The Testing and Dream of Joseph

God gave Joseph a dream concerning his future, but the problem was that he did not possess the character needed to fulfill the vision. His character had to be refined to withstand the pressures and responsibilities that God and the Egyptian pharaoh would place upon him. He was exalted to second in command of all Egypt after he passed the test. Below is his dream:

5Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more. 6He said to them, "Listen to this dream I had: 7We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it." 8His brothers said to him, "Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us?" And they hated him all the more because of his dream and what he had said (Genesis 37:5-8).

What's your dream or vision? What do you want to accomplish with your life? You are becoming today what you will be tomorrow, so what does success look like to you? I like to think that everyone wants to impact the world somehow, making it a little bit better because each of us was here, at least for the people around us. A perfectly refined character is far more valuable than success, but if you have a godly character and make yourself available to God, you will experience both. Aim to be someone rather than to do something.

Dr. Lloyd-Jones, the writer and pastor, used to say that the worst thing that can happen to a person is for him to be successful before he's ready. We only have to look at our sports heroes to see how fame and recognition can destroy a person's life if one does not have the character base to accompany the level of notoriety. Without a refined character, the inner man fails under such popularity, and many often fall into pride and sin. We can discuss Richard Nixon, Bill Clinton, Tiger Woods, Bernie Madoff, and others. What kind of task or measure of success can God entrust to you? 

Martin Luther, the reformer, was entrusted with bringing the Church back to the Bible. When the most powerful men in all of Europe wanted him to abandon his faith in Christ as revealed in the Scriptures, he would not recant from living according to the sacred writings. When Luther appeared before the court of Emperor Charles V, he was presented with a stack of his writings and was called upon to recant or retract his beliefs. Luther replied, "Unless I can be instructed and convinced with evidence from the Holy Scriptures or with open, clear, and distinct grounds of reasoning, then I cannot and will not recant because it is neither safe nor wise to act against conscience." Then he added: "Here I stand. I can do no other. God help me! Amen." Luther recalled that day before his death. "I was afraid of nothing; God can make one so desperately bold."[1]

A godly character like Martin Luther only comes about through long preparation in the furnace of suffering. What about the training of Joseph, the son of Jacob? God had to work on Joseph if he was to accomplish all that God had planned for him—to save his family from the famine and ruin that lay several years ahead. Joseph wasn’t ready for the responsibility that God had for him; instead, he was arrogantly parading himself in the coat his father had made for him, a rich coat of many colors that told all who was boss. When his father sent him to Dothan to check on his brothers, he wore the robe. Don't you think that was a bit foolish? The robe distinguished him as the heir of Jacob's clan or dynasty. He was also boasting to his brothers that they would bow down before him, a skinny kid of seventeen. God’s way of preparing him for the throne of Egypt was to be rejected by his brothers, thrown into a pit, sold as an enslaved person, charged unjustly with attempted rape, and finally end up in a dungeon. Perhaps you have also wondered why you are going through various trials. I can't say I know what God is doing in your life, just as I don't always understand what He is doing in my life, but I know we can trust Him. Keith Thomas

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[1]J. Oswald Sanders, Spiritual Leadership, Moody Bible Institute. Page 60.