Reflections on Genesis 40

Genesis 40 (Contemporary English Version)
1. While Joseph was in prison, both the king's personal servant and his chief cook made the king angry. So he had them thrown into the same prison with Joseph.
   
2. (SEE 40:1)
   
3. (SEE 40:1)
   
4. They spent a long time in prison, and Potiphar, the official in charge of the palace guard, made Joseph their servant.
   
5. One night each of the two men had a dream, but their dreams had different meanings.
   
6. The next morning, when Joseph went to see the men, he could tell they were upset,
   
7. and he asked, "Why are you so worried today?"
   
8. "We each had a dream last night," they answered, "and there is no one to tell us what they mean." Joseph replied, "Doesn't God know the meaning of dreams? Now tell me what you dreamed."
   
9. The king's personal servant told Joseph, "In my dream I saw a vine
   
10. with three branches. As soon as it budded, it blossomed, and its grapes became ripe.
    
11. I held the king's cup and squeezed the grapes into it, then I gave the cup to the king."
    
12. Joseph said: This is the meaning of your dream. The three branches stand for three days,
    
13. and in three days the king will pardon you. He will make you his personal servant again, and you will serve him his wine, just as you used to do.
    
14. But when these good things happen, please don't forget to tell the king about me, so I can get out of this place.
    
15. I was kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews, and here in Egypt I haven't done anything to deserve being thrown in jail.
    
16. When the chief cook saw that Joseph had given a good meaning to the dream, he told Joseph, "I also had a dream. In it I was carrying three breadbaskets stacked on top of my head.
    
17. The top basket was full of all kinds of baked things for the king, but birds were eating them."
    
18. Joseph said: This is the meaning of your dream. The three baskets are three days,
    
19. and in three days the king will cut off your head. He will hang your body on a pole, and birds will come and peck at it.
    
20. Three days later, while the king was celebrating his birthday with a dinner for his officials, he sent for his personal servant and the chief cook.
    
21. He put the personal servant back in his old job
    
22. and had the cook put to death. Everything happened just as Joseph had said it would,
    
23. but the king's personal servant completely forgot about Joseph.
    
    

    ---

    
    Despite his circumstances, Joseph continued to take advantage of the opportunities God placed before him. Rather than becoming depressed wondering why God had allow him to be sold into slavery far away from his family and then be thrown into jail, Joseph was productive and gained the favor of all with whom he came in contact. As Potiphar's household servant, he was promoted to having charge of everything. The same became true in jail. Joseph eventually was given charge of all the prisoners. If there was ever a hope of escaping his circumstances, it would come through serving, as Joseph did, and not through sulking.
    
    When two of the Pharaoh's servants, the cupbearer and the baker, offended him and were thrown in jail, Joseph was assigned to them as "their personal attendant." (40:4) In time, both men had dreams on the same night that troubled them. When Joseph sensed their distress and asked about it, they told of their dreams and the need of someone to interpret them. Joseph credited God as the interpreter of dreams. So even before the dreams were related to Joseph, he attributed their interpretation to God. Then the men proceeded to relate their dreams to Joseph and he interpreted them for the men. The dream of the former cupbearer foretold his reinstatement within three days to his former position. But that of the baker foretold his execution within three days. Obviously, the cupbearer was pleased to hear the positive interpretation of his dream, and Joseph requested that he "show kindness to me by mentioning me to Pharaoh, and get me out of this prison." (40:14) However, we are told that when the cupbearer was restored to his position he "did not remember Joseph; he forgot him." (40:23)
    
    What stands out most in reading this account? Is it the potentially good opportunity placed before Joseph to interpret dreams for former servants of the king, or is it the disappointment of having the cupbearer forget what Joseph did for him once he returned to his place of service with the king? Our tendency is to allow the disappointments to crowd out the opportunities in our thinking. Would it occur to me, when disappointed over being forgotten for my good deed and lost opportunity for getting out of my circumstances, that God had something greater in store for me than would be allowed by having the cupbearer report my good deed for him? This was the case for Joseph, but if I were in his position would I have remained hopeful that God still had a plan to get me out of this place, let alone a plan to place me in a position of greatness? I'm not confident that I would. We do get a clue here, however, concerning Joseph's faith. His God-given gift to interpret the dreams of the king's servants shows that his understanding of his own dreams as a teenager was likely strong enough to encourage him and bolster his faith during this period.