Bible Study Online Article
After the cupbearer and the chief baker had been in prison for some time, we are not told a specific length of time - but the scriptures are now informing us that the cupbearer and the chief baker each had a dream during the same night. These weren't some vain or idle dreams, but dreams that held some type of meaning. The cupbearer and the chief baker would become very bothered and sadden by these dreams that they just had. They were bothered so much so -- that when Joseph had come in to begin his day, he noticed how dejected the two were looking: "Why are your faces so sad today? Joseph would ask them both. "We both had dreams, but there is no one to interpret them," the two would tell Joseph. But Joseph would respond back to them: "Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell me your dreams." Starting with the chief cupbearer, they would begin to tell Joseph about their dreams: "In my dream I saw a vine in front of me, and on the vine were three branches. As soon as it budded, it blossomed, 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 put the cup in his hands," the cupbearer told Joseph. "This is what it means; the three branches are three days. 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. "But when all goes well with you, remember me and show me kindness; mention me to Pharaoh and get me out of this prison. For 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," Joseph would tell the cupbearer. Now I want to take a moment and point to something that I find to be very interesting. Not in regards to what Joseph had interpreted the dream to be, but what he said afterwards: "But when all goes well with you, remember me and show me kindness; mention me to Pharaoh and get me out of this prison." This statement is what I find to be very interesting; being that Joseph was asking the cupbearer to remember him when he get's out of prison and to put in a good word about him to Pharaoh. Now, I'm not suggesting that Joseph was wrong to want to get out of prison; but was wrong to ask the cupbearer to help him to get out of his current ordeal. Think about this for a moment, for we all make this same mistake. It would seem, that Joseph didn't completely recognize how God was moving and providing for him, while he was being forced down a path; that he didn't want to venture forth on. Understand, that Joseph wasn't able to track God movements in his ordeal, for if he could; Joseph would have recognized that the Lord was constantly making the best provisions for him in spite of his surrounding living conditions. Notice how, whenever Joseph was moved to different stage during this stressful season in his life, God was there to turn what seemed a bad situation, into an arrangement that worked in Joseph's favor. But Joseph's perception was limited to his surroundings, so therefore he couldn't recognize what the Lord was trying to do overall; when it came to his life. These are the same mistakes we also make, for we tend to focus on our current situations so much so; that we fail to cast a broader view of the entire ordeal that we are concerned with. Understand, that we have to learn how to look at things that takes us beyond the norm. If we learn how to do this, then we will be able to see the many different things that God is doing from within the so-called dire situation we sometimes find ourselves in. We're become so focused on the problem, that we fail to see how God is allowing us to benefit from the situation -- in so many ways, in spite of the problem. Being that these benefits aren't coming in the type of package that we hoped they would come in, keep us from recognizing them; as God brings those benefits through the stressful seasons that we find ourselves enduring at times. Could the cupbearer do more for Joseph then the Lord can? At best, he could perhaps get Joseph freed from prison, and then what? Yes I know he would be a free man, but what good is a man being free; if he is render to a state of idleness? Perhaps a wanderer who is searching for a path that would eventually lead him to his true purpose, but fails to realize that the path in which he seeks; is the one he just departed from. This is the tremendous value that we get from these types of accounts, for we can see how God provides and reacts to our situations in life; and so therefore - it reassures us that the Lord is always near and working hard on our behalf. Now let's move on, for our attention has now been brought towards the chief baker. Being that he had just seen Joseph give the cupbearer a very favorable interpretation when it came to his dream. This encourages him to proceed in asking Joseph to also interpret the dream that he just had as well: "I too had a dream: On my head were three baskets of bread. 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." After hearing the dream that the chief baker had just told him, Joseph gives his interpretation: "This is what it means: The three baskets are three days. Within three days Pharaoh will lift off your head and hang you on a tree. And the birds will eat away your flesh." Now ironically on the third day after Joseph had interpreted the dreams, we are now told that this day would be Pharaoh's birthday. Because of this, a great feast was thrown in his honor; and at that event -- we find that Pharaoh had the cupbearer and the chief baker presented before all his officials. The Egyptian Ruler would lift up the heads of the cupbearer and the chief baker. And just like Joseph had foretold, the cupbearer was restored to his old position; being that once again he would put the cup into Pharaoh's hands. But when it came to the chief baker, we find that he was hanged just like Joseph had interpreted. Be as it may, the cupbearer did not remember Joseph; andjust like that -- he was forgotten. This is why we have tolearn how to trust in God and not in man. For God will neverfail us, and man will only use us; when it comes to helping him complete his own personal agenda.
Jacob - The Path of Uncertainty **YOUR CURRENT SERIES WOULD BE HERE** 69) Joseph the Interpreter of Dreams 71) Joseph & The Pit of Darkness 72) Jacob the Father of Sorrow 73) The Importance of Judah's History 75) The Reaping Season of Judah 76) Tamar's Revenge 78) Joseph the Servant of Favor 79) Potiphar's Wife Lies on Joseph 82) <-CURRENT PAGE-> 84) Joseph's Dark Dreams Interpretation 85) Joseph the Overseer of Egypt  CrossDaily.com Web Search where you can VOTE FOR THIS SITE & other great ones. Christian search engine, directory & voting index. You'll find Bible, chat, churches, jobs, music, reviews, software, theology, & more. See the best sites!
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