Gen. 40:8-228And they said unto him, We have dreamed a dream, and there is no interpreter of it. And Joseph said unto them, Do not interpretations belong to God? tell me them, I pray you. 9And the chief butler told his dream to Joseph, and said to him, In my dream, behold, a vine was before me; 10And in the vine were three branches: and it was as though it budded, and her blossoms shot forth; and the clusters thereof brought forth ripe grapes: 11And Pharaoh's cup was in my hand: and I took the grapes, and pressed them into Pharaoh's cup, and I gave the cup into Pharaoh's hand. 12And Joseph said unto him, This is the interpretation of it: The three branches are three days: 13Yet within three days shall Pharaoh lift up thine head, and restore thee unto thy place: and thou shalt deliver Pharaoh's cup into his hand, after the former manner when thou wast his butler. 14But think on me when it shall be well with thee, and show kindness, I pray thee, unto me, and make mention of me unto Pharaoh, and bring me out of this house: 15For indeed I was stolen away out of the land of the Hebrews: and here also have I done nothing that they should put me into the dungeon. 16When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was good, he said unto Joseph, I also was in my dream, and, behold, I had three white baskets on my head: 17And in the uppermost basket there was of all manner of bakemeats for Pharaoh; and the birds did eat them out of the basket upon my head. 18And Joseph answered and said, This is the interpretation thereof: The three baskets are three days: 19Yet within three days shall Pharaoh lift up thy head from off thee, and shall hang thee on a tree; and the birds shall eat thy flesh from off thee. 20And it came to pass the third day, which was Pharaoh's birthday, that he made a feast unto all his servants: and he lifted up the head of the chief butler and of the chief baker among his servants. 21And he restored the chief butler unto his butlership again; and he gave the cup into Pharaoh's hand: 22But he hanged the chief baker: as Joseph had interpreted to them. (Genesis 40:8‑22)
The butler and the baker did not hesitate to relieve their troubled minds concerning their perplexing dreams by reciting them to Joseph. As in his own dreams, when he was in his father’s house, much had been revealed, grace now gave him light from above on the dreams of his fellow-prisoners. Though now a poor captive in prison, yet love rose superior to the evil that had put him there, and flowed out readily.
“And they said unto him, We have dreamed a dream, and there is no interpreter of it. And Joseph said unto them, Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell me them, I pray you.” v. 8. Readily giving God His right place, he was nonetheless confident that he could be as a messenger of God in revealing His purposes toward these two men. In a much later day, the Apostle Paul, likewise in prison, was to be a true interpreter of higher truth that God entrusted to him, that through his inspired epistles God’s ways would be known to our generation. Are we as eager to hear what God has to say to us as were the two servants of Pharaoh?
“And the chief butler told his dream to Joseph, and said to him, In my dream, behold, a vine was before me; And in the vine were three branches: and it was as though it budded, and her blossoms shot forth; and the clusters thereof brought forth ripe grapes: And Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand: and I took the grapes, and pressed them into Pharaoh’s cup, and I gave the cup into Pharaoh’s hand.” vv. 9-11. Joseph then informed him that the interpretation of the dream brought good news. Within three days he would be taken from prison and restored to his position and the good graces of the king.
Good news this was indeed! How it must have cheered the one who received it to hear this promising message. And here Joseph makes a request of the one he had benefited. It was not a selfish desire for such royal favors as men expect, but the simple request of a righteous sufferer seeking to be delivered from a judgment he did not deserve. “But think on me when it shall be well with thee, and show kindness, I pray thee, unto me, and make mention of me unto Pharaoh, and bring me out of this house.” v. 14. But as far too commonly occurs in this world of sin and self, the benefactor was quite forgotten.
Now the baker, seeing the favorable interpretation given to the butler’s dream, approached Joseph: “I also was in my dream, and, behold, I had three white baskets on my head: And in the uppermost basket there was of all manner of bake-meats for Pharaoh; and the birds did eat them out of the basket upon my head.” v. 16,17. Alas, Joseph was saddened to tell this man that his dream foretold the end of his career, for at Pharaoh’s hand within three days he would be hanged on a tree, the birds eating his flesh.
“And it came to pass the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, that he made a feast unto all his servants: and he lifted up the head of the chief butler and of the chief baker among his servants. And he restored the chief butler unto his butlership again; and he gave the cup into Pharaoh’s hand: but he hanged the chief baker; as Joseph, had interpreted to them.” vv. 20-22.
ML 04/16/1967