The Truth Sometimes Hurts: Genesis 40:16-23
God’s hand is at work; Joseph must be patient and wait for God’s timing to be true. God is certainly with Him. God is doing great things through Him. Joseph simply needs to focus on God and let God take the lead in his life.
Joseph is approached by the baker after he hears the favorable interpretation Joseph gave to the cupbearer. This is classic human behavior. Someone – in this case, the cupbearer – does something well and gets a good report and others immediately want to jump on the bandwagon and be a part of the good event. It makes sense. We all want to be a part of something good. We all want to be praised.
Unfortunately for the baker, Joseph’s interpretation is quite unfavorable. Unlike the cupbearer, who was told that Pharoah would reinstate him, the baker is told that he will die in three days. That’s quite a significant difference in interpretation.
Imagine being in Joseph’s position. You offer to give an interpretation of a dream, and the interpretation turns out to be happy. Then, someone else comes along and thinks they are also going to get a pleasant interpretation, but when you hear the dream, you realize it requires an unfavorable interpretation. In fact, not only is the interpretation unfavorable but it indicates that someone is going to lose their life. Imagine having to go from telling someone great news to telling someone else horrible news.
I give Joseph credit. He does the hard thing. Joseph delivers the truth to the baker.
Joseph could have lied. He could have told the baker he would be fine. Who would have known? It isn’t like the baker could have gotten him back when the interpretation turned out wrong. Joseph very easily could have created some placating interpretation to get through the moment knowing that there wouldn’t be consequences down the road.
Instead, Joseph sticks to the truth. Joseph tells the baker he is destined to die. The reason this is an important point is because of the claim Joseph made earlier in the story. Joseph claimed the interpretation of dreams belongs to God. Therefore, if Joseph gave the baker a false interpretation, he would be claiming God lies. It is important for Joseph to speak the truth – even when the truth is hard to speak – because Joseph is acting as the mouthpiece of God in this instance. Should Joseph choose to sugar coat the truth – or worse, choose to lie – then he is damaging the perception others will have of God’s character!
In the end, Joseph’s interpretations come true. God does not lie. Furthermore, the cupbearer forgets to praise Joseph when he is reinstated. That isn’t a surprise, though. God isn’t ready for Joseph to be free. God hasn’t put the pieces in play to be ready to use him yet. God’s hand is at work; Joseph must be patient and wait for God’s timing to be true.
