Scripture: Gen. 40:1-13 (CEB)
Some time later, both the wine steward and the baker for Egypt’s king offended their master, the king of Egypt. 2 Pharaoh was angry with his two officers, the chief wine steward and the chief baker, 3 and he put them under arrest with the commander of the royal guard in the same jail where Joseph was imprisoned. 4 The commander of the royal guard assigned Joseph to assist them. After they had been under arrest for some time, 5 both of them—the wine steward and the baker for Egypt’s king who were imprisoned in the jail—had dreams one night, and each man’s dream had its own meaning. 6 When Joseph met them in the morning, he saw that they were upset. 7 He asked the officers of Pharaoh who were under arrest with him in his master’s house, “Why do you look so distressed today?”
8 They answered, “We’ve both had dreams, but there’s no one to interpret them.”
Joseph said to them, “Don’t interpretations belong to God? Describe your dreams to me.”
9 The chief wine steward described his dream to Joseph: “In my dream there was a vine right in front of me, 10 and on the vine were three branches. When it budded, its blossoms appeared, and its clusters ripened into grapes. 11 Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand, so I took the grapes, crushed them into Pharaoh’s cup, and put the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.”
12 Joseph said to him, “This is the dream’s interpretation: The three branches are three days. 13 After three days, Pharaoh will give you an audience and return you to your position. You will put Pharaoh’s cup in his hand, just the way things were before when you were his wine steward.
What does this passage mean to me/us?
Contributed by Woori Kay Jun
“3 and he put them under arrest with the commander of the royal guard in the same jail where Joseph was imprisoned.
4 The commander of the royal guard assigned Joseph to assist them. After they had been under arrest for some time,”
Genesis 40: 3-4 (CEB)
After being wrongly accused, Joseph became a prisoner in an Egyptian prison. As a prisoner, the prison guard assigned Joseph to serve the two Egyptians officials, the king’s Cupbearer and the baker, who were imprisoned by ‘offending the king.’
I don’t think Joseph would have imagined him being in such circumstances when he was in his father’s house. His present situation could have easily discouraged Joseph, causing him to lose any hope. He could have easily blamed his brothers, who sold him, or God, who might have seemed to be absent in this situation. Joseph could have quickly denounced, not honoring the call to be God’s child.
However, Joseph chooses to be faithful to God, even in the darkest season of his life. Even when he couldn’t feel God’s presence or intervention, he still held on to the promise of his vision. I do believe Joseph must have cried out to God, complaining why God allows such difficulties in his life, but it didn’t cause him to stop trusting in God’s promise.
There is a small frame in my kitchen that says, “Until God opens the next door, praise him in the hallway.” Whenever I feel discouraged, disappointed, or hopeless, like Joseph, I remind myself over and over to praise God in the hallway. As the praises come out from my soul, reaching heavens, I wait for God to open the next door for me.
When we needed to move back to the States, six years ago, I felt like every door was closing on me. I had to withdraw from my master’s program, with only one semester to finish. I knew that if we came back, we were no longer able to enjoy life with parents and friends in Korea. Everything was uncertain and unstable for me, as it seemed like we were starting over in the new setting. I might have been depressed and certainly was afraid, but all I could do was to wait on God’s time patiently. Like Joseph, I prayed that I could praise and be faithful to God in every season in my life. And I am witnessing how God is slowly opening the next door.
Prayer
Father God, I know you are always with me and love me. Please help me to choose to praise you even when I don’t seem to feel your presence. I love you, Lord, who was, is, and coming to be my Lord.
I pray in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
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