Genesis 41:1-4 "And it came to pass at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh dreamed: and, behold, he stood by the river. And, behold, there came up out of the river seven well favoured kine and fatfleshed; and they fed in a meadow. And, behold, seven other kine came up after them out of the river, ill favoured and leanfleshed; and stood by the other kine upon the brink of the river. And the ill favoured and leanfleshed kine did eat up the seven well favoured and fat kine. So Pharaoh awoke."
Genesis 41:8-9 "And it came to pass in the morning that his spirit was troubled; and he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt, and all the wise men thereof: and Pharaoh told them his dream; but there was none that could interpret them unto Pharaoh. Then spake the chief butler unto Pharaoh, saying, I do remember my faults this day:"
Pharaoh’s chief butler had been in prison, where Joseph ministered unto him. Joseph’s only request of the butler was that when things were well with him, he would remember Joseph to Pharaoh. He asked this kindness of the butler that Joseph might be delivered from the prison. But as we saw in the previous chapter, the butler forgot Joseph.
From our scripture today, we can see that it was not just a little lapse in memory. Two full years had passed since the chief butler was released from the prison. Two whole years in which Jospeh continued in the prison unjustly, while the butler was restored to his place. The butler went back to living the good life and forgot the ministrations of Joseph.
Then, a situation arose that was so familiar to the chief butler that he could not help but remember. Like the butler had done two years earlier, the Pharaoh dreamed a dream. It was actually two dreams (see verses 5-7), but they both carried the same meaning. These dreams left Pharaoh troubled just like the butler’s dream had left him.
Pharaoh turned to the magicians and wise men of his court for answers as he had surely done many times before. Perhaps in the past, these men had been able to give him satisfactory answers and advice. However, that was not the case in this instance. God hid any notion of the meaning of these dreams from Pharaoh’s wise men (Genesis 41:16).
It was at this point that the chief butler finally remembered Joseph. He remembered Joseph because he remembered his faults. His faults may have included whatever had caused him to be cast into prison. But one thing that he recognized as a fault was that he had not remembered Joseph or shown him kindness.
Beloved of God, we may face many trials in this life. Some of them will leave us troubled. Eventually, we are going to realize that the things we once relied on are not sufficient for our needs. By His grace, God will provide us a witness to point us back to Jesus.
As God gives us opportunity, let us remember to show kindness. Do not let your prosperity cause you to forget the prison you have been delivered from. More than that, do not let your prosperity cause you to forget the One who has ministered to you faithfully. Remember your faults and confess them before the LORD.