Genesis 40:1–4 (ESV)
Joseph Interprets Two Prisoners’ Dreams
40 Some time after this, the cupbearer of the king of Egypt and his baker committed an offense against their lord the king of Egypt. 2 And Pharaoh
was angry with his two officers, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker, 3 and he put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the prison where Joseph was confined. 4 The
captain of the guard appointed Joseph to be with them, and he attended them. They continued for some time in custody.
This is a short passage, but it sets up the next several passages. Joseph is in prison, and he is now joined by the cupbearer of the king of Egypt and his baker. They both had “committed an offense against their lord the king of Egypt.”
We don’t know what they did, but they did tick off the king of Egypt. We also see that Joseph is assigned to attend to them. Obviously he has worked himself up in the ranks to what might be a “trustee” or maybe even higher.
So Joseph was most likely a very honorable prisoner. I think we can learn a lot from Joseph who is in prison through false accusations. He could be very angry about it, but he continues to serve honorably. We would all do great to adopt Joseph’s
attitude.
I pray: O Lord, help me to serve you at all times, even when I have been wronged. It is so easy to turn our eyes away from you and focus
on our problems. Help us to stay focused on you. Amen.