When you were young, what did your dream about? What did you imagine you’d do with your life? Who did you envision you’d be? As a follower of Jesus Christ, what do you dream about? Did you ever think about doing something great for God? Have you ever had even a fleeting thought that perhaps the Lord could impact this world through you, that He could use your life to bring honor and glory to His name?
Call me naïve, but I’m convinced that God plants, within each of His children, a dream. There’s a task we were created to do. There’s a purpose we were specially designed to fulfill.
It’s exciting when you discover that dream, but … when you take the first step toward reaching it … you’ll encounter a delay. If it’s a God-given dream you will inevitably face obstacles, detours, and dead ends. Sometimes you’ll be so far from the dream that you’ll chide yourself as a fool to believe such a thing was even possible. It’s in those moments we must remember that the delay is all a part of God’s plan.
This was the case with Joseph, the hero of the final chapters of Genesis. To say that he was significant is to put it mildly. I recently heard one preacher say: creation was only given two chapters in Genesis, but Joseph received thirteen. He played a crucial role in God’s redemptive history. Had it not been for Joseph, the nation of Israel, the chosen people through whom Jesus Christ was born, would have certainly perished from the face of the earth.
Early on Joseph dreamed big things for himself, but those God-given dreams were delayed. This morning we’re going to discover why. Along the way we’re going to learn some amazing things about God. In addition, I want you to realize perhaps why your dreams have been delayed. No matter what your age, it is my sincere hope that you’ll start dreaming God’s dream again.
Interpretations of a Vision Interrupted
At this point in the Genesis narrative, the lead character changes. Jacob becomes a supporting actor while his 17 year old son takes the starring role. Jacob loved his boy Joseph, he favored him above all his children because he was the firstborn son of his favorite (but deceased) wife Rachel. It appears that Joseph showed some aptitude for leadership early on. He took it upon himself to file job performance reviews on his older brothers. He gave them a poor rating to Jacob and his brothers hated him for it.
You’d think that Jacob could see trouble brewing, but somehow he missed the bitterness growing in his family. Rather than calm the situation he totally removed Joseph from the manual field work and promoted him to manager. His brothers hated him even more for this. The youngest and lowest man on the totem pole was promoted to supervisor. The so-called “coat of many colors” Jacob gave Joseph in the Hebrew is literally a “tunic of extremity.” It had long tight sleeves and extended down to the ankles. The coat’s inflexibility and ornate decorations prevented Joseph from doing common labor with his brothers. The snot-nosed 17 year old was in charge of the family sheep business.
Jacob looked at Joseph, saw his potential, felt an overwhelming love for his boy and mistakenly concluded that he was ready to lead. Joseph, already possessing a high opinion of himself because of his father’s love and after receiving two symbolic dreams, also erroneously believed that he was qualified to take charge right then and there. He must have been emotionally devastated when the dream of leadership was delayed.
This reveals our first interpretation. Sometimes a vision is interrupted because …
1. God’s person is not ready for the dream
Leaders require strength in two traits: competence and character. Competence is the ability to do the job and do it well. You can’t lead people somewhere that you haven’t been. Character is who you are as a person. Leaders must be viewed as trustworthy and selfless, among other things, before people will follow.
Joseph had the makings of a leader, but he wasn’t ready to assume the role yet. His competence needed to be refined. Verse 15 find him lost and wandering in a field. Getting yourself lost is not a good sign for a shepherd. You have to know the land well or the sheep will die under your care. How could Joseph’s brothers respect and follow him without this basic skill?
His character is questionable too. There’s no indication that Joseph was a bad guy, but the signs of immaturity surrounded him. He showed no qualms tattling on his brothers. They probably did do something wrong, but the wording of the original language indicates he brought a “bad report” to purposefully tarnish their reputations, possibly for self advancement. He’s like the co-worker who patiently waits and watches for you to do something wrong so they can report you and get your job or be promoted over you. Joseph also appeared totally oblivious to his brothers feelings. Knowing their envy and hatred he nonetheless shared not one, but two dreams about how he’d rule over them. That’s called adding insult to injury. A person so totally unaware of other people and their feelings does not yet have the character to lead, therefore Joseph’s dream was delayed.
If God has placed a vision for your life on your heart, but you’ve yet to enter into it, maybe it’s because you’re not ready for it. Perhaps your competence needs to be built up in that area or your character needs some work.
My call to preach slipped in occasionally while I was a teenager. The idea would come and go. I’m so glad I didn’t embark on it then because I wasn’t ready. For one I was deathly afraid of speaking in public. God built my competence by sending me through education and public speaking courses in college. Then I taught high school for a year at North Davidson Sr. High. That was a tough audience. They were as bored as I was boring. Through it, God completely eradicated my fear of public speaking.
Character is bigger deal. Part of my God-given dream is to influence a lot of people for Jesus Christ. For the most part, God has kept me locked down to small venues. I’m sure that part of the reason why is character. He’s weeding out selfishness and vainglory. From time to time I see a disturbing anger erupt which has got to go. I also have this terribly frustrating people pleasing drive. God is teaching me to love and give. He keeps putting me in situations where I have to tell the truth though it may be uncomfortable.
The delay is all a part of His plan. You and I have to be humble enough to accept that we’re not ready for the thing He’s called us to do.
Another reason for vision interrupted …
2. God’s timing is not right for the dream
One of the big themes of Joseph’s story is providence. (What does Rhode Island have to do with this?) Providence is God’s orchestration of history. It’s the idea that He’s directing all events and everyone’s life to an appointed end. Mark Driscoll says that God interacts in history with two hands. The first hand is visible and we see it through miracles: Sarah gives birth in her 90s; Jacob wrestles with an angel; Moses calls down plagues upon Egypt; Jesus and His apostles heal and cast out demons. The other hand is invisible. God sets things into motion behind the scenes. Unlike his ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Joseph never sees or hears God. He dreams a couple of dreams, but they’re not really miraculous. Joseph’s story is about God’s invisible hand, providence.
The author of Genesis demonstrates this theme in verses 15 through 17. It’s odd that Moses would take the time to record Joseph wandering around in a field. It’s odd that a man with no name would just happen to find him and ask him what he was doing. It’s odd that when Joseph asked if the man had seen his brothers, he just happened to overhear that they were headed to Dothan, 14 miles to the north. It’s an odd little interlude, but it’s there for a reason.
The whole story hinges upon this event. Think of what would not have happened without this scene. Without this encounter Joseph would not have found his brothers, would have returned home, and would not have gone to Egypt. Had Joseph not become lost for a period of time he would have found his brothers too quickly and there would have been no chance for the Midianite traders to buy and transport him to Egypt. The author is trying to tell us in a subtle way that God is at work providentially. His invisible hand was moving upon Joseph and directing events toward the fulfillment of his dream.
We can take a few steps back from the story and the big picture reveals God’s providence too. Joseph’s leadership wasn’t needed at that time. The regional famine would take place some decades later. It was at that crucial moment that Joseph needed to be in place to rescue his family. Take another step back and you’ll see that the famine had to occur at just the right time too. Within a generation after Israel’s arrival in Egypt, a series Asiatic people groups known as the Hyksos invaded the land. They swept into Egypt, waged war with never before seen chariots, seized control of Egypt, and Israel was enslaved for 300 years. The Hyksos were eventually expelled and native Egyptians regained their political power. At that point the Israelites had grown so numerous that they were enslaved for another 100 years by the paranoid pharaoh’s. This fulfilled God’s word to Abraham way back in chapter 15:
“Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years. But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. …In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has no yet reached its full measure.” Genesis 15:13-14
That simple little delay and then direction in the field set events into motion so that God’s word would be fulfilled more than 400 years later. Think how this understanding of God’s providence would have encouraged the generation getting ready to cross the Jordan River back into the Promised Land. They were the ones of whom the prophecy had spoken. Joseph’s wandering, directed by the invisible hand of God, made their moment possible. They would have been certain that that same providence would guide them back into Canaan.
It’s all about timing, God’s timing. You may be ready for God’s dream in every way. But the time for it may not yet be right. When a dream is delayed you have to trust that God’s timing is perfect and yours is not.
The final interpretation of a vision interrupted is …
3. God’s purpose is bigger than the dream
When Joseph initially dreamed his dream, it was good, but rather small by God’s standards. Joseph envisioned family leadership only. He assumed it meant ruling over the tribe of Israel. Joseph expected merely to receive the birthright and blessing. His older brothers kept disqualifying themselves from leadership. Simeon and Levi were disqualified for murdering the men of Shechem. Reuben, the oldest son, slept with one of Jacob’s concubines to usurp his father’s authority and was also disqualified. Maybe these events were what inspired Joseph to bring a bad report about the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah. Their reputations were unsullied to that point. Although he was number 11 of 12 sons, Joseph must have thought he’d soon be the leader. After all, those boys were dropping like flies from leadership.
God’s purpose for Joseph’s dream was much bigger than he thought. In fact, Judah, Jacob’s 4th son eventually assumed leadership of the family. We’ll see his transition into that role next week. Joseph’s dream did involve leadership, but its purpose was to preserve the family. He eventually enable them to survive a severe famine in the land. Yes, they were enslaved in Egypt, but that enslavement preserved them from the waves of invaders that swept through Canaan over the next several centuries. In Egypt, that single family grew to upwards of one million by the time of the Exodus. When they left Egypt they were enriched because the Egyptian people dumped their wealth on the Israelites to avoid angering their God any further.
But Joseph’s dream played a bigger role than the preservation, multiplication, and enrichment of Israel. God was glorified through Joseph’s dream, something a 17 year old kid couldn’t begin to imagine. Joseph’s dream actually set up the conflict between the Lord God and a stubborn pharaoh. The Lord soundly defeated Egypt, its gods, its army, and its leader. Israel was liberated and God was glorified. Paul spoke of this in Romans 9:17:
“I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.”
If God has given you a dream, you must realize that it’s not about you. That’s why, if your dream is to own a new Lexus, or a luxury yacht, or to be famous, or rich, that’s not a God-given dream. It’s not about you, it’s about God. Sometimes the dream God gives gets mixed up in our bad motives. That dream will be delayed until you realize that God’s purpose is much bigger than you.
Jesus understood this concept of dream delay perfectly. He knew He was the Son of God. He understood that the Father would give all authority in heaven and earth to Him. He comprehended that He’d rule the kingdom of God with all His loyal subjects in it. But Jesus never rushed the dream. He could not be tempted to seize the vision by displays of power, testing the Father, or bowing down to the evil one. There were times in His ministry when the crowds wanted to make Him king by force, but Jesus sent them away. All the things He dreamed about would come true, but in God’s way and according to God’s time and for God’s purpose.
When we experience dream delay we must take our cue from the Lord Jesus:
And let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from start to finish. He was willing to die a shameful death on the cross because of the joy he knew would be his afterward. Now he is seated in the place of highest honor beside God’s throne in heaven. Hebrews 12:1b-2 (NLT)
Jesus suffered the humiliating and painful delay of the cross to achieve His dream. But the joy of the kingdom and the joy of His children in it prompted His endurance of the delay.
All God-given dreams are delayed. Dust off that dream. Reawaken that vision. The delay was and is a part of God’s plan. In humility admit that you weren’t ready. By faith trust that God’s timing will be perfect. Get over yourself. The dream is not about you. It’s about God and for His glory.
