Two Feasts - Joseph and the Passover

Genesis 40 ends with a feast for Pharaoh's birthday. And if feasts are often catalysts for something, this one fails. God's servant, Joseph, is NOT let go. The cupbearer, once restored to his position of honor, forgets to mention him to Pharoah. Bummer.

But then the story before this feast caught my attention. We have a cupbearer and a baker, the wine and bread represented, the blood and the body of communion. Why then does the cupbearer get restored to honor and the baker get hanged? Aren't both important to the story? But reading on into Exodus we explore the Passover and this is where the bread is tossed. All the leavening and leavened bread are removed from the house. Bye, bye, Baker!

This connection in itself is a bit tenuous. (I still have lots of questions about this story and what it means on a deeper level.) But nothing is in Scripture by accident. And that's when the contrast hit me. After the feast of Passover (the first one!), the Israelites ARE LET GO, unlike Joseph who remained for years in prison.