Over the past Christmas/New Year holiday our family took a trip to go see some other family. And on the way home as it was nearing dinner time Holly and I started discussing where we’d get food. Our boys overheard us talking about this and as they often do they made known their desire to go to Culver’s. So we went. The plan was to go through the drive thru and eat in the car so we can make it home earlier. So we pulled in, got in the drive thru line and as I pulled up I realized that I was very hungry, so I ordered the biggest burger they had. We got all the food, and got back out on the road. Holly began passing out the food, we made sure the kids were all set, and then she gave me my burger, and it smelled good. I was eager to dive in. So I did. There I was in the driver’s seat of Holly’s van, I took a huge bite, and was immediately aware something was very wrong with this burger, so wrong that I spit it out that huge bite all over my lap. I had ordered this burger to my liking, which of course, means I requested no pickles, yet there not only were pickles on it, but all I could taste was pickle! So out it went…needless to say, but I was profoundly disappointed.
That’s a silly example I know, but such is life in a fallen world. Each and every one of us will at one time or another encounter great and severe disappointment, sometimes to such a large degree that we might actually believe that God has abandoned and forgotten us. Such is the theme of the chapter before us today in Genesis. We saw Joseph successful in the palace and successful in prison, we saw the Lord was with him to bless him and many others through him, and yet at the end of chapter 40 Joseph is forgotten and left in prison. Let’s see this for ourselves.
The Setting (v1-4)
“Some time after this, the cupbearer of the king of Egypt and his baker committed an offense against their lord the king of Egypt. And Pharaoh was angry with his two officers, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker, and he put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the prison where Joseph was confined. The captain of the guard appointed Joseph to be with them, and he attended them. They continued for some time in custody.”
The timeline before us is clear and unclear. It’s clear from v1 that the events of chapter 40 took place after the events of chapter 39. It’s unclear exactly how much time has taken place. We can make an educated guess. As this final section begins in 37:2 it mentions that Joseph is 17 years old. The next clear statement on Joseph’s age is in 41:46 which says Joseph is 30 years old when he enters into Pharaoh’s service. I know I mentioned Joseph was 17-18 last week when he was in Potiphar’s house being tempted by Mrs. Potiphar, we might need to amend that a bit to his late teen years or even his early twenties. All in all, we know for certain that thirteen years pass by where Joseph is in Potiphar’s house and in prison. We can be sure that a lot took place during this 13 year time period that we never get to hear about, but chapter 40 shows us one series of events that is important for us to know because it’s a series of events that would ultimately lead to Joseph’s deliverance from prison and elevation to service in Pharaoh’s court.[1] And, these events have everything to do with dreams. Of course that’s already been in view for Joseph as he dreamed a few dreams himself back in chapter 37. Ironically then, it was dreams that led to his downfall back then, and dreams that will eventually lead to his deliverance here.[2] But I digress, that’s a bit beyond our present chapter, because our chapter 40 is all about Joseph being forgotten.
So what happened here? We see it begin in v1-4 where two royal officials, a cupbearer and a baker, commit an offense against Pharaoh. Pharaoh, called here the king of Egypt, gets angry, and throws them into prison, the same prison where Joseph is being held. And the captain of the guard (who may or may not be Potiphar from chapter 39) puts these two officials under the care of Joseph. Normally when we hear the words cupbearer and baker we think of a popular caricature, that these the servants who serve the king his food and wine, who prepare it, and test it to ensure the king only gets the best. Now while these positions do reflect the caricature in part, these roles are more than that as well. We know something of this because we know another cupbearer in the Bible, Nehemiah, who held a highly influential position with the king of Persia, being a close confidant and advisor to him. Something of the same is in view here with these guys. The cupbearer and baker of Pharaoh were likely two of his closest royal officials and counselors.
But, they committed a grave offense. We don’t know exactly what they did to so stir up Pharaoh’s anger. Maybe the two committed totally separate crimes and just so happened to be grouped together here, maybe Pharaoh thought they were together conspiring or scheming against him in some way, or maybe Pharaoh got sick after a meal and was so mad that he threw them both in jail.[3] However it played out, v4 ends with them both in jail, and both under Joseph’s care.
The Dreams (v5-8)
“And one night they both dreamed—the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were confined in the prison—each his own dream, and each dream with its own interpretation. When Joseph came to them in the morning, he saw that they were troubled. So he asked Pharaoh’s officers who were with him in custody in his master’s house, “Why are your faces downcast today?” They said to him, “We have had dreams, and there is no one to interpret them.” And Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Please tell them to me.”
In Egyptian popular culture, dreams played a large role.[4] They believed sleep put them in direct contact with the beyond, and so dreams were seen as not only a gift of the gods, but as guidance from the gods. Because of this, the art of interpreting these dreams to give such guidance was a prized and highly respected role. Knowing this detail about Egyptian culture at this time is important for how we interpret the events that are about to take place.
So the baker and the cupbearer are in prison, and v5 says they both dream dreams. But look at v6. Joseph is clearly aware of others, of their needs and how they’re doing, because in the morning he notices these two new inmates look troubled. This word troubled in Hebrew could also be translated as ill, or sick, even furious, or angry. So these guys had their dreams and were sick with worry about them, so much so that it affected their demeanor, and Joseph noticed. So he asks them about it, why they look so fretful and they respond in v8, “We have had dreams, and there is no one to interpret them.” To which Joseph responds in v8, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Please tell them to me.”
Much to see here. That the baker and the cupbearer say what they do to Joseph in v8 shows us much of what we’ve already mentioned about their culture. That they held dreams as not just important but that they revealed secrets and guidance. But prison did not allow them the resources to have their dreams interpreted, so they were in a maddening despair. To them, their fate might have been revealed to them, but they can’t find out about it here in prison.[5] Joseph though, responds with a stunning comment, “Do not interpretations belong to God?” Remember who Joseph’s talking to. Two high level officials in Pharaoh’s court, who know and embrace the importance of dreams, but who also believe they must be correctly interpreted by experts. Experts that no doubt, in this culture, rely on all kinds of pagan idolatrous rituals to somehow discover the ‘secrets’ of their dreams. Yet Joseph, in one statement, rejects such a belief and tells these guys that God alone is the one who interprets dreams.[6] That no mystic or voodoo will get them what they want, only God can give it to them.[7]
So Joseph, knowing who God is and having some experience with dreams himself, confidently tells these important officials to tell him the dreams. And they do.
The Interpretation (v9-19)
“So the chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph and said to him, “In my dream there was a vine before me, and on the vine there were three branches. As soon as it budded, its blossoms shot forth, and the clusters ripened into grapes. Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand, and I took the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh’s cup and placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.” Then Joseph said to him, “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. 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. 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.” When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was favorable, he said to Joseph, “I also had a dream: there were three cake baskets on my head, and in the uppermost basket there were all sorts of baked food for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating it out of the basket on my head.” And Joseph answered and said, “This is its interpretation: 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.”
So here are their dreams. First Joseph hears the cupbearer’s dream in v10-11. There was a vine, with three branches, that budded and produced grapes, from which he made wine and gave it to Pharaoh. Joseph then gives the interpretation in v12-13, that the three branches are three days, at the end of which the head of the cupbearer will be lifted up out of prison and restored to his office, where he will resume his duties as before. Notice what else Joseph says here. In v14-15 he adds some extra content, kindly asking this cupbearer to remember him, to not forget him once he’s restored to office. Why? Because he has been wrongly stolen from his home and wrongly imprisoned.
Now for the baker. But first see v16a, having heard such a favorable interpretation for the cupbearer, one can only imagine some excitement rising for the baker for his own dream and the greatness of the interpretation he’ll receive. So he tells his dream in v16b-17, that there were three cake baskets on his head, and that birds were coming and picking and eating out of top basket which had a large assortment of goodies in it. Joseph answers in v18-19 saying the threes in his dream also refer to three days, and in a similar way as before says at the end of which the head of the baker will be lifted up out of prison…off of himself, as he hangs from a tree, where the birds will eat him.
One can only wonder how the baker responded to this…especially as he heard this last part of the interpretation. All was going good, great even. There was a basket with all kinds of breads and cakes, nothing short of a feast on his head in this top basket.[8] Joseph even used similar verbiage for the baker as he did for the cupbearers, about their heads being lifted up out of the prison. The small difference of course being that the cupbearer’s head would be lifted up back into his former position, while the baker’s head would be lifted up off of his body, symbolizing his near death. It seems the cupbearer would now be as comforted by his dream as the baker would be haunted by his own. How does it all play out? Was Joseph right or wrong?
The Outcome (v20-23)
“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. Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.”
This is a quick ending. Three days later, like both dreams said, on Pharaoh’s birthday, there was a great feast. During which, the cupbearer was restored to his former role, while the baker was hung, as Joseph said. Can you imagine what it was like three days later when when the two officials were brought back up to Pharaoh. The baker goes out of prison in dread knowing he’ll soon be hung, while the cupbearer is anticipating returning to his normal life. Joseph might have even made sure to remind him as he left, ‘Hey, so happy for you! Please remember to not forget about me!’ Maybe the cupbearer even responded, ‘Sure thing! How could I ever forget you?’ The evening passes, morning comes, no one comes to get Joseph. That first day passes, the first week passes, the first month passes, and look at 41:1, two whole years would pass until the moment comes where Joseph would be remembered.[9]
Then comes the gutting detail in v23, “Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.” Though correct in his interpretations of the dreams, Joseph was left in prison, bitterly disappointed and hopelessly forgotten…at least for now.
Conclusion:
I said I as began that ‘each and every one of us will at one time or another encounter great and severe disappointment, sometimes to such a large degree that we might actually believe that God has abandoned and forgotten us.’ Joseph seems to have been entirely forgotten at the end of chapter 40. Now we only have to wait on verse to see that he gets out in 41:1, but that’s after two whole years of being forgotten in prison.
This experience of having hopes raised high only to be dashed, of being seemingly forgotten, of apparently fruitless waiting is a theme we find present in many throughout the pages of Scripture.[10] Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had seasons like this, Job had a large season of this, and many of the Psalms give words to seasons like this. For example Psalm 13:1 sharply begins with the words, “How long, O Lord, will You forget me forever?” Israel would experience seasons like this in their own life as a nation. Jesus Himself had times like this, so did Paul and so did the rest of the apostles. Lesson? Joseph’s experience here is a kind of pattern for the life of all Christians. Yes according to him he was delayed and disappointed, but Church, such a season did not stop the purposes of God, such a season was part of the very purposes of God! The end of chapter 39 still rang true, the Lord was with Joseph. Forgotten by man, but ever with the Lord.
The same is true for us today. One of the greatest gifts of the gospel, is assurance. When we see Christ’s work for us, His righteous life lived for us, His sacrificial death dying for us, His rising to walk in triumph over all sin for us, when we see that work and place our faith in Christ, we’re wondrously saved yes, but we’re also given the promise that we will be saved in the end as well! Christ has come, Christ will come again. He has saved us, He will save us! Knowing these things pours a flood of rich and abundant assurance into our souls in the present. So though we may encounter deep seasons of disappointment in life, though man may forget us, Church, remember, God is always with us, and with Him we truly have everything.
[1] John D. Currid, Genesis 25:19-50:26, EP Study Commentary (Holywell, UK: Evangelical Press, 2015), 232.
[2] Currid, 237.
[3] R. Kent Hughes, Genesis, Preaching the Word (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2004), 469.
[4] Gordon J. Wenham, Genesis 16-50, WBC (Waco, TX: Zondervan, 2000), 382.
[5] Wenham, 382.
[6] Wenham, 383.
[7] Hughes, Genesis, 470.
[8] Wenham, Genesis 16-50, 384.
[9] Hughes, Genesis, 473.
[10] Wenham, Genesis 16-50, 385.
