Our final article today explores Joseph’s integrity …

Why was Joseph’s integrity in his dream interpretations for Pharaoh’s chief cupbearer and chief baker so important? I see four main reasons:

1.  In this way, he continued to honour God and ensure the continuation of God’s favour, generally, on everything he would do. In particular, if he wasn’t faithful in exercising the gift of interpretation of dreams in this case, God may not have been willing to trust him to faithfully interpret other dreams, especially in matters of life and death or other important issues…such as Pharaoh’s dreams.

2.  Later, this may have helped convince Pharaoh that Joseph could give him a reliable interpretation of his own dreams. It was always possible that royal court ‘advisors’ might offer advice to a ruler that they thought the ruler wanted to hear. There are some classic cases of this in the Bible, for example, in 1 Kings chapter 22 (2 Chron chapter 18). And maybe one of the reasons Pharaoh quickly sent for Joseph to interpret his own dreams was because of the integrity he could see in the way Joseph interpreted dreams—he knew that Joseph had not only given an interpretation with a very good ending but also one with a very bad ending…and he knew that both had turned out exactly as he interpreted them:

Gen 41:8-15 (NIV): ⁸ In the morning his mind was troubled, so he sent for all the magicians and wise men of Egypt. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but no-one could interpret them for him. ⁹ Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh, “Today I am reminded of my shortcomings. ¹⁰ Pharaoh was once angry with his servants, and he imprisoned me and the chief baker in the house of the captain of the guard. ¹¹ Each of us had a dream the same night, and each dream had a meaning of its own. ¹² Now a young Hebrew was there with us, a servant of the captain of the guard. We told him our dreams, and he interpreted them for us, giving each man the interpretation of his dream. ¹³ And things turned out exactly as he interpreted them to us: I was restored to my position, and the other man was hanged.” ¹⁴ So Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and he was quickly brought from the dungeon. When he had shaved and changed his clothes, he came before Pharaoh. ¹⁵ Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I had a dream, and no-one can interpret it. But I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.”

3.  And it wasn’t only Joseph’s ability to interpret Pharaoh’s dreams that was crucial in the outworking of God’s purposes. Because Joseph demonstrated integrity and excellence in everything he did, God could trust him with the next step—to give him a plan to manage the life-threatening situation that was revealed through the interpretation:

Gen 41:29-36 (NIV): ²⁹ Seven years of great abundance are coming throughout the land of Egypt, ³⁰ but seven years of famine will follow them. Then all the abundance in Egypt will be forgotten, and the famine will ravage the land. ³¹ The abundance in the land will not be remembered, because the famine that follows it will be so severe. ³² The reason the dream was given to Pharaoh in two forms is that the matter has been firmly decided by God, and God will do it soon. ³³ “And now let Pharaoh look for a discerning and wise man and put him in charge of the land of Egypt. ³⁴ Let Pharaoh appoint commissioners over the land to take a fifth of the harvest of Egypt during the seven years of abundance. ³⁵ They should collect all the food of these good years that are coming and store up the grain under the authority of Pharaoh, to be kept in the cities for food. ³⁶ This food should be held in reserve for the country, to be used during the seven years of famine that will come upon Egypt, so that the country may not be ruined by the famine.”

It was this combination of supernatural revelation and wisdom that impressed Pharaoh and convinced him to appoint Joseph to manage the plan he proposed:

Gen 41:37-40 (NKJ): ³⁷ So the advice was good in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of all his servants. ³⁸ And Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find such a one as this, a man in whom is the Spirit of God?” ³⁹ Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Inasmuch as God has shown you all this, there is no one as discerning and wise as you. ⁴⁰ You shall be over my house, and all my people shall be ruled according to your word; only in regard to the throne will I be greater than you.”

And the eventual outcome, for the world? Gen 41:56-57 (NIV): ⁵⁶ When the famine had spread over the whole country, Joseph opened the storehouses and sold grain to the Egyptians, for the famine was severe throughout Egypt. ⁵⁷ And all the countries came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph, because the famine was severe in all the world.

4.  I think there was a fourth reason why Joseph was prepared to immediately interpret the chief baker’s dream. Because he now knew that the chief baker only had 3 days to live, I think he wanted the baker to know, so he could spend time with him over the next 3 days…preparing him for eternity.

I’m anticipating that one day, in another world, I’ll be able to spend some time with Joseph and Pharaoh’s chief baker…to hear what happened.

Ray Graetz
August 1, 2024