"When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was good, he said unto Joseph, I also was in my dream, and, behold, I had three white baskets on my head: and in the uppermost basket there was of all manner of bakemeats for Pharaoh; and the birds did eat them out of the basket upon my head. And Joseph answered and said, This is the interpretation thereof: The three baskets are three days: Yet within three days shall Pharaoh lift up thy head from off thee, and shall hang thee on a tree; and the birds shall eat thy flesh from off thee. And it came to pass the third day, which was Pharaoh's birthday, that he made a feast unto all his servants: and he lifted up the head of the chief butler and of the chief baker among his servants. And he restored the chief butler unto his butlership again; and he gave the cup into Pharaoh's hand: but he hanged the chief baker: as Joseph had interpreted to them. Yet did not the chief butler remember Joseph, but forgat him." (Genesis 40:16-23)
That poor baker! We can only wonder at what it was he did that caused him to receive capital punishment for his crime! We hope it was something worthy of death, but we also know that kings, when not under the influence of God, can be capricious at best and heads can roll with very little or nothing to justify it.
Meanwhile, the dream interpretations prove to be true as the baker is taken to his death while the butler is released and restored to his former life as chief butler and wine steward. But the butler does not remember to speak to the king about Joseph….it is apparently not in God's perfect timing for Joseph to obtain his freedom yet. When Joseph is released, God will be the one doing it, and the small world of the Pharaoh will KNOW Joseph's God.
Prophecy about Jesus is found in this passage of scripture, but to help you to see it I need to take a little side trip here in the posting. I happen to be in Texas hill country at the moment, but on Monday I was in Galveston and Kemah visiting those areas with my son and his family, and we stopped in to look at some Thomas Kinkade paintings in a shop there. We were told that the painter puts the letter "N" into his paintings in various places and there is a number by his signature that lets the observer know how many "N"s can be found in the painting. "N" is for his wife Nancy. He also might put in the year they were married or the names of his four daughters, among other details of his life. And, if you have ever seen an Alfred Hitchcock movie, you will know that this famous director also inserted some of himself into each of his movies. You can see him pass right in front of the camera usually somewhere close to the beginning of his movies, even though he never looks directly into the camera….it is called a "cameo" appearance, for you only see his profile briefly as he passes through. Thomas Kinkade is a great painter, maybe not a Michelangelo, but still he has fame. Alfred Hitchcock might not be a Steven Spielberg, but he is world-renown as well.
Well, the LORD our GOD is far above these men and others like them, and is, in fact, the MASTER of Glory; why wouldn't He be as the splendor of all of creation shouts His glory….the mountains, the skies, the oceans, the process of life…all of it shouts about the fame of our God. And as I have already pointed out, the Word of God, being inspired by God, also brings glory to God over and over and over again. The Old Testament is types and shadows (cameos you might say) of Jesus who leaves his heavenly place during New Testament times and is born a human to experience the same sufferings we experience, and the temptations that go along with being human, yet never sins, which qualifies Him to be the perfect blood atonement for our sin. The reason the Bible speaks to us so much of Jesus Christ is because God has chosen to glorify His Son because of His great sacrifice of His own life for our sakes and in obedience to God the Father, until the day arrives in which all of God's enemies have been made his "footstool." (Mark 12:36)
So, where do you see the prophetic "cameos" of Jesus Christ in the passages we just studied above? In the use of "the third day" and in the "wine" and the "bread" indicated by the butler and the baker.
The body of Jesus is symbolized by the bread while the wine symbolizes His blood:
"And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; for this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom." (Matthew 26:26-29)
And after His death on the cross, Jesus rose from the dead (was restored or resurrected back to life never to die again) on the third day:
"Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulcher, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them. And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre. And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus. And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments: and as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, saying, The son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again. And they remembered his words." (Luke 24:1-8)
It was not a coincidence that a butler and a baker ended up in jail with Joseph, nor was it an accident that the butler forgot Joseph when he was released. God orchestrates His entire universe down to the least dot on each letter "i" and the cross of each letter "t." While He is not the author of evil, he DOES make all things work together for our good. In this sin-fallen world, evil (Satan) prowls around seeking to destroy lives, but God is there to restore us and make things even better than before. We will see this divine principle very clearly at work in Joseph's life from beginning to end.
Knowing that God sees everything that happens in this great universe of His and is always one step ahead of it, and that He doesn't leave us alone to face the evil that it contains, should give us the same comfort that Joseph had even while enduring the evils done to him….evils done by man, not God….yet evils that will be turned to good for Joseph very soon by a God who loves him very much. We are not told that we will not suffer; we will all suffer one way or another, but we will never suffer alone: for the One who suffered the greatest, and who deserved to suffer not at all, will always be right there with us taking upon Himself once more the suffering that we suffer. I have seen it in my own life.
He is not a capricious God; HE IS A GOOD GOD! And next we will see what good He has in mind for Joseph!
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