Genesis 40
The Cupbearer and the Baker
4 The captain of the guard assigned them to Joseph, and he attended them.
After they had been in custody for some time, 5 each of the two men—the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were being held in prison—had a dream the same night, and each dream had a meaning of its own.
6 When Joseph came to them the next morning, he saw that they were dejected. 7 So he asked Pharaoh’s officials who were in custody with him in his master’s house, “Why do you look so sad today?”
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.”
9 So the chief cupbearer told Joseph his dream. He said to him, “In my dream I saw a vine in front of me, 10 and on the vine were three branches. As soon as it budded, it blossomed, and its clusters ripened into grapes. 11 Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand, and I took the grapes, squeezed them into Pharaoh’s cup and put the cup in his hand.”
12 “This is what it means,” Joseph said to him. “The three branches are three days. 13 Within 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 do when you were his cupbearer. 14 But when all goes well with you, remember me and show me kindness; mention me to Pharaoh and get me out of this prison. 15 I was forcibly carried off from the land of the Hebrews, and even here I have done nothing to deserve being put in a dungeon.”
16 When the chief baker saw that Joseph had given a favorable interpretation, he said to Joseph, “I too had a dream: On my head were three baskets of bread. 17 In the top basket were all kinds of baked goods for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating them out of the basket on my head.”
18 “This is what it means,” Joseph said. “The three baskets are three days. 19 Within three days Pharaoh will lift off your head and impale your body on a pole. And the birds will eat away your flesh.”
20 Now the third day was Pharaoh’s birthday, and he gave a feast for all his officials. He lifted up the heads of the chief cupbearer and the chief baker in the presence of his officials: 21 He restored the chief cupbearer to his position, so that he once again put the cup into Pharaoh’s hand— 22 but he impaled the chief baker, just as Joseph had said to them in his interpretation.
23 The chief cupbearer, however, did not remember Joseph; he forgot him.
Genesis 40 (NIV)
After Potiphar’s wife told a lie about Joseph (Genesis 39), he ended up being thrown in jail. Even in prison, God’s blessing was upon Joseph and he obtained favour in the eyes of the captain of the guard who gave him a position of leadership amongst the prisoners.
Pharaoh was angry with two of his officials and had them thrown in the same prison Joseph was in. It is here that all three men met and bonded.
Lessons from Genesis 40
- God-ordained encounters in unexpected places: Two of pharaoh’s officials offended him and just happened to find themselves in the same prison where Joseph was. This encounter was life-changing for everyone involved. God has ways of placing the right people on our paths at the right times. He has ways of turning ugly situations around for our good if we love and trust Him (Romans 8:28).
- Stop worrying: When things seem out of your control, trust God. Worrying is a way of telling God: “this is much more than you can handle, I don’t trust you to handle it”. Being proactive in life doesn’t mean pushing God to the side. Handle your part and trust God to handle His.
- Trust is built through consistent achievement of good results: Joseph loved God and walked in the ways of God. This deep love for God was manifested in how he did things (Remember what he said in Genesis 39:9 – “how then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?”). Because of the discipline in his step and his commitment to reflect the nature of God all the time, Joseph produced good results and was trusted by people everywhere he went (at home, at Potiphar’s and now in prison). This trust propelled him to positions of leadership at home, at Potiphar’s and now in Genesis 40:4 pharaoh’s officials (men of high ranking) are being put under him.
- A good leader cares for people under his/her authority: See how verse 6 of Genesis 40 shows that Joseph noticed the look of dejection in pharaoh’s officials. He knew them enough to be able to tell when something was wrong and he took concern, asking them what’s going on. Good leaders don’t just command people around, they care for people under their authority and seek the people’s best interest.
- If you want people to trust you with their secrets and worries, you have to show them that you care. Communication channels are opened when trust is established.
- Acknowledge the works of God and give credit where it is due: God does not like pride and arrogance, if you boast at all, let your boasting be in God (1 Corinthians 1:31). In verse 8 of Genesis 40, Joseph exhibits this by acknowledging that the interpretations to the dreams pharaoh’s officials had will come from God.
Joseph didn’t paint himself as the man with all the answers (thus bringing glory upon himself), he pointed the people to God, the origin of the answers (that all glory will be given to God).
- Don’t shy away from asking for help in times of need: What might not make sense to the one might make complete sense to the other.
- Be careful about imitating others. Just because something works for one doesn’t mean it will work for you: Genesis 40 verse 16 reveals that the baker brought up his dream to after he had seen that Joseph gave the cupbearer a favorable interpretation to his dream. Unlike the cupbearer however, the baker did not get a favorable interpretation.
Your motivation for doing something should never be because someone else did it and got a favorable outcome. Our paths are all different, trust God to guide you on the path He has prepared for you. Read this devotional to go more in depth into the topic.
- Remember people who helped you out in your seasons of need.
- Some seeds take a lot of time to bud and produce fruit, don’t get weary of waiting: in Genesis 40 verses 9-15, we see Joseph and the chief cupbearer sharing a beautiful moment of fellowship, pouring their hearts out and being vulnerable with each other. However in Genesis 40 verse 21, the cupbearer gets restored to his position and in verse 23 of Genesis 40, he forgets Joseph. At this time, it seemed the seed sown had died but in the next chapter (2 full years after all this), the seed planted bore its fruit.
Don’t get discouraged when it takes time for the results you seek to be manifested, seeds take time to grow and produce a harvest. Some seeds take longer time to produce a harvest than others.
Reflection
- God is with you in every season of your life, how much do you trust Him?
- Have you gotten weary in your season of wait?
Further reading
- Romans 8:28 [And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.]
- 1 Corinthians 1:31 [Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.”]
Prayer
Lord, I apologize for the times I let my frustrations interfere with my faith. Forgive me for every time I worried instead of trusting you. Today, please help me remember all the times you’ve come through for me, you are good and you have consistently produced glorious results. I trust you with my present and my future. Thank you for everything. In Jesus’ name, amen.
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