Genesis 40:10

God often works by simple means, as here by a dream that came very naturally to this official of Pharaoh's court. Yet it was truly prophetic; and only a prophet was able to give its clear meaning. Here the wisdom of God was as evident as in sending the dream. No one expects such a vision to keep to real time or to one place. It may crowd the events of months, or years, into a single scene, as with the vine budding and blossoming and yielding grapes, and wine fit for a king's cup.

People used to object that there were no vines in Egypt, because Herodotus says so. In recent years many carvings of vines have been found on the monuments there.

The remarkable point which Joseph was given to seize is the precision of the three days indicated by the three branches. No Egyptian priest who read dreams would have dared to say at once, as Joseph did, "The three branches are three days." A guess would more likely have made them three months. But no. The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him.

The first mention of the vine in Scripture is in Genesis 40. In every step of the life of the Son of God He glorified the Father, and it was also true in His death. In the passage above the grapes were pressed. We might very well think of the Lord's death and the awful pressure when He was made sin. Gethsemane means the "winepress", but there it was suffering in anticipation. What can we say of the cross itself? Sinners have been accepted because of that finished work which glorified God. The cupbearer, as we see, was restored to his position again. We who were guilty are justified before God. If we want to take the picture further, perhaps the three branches would remind us of Christ's resurrection. Justification is in a risen Saviour.

The cupbearer is brought before a vine, triple branched, living and fruitful. Pharaoh's cup (the symbol of God's judgment, Psalm 75:7-8) is in his hand. He takes the grapes, presses them into the cup, and then gives the cup into Pharaoh's hands. That is, the man takes his place in the presence of Christ, the true Vine. Accepting God's judgment, he offers the blood of Christ, according to the measure of that judgment. God accepts it, and the man is forgiven and exalted.

The chief cupbearer sees in his dream what speaks of the blood — the juice of the grape. And he was delivered. The chief baker dreams of what at once reminds us of human righteousness, the white baskets. He saw only what he had laboured to produce, the baked goods. And he is hanged. The chief cupbearer sees something ready to his hand, the grape clusters, and he presents them to Pharaoh as the blood of the grape. Here we have "the only two religions" pictured — the one that makes everything depend on the blood of Jesus, and the one that ignores the blood and trusts human righteousness.

We too may have dreams... But as believers, and especially as Christians, we have far better than hints as vague as those. We have the Scriptures in all their fullness. They reveal God — His counsels, work, will, and ways — from eternity to eternity. We have also the Holy Spirit, sent from the Father and the Son in heaven, never to leave but to stay with us and in us. He guides us into all the truth, and tells us the things to come, glorifying our Lord Jesus in both.