Genesis 40:1-23
Q.1. Why were the king’s cupbearer and baker in jail? How did Joseph get involved with these men? What did Joseph understand about dreams? – (Gen.40:1-8)
Here God was intervening in Joseph’s life, when – 2 Pharaoh was furious with his two officials, the chief cupbearer, and the chief baker. 3 So he put them in confinement in the house of the captain of the bodyguard, in the jail, the same place where Joseph was imprisoned (Gen.40:2-3). Joseph was familiar with how God revealed the future through dreams. He recognized that the king’s cupbearer and baker were troubled. Upon hearing about their dreams, Joseph humbly gave glory to God – … “Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell it to me, please.” (Gen.40:8). He took no glory for himself.
Q.2. What interpretation did Joseph give the king’s cupbearer? What appeal did he make to the cupbearer? – (Gen.40:9-15)
After hearing the chief cupbearers dream – 12 Then Joseph said to him, “This is the interpretation of it: the three branches are three days; 13 within three more days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your office; and you will put Pharaoh’s cup into his hand according to your former custom when you were his cupbearer (Gen.40:12-13). He continued further, by explaining his plight and asking that the cupbearer inform the king – 14 Only keep me in mind when it goes well with you, and please do me a kindness by mentioning me to Pharaoh and get me out of this house. 15 For I was in fact kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews, and even here I have done nothing that they should have put me into the dungeon.” (Gen.40:14-15).
Q.3. Why did the baker share his dream with Joseph? What did it mean? Were the interpretations accurate? Did the cupbearer remember Joseph? – (Gen.40:16-23)
Joseph was not only just task-centred. He genuinely cared about others. The baker was encouraged by the dream’s meaning and hoped for a similar outcome for himself. However, the interpretation of his dream was tragic – within three more days Pharaoh will lift up your head from you and will hang you on a tree, and the birds will eat your flesh off you (Gen.40:19). We are not given the baker’s response. The dreams came to pass exactly as Joseph had said – Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph but forgot him (Gen.40:23 c.f. Gen.40:20-22). Not only did the dreams of the cupbearer and baker come true, so would the dreams that God had given to Joseph (c.f. Gen.37:5-9). Praise the Lord, that though people may forget us, the Lord will never forget us. In fact, He cannot forget us, as He reminded Israel – 15 “Can a woman forget her nursing child and have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, but I will not forget you. 16 “Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands … (Isaiah 49:15-16). We learn clearly through Joseph’s story, that God’s timetable is not necessarily the same as ours.