The King Arthur legend is that he searched for the Holy Grail. That would be the chalice or cup from which Christ was said to have drunk. It held the “blood” of Jesus symbolized by wine. Today, many still are in search of the Holy Grail. Do not be astounded, after all these years, the Holy Grail was right before everyone in plain sight. I have found the Holy Grail! First, consider Pharoah’s grail.
To test his brethren, Joseph placed the Pharoah’s cup in the
sack of his younger brother, Benjamin. Pharoah’s cup had been the object of the
Baker’s dream in Genesis chapter 40. Pharoah had a dream. It was about the chief
of the butlers in whom Pharoah had wrath and who he had imprisoned. The butler’s
dream was this: “In my dream, behold, a vine was before me; and in the vine
were three branches: and it was as though it budded, and her blossoms shot
forth; and the clusters thereof brought forth ripe grapes” (Gen 40:10:11).
Joseph interpreted the dream as such: “The three branches
are three days: yet within three days shall Pharaoh lift up thine head, and
restore thee unto thy place: and thou shalt deliver Pharaoh's cup into his
hand, after the former manner when thou wast his butler” (Gen 40:12-13).
For the baker, the dream was not quite as good for him; “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” (Gen 40:19).
Now, hold Pharoah’s cup.
Because Joseph rightfully interpreted that dream, he became second
only to Pharoah. Perhaps Joseph was the keeper or the cup or that it had become
his. That seems to be the case because he took the liberty of entrusting it to
his cunning brothers. Perhaps Pharoah’s cup had become Joseph’s cup to do with
as he pleased! And he did just that, to wit: “Put every man's money in his
sack's mouth. And put my cup, the silver cup, in the sack's mouth of the
youngest, and his corn money. And he did according to the word that Joseph had
spoken” (Gen 44:1-2).
Before concealing the cup in Benjamin’s sack, the steward asked
of Joseph, “Is not this it in which my lord drinketh, and whereby indeed he
divineth” (Gen 44:5)? Was his “lord” Pharoah, Joseph, or symbolically, the Lord’s
Cup, to use to “divineth,” or prophecy. The brothers wondered how they could be
accused of stealing silver or gold. They confessed their trust in Joseph and faithfulness
unbeknownst that Joseph is their brother.
Joseph’s servant said, “He with whom it is found shall be my
servant; and ye shall be blameless” (Gen 44:10). By the law, the eldest son
would be heir by primogeniture, but Joseph sought the innocent one. Hence, the twelfth
son of Jacob was to be an heir of Jacob and God.
Judah said to Joseph, “We are my lord's servants, both we,
and he also with whom the cup is found” (Gen 44:16). Indeed, they did become
servants of Joseph and Joseph by grace served them as well. Pharoah’s cup had
again saved others. It was more than a cup but a means of blessing! Pharoah’s
cup was a gāḇîaʿ in the Hebrew. It was not a conventional “cup” at all
but a goblet (Strong’s Dictionary).
Then Judah pleaded, “Oh my lord, let thy servant, I pray
thee, speak a word in my lord's ears, and let not thine anger burn against thy
servant: for thou art even as Pharaoh” (Gen 44:18). Judah at one time sought to
sell out the “lord” — Joseph— whom he had disdained as Lord, according to Joseph’s
dream. Now Judah recognized Joseph as his lord. It was Judah’s idea to
sell Joseph to the Ishmaelites who were half Egyptian and cursed by the Lord by
the Lord because of Ham. Judah would be the ancestor of Jesus through Perez.
Judah’s line regularly married Canaanite women, so “Jewish Jesus” is not all
Jewish but an admixture of various races. Jesus is not King of the Jews, but
Lord of All!
By the way, Judah became his brothers’ keeper. He protected
Benjamin and served Judah. The importance of that is that those two tribes
became the land of Judah and was preserved for a time as the other ten tribes
disappeared from history.
Thu far, who has the cup? That is unknown, but the steward
took the silver and gold from the sack. The cup was found in Benjamin’s sack,
but nowhere is it said that it was taken from him. In fact, Benjamin would be
Joseph’s servant: “God forbid that I should do so: but the man in whose hand
the cup is found, he shall be my servant; and as for you, get you up in peace
unto your father” (Gen 44:17).
Did Benjamin retain the cup to serve Joseph? Perhaps he did!
It turns out that in the Promise Land that Benjamin served Judah. Perhaps he
served from Pharoah’s cup. Perhaps so long as Judah lived, Benjamin served Judah
with Pharoah’s cup. With that said, Judea still existed in the time of Jesus. Was
it used to serve Judah one more time?
Who passed the bread and served the cup at the Last Supper?
Jesus did. He was the “Lion of Judah” (Rev 5:5) of whom Judah was the progenitor.
Jesus served the twelve apostles just as Pharoah’s cup served the twelve
tribes. It was not the last meal for Jesus because He neither ate nor drank.
The meal was for the Judeans. Was the silver chalice Pharoah’s cup? Had the
tribe of Benjamin saved it for this special occasion?
Throughout all the kings of Judah were cupbearers. There
were cups of silver and gold. When the Babylonians raided the temple, they took
asway treasures. Among them were silver and gold cups (Jer 52:19). When Darius
was king, the Temple was rebuilt, and its treasures returned. Perhaps Pharoah’s
cup would serve another purpose.
Jesus said, “This cup is the new testament in my blood,
which is shed for you” (Luke 22:20). From where did the cup come? Jesus said, “The
cup which my Father hath given me” (John 18:11). Of course, Jesus was speaking
esoterically, but was it also factually?
The cup at the Last Supper is assumed to be a silver chalice.
Pharoah’s cup was of silver. Where “cup”
is transliterated, in the Hebrew it is potērion, “a drinking vessel”
(ibid). Did Jesus have access to gold or silver? Yes, the kings from the east
brought gifts to Jesus when He was born: “They presented unto him gifts; gold,
and frankincense and myrrh” (Mat 2:11). Did the kings of the east also bring a goblet
that had not been returned to the Temple to the Lord of the Temple. Did “Pharoah”
get his cup back? (Since Pharoah was an antitype of Jesus). Jesus said that His
was the Lord’s Cup. The Lord’s cup would have been in the Temple in the times
of the kings.
Now, return to the time of Pharoah: There were two Pharaoh’s of significance. The Pharoah of Joseph who was a good man, likely a Hyksos, and was partly Semitic. The good Pharoah represents God the Father. The Pharoah of Moses is unknown for sure, but he represents Satan, and Egypt represents sin. The exodus was not only from Egypt and Pharoah but from evil and the Devil. The destination was the paradise of what would become Israel, the Land of Milk and Honey.
With that background, in the next commentary, we will continue the
search for the Holy Grail.
(picture credit: Pinterest; "Woodward Antique Silver Goblet")
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