Genesis 39:21–23; 40:5–8, 20–23

Overcoming Being Forgotten
Genesis 39:21–23; 40:5–8, 20–23

Joseph Continued to Use His God-Given Abilities. (39:21–23)
Joseph has sunk a degree lower, from slave to prisoner. But he remains protected by God’s presence and care, which gives Joseph the protection and assurance he needs. Joseph is not shielded from distress but he is protected with God’s faithfulness and God’s peace.

There are nine references to God in this chapter (v. 2, 3, 5, 9, 21 and 23). Four of them specify the Lord was with Joseph. Two passages occur where Joseph’s future appears uncertain, even dismal. Although Joseph was without the support of his family (v. 2) and in prison (v. 21) the biblical record assures us Joseph has not been abandoned. God’s presence is a hidden, working-behind-the-scenes kind of presence.

Verse 21 speaks of the God who shows steadfast love (“hesed” in Hebrew). This word does not simply connote God’s divine loyalty but His acting in and through all events. This Hebraic understanding of God’s active presence in events gains fuller expression in Romans 8:28 which reminds us that in all things God works for good.

Joseph Did Not Let His Circumstances Keep Him From Pointing to God. (40:5–8)
Here Joseph encounters two recently imprisoned, unnamed members of Pharaoh’s kitchen — the chief cupbearer and the chief baker. These were important positions in Egypt. The chief cupbearer personally served wine to the pharaoh. Having committed unnamed offenses against Pharaoh (perhaps poisoning or suspicion of poisoning), they are detained in the captain of the guard’s house where Joseph has been placed in charge of prisoners. Since they are in detention their futures have not yet been determined. Because they still have their status Joseph serves them as he did Potiphar (Gen. 39:4). Joseph is obviously aware of their situation, which shapes his interpretation of their dreams.

Dreams are prominent and important in ancient Egyptian culture and literature. Furthermore the issue of dream interpretation was a crucial one in that day. The two servants are troubled by dreams they each have on the same night. Joseph urges them to tell him their dreams. Here a lowly foreign slave, whom the two prisoners had not dreamed of asking, is advising them to share the dreams with him. Joseph declares the interpretation of dreams is not a human art but a gift God can grant. In claiming this gift, Joseph is being a witness to the God who works in and through all things. The events of the future lay in God’s hand only, and only the one to whom it is revealed is empowered to interpret. And in this case God works through the dreams of the nonchosen to develop the future of the chosen.

Ministry and Good Work is Not Always Immediately Rewarded or Noticed. (40:20–23)
The dreams are realized as Joseph had interpreted them and on the public occasion of Pharaoh’s birthday. Often public decisions are announced on this annual occasion. The cupbearer and the baker have their heads lifted but in quite different ways: for one it means death and for the other life. The release of a prisoner on Pharaoh’s birthday is a common practice in ancient Egypt. This historical fact is authenticated in ancient Egyptian records, in this case the Rosetta Stone, which first provided the clue to translating and understanding the ancient Egyptian language.

The cupbearer does not remember Joseph so he remains forgotten in prison. It will take two more years (Gen. 41:1) for human memory to be jogged. For now Joseph’s future remains uncertain. Joseph’s journey from slavery to freedom will take 13 years in all (Gen. 41:46).