I MENTIONED Joseph in the
Old Testament yesterday as an example of someone who was separated from his
people for a reason.
I have
decided that, in the next couple of days, I will post a few lessons that we can
learn from this dreamer. (There are few others in the Bible.)
His story
starts in Genesis 37. (When you have the time, pick up the Book and read that
for yourself. You get more that way than if another was interpreting for you.)
The reference
for this post in Genesis 37: 1-11.
Joseph was
17 years old at the time and was his father’s favourite. (A bad parental trait
– loving one child more than the others. Jacob, his father, was a polygamist
too – and that is another problem.)
They lived
in Canaan.
The father
made Joseph a coat of many colours and his brothers hated him for that.
It was in
those days that Joseph started seeing “those dreams”.
One of the
dreams was about his sheaf of grain standing up while the sheaves of his
brothers bowed before his.
He told
his brothers about that and they did not like it. They said: “Shalt thou indeed
reign over us?”
For this,
the brothers hated him more.
He also
had another dream – one about the sun, moon and eleven stars bowing before him.
Again, he
told his brothers about the dream.
Later he
told his father the dream and Jacob was angry. He rebuked him and said: “What
is this dream that thou has dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren
indeed come and bow down ourselves to thee?”
Verse 11
says: “And his brethren envied him, but his father observed the saying.”
A FEW
LESSONS
THE DREAMS
God gives
His people dreams, visions – things they see. And these do not necessarily
refer to dreams (those they have in the night) but things, needs, opportunities
out there where they can get involved in and make a difference in the lives of others.
Many
people do not realise those dreams given because they forget them.
Note that
I said “those dreams” because I know that Joseph did have millions of other
dreams before he was 17, but those two stood out, they were special and were
given by God.
SHARING
YOUR DREAMS
I have
learned from Joseph that it is wise not to mention all your plans and hopes to
just anybody.
The reason
is that many people do not understand. They are not at a level where they can
help you work towards realising your dreams.
Jacob’s
dreams were not just mere fantasies, they were divine, they were true. They would
be realised but Joseph was not mature enough to understand the repercussions/reactions
– he did not really understand that his brothers hated him.
SOME TAKE
NOTICE OF WHAT YOU SAY
There are
a few lines in the Bible that a lot of people miss.
I think
one of them is the last line in verse 11 – “while the brothers envied him, his
father observed his saying”.
(I
challenge you to search the Bible to see where another parent observed a saying
of his/her child.)
The father
rebuked him ... but observed his saying – what a statement!
Why did
the father observe Joseph’s saying even though he rebuked him?
I have
thought about this for a long time (over the years) and I have come to the
conclusion that he (a good father despite the favouritism he had shown) knew
his sons well enough to know that even though he did not agree with Joseph’s
dream, he believed him. (Do a lot of parents believe their children?)
He knew
that Joseph was not a lazy boy who used his lip muscles more than those of his
biceps.
He knew
Joseph was rational most of the time – much more than his older brothers.
Most
parents would not like a child saying “Father and mother, in ten years time, I
will be greater than both of you. I will save our people.”
That I
think is the situation here.
Parents, listen
to your children when they talk. You can learn a lot too.
With this
I end today’s lesson from The Dreamer.
Watch out for
the next one on Sunday.
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