Author: Beth Duncan

Genesis 41:9-10 Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh, “Today I am reminded of my shortcomings. Pharaoh was once angry with his servants, and he imprisoned me and the chief baker in the house of the captain of the guard. 

The verse that jumps out at me in today’s scripture is verse 9, specifically, “Today I am reminded of my shortcomings.” The cupbearer, after two looooong years, finally remembers his promise to Joseph. Instead of sweeping his oversight under the proverbial rug, he owns up to his mistake.

Genesis 41:11 Each of us had a dream the same night, and each dream had a meaning of its own. 

As a wife, mother, teacher, human, there have been many times where I have messed up–forgotten promises, said or did the wrong thing, didn’t say or do the right thing, etc. I, too, have found over the years that the best thing to do when I realize *I* am the problem, something I’ve done or neglected to do is the issue, that the best way forward is to admit my shortcomings.

Genesis 41:12 Now a young Hebrew was there with us, a servant of the captain of the guard. We told him our dreams, and he interpreted them for us, giving each man the interpretation of his dream. 

Precious Savior, When I am in the wrong, when I am at fault through my actions or inactions, it can be really, really hard to admit my shortcomings. Help me to always lead with compassion and empathy. Help me always admit when I know I am at fault. Help me to repair the damage in the best possible way for all to move forward and closer to You. Amen.

Genesis 41:13 And things turned out exactly as he interpreted them to us: I was restored to my position, and the other man was impaled.”

Have a blessed day.

Genesis 41:5 He fell asleep again and had a second dream: Seven heads of grain, healthy and good, were growing on a single stalk.  

Father, When we are troubled or worried, concerned or confused, help us to know that You are always the right One to come to. Help us to come to You freely and often.

Genesis 41:6 After them, seven other heads of grain sprouted—thin and scorched by the east wind.

Lord, Thank You that we can come to You any time, day or night, with any trouble or concern. Thank You for Your peace, which surpasses all understanding. Thank You for Your presence, which is with us always.

Genesis 41:7 The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven healthy, full heads. Then Pharaoh woke up; it had been a dream.

Precious Savior, Be with each of us today. Help us to turn to You–in thanksgiving and praise, in prayer, in concern, in conversation. Thank You for who You are and who You are to us. Amen.

Genesis 41:8 In the morning his mind was troubled, so he sent for all the magicians and wise men of Egypt. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but no one could interpret them for him.

Have a blessed day.

Genesis 40:20 Now the third day was Pharaoh’s birthday, and he gave a feast for all his officials. He lifted up the heads of the chief cupbearer and the chief baker in the presence of his officials: 

Verse 23, the cupbearer forgetting his promise to remember Joseph, made me think of the many times that I have promised others that I would pray for them. My prayer life over the years has gone through many iterations, and there were times where I would tell someone I would pray, pray once, and neglect to lift them up again. Jesus, Help me.

Genesis 40:21 He restored the chief cupbearer to his position, so that he once again put the cup into Pharaoh’s hand— 

I’ve had prayer lists and prayer times and many other contrivances, but at this point in my life, my most effective prayer time is 3am. I’m almost always awake. My inclination at that hour is to fret. I have found that if I pray, especially for others, during that time, it is a much more effective (and less stressful) use of my time than fretting over things I cannot control. Thank You, Jesus.

Genesis 40:22 but he impaled the chief baker, just as Joseph had said to them in his interpretation.

Precious Savior, I do not want to be like the cupbearer, promising to pray for others and then forgetting to lift them in prayer. I know how powerful prayer can be for me and for the one for whom I pray. Help me to always be mindful of those I’ve promised to pray for. Help me to continually lift them up to You. Amen.

Genesis 40:23 The chief cupbearer, however, did not remember Joseph; he forgot him.

Have a blessed day.

Genesis 40:16 When the chief baker saw that Joseph had given a favorable interpretation, he said to Joseph, “I too had a dream: On my head were three baskets of bread. 

I’m curious about why the chief baker waited to share his dream until after Joseph gave a favorable interpretation of the cupbearer’s dream. Does that say more about the chief baker (he didn’t want to know unless he thought the interpretation would be positive) or does it say more about Joseph’s reputation for correctly interpreting dreams?

Genesis 40:17 In the top basket were all kinds of baked goods for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating them out of the basket on my head.”

I’m also wondering if what I saw as Joseph’s exuberant youthful sharing of his dream that his family would bow down to him was more of (or grew into) his not sugar coating interpretations, after all, he foretold the chief baker’s death without flinching.

Genesis 40:18 “This is what it means,” Joseph said. “The three baskets are three days. 

Precious Savior, Thank You that You know our hearts. I cannot judge others because all I know is what I see. Help me, instead of judging, to get my heart right with You, to continue to seek You and draw closer to You. Always. Amen.

Genesis 40:19 Within three days Pharaoh will lift off your head and impale your body on a pole. And the birds will eat away your flesh.”

Have a blessed day.

Genesis 40:12 “This is what it means,” Joseph said to him. “The three branches are three days. 

One line of commentary jumped out at me today: “Seeing God in your present circumstances doesn’t mean that God wants you in those circumstances forever.” There were many times over my teaching career–conflicts with others, conflicts within myself, general frustrations with the way things were–where I thought, “I want out, Lord, and I think You are nudging me that way. Open the right door, ANY door, and I will walk through it. I’m ready.”

Genesis 40:13 Within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your position, and you will put Pharaoh’s cup in his hand, just as you used to do when you were his cupbearer. 

For me, He never opened another door (or at least not one that I clearly saw was His doing). I have every confidence that if He were ready for me to move to something else, He would have shown me the way. I truly think that during those times He just wanted me to remember that He was with me, that I was not alone.

Genesis 40:14 But when all goes well with you, remember me and show me kindness; mention me to Pharaoh and get me out of this prison. 

Precious Savior, Thank You that You are with us during difficult times, and thank You for the reminder that just because You are with us doesn’t mean You want us to stay put. Help us, in whatever situations we find ourselves, to seek You, to see You, to act according to Your will. Amen.

Genesis 40:15 I was forcibly carried off from the land of the Hebrews, and even here I have done nothing to deserve being put in a dungeon.”

Have a blessed day.

Genesis 40:7 So he asked Pharaoh’s officials who were in custody with him in his master’s house, “Why do you look so sad today?”

The power of noticing what’s going on with others is tremendous. That’s something I tell my students at the beginning of every semester: If something feels off, if you seem sad or down or upset, I’m going to ask about it because I care about YOU.”

Genesis 40:8 “We both had dreams,” they answered, “but there is no one to interpret them.” Then Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell me your dreams.”

Sometimes when I ask, kids share what’s going on, but more often, they allow me to send them to a trusted adult so they can talk or they tell me they have already engaged their support systems and are working through the issues. Sometimes they just need space to breathe. Sometimes they won’t budge, to which I say, “I am worried about you. How can we move forward so I know that you will be ok?”

Genesis 40:9-10 So the chief cupbearer told Joseph his dream. He said to him, “In my dream I saw a vine in front of me, and on the vine were three branches. As soon as it budded, it blossomed, and its clusters ripened into grapes.

Precious Savior, Thank You for the reminder of the power of noticing others, of asking after others. Thank You for the power of asking others if they are ok, if they need to talk or to breathe. Thank You for the power of compassion. Help me to continue to use it as I try to be Your hands and feet in this world. Amen.

Genesis 40:11 Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand, and I took the grapes, squeezed them into Pharaoh’s cup and put the cup in his hand.”

Have a blessed day.

Genesis 40:1 Some time later, the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt offended their master, the king of Egypt. 

What jumps out at me about today’s verses is way down in verse 6: Joseph “saw that they were dejected.” Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers and is in prison because his boss’s wife lied about his actions. Yet here he is paying attention to others, realizing that they are dejected. That says a lot about his character.

Genesis 40:2-3 Pharaoh was angry with his two officials, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker, and put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the same prison where Joseph was confined. 

Not only that, but verse 7 shows that he understands the importance of listening, of compassion. I truly think that–listening, allowing people to speak and to feel heard–is a lost art. And yet here is Joseph, who has every right to be angry and sullen because of his circumstances, reaching out to others, caring, listening.

Genesis 40:4-5 The captain of the guard assigned them to Joseph, and he attended them. After they had been in custody for some time, each of the two men—the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were being held in prison—had a dream the same night, and each dream had a meaning of its own.

Precious Savior, Thank You for the example of compassion You show in Joseph today. Help me, especially when I feel I’m entitled to be angry and sullen, to instead react to others with compassion, to listen, to allow them to be heard. Help me, Jesus. Amen.

Genesis 40:6 When Joseph came to them the next morning, he saw that they were dejected.

Have a blessed day.

Genesis 39:19 When his master heard the story his wife told him, saying, “This is how your slave treated me,” he burned with anger. 

Sometime early in my parenting journey, when people and the internet and doctors disagreed with what to do about some little ailment affecting my newborn, someone told me, “You’ve got to decide who you trust.” Those words profoundly affected where I sought information as a new parent and who I listened to when I was concerned about my child.

Genesis 39:20-21 Joseph’s master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined. But while Joseph was there in the prison, the Lord was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. 

As I’m rereading Joseph’s winding journey, that advice comes to mind again. In life, you’ve got to decide who you trust. I trust God–Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I may not understand a situation, may not understand why something happened or didn’t, may not understand how God can possibly act in a situation for my good or His glory, but I trust Him. Period.

Genesis 39:22 So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there. 

Precious Savior, This road to trusting You has been long and winding. Thank You that, even when I fret and worry and doubt, at my core, I know with certainty that You are in control, that You hold me securely in the palm of Your hand, that no matter what happens, no matter if I understand it or not, the victory is Yours alone. Thank You. Amen.

Genesis 39:23 The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s care, because the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.

Have a blessed day.

Genesis 39:13-14 When she saw that he had left his cloak in her hand and had run out of the house, she called her household servants. “Look,” she said to them, “this Hebrew has been brought to us to make sport of us! He came in here to sleep with me, but I screamed. 

Once again, as I read today’s verses, my anger rises up. How dare she? This is so unfair. To feel the emotions in my body during that reading–it’s not good. Anger. Fear. Dismay. But as I reread yesterday’s reflection and came to the questions about why she is acting this way, the questions that show compassion for her as a human, that seek to understand, the rioting emotions calmed.

Genesis 39:15 When he heard me scream for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house.”

I wasn’t at peace, certainly, but the fight or flight emotions that took hold when I first read her actions….gentled. My thought process switched from “She is evil” to “Is she hurt? Angry? Is she trying to exert power the only way she feels she can?” Suddenly I was seeking to understand instead of railing at the unfairness of her actions.

Genesis 39:16 She kept his cloak beside her until his master came home.

Precious Savior, I have never thought about the fact that how I seek answers as I read Your word matters. When I let my emotions lead, when I get caught up in anger and fear, I cannot seek, question, or see what is in front of me. Thank You for this lesson in how to approach Your word. Help me to remember it as I move forward so that I can draw closer to You. Always. Amen.

Genesis 39:17-18 Then she told him this story: “That Hebrew slave you brought us came to me to make sport of me. But as soon as I screamed for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house.”

Have a blessed day.