Pharaoh had put his chief butler and his chief baker into the prison where Joseph was, and the captain of the guard put them under his charge. One night they each had a dream. In the morning Joseph saw that they were sad, and he asked them why it was. We might say that all our dreams are not messages from the Lord, but sometimes He speaks in that way (Job 33:14-17), and we should be willing to listen to His voice, if what we dream is according to His Word. His Word is always the sure test for everything. The chief butler dreamed that there was a vine with three branches which budded, blossomed, and brought forth ripe grapes. He then took the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh’s cup and gave him to drink. Joseph told him the meaning of his dream, but said that the interpretation was from God and not by his own wisdom. He told him that in three days he would be taken out of the prison, and brought into favor in Pharaoh’s court again.
Remembering the Lord
This interpretation made the butler very happy, and it would remind us of a sinner who sees the blessing that is brought to him through Christ, the true vine (John 15:1). The grapes pressed into Pharaoh’s cup would tell us of all the Lord Jesus endured for us at Calvary when He bore the crushing load of our sins, shedding His precious blood to put them away forever. When the butler put the cup into Pharaoh’s hand, he was accepted, and so when a sinner approaches God through the shed blood of Christ, he is sure to be accepted. There is no other way.
Joseph then asked the butler not to forget him. He said, “Think on me when it shall be well with thee,” but we read in the last verse of our chapter, “Yet did not the chief butler remember Joseph, but forgat him.” It is sad when we forget the kindness of others, but much worse when we forget God’s kindness to us. Perhaps the one who reads these lines is a true believer, and knows that the blood of Christ has put away his sins and brought him into blessing. Now that it is well with you, do you not hear the Lord Jesus saying to you, “Remember Me”? Are you going to be like the butler and forget Him, or are you remembering Him in His death, till He comes? We can talk about being thankful to the Lord for all He has done for us, but our lives show how much we really appreciate His love. What does your life and mine show, dear reader? Are we living for His glory day by day?
Brought Into Favor
The chief baker then told his dream to Joseph also, thinking there would be a good interpretation to his as there had been to the chief butler’s. How different it was! He dreamed that he had three white baskets on his head, and in the top one there were all kinds of bake-meats for Pharaoh. Then the birds came along and ate them up. Joseph told him that within three days he would be brought out of the prison, but instead of being restored into Pharaoh’s favor, he would be hung upon a tree, and the birds would eat his flesh. Perhaps the baker thought he was just as good as the butler, but they were both guilty in the eyes of Pharaoh, and it was not a question of one being better than the other but of what they presented to him in order to be brought into his favor again. We shall notice a little more about this in the next chapter.
Further Meditation
1. How did Joseph interpret the chief butler’s dream?
2. What right do we have for God to look on us favorably? Does our answer change after we come to know the Lord Jesus as our Saviour? Can we increase God’s love and favor toward us by living a better Christian life? What verses can you give to show your answer comes from Scripture?
3. If you really want to take a deep dive into the basis for your being accepted into God’s favor, then you might consider reading Justification and Acceptance With God by A. C. Ord. You won’t find it very light reading, but you will find it contains a very solid foundation for the Biblical teaching about our standing before God.