Text: “Now Joseph had a dream and he told it to his brothers; and they hated him even more” (Genesis 37:5).
Have you ever had a dream? We have probably had many dreams during our lifetime. Some dreams are very exciting and relaxing while others are very frightening and scary.
When you dream of a vacation or going to visit someone you have not seen for a long time, the dream is one of excitement. If you have been away from the love of your life and you dream about a reunion, you are thrilled and you anticipate the meeting. Those of us who have lost loved ones have dreamed of the good times of the past and we relive those times through dreams.
Sometimes our dreams are very frightening. Have you ever dreamed that you were being chased by someone and no matter how fast you try to run you cannot seem to get away? Have you ever dreamed you were falling at great speed and soon you would crash to the ground? Suddenly you wake up when you roll off the bed onto the floor. Fortunately you did not fall very far, and you give a sigh of relief after you open your eyes.
What are dreams?
The dictionary tells us that dreams are a series of images, ideas, and emotions occurring in certain stages of sleep (The American Heritage Dictionary).
When we daydream, we are in sort of a trance and we are concentrating on some hope or ambition or something of beauty. We are present and awake, but our mind is in another world. We see, but we do not hear what is going on around us.
We might be daydreaming or thinking about a project we are working on, or about how wealthy we could be if we just followed a certain course: what we are going to do tomorrow or next week; changes that are going to take place when we get married; the vocation or profession we would like to follow, etc.
A dream is a vision and we have all had dreams and visions. Dreams and visions are not bad to have. They help us to look forward and encourage us to push forth and attain certain ambitions and goals. Dreams help us see ourselves as we would like to be.
When I was a young fellow in youth fellowship at our church, I admired the preacher. At times, the youth would be given the opportunity to carry forth the Sunday service. I was always the one to deliver the message. This was the thrill of my life.
Each Sunday as I sat out in the congregation and listened to the preacher, I would visualize myself in the pulpit. Many times I could not even tell you what the message was about because I was in a trance or daydream state. I was seeing myself and listening to myself instead of what the preacher was talking about.
Have you ever had a dream or an idea that you shared with someone and they tried to discourage you? I have really never had this happen to me, but I do know families who have discouraged their children by telling them their dream was ridiculous or impossible.
Perhaps some parents do this to their children because they themselves have never reached their goal in life. Just because they failed in life, these parents believe their children are no better and will follow in their footsteps.
To a child of God all things are possible. Paul’s words to the Philippians are: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13). Children believe that all things are possible. If adults could think like children then they too would believe that all things are possible.
Children keep trying to accomplish a task until that task is met. A child learning to ride a bicycle will try and try regardless of how many times they fall. Our great-granddaughter learned how to do cartwheels and stand on her hands because she was convinced it was possible.
My grandson was using my computer long before he could read words. Yes, he would make mistakes, but I kept encouraging him to try again. I never heard him say, “Grandpa, I can’t do this.” After a very short time, he said: “Grandpa, I don’t need your help, I know what I am doing.”
Adults do people, young and old, and great disservice when they tell them their dreams and ambitions are ridiculous, impossible, and will never become reality.
Story: “A Dream for God”
Many years ago a young man had a dream of telling the story of Jesus everywhere in the world. When he suggested taking that good news to people, an older man said, “Sit down, young man. If God wants to save the heathen, he will do it without your help or mine.”
This young man, William Carey, was a cobbler. As he worked day after day making shoes, he thought about this exciting dream of his. He preached a sermon, “Attempt Great Things for God; Expect Great Things from God.”
Because he believed this with all his heart, he left his own country, England, and went to India. There he spent the rest of his life teaching and preaching about Jesus who said, “Go into all the world and tell the good news.”
It was several yeas before even one person accepted this message. But one, then another, and then many believed the good news of Jesus, until thousands upon thousands came to know Jesus because a young man with a dream opened a door.
The Ministers Manual 1986
In Old Testament times, God often used dreams to reveal things that were going to happen. For example, God spoke to Jacob one evening in a dream. Scripture tells us: “Then he (Jacob) dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, ant its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. And behold, the LORD stood above it and said; ‘I am the LORD God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants” (Genesis 28:12, 13).
God had never spoken to Jacob prior to this time, but God had spoken to Abraham and Isaac. Jacob’s father was Isaac and Jacob’s grandfather was Abraham. Abraham and Isaac had a personal relationship with God and God had made a covenant or promise with them concerning the land. Jacob was the third generation to which God gave the promise. The grace God extended to Jacob through this dream is what brought Jacob into a personal relationship with God.
God could speak to us this day through dreams and visions, but it is not really necessary because He has given us the Holy Spirit who dwells within our heart. Abraham’s faith in God is what made him righteous in the eyes of God. Our faith in God and our obedience to God makes us a righteous child of God. Our relationship to God is brought about through our faith in Him and His grace upon us.
God has spoken to many people in dreams throughout history. Genesis 20:3 tells us that God spoke to Abimelech saying, “Indeed you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man’s wife”. No sin took place in this situation because God told Abimelech in another dream: “Yes, I know that you did this in the integrity of your heart. For I also withheld you from sinning against Me; therefore I did not let you touch her” (Genesis 20:6).
God extended His mercy to Abimelech and thus prevented him from committing the sin of adultery. God has done the same for us over the years. We don’t know how many times we have been saved from sin. His mercy protects in ways beyond our greatest imagination.
Abimelech’s dream also taught Abraham a lesson. Abraham assumed that Abimelech was a wicked and unjust man and that is why he told Abimelech that his beautiful wife Sarah was his sister. Abraham thought deceiving Abimelech was necessary because he did not think God would work in the life of a wicked person.
You and I are not to assume God’s actions. We are not to assume that He will not work for the good in very dangerous or difficult problems of life. We should understand that our God will step in and take charge at times we least expect Him to do so. It is impossible for us to know the depth, width, and height of His grace.
When Jacob was fleeing from Laban, (Laban was Jacob’s uncle, the brother of his mother whose name was Rebekah) God came to Laban in a dream. Genesis 31:24 says: “Then God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream at night and said to him, ‘Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad’”. God was telling him not to threaten Jacob in any manner. We don’t know what Laban had in mind before the dream, but nevertheless God intervened and directed his thought in a graceful manner.
God spoke to many others through dreams. He spoke to the butler and the baker of Pharaoh (Genesis 40:8-19) and to Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 2:1-45 and 4:5-33).
Our Scripture reading for today tells us that Joseph had a dream. Joseph was one of Jacob’s twelve sons. Laban, Jacob’s uncle, had two daughters whose names were Leah and Rachel. Jacob agreed to work for his uncle Laban for seven years for the hand of Rachel. After the seven years and it was time for Rachel to be given to Jacob, Laban brought Leah to Jacob in the evening. Jacob did not realize that he had been tricked, so he went in with her.
When morning came and he realized he was with Leah instead of Rachel he came into another agreement with his uncle to work another seven years for Rachel. After a week, Rachel was given to Jacob to become his second wife. Laban than gave his maid Zilpah to Leah as a maid and his maid Bilhah to Rachel as a maid.
Here is the story of how Jacob ended up with twelve sons. Scripture tells us that “The sons of Leah were Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zubulun; the sons of Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin; the sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s maidservant, were Dan and Naphtali; and the sons of Zilpha, Leah’s maidservant, were Gad and Asher” (Genesis 36:23-26). When you count all these son, the number comes out to be twelve.
When Jacob wrestled with the angel of God all night long and did not give up, God touched the socket of Jacob’s hip and it became disjointed. Jacob was at a point in his life when he needed God’s blessing and he would not be satisfied until he received that blessing. He wrestled with God until daylight and would not give up or let go until he received God’s blessing. God said to Jacob: “You name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed” (Genesis 32:28). Jacob’s name was changed and his sons became the twelve tribes of Israel.
Joseph was the oldest son of Rachel and Benjamin was the younger son of Rachel. Rachel died during the birth of Benjamin. “Now it came to pass, when she was in hard labor, that the midwife said to her, ‘Do not fear; you will have this son also.’ And so it was, as her soul was departing (for she died), that she called his name Ben-Oni, but his father called him Benjamin” (Genesis 35:17, 18).
“Now Israel (Jacob) loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age. Also he made him a tunic of many colors” (Genesis 37:3). The brothers knew that Israel loved Joseph more than he loved any of them and they were jealous. The did not like Joseph. The brothers felt that Joseph was given priority and that he did not have to do the work required of them by their father.
Joseph was seventeen years of age and was tending the flock with his brothers. We are not told what went on, but the brothers were doing something they should not have been doing which resulted in Joseph giving his father a bad report concerning the actions of his brothers. The brothers even hated Joseph more after Joseph told his father what was going on.
Scripture tells us that Joseph had a dream and he wanted to share this dream with his brothers. Dreams don’t normally get people into trouble, but Joseph’s dream was the beginning of a story that would take Joseph to far-away places.
Joseph was excited about telling his brothers his dream. He said to his brothers, “We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it” (Genesis 37:7)
The brothers hated Joseph even more after hearing him brag about his dream. They thought Joseph was telling them that one day he would rule over them and they would have to bow down before him.
Then Joseph had another dream and he told his brothers about this dream. He told his brothers that in this second dream the sun and the moon and the eleven stars were bowing down to him. Joseph’s father scolded him for his thoughts; however, Israel kept these thought tucked away in the back of his mind.
Joseph had knowledge that came from God. God had a plan and that plan was going to be carried out using Joseph as the instrument. Joseph was about to learn a lesson of life the hard way. There are times in our life when what has been revealed to us needs to stay with us and God needs to be thanked and given credit.
Joseph’s brothers were so angry with him that they actually wanted to kill him. The brothers said, “Come now, let’s kill him and throw him into one of these cistern and say that a ferocious animal devoured him. Then we’ll see what comes of his dreams” (Genesis 37:20).
Ten of the twelve brothers were so jealous and bitter about a bad report that they were willing to kill Joseph. Sometimes we can reason concerning jealously and our reasoning seem to make sense. We can recognize jealously in our lives when we open up our eyes and realize we are trying to maintain a life-style comparable to someone else. If jealously is not taken care of immediately, sin is the result.
Joseph’s brother Reuben did not want any blood shed. Ruben wanted them to just put Joseph down in the well and toiled with the idea to return later and take him to his father. After putting Joseph in the well, the brothers noticed a caravan of Ishmaelites coming toward them and heading to Egypt. When the caravan came by, the brothers sold Joseph to them for 20 shekels of silver. Then they took Joseph’s colorful robe, killed a goat, dipped the coat in the blood and sent it back to their father. The father was devastated.
Joseph was taken to Egypt and sold to one of Pharaoh’s officials, Potiphar, the captain of the guard. Joseph found favor in the eyes of Potiphar and became his attendant. He was put in charge of Potiphar’s household and was trusted with the running of the house. The Lord was with Joseph and he blessed him.
Potiphar’s wife tried to take advantage of Joseph because was a handsome young man. She said to Joseph, “Come to bed wit me!” (Genesis 39:7), but Joseph refused. The wife was determined to have Joseph. “She caught him by his cloak and said, ‘Come to bed with me, but he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house” (Genesis 38:12).
Joseph resisted temptation knowing that it would be a sin against God. Man and woman sometimes rationalize or make excuse and fall into the rut of sin. People sometimes forget that sin is disobedience against God. Sometimes temptation is so great that we need to turn and run from it.
Joseph’s dream became a nightmare for him. If he had not told his brothers and his father his dream, he would still be at home with the family instead of ending up in prison because Potiphar’s wife accused him of misconduct. I don’t know what Joseph thought of during this time, but I truly believe that he was in constant contact with God.
I believe his faith was stronger now than it had ever been. I know that the grace of God was upon him as it is upon us as we encounter the hardships of life. Joseph stayed focused on God during his times of difficulty and this should be a lesson to us. We, too, must remember that God is always in control. What happens to us is nothing compared to what He has in store for us.
Conclusion:
Today, you and I have dreams and most of our dreams are of a very minor type. I don’t say that God does not speak to us in dreams these days, but I do say that He has a better means of speaking to us. He has given us the Holy Spirit that lives within our hearts and it is the Holy Spirit that guides us down the road of life.
We have the ability to visualize ourselves in different positions in life, or to see ourselves making a move to a different house or different location. We think about next year’s vacation and see ourselves sitting on the bank of a pond with a fishing pole in our hands. I visualize myself sitting on the balcony at the Beach Resort overlooking the swimming pool, the beautiful beach and gazing upon the horizon as the sun appears to sink into the Gulf of Mexico.
These visions and dreams are not really messages from God, but they are events in our own minds that we would like to see spring forth. Our dreams are straight and need no interpretation. Also, we can tell other people of our dreams and not have to fear that something dreadful will happen to us as it did to Joseph. When we place our dreams and visions in the hands of God, the indwelling Holy Spirit will let us know if this is or is not the Father’s will for our life.
Joseph’s dream was a special dream orchestrated and directed by the mighty had of God Almighty. His family deserted him and sold him as a slave. Satan worked through Potiphar’s wife in an effort to cause him to sin against God. Then Joseph was thrown into jail for doing the right thing. Joseph never asked God why these things were happening to him, but instead he asked God to show him what to do next.
God used the evil nature of Joseph’s brothers to complete His ultimate plan. He used Joseph to save the lives of his brothers, to save Egypt and to move in the direction of making Israel a great nation. Israel did become a great nation and the descendants of Jacob did return to Canaan.
Joseph’s faith in God brought about important changes for Joseph, his family, and the entire country. God can also work through us and bring about changes if we will only keep our faith in Him, listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit, and remember that He is still on the throne and He is still in charge.
Amen.
