Day 3 – Chief, Chief

Life continued as normal (well, as normal as it can get in Prison!)…

A few years later, two of Pharaoh’s servants – his Chief Cupbearer and Chief Baker – upset the King and were brought to our Prison, as punishment. I was informed that Mr P had assigned ‘yours truly’ – the Chief Inmate of the King’s Prison – to be their personal attendant. It felt like I was their own personal butler! Lol! The irony of life. Anyways, one day, as I visited their cell for my morning duties, I noticed that on this particular day, they were not as chirpy as usual. I’m sure someone might be thinking – realistically, how chirpy can you be when you’re in Prison without a known exit date? True that. However, there was a greater sense of despondency that greeted me as soon as I stepped into their cells.

As the increasingly sensitive and caring person that I was growing to become, I asked them what the matter was. With their faces still downcast, they told me that they had each had a dream, which they could not understand nor find anyone to help them interpret. Though I was yet to fully understand the dreams that I myself had dreamt many years ago, I asked them to tell me theirs. Knowing that it was no coincidence that Yahweh had allowed me to cross paths with them right here in Prison, I trusted that He would reveal what the dreams meant to me, so that I could help them. As the Chief Cupbearer and Chief Baker took turns in recounting their dreams, it didn’t take long for me to sense the meanings of both dreams (you can read about their dreams in Genesis 40). After I interpreted his dream to him, I urged the Chief Cupbearer to kindly remember me when he returned to the Palace, and to bring my case before Pharaoh, so that I could be rescued from this dungeon. I was innocent after all!

When the Chief Baker heard the favourable interpretation of his co-worker’s dream, he excitedly relayed his own dream to me. Unfortunately for him, the interpretation did not bode well at all! A key thing to note here, my dear readers: you cannot manipulate the meaning of a dream; it is what it is. You can however, commit the outcome into God’s hands. He alone has the power to turn things around for good. Sure enough, within three days, the dreams of these two men came to pass. The King was celebrating his birthday; and he restored the Chief Cupbearer to his former position, but he ordered the Chief Baker to be hanged. I felt sorry to hear the sad news about the Chief Baker, but there was nothing I could do. In a sense, I guess Yahweh had used me to prepare them for what was coming round the corner …

The pieces of the puzzle finally began to fall into place in my mind. First of all, I was sold to Potiphar, a high-ranking officer in Pharaoh’s service. Then, I had ended up in Pharaoh’s own Prison, and selected to personally attend to his Chief Cupbearer and Chief Baker. My eyes began to open to the common thread in all of this – Pharaoh. Pharaoh! The King of Egypt himself! Was that what this was all about? Was Pharaoh my “Get out of Jail free” card? By the way, I’ve never played Monopoly! (*don’t mind the pun*).

Back to my thoughts … Would Pharaoh be the one to release me and allow me to go back home? If so, how would my brothers and even my father, bow down to me? Would it be when I returned home? Though all the details were still somewhat fuzzy, the more I thought about leaving Prison, the more excited I became. Day after day, I kept rehashing different scenarios in my mind. Every time I heard the rattling of keys or the creaking of the main Prison gate, I would jump to my feet and run to see if they had finally come to rescue me.

However, days turned into weeks, which eventually became months and years. I must confess, there were moments of discouragement; times when I wondered why it was taking so long. Still, I kept going, kept believing and kept doing good. I had learnt that principle from my own father, Jacob.

I later found out that the Chief Cupbearer had forgotten to mention me to Pharaoh. Imagine! After all my serving him and interpreting his dream. Chai!^ Human beings sha* … Anyways, I thank God that He causes ALL things – even the bad and the ugly – to work together for our good.

^ Chai! – a Nigerian expression, which is used to signify surprise, and could mean “wow!” or “imagine!”

* Sha – a Nigerian expression, which could mean “though”

Reflection:

Proverbs 13:12 states: "Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life". It's quite hard not to throw in the towel when you've been waiting and waiting for so long.

However, in the midst of your pain, don't forget to take note of what's going on around you. There is often someone else in need of your help. God would want us to look beyond our own problems to help another person. You never know - your kindness today may eventually lead to your deliverance tomorrow...