Friday: Who looks dejected?

From Genesis 40-42

1. Who looks dejected? I wonder how Joseph kept such a bright outlook. First he is a stranger in a strange country where they speak a foreign language and he is a new slave in a very prominent household. Then, after putting a good face on a bad situation, he gets falsely accused and becomes a prisoner. But he continues to keep his positive outlook on life. This is never so evident as when he meets the cupbearer and baker. He notices that both of them are looking dejected, and then he asks, "Why are your faces so sad today?" In my version, it would then say that Joseph says, "You guys have no right to look dejected. You think you've got it bad, but just listen to my story of woe..." Joseph was such a positive force, trusting in God so strongly that not only was his face not downcast, but he even noticed others when they looked dejected! Wow!!

I wish that more people could be like that today. The world would be a better place for it. Just think - people not just thinking of themselves, but being concerned about the welfare of others in spite of their own troubles - sounds like heaven to me!!

2.It is interesting that the bible calls out the type of dreams that both the cupbearer and the baker had: "...each dream had a meaning of its own." It specifically says that these dreams have some special meaning. I also notice that Pharaoh's dream has specific meaning. But it is interesting that the bible calls it out. I think it implies that there are dreams that do not have any particular significance. (I can remember one time I dreamed that I was a team partner with Mr. T for some crime-busting ring. I can tell you with a certainty that the dream had no special meaning, other than perhaps to make me laugh!) In fact, I would suggest that you would be very unlikely to have a dream that did have some significance. I say this because of all the people that are mentioned in the bible, very few have dreams that are mentioned as having some significance. I can think of about ten - fifteen people in the bible who have dreams that turn out to be significant. This number is very few in light of the thousands of years of time that the bible spans. And even these people that do have some dream that ends up being significant - it is one dream in their entire life. I mean, we don't read anything about the Pharaoh continuing to have dreams. Nor does the cupbearer. Scientists tell us that we have dreams every night. But if you are trying to read some spiritual (or other) significance into your dreams - well, I think you are dreaming!!

3. I wonder what it looked like for withered, thin, scorched heads of grain to swallow full heads of grain. Talk about special effects!!! That would probably be better than the goblins in LOTR!!!

4. I like how humble and honest Joseph is. He finally gets a chance to go before the Pharaoh and when the Pharaoh asks him if he can interpret the dream, he immediately says that only God can do that - not him. Wow!! I hope that whenever I am faced with situations that require gifts that God has given me, I can do the same as Joseph by giving God all the glory.