Genesis 40
The Cupbearer and the Baker
40 Some time later, the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt offended their master, the king of Egypt. 2 Pharaoh was angry with his two officials, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker, 3 and put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the same prison where Joseph was confined. 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 Pharaohand 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.[a] 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 cupbearerto 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.
Today we arrive at the turning point of Joseph's story. He was a gifted and blessed young man who had big dreams and a call of God upon his life. However, lacking wisdom and humility, he perpetuated and amplified the discontent and damage of the relationships around him. Even in slavery he flourished. However, in prison he says something that shows that there has been a change in him. These words show the turning point of his story.
“Interpreting dreams is God’s business,” Joseph replied. “Go ahead and tell me your dreams.”
Genesis 40:8 (NLT)
A cupbearer and a baker come to Joseph and ask for his help and he responds. I can not do this... but God can. It is only God who can see the future. It is only God who can reveal the meanings of dreams. It is all about God.
I wonder if God looked at Joseph in this moment and said, 'Finally! here is a man I can use.' It was in his humility that God began to use him in a powerful way. As gifted as he was, he went from disaster to disaster. However, when he began to rely on God, the trajectory of his life turned around.
I believe that God uses humble people. That he wants to do great things in our lives but that it is only when we get out of the way and stop making it about ourselves that we really see him use us. Joseph was not worried about pleasing these two men. He did not sugar-coat the meaning of the dreams. He wanted to honour and please God. This was the centre of his heart. God uses people who say, 'it's not about me. It is al about Him.'
