I have a dream… Martin Luther King
And Joseph dreamed a dream… (Genesis 37:5)
If you were asked, how would you describe the life of Joseph?
To me Joseph’s life could have been a roller coaster ride. Constant up’s and downs. For every step that Joseph took forward he seemed to be pushed back several more. Yet one thing that we note of this young man is that in spite of the fact that he was hated, lied on and forgotten by men, he never took his eyes off God, and God never took his eyes off Joseph.
Joseph is the man we call the dreamer.
Out of curiosity I looked up the word dream there were two definitions both of which could be applied to Joseph.
Dream:
- A series of thoughts, images, and sensations occurring in a person’s mind during sleep.
“I had a recurrent dream about falling from great heights”
Similar: fantasy, nightmare, vision, hallucination:
- A cherished aspiration, ambition, or ideal.
“I fulfilled a childhood dream when I became champion”
Similar: ambition, aspiration, hope, goal, design, plan, aim:
Take note of the three words that have been highlighted… If Joseph’s life were to be summed up in any of the words in the list it would be these three. God gave Joseph a vision but did not tell him where it would lead or how he would get there. Only when he arrived was he able to understand that not only had God had planned the whole thing but he had designed the route it would take.
Joseph’s Rollercoaster Lesson Plan
1. Not everyone will understand your dreams.
And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and they hated him yet the more. Genesis 37:5
Joseph was the son of Rachel, Israel’s favourite wife, and was born when Israel was an old man (Genesis 37:3). Because of this he held a favoured spot in Israel’s heart to the point where Joseph was treated differently to his brothers. Israel had a coat made for Joseph which showed Joseph’s favoured status to his brothers. So when Joseph told his brothers about his dream the result was they hated him even more that they already did.
Moral 1 – never reveal your dream until it is time to do so as not everyone will appreciate it and some may work against it actively.
2. There will be those who may see more than you do.
And his brethren envied him; but his father observed the saying. (Genesis 37:11)
While Joseph’s brothers may not have liked his dream, note that that Israel ‘observed’ what was said. Many centuries later a mother would do the same thing.
And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart. (Luke 2:51)
Moral 2 – some who hear your dreams may not say anything… but they will be watching.
3. Speaking too soon and to the wrong people can cause problems.
And Judah said unto his brethren, What profit is it if we slay our brother, and conceal his blood?
Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmeelites, and let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother and our flesh. And his brethren were content. (Genesis 37:26 -27)
Joseph’s brothers first plan to kill him but after a timely intervention by Reuben they end up selling him instead. Yet even in their attempt to derail the dream all they did was keep it on track.
Moral 3 – when God has given you a dream, don’t worry about those who would try to act against it… God’s will… will be done!
4. Sometimes you may get out of the frying pan… and end up in the fire.
And Joseph was brought down to Egypt; and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him of the hands of the Ishmeelites, which had brought him down thither.
And Joseph found grace in his sight,
And it came to pass after these things, that his master’s wife cast her eyes upon Joseph; and she said, lie with me. (Genesis 39:1, 4, 7)
After the lows of being thrown in a pit and then sold into slavery, Joseph gets his first step up when he is bought by Potiphar and Egyptian captain. Once in Potiphar’s house Joseph begins to climb from the bottom to become the head servant in Potiphar’s household, but just as before a fall is coming. This time it is in the form of the lady of the house. By this time Joseph has been in the house a year or more and has been steadily promoted to the position that he now find himself in. With all his hard work he would have been what the bible would call a ‘comely’ young man, and as such he now attracted the attention of Potiphar’s wife.
She decides that Joseph is good enough to attend her bed, but Joseph runs leaving his coat which cause the lady to throw false accusations at Joseph leaving him in prison. No doubt poor Joseph was wondering why all this was happening to him.
Moral 4 – even when things begin to look up always be aware that there will be those who will do their best to bring you down!
5. Helping others with their dream can mean that yours gets held back.
Yet did not the chief butler remember Joseph, but forgat him. (Genesis 40:23)
Joseph while in prison ends up in the same position as his brothers in that this time it is he who is listening to someone else’s dream. However unlike his brother Joseph tries to help the two men, even when it means giving one man good news and the other bad.
Having aided the butler Joseph extracts a promise of help yet no sooner is the butler back in the palace than he forgets his promise… and Joseph continues to languish in jail. When God gives you a dream there is also a timetable and you can neither hasten nor delay that timetable.
Moral 5 – helping others doesn’t mean that they will help you!
6. When the time is right… your dream will flourish.
And it came to pass at the end of two full years that Pharaoh dreamed:
Then spake the chief butler unto Pharaoh, saying, I do remember my faults this day:
(Genesis 41: 1, 9)
Two years… for two long years Joseph lay in prison wondering if he would ever be free again, wondering if he would ever see his family again, wondering if this was where the dream would die… then comes a summons from the palace. He is bathed, dressed and escorted to the throne room where he comes face to face with Pharaoh… and the dream comes alive.
Pharaoh has had dreams that he cannot understand and none of his wise men can explain, God however has prepared Joseph, ‘for such a time as this.’
Joseph under God’s guidance not only explains Pharaoh’s dream but tells him how to prepare for the famine that is coming. Pharaoh’s response…
And the thing was good in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of all his servants. And Pharaoh said unto his servants, Can we find such a one as this is, a man in whom the Spirit of God is? And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Forasmuch as God hath shewed thee all this; there is none so discreet and wise as thou art: Thou shalt be over my house, and according unto thy word shall all my people be ruled: only in the throne will I be greater than thou. And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, See, I have set thee over all the land of Egypt. And Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand, and put it upon Joseph’s hand, and arrayed him in vestures of fine linen, and put a gold chain about his neck; And he made him to ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried before him, Bow the knee: and he made him ruler over all the land of Egypt. (Genesis 41: 37 –43)
7. Those that doubted… will see:
And Joseph said unto his brethren, I am Joseph; doth my father yet live? And his brethren could not answer him; for they were troubled at his presence. (Genesis 45:3)
When Joseph finally reveals himself to his brothers they are stunned into silence. The dream has come full circle and his brothers are indeed bowing to him. And yet in all of this Joseph explains to his brothers that the dream and its fulfilment were always in God’s hands.
Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life. (Genesis 45:5 )
Not only do his brothers bow the knee but his father lives to see the completion of God’s plan in the life of his son.
Moral 7 – when you have a dream don’t doubt as others may, just keep your eyes on God and keep walking… when the time is right those who doubted will see!
Do you have a dream or vision?
If so what is holding you back?
It’s time to ignore those around you who say it can’t be done… and do it!
Grace be with thee.
Amen.
Maranatha
