Genesis 40 Series, Part 40 Verses 20-23

Hello, and welcome to EBible Fellowship’s Bible study in the book of Genesis. Tonight is study #40 in Genesis 40, and we are going to read Genesis 40:20-23:

And it came to pass the third day, which was Pharaoh's birthday, that he made a feast unto all his servants: and he lifted up the head of the chief butler and of the chief baker among his servants. And he restored the chief butler unto his butlership again; and he gave the cup into Pharaoh's hand: But he hanged the chief baker: as Joseph had interpreted to them. Yet did not the chief butler remember Joseph, but forgat him.

I will stop reading there, and this brings us to the end of the chapter. We have found some very interesting details. We know that both the butler and the baker were in prison, and we know that it was at the time of Pharaoh’s birthday that he brought them forth on the third day. 

If you recall, we spent a good deal of time looking at “three days,” or the “third day.” In the Bible, if you just read of three days, or of the third day, it identifies with judgment, and the context determines which judgment is in view. There a various possibilities for the spiritual meaning concerning the judgment, and one of them is the judgment of God upon the corporate church. And that is what is in view here when it says, “And it came to pass on the third day.” On the third day both the butler and the baker came out of prison, and the butler was restored to his butlership to give the cup to Pharaoh, and the baker was hanged. Not only was he hanged, but remember the language in his dream about the three baskets that were upon his head, and the interpretation in Genesis 40:18-19:

And Joseph answered and said, This is the interpretation thereof: The three baskets are three days: Yet within three days shall Pharaoh lift up thy head from off thee, and shall hang thee on a tree; and the birds shall eat thy flesh from off thee.

So to have his head lifted off means to be beheaded, and then he was hanged. We went to several passages that looked at those who were hanged, and we saw that it identifies often with God’s judgment upon the churches, and at that point they became accursed. Whoever is hanged is accursed, according to Galatians 3.

So these two men came out of prison, and the baker was hanged, and according to the interpretation of the dream his head would come off. He was beheaded as well as hanged, and it happened on Pharaoh’s birthday. So we have in view beheading, hanging, and Pharaoh’s birthday. So let us keep that in mind as we read Matthew 14:1:

At that time Herod the tetrarch heard of the fame of Jesus,

By the way, this was a later Herod than the Herod that reigned when Jesus was born. Jesus began His ministry when he was 35, and His ministry continued for three and a half years. So this Herod is not the Herod who received the wise men and got information from them. Then after the wise men did not return to him, he sent his soldiers to kill all the children that were two years and under in the area surrounding Bethlehem. This Herod lived some 30+ years later. Secular history indicates that the Herod who killed the children of Bethlehem died in 4 B. C. So this further confirms that Jesus was not born in the year “0,” but he was actually born in the Jubile year of 7. B. C., and Herod attempted to kill Him according to the time he had ascertained from the wise men. Then Herod died in 4 B. C., just a few years after Christ’s birth.

This Herod was a more powerful leader, historically, because he is called “the tetrarch.” You might wonder what this title means, and there is another reference that seems to really explain it in Luke 3:1:

Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar…

Again, we have to go to secular history to show that the fifteenth year of Tiberius Caesar was 29 B. C. He began to reign in 14 A. D., so his fifteenth year would be 29 B. C., which fits in with the biblical calendar of history wherein Jesus was born in 7 B. C. and died on the cross in 33 A. D.

Again, it says in Luke 3:1:

Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judaea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituraea and of the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias the tetrarch of Abilene,

So there were four rulers. The “tetrarch” means four rulers, and Herod was one of the four. Pilate being the Roman governor would have been the chief, and he would have been more powerful because he had the backing of Caesar of Rome. So Herod was one of these four, and he was ruling with the Roman governor, under the authority of Caesar.

We are trying to understand who Herod represents, but first let me remind everyone that Pharaoh was the one who brought the butler and baker forth on his birthday. Pharaoh was king of Egypt, and Egypt is a picture of the world, so he was a type and figure of Satan. We already talked about this, but there was no question that the spiritual picture of bringing forth the baker for hanging on Pharaoh’s birthday points to Satan. So Pharaoh is a type and figure of Satan.

Likewise, Herod is a picture of Satan. Just like there were multiple Pharaohs, there were a few different rulers called “Herod” hat identify with Satan. One Herod sought to slay Christ, and he did kill children in Bethlehem. That was Satan’s work. And a pharaoh in the time of Moses sought to kill all the young Hebrew male children. When we read in the Bible that a king issues an order and it becomes a law of the land, the one who makes it “legal” to kill children, for instance, always points to Satan. When we think of the world being under the power and authority of Satan since the Garden of Eden, we are not surprised that it became legal in most of the world to kill children through abortion. 

The reason that Herod sought to kill the children that were two years of age and under was because he wanted to kill Christ who was King of the Jews. Herod was a very wicked man, and he did not want any threat to his authority as king. So that is pointing to Satan seeking to kill the body of Christ as they are born into the world. So the evil spiritual reasoning behind so many women aborting their children was an attempt to kill one of God’s elect. Consider that there are millions of abortions throughout the world, and if we think of it from the perspective of the devil, if he could kill multitudes of children there must be some of God’s elect among the children who were aborted. But God is always faithful to His promise He made by paying for the sins of His elect, and God would have saved those babies in the womb before they could be killed. He would have made a point to bring the Gospel to the hearing of that baby, and He would have applied His Word to the soul of that child, giving that child spiritual ears to hear even if the child lacked physical ears. We can be absolutely certain that God has done that in a number of cases, thus disappointing the evil one in his desire.

I have pointed this out before. It is interesting that now that God has completed His salvation program, so no more elect are being born or developed in the womb, and now in this time period abortion is no more a law of the land, although it is still an issue in many states. But as far as Satan is concerned, it is no longer essential. The purpose behind it was to try to kill God’s elect, but now there are no more elect to be saved.

Getting back to Herod, this Herod was a minor king but he too is a picture of Satan, and we read in Matthew 14:3-4:

For Herod had laid hold on John, and bound him, and put him in prison for Herodias' sake, his brother Philip's wife. For John said unto him, It is not lawful for thee to have her.

Herod had laid hold on John and put him in in prison because John had told him it was not lawful for him to have is brother’s wife. That reminds us of Pharaoh putting the butler and baker in prison. So we see a couple of similarities. Both Pharaoh and Herod can typify Satan, and we see there are people put in prison by them both. Then it says in Matthew 14:4-5:

And when he would have put him to death, he feared the multitude, because they counted him as a prophet. But when Herod's birthday was kept, the daughter of Herodias danced before them, and pleased Herod.

So now we see it is Herod’s birthday. When we read the English word “birthday,” which we also read in Genesis 40, the only other place we read of a birthday is here in Matthew 14, as well as a parallel passage in Mark 6. So another similarity is that it was Pharaoh’s birthday in Genesis 40, and it was Herod’s birthday here. 

The Greek word translated as “birthday” is only found two times, and it means “birth” and “day,” or birthday. Again, this is a striking similarity, as Pharaoh threw the butler and baker into prison, and Herold threw John into prison. And then on the day of the birth of Pharaoh and on the day of the birth of Herold a similar thing happens. 

Let us read on in Matthew 14:6-12:

But when Herod's birthday was kept, the daughter of Herodias danced before them, and pleased Herod. Whereupon he promised with an oath to give her whatsoever she would ask. And she, being before instructed of her mother, said, Give me here John Baptist's head in a charger. And the king was sorry: nevertheless for the oath's sake, and them which sat with him at meat, he commanded it to be given her. And he sent, and beheaded John in the prison. And his head was brought in a charger, and given to the damsel: and she brought it to her mother. And his disciples came, and took up the body, and buried it, and went and told Jesus.

Now we have a third similarity. John was beheaded. What happened to the baker on the third day? His head was lifted up from off him, and he was hanged on Pharaoh’s birthday.

You know, this is pretty obvious, but those who approach the Bible with the plain, grammatical, literal method of interpretation do not know what to do with these things. They may see some similarity if they were to look up the word “birthday,” and maybe they would come up with some kind of slightly interesting nugget of information. Maybe. But when we approach the Bible properly by looking for the deeper spiritual meaning, it is very striking. Pharaoh is a type of Satan, and Herod is a type of Satan. And the baker deals with bread, and bread identifies with the Word of God, the Gospel, and doctrine, and Christ is the bread of life. So the idea of Pharaoh lifting up the head of the baker is something we see relates to the churches. And with Herod beheading John, we know that John was fully identified with the Word of God. He came before Christ and pointed the way to Him: “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” He had everything to do with the Word, and the churches were the caretakers of the Word of God. They had the law of God, the Bible. 

So we can see a definite spiritual picture between Satan and the beheading of someone put into prison. What is it? There has to be more here. And, yes, we do find there is more if we go to Revelation 20 where we read of the binding of Satan. It says in Revelation 20:1:

And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.

The word “angel” is the word that can be translated as “messenger.” This messenger that came down from heaven is Christ, and we can prove that from Revelation 1:18:

I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.

Christ has the keys to the bottomless pit, and the bottomless pit is a figure representing “hell” or “death” or the “grave.” How do we know that Jesus has the keys to hell and death? It is because He died and rose again, thus proving Himself triumphant over death, and possessing the key. Christ can save the sinner by freeing him from hell and death, or He can shut up the sinner in the condition of hell and death.

The word “bottomless pit” is the Greek word “ab'-us-sos,” and it is the same word we read in Romans 10:6-7:

But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:) Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.)

The word “deep” is the word “ab'-us-sos,” which was translated as “bottomless pit.” So we could read this as, “Who shall descend into the bottomless pit?” The bottomless pit is the grave. It is where those who have died go. In other words, what Christ is doing to Satan by having the key of the bottomless pit is what we see when we continue to read in Revelation 20:2-3:

And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up…

Christ cast him into the deep, or into “hell,” the condition of death.

Again, it says in Revelation 20:3:

And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.

He was thrown into the bottomless pit for a figurative thousand years, and we can prove it aligns with the entire church age, which was actually 1,955 years, but the point is that Christ threw Satan into the condition of hell and death, and then it says in Revelation 20:7:

And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,

Again, we see a “prison.” The bottomless pit is called “prison.” And what happened when Satan as the beast was loosed? It says in Revelation 13:1:

And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea…

He rose up out of the sea or out of the deep, but this is not the same word ““ab'-us-sos.” And then we read in Revelation 11 of the two witnesses that are killed, and it says in Revelation 11:7-8:

And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them. And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.

I was not able to get everything laid out, so when we get together in our next study I will lay it out more slowly, and we will see the wonderful teaching of the Word of God as the Lord instructs us in the spiritual meaning of these things.