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Two Dreams of the Gospel Age The Butler
and the Baker God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets.—Hebrews 1:1 Carl Hagensick Joseph lived what we might call today a “roller-coaster” life. He went from the high of being the favorite son of his father by Jacob’s favorite wife Rachel, to the low of being sold into a life of slavery by his jealous brothers. While in slavery, he went from the high of being the chief steward in General Potiphar’s house to being falsely accused and confined to Pharaoh’s prison. Once again he was exalted to be the keeper over all the prisoners only to be forgotten by a prisoner who was released. Two years later, he was exalted once more to being the vicegerent of all Egypt—the “number two” ruler in the whole land. One of the “diverse manners” by which God spoke to the patriarchal fathers was through dreams. Joseph was a dreamer. His life revolved around, and in a sense, is identified by three sets of two dreams each. These dreams might possibly be identified with three periods of time in God’s divine plan of the ages. His early dreams of exaltation over his brothers may well show the exaltation of Israel as God’s favored people in the Jewish age. The middle two dreams, those of the butler and the baker, may refer to the Gospel age. The last two, which were dreams of Pharaoh, show God’s final glory in the work of the Millennial age. Joseph had been put into prison because of the false accusations of Pharaoh’s wife who accused him of a sexual advance. His conduct in prison was so exemplary that the prison master put him in charge of all the other prisoners. It was in this position that Joseph met the butler and the baker (see Genesis 40:1-23). The Butler and the Baker While the account does not specifically say there was a plot to poison Pharaoh, such a conspiracy is implied. The two chief suspects were his personal butler and his personal baker. Actually, the word “butler” is a mistranslation. He was Pharaoh’s cupbearer or wine taster. Rulers sit on shaky thrones. There are often attempts to foment a coup to overthrow them. Poison was not infrequently used and it would be natural for the Pharaoh to suspect his butler and his baker. Thus they were imprisoned while Pharaoh investigated the matter. During the unspecified period of time they were confined, they both had dreams. They were troubled by what they did not understand, and the import of their dreams. Joseph saw their sad countenance and asked what was wrong. They both said, “We have dreamed a dream, and there is no interpreter of it.” Joseph replied “Do not interpretations belong to God?” Then he asked them to tell him their dream (Genesis 40:8). There is no indication that either the butler or the baker believed in Joseph’s God. Nevertheless, they felt open to reveal their dreams to him. In this there is a lesson for Christians today. Others may not believe in the same God we do, but our conduct should be so exemplary that they would desire to seek our counsel. And Christians should always be ready to speak a word “in season and out of season” (2 Timothy 4:2) and should always give credit to God and not claim any wisdom for themselves. The Dreams In the butler’s dream, narrated in Genesis 40:9-11, there was a grapevine with three branches bringing forth ripe grapes which he gave in a cup to Pharaoh. Joseph interpreted it for him: “The three branches are three days: yet within three days shall Pharaoh lift up thine head, and restore thee unto thy place: and thou shalt deliver Pharaoh’s cup into his hand, after the former manner when thou wast his butler” (Genesis 40:12,13). Joseph then adds a personal request, asking that the butler inform Pharaoh about him so he might be released from prison because he was unjustly accused. The baker was greatly encouraged by the interpretation of the butler’s dream. So he asked Joseph to interpret his dream: “I had three white baskets on my head: and in the uppermost basket there was all manner bakemeats for Pharaoh; and the birds did eat them out of the basket upon my head” (Genesis 40:16, 17). The baker must have been shocked when he heard the interpretation. Much to his surprise, Joseph said that in three days he would be killed and his body hung up upon a tree, and birds would eat his flesh. Three days later the interpretation of both dreams came to pass. A Parallel Illustration Picture Joseph standing between a baker of bread and a taster of wine. Some two thousand years later, we find a greater-than-Joseph, with the same two elements, bread and wine. It was during the last supper that we read: “As they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom” (Matthew 26:26-29). In the butler’s and baker’s dreams there was a three-day wait; the baker of bread was slain while the one carrying wine was not; the slain body of the baker was hung on a tree, the first person in the Bible described in this way. In Jesus’ case he remained three days in the tomb. His flesh was hung on the cross, while the blood of the New Covenant survives and provides for his later work in his kingdom when the new covenant goes into effect. Although the butler was obviously elated to be restored, he forgot his promise to Joseph to speak to Pharaoh about Joseph’s unjust imprisonment. He did not remember it for two full years. Likewise the promise of the new covenant is delayed for nearly two thousand years. Joseph may well have been discouraged by the long delay and prolongation of his time in prison, but that may also have been of the Lord’s arranging. In Pharaoh’s prison most of the prisoners would have been political prisoners. Since Joseph was over all of them, he would have daily contact with them. This gave him an excellent opportunity to learn the inner workings of Egypt’s political system and Pharaoh’s court, thus furnishing him with the knowledge he would later need for his future work as Pharaoh’s vicegerent. This is also true during the Gospel age when God teaches the church, the body of Christ, lessons they will need for their future work to bless mankind. This blessing will result in the distribution of the lessons that man has learned from his experience with sin. It is ironic that the seven years of prosperity in Pharaoh’s dreams pictures a period when man is living under sin and death, and the seven years of famine pictures the kingdom. We need to redefine the word famine to understand why this is so. Famine describes a lack of food coupled with an abundance of need. Mankind’s present experiences, though difficult and trying, are rich indeed; they will be stored up for the time when man realizes his need. The future distribution of food pictures the distribution of the lessons man learns during his experience with sin and evil. Melchizedek The dreams of the butler and baker are not the first time we see the symbols of bread and wine come together. The first occasion is when Abraham, returning from his battle against those who captured Lot, stopped in Jerusalem: “And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God” (Genesis 14:18). King David prophesied of Jesus: “Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek” (Psalm 110:4). The apostle elaborates in great detail on this prophecy in the book of Hebrews. So on the night of the last supper we find a transition between two priesthoods, the Aaronic and the Melchizedek. Jesus substitutes the symbols of the Melchizedek priesthood, bread and wine, for the symbols of the Aaronic priesthood, unleavened bread and lamb. Thus we find a consistency between the bread and wine symbols with Melchizedek, the butler and the baker, and the last supper. Atonement Judges 9:7-15 contains a parable by Jotham, the son of Gideon, of the kingdom being offered to various trees in the forest. It is turned down by the olive, the fig, and the vine. Only the bramble, Abimelech (representing Satan), accepts it. When offered to the vine, the vine responds: “Should I leave my wine, which cheereth God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees?” (Judges 9:13). Perhaps in this parable the olive tree represents the Ancient Worthies, the fig tree the nation of Israel, and the vine represents the church. The wine therefore, is “the blood of the new covenant.” It is this wine, this blood, that will cheer both God and man by bringing them into at-one-ment. This is the wine that the restored butler served Pharaoh. Dreams As the opening verse of Hebrews shows, God uses “diverse manners” in presenting his message to man. At times, he used literal angels, at other times he used visions, and at still other times he used dreams. Visions and dreams are similar and yet quite distinct. A dream happens when one is asleep. In it God delivers information in a symbolic or graphic manner. A vision, on the other hand, occurs when one is awake or in a trance; it is interactive. The observer of a vision often participates in the action he sees. Visions, to use the vernacular of today, are virtual reality. God used all these methods to speak to his servants in ancient times. While it is possible for him to do the same today, we should not expect him to use dreams and visions to speak to the church. The apostle Peter was one of the recipients of a grand vision on the Mount of Transfiguration. After referring to that vision, Peter told the saints how God speaks to the church: “Thus we have gained fresh confirmation of the prophetic word. Pray attend to that word; it shines like a lamp within a darksome spot, till the Day dawns and the daystar rises within your hearts” (2 Peter 1:19, Moffatt translation). Until the Bible was codified, God used supernatural means to convey his thoughts, but now we have the Bible itself, the inspired word of God as his message to man. It is to this that we look and not to dreams and visions. However, we are thankful for those recorded dreams and visions in the Bible. Let us, therefore, be diligent in studying his word to find his will for us. |