This morning my eyes nearly bulged out their sockets as God brought my attention to something! Here’s an excerpt from Genesis 40, to give you context;
‘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. And Pharaoh was angry with his two officers, the chief butler and the chief baker. So he put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the prison, the place where Joseph [was] confined.
And the captain of the guard charged Joseph with them, and he served them; so they were in custody for a while. 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.
And Joseph came in to them in the morning and looked at them, and saw that they [were] sad. 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?” 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.”
Then the chief butler told his dream to Joseph, and said to him, “Behold, in my dream a vine [was] before me, and in the vine [were] three branches; it [was] as though it budded, its blossoms shot forth, and its clusters brought forth ripe grapes. 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.”
And Joseph said to him, “This [is] the interpretation of it: The three branches [are] three days. 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.
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. In the uppermost basket [were] all kinds of baked goods for Pharaoh, and the birds ate them out of the basket on my head.” So Joseph answered and said,
“This [is] the interpretation of it: The three baskets [are] three days. 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.” 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.
Then he restored the chief butler to his butlership again, and he placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand. But he hanged the chief baker, as Joseph had interpreted to them.’
Now, now children. What caught my attention first is the three days. Three days of Jonah in the fish’s belly. Three days of Jesus dead in hell. That’s it! It’d have been four or five but no! God stuck to three! Do you see Jesus in the prison with Joseph! What exquisite imagery!
Notice as well that the baker dreamt of baskets full of bread. Jesus said he was the bread of life…and, and… remember the multiplying of the five loaves of bread, there were 12 baskets of leftovers. Baskets! Baskets. It was Jesus with the baskets in prison. We know not how he directly offended the Pharaoh, but I’ve seen God having this habit of entering a story to show himself though hidden, then get out of it indirectly.
The cherry on the icing is the way the chief baker dies. By being HANG on a tree!…
Pschewww—what—hello—uhm—say what?
I’m done. God I’m done with you😅.
Dear reader, if you see can’t Jesus on the tree, like that bronze serpent that Moses hang on the same—so that whoever looked on it would get healed—if you can’t see it, then may God help you.
This is clearly Jesus!
Now where are you in all this?! The chief butler you are. What joins both the butler and the baker are the three days. Both their dreams consisted of three days. Jesus died for three days. On the very same day of His death, he redeemed you and I, reconciling us to God the father, the master, the king, creator of things unseen and those that are.
For it was on the same day when the butler’s cup ran over with new wine, that the baker died. It was on the same day that the King set a table before the butler, when the baker was hanged.
Jesus’ loss was our gain, otherwise, I believe God doesn’t orchestrate these stories for nothing! What drove me to this revelation was the eager feeling to know as I asked God this question, ‘we all like Joseph, but what was the significance of these two prisoners?’
I’ve heard sermons preached on Potiphar’s wife, on Joseph’s brothers, on Pharaoh, but the butler and the baker are seldom attended to. Before I’d fully address my grievances—boom—there God was, revealing the significance of these two characters. Who are Jesus and You!
The baker died so that you’d approach the king. The baker died so that you’d serve and worship the king. The baker died so that you’d be restored to not just any king, but to the king of kings! Glory to God!
Notice as well, that when the baker was sentenced to death by dream interpretation, obviously, he must have been sulky and sad, but we don’t see him coming up with plans of escape. Reminds me of Jesus, who like a sheep led to the slaughter, did not fight to find his own way, or will, but was sacrificed for the redemption of you and me. What a savior, dwelling with us in that prison 5000 years or so ago!
After his three days in hell, he resurrected, and handed us the keys to eternal life. His being lifted up caused all men—all we—all butlers, to be drawn unto Almighty God. Oh that men would receive this good news!
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