"And it came to pass after these things, that the butler of the king of Egypt and his baker had offended their lord the king of Egypt. And Pharaoh was wroth against two of his officers, against the chief of the butlers, and against the chief of the bakers. And he put them in ward in the house of the captain of the guard, into the prison, the place where Joseph was bound. And the captain of the guard charged Joseph with them, and he served them: and they continued a season in ward. And they dreamed a dream both of them, each man his dream in one night, each man according to the interpretation of his dream, the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt, which were bound in the prison. And Joseph came in unto them in the morning, and looked upon them, and, behold, they were sad. And he asked Pharaoh's officers that were with him in the ward of his lord's house, saying, Wherefore look ye so sadly today? And they said unto him, We have dreamed a dream, and there is no interpreter of it. And Joseph said unto them, Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell me them, I pray you." (Genesis 40:1-8)
Both the chief butler and the chief baker attended very closely upon the king of Egypt (the Pharaoh), particularly regarding his royal table. The chief butler was also wine steward, tasting each cup of beverage brought to the king, and then handing it to the king, showing that he was certain it was suitable to touch the king's own lips. The chief baker was responsible for all the breads and other baked goods, possibly even meats, that were served at the king's table. These two men had very important positions and would have been considered "nobles" or "princes" in the land. The fact that they were imprisoned in the same place as Joseph helps us to understand a bit more about this jail that he is in. It is not the jail used for all commoners; not just anyone was imprisoned here. Instead, it is specifically used (as mentioned in the prior section of scripture) for the confinement of the king's prisoners; and for those prisoners of the king's nobles, such as Potiphar's servant, Joseph.
Joseph, in spite of being a prisoner for such a long time now, displays his compassionate nature when becoming concerned with the sadness or depression of these two fellow inmates: the butler and the baker. Surely, he is suffering from his confinement, yet he has not turned inward and forgotten God or his fellow-man. And, of course, the fact that he has been entrusted with such responsibilities shows that he is making good use of his life to the glory of God, even while in prison; just as the apostle Paul many centuries later will also do.
Joseph then displays his great faith by telling his fellow-inmates that the One who interprets dreams is God Himself…and if they will just tell Joseph their dreams, he is sure that God will reveal the interpretation to him. That's quite a step of faith. But then, Joseph is familiar with dreams, isn't he? He has received dreams that he knew were from God; and he trusts that God who creates the dreams, can also reveal the understanding of them.
"And the chief butler told his dream to Joseph, and said to him, 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. And Joseph said unto him, This is the interpretation of it: The three branches are three days: Yet within three days shall Pharaoh lift up thine head, and restore thee unto thy place: and thou shalt deliver Pharaoh's cup into his hand, after the former manner when thou was his butler. But think on me when it shall be well with thee, and shew kindness, I pray thee, unto me, and make mention of me unto Pharaoh, and bring me out of this house: for indeed I was stolen away out of the land of the Hebrews: and here also have I done nothing that they should put me into the dungeon." (Genesis 40:9-15)
This passage of scripture confirms for us the extended duties of the butler in that it shows us he was also wine steward. It also confirms for us that while Joseph has not complained about his circumstances, still he greatly feels the loss of his freedom that has been taken from him twice now and so unjustly. And we see that the butler's dream bodes well for him, God revealing to Joseph that the butler will soon be set free and restored to his former duties. This gives boldness to the baker to ask for the interpretation of his dream as well, but unfortunately, he receives a completely different interpretation, as we will see when we continue tomorrow.
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