Genesis 40
January 8, 2023
Pastor Martin Saine teaches on Genesis 40.
Gen 40:1 It came to pass after these things that the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt offended their lord, the king of Egypt.
Gen 40:2 And Pharaoh was angry with his two officers, the chief butler and the chief baker.
Gen 40:3 So he put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the prison, the place where Joseph was confined.
Gen 40:4 And the captain of the guard charged Joseph with them, and he served them; so they were in custody for a while.
Gen 40:5 Then the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were confined in the prison, had a dream, both of them, each man’s dream in one night and each man’s dream with its own interpretation.
Gen 40:6 And Joseph came in to them in the morning and looked at them, and saw that they were sad.
Gen 40:7 So he asked Pharaoh’s officers who were with him in the custody of his lord’s house, saying, “Why do you look so sad today?”
Gen 40:8 And they said to him, “We each have had a dream, and there is no interpreter of it.” So Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell them to me, please.”
Dreams:
Up to this point in Scripture, God has used dreams to speak to several different people 5 times.
Gen_20:3 But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, “Indeed you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man’s wife.”
Gen_20:6 And God said to him in a dream, “Yes, I know that you did this in the integrity of your heart. For I also withheld you from sinning against Me; therefore I did not let you touch her. 1
Gen_31:10 “And it happened, at the time when the flocks conceived, that I lifted my eyes and saw in a dream, and behold, the rams which leaped upon the flocks were streaked, speckled, and gray-spotted.
Gen_31:11 Then the Angel of God spoke to me in a dream, saying, ‘Jacob.’ And I said, ‘Here I am.’ 2
Gen_31:24 But God had come to Laban the Syrian in a dream by night, and said to him, “Be careful that you speak to Jacob neither good nor bad.” 3
Gen_37:5 Now Joseph had a dream, and he told it to his brothers; and they hated him even more.
Gen_37:6 So he said to them, “Please hear this dream which I have dreamed: 4
Gen_37:9 Then he dreamed still another dream and told it to his brothers, and said, “Look, I have dreamed another dream. And this time, the sun, the moon, and the eleven stars bowed down to me.”
Gen_37:10 So he told it to his father and his brothers; and his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall your mother and I and your brothers indeed come to bow down to the earth before you?” 5
Gen_40:5 Then the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were confined in the prison, had a dream, both of them, each man’s dream in one night and each man’s dream with its own interpretation.
Gen_40:8 And they said to him, “We each have had a dream, and there is no interpreter of it.” So Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell them to me, please.”
Gen_40:9 Then the chief butler told his dream to Joseph, and said to him, “Behold, in my dream a vine was before me,
Gen_40:16 When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was good, he said to Joseph, “I also was in my dream, and there were three white baskets on my head. 6&7
Gen_41:1 Then it came to pass, at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh had a dream; and behold, he stood by the river.
Gen_41:7 And the seven thin heads devoured the seven plump and full heads. So Pharaoh awoke, and indeed, it was a dream. 8
Jdg_7:13 And when Gideon had come, there was a man telling a dream to his companion. He said, “I have had a dream: To my surprise, a loaf of barley bread tumbled into the camp of Midian; it came to a tent and struck it so that it fell and overturned, and the tent collapsed.”
Jdg_7:15 And so it was, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream and its interpretation, that he worshiped. He returned to the camp of Israel, and said, “Arise, for the LORD has delivered the camp of Midian into your hand.” 9
1Ki_3:5 At Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, “Ask! What shall I give you?”
1Ki_3:15 Then Solomon awoke; and indeed it had been a dream. And he came to Jerusalem and stood before the ark of the covenant of the LORD, offered up burnt offerings, offered peace offerings, and made a feast for all his servants. 10
Dan_2:3 And the king said to them, “I have had a dream, and my spirit is anxious to know the dream.”
Dan_2:4 Then the Chaldeans spoke to the king in Aramaic, “O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will give the interpretation.”
Dan_2:5 The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, “My decision is firm: if you do not make known the dream to me, and its interpretation, you shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made an ash heap.
Dan_2:6 However, if you tell the dream and its interpretation, you shall receive from me gifts, rewards, and great honor. Therefore tell me the dream and its interpretation.”
Dan_2:7 They answered again and said, “Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will give its interpretation.”
Dan_2:9 if you do not make known the dream to me, there is only one decree for you! For you have agreed to speak lying and corrupt words before me till the time has changed. Therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that you can give me its interpretation.”
Dan_2:26 The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, “Are you able to make known to me the dream which I have seen, and its interpretation?”
Dan_2:28 But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days. Your dream, and the visions of your head upon your bed, were these:
Dan_2:36 “This is the dream. Now we will tell the interpretation of it before the king.
Dan_2:45 Inasmuch as you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold—the great God has made known to the king what will come to pass after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation is sure.” 11
Dan_4:5 I saw a dream which made me afraid, and the thoughts on my bed and the visions of my head troubled me.
Dan_4:6 Therefore I issued a decree to bring in all the wise men of Babylon before me, that they might make known to me the interpretation of the dream.
Dan_4:7 Then the magicians, the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers came in, and I told them the dream; but they did not make known to me its interpretation.
Dan_4:8 But at last Daniel came before me (his name is Belteshazzar, according to the name of my god; in him is the Spirit of the Holy God), and I told the dream before him, saying:
Dan_4:9 “Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, because I know that the Spirit of the Holy God is in you, and no secret troubles you, explain to me the visions of my dream that I have seen, and its interpretation.
Dan_4:18 “This dream I, King Nebuchadnezzar, have seen. Now you, Belteshazzar, declare its interpretation, since all the wise men of my kingdom are not able to make known to me the interpretation; but you are able, for the Spirit of the Holy God is in you.”
Dan_4:19 Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was astonished for a time, and his thoughts troubled him. So the king spoke, and said, “Belteshazzar, do not let the dream or its interpretation trouble you.” Belteshazzar answered and said, “My lord, may the dream concern those who hate you, and its interpretation concern your enemies! 12
Dan_7:1 In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel had a dream and visions of his head while on his bed. Then he wrote down the dream, telling the main facts. 13
Mat_1:20 But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 14
Mat_2:12 Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way. 15
Mat_2:13 Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.” 16
Mat_2:19 Now when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, 17
Mat_2:22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea instead of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And being warned by God in a dream, he turned aside into the region of Galilee. 18
Mat_27:19 While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent to him, saying, “Have nothing to do with that just Man, for I have suffered many things today in a dream because of Him.” 19
God does speak through dreams:
Num_12:6 Then He said, “Hear now My words: If there is a prophet among you, I, the LORD, make Myself known to him in a vision; I speak to him in a dream. The principle!
Job 33:14 For God may speak in one way, or in another, Yet man does not perceive it.
Job 33:15 In a dream, in a vision of the night, When deep sleep falls upon men, While slumbering on their beds,
Job 33:16 Then He opens the ears of men, And seals their instruction.
Num 12:4 Suddenly the LORD said to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, “Come out, you three, to the tabernacle of meeting!” So the three came out.
Num 12:5 Then the LORD came down in the pillar of cloud and stood in the door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam. And they both went forward.
Num 12:6 Then He said, “Hear now My words: If there is a prophet among you, I, the LORD, make Myself known to him in a vision; I speak to him in a dream.
Num 12:7 Not so with My servant Moses; He is faithful in all My house.
Num 12:8 I speak with him face to face, Even plainly, and not in dark sayings; And he sees the form of the LORD. Why then were you not afraid To speak against My servant Moses?”
Joe_2:28 “And it shall come to pass afterward That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your old men shall dream dreams, Your young men shall see visions.
Warning!
Jer 23:25 “I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesy lies in My name, saying, ‘I have dreamed, I have dreamed!’
Jer 23:26 How long will this be in the heart of the prophets who prophesy lies? Indeed they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart,
Jer 23:27 who try to make My people forget My name by their dreams which everyone tells his neighbor, as their fathers forgot My name for Baal.
Jer 23:28 “The prophet who has a dream, let him tell a dream; And he who has My word, let him speak My word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat?” says the LORD.
Jer 23:29 “Is not My word like a fire?” says the LORD, “And like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?
Jer 23:30 “Therefore behold, I am against the prophets,” says the LORD, “who steal My words every one from his neighbor.
Jer 23:31 Behold, I am against the prophets,” says the LORD, “who use their tongues and say, ‘He says.’
Jer 23:32 Behold, I am against those who prophesy false dreams,” says the LORD, “and tell them, and cause My people to err by their lies and by their recklessness. Yet I did not send them or command them; therefore they shall not profit this people at all,” says the LORD.
Does it continue?
Act_2:17 ‘AND IT SHALL COME TO PASS IN THE LAST DAYS, SAYS GOD, THAT I WILL POUR OUT OF MY SPIRIT ON ALL FLESH; YOUR SONS AND YOUR DAUGHTERS SHALL PROPHESY, YOUR YOUNG MEN SHALL SEE VISIONS, YOUR OLD MEN SHALL DREAM DREAMS.
It does! Yet there is a caveat:
Heb 1:1 God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets,
Heb 1:2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds;
Heb 1:3 who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
Heb 1:4 having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.
NO NEW REVELATIONS through dreams!
ALL things will be confirmed by and in the Word of God!
Back to Genesis 40;
Gen 40:9 Then the chief butler told his dream to Joseph, and said to him, “Behold, in my dream a vine was before me,
Gen 40:10 and in the vine were three branches; it was as though it budded, its blossoms shot forth, and its clusters brought forth ripe grapes.
Gen 40:11 Then Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand; and I took the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh’s cup, and placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.”
Gen 40:12 And Joseph said to him, “This is the interpretation of it: The three branches are three days.
Gen 40:13 Now within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your place, and you will put Pharaoh’s cup in his hand according to the former manner, when you were his butler.
Gen 40:14 But remember me when it is well with you, and please show kindness to me; make mention of me to Pharaoh, and get me out of this house.
Gen 40:15 For indeed I was stolen away from the land of the Hebrews; and also I have done nothing here that they should put me into the dungeon.”
Even though Joseph knew he had done nothing to cause his sufferings, he remained faithful and diligent.
Gen 40:16 When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was good, he said to Joseph, “I also was in my dream, and there were three white baskets on my head.
Gen 40:17 In the uppermost basket were all kinds of baked goods for Pharaoh, and the birds ate them out of the basket on my head.”
Gen 40:18 So Joseph answered and said, “This is the interpretation of it: The three baskets are three days.
Gen 40:19 Within three days Pharaoh will lift off your head from you and hang you on a tree; and the birds will eat your flesh from you.”
Gen 40:20 Now it came to pass on the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, that he made a feast for all his servants; and he lifted up the head of the chief butler and of the chief baker among his servants.
Gen 40:21 Then he restored the chief butler to his butlership again, and he placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.
Gen 40:22 But he hanged the chief baker, as Joseph had interpreted to them.
Gen 40:23 Yet the chief butler did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.
Let’s look at Joseph’s position:
He had been given two dreams before his brothers sold him into slavery, both of which promised he would be made ruler over his family.
Yet here he was, not only sold out, betrayed, and abandoned by his brothers, but also falsely accused and imprisoned for crimes he did not commit.
His circumstances could have convinced him that his interpretation of the dreams he received were false.
He could have just given up, but he didn’t.
Gen 40:8 And they said to him, “We each have had a dream, and there is no interpreter of it.” So Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell them to me, please.”
His faith in God sustained him. He was given the opportunity to glorify God with these two dreams by the baker and the butler and, regardless of his circumstances, chose to faithfully glorify God, knowing that God would give the interpretation.
Forgotten, yet faithful…
Gen 40:23 Yet the chief butler did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.
Again, according to circumstances, this was a hard blow! Joseph only asked to be remembered. Yet he was forgotten…
But forgotten by who? The butler!
Joseph was NOT forgotten by God! Despite the circumstances God did not forget Joseph, nor was Joseph’s gift removed. God would once again use Joseph in dream interpretations to bring to pass all of the blessings and purposes for his life and the lives of many others.
In all this, Joseph remained faithful…
Follow us on
Plan a Visit
License #283709