One day he went into the castle to attend to his duties when none of the men of the castle (staff) were there in the castle, 39:12 and she caught him by his cloak, and kept saying, “Come to bed with me!” But he left his cloak in her hand and ran from the castle. 39:13 And when she saw that he had left his cloak in her hand she also ran out of the castle, 39:14 she called for the men of her household, and she spoke to them, saying, “This Jew has been brought to us to make sport of us, to ridicule me. He came in to sleep with me, but I screaamed and screamed. 39:15 And when he heard me scream for help, look what he did, he left his cloak beside me when he fled the castle.” 39:16 So she kept his cloak beside her until his master came in to the house. 39:17 Then she told him this story, “The Jew slave whom you brought to me to ridicule me, 39:18 but when I screamed and screamed for help, he left his cloak and ran outside the castle.” 39:19 And when his master heard the story his wife told him, saying, “ This is how your slave treated me, he burned with anger. 39:20 And Joseph’s master took him and put him into the prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined. So he was there in the prison. 39:21 But the LORD was with Joseph, and he showed him kindness and gave him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. 39:22 So the wardent put Joseph in charge of all those held in prison that were in the prison; and he was made responsible for whatever was being done there. 39:23 The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s care, because the LORD was with him, and gave him success in whatever he did.

-231

The chief cupbearer and the head chef. They are the highest noblemen (#1 and #2 only to the king): As both of these were next in nobility to the Pharaoh, one of them tried to poisin him and so he had both of them cast into prison until he knew.

40:1 Some time later the (chief) cupbearer and the (head) baker of the king of Egypt offended their master, the king of Egypt. 40:2 And Pharaoh was angry with his two officials, the cupbearer and the baker; 40:3 so he put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guards (Potiphar), in the prison where Joseph was. 40:4 And the captain of the guard appointed Joseph to them, and he served them. After they had been in custody for some time, 40:5 Each of the two men, the cupbearer and the baker of the king who were confined in the prison, had a dream, each of them having his dream in the same night, and each dream had a meaning of its own 40:6 When Joseph came to them the next morning, he saw that they were dejected. 40:7 So he asked Pharaoh’s noblemen who were with him in custody in his master’s house, “Why are your faces so sad today?” 40:8 And they said to him, “We had dreams but there is no one to interprret them.” And Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell them to me.” 40:9 So the chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph, and he said to him, “In my dream, there was a vine in front of me, 40:10 and on the vine there were three branches. And as soon as it budded, its blossomed, and its clusters ripened into grapes. 40:11 Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand, and so I took the grapes, squeezed them into the cup of Pharaoh, and I put the cup into his hand.” 40:12 Then Joseph said to him, “This is its interpretation: The three branches represent three days. 40:13 In three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your position, and you will put Pharaoh’s cup in his hand, just as you used to when you were cupbearer. 40:14 But remember me when it goes well for you, and show me kindness, mention me to Pharaoh and get me out of this prison, 40:15 for I was carried off by force from the land of the Hebrews, and even here I have done nothing to deserve to be put in prisons.” 40:16 When the chief baker saw that he had interpreted favorably, he said to Joseph, “I also was in my dream, and there were three baskets of bread on my head. 40:17 In the top basket were all kinds of baked goods for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating them from the basket that was on my head.” 40:18 And Joseph answered and said, “This is what it means: The three baskets represent three days. 40:19 In three days Pharaoh will lift up your head from you and hang you on a tree, and the birds will eat your flesh from you.” 40:20 And on the third day it was Pharaoh’s birthday, so he gave a feast for all his officials. And he lifted up the head of the chief cupbearer and the head of the chief baker in the presence of his officials. 40:21 He restored the chief cupbearer to his position so that once again he placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand, 40:22 but the chief baker he hanged, just as Joseph had isaid to them in his interpretation 40:23 But the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph—but forgot him.

Principles:

- During Joseph’s tenure as a slave, he had 13 years in training and at age 31 he was the greatest ruler in the world.

-Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned (Potiphar’s wife)

-Because of Rueben, his tribe will never rule Israel

-Lam 3:25 blessing will come

-Cursed is the man who puts his trust in man and makes flesh his arm

-As the divine decrees, so the foreknowledge takes the printouts and reduces them to eschatology