Joseph Interprets Two Dreams
Pharaoh’s chief cup-bearer and chief baker pissed off their royal master, so he put them in the prison where Joseph was. The captain of the guard assigned Joseph to look after them.
The cup-bearer and baker each had a different dream on the same night. Joseph noticed they looked upset the next morning. “Why the sad faces?” he asked.
They replied “No one can tell us what our dreams mean.”
“Interpreting dreams is God’s business. Tell them to me.”
The chief cup-bearer went first. “I saw a grapevine in front of me. It had three branches that began to bud and blossom, and soon it produced clusters of ripe grapes. I was holding Pharaoh’s wine cup, so I took a cluster of grapes and squeezed the juice into the cup. Then I put it in Pharaoh’s hand.”
“Within three days Pharaoh will pardon you.”
Please do me a favor when you get out. Mention me to Pharaoh, so he might free me. I was kidnapped and don’t deserve to be here.”
The chief baker was hoping that his dream would also have a positive interpretation. “In my dream there were three baskets of white pastries stacked on my head. The top basket contained pastries for Pharaoh, but the birds ate them.” He should have known this was bad. Nothing good can come from losing Pharaoh’s pastries.
Joseph said “Three days from now Pharaoh will impale your body on a pole. Then birds will peck at your flesh.”
Pharaoh’s birthday came three days later and he prepared a banquet for his officials and staff. His chief cup-bearer and chief baker were also summoned. He restored the chief cup-bearer to his former position. But Pharaoh impaled the chief baker, just as Joseph had said he would. The chief cup-bearer forgot about Joseph and never spoke to Pharaoh about him.
Arsenio Franklin 