5 Then the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were confined in the prison, had a dream, both of them, each man’s dream in one night and each man’s dream with its own interpretation. 6 And Joseph came in to them in the morning and looked at them, and saw that they were sad. 7 So he asked Pharaoh’s officers who were with him in the custody of his lord’s house, saying, “Why do you look so sad today?” 8 And they said to him, “We each have had a dream, and there is no interpreter of it.” So Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell them to me, please.” 9 Then the chief butler told his dream to Joseph, and said to him, “Behold, in my dream a vine was before me, 10 and in the vine were three branches; it was as though it budded, its blossoms shot forth, and its clusters brought forth ripe grapes. 11 Then Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand; and I took the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh’s cup, and placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.” 12 And Joseph said to him, “This is the interpretation of it: The three branches are three days. 13 Now within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your place, and you will put Pharaoh’s cup in his hand according to the former manner, when you were his butler. 14 But remember me when it is well with you, and please show kindness to me; make mention of me to Pharaoh, and get me out of this house. 15 For indeed I was stolen away from the land of the Hebrews; and also I have done nothing here that they should put me into the dungeon.” ~ Genesis 40:5-15
Today, we return to our study of Genesis 40 where Joseph had been sold into slavery and then he was thrown into prison due to the false accusations of Potiphar’s wife. While in prison God was with Joseph and He gave him favor in the eyes of all who were there. In addition, it was at that time that two key men were put under Joseph’s perview, these were the king’s butler and the king’s baker. Both of these men had dreams on the same night and Joseph accurately interpreted their dreams. Today, we will only consider the first dream, the dream of the butler.
In v.5 of today’s passage we read, “Then the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were confined in the prison, had a dream, both of them, each man’s dream in one night and each man’s dream with its own interpretation.”
The dreams of the butler and the baker weren’t ordinary dreams, they were also prophetic. The butler and the baker both has his own individual dream which each had its individual interpretation. Of all of the people that there were in that prison, only these two were given memorable dreams. For Joseph, these dreams pointed everyone involved towards God for that was what had happened to him earlier in his teenaged years. Due to this, Joseph had been conditioned by God by dreams and their interpretations.
In v.6-8 of today’s passage we read, “6 And Joseph came in to them in the morning and looked at them, and saw that they were sad. 7 So he asked Pharaoh’s officers who were with him in the custody of his lord’s house, saying, 'Why do you look so sad today?' 8 And they said to him, 'We each have had a dream, and there is no interpreter of it.' So Joseph said to them, 'Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell them to me, please.'"
Joseph wasn’t bound in the prison, he had freedom to move around. In the morning, he came to the butler and the baker and he saw their faces. The Hebrew word here translated “sad” indicates being enraged. They had these dreams and they were angry because they had no way of knowing what the dreams meant. These dreams were very important to these two men for they believed the dreams could have aided them in getting out of the prison. After Joseph asked why they looked so sad, they told him that together they had dreams. Their answer showed that they believed that God had given them a dream and that He would provide an interpretation for them. They believed it made no sense otherwise.
To that, Joseph said that God was the interpreter. He didn’t say “the Lord” he said “God.” As pagans, they would have no knowledge of YHWH, the Lord, but they were aware of who God or Elohim was, whether they admitted it or not. Including Joseph, they believed that if someone had a dream from God, then there must be a God who gave the dream.
Like these desperate men, when we are thrown into prison, we get serious about seeking God. Sadly, most stop seeking Him once they have been delivered out of their troubles. I remember when I was fourteen years old, I accidentally took something prescribed to someone else. That prescription sent me into a tailspin for a solid day. When I awakened from that drug induced tailspin, I cried out to God. I said to Him, “If you will let me live, I will never do this again.” It was God’s desire that I would have invited Him into my life as my Savior and my God, but at that point in my life, I didn’t do that. In fact, I really continued to run from Him until three days before my dad died in October of 1981. Having run from Him for almost 18 years, I stopped running and He swiftly began to teach me His ways. Once this butler was delivered from his troubles, he no longer sought God.
In v.9-11 of today’s passage we read, “9 Then the chief butler told his dream to Joseph, and said to him, 'Behold, in my dream a vine was before me, 10 and in the vine were three branches; it was as though it budded, its blossoms shot forth, and its clusters brought forth ripe grapes. 11 Then Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand; and I took the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh’s cup, and placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.'"
The butler who had been the chief cupbearer to the Pharaoh at that time shared his dream with Joseph first. It doesn’t say why, but when we get to the baker, it will say that he spoke when he saw that the first interpretation was good. I’d suggest that he was scared of speaking up first as his dream disturbed him. When we see what this is pointing to, we will understand why he was afraid. Like the butler, we all struggle with fear. We fear a variety of things, but there is a way to be freed from our fears. In his dream, the butler saw a vine. This was an obvious connection to his work as the butler. As the butler he was the cupbearer and there was a vine. The Hebrew word used for vine reveals an unused root which was meant to bend, just as a vine bends as it grows.
In John 15:5-6 the Lord Jesus said, “5 I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.”
The symbolism was given to point everyone to the Lord Jesus.
Right before the cupbearer’s eyes, the vine showed three branches which budded, blossomed and produced clusters of ripe grapes. It was as if he were looking at a time-lapse scene in a movie. No sooner had the vine budded, blossomed, and put out grapes that the cupbearer was pressing them into Pharaoh’s cup and the cup was being handed to him. When the cupbearer saw all of this, he should have known the obvious connotation. This was his job and he was in charge of the process. His dream spoke of the process of supplying the king with the fruit of the vine. This is the point of our lives, to produce fruit for THE KING.
Right before the cupbearer’s eyes, the vine showed three branches which budded, blossomed and produced clusters of ripe grapes. It was as if he were looking at a time-lapse scene in a movie. No sooner had the vine budded, blossomed, and put out grapes that the cupbearer was pressing them into Pharaoh’s cup and the cup was being handed to him. When the cupbearer saw all of this, he should have known the obvious connotation. This was his job and he was in charge of the process. His dream spoke of the process of supplying the king with the fruit of the vine. This is the point of our lives, to produce fruit for THE KING.
In v.12-15 of today’s passage we read, "12 And Joseph said to him, 'This is the interpretation of it: The three branches are three days. 13 Now within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your place, and you will put Pharaoh’s cup in his hand according to the former manner, when you were his butler. 14 But remember me when it is well with you, and please show kindness to me; make mention of me to Pharaoh, and get me out of this house. 15 For indeed I was stolen away from the land of the Hebrews; and also I have done nothing here that they should put me into the dungeon.'"
In three days the butler would be restored to his position before the king. The phrase “within three days” meant before the third day was over, this would come to pass. Each year the Pharaoh would make a new list of his high officials. On or after the previous birthday they were removed from the list and now the list was being updated. This would be similar then to the president appointing cabinet officers each term and it would make sense as to why this came about on his birthday. All in all, it was good news for the cupbearer.
The butler , like most, only thought in the temporary, but God’s message always goes beyond this world. It was on the third day that the Lord Jesus was resurrected from the dead. Within three days the cupbearer would be brought back into favor with the Pharaoh. The word for “dungeon” in v.15 is the same word used to describe the pit Joseph’s brothers had thrown him into. The symbolism is that of the tomb of the Lord Jesus who was laid in the tomb, having done nothing deserving of death. The butler’s dream speaks more deeply of the redemptive work of the Lord Jesus Christ. The grape vine was a symbol of the Lord Jesus who in John 15 said, “I am the vine.” The vine produced grapes and in his dream, the chief butler took the grapes and squeezed them into Pharaoh’s cup. This was a picture of Christ suffering and shedding His blood for our sins. According to Isaiah 53:5, He was crushed for our iniquities. He willingly went to the cross for us, for He said in John 10:15, “I lay down My life for the sheep.” He died our death so that we might as a result of believing that His death, burial, and resurrection experience His salvation. He did this so that we might live with Him in eternity.
