Joseph and the Dreams

Genesis 37:8 And his brothers said to him, “Shall you indeed reign over us? Or shall you indeed have dominion over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.

There were six dreams in the life of Joseph which were clearly God’s communication to him. Some of these dreams came to him through other people. The irony is that God did not speak to Joseph directly after the first two but was with him. This is a lesson to us. Once we get and see miracles, we come to Christ and stay with him only for these miracles. We do not realize that we are chosen to rule and not just be consumers of the light. Joseph had received a confirmation from God through the first few dreams and then stayed closer enough with God so that he knew that God’s presence will not make his decisions go wrong. We need this kind of a relationship with God and not depend of miracles and signs as they do not contribute to our faith.

Since we are studying Joseph as our desires for ministry, it is important to compare these six dreams in this context. The first two dreams which happened in Joseph’s youth were the call towards glory. The next two dreams in the Jail shows our salvation and the last two point towards ministry and its challenges.

In the first dream in Chapter 37, we read Joseph’s work being glorified first. All the efforts of his brothers had to submit to those of the chosen one. This miracle is an example of how God works by first making our work prosper and glorifying us. This dream is unlike the other dreams which were about events happening instantly. But God has given Joseph a hope of what will come at a very later stage. If promises given to us did not happen immediately, then we are like Joseph to God who is being tested completely before giving the glory. The role of the family is also shown here. They should bow down if God has called a person for his work and if the family does not oblige, they will be forced. We can also notice that Joseph was not precise about his parents that they will bow down, but his father clearly understood that they will “come” and bow “to the earth”. God’s wisdom is so wonderful so that information is shared to various individuals but when they are in communion, they understand clearly.

Another promise to his chosen generation is that our creations and even God’s creations will bow down to us and we will be exalted higher and higher than the universe unto heaven. This promise cannot be seen, but everybody around us will know and despise us for that. But God will perfectly execute His divine will through us.

In Chapter 40 we read the dreams of the butler and the baker. One dream explains salvation to us and another explains bondage. The first one is a vine which obviously is Christ. The butler was clear that he did not plant or own the vine. It was just before him just like Christ was presented to us and we are glorified by the grapes which were pressed and presented for us to live. This position of Christ’s unconditional love and our work to use him for our salvation is important. Like in John 6:35, he is the bread and we have to be near Him. We are choosing to stay away from the vine and so are ignoring Him.

But the baker had a serious problem. There were three baskets and only the top one had food. This is a clear explanation of hypocrisy. If food were placed without showing off, the food would have been served properly. Our goodness if they are exposed nakedly, the enemy will come and ensure nothing reaches out. If we are internally cleansed rather than showing ourselves as a righteous person outwardly, we will have been saved and glorified. See the birds which consume the goodness in the dream are the same birds which consume our flesh after we die.  We are given to them for consumption. If we present ourselves to God, He uses them wisely but if we try to show off to the world, we would lose everything including our life.

The dreams of Pharaoh explain challenges in ministry. This is the actual purpose of our presence here. From the waters and the stalk cows and grain heads appear. And then there was a famine as in Amos 8:11. Good produces will be present in the whole of history like early apostles, periods of missionaries and martyrs. These men were not forced into this situation but they chose martyrdom. But all these cows would be eaten by believers who are weak and ugly. They are still believers because they are out of the water and the stalk. But they consume all the sacrifices of people who have paid with their lives and still be hungry and inefficient. We are in such a situation now where there are many versions of the gospel and the word of God is diluted or polluted when being served by preachers. If we still could save the food from older times when people were willing to give their lives, we can survive this famine. We have to honor Christ and the Cross so that everything else in the world will be seen as nothing.

Amen.