Read with Me
Genesis 40:9-15 (HCSB)
So the chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph: “In my dream there was a vine in front of me. On the vine were three branches. As soon as it budded, its blossoms came out and its clusters ripened into grapes. Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand, and I took the grapes, squeezed them into Pharaoh’s cup, and placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.”
“This is its interpretation,” Joseph said to him. “The three branches are three days. In just three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your position. You will put Pharaoh’s cup in his hand the way you used to when you were his cupbearer. But when all goes well for you, remember that I was with you. Please show kindness to me by mentioning me to Pharaoh, and get me out of this prison. For I was kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews, and even here I have done nothing that they should put me in the dungeon.”
Listen with Me
The chief cupbearer and the chief baker must have been very impressed with Joseph. Unlike the men whose business it was to interpret dreams, Joseph didn’t have to consult scrolls looking for the elements of the cupbearer’s dream to find their meaning. Instead, as soon as the dream was shared, the meaning was revealed to Joseph by God’s Spirit.
In the cupbearer’s case, the meaning was all positive. In a mere three days, he would receive the summons to his hearing before Pharaoh. But the outcome of the hearing would be his exoneration and his restoration to his former position.
But this interpretation did more than give hope to the cupbearer. It gave hope to Joseph as well. Here was someone who, once restored, would have the ear of the Pharaoh himself, the highest official and ultimate court of appeals for the whole land of Egypt. It had already been eleven years since Joseph had been sold by his brothers, and many years, were not told exactly how many, that he had been held in the jail. He had not been given a trial since he was, in the eyes of the law, only a slave, and a foreign slave at that.
Joseph knew that he had been the victim of two miscarriages of justice. But he had hopes that if the cup bearer would only get him a hearing before Pharaoh, he could be released. And he knew full well that when his interpretation came true and the chief cupbearer was restored to his position, that Joseph would be seen by him as someone who should be brought to the Pharaoh’s attention.
Pray with Me
Father, from a purely human perspective that is surely the way things should have gone. But You were even then putting the pieces in place that would lead to an far greater future for Joseph than even he could have could have imagined. At this point, he wouldn’t necessarily be looking forward to the fulfillment of the dreams You had given him all those years before (Genesis 37:5-11). He just wanted to go home. How often have I wanted You to fulfill my own small wants, when all the time You had much grander things in store for me. I tend to get stuck in the present, while You are busy forming the future. Thank You, Lord, for all You have in store for me. Help me to simply walk with You until You bring it all to pass. Amen.