The Cupbearer and the Baker

Welcome

Good morning once again everyone, today we are pushing farther into our study on the life of Joseph. Joseph has had a bit of a rough patch in his life, which we have seen the last two weeks. First he is sold into slavery by his brothers, and then he is falsely accused of rape which causes him to end up in prison. While we don’t know exactly how long Joseph was a slave to Potiphar or how long he was in prison, we can piece a rough time frame together. We know that Joseph was 17 years old when his brothers sold him into slavery, and later in the story we will see Joseph begin to work for Pharoah when he is thirty years old. That means that Joseph spent 13 years either in slavery to Potiphar or sitting in prison. While we don’t know the exact breakdown of those years, some scholars believe that the majority of that time was actually spent in prison. Ultimately, the breakdown of these years doesn’t matter, but I want us to know that Joseph’s time as a slave and a prisoner was not short. We can read the whole story in just a few minutes and think it all happens very quickly, but in reality Joseph was in a bad situation for over a decade, it was not a quick period of time for him. As we get ready to read the next part of Joseph’s story, I want us to think about everything that Joseph has lost up to this point. Joseph has lost all of his relationships with family members, with friends, he has lost his leadership role in Potiphar’s house, and on top of all of that he has lost a large portion of his life. His entire 20s were spent either as a slave or as a prisoner. Imagine if that happened to you, imagine everything you did in your life in your 20s and then imagine that you lost all of that time. I think it is safe to say that all of us would find that pretty miserable. But that is the situation Joseph is in, and he is sitting in prison with no real hope of ever being released.

Prayer

Joseph’s Attitude

Genesis 39:20–40:7 NIV

20 Joseph’s master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined. But while Joseph was there in the prison, 21 the Lord was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. 22 So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there. 23 The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s care, because the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did. 1 Some time later, the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt offended their master, the king of Egypt. 2 Pharaoh was angry with his two officials, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker, 3 and put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the same prison where Joseph was confined. 4 The captain of the guard assigned them to Joseph, and he attended them. After they had been in custody for some time, 5 each of the two men—the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were being held in prison—had a dream the same night, and each dream had a meaning of its own. 6 When Joseph came to them the next morning, he saw that they were dejected. 7 So he asked Pharaoh’s officials who were in custody with him in his master’s house, “Why do you look so sad today?”

The beginning of Joseph’s time in prison sounds a lot like his time in Potiphar’s house. Joseph eventually ends up in a similar position that he had at Potiphar’s house. God blesses his work and the warden takes notice. This leads the warden to put Joseph, a prisoner, in charge of the prison. Once again, we don’t know how much time exactly passes here, but it is a number of years. Eventually two men who work for Pharaoh mess up and wind up being thrown in prison. We don’t know their names, but one was the cupbearer for Pharaoh and the other was the baker. These roles were important in that time because both helped to protect Pharaoh. The baker was trusted to make food for him, while the cupbearer was trusted because he was the one who would taste everything to make sure it wasn’t poisoned. Something happens though and both of these men end up on Pharaoh’s bad list and get thrown in prison. While they are in prison, both of them have a dream and both know that this was more than a dream, there was a message in the dream. Because of this, both men become upset because they don’t know what the dreams mean.

But in steps Joseph. What shocks be about this situation is that Joseph genuinely cares about these two men. Joseph comes in, he sees how upset they are, and he takes an interest in them to see if he can help. Once again, remember Joseph’s own situation! He was sold as a slave, falsely accused of a crime, and has been in prison for a number of years. He didn’t have to care that these two prisoners were upset, yet he does. In this interaction we can see the kind of character that Joseph has. Even though he didn’t need to show kindness to these men, and even though he had his own baggage to deal with, Joseph still cared. This is a side point, but I think we learn something about how we can love others in the midst of our own suffering from Joseph. When we are suffering in some way, maybe it is just you had a bad day, maybe it’s something bigger than just a bad day, but when we are in those spots one of the last things we tend to want to do is care for others. Even in our troubles though, there are people who need to experience God’s love. And that is what Joseph does by talking to these men. Let’s continue on and see what Joseph does for them.

The Dreams

Genesis 40:8–19 NIV

8 “We both had dreams,” they answered, “but there is no one to interpret them.” Then Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell me your dreams.” 9 So the chief cupbearer told Joseph his dream. He said to him, “In my dream I saw a vine in front of me, 10 and on the vine were three branches. As soon as it budded, it blossomed, and its clusters ripened into grapes. 11 Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand, and I took the grapes, squeezed them into Pharaoh’s cup and put the cup in his hand.” 12 “This is what it means,” Joseph said to him. “The three branches are three days. 13 Within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your position, and you will put Pharaoh’s cup in his hand, just as you used to do when you were his cupbearer. 14 But when all goes well with you, remember me and show me kindness; mention me to Pharaoh and get me out of this prison. 15 I was forcibly carried off from the land of the Hebrews, and even here I have done nothing to deserve being put in a dungeon.” 16 When the chief baker saw that Joseph had given a favorable interpretation, he said to Joseph, “I too had a dream: On my head were three baskets of bread. 17 In the top basket were all kinds of baked goods for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating them out of the basket on my head.” 18 “This is what it means,” Joseph said. “The three baskets are three days. 19 Within three days Pharaoh will lift off your head and impale your body on a pole. And the birds will eat away your flesh.”

Here we find out what these dreams mean for both the cupbearer and the baker. The cupbearer describes his dream first. In the cupbearer’s dream he saw a vine with three branches. From the branches grapes blossomed and ripened. In his hand was Pharaoh’s cup and he took the grapes, pressed those grapes into the cup, and gave the cup to Pharaoh. Joseph gives the interpretation that in three days Pharaoh will restore the cupbearer to his position. But Joseph asks for a favor in verses 14-15. Joseph asks that he be remembered and speak his name to Pharaoh because he had done nothing to deserve being in prison.

The baker is listening to this conversation and when he hears the good news for the cupbearer his decides to tell Joseph his dream. In the bakers dream he saw three cake baskets on his head with all sorts of baked goods in the basket. Birds were eating out of the basket that was on his head. Joseph gives the interpretation that in three days Pharaoh will kill the baker and the birds will eat away at him. (Probably not what the baker wants to hear) After Joseph had talked with the cupbearer though, he tells him to remember him when he gets out. Talk to Pharaoh, tell him about my situation, and help get me out of this prison. In the last few verses, we find out what ultimately ends up happening.

The Disappointment

Genesis 40:20–23 NIV

20 Now the third day was Pharaoh’s birthday, and he gave a feast for all his officials. He lifted up the heads of the chief cupbearer and the chief baker in the presence of his officials: 21 He restored the chief cupbearer to his position, so that he once again put the cup into Pharaoh’s hand— 22 but he impaled the chief baker, just as Joseph had said to them in his interpretation. 23 The chief cupbearer, however, did not remember Joseph; he forgot him.

Joseph’s interpretation comes true, the cupbearer is restored to his position but the baker is killed. And in verse 23 we read the disappointing news that the cupbearer totally forgets about Joseph. Place yourself in Joseph’s shoes. Imagine the excitement as you talk to the cupbearer and realize that you might have a shot out of prison. Yet when the cupbearer leaves, days go by, weeks go by, months go by, and nothing happens. Imagine the disappointment that Joseph had to feel in this situation. Once again he is trying to do the right thing, but it appears that doing the right thing isn’t going to help him just as it didn’t help him in Potiphar’s house.

Application

Is God Good All The Time?

As we think about this passage, I want us to think about this question. What do you think about God when life leaves you disappointed? We often say that God is good right? We can say it right now. God is Good, All the Time. All the Time, God is Good. But when life disappoints you, do you still say that? Can you still say that when God doesn’t answer your prayers, when God doesn’t provide a way out of the suffering you are dealing with? While it may be difficult in those moments to think this, we have to know, I mean really know, that God is still good. When we are in similar situations as Joseph, when life disappoints us, when we do the right thing but end up getting burned, we can respond in different ways.

Disappointment Can Lead To Sin

The first way we can respond is probably our go to response. When we are disappointed in life, it can lead us to all kinds of bad things. Disappointment leads us to anger, bitterness, resentment, and more ugly feelings. And it makes it even easier for us to justify thinking and feeling that way because of what we have gone through. We have a right to act terribly because of the disappointment that we are dealing with. We end up in this mindset that God owes us, how dare he let us be disappointed like this, how could he not act in the way that I wanted? I did the right thing, God has to do this. If you didn’t already know this, it’s important for you to hear and also to be reminded of. We cannot force God’s hand to act in accordance with our will. Even if you live a life that shows God’s love, even if you always try to do the right thing, God is not required to do what you want.

Disappointment Can Lead Us to God’s Work

The second response we can have in the midst of disappointment is going to take some work for us. When we face disappointment in life similar to Joseph, instead of asking God “Why not?” we should be asking “God what are you doing in this situation?” Instead of asking God to do what you want, ask God to show you what he is doing and then ask him what kind of role you can play in that. In your disappointment, ask how you can glorify God. In your disappointment, ask God how you can serve him and others. Since God continues to be good even when we are disappointed, continue to have faith and to trust in God’s work. As we will see with Joseph, he experiences years upon years of suffering and disappointment, yet God is able to use all of those experiences to fulfill his plan.

So, this is my hope and prayer for us this morning even though it is difficult. When faced with disappointment, instead of falling into selfish thoughts of anger, bitterness, self-pity, withdrawal, and resentment, consider how you can use your disappointment for God’s service so that he is glorified. What will you do with your disappointment? You can serve God and serve others through that disappointment. Rather than falling into sin yourself, live a life that honors God through the disappointments. Show that God is good even when life does not match expectations.

Prayer