Chapters 39 & 40: Joseph in prison for something he did not do
The Lord was with Joseph and caused him to prosper in all that he did. So Joseph was promoted as overseer of the house, and eventually chief executive officer of Potiphar's Incorporation.
Joseph was good looking and Potiphar's wife wanted to be intimate with him. Joseph could not betray the trust of Potiphar, or to sin against God. But the lady was very persistent. One day when they were alone she caught hold of his clothes and insisted that they make love. He fled leaving his clothes behind. She shouted rape (Note that this is the first reference to the Israelites as Hebrews in the scripture). Potiphar believed her and put Joseph in prison.
But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love. Joseph was an model prisoner and the prison warden put him in total charge of all the prisoners. Whatever he did, the Lord made it prosper.
A chief butler and a chief baker of Pharaoh were his prison mates. They have both offended the Pharaoh. One night they both have dreams and were troubled by their dreams. When Joseph noticed their downcast spirits he asked them what was the matter. Joseph told them that only his God could reveal the meaning of their dreams.
The chief butler dreamt that he saw a vine with three branches bearing ripened grapes. The Pharaoh's cup was in his hand and he pressed the grapes into the cup of Pharaoh and gave it to the Pharaoh. Joseph told him that in three days he would be restored to his former position. Joseph asked him to plea his innocent to Pharaoh when he regained his position.
The chief baker saw that the dream was interpreted favourably and asked Joseph to interpret his dream too. He dreamed he was carrying three baskets of food on his head and birds were eating the food in the top basket. Joseph told him that in three days, on Pharaoh's birthday, he would be beheaded and birds would feast on his flesh.
All that Joseph said came to pass. The butler was restored to his position and the baker executed. However the chief butler forgot about Joseph.
Joseph is a role model of how Christians should live their lives. Christians should have a positive outlook to life under all circumstances, since God will always be there for them. Christians are never alone. All circumstances will always turn out to be for the best.
Unfortunately I have met many Christians who groaned and mourned in rhythm with the rest of humankind. Tomorrow was always frightening and they woke up in the morning with very little expectation.
For Christians, every day has its challenges. We usually get the short end of the stick more often than non-believers, for we would not conform to the economic culture of the world. Joseph had shown that peace was not determined by the circumstances he was in. He knew who he was, what he was worth and who was in charge of the circumstances. Christianity used the term abundant life for those who live in this manner.
Actually I could have titled this study as "A short cut to be a governor of Egypt".
It is important to state here that it is wrong to make it a dogma that all dreams are messages from God. Always remember that the Bible was to reveal God and His salvation plan. Not a psychology textbook, or a textbook for other topics. All that the Bible says are true, but you may not come to the truth by extrapolating what the Bible says.
