November 5, 2023
Reading: Genesis 40
Focus: Genesis 40:8 – “We both had dreams,” they answered, “but there is no one to interpret them.”
Then Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell me your dreams.”
Father God. We praise Your name. You are above all others. You know our thought, our hopes and our dreams. Help us to pay attention to what You have to tell us. In Jesus Name. Amen.
When we first met Joseph, he was a dreamer and he told everyone about them. It was those dreams that caused him to end up in Egypt and ultimately in prison. Those dreams were from God. The Bible tells us that his father, Israel, kept the dreams in his mind (Genesis 37:11).
Joseph has been in prison for a while. How long is not stated but the first verse of this chapter says “Some time later. . . “. We can assume it wasn’t as soon as he was thrown into the prison. It took time for him to have proved his worth to the warden of the prison and then had been put in charge of the prisoners and all that was done in the prisons. God has prospered him again. Joseph kept his faith even in the worst of times. He could have become bitter and angry but he chose to rise above his circumstances and continue to serve God by serving his fellow prisoners.
Two of Pharaoh’s officials, his cupbearer and his baker were thrown into prison. These men were not just anyone. They were responsible for the food and drink put on the table in front of Pharoah. Their offense is not stated but we do know that Pharoah was angry with them. It could have been as simple as sand in the bread or a fly on the cup of the Pharoah. Or it could have been a murder plot and these two were suspects. Either way, they were in prison because that’s where God needed them to be. Either way, they wound up in no other prison than the prison of the captain of the guard, Potiphar. The prison where Joseph was kept. And Potiphar assigned them to Joseph. He obviously had seen how God had continued to prosper Joseph, even in prison. He also probably was aware by now that Joseph was not what his wife had accused him of being.
The Egyptians believed that dreams came from the gods and predicted the future of the dreamer. There were magicians and priests that specialized in the interpretation of dreams. But here, in prison, these two men no longer had access to those dream interpreters. These dreams were disturbing, and they wanted answers. Joseph noticed their distress and asked them what was wrong. Now, Joseph could easily have just passed by and not bothered with it. He could have focused on his own hardship, but he showed compassion on his fellow prisoners. He asked what was wrong.
The two men shared that they both had had dreams during the night and had no hope of having them interpreted while they were in the prison. This was not a discussion of weird dreams. Joseph realized that these dreams had really upset these two men. Even more, not being able to go to someone to interpret the dreams disturbed them even more. Joseph knew about dreams. He had had a few dreams himself. He may or may not have known the meanings at first but he did know about dreams. Joseph was careful to give God the credit for the interpretations. “Do not interpretations belong to God?” (Genesis 40:8b). Then he asked for them to share the dreams.
Joseph is an example to us. When it seems that the whole world is against us, keeping our eyes on God will give us the compassion and strength to face it and overcome it. When we see others that appear troubled or sad, what should we do? Reach out to them, of course. We should be aware of those around us, of their joys, hurts and problems. I have found it a blessing to be able to pray for a stranger that I have noticed needed it. Often God prods us to reach out to others. Don’t ignore that. You will miss out on a blessing. You never know when your own difficulties and your faith through those difficulties may be just the thing that another needs to hear. One of the secrets to effective witnessing is to recognize those opportunities. We should look around us with compassion. We may just be an angel sent by God to others.
Joseph heard the cupbearer’s dream first. For him, the dream was a good one. In three days, he would be restored to his position as cupbearer to the Pharoah. Joseph asked him to remember him and mention him to Pharoah. Now, it is well known that most criminals are innocent in their own eyes. But we know that Joseph was not guilty of any crime. Joseph could have trashed his brothers and Potiphar and his wife, complaining how mistreated he was but he didn’t. Joseph stated simply what had occurred and that he was in prison through no fault of his own. No more, no less.
The baker was encouraged by the good report of the cupbearer’s dream. So, he eagerly told Joseph his dream. However, the interpretation was not good for the baker. He was told that in three days, that he would be taken from the prison, his head would be cut off and his body impaled. His body would be left for the birds to pluck clean. I can’t imagine how he felt. Joseph did not sugar coat it. What good would it have done for the baker if he had. He interpreted the dream as God had given him what it meant. It would not have been fair to the baker to lie about it nor would Joseph have even lied in the first place. The baker had three days to contemplate his life and possibly accept that God was truly the One to serve instead of the gods of Egypt.
Joseph could have demanded payment for interpreting the dreams, but he didn’t. He could have made up a positive meaning for the baker, but he didn’t. He delivered the meanings exactly as God had given them. Good news and bad news. The next three days had to be stressful for both of those men. Would the interpretations be true? Or not? All Joseph asked for was that the cupbearer remember him and mention him to the Pharoah. It is not known whether the cupbearer or the baker turned to Joseph’s God but they were given the chance. Remember, Joseph told them that the interpretations belonged to God. That opened the door for a conversation about God. Joseph may or may not have shared more about God with them. I would hope that he did.
Three days later, it was the Pharoah’s birthday. It was customary that ALL servants appear before the king on his birthday. So, with all the others, the cupbearer and baker presented themselves and were judged by the Pharoah. Just as Joseph had said, the cupbearer was restored to his position and the baker was executed. The dreams had been interpreted accurately. The fact that both dreams came true exactly as Joseph had said proved that the accuracy of the interpretations were from God and not from pure luck. Now, one would think that the cupbearer would never forget about the man who had interpreted his dream. But he didn’t. Joseph remained in prison. Even so, Joseph held on to his faith in the God of his fathers.
Can you see the Gospel in this story? The men had ‘sinned’ and deserved the wrath of their master. Both were awaiting judgement. Although we are told why, one was pardoned and the other received punishment. We are sinful and deserve punishment for our sin. At judgement, if we have accepted the blood of Jesus to cover our sins, we are pardoned and restored to fellowship with God. If we have not accepted Jesus, we are delivered to eternal punishment. God does not sugar coat it. You must choose. To not choose is the same as refusing.
There are also pictures of Jesus in this story as well. In this story we are the cupbearer and the baker. Joseph is Jesus to us. We are in prison for a sin against our master. Into our prison comes an Innocent Man, who shares our prison as a prisoner Himself. This Innocent Prisoner shares God’s message to us. After three days, the Innocent Prisoner was proved to be true in what He said. We see Jesus, whose message from God brings us life or death. If you want to know the truth of God, look to Jesus. His life, death and resurrection prove the Truth.
Also, Joseph and Jesus were numbered among criminals. Joseph in prison, and Jesus on the cross between two thieves. Joseph was a blessing to the cupbearer and Jesus was a blessing to one of the thieves. Both men had knowledge of the future, and both gave credit to God alone. Finally, both men asked to be remembered. Joseph requested to be remembered to the Pharoah and Jesus asks us to share communion “In remembrance of Me”.
There are a number of take-aways in this story. We need to keep our faith in God even when it looks the darkest for ourselves. What we may be experiencing may be part of God’s plan to reach one or even a whole group of people. It doesn’t matter our circumstances we can reach other for Jesus. No matter where we are, we can reach out to others in need. We can uses those opportunities to reach others for Jesus. Our lives and trials may be something that can help another move through their own issues. Our compassion may be just what another needs. Our trials are God’s triumph.
Are you God’s instrument?
Father God, Thank You for be willing to use our frail lives. Thank You for Your blessings to us and to others. Help us to take advantage of the opportunities to share You with others. In Jesus Name, Amen.
Food for Thought
- Do you think that Joseph had some difficulties keeping the faith? Why or why not?
- Why do you think that Joseph did not allow himself to be bitter and angry?
- Do you think that the cupbearer and baker were the only ones that Joseph showed compassion to? Why or why not?
- Do you look to see if others are sad, worried or in distress? What do you do?
- How would you deal with being falsely accused? What does it do to your faith?
