ESOCS Devotional 14 October 2023 – Help is of God
MEMORY VERSE: “And they said unto him, we have dreamed a dream and there is no interpreter of it. And Joseph said unto them, do not interpretations belong to God? Tell me them, I pray you.” Genesis 40:8
TEXT: GENESIS 40:1–23 (KJV)
And it came to pass after these things, that the butler of the king of Egypt and his baker had offended their lord the king of Egypt.
2 And Pharaoh was wroth against two of his officers, against the chief of the butlers, and against the chief of the bakers.
3 And he put them in ward in the house of the captain of the guard, into the prison, the place where Joseph was bound.
4 And the captain of the guard charged Joseph with them, and he served them: and they continued a season in ward.
5 And they dreamed a dream both of them, each man his dream in one night, each man according to the interpretation of his dream, the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt, which were bound in the prison.
6 And Joseph came in unto them in the morning, and looked upon them, and, behold, they were sad.
7 And he asked Pharaoh’s officers that were with him in the ward of his lord’s house, saying, Wherefore look ye so sadly to day?
8 And they said unto him, We have dreamed a dream, and there is no interpreter of it. And Joseph said unto them, Do not interpretations belong to God? tell me them, I pray you.
9 And the chief butler told his dream to Joseph, and said to him, In my dream, behold, a vine was before me;
10 And in the vine were three branches: and it was as though it budded, and her blossoms shot forth; and the clusters thereof brought forth ripe grapes:
11 And Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand: and I took the grapes, and pressed them into Pharaoh’s cup, and I gave the cup into Pharaoh’s hand.
12 And Joseph said unto him, This is the interpretation of it: The three branches are three days:
13 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.
14 But think on me when it shall be well with thee, and shew kindness, I pray thee, unto me, and make mention of me unto Pharaoh, and bring me out of this house:
15 For indeed I was stolen away out of the land of the Hebrews: and here also have I done nothing that they should put me into the dungeon.
16 When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was good, he said unto Joseph, I also was in my dream, and, behold, I had three white baskets on my head:
17 And in the uppermost basket there was of all manner of bakemeats for Pharaoh; and the birds did eat them out of the basket upon my head.
18 And Joseph answered and said, This is the interpretation thereof: The three baskets are three days:
19 Yet within three days shall Pharaoh lift up thy head from off thee, and shall hang thee on a tree; and the birds shall eat thy flesh from off thee.
20 And it came to pass the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, that he made a feast unto all his servants: and he lifted up the head of the chief butler and of the chief baker among his servants.
21 And he restored the chief butler unto his butlership again; and he gave the cup into Pharaoh’s hand:
22 But he hanged the chief baker: as Joseph had interpreted to them.
23 Yet did not the chief butler remember Joseph, but forgat him.
Read Yesterday’s ESOCS Devotional here
Man on this earth will always have challenges. And will always need help and support against the challenges of this life. That was the case of the Chief Butler and Baker of Pharaoh of Egypt.
They had a dream and needed interpretation for their dreams but do not know how to get it,; this led to their sadness. Thank God for a young man who understands where ultimate help comes from. It comes from the LORD God who made heaven and earth Ps. 121:1.
Now, talking about help, we would note that helps fall into categories: already prepared help like schools for education, hospitals for health treatment, food by agriculture for hunger, vehicles for transportation and so on. There are helps that we do not know where they will come from for certain challenges. There may or may not have an institutionalised solution for them. In whatever category the helps we need falls into, we must recognise that they all come from God. All the knowledge available to man to produce solutions are from God. Though man fell into sin and may have other influences other than God controlling man, man still retains the creative and innovative capacities of God in him. Also, all powers belong to God. Therefore, every solution man offers are from God. Though He chooses to use man as vessels to accomplish the solution.
Joseph recognised this; therefore, he told the worrying men that God will attend to their challenges. And God did through Joseph.
Joseph needed help too, so, he asked the butler when he regards his freedom from prison according to the dreams interpretation to remember him and mention him to Pharaoh in verse 14. But verse 23 told us that the Butler forgot Joseph. No wonder then, the bible said in Psalm 100:2 that “Give us help from trouble: for vain is the help of man.” Sometimes, we come face to face with troubles that fellow man cannot help us out whether professionals or not. It may be that they lack the capacity or the interest to help. But God will always be interested in helping us out. That is why the scriptures say that God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life. God knew we needed help from sin so He provided the solution in Christ Jesus. Who through His death on the cross took away sin and its power.
God is dependable and worthy to be trusted for helps. The Psalms speaking in 118:8 says “It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.” Rather trust God than any man no matter how high placed in life. God knows who he will use to help us.
- Have you been disappointed by man? You do not need to despair; all you need is to trust God and call upon him for help.
- Father LORD God, I thank you for you are always there to help us. I rejoice for you will never forget, forsake or fail me. Thank you, Father being there for me always in Jesus Mighty Name. Amen.
FURTHER READING: Genesis 4:1–16; Mark 2:1–12; Romans 3:21–end
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ESOCS Devotional 14 October 2023
