Genesis 40

In the last chapter we saw Joseph being falsely accused of sexually assaulting the wife of his boss and he ended up in a prison. Could things get any worse for Joseph? Yes. Chapter forty begins with two government officials, the cupbearer and baker, to the King being imprisoned. These two new inmates were placed under the oversight of Joseph. Apparently, Joseph was a trusted inmate who was given some responsibilities by the prison officials.

We still have bakers today, but what was a “cup bearer”? The title doesn’t sound like a very prestigious position today, but in its day, it really was. He was what you might call today, a butler. It has been said that no man is a hero in the eyes of his butler. This is because the butler knows the real person he is serving. He knows what he is like behind the scenes. The cupbearer had to have the complete trust of the king. Today, he might be required to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement, to keep what he sees and hears private.

The Pharaoh’s cupbearer had to make sure that the food and beverages were not only properly prepared, but also safe to eat and drink, free from the poisons of a would-be assassin. Let’s give this cup bearer a better title, one that is more in line with his responsibilities. How about calling him, “Senior Culinary Quality Control Specialist”? Isn’t that more impressive than cup bearer? In the Air Force there was an Air Force Specialty called, “Protective Coating Specialist.” That’s a military title for a painter.

In the supply section of the army we had boxes of what looked like crayons, but they were used to lubricate zippers. Yes, they actually have such things. But the Army didn’t call them lubrication sticks, they called them: “Lubricant: Interlocking Fastening Devices”. The next time you need help with your zipper, ask, “Could you help me close this interlocking fastening device?”

Do you know of any other cup bearers, I’m sorry, I meant Senior Culinary Quality Control Specialist in Scripture? Nehemiah was one. Because he was completely trusted by the king and had frequent close contact with him, that made him a potentially influential person. In Nehemiah’s case the king noticed that he wasn’t his cheerful self and asked him what was wrong. Nehemiah took this opportunity to ask for a leave of absence to travel to Jerusalem and rebuild the walls around the city. Not only did the king grant him a leave of absence, with full pay and benefits, he also provided him with manpower, equipment, supplies and funds to accomplish the task. Access to the people in power does have its advantages. Solomon’s cupbearers are also mentioned in I Kings 10:4-5 and II Chron. 9:4 where the Queen of Sheba expresses her admiration not only for the wisdom of King Solomon but also for his impressive officials, including his cup bearers.

Back to our story in Genesis. The cup bearer and baker offended the king. What did they do wrong? Did they serve the wrong wine or meat at a state dinner? “It’s red wine with meat, white wine with fish! How many times do I have to tell you?” or did one of them burn the kings’ favorite pecan muffins? What great crime could have led to these employees being sent to prison for “offending” the king? Verse 4, “after they had been in custody for some time,” again, another vague reference to time. Verse 5, “each of the two men had a dream.” They appeared to be troubled by their dreams and couldn’t understand their meanings.

Can you think of anyone who has had some experience and interest in dreams? Hmm. How about Joseph? Verse 9 the cup bearer describes his dream to Joseph. The cup bearer, I mean the Senior Culinary Quality Control Specialist or SCQCS for short, described to Joseph his dream. It showed three branches of a vine and when the grapes ripened, he took a glass of wine to the Pharaoh. Joseph interpreted the dream saying that in three days he would be restored to his former position. What a relief. The criminal investigation might have shown that the cupbearer was innocent of any suspected wrongdoing. Joseph then asks him to remember him when he is free and try to get him out of prison. Now the baker heard all this and was excited and said, “Joseph, I too had a dream. Can you tell me what it means? Please?” He is all excited, hoping for good news. The dream showed three baskets of baked goods on his head, and they were being eaten by birds. Now verse 18 is very sad. Imagine the look on Joseph’s face when he has to tell the poor baker the bad news. He might have looked like an oncologist who is about to tell the patient that there was nothing more that could be done for him and it was time to arrange for hospice care. “Say, Mr. Baker, are you familiar with the five stages of grief from your psychology course? Denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance? Well, you might want to familiarize yourself with the grieving process. Joseph tells him that in three days he would be hanged, and the birds would eat away his flesh. Did he really have to tell him the last part, about the birds eating his flesh? The baker might want to move quickly through those stages of grief if he wanted to die in peace.

The baker’s reaction to the news, might have been: 

Denial: How can that be? You must be mistaken. Perhaps you confused his dream with mine. I want a second opinion. 

Anger: That no good Pharaoh. I gave him the best years of my life in service to him. I could have made much more money elsewhere. I hate him. 

Bargaining: Maybe if I tell the Pharaoh that I’m sorry for offending him he will spare my life. I will work for less pay, and even work on Saturdays.

Depression: Leave me alone, I’m depressed. I wish I were dead. 

Acceptance: Oh well, I can accept this. At least I don’t have to worry about saving enough money for retirement or fear living long enough to develop dementia.

I feel bad for the baker, don’t you? Unless, of course, he was guilty of a crime worthy of death. Maybe he was engaged in a conspiracy to overthrow the Pharaoh. Perhaps with his proximity to the Pharaoh and access to his food, he might have accepted a huge sum of money to poison him. I feel better about his death now that I accept this conspiracy theory.

Verse 20, “Now the third day was the Pharaoh’s birthday, and he gave a feast for all his officials.” During the festivities he brought back into service the cup bearer and he hanged the baker.

So, the Pharaoh had a birthday party. Lots of people. Lots of eating, drinking, and laughing. What’s wrong with that? Well, some religious groups forbid such celebrations. The Worldwide Church of God and the Jehovah’s Witnesses (JW’s) do not celebrate birthdays, in part because of its’ “pagan roots.” But don’t much of what we do have pagan roots? What does it mean to be “pagan”? The original pagans were followers of an ancient religion that worshiped several gods. So, anything that they did would be called pagan. So what? Pagans have done virtually everything we do, including most of what JWs do day-to-day such as the wearing of neckties and perfume, celebrations with piñatas, flying of kites, and even use of the calendar, which is named after PAGAN Roman gods. Ancient pagans had temples, priests, animal sacrifices, circumcision, prayers, music, etc. Many of our rituals have pagan origins, but we have attached different meanings to them. That’s the key point.

Weddings are laden in paganism, including the ceremony, cake, dress, burning of candles and the wedding ring. For some reason a Jehovah’s Witness is allowed to participate in most wedding practices but forbidden to throw confetti.

Another reason they give for not celebrating birthdays is that early Christians didn’t celebrate them. Even if this is true, a description is not the same as a prescription or a prohibition. I attended a Church of Christ one Sunday and noticed that they didn’t use any musical instruments. They were a non-instrumental Church of Christ. Their reasoning is that they don’t see musical instruments being used in the early church, so they don’t use them in church. I don’t see church buildings, pews, or hymnals in the early church, but they had them at the Church of Christ. Where’s the logic in all of this?

The Jehovah’s Witnesses say that the only commemoration that Christians are required to keep is the Lord’s Supper. Fine, but does that mean that any other commemoration is prohibited? How about wedding anniversaries, Mother’s Day, Thanksgiving, Father’s Day, and the Fourth of July?

The JW’s also note that the two times that a birthday was celebrated in Scripture, someone was killed. The baker in Genesis 40 and on Herod’s birthday John the Baptist was beheaded.

Celebrating the birth of wicked people is not the same as celebrating the birthday of others. The Bible says that the birthday of John the Baptist would be the cause of “joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth for he will be great in the sight of the Lord” (Lk 1:14-15). While this passage does not explicitly mention an annual celebration of John the Baptist’s birth, it certainly allows for such an interpretation and at the very least demonstrates that it is good to celebrate the birth of a good person.

If we ban birthday celebrations, should we also ban dogs? What? Well dogs are mentioned in the Bible 40 times, and in every mention, they are described disparagingly. They are said to be lowly and unclean, used as an allegory for sodomites (Deut. 23:17,18), and said to be no part of the New System (Rev. 22:15). Yet, the Jehovah’s Witnesses don’t not prohibit dog ownership.

What about women wearing eye makeup? The wearing of eye paint is mentioned twice, once in reference to wicked queen Jezebel (2 Kings 9:30) and secondly to apostate Israel (Jer. 4:30), yet the JW’s don’t forbid eye makeup.

2 Sam. 4:5-7 contains the only instance where an afternoon nap is mentioned in the Bible, and results in a beheading. So, does that mean we can’t take an afternoon nap? I hope not.

Back to the narrative, in verse 23, “The chief cupbearer, however, did not remember Joseph; he forgot him.” Sure, they were best friends in prison, friends for life. Until he was released, and he focuses only on himself and his career. We might think that he was not grateful, but perhaps it wasn’t time for Joseph’s release. Joseph had to wait two more years. Let’s not be too harsh on the cup bearer now. How many times have we’ve been asked to pray for someone, but forgot?