Joseph has now been in prison for a while. What’s a while? Five weeks? Five months? Something happens in the palace and Pharaoh angrily tosses two of his inner circle into prison: his chief baker and royal cup bearer. Did someone in the palace get food poisoning?

The head of the prisoners, assigns Joseph to take care of the men while they await their sentences. Both the cupbearer and baker have dreams. In the morning, Joseph sees that they are bothered by something and asks them if he can help. They tell him they had dreams that no one can interpret. Joseph tells them that nobody but God is able to interpret them. Joseph has had his own dreams and is a little more circumspect on how he discusses them with others at this point in his life.

The cupbearer shares about a dream of a grapevine with three branches with grapes on them. In the dream, he squeezes the grapes into a cup and serves it to the Pharaoh. 

Joseph tells him that the dream means that in three days Pharaoh will restore him into his former position in the palace. He asks cupbearer to remember him. Joseph tells him that he was stolen from his homeland, sold, and now is stuck in a pit for no reason. 

The chief baker, hearing the positive interpretation, eagerly tells Joseph his own dream. In his dream, he has three baskets of baked goods balanced on his head for the Pharaoh, but birds come and eat all of the food. Joseph gives him a less gentle interpretation: in three days, the baker will be hung in a tree, and the birds will eat his flesh. Yikes!

Three days later, the pharaoh holds a birthday feast where he restores the cupbearer to his former position and hangs the baker. Alas, The cup bearer does not remember Joseph. 

The story of Joseph is a lesson on patience despite setbacks. Joseph had dreams from God where the moon and stars bowed down to him, and now he is a a mere slave forgotten in a hole. Nonetheless, he has been faithful in his service to whichever master is above him. He interprets dreams for others, and even the successful recipients forget him. If God‘s promises in your life have not come to pass, then your story is not finished.