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Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men (Colossians 3:23, ESV).
A cupbearer for a king in the Old Testament oversaw wine.
He was a sommelier (in charge of the wine), and as an expert, he selected the correct vintage, matched types of wine with the right food, and most importantly, handed the king his cup of wine. . .
The cupbearer even took a sip from the king’s cup before the hand-off to ensure the absence of poison. As a very important person in ancient times, the cupbearer would often become the king’s counselor and friend or as close a friend as the king could have.
In ancient Egypt, a Pharoah’s cupbearer fell into disfavor, probably without explanation as to why, and was thrown into prison. (So much for friendship with the king!) But in prison, he found himself under the watch of a foreigner.
The foreigner was Joseph — formerly of the many-colored coat and dreams of his family worshipping him — but now a prisoner himself, yet in charge of the prisoners.
With the cupbearer (a former dignitary), the chief warden of the prison put him directly under Joseph’s watch. Joseph had been placed over the entire jail because of his extraordinary administrative gifts, along with the fact of the Lord’s favor covering all of Joseph’s efforts.
I understand the jailer’s concern as the cupbearer, placed in prison on a whim, could just as easily be restored as one of the highest officials in Egypt on a whim, so the jailer thought, “Better take care of this guy, or I might find myself under Joseph’s watchful eye.”
One night the cupbearer had a dream. . .
The chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph and said to him, “In my dream there was a vine before me, and on the vine there were three branches. As soon as it budded, its blossoms shot forth, and the clusters ripened into grapes. 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 (Genesis 40:9-11).
Joseph was not only a dreamer of dreams, but he could also interpret dreams, saying to the cupbearer. . .
In three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your office, and you shall place Pharaoh’s cup in his hand as formerly, when you were his cupbearer. Only remember me, when it is well with you, and please do me the kindness to mention me to Pharaoh, and so get me out of this house (Genesis 40:13-14).
Of course, the cupholder forgot all about Joseph until the Pharoah had a troubling dream one night. . .
Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh, “I remember my offenses today. When Pharaoh was angry with his servant and put me in custody in the house of the captain of the guard. While there, I had a dream, and a young Hebrew interpreted my dream for me* (Genesis 41:9-14).
We know the end of the story, where Joseph is restored, becomes second in command of Egypt, and provides a place of refuge for his family from the severe famine. What’s not often mentioned in Joseph’s story is that Israel needed a place of resources to grow as a nation that could inherit and occupy the Promised Land, as shepherds in an undeveloped land could never multiply into hundreds of thousands.
God’s purposes are fulfilled with the help of a cupbearer. What are our cup-bearing responsibilities today? Remember — we work for this Lord despite the seeming insignificance of the task.
*As you read the original story of Joseph and the cupbearer in Genesis 40, note that
I’ve left out parts of the story as they are not needed for my thoughts in this Interruption.