Genesis 40:1-23
1 And it came to pass after these things, that the butler of the king of Egypt and his baker had offended their lord the king of Egypt.
2 And Pharaoh was wroth against two of his officers, against the chief of the butlers, and against the chief of the bakers.
3 And he put them in ward in the house of the captain of the guard, into the prison, the place where Joseph was bound.
4 And the captain of the guard charged Joseph with them, and he served them: and they continued a season in ward.
5 And they dreamed a dream both of them, each man his dream in one night, each man according to the interpretation of his dream, the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt, which were bound in the prison.
6 And Joseph came in unto them in the morning, and looked upon them, and, behold, they were sad.
7 And he asked Pharaoh's officers that were with him in the ward of his lord's house, saying, Wherefore looka ye so sadly to day?
8 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.
9 And the chief butler told his dream to Joseph, and said to him, In my dream, behold, a vine was before me;
10 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:
11 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.
12 And Joseph said unto him, This is the interpretation of it: The three branches are three days:
13 Yet 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.
14 But thinkb on me when it shall be well with thee, and shew kindness, I pray thee, unto me, and make mention of me unto Pharaoh, and bring me out of this house:
15 For 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.
16 When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was good, he said unto Joseph, I also was in my dream, and, behold, I had three whitec baskets on my head:
17 And in the uppermost basket there was of all manner of bakemeatsd for Pharaoh; and the birds did eat them out of the basket upon my head.
18 And Joseph answered and said, This is the interpretation thereof: The three baskets are three days:
19 Yet 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.
20 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.
21 And he restored the chief butler unto his butlership again; and he gave the cup into Pharaoh's hand:
22 But he hanged the chief baker: as Joseph had interpreted to them.
23 Yet did not the chief butler remember Joseph, but forgat him.
JOSEPH, INTERPRETER OF DREAMS
Two men are seen now to be committed to Joseph's care in the prison, the cup bearer and the baker of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. It is not told us for what offenses they were imprisoned, but they had incurred Pharaoh's anger and this was enough (v.2). The captain of the bodyguard committed them to Joseph. We may wonder if this captain was Potipher, who is said in chapter 39:1 to have this position, but it is possible there was more than one captain.
After some time in the prison both the cup bearer and the baker were given a dream, each one different, but on the same night. The dreams were evidently strongly impressed on their minds, and in the morning Joseph observed that they were worried (v.6). In kindly questioning them, he draws from them the fact of their having dreams without any means of having them interpreted (v.8).
Joseph did not profess to be an expert in interpreting dreams, but rather told them, "Do not interpretations belong to God?" In this statement he was indicating that to have any answer they must depend on God Himself to reveal it. But he asks them to tell him their dreams.
The cupbearer's dream was that of a vine having three branches, which in the dream budded, blossomed and brought forth grapes. With Pharaoh's cup in his hand, the cupbearer squeezed the juice from the grapes into the cup and gave it into Pharaoh's hand (vs.9-12).
Joseph, in communion and the mind of God, had no difficulty in interpreting this dream. "The three branches are three days," he says (v.12), and within three days Pharaoh would "lift up his head," that is, bring him into public view, and restore him to his office of cupbearer.
There is striking spiritual significance in this dream. The three days remind us of the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus. The juice of the grapes signifies the shedding of His blood, He enduring the suffering of the figurative winepress and His blood being shed as the only means of forgiveness of sins. Therefore, as depending on the value of the blood of Christ, the offending sinner is liberated from his guilt and bondage. The cupbearer then pictures the sinner saved by virtue of the shedding of the blood of Christ.
No wonder Joseph then requested of the cupbearer, "Think on me when it shall be well with thee." This surely speaks to the believer's heart today as being the request of the Lord Jesus. Since He has so greatly blessed us, it is only right that we should show some thankful response.
Joseph desired the cupbearer to speak to Pharaoh on his behalf, appealing to the fact that he had been kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews, then was unjustly accused and put in prison (vs.14-15). It was true enough that there was no cause in Joseph for his being so treated, but how much more this is true of the Lord Jesus, who was totally sinless in every way, yet subjected to far worse treatment than was given Joseph.
The baker, when he heard Joseph's interpretation, expected a favorable interpretation of his dream also. He tells Joseph that in his dream he had three baskets on his head and in the top basket were all kinds of a bakery goods for Pharaoh, and the birds were eating out of the basket. Joseph's interpretation is however totally in contrast to that of the cupbearer's dream. "The three baskets are three days; within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head from you and will hang you on a tree, and the birds will eat your flesh from you" (v.19).
The significance of this is most important too. The three days would still remind us of the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus, for while this is great blessing to the believer (1 Thessalonians 4:14), it is just as surely the condemnation of the unbeliever (Acts 17:31). We have seen that the juice of the grapes is typical of the blood of Christ. It was given into the hand of the king. God is delighted with the value of the blood of His Son, and on this basis alone He forgives sin. But the bakery goods were the work of the baker's hands. They were intended for Pharaoh, just as men intend to please God by their good works, not realizing that these things can never take away the sins they have committed. God can certainly not accept men's works as a substitute for the work of His own son in bearing the agony of terrible judgment on Calvary. The bakery goods were intended for Pharaoh, just as men think God will accept their works as payment for their sins, but they did not reach Pharaoh's table: the birds ate them. The birds of the air are typical of the Satanic activity of evil spirits, who love to deceive people by flattery of their so-called good works (Matthew 13:4; Matthew 13:19). It is Satan who gains from this, not God.
Joseph's interpretation of the dreams was proven fully true when the third day arrived. Being Pharaoh's birthday, he made a feast for his servants. Both the cupbearer and the baker were brought forth to public view, but for contrary reasons (v.20). The chief cupbearer was restored to his former capacity, while the baker was hanged (vs.21-22). What influenced Pharaoh in these matters is not mentioned, but the evidence of God's presence with Joseph was unmistakable. But the cupbearer's heart was apparently not drawn to God in thankfulness. Rather than speaking well to Pharaoh about Joseph, he forgot him! May the Lord preserve us from being like him. For we who are believers have incomparably more for which to remember the Lord Jesus than the cupbearer had for remembering Joseph. He has not only foretold our deliverance, but has Himself delivered us from all our sins and our bondage by means of the great sacrifice of Himself. Believers may too easily allow this to become almost forgotten as to any practical realization of it; and there is real reason for the Lord's instituting the Lord's supper with the words, "This do in remembrance of Me" (Luke 22:19).