City Life Starter

Written by Stefan Johnsson

The Word

Some time after this, the cupbearer of the king of Egypt and his baker committed an offense against their lord the king of Egypt. ² And Pharaoh was angry with his two officers, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker, ³ and he put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the prison where Joseph was confined. ⁴ The captain of the guard appointed Joseph to be with them, and he attended them. They continued for some time in custody.

⁵ And one night they both dreamed—the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were confined in the prison—each his own dream, and each dream with its own interpretation. ⁶ When Joseph came to them in the morning, he saw that they were troubled. ⁷ So he asked Pharaoh’s officers who were with him in custody in his master’s house, “Why are your faces downcast today?” ⁸ They said to him, “We have had dreams, and there is no one to interpret them.” And Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Please tell them to me.”

⁹ So the chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph and said to him, “In my dream there was a vine before me, ¹⁰ and on the vine there were three branches. As soon as it budded, its blossoms shot forth, and the clusters ripened into grapes. ¹¹ 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 Then Joseph said to him, “This is its interpretation: the three branches are three days. ¹³ In three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your office, and you shall place Pharaoh’s cup in his hand as formerly, when you were his cupbearer. ¹⁴ Only remember me, when it is well with you, and please do me the kindness to mention me to Pharaoh, and so get me out of this house. ¹⁵ For I was indeed stolen out of the land of the Hebrews, and here also I have done nothing that they should put me into the pit.”

Genesis 40:1-15 (ESV)

Now King Solomon loved many foreign women, along with the daughter of Pharaoh: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women, ² from the nations concerning which the Lord had said to the people of Israel, “You shall not enter into marriage with them, neither shall they with you, for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods.” Solomon clung to these in love. ³ He had 700 wives, who were princesses, and 300 concubines. And his wives turned away his heart.

1 Kings 11:1-3

Reflection

I’m sure that all Joseph wanted to do was to be free from slavery and he probably missed his family very much. He had no idea how to approach his brothers or father after what happened, but I’m sure he had plenty of ideas on how he would go about it. Or, who knows, maybe he wanted to remain in Egypt as a free man? Either way, Joseph didn’t know at that time the opportunity that fell in his lap when the chief baker and cupbearer ended up in prison under his custody. We do not know why they ended up in prison, but there may have been an incident where Pharaoh fell sick and put both of them in prison to figure out who was to be blamed.

Joseph knew the officers’ behaviors after being with them for a long time and so when they showed signs of depression, it was not a normal mood that they had. After some prompting by Joseph, they shared their concern, that they had dreams but with no one to interpret them. Joseph knew that God would provide answers for these two officers, but instead of using God’s gifts for good, Joseph used God’s gift to exchange it for his own freedom. He wanted out of prison and this chance of freedom was one he could not let slip by.

Joseph’s behavior reminds us of how easily we can use God’s gifts for our own purposes. Solomon was granted wisdom and wealth from God throughout his reign. But in his time, he used his wealth and wisdom to accumulate wives from all over the known empires and these were wives who did not worship the one true God. These women eventually caused Solomon and the people of Israel to worship other gods and serve them as well. God ended up tearing the kingdom apart and away from Solomon’s son because of these acts and gave it to Solomon’s servant instead. Only a remnant would remain.

Application

It is very easy for us to use the gifts we receive from God for our own benefit and selfish desires. Joseph wanted to get out of prison more so than caring about the lives of the two officers of Pharaoh. He thought that with the interpretation of these dreams, that freedom was within his grasp. Instead, God kept Joseph in the pit for an additional two years. It was a lesson learned for Joseph.

God has given us all gifts and character traits to make us unique and different than everyone else. Who we are allows us to fit into the body of Christ for wherever God’s Spirit leads us and the church we are to attend. These talents we are given, are to bless the church and to reach others for Christ. It is not to make way for our own path in life. That is, we have a choice to use our gifts for God’s kingdom or our own kingdom. What are you doing with your gifts today?

Prayer

Father in heaven, help me to use the gifts You have given me to glorify You. It is You who has made me unique and special. I want to use my gifts for Your kingdom. Let Your Spirit guide me in all things so I can bless others. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.