Genesis 37: 5-11: “And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and they hated him yet the more. And he said unto them, Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed: For, behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf. And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words. And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me. And he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth? And his brethren envied him; but his father observed the saying.”
At this stage of his life Joseph was just a precocious young man. He was spoilt by his father and though that he could do whatever he wanted to do. He had some dreams and made sure that he told everyone in the family about the dreams because he knew that the dreams showed that he was much better than all the other sons in the family. We know that, later on, these dreams come true but Joseph wasn’t wise to tell everyone about them at the time because that made his brothers hate him even more. However, we can learn that God uses people who are willing to submit themselves to Him in His service, even if they weren’t always perfect in their behaviour. That should be a great encouragement to a person who is just a normal Christian who thinks they don’t have much to offer. The fact is, that no one has much to offer God but God uses anyone who is willing to be used. After all, it is God’s work no ours, all we have to remember is that the glory belongs to God and not to the individual whom God uses in His service. Much later in his life Joseph had the proper attitude to his brothers. In Gen 50: 15-20 (“And when Joseph’s brethren saw that their father was dead, they said, Joseph will peradventure hate us, and will certainly requite us all the evil which we did unto him. And they sent a messenger unto Joseph, saying, Thy father did command before he died, saying, So shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy brethren, and their sin; for they did unto thee evil: and now, we pray thee, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of thy father. And Joseph wept when they spake unto him. And his brethren also went and fell down before his face; and they said, Behold, we be thy servants. And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God? But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.”) He forgave his brothers because he had trusted God and knew that God had worked for good in his life.
(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)
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