Two Prisoners’ Dreams Reformed Sermons and Sunday Schools at Trinity Presbyterian Church (OPC) in Petaluma, CA

Sermon preached on Genesis 40 by Rev. W. Reid Hankins during the Morning Worship Service at Trinity Presbyterian Church (OPC) on 04/28/2024 in Petaluma, CA.















Sermon Manuscript –







We continue our Genesis sermon series in this section about Jacob’s twelve sons. Specifically, we’ve been considering Joseph’s time in Egypt after he was sold there into slavery. Last week we saw he was bought by Potiphar, captain of the guard of Pharoah. The LORD was with Joseph as he served Potiphar, but Potiphar’s wife lied about him, getting Joseph through into prison. Something I didn’t draw to your attention last week is that this was not any prison, but really the royal prison, where the King would confine his prisoners. Furthermore, this prison was under the ultimate oversight of Potiphar, Joseph’s master who imprisoned him there. So, we remember from last week that once Potiphar placed him in that prison, that quickly the master of the prison recognized how the LORD prospered whatever Joseph did, and quickly promoted him. Joseph was set in charge of the prison affairs, so that the prison master didn’t have to have any concerns. Today’s passage continues the story where we see two royal officials being cast by Pharoah into this same prison. They committed some offense against Pharoah that so angered Pharoah that he threw them into prison. Joseph then begins to serve these two prisoners.







As an aside, what an interesting picture of Christ. Innocent Joseph serves two criminals. Our innocent Lord Jesus would serve two criminals as he hung there dying on the cross. But stepping back, today we’ll dig into this passage and see what God is doing in the big picture even as Joseph attends to these two royal officials amidst their dreams they have.







For our first point for today, let’s talk about these dreams and their interpretation. Joseph says in verse 8, “Do not interpretations belong to God?” There he is talking with the cupbearer and the baker after they each have their dreams. They are unsettled by their dreams. They want to know what their dreams mean. In the Bible, we see that sometimes a dream was a way which God gives some prophetic revelation to someone. This section of Gensis particularly sees that happening. Back in chapter 37, Joseph had those two dreams that foretold his rise to authority. Next chapter, Pharoah will have two dreams that foretell seven coming years of tremendous agricultural plenty immediately followed by seven years of terrible famine. Here, these two officers of the court each have a dream and they think it is trying to tell them something.







Though, let us note that when God communicated something through a dream, it was a more cryptic form of communication than if he had instead directly spoken with him. In Numbers 12, for example, God says that in comparison to direct speech, a message through a dream is like a riddle. Indeed, as we see Joseph’s interpretation here, we see that the items of the dream are understood symbolically to convey some message. Dreams are not easy to understand, and that is why these two officials lament in verse 8 that they don’t have anyone to interpret them for them.







Let us think about that statement in the context of the lives of these royal officials. They were used to working in the royal court. Royal courts like this back then had wise men and magicians who would try to interpret dreams. So, when these two officials have their dreams, essentially they are saying, “If only we had access to such people who have the ability to interpret dreams.” But it is at that comment that Joseph corrects them. Joseph says that interpretations belong to God. In other words, no mere human, on their own strength, can know the meaning of the dream, without God revealing it to them.