Genesis 40:1-8 "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. And Pharaoh was wroth against two of his officers, against the chief of the butlers, and against the chief of the bakers. And he put them in ward in the house of the captain of the guard, into the prison, the place where Joseph was bound. And the captain of the guard charged Joseph with them, and he served them: and they continued a season in ward. 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. And Joseph came in unto them in the morning, and looked upon them, and, behold, they were sad. 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? 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."
Joseph was wrongly accused and cast into prison by Potiphar. Yet, God was with Joseph in prison and blessed him there. During his time in prison, Pharoah had his butler and his baker cast into prison because they had trespassed (or at least had been accused of trespass) against the king. Considering their respective offices, it is reasonable to assume that they were accused of attempting to poison the king.
Pharoah was understandably angered by the accusations leveled against two of his trusted servants. He gave them up to the captain of the guard to put them in prison. They were imprisoned in the same location as Joseph. As was already mentioned, Joseph had found favor with the keeper of the prison. Therefore, both the butler and the baker were placed in Joseph’s care.
Even though they were all prisoners, Joseph ministered to both men. The butler and the baker remained in prison for some time. Joseph had spent enough time with them that he was aware of their attitude and manner of daily living. Because of this, Joseph was able to recognize that something was amiss with both of the king’s servants.
Seeing that both men were sad (fretting or worrying), Joseph inquired of them as to the cause of their condition. They revealed to Joseph that they had both dreamed a dream. Neither man was certain of the meaning of their dream. They felt they had no man to interpret the dreams and were concerned as to their meaning.
Joseph then called their attention to an important truth. Interpretations belong to God. We are not wise enough in ourselves to understand the meaning of life’s experiences. It is necessary to look to God for any understanding of our circumstances. As the apostle Paul advised, “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God (Phillipians 4:6).”