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JOSEPH DREAMT, THE BROTHERS SCHEMED
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19
Genesis 37:5-16

Psalm 18:21-30

 

“For who hath known

the mind of the Lord?…”

 

JOSEPH DREAMT, THE BROTHERS SCHEMED
 
There is a Chinese saying: day’s thoughts are night’s dreams. The thought is mother of the dream! Some psychologists analyse dreams as expressions of one’s unconscious desires or fears. Most of us will agree that the vast majority of our dreams have no real meaning or significance. Often, they are the result of indigestion and / or disturbed sleep.
 
In biblical times, however, there were exceptional instances of God communicating with men by means of dreams. Joseph is one and Daniel another, that all Sunday School children love to hear. Joseph’s dreams were clearly God-given and prophetic. He was God’s chosen vessel; being prepared for special service in a foreign land. God was grooming him to become the ruler of Egypt through a series of unusual and extraordinary happenings.
 
The two dreams were self-explanatory. There was no need for an interpreter. In his childlike frankness, Joseph shared the dreams with his brothers. The message was clear. Joseph was seeing himself as ruler over them, and even their parents. In their jealous state of mind, they could only regard them as idle dreams. How could he, the youngest, lord over the rest of them, older and superior to him! Father Israel was puzzled and gave Joseph a gentle rebuke. He asked a sincere question, but held his peace. He kept the matter in his heart. Not so with the brothers. Already green with envy over their father’s favouritism, they began to boil and fume with hatred, and to plot Joseph’s destruction.
 
In the meantime, Israel’s large and hungry flocks were constantly needing pastureland. So, while the ageing father sat at home in Hebron, the sons led the flocks to Shechem, a distance of some seventy km, in search of pasture. Over such distances the shepherds might not return home for days or even weeks at a time. One day Israel, worried about his sons’ safety, sent Joseph to look for them. Joseph, out of duty to father and kindness to brothers, readily set out alone. In all this, God’s purpose and providence were being fulfilled, step by step, in His good time!
 
THOUGHT: Today, God speaks to us through His Word.

PRAYER: May I love to read Thy Word, Father.

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