Do Not Interpretations Belong to God?
Notes
Transcript
Text: Genesis 40
1 Some time after this, the cupbearer of the king of Egypt and his baker committed an offense against their lord the king of Egypt.
2 And Pharaoh was angry with his two officers, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker,
3 and he put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the prison where Joseph was confined.
4 The captain of the guard appointed Joseph to be with them, and he attended them. They continued for some time in custody.
5 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.
6 When Joseph came to them in the morning, he saw that they were troubled.
7 So he asked Pharaoh’s officers who were with him in custody in his master’s house, “Why are your faces downcast today?”
8 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.”
9 So the chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph and said to him, “In my dream there was a vine before me,
10 and on the vine there were three branches. As soon as it budded, its blossoms shot forth, and the clusters ripened into grapes.
11 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.”
12 Then Joseph said to him, “This is its interpretation: the three branches are three days.
13 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.
14 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.
15 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.”
16 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,
17 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.”
18 And Joseph answered and said, “This is its interpretation: the three baskets are three days.
19 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.”
20 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.
21 He restored the chief cupbearer to his position, and he placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.
22 But he hanged the chief baker, as Joseph had interpreted to them.
23 Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.
PRAY
Introduction
Proverbs 13:12 says, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.”
In our passage today, Joseph is certainly experiencing “hope deferred.” In Genesis 37, Joseph had dreams about his family bowing down to him, of being exalted as lord over creation. But instead of being exalted, he just keeps sinking lower.
First, his brothers threw him in a pit.
Then, they sold him into slavery.
After serving as a faithful, trustworthy slave to Potiphar for some time,
Potiphar’s wife accused him of assault and he was put in prison, which he refers to in this chapter as a pit (same Hebrew word).
So Joseph has gone from one pit into another, deeper one. He’s moved farther and farther from his family and from the fulfillment of God’s promises.
Will God’s promises ever be fulfilled?
Perhaps Joseph felt like the Psalmist in Psalm 77, when he expresses his distress this way:
1 I cry out to God; yes, I shout. Oh, that God would listen to me!
2 When I was in deep trouble, I searched for the Lord. All night long I prayed, with hands lifted toward heaven, but my soul was not comforted.
3 I think of God, and I moan, overwhelmed with longing for his help.
4 You don’t let me sleep. I am too distressed even to pray!
5 I think of the good old days, long since ended,
6 when my nights were filled with joyful songs. I search my soul and ponder the difference now.
7 Has the Lord rejected me forever? Will he never again be kind to me?
8 Is his unfailing love gone forever? Have his promises permanently failed?
9 Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has he slammed the door on his compassion?
10 And I said, “This is my fate; the Most High has turned his hand against me.”
11 But then I recall all you have done, O LORD; I remember your wonderful deeds of long ago.
12 They are constantly in my thoughts. I cannot stop thinking about your mighty works.
For Joseph, and for us, when our hope is deferred, we need to turn to God and meditate on His word and His works. Remember what He has said and what He has done.
The Setting (v. 1-4)
The Setting (v. 1-4)
The Passing of Time
The Passing of Time
1 Some time after this, the cupbearer of the king of Egypt and his baker committed an offense against their lord the king of Egypt.
Literally, “it happened after these things” — we don’t know how much later, but time has passed.
Based on the time markers in chapter 41, this story takes place when Joseph is about 28, and he was sold into slavery at about 17 years old. So at this point, he’s been away from his family, first as a slave, then as a prisoner, for 11 years. And what we see at the end of the chapter is that Joseph is still not done waiting. He begins and ends this chapter in prison.
Do you ever get tired of waiting?
God doesn’t do things at the time or in the way that we would, does He? Joseph probably would never have chosen to go through the circumstances he did or wait as long as he had to, but he was right where God wanted him, and at just the right time, God’s purpose was fulfilled in him.
God’s ways are higher than our ways, and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts.
His way is perfect and His timing is perfect, even when it doesn’t seem like it to us.
We need to remember that when we’re tempted to complain about our circumstances.
We need to trust that His plan is best and His timing is best. He is working all things for our good.
Chief cupbearer and baker imprisoned with Joseph
Chief cupbearer and baker imprisoned with Joseph
1 Some time after this, the cupbearer of the king of Egypt and his baker committed an offense against their lord the king of Egypt.
Chief Cupbearer — the one responsible for overseeing Pharoah’s drinks and protecting him from poisoning.
Chief baker — the one responsible for Pharoah’s food.
Committed an offense — literally, sinned. Failed to carry out their duties.
Unknown offense; possibly some plot against Pharoah that almost succeeded; based on the results at the end of the chapter, it seems that the baker is the truly guilty one since he is executed, but the cupbearer is exonerated.
2 And Pharaoh was angry with his two officers, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker,
3 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 — probably Potiphar? (see Gen 37:36 and Gen 39:1)
The prison is in his house
Now Joseph shares the prison with these two officers of Pharoah.
4 The captain of the guard appointed Joseph to be with them, and he attended them. They continued for some time in custody.
Calls our attention back to Gen 39:4, where Joseph was attending or serving Potiphar, the captain of the guard, and he appointed Joseph over all his house (same 2 Hebrew verbs used).
Joseph is showing himself to be a capable and trustworthy leader.
More time passes.
Dreams and Interpretations (v. 5-19)
Dreams and Interpretations (v. 5-19)
Their dreams
Their dreams
5 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.
3 sets of 2 dreams in Genesis (Joseph’s in Gen 37, these 2 in Gen 40, and Pharoah’s in Gen 41)
In each set of dreams, there is a correspondence in meanings, though this set leads to opposite outcomes.
Should we be seeking interpretations for our dreams today?
No. Why not?
While God can (and I think probably does) continue to communicate through dreams in certain contexts, this is not the primary way He communicates to us. How does God communicate to us? Where should we be seeking to interpret His voice and His will for us?
In His Word, the Bible.
One reason that God communicated through dreams to Joseph but He doesn’t normally do that today, is that Joseph didn’t have access to the Bible, and we do. I don’t think that people who have the Bible in their own language should be expecting special revelation from God through dreams or other miraculous means.
God has spoken to you through ordinary human words written down and preserved for thousands of years.
So if you want a word from God, go to the one He has already given you, and humbly ask the Spirit to reveal God to you in His Word.
But Joseph and the other people of his time didn’t have the Bible. But God graciously revealed Himself and His plans through these dreams.
Joseph’s care for them
Joseph’s care for them
6 When Joseph came to them in the morning, he saw that they were troubled.
When your circumstances are not great, where is your focus?
When you have been mistreated by others, you may enter a self-protective mode and keep distant from other people.
I can think of times in my life when I suffered, and I became very self-focused
Joseph gives us an example of joyful service to others even while suffering.
In the midst of his own suffering and the mistreatment he bore, he shows genuine love and care for these other prisoners. He pays close enough attention to know that they’re not well. And not only that, but he shows his care by asking what’s wrong.
7 So he asked Pharaoh’s officers who were with him in custody in his master’s house, “Why are your faces downcast today?”
Joseph’s attitude here reminds me of Jesus in Matthew 14:13–14. At the beginning of Matthew 14, Herod kills John the Baptist, Jesus’s cousin, the one who had prepared the way for Him. And Matthew tells us, “13 Now when Jesus heard this [that John had died], he withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. 14 When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick.” (He also spent time teaching them and fed the 5000 there).
Despite His own suffering and grieving, Jesus shows genuine love and compassion for the crowds and takes time to show love and care and meet their needs.
That’s what Joseph does here too.
He doesn’t wait for them to ask for help; he takes the initiative to get involved and help them and meet their need.
Joseph’s God-centered focus
Joseph’s God-centered focus
8 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.”
Somehow they knew these dreams are significant, but they don’t know what they mean.
Joseph gives glory to God and acknowledges that the dreams and their meanings belong to God. He’s not afraid to speak boldly on behalf of the one true God.
The phrase “please tell them to me” indicates Joseph’s close relationship with the Lord and the supernatural ability that God had given him to understand and interpret dreams.
This also seems to indicate that Joseph probably understood the meaning of his own dreams, and if so, this knowledge would have sustained him even in hard times.
The cupbearer’s dream
The cupbearer’s dream
9 So the chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph and said to him, “In my dream there was a vine before me,
10 and on the vine there were three branches. As soon as it budded, its blossoms shot forth, and the clusters ripened into grapes.
11 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.”
Comment from Alex Duke: “The cupbearer more or less dreams about getting his job back (40:9–11). What a good employee. Thankfully, Joseph has good news for him.”
Joseph’s interpretation for the cupbearer
Joseph’s interpretation for the cupbearer
12 Then Joseph said to him, “This is its interpretation: the three branches are three days.
13 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.
The cupbearer will be restored to his position and resume his work as cupbearer.
Following this interpretation, Joseph sees an opportunity for himself and make his requests:
Joseph’s requests to the cupbearer
Joseph’s requests to the cupbearer
14 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.
“Remember me” - same phrase spoken to Jesus by the thief on the cross in Luke 23:42 “42 And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.””
“Do … kindness” — show hesed, steadfast love, loyal, faithful lovingkindness; Joseph is asking the cupbearer to treat him the way the LORD was treating him according to Genesis 39:21 “21 But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison.”
It’s not wrong for him to ask for help here, as long as he’s still trusting the LORD and not placing his confidence in man.
Scripture warns us against putting our hope and trust in fellow humans. Our hope and trust must always be in God.
Jeremiah 17:5–8 “5 Thus says the Lord: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the Lord. 6 He is like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see any good come. He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land. 7 “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. 8 He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.””
Psalm 118:8–9 “8 It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man. 9 It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes.”
Psalm 146:3–5 “3 Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation. 4 When his breath departs, he returns to the earth; on that very day his plans perish. 5 Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God,”
Based on the rest of the story, it seems that Joseph did continue to trust God and hope in His plan and promises.
15 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.”
Notice what Joseph does not say. He does not have angry, bitter words for his brothers, for Potiphar, for Potiphar’s wife, or anyone else that wronged him. He acknowledges the wrong done to him without letting any bitterness or anger control him.
He simply states that he was wronged and that he is innocent and undeserving of the treatment he’s received.
He has been thrown in one pit after another, and yet we see a confident man who trusts the LORD, rather than an angry, bitter man.
Trusting God’s sovereign goodness— His providence— will keep us from getting bitter and angry toward others.
The baker’s dream
The baker’s dream
16 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,
17 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.”
Alex Duke comments on this portion, “The chief baker clearly likes what he hears, so he sidles up to Joseph and tells him about his own dream, which is decidedly less pleasant. He has more or less dreamed about birds scavenging his brains like bread. I’m not sure why the baker expects a positive interpretation for such a macabre scene, but he does.”
If I’m right in assuming that what Pharoah does at the end of the chapter is real justice, that means the baker is likely guilty of some crime, while the cupbearer is not (or at least not as culpable). But although the baker is surely aware of his guilt, he’s hoping that maybe justice won’t be served. But the interpretation of his dream is surely disappointing.
Joseph’s interpretation for the baker
Joseph’s interpretation for the baker
18 And Joseph answered and said, “This is its interpretation: the three baskets are three days.
19 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 both of them will have their heads lifted up; but in the case of the cupbearer it means restoration, while for the baker it means execution.
Dreams Fulfilled but Joseph Forgotten (v. 20-23)
Dreams Fulfilled but Joseph Forgotten (v. 20-23)
The dreams fulfilled
The dreams fulfilled
20 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.
Only 2 people in the whole Bible are said to celebrate their birthday, and both are pagan kings — Pharoah and Herod. Interestingly, on both occasions, there is an execution (here the baker, in Herod’s case, John the Baptist)
21 He restored the chief cupbearer to his position, and he placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.
22 But he hanged the chief baker, as Joseph had interpreted to them.
Assuming this news reached Joseph, it had to be encouraging on one hand — he had interpreted the dreams correctly, and they had been fulfilled exactly as he said.
This may also have strengthened his confidence in the eventual fulfillment of his own dreams.
The cupbearer’s failure
The cupbearer’s failure
23 Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.
We’ve probably all experienced the disappointment of being forgotten about by people we had hoped would help us.
As we’ll see in the next chapter, it was 2 whole years before the cupbearer eventually remembered and helped Joseph.
But God was still with Joseph. Joseph was still right where God wanted him, and at just the right time, God would act to exalt His righteous suffering servant.
Applications:
Applications:
Pointing to Jesus: “Remember me”; the righteous sufferer between 2 criminals, one of whom is saved and the other lost.
Trust God and put your hope in His promises; others will let you down, but God is always faithful. Trust His ways and His timing.
Be faithful where God has you — work hard, honor God, show love to others
God is working all things together for good
