December 2 - Bad News, Good News
December 2
Bad News, Good News
Bible Reading: Genesis 40:1-5
1It came to pass after these things that the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt offended their lord, the king of Egypt. 2And Pharaoh was angry with his two officers, the chief butler and the chief baker. 3So he put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the prison, the place where Joseph was confined. 4And the captain of the guard charged Joseph with them, and he served them; so they were in custody for a while. 5Then 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.
Genesis 40:12-23
12And Joseph said to him, “This is the interpretation of it: The three branches are three days. 13Now 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. 14But 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. 15For 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.” 16When 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. 17In the uppermost basket were all kinds of baked goods for Pharaoh, and the birds ate them out of the basket on my head.” 18So Joseph answered and said, “This is the interpretation of it: The three baskets are three days. 19Within 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.” 20Now 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. 21Then he restored the chief butler to his butlership again, and he placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand. 22But he hanged the chief baker, as Joseph had interpreted to them. 23Yet the chief butler did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.
Lamentations 3:22-23
22Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. 23They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.
IMAGINE HOW YOU’D feel in this situation.
Joseph had been falsely accused and thrown into prison. After he'd been there a while, two other prisoners joined him: Pharaoh's chief cupbearer and chief baker. One night the cupbearer and the baker both had dreams, and they mentioned them to Joseph. When they described their dreams to Joseph, he told them what their dreams meant.
"Good news," he told the cupbearer. "Three days from now Pharaoh will take you out of prison and make you his chief cupbearer again." The cupbearer was overjoyed. "And please have some pity on me," Joseph asked him, "when you're back in Pharaoh's good favor. Mention me to Pharaoh and ask him to let me out of here, too."
Then Joseph turned to Pharaoh's former baker. "Bad news," he said. "Three days from now Pharaoh will cut off your head."
Things happened exactly as Joseph had said. Within three days Pharaoh gave a banquet. He called for his former cupbearer to be released from prison and ordered that his former baker be executed. But the cupbearer quickly forgot Joseph's request, and Joseph remained in prison.
But even though the cupbearer was unfaithful to Joseph, God was faithful. Two years later Pharaoh had a dream, a dream that none of his magicians and wise men could figure out. It was then that the cupbearer remembered Joseph. He told Pharaoh how Joseph had told the meaning of his dream and the baker's dream. Pharaoh took Joseph out of prison and told him his dream. Joseph listened and, with God's help, explained the meaning of the dream to Pharaoh.
Joseph's story (found in Genesis 40-41) shows how unfaithful people can be. It also shows that, no matter how unfaithful your friends or even your family members might be, God is always faithful. The prophet Jeremiah said, "The unfailing love of the Lord never ends.. . . Great is his faithfulness" (Lamentations 3:22-23).
In fact, that's how we know that faithfulness is right--because it's like God. God commands faithfulness, because God is faithful. He never lets us down. He never abandons us. He never ignores us. He never forgets us. He is faithful. And because God is faithful, we should be faithful, too.
REFLECT: Did the cupbearer do the right thing in today's Bible reading? Why or why not? What makes faithfulness right and unfaithfulness wrong? Have you ever acted like the cupbearer? If so, in what ways? Are you being faithful to God? to your family? to your friends?
PRAY: "God, Your unfailing love never ends. Great is Your faithfulness. Please help me to be faithful to You and to my family and friends."