Commentary - Genesis 40:20-23

Bird's-eye view

In this brief but potent conclusion to the prison-dream episode, we see the absolute sovereignty of God on full display, working itself out through the mundane and seemingly arbitrary affairs of a pagan court. The events unfold exactly as Joseph, speaking for God, had predicted. A birthday party, a pagan festival, becomes the stage for God's providential judgment and mercy. One man is lifted up to life, the other lifted up to death, a stark picture of divine election and reprobation. This passage serves as a crucial hinge in the Joseph narrative. It validates Joseph's prophetic gift, setting the stage for his later encounter with Pharaoh, and it also introduces a painful delay. The cupbearer's ingratitude and forgetfulness plunge Joseph back into a season of waiting, demonstrating that God's timetable is not ours. It is a story of precise fulfillment and frustrating forgetfulness, all woven together in the mysterious and perfect plan of God to preserve His people and advance His redemptive purposes through His chosen, and suffering, servant.

The central lesson here is that God's providence is meticulous. He is not just the God of the big picture; He is the God of birthdays, of promotions, of executions, and even of memory lapses. For the believer, this is a profound comfort. Even when human agents fail us, when we are forgotten in our affliction, God has not forgotten. The delay is part of the plan, designed to bring about a greater glory at the appointed time. Joseph's story is our story; we are often called to wait in the dark, trusting that the God who can predict the fate of a baker can certainly orchestrate the salvation of the world.

Outline

Context In Genesis

This passage is the culmination of the events that began when Joseph was unjustly thrown into prison. After being sold by his brothers and falsely accused by Potiphar's wife, Joseph's lot appears to be one of constant descent. Yet, in every circumstance, the text reminds us that "the LORD was with Joseph" (Gen 39:2, 21, 23). Chapter 40 introduces two of Pharaoh's officials, the cupbearer and the baker, who are also cast into the same prison. Their divinely-sent dreams and Joseph's God-given interpretations serve as a microcosm of God's work in the world: He reveals His plans, and He brings them to pass. The fulfillment of these two specific prophecies in our text authenticates Joseph as a true prophet of God. This authentication is the necessary prerequisite for the much grander events of chapter 41, where Joseph will stand before Pharaoh himself. The cupbearer's forgetfulness, which ends this chapter, creates a narrative tension that will last for "two full years" (Gen 41:1), emphasizing that Joseph's ultimate exaltation will come according to God's perfect timing, not man's.

Key Issues

The Unseen Hand on the Visible Throne

It is easy to read a story like this and see only the human actors: a fickle Pharaoh, a fortunate cupbearer, an unfortunate baker, and a forgotten Joseph. But the Bible teaches us to see with the eyes of faith. Behind the throne of Pharaoh is the throne of God. Pharaoh thinks he is throwing a birthday party for himself, but he is actually hosting an event orchestrated by Yahweh to demonstrate His own power and faithfulness. Pharaoh believes he is exercising his royal prerogative to "lift up the head" of his servants, deciding who lives and who dies. In reality, he is simply the instrument, the axe in the hand of the One who wields it, carrying out a sentence determined beforehand in the courts of heaven.

This is the doctrine of providence in its most robust form. God governs all things, from the rotation of galaxies to the internal politics of an Egyptian palace. He uses the free, and often sinful, choices of men to accomplish His own righteous and predetermined ends. Pharaoh's arbitrary justice becomes the canvas on which God paints a masterpiece of prophetic fulfillment. The cupbearer's selfish forgetfulness becomes the very means by which God ensures Joseph is in the right place at precisely the right time. For the Christian, this means there are no accidents, no coincidences, no wasted moments. All things, even the injustices and the waiting, are being woven into a story that ends in glory.

Verse by Verse Commentary

20 Thus it happened on the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, that he made a feast for all his servants; and he lifted up the head of the chief cupbearer and the head of the chief baker among his servants.

The narrative is precise. On the third day. This is the day Joseph had specified. The timing is not loose or approximate; it is exact. God is a God of appointments. The occasion is Pharaoh's birthday, a day of amnesty and judgment, of feasting and royal decree. The pagan world runs on its own calendar, celebrating its own lords, but God co-opts their calendar for His own purposes. Pharaoh, in his own mind, is the center of the universe on his birthday. He makes a feast, a display of his wealth and power. And in the midst of this celebration, he acts as the local sovereign. He lifted up the head of both men. This is a brilliant Hebrew idiom that plays on the double meaning Joseph had revealed. For one, it is a lifting up in honor, a restoration. For the other, it is a lifting up from the body, an execution. Pharaoh thinks he is making the decision, but he is merely reading from a script God had already given to His servant Joseph in prison.

21 And he restored the chief cupbearer to his office, and he put the cup into Pharaoh’s hand;

First, the mercy. The cupbearer's dream is fulfilled to the letter. He is restored to his butlership. The scene is vivid: he once again performs his intimate duty of placing the cup into the king's hand. This was a position of immense trust, as the cupbearer was the last line of defense against poisoning. His restoration was a full pardon, a return to favor and life. Joseph's interpretation was not a vague platitude; it was a precise description of future events. This is the first half of the proof. God's word of grace for the cupbearer has come true.

22 but he hanged the chief baker, just as Joseph had interpreted to them.

Second, the judgment. The baker's dream is also fulfilled with terrifying accuracy. The same Pharaoh who showed mercy now shows wrath. He hanged the baker. The birds that ate from the baskets on his head in the dream now feast on his flesh, just as Joseph had implied. The parallel is stark and severe. One is taken, the other is left. One is restored, the other is executed. This is not to say that God is arbitrary, but that His judgments are ultimate and His mercy is sovereign. Both outcomes serve the same purpose in this immediate context: to confirm that the word spoken by Joseph was the very Word of God. The fates of these two men, as different as heaven and hell, both shout the same truth: God speaks, and what He speaks, happens.

23 Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.

Here is the bitter twist, the human element that makes this story so relatable. After this stunning display of God's power through Joseph, after Joseph's specific and humble plea to be remembered, the one man who could help him walks out of prison and promptly puts the whole affair out of his mind. Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him. The language is emphatic, a one-two punch of ingratitude. It wasn't just a momentary slip; he forgot him entirely. From a human perspective, this is a tragic failure. The cupbearer, now enjoying the warmth of the palace, has no thought for the Hebrew slave languishing in the dungeon. He is a classic example of selfish human nature. But from God's perspective, this forgetting is not a mistake. It is a necessary delay. Joseph was not ready for the court, and the court was not ready for Joseph. God had a better, more dramatic deliverance planned. This act of forgetting ensures that when Joseph is finally summoned, it will not be because of a man's favor, but because of God's undeniable intervention. Joseph had to learn to trust in God alone, not in the fickle promises of men. The cupbearer's memory may fail, but God's memory never does.

Application

This passage is a hard lesson in divine timing and a soft pillow for the suffering saint. We live in a world full of cupbearers. We do good to others, we serve faithfully, and we are forgotten. We hold on to promises from men that turn out to be worthless. We see injustice and wonder when our vindication will come. Joseph's story tells us to look higher.

First, we must recognize that God's word is utterly reliable. What He predicted for the cupbearer and baker came to pass on the very day He appointed. In the same way, all His promises and warnings to us in Christ are absolutely certain. He has promised to forgive the repentant and judge the unrepentant, and He will do both with perfect accuracy. Our job is to believe His interpretation of reality, not our own.

Second, we must learn to endure the seasons when we are forgotten by men. Joseph's deliverance was delayed for two more years. In those two years, he had nothing to hold on to but the character of his God. This is often where true faith is forged, not in the dramatic deliverance but in the quiet, faithful waiting. When you feel forgotten, you are in the place where you can learn that God's remembrance is the only one that truly matters. The cupbearer forgot Joseph, but God was positioning him to save the world.

Finally, we see in Joseph a type of Christ. He was the righteous one, suffering unjustly among the guilty. He was positioned between two criminals, one of whom was saved and the other condemned, a preview of the cross. He offered a word of life, which was forgotten and rejected for a time, but which would ultimately lead to the salvation of many. When we are forgotten, betrayed, or left to wait, we are sharing in the fellowship of His sufferings. And just as Joseph was eventually lifted up from the pit to the right hand of Pharaoh, so Christ was raised from the grave to the right hand of the Father. And because He was not forgotten, we who are in Him will not be forgotten either.