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By Adrian Beale & Adam F. Thompson
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The Bible story in Genesis 40:1–23 tells of two individuals who had similar dreams about their jobs in the King's palace on the same night but with two very different interpretations and drastically different outcomes.
The Pharaohs of Egypt commanded great power and presence. Their servants' lives often hung in the balance. To simply frown in Pharaoh's presence could result in a death sentence. The King's official cupbearer and baker had offended their master. He was enraged so he summoned the captain of the guard to arrest and confine them to the same prison as Joseph. The captain knew that there was something uniquely special about Joseph. It was evident that the hand of the Lord rested on him. God prospered Joseph with great favor. The Captain assigned Joseph custody of the butler and baker. The same night, while in the cold, dark prison God gave the imprisoned cupbearer and baker a dream—and each dream had a distinct meaning of its own.
Making His Rounds
As the sun was beginning to peek over the horizon Joseph made his usual prison rounds. He came upon the damp sweltering cells of Pharaoh's officials. He found them both dejected and bewildered.
"Why are your faces so sad today?" he asked. "We both had dreams," they answered, "but there are no fortune tellers or magicians to interpret them, there is no one who is able to interpret dreams in this god forsaken prison." Then Joseph said to them, "Interpretations belong to God and the one true God alone! Tell me your dreams."
The chief cupbearer stepped up to tell Joseph his dream first. He began, "In my dream I saw a vine in front of me, with three branches that quickly budded, blossomed and its clusters ripened into beautiful grapes. In my hand was Pharaoh's golden jewel laden cup. I quickly squeezed the ripe grapes into Pharaoh's cup and placed it in his hand." Joseph said, "The interpretation of your dream is this:
The three branches of the vine represent three days. You will be honored and restored to your former, trusted position in Pharaoh's palace as his official cupbearer. In three days, you will once again place the King's wine cup in his hand. What great news! Your prison sentence is ending and your life is getting ready to turn around. Please show me kindness by doing me a favor and remember me to Pharaoh and get me out of this dungeon, as I am innocent.
Let's examine some of the symbols in this dream and what they mean. How did Joseph come up with his favorable interpretation for the cupbearer? We know from Scripture that Jesus is known as the true vine and we are the branches. The cupbearer saw the vine positioned in front of him, which would indicate something in the future. Vines are living, leaves are for the healing of the nations, and clusters of grapes are fruitfulness, a gathering of people, as well as representative of wine. Wine often represents something that brings joy. The branches are three days of time indicated by the quick progression of the buds, to blossoms, to ripened clusters of grapes. Three is also the number of the Holy Trinity, completion, fullness, kindness, entirety, and the Godhead. In the cupbearer's dream his hand reaching out to Pharaoh represents service, relationship, agreement, and a powerful connection. He quickly blends the grapes by squeezing them into the King's cup representing him being restored to blend in with the officials of the King's court.
John 15:5 "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." (NIV)
Creating a clear theme or moral for this dream can be summed up in one or two sentences that will bring out its essence or message.
The Dream From Genesis 40:9–11
In my dream, behold, a vine was before me; And in the vine were three branches: and it was as though it budded, and her blossoms shot forth; and the clusters thereof brought forth ripe grapes: and Pharaoh's cup was in my hand: and I took the grapes, and pressed them into Pharaoh's cup, and I gave the cup into Pharaoh's hand.
The interpretation of this dream in a nugget or theme in one sentence would be: You are going to receive the fruits of restoration in your life.
Now we can imagine the excitement of the chief baker when he heard Joseph give the cupbearer such an encouraging interpretation. Leaping to his feet, he firmly grasped Joseph by the arm and announced, "I also had a dream last night about my former job! In my dream I had three baskets of bread. The baskets were full of the Pharaoh's favorite baked goods and delicacies, but the birds were eating them out of the top basket on my head."
Joseph pondered the dream's interpretation in a moment of silence. How would he formulate the message in a gentle way to break the bad, or should we say "deadly" news to the baker? "I am sorry, my friend, but this is what your dream means: The three baskets also represent a three day time period in which you will be brought before Pharaoh. But, within those three days Pharaoh will put a noose around your neck and hang you from a tree where the birds of prey will eat away your flesh." The baker's stomach sank as he fell to the floor in horror from the devastating blow delivered by the stinging message of impending doom.
Once again let's examine the symbols and their meanings to determine how Joseph knew the manner and timing in which the baker was going to die. In each of these dreams we must take into account the cultural norms of that day. Because there were no refrigeration systems, people went to market carrying baskets that would hold a day's supply of food. Thus Joseph saw God's association with the three baskets representing three days' time. Also notice that the baskets were located on the cupbearer's head and the birds were removing or eating the bread (flesh) out of them. Bread is symbolic of life, the body, flesh, provision, and the Word of God. Jesus said in Luke 22:19, "This bread is my body broken for you take and eat." As we seek for understanding in Scripture we will find different levels of symbolic, literal, and hidden mysteries revealed in the parables and ancient stories.
Pharaoh's birthday was celebrated with a feast for all his royal officials. In that year, the King's extravagant celebration took place three days after the interpretation of the cupbearer's and chief baker's prophetic dreams. As their prophetic dreams foretold, Pharaoh called the cupbearer and the chief baker from prison into the presence of his royal officials. He restored the cupbearer to his former position and he once again was trusted to place the golden cup in the King's hand. But he passed judgment on the chief baker for execution just as Joseph had prophesied.
The greatest power in the universe is love.
Dr. Barbie L. Breathitt
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