Make Mention of Me
“But think on me when it shall be well with thee, and shew kindness, I pray thee, unto me, and make mention of me unto Pharaoh, and bring me out of this house” (Gen. 40:14). Joseph had just given Pharaoh's butler an interpretation of his dream. It was good news; the butler would soon be released from prison and his position in Pharaoh's palace restored. Joseph had been imprisoned on false pretenses, so he made one request of the butler, “make mention of me unto Pharaoh.” Put in a good word for me, that's all.
Indeed, it came to pass. Pharoah restored the butler to his position as chief butler. “Yet did not the chief butler remember Joseph, but forgot him” (Gen. 40:21, 23).
Have you ever asked someone to do something for you? Something easy, something free, it costs them nothing to follow through, but they don't. You've gone out of your way for them but you are not their priority, maybe they are lazy, or maybe they just forget. Joseph continued to sit in a prison surrounded by people who belonged there, even though he didn't, all because the butler forgot to make mention of him.
I have a question. How could the butler forget Joseph? It's not like he just shared his commissary with the guy, let him borrow an extra blanket, no, the butler had a dream and Joseph interpreted it, correctly. Not only did Joseph interpret the butler’s dream he interpreted the baker’s dream and that too came true, he was hung (Gen. 40:22). Maybe it's just me but that's not something I would easily forget.
Two years passed, “Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they brought him hastily out of the dungeon” (Gen. 41:1, 14). Joseph had to be wondering what was going on, one minute he was in the pit, and the next he was in the palace. “And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I have dreamed a dream, and there is none that can interpret it: and I have heard say of thee, that thou canst understand a dream to interpret it” (Gen. 41:15). So, I guess the butler did remember. If you are at all familiar with this story you know that this is the start of the come-up Joseph never saw coming, the promotion of a lifetime. “It is not in me,” Joseph answered, “God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace” (Genesis 41:16). Joseph didn't take credit for the ability to interpret dreams, he gave the glory to whom it belonged, God. Years before, a young Joseph had bragged to his brothers that they would one day bow down to him, this seemed like a different Joseph, one with more humility, one whose character was now mature and godly enough to take the position God had always had in store for him (Gen. 37). Joseph interpreted Pharaoh's dream and was appointed second most powerful in the kingdom.
How long would you endure a trial and keep faith in God? Would you wait patiently on the LORD if you knew God would take you straight from prison to the palace? What if you knew for certain that overnight you'd go from being helpless to the most powerful person in the land?
I've got good news; God is on the throne and He's got plans for you! You can't count on man, he'll forget to make mention of you in a heartbeat, but Jesus never does. Jesus mentions us to the Father every day, He lives to make intercession for those who draw near to God, always pleading our case before the Father (Heb. 7:25, 1 Jn. 2:1).
God has palace plans for you. You may have to wait. You may have to wallow in the pit for a while or bide your time in the prison that you are in, call it God's character development program. He is getting you ready for the position of a lifetime. The butler forgot to make mention of Joseph because it was not Joseph's time to be elevated. Trust God through everything, His appointed time for you is yet to come. “Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD” (Psalm 27:14).
