One constant theme about Joseph was the fact that God acted through him. Even in prison, Joseph could count on the Lord being with him.
But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love; he gave him favor in the sight of the chief jailer (Genesis 39:21).
Henry Blackaby, after meeting with Chinese Christian leaders who had been imprisoned for their faith, recalled their observation: “We believe the church in China has done better under persecution than the church in America has under prosperity.”
Most of us will never encounter the same persecution as those Chinese leaders, yet we all face challenging times. From their experience, and Joseph’s, we learn the importance of turning to God, looking for His presence, experiencing His steadfast love, and surrendering our lives to His control.
Joseph’s Cell Mates
The king of Egypt’s baker and cupbearer were imprisoned with Joseph. One night, they each had a dream.
In Egyptian culture, dreams held significant importance, and the men were more distressed by their inability to interpret their dreams than by the dreams themselves.
When they told Joseph about their dream, he said to them: “Do not interpretations belong to God? Please tell them to me” (Genesis 40:8).
Joseph’s response provides yet another opportunity for people to witness God’s work. Potiphar, the jailer, and now Joseph’s fellow prisoners all recognize that God is the source of Joseph’s success.
After hearing the men’s dreams, Joseph delivered their interpretations. He predicted the restoration of one man’s position and the death of the other.
Joseph’s honest answer is an indication that he was a true prophet. False prophets typically offer only positive pronouncements, reflecting either the listener’s desires or their own hopes.
I expect Joseph took no joy in telling the baker that he would be executed. However, this is another example of Joseph’s faithfulness to the truth.
Genesis records the confirmation of Joseph’s interpretation of their dreams:
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 cupbearing, and he placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand, but the chief baker he hanged, just as Joseph had interpreted to them (Genesis 40:20-22).
We would think the grateful cupbearer would tell the king about Joseph, but that was not the case.
Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph but forgot him (Genesis 40:23).
Not only did he forget Joseph, but he forgot him for two years. This will be the subject of tomorrow’s article.
Reflections
Two reflections emerge from this passage. First, the active role of God is evident. Joseph, an ordinary man like those who follow my blog, was extraordinary solely because of God’s presence.
The promise in Romans is true: What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? (Romans 8:32).
Second, the passage demonstrates God’s desire to communicate with us. He uses dreams, their interpretations, and a variety of other ways to foster that interaction.
The best thing we can do is to take advantage of God’s presence and desire to interact with us.
YouTube Video
Rudy Ross, Bruce Kirby, and I discussed this passage on YouTube today.
Real Voices 