Great Moments in Bible History
Number 43
Distinguished Prisoners
It must feel somewhat strange to be in prison and see a new inmate arrive who is famous. Based on the news that I read, this must happen fairly often. People who are rich and famous and who ought to know better do things they know to be wrong, but they don’t think they will get caught. The same thing happened in ancient Egypt when Joseph was in prison. “Some time after this, the cupbearer of the king of Egypt and his baker committed an offense against their lord the king of Egypt” (Genesis 40:1).
Our author (Moses) does not tell us what the offense was, but it is not smart to do anything that offends the most powerful person in the world (which is what Pharaoh was). In his anger Pharaoh threw them into prison, which is where Joseph met them. The chief cupbearer and the chief baker were both distinguished positions back then because they were responsible for what Pharaoh ate and drank. Just like in modern America, high-ranking prisoners got special treatment. The captain of the guard (who may still have been Potiphar) assigned Joseph to be their personal servant. That was like when Joseph was Potiphar’s personal servant, only worse, since now he was not just a slave, but in prison.
Like everything else Joseph did, he did a good job of taking care of the distinguished prisoners he was assigned to. The story focuses on one key story. In one night both men had memorable dreams. We know that God sometimes revealed things to people through dreams. This was true especially in the book of Genesis. In Joseph’s own case, as a teenager he had dreamed two dreams that foretold that he would one day rule over his family (Genesis 37). One of the reasons his brothers hated him so much was that he told them those dreams.
In ancient Egypt there were professionals who claimed to be able to interpret dreams. No doubt well-to-do people like the cupbearer and chief baker were able to afford the services of those interpreters. Of course, they couldn’t do that when they were in prison. When Joseph came into their cell the morning after they had their dreams, he immediately noticed that something was wrong. “Why are your faces downcast today?” he asked (Genesis 40:7). They responded, “We have had dreams, and there is no one to interpret them.” As we might expect, Joseph’s answer directed them toward God. “Do not interpretations belong to God? Please tell them to me.” He tactfully tells them that those professional dream interpreters cannot actually do what they claim to do. Only God knows the future, so only God can interpret a dream. This is the first we have heard that God had given Joseph the ability to interpret dreams, but that certainly appears to be what he was saying.
Although both men had dreams that they wondered about, only the chief cupbearer volunteered to have his interpreted. He dreamed of a vine with three branches which budded, blossomed, and ripened into grapes all while he watched! In his dream he squeezed the grapes into a cup and gave it to Pharaoh to drink. Joseph explained, “This is its interpretation: the three branches are three days. In three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your office, and you shall place Pharaoh’s cup in his hand as formerly, when you were his cupbearer” (verses 12-13). Clearly, no professional could have figured out that the three branches represented three days. Only God could have known that. If the cupbearer wondered whether Joseph really knew what he was talking about, he only needed to wait three days to find out.
Joseph, though, had no doubt that what he was predicting was going to happen, so he added an appeal, “Only remember me, when it is well with you, and please do me the kindness to mention me to Pharaoh, and so get me out of this house.” This was Joseph’s big chance. He had done a favor for a very well-connected man. If that man appreciated the favor, he surely wouldn’t mind doing a favor in return. Joseph continued, “For I was indeed stolen out of the land of the Hebrews, and here also I have done nothing that they should put me into the pit.” He called the prison a “pit.” Our hearts go out to him as we think of the suffering he has gone through. At this point Joseph was about 28 years old. He had been in slavery or in prison eleven long years. He had only the promises from his two dreams as a teenager to give him the hope that his nightmare would end, but he didn’t know when. The cupbearer provided him the hope of a quick end to it all.
Before we learn what the cupbearer ended up doing for Joseph, we need to look at the other dream.
Would You Want This Dream?
Not all of Joseph’s interpretations ended up as pleasant as the one he gave to the cupbearer. The chief baker had not spoken up when Joseph first asked him to tell him their dreams. I wonder if his conscience told him that his dream was not predicting good for him. It was only after he heard the encouraging interpretation of the first dream that he volunteered his own.
The number three figures into the baker’s dream as well. There were three baskets of baked goods for Pharaoh on his head, but the birds were eating what was in the top basket. Joseph interpreted, “The three baskets are three days. In three days Pharaoh will lift up your head—from you!—and hang you on a tree. And the birds will eat the flesh from you” (Genesis 40:18-19). Wow! In both dreams Pharaoh was going to “lift up the head” of the person, but there were two very different ways to do that.
Joseph was not like so many today, just telling people what they want to hear. He gave the bad news as well as the good. God had given the baker a dream and Joseph’s job was simply to tell him the truth.
Joseph Was Right
Three days later Joseph’s interpretations proved to be correct. “On the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, he made a feast for all his servants and lifted up the head of the chief cupbearer and the head of the chief baker among his servants. He restored the chief cupbearer to his position, and he placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand. But he hanged the chief baker, as Joseph had interpreted to them” ( Genesis 40: 20-22).
At that point there was only one person alive who knew that Joseph had the ability to interpret dreams (the cupbearer), but that sets the scene for the next chapter where God will finally keep the promise He made years earlier to Joseph in his two dreams. In the meantime, though, Joseph had some more suffering to endure.
The last verse of this chapter adds, “Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.” That is sad, but it is certainly true to human nature. It is easy to make promises when you are down. It is another thing to keep those promises when things are going well. Apparently, the cupbearer had more important things to worry about once he was reinstalled into his old job.
So Much Suffering
The next chapter begins, “After two whole years....” We can imagine Joseph eagerly waiting to be rescued by a good word from the cupbearer, but weeks went by with no word. The weeks turned into months and the months turned into years until two years passed (our author emphasizes “two whole years”). Wouldn’t it have been better if Joseph’s hopes hadn’t been raised by this opportunity? Suffering is bad enough, but thinking the suffering is about to end—and then it doesn’t—that is far worse. Our hearts go out to that poor man.
When we studied the previous chapter, we considered the fact that God was training Joseph for the high office He intended to give him. At this point in the story, though, we wonder whether there couldn’t have been an easier way to train him. Isn’t that a mean trick to play on him to get his hopes up only to see them dashed? The answer the Bible consistently gives is that there was no easier way. The character that God is looking for in His people does not come easily. Suffering is the only path to it. In Joseph’s case, he is going to need a huge amount of character to handle the pressures he will soon face as ruler of Egypt. The temptations to compromise will be enormous. He will be surrounded by people who do not fear God. And he will meet plenty of people who will disappoint him—just like the cupbearer.
The suffering God put Joseph through was intended to remove every earthly thing Joseph might trust in and leave only God in its place. As we will see in the next few chapters, God’s training really worked.
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible.