Genesis 39:21-40:23 “Basket Case”

Again we see how dreams move this story along. I did not mention this two weeks ago when I spoke specifically about dreams in reference to Joseph’s dreams about the sheaves and the stars in the sky that portend his coming greatness. Guess what? I do not personally remember my dreams. I am sure I DO dream, but I wake up and can recall nothing of them.

As many of you may recall, I am twin. My brother and I shared a room growing up. He would sometimes speak in his dreams. I would wake up and hear the content of what he was dreaming. So, in a way I remember my twin brother’s dream, but not my own.

Without dreaming, or remembering dreams, I think there are still plenty of signals or arrows pointing out what the future might be for someone. Recently in both the middle school and the high school bible clubs we have seen an organic change in leadership. In both clubs at the beginning of the school year we saw what might be termed the “popular kids” in charge of the gatherings. Now somehow they have just quietly dropped out, and all of the sudden we see new student leaders coming to the fore that I would never have guessed had it in them to lead. This was all unplanned and seemingly by the Holy Spirit taking over these youth to lead. It is downright pentecostal in a way! I am just fascinated to see how God is developing leadership among the students. Maybe some are simply “born to lead.”

I am reminded of one example of the “born to lead” adage that came to be in the bible clubs. We had a student named Sarah. She became the president of the middle school club for all three years of her middle schooling. When she came to high school, guess what? She became the president of the high school club for four years! Seven years of just the kids around her pointing to her and voting her back in to lead. When she graduated, our church gave her a scholarship, too. So, we also saw such great potential in her. She is doing well by the way!

I think about Joseph’s life. Yes, he had dreams, and he became a great interpreter of dreams, but he was also the youngest brother who found himself in charge of the other brothers early on. He quickly became the chief servant of Potifar’s household in Egypt. And, as we read just now in the Bible, even in prison, the chief guard gives him all the authority to basically run the place. It seems that Joseph was born to lead, and everyone could see that!

The bible does not tell us how many prisoners were in the jail that Joseph was given charge over. We know from the text that there were more than just the baker and cupbearer of Pharoah. Both archeological digs and hieroglyphic images suggest that there were hundreds of prisoners being held in an area of about six blocks. If this is really the case, then Joseph was given quite a lot of authority indeed. His position would be like that of a Roman centurion with a hundred men serving him. That is like a little army.

When the baker and cupbearer to Pharaoh are brought to the prison, Joseph is commanded to care for them and be their personal servant. Despite being in charge of so many others, Joseph takes on this task in utter humility of course. We finally see something in Joseph that we really have not seen before. He is suddenly humble. I think we can all interpret from the story that Joseph had been rather prideful from the start. He thought very highly of himself. Of course, pride comes before a fall. Now he has fallen about as far as one can go.

Once upon a time, I took a leadership course at Fuller Seminary. The professor pointed out something about biblical leadership models that I had never considered or even recognized before: Most of the leaders in the Bible do not finish well. We just finished a sermon series on the Apostle Paul; he was hanged. Peter was crucified upside down. Jesus died on a Cross–but of course he was resurrected. Moses never made it to the Promised Land. Even Adam got kicked out of Eden. So, the professor continued with his point that great biblical leadership is based on sacrifice–the willingness to turn one’s life over to the Godly cause that one is being called to even if that means facing one’s own death.

Now, Joseph really stands out in this case because HE does finish well. And, that is what the essence of his dreaming is about: “Joseph, you may have to sacrifice everything and suffer in this time, but you will finish well. You will prosper.” What a blessed assurance!

The key to Joseph finishing well is his gift of dreaming that he got from God. One night both the baker and the cupbearer have separate dreams. They have been imprisoned because Pharaoh suspects treason on their part. Poisoning Pharaohs back in the day was a thing. A cupbearer or baker could easily poison the King. In fact, only a handful of Pharaohs live long enough to get their pyramid built. Most ended up in tombs like Tutankhamen, which was not unc-ommon at all!

In the content of the baker’s dream there is really no hint of innocence. However, in the cupbearer’s dream we see an image of the cupbearer taking the raw grapes and squeezing them directly into the cup that is served to the King. How can there be poison if it is literally just the grapes being squeezed into the cup and served to the King? Joseph is quick to pick up on this in his interpretation. The baker’s intent is for the birds, literally. The birds come in the dream and peck away at the baskets of bread rather than being served to the Pharoah. Truly, it is not so hard to interpret what is going on. The cupbearer is for the Pharaoh, and the baker is for the birds.

So, an Egyptian Christams celebration is at hand. They are celebrating the birth of their King. At this time, the Pharaoh is feeling cheerful and calls his two servants, the baker and the cupbearer, to bow down before him. This was the custom–to bow down before greatness.

Today this is a pertinent and up-to-date issue: When we pray to God in heaven, should we bow down in humility or lift up our faces to God? What did the Pharaoh do with the baker and cupbearer? They bowed before him, but then he lifted their heads. You might imagine that Pharaoh had a long scepter that touched under the chin to make them tilt upwards. They would still have to be lower than the King, but the King could cause them to gaze at his highness in this way.

You might recall the musical The King and I ? The school teacher Anna always had to keep her head lower than the King of Siam! Even if he rested his head on the floor, somehow she would have to be lower. It is fun to watch it on stage.

Today, some churches bow their heads when people pray, but others lift their faces skywards. The Bible itself says that when Jesus prayed he lifted his face towards the heavens. This is found in John 17:1, “When Jesus had spoken these things, he lifted his eyes to heaven and said. . . “

I do not know if any of you have watched the television series “Young Sheldon.” In that series when Sheldon’s family gathers at the dinner table the overtly religious mother offers the prayer over the food. Everyone in the family bows–except his sister “Missy.” She gleams up towards heaven with a content smile on her face. So, how do we present our lives before the greatness of God?

Actually this really is not an either/or issue. It is truly a both/and! Bow in respect before the Almighty in your prayer time. Then, when you hear God’s voice speaking to you and assuring you to look up, to lift your head, then you should comply and look up in prayer. So the lifting of the head is part of the process of meaningful prayer. It just depends where you are in your relationship to God and in the process of prayer itself.

What would have happened if the baker and the cupbearer did not first show respect to Pharaoh? What if they come in all haughty and proud with their heads already above that of the King? Chances are they would have been taken down by the guards very quickly. Same with God: approach in humility before the grace of God.

Somehow in this moment of encountering the visages of the baker and cupbearer, the Pharaoh can see which one is completely innocent and which one is not. In our prayer lives, we hear God’s voice asking us to lift our heads. In that moment God is able to search out our hearts and hopefully forgive–but maybe not.

The baker’s head was then lifted up a little bit higher (ha ha). The Hebrew reads that his head was lifted on a pole. We are not sure if this means a hanging or an impaling. Yet, since we have the dream of the birds coming to feast on the baker’s brains, we might do better to assume this was an impaling. The baker was made an example that all could see for anyone thinking they could trick or try to murder the King.

Our God is not afraid of being assassinated. Our God wants to heal and forgive our lives. Our God is filled with all compassion towards his children. This verse from Psalm 145:14-17, “The Lord upholds all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down. . . “

Be innocent in your ways, following Jesus. Bow yourself before the Lord. Then, lift up your eyes unto His mercy and grace over you.

Amen