Genesis Part 062
God does not forget Joseph as He works out His ultimate plan through a series of seemingly unfortunate events. Fellow prisoners have dreams one night, and God inspires Joseph to interpret the dreams. This starts an unlikely series of events that leads Joseph to become second in command to Pharaoh.
The chief butler and baker of the king of Egypt offended him, and Pharaoh put them into the prison where Joseph was confined. As we move into Genesis 40, verse 2 uses the word “butler.” This word in Hebrew means “causing to drink” (Strongs). This individual had the responsibility over all the “cupbearers.” Jamieson-Fausset-Brown states he was “not only the cupbearer, but overseer of the royal vineyards, as well as the cellars; possibly managing hundreds of people.”
This commentary goes on to say the following about the position of “baker”: “this individual was responsible for everything relating to the providing and preparing of meats for the royal table. Both officers were persons of great rank and importance, and from the confidential nature of their employment as well as their access to the royal presence, they were generally descended from the highest nobles or of royal blood.”
We see something interesting in Genesis 40:4. In Genesis 37:36, we learned that the captain of the guard was Potiphar. Genesis 39:20 says that Joseph is confined in the dungeon where the King’s prisoners are sent. And in Genesis 39:23 we see Joseph is placed under the supervision of the “Keeper of the Prison.” Yet here in Genesis 40:4, we see that it is Potiphar, the captain of the guard, who places Joseph with the King’s newest prisoners. Why would he do that?
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown states, “Potiphar, it would seem, was by this time satisfied of the perfect innocence of the young Hebrew; though, probably, to prevent the exposure of his family, he deemed it prudent to detain him in confinement.”
Both men, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker, have dreams in the same night, each one unique to each man. This likely added to the fact that they knew these dreams had special meaning, since they occurred at the same time. In verse 8, Joseph takes this opportunity to tell these two powerful men where true interpretations of dreams come from: God alone!
The chief cupbearer would have a dream dealing with his exact profession of overseeing the grape vines and being the cupbearer to the King himself. Likewise, in the chief baker’s dream, he has several baskets of food, but the highest one has all kinds of “baked goods.”
In verse 14 Joseph asks the chief cupbearer to mention him to Pharaoh, but we learn in verse 23 that he does not. The following is what the UCG Bible Commentary has to say on this section:
“It is not clear how long Joseph was in prison, but we can deduce that the total time of his service to Potiphar and his imprisonment to this point was around 11 years. It had been that long since he was sold by his brothers at age 17, making him about 28 when the same Potiphar, captain of the guard who was over the prison warden, makes Joseph serve Pharaoh’s chief butler and chief baker during their confinement. Home may have seemed a distant memory for Joseph by now, given the time he had been away and the trouble in which he now found himself. Being in prison, he was a long way from having his family bow down to him—but he continued to make the best of the situation at hand, and God blessed him for his efforts.
Knowing that God had some big plans in mind, we can assume that these events are His doing. It surely was no accident that two high servants of Pharaoh’s court were both placed in the same prison as Joseph. If they had been servants of any lesser government official, one may not have been in a place to later tell Pharaoh about Joseph’s gift of interpretation. After hearing the prisoners’ dreams, Joseph explains their meaning—and the events happen just as he foretells. Perhaps after this divine fulfillment, Joseph remembered his own dream, pondering his past and his future.
It actually seems a little hard to believe that the butler, after seeing Joseph’s interpretation of the dream come true before his eyes, would actually forget about Joseph’s request for a mention to Pharaoh. Perhaps he was so elated to be restored to his high position that he forgot what Joseph had asked of him. Or maybe after getting his job back as chief butler, he didn’t want to give someone else the limelight, or perhaps he feared reminding the Pharaoh that he had previously sent him to prison. Whatever the reason, God was still orchestrating events to His timetable—leaving Joseph imprisoned for another two full years before delivering him, illustrating once again that we should be patient as we wait on God. It may take some time, maybe even a lifetime, but He will come through on His promises.”
UYA Team | uya@ucg.org
United Young Adults (UYA) primarily serves the 18–32-year age group for the United Church of God. There are three main areas of contribution to the lives of the young adults: Promoting Spiritual Growth, Developing Meaningful Relationships, and Making the Most of Your Talents. The Know Your Sword series is a daily expository message introducing God’s Word from a trusted perspective.
