Joseph was a fine young man who was taken from his home a little after he was seventeen. He was sold into slavery by his own brothers and came to Egypt as a result of being sold. He was blessed by God while there but by the lies of Potiphar’s wife, he was placed into prison. While there God blessed him and he was given charge over all the other prisoners. On a given occasion, the butler and baker of Pharaoh, were both thrown into prison.
As part of his duties one day he comes by both men and sees they are sad. Joseph, though a prisoner himself saw them as being worse off on this day. Both men related their sadness due to dreams they had. They had no one to explain to them the meaning of their dreams. Joseph revealed to them that interpretations belong to God (Genesis 40: 1-8). He asked them to tell him their dreams. In this manner Joseph knew it would take a direct action from God for him to understand and explain the dreams these two men had dreamed.
Joseph interpreted the butler’s dream to mean that in three days he would be given his old job back. The baker on the other hand would die in the same three days. Where did Joseph get the means to interpret the dreams? The words out of his own mouth, was the interpretation would come from God. God warns man to not add to or take away from what God has said (Deuteronomy 4:2; Proverbs 30:6; Revelation22:18,19). If Joseph told them something and attributed it to God, then it had to take place just like Joseph said. God cannot lie (Hebrews6:18; Titus 1:2).
God warned His people before they entered Canaan, to be on alert to some man who said something was going to happen and it did. Why be on alert? If what he said did happen but his words were to leave God and serve false gods, they were not to accept such a man as a prophet (Deuteronomy 13:1-2). Saying something is from God does not necessarily mean that it is from God. The proof, in part, must rest on what the man said. If his words come to pass, then he must be considered. If his teaching because of confidence in him because of his supposed “gift”, is accepted, then only bad can come.
What did happen at the end of the three days? The butler was restored and the baker hanged. Any other outcome would provide proof that Joseph was not speaking for God. The fate of both men came to pass and therefore Joseph was speaking for God. Two years would pass before the butler remembered Joseph. It was due to a dream that Pharaoh had that none of his people could interpret. The butler remembered there was a young Hebrew man who interpreted their dreams some two years earlier.
Joseph is summoned to Pharaoh. He shaves, cleans up and changes his clothes. He is going before the king of the land. (Christians today come before the King of Kings as if they are going to or coming from some sporting event-how sad!). Joseph continues as he did two years earlier to attribute the interpretation to God (Genesis 41:16). Interpretations such as these come directly from God.
When we study our Bibles we must always exercise caution to work hard to reach the right conclusions. Joseph had to make no such effort. This knowledge came directly from God. We do not have dreams or any such thing to arrive at the truth. We have the truth in written form in the Bible. Any person who makes the same effort in study as required in II Timothy 2:15 will arrive at the right conclusions. There is no direct action from God to lead one to understanding the written Word.