Genesis 40 Commentary
The LORD takes charge of events in ordinary life to achieve His purposes. The dreams of the baker and the cupbearer are two events ordered by the LORD to accomplish the LORD’s will. Chapter 40 is both transitional but also contains elements of importance by themselves.
Joseph is confined; the blessing is not confined.
The blessing has a way of putting pieces in place or out of place to achieve the purposes of the Creator God. Disorder could be part of the plan!
Stupidity at the palace is synchronized, and so are the dreams of the culprits. The presence of Joseph in prison at precisely this moment isn’t by accident.
“We both had dreams,” they answered, “but there is no one to interpret them.” Then Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell me your dreams.” Vs8.
The human author puts it down for us from Joseph’s own mouth. The LORD is responsible for good things flowing out of his life. He acknowledges the LORD as the source. He makes no reference to his experience. Human beings don’t write CVs like this!
Glory belongs to God and Joseph gives it back. He will interpret the dream but it won’t be him. The LORD will do it.
The cupbearer gets his favorable answer and in a moving statement, Joseph enlists human help from the hopeless and helpless. His own situation is bad. He doesn’t at all doubt God’s presence nor the mighty working hand of the LORD in his life but at this moment, he doesn’t understand what the LORD is doing. We have all been there. It’s a Christian’s well-trodden path!
The cup bearer is released and the chief barker is impaled and Joseph remains at his post and in his post. It can be a minister’s worst frustration that the LORD attends to others around him (through him) but the minister himself remains dry.
But there are bigger plans behind the scenes. How can mortals know? The LORD isn’t one to be hurried by human suffering! He provides the grace and Joseph stays in prison for a further two years! Yes, unbroken and his faith in his God fully intact!
When we pray, we generally expect firemen and their machines to show up in time. But the LORD may consider it a waste of resources when He can easily order the fire to “behave”. The burning items could continue burning but never get burnt.
Through the eyes of Joseph, the LORD God provides us with many lessons about the nature of the blessing. It spells the same regardless of circumstances!
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