Page 15 - Living Light 90

Wed September 10 - When dreams come true “...Pharaoh will lift up your head...” Genesis 40:13
My Bible co-translator in Argentina sometimes began our sessions by recounting a dream and discussing what he felt God was saying. One night he dreamed he was preaching to a headless congregation, whom he interpreted as people who didn’t know the Head of the body, Jesus (Colossians 1:18). Suddenly the heads came flowing along the river and he expected the bodies to unite with them! Alas, they flowed by and the folk carried on trying to live without Christ.
Heads were also in focus when the cupbearer and the baker told Joseph their dreams of vines, cups and squeezed grapes, of baskets, bread and pecking birds. The cupbearer’s dream had a favourable interpretation and he soon got his job back as Pharaoh’s valued servant. The baker’s dream, however, had a deeply unfavourable meaning and led to his downfall and execution.
Gifted by God, Joseph tells both men that “Within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head” (vv 13 & 19, though in the latter NIV has changed it to “lift off”). One will be lifted up and restored to his position at court, the other lifted up in a noose. I’m reminded of Jesus using a similar image centuries later, in talking of his death. He would be visibly lifted up on a cross, but that death would result in glorification for him and eternal life for all who believe in him (John 3:14-16; 12:32-33).
Jesus, ‘you bestow glory on me and lift up my head’ (Psalm 3:3). Thank you, Lord. Amen.
Thursday September 11 - Seeking an open door “When all goes well with you, remember me...” Genesis 40:14
“Can I ‘aprovechar’ and have a chat?” said the mission leader visiting us in Argentina. He didn’t speak Spanish, but he’d picked up a Spanish word we often used even when speaking English because it was useful and convenient. ‘Aprovechar’ means ‘take advantage’, ‘take the opportunity’.
God gave Joseph a favourable interpretation of the cupbearer’s dream, and Joseph, knowing this would result in the man’s freedom and return to the royal court, seized the opportunity and asked him to “remember me and show me kindness; mention me to Pharaoh and get me out of this prison.”
Some people have criticised Joseph for this, saying that he should have left it to God to get him out in God’s own time and not try to precipitate the event. But I find it hard to take Joseph to task here. He was, as he stressed, an innocent man, having been “forcibly carried off” from his own land, betrayed by his brothers (Genesis 37), and then thrown into prison after being falsely accused by his master’s immoral and seductive wife (Genesis 39). As he rightly said, “I have done nothing to deserve being put in a dungeon” (v 15). Perhaps the forthcoming release of the cupbearer would be the unlocking key of his troubles.
It didn’t turn out that way, though we can understand a guiltless man’s mind and his desire for justice and vindication. But God was always with him, so it would come.
Thank you, Father, that you are always with me too, whatever my circumstances today. Amen.
PRAYER FOR TODAY
PRAYER FOR TODAY
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