Passage: Genesis 40
Summary: The cupbearer and baker of the king offended him and were imprisoned. They were put under Joseph. One night, they both had dreams and were troubled. Joseph interpreted them. Three days would pass and the cupbearer would be restored and the baker would be beheaded. This was exactly what happened. But the cupbearer forgot about Joseph.
Notes: Imprisonment was the result of offense but not necessarily a crime. These two men had offended Pharaoh. Joseph was put in charge of the new prisoners. Interestingly, he was in the prison of the captain of the guard. The captain of the guard was Potiphar. It seems to me that Potiphar must have still trusted Joseph since he still gave him authority in prison. Even with this authority though, Joseph served the prisoners. He did use his authority selfishly, but rather he selflessly served those under him. Even though he was in a bad spot himself, he noticed they were bothered and cared enough to find out why and help. The butlers dreams was in figures he understood: grapes and vines. Joseph's interpretation surely came from God because he would have had no way of guessing that the three vines represented three days. His interpretation would be proved right or wrong in three days. We see him ask the cupbearer to remember him when he is restored. Joseph might be focused on God, but he is still in a bad place and wants to be restored. He is focused on God though and is willing to serve Him until he is released. He sees his position as being in a pit. This was not the first pit Joseph has spent time in. The baker saw the good interpretation and wanted one for himself. Unfortunately, Joseph did not have a good interpretation for him. Joseph very bluntly interpreted his dream as predicting his execution. Joseph was obedient and gave the interpretations just as he saw them from God whether they were good or bad. It is important to not ignore the bad in the Bible. God's warnings are there for a reason. Sure enough, Joseph's interpretations came true. However, the cupbearer quickly forgot Joseph. I can't believe this! This man had served him and predicted his restoration to the day! He apparently only cared about his own freedom and comfort. God was apparently not done preparing Joseph for what He had in store for him!
Questions: What did the cupbearer and baker do to deserve imprisonment? Is Potiphar really the one in charge of the prison? How did Joseph know he could interpret the dreams? How did the baker and cupbearer know that these were not just normal dreams? How did the cupbearer forget Joseph so quickly?
Lessons: It is important to continue to obey God even in the bad times. It is okay to acknowledge them as bad times. It is also okay to try to get out of them as Joseph did. But getting to a better situation should never come before serving God and serving others. It is also important to learn from Joseph's bad interpretation. Sometimes we try to sugarcoat the scriptures. We emphasize the promises and blessings and ignore the warnings. We emphasize God's mercy but not His justice. It is important to look at the truth, not just the happy stuff. Most of us can learn quite a lot from Joseph's selflessness even when in prison!
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