“Genesis 40:9-15”

Saturday, March 28, 2020

“So the chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph, and said to him, 'In my dream, behold, there was a vine in front of me; and on the vine were three branches. And as it was budding, its blossoms came out, and its clusters produced ripe grapes. Now Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand; so I took the grapes and squeezed them into Pharaoh’s cup, and I put the cup into Pharaoh’s hand.' Then Joseph said to him, 'This is the interpretation of it: the three branches are three days; within three more days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your office; and you will put Pharaoh’s cup into his hand according to your former custom when you were his cupbearer. Only keep me in mind when it goes well with you, and please do me a kindness by mentioning me to Pharaoh and get me out of this house. For I was in fact kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews, and even here I have done nothing that they should have put me into the dungeon.”

---End of Scripture verses---

“So the chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph...” (verse 9) Joseph's attempt to provide clarity to the dreams of the cupbearer and baker was driven by his desire to help these prisoners who were in a state of abject dejection (verse 6). When he came to serve them he saw how sad their faces looked and he felt compassion for them (verse 7). Joseph commiserated with the plight of the forlorn and admirably looked for ways to alleviate their burdens, even while confined to imprisonment that he did not deserve. God always provides opportunities for us to serve the needs of others if we will only pull our gaze away from our own struggles long enough to catch a glimpse of what is going on around us.

Verses 9-12 – There seems to be nothing overly disturbing about the cupbearer's dream in itself that would have warranted his intense grief and consternation. With the rapid succession of a time lapse video, a grapevine budded, blossomed and produced a cluster of ripe grapes. With Pharaoh's wine goblet in one hand and the cluster in another, the cupbearer squeezed the juice into the cup and placed into the king's hand. Nahum Sarna observed the repetitive use of the number three in this dream: “The recurrence of the number three indicates specifically three days, three branches, three stages of growth, three actions performed; and both 'Pharaoh' and his 'cup are mentioned three times.” (Nahum Sarna) Frequently in the Bible the number three figuratively represents God, truth and/or completion. Perhaps there is symbolic significance in the number three in this dream.

“Then Joseph said to him, 'This is the interpretation of it: the three branches are three days.” (verse 12) Whether symbolism was present or not, the number three was pretty straight forward in regard to the branches: they represented the number of days that would elapse before Pharaoh would reinstate the cupbearer to his office in service of the king. “ Within three more days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your office...” (verse 13). “The inability to 'raise the head' is synonymous with indignity, shame, and a state of subjection” (Nahum Sarna). In this interpretation and instance, lifting up the head was an act of dignity, honor and renewal. The same phrase would be used with dark and ominous significance for the the baker unfortunately (verse 19).

“Only keep me in mind when it goes well with you, and please do me a kindness by mentioning me to Pharaoh and get me out of this house.” (verse 14) While Joseph interpreted the cupbearer's dream as an act of kindness and service to a poor soul in need, it was only fair to request a favor in return for his services. With the man restored to a place of good standing with the Pharaoh of Egypt, he would be in the perfect position to speak a word of kindness about the excellent young man with an extraordinary, God-given gift that could prove most useful to the king. “Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph” (verse 23), at least not until two years later (Genesis 41:1)

“For I was in fact kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews, and even here I have done nothing that they should have put me into the dungeon.” (verse 15) “Joseph assures the cupbearer that he would be intervening on behalf of an innocent man.” (Nahum Sarna) For Joseph to say that he was “kidnapped” from the land of his people does not contradict the account of his enslavement. His brothers selling him as a slave to traveling merchants for a paltry sum of silver amounted to no more than an abduction from the security and comforts of his home. Joseph did his best to maintain a positive attitude and outlook and to do the best he could in whatever position he found himself in, but he rightly looked for ways to improve his situation and acquire a better life with more freedoms and blessings. Wouldn't we all rightly want to do the same?

Please read Genesis 40:16-23 for tomorrow.

Have a great day!

-Louie Taylor

Share