17 and she told him the same story, saying, “The Hebrew servant, whom you have brought among us, came in to me to laugh at me. 18 But as soon as I lifted up my voice and cried, he left his garment beside me and fled out of the house.”
19 As soon as his master heard the words that his wife spoke to him, “This is the way your servant treated me,” his anger was kindled. 20 And Joseph’s master took him and put him into the prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined, and he was there in prison. 21 But the LORD was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. 22 And the keeper of the prison put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners who were in the prison. Whatever was done there, he was the one who did it. 23 The keeper of the prison paid no attention to anything that was in Joseph’s charge, because the LORD was with him. And whatever he did, the LORD made it succeed.
40:1 Some time after this, the cupbearer of the king of Egypt and his baker committed an offense against their lord the king of Egypt. 2 And Pharaoh was angry with his two officers, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker, 3 and he put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the prison where Joseph was confined. 4 The captain of the guard appointed Joseph to be with them, and he attended them. They continued for some time in custody.
5 And one night they both dreamed—the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were confined in the prison—each his own dream, and each dream with its own interpretation. 6 When Joseph came to them in the morning, he saw that they were troubled. 7 So he asked Pharaoh’s officers who were with him in custody in his master’s house, “Why are your faces downcast today?” 8 They said to him, “We have had dreams, and there is no one to interpret them.” And Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Please tell them to me.”
(ESV)
STOP! Think a little 🤔 What is God saying to you?
- What is the writer saying?
- How do I apply this to my life?
Joseph did the right thing and ran away from temptation. But Potiphar’s wife falsely accused him and her husband gets angry and throws him in jail. “But the LORD was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love.” His situation had changed, but God had not. Even though Joseph was arguably in a worse situation, he remained faithful and God gave him favour in the eyes of the prison keeper. He once again found himself with authority and leadership in his new situation because, “whatever he did, the LORD made it succeed.” Sometimes we take the line that we will be faithful if God blesses us, but that’s backwards. God is looking for faithful followers. If you are faithful where He has placed you, then he will give you success in what He’s given you to do.
We begin to see God’s purpose revealed. Pharaoh’s cupbearer and baker have committed some offence against him and he threw them in prison. They end up under Joseph’s care. One night they each have a dream that leaves them troubled. Joseph sees that they are downcast and asks them what troubles them. They explain that they have each had a dream and they have no one to interpret them. Joseph responds that the interpretation of dreams belongs to God and asks them to share their dreams with him. God has placed Joseph in prison so that he can provide interpretations for these two men’s dreams. There are troubled people all around us. When you see someone battling, you are able to go up to them and say, “God is the one with the answer to your troubles.” We can then share truth from God’s word to speak to their situation. God has you exactly where He wants you. Are you open and obedient to serve Him today? Pray that He will show you how He wants to use you.