DAY 20. Genesis 40 | Matthew 14:1-21 | Psalm 16

Genesis chapter 40 Joseph interprets two prisoners' dreams. Sometime after this, the cupbearer of the king of Egypt and his baker committed an offense against their lord, the king of Egypt, and Pharaoh was angry with his two officers, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker, and he put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard in the prison where Joseph was confined. The captain of the guard appointed Joseph to be with them, and he attended them. They continued for some time in custody, and one night they both dreamed, the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were confined in the prison, each his own dream, and each dream with its own interpretation. When Joseph came to them in the morning, he saw that they were troubled, so he asked Pharaoh's officers, who were with him in custody in his master's house, why are your faces downcast today? They said to him, we have had dreams, and there is no one to interpret them, and Joseph said to them, do not interpretations belong to God, please tell them to me. So the chief cupbearer told his dreams to Joseph and said to him, in my dream there was a vine before me, and on the vine there were three branches. As soon as it budded, its blossoms shot forth, and the clusters ripened into grapes. Pharaoh's cup was in my hand, and I took the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh's cup and placed the cup in Pharaoh's hand. Then Joseph said to him, this is its interpretation, the three branches are three days, and three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your office, and you shall place Pharaoh's cup in his hand as formally when you were his cupbearer. We remember me when it is well with you, and please do me the kindness to mention me to Pharaoh, and so get me out of this house. For I was indeed stolen out of the land of the Hebrews, and here also I have done nothing that they should put me into the pit. When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was favorable, he said to Joseph, I also had a dream, there were three cake baskets on my head, and in the uppermost basket there were all sorts of baked food for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating it out of the basket on my head, and Joseph answered and said, this is its interpretation, the three baskets are three days, and three days Pharaoh will lift up your head from you, and hang you on a tree, and the birds will eat the flesh from you. On the third day which was Pharaoh's birthday, he made a feast for all of his servants and lifted up the head of the chief cupbearer and the head of the chief baker among his servants. He restored the chief cupbearer to his position, and he placed the cup in Pharaoh's hand, but he hanged the chief baker as Joseph had interpreted to them, yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him. Matthew chapter 14 verses 1 through 21, the death of John the Baptist. At that time, Herod the Tetrarch heard about the fame of Jesus, and he said to his servants, this is John the Baptist, he has been raised from the dead, that is why these miraculous powers are at work in him, for Herod had seized John and bound him and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, because John had been saying to him, it is not lawful for you to have her, and though he wanted to put him to death, he feared the people, because they had held him to be a prophet, but when Herod's birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before the company and pleased Herod, so that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she might ask. Prompted by her mother, she said, give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter, and the king was sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests, he commanded it to be given. He sent and had John beheaded in the prison, and his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother, and his disciples came and took the body and buried it, and they went and told Jesus. Jesus feeds the five thousand. Now when Jesus heard this, he would drew from there in a boat to a desolate place by himself, but when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns, when he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, and healed their sick. Now when it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, this is a desolate place, and the day is now over. Send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves, but Jesus said, they need not go away. You give them something to eat. They said to him, we only have five loaves here, and two fish. And he said, bring them here to me. Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass, and taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds, and they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up 12 baskets full of the broken pieces left over, and those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children. Psalm chapter 16. You will not abandon my soul. Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge. I say to the Lord, you are my Lord. I have no good apart from you. As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight. The sorrows of those who run after another God shall multiply. Their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out, or take their names on my lips. The Lord is my chosen portion in my cup. You hold my lot. The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places indeed. I have a beautiful inheritance. I bless the Lord who gives me counsel, and the night also my heart instructs me. I have set the Lord always before me, because he is at my right hand. I shall not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices. My flesh also dwells secure, for you will not abandon my soul to she-all, or let your holy one see corruption. You make known to me the path of life. In your presence there is fullness of joy. At your right hand are pleasures forevermore.