The Story of Joseph, Part 5 (Genesis 39, 40)

When he was thrown into prison, the Bible says, “the Lord was with Joseph, and showed him mercy, and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison.” In fact, when the prison keeper saw that Joseph could be trusted and that everything he did turned out well; Joseph soon became his assistant and second in command at the prison. Sometime later, two of the king’s servants were put into prison and assigned to Joseph’s care. They were Pharaoh’s cup bearer and his chief baker. One morning these men were both very sad because they had dreams during the night, and they could not figure out the meaning of their dreams. Joseph told them that the interpretation of dreams belonged to God, and he asked them to share their dreams with him. In the cup bearer’s dream there was a vine with three branches that bore blossoms and grapes. He took the grapes and squeezed them into the cup that was in his hand and gave them to Pharaoh. Joseph then told him that his dream meant that in three days he would be released from prison and again become the king’s cup bearer. That was a good interpretation so the chief baker also shared his dream hoping for good news as well; however, it would not be so. In fact, the chief baker’s dream revealed that in three days Pharaoh would have him killed. That was very sad news for Joseph to share with the chief baker, but it was the true meaning of the dream. Do you think the cup bearer will remember Joseph and put in a good word for him when he returns to Pharaoh?