A Birthday Used for Spiritual Good (Genesis 40:20)

“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.” — Genesis 40:20

 

Summary:

Pharaoh’s birthday became an occasion for mercy and judgment, reminding us that birthdays may reveal either human pride or godly reflection. Scripture records celebrations corrupted by drunkenness, vanity, and cruelty, yet the custom itself may be used lawfully and profitably. A birthday should lead us to thank God for life and preservation, humble ourselves for sin and neglected privileges, reflect on life’s brevity and uncertainty, and pray for wisdom, mercy, grace, and readiness for death. Faith changes the meaning of both birth and death: without hope, another year brings only deeper dread, but in Christ it brings the believer nearer to the heavenly home.

 

Outline:

• Providence rules over every life
  • The butler’s promotion and the baker’s death occurred under God’s governing hand.
• Celebration can become an occasion for sin
  • Royal birthdays often displayed drunkenness, pride, cruelty, and forgetfulness of God.
• A birthday should inspire gratitude and humility
  • We should thank God for life and preservation while remembering our sins and neglected privileges.
• A birthday should prompt reflection and prayer
  • The passing years call us to consider death, seek wisdom and grace, and prepare for every duty and trial.
• Faith transforms our view of birth and death
  • The unbelieving heart dreads existence, but the believer can bless God for life and rejoice in approaching glory.