John Calvin Commentary Genesis 40:6

"And Joseph came in unto them in the morning, and saw them, and, behold, they were sad." — Genesis 40:6 (ASV)

And Joseph came in to them, in the morning. As I have recently said, we should here behold, with the eyes of faith, the wonderful providence of God. For, although the butler and baker are certainly informed of their own fate, yet this was not done so much for their sake as in Joseph's favor, whom God intended, by this method, to make known to the king.

Therefore, by a secret instinct, God had made them sad and astonished, as if He would lead them by the hand to His servant Joseph. It should be noted, however, that by a new inspiration of the Spirit, the gift of prophecy, which he had not previously possessed, was imparted to him in the prison.

When he himself had previously dreamed, he remained, for a while, in suspense and doubt regarding the divine revelation; but now he is a reliable interpreter for others. And though, when he was inquiring into the cause of their sadness, he perhaps did not think of dreams, yet from the next verse it appears that he was conscious of having received the gift of the Spirit. In this confidence, he urges them to relate the dreams, of which he was about to be the interpreter.

Do not interpretations belong to God? he says. Certainly, he does not arrogantly transfer to himself what he acknowledges to be unique to God; but according to the means which his calling provided, he offers them his service. This must be noted, so that no one may inadvertently usurp more for himself than he knows God has granted him.

For this reason, Paul so diligently teaches that the gifts of the Spirit are variously distributed (1 Corinthians 12:4), and that God has assigned to each a specific role, so that no one may act ambitiously or intrude into another's office; but rather that each should keep within the bounds of his own calling.

Unless this degree of moderation prevails, all things will necessarily be thrown into confusion, because the truth of God will be distorted by the foolish rashness of many; peace and harmony will be disturbed, and, in short, no good order will be maintained. Let us learn, therefore, that Joseph confidently promised an interpretation of the dreams because he knew that he was furnished and adorned with this gift by God.

The same remark applies to his inquiry regarding the dreams. For he does not attempt to proceed beyond what his own power authorized him to do: he does not, therefore, discern what they had dreamed, but confesses that it was hidden from him. The method pursued by Daniel was different, for he was enabled, by a direct revelation, to state and interpret the dream which had entirely escaped the memory of the king of Babylon (Daniel 2:28).

He, therefore, relying upon a larger measure of the Spirit, does not hesitate to profess that he can both discern and interpret dreams. But Joseph, to whom only half of these gifts was imparted, keeps within legitimate bounds. Besides, he not only guards himself against presumption, but by declaring that whatever he has received is from God, he ingenuously testifies that he has nothing from himself.

He does not, therefore, boast of his own quickness or clear-sightedness, but wishes only to be known as the servant of God. Let those who excel follow this rule, lest by ascribing too much to themselves (which commonly happens), they obscure the grace of God. Moreover, this vanity is to be restrained, not only that God alone may be glorified and not be robbed of His right, but also that prophets, teachers, and all others who are endowed with heavenly grace may humbly submit to the direction of the Spirit.

What Moses says should also be noted: that Joseph was concerned about the sadness of those who were with him in prison. For in this way, people become softened by their own afflictions, so that they do not despise others who are in misery; and, in this way, common sufferings generate sympathy.

Therefore, it is not surprising that God should test us with various sorrows, since nothing is more fitting than compassion towards our fellow human beings, who, being weighed down with trials, suffer contempt. This compassion, however, must be learned by experience, because our innate ferocity is more and more inflated by prosperity.