Few moments in life are so definitive that one is able to look back and say: “all those things occurred because of this!” Even when the Lord made David king over all Israel, he didn’t actually take the throne until years later. Joseph was the favorite son of his father, but he was hated by his brethren, even sold into slavery because of the hatred, they all shared for him. Although he served his master as best he could, he was cast into prison, where there was no apparent reprieve. For all intents and purposes, Joseph had been doomed to a life of gloom and despair and apparent obscurity. Not only did he face a life of misery every day, but no one even knew of it. Other than the dreams he dreamed, when he was 17 years old, he had no reason to believe he would ever be rescued from such a fate. Yet, suddenly, Joseph’s moment arrived. The light of day broke through his prison walls, and Joseph’s life changed forever.
When Pharaoh ’s chief butler, his cup-bearer, realized that Pharaoh was agitated over a dream he had during the night, and, when nothing he did, or no matter what any of his advisors said would alleviate his troubled heart, the chief butler spoke up (Genesis 41:9). He remembered how Joseph had interpreted his dream, and the dream of his associate, the chief baker, correctly. He, therefore, mentioned Joseph to Pharaoh. He had Pharaoh recall to mind the time, two years ago, when he cast both the chief baker and himself into prison. As he did so, he told the king about his own dream and that of the chief baker, and how Joseph had correctly interpreted both dreams, saying he, the chief butler would be restored to his former position but the chief baker would be hung on a tree, all within the time-span of three days (Genesis 41:10-13).
Immediately, therefore, Pharaoh hurriedly sent for the captain of the guard (Potiphar?), telling him to release Joseph. Removing him from of the dungeon,[1] Pharaoh’s servants quickly prepared Joseph to appear before the king, shaving his head and his beard and giving him a change of clothing. So, Joseph was released from his prison and appeared before Pharaoh, perhaps not even understanding why he was there, until it was told him by the king (Genesis 41:14).
When Joseph came to stand before Pharaoh, Pharaoh told him he had dreamed a dream, but no one was able to interpret it to his satisfaction. However, he was told by his chief butler that he, Joseph, was able to interpret dreams for he had done so for two of his servants a few years ago (Genesis 41:15). Nevertheless, Joseph admitted to Pharaoh, as he had done to Pharaoh’s servants two years ago, that it wasn’t he, Joseph, who had the power of interpretation. The fact is that it was God, whom Joseph served, who revealed the interpretations to him.[2] Therefore, he, God, would give an interpretation that would give Pharaoh peace of mind (Genesis 41:16).
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[1] According to Dr. Bob Utley’s You Can Understand the Bible Study Guide Commentary, the term dungeon is an Egyptian word which means: “incarcerated within and Egyptian fortress.” This idea seems to relate to the type of prison Joseph was placed in, probably meaning a place where political prisoners were kept.
[2] None of Jacob’s sons but Joseph seems to have this theocratic worldview. Judah not only lived apart from his brethren, but lived with the Canaanites, and only upon public humiliation admitted anything about the righteousness of God. Although Simeon and Levi knew about the covenant of circumcision, they only used its command to carry out their own devious plan to slay folks who offended them, even when they made overtures to commit themselves to adopt Jacob’s customs. While we can say that all the sons of Jacob knew about God, only Joseph knew God.
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