Joseph approached his brothers as they were preparing to go out to tend to the herds. “You’re not going to believe the dream I had last night. It was so real, even though it doesn’t make any sense.”
Levi looked at him. “Yes, highly favored one, please share what insights you have for us. We could all use a good laugh.”
The brothers chuckled as Joseph stepped in the group. “We were all harvesting wheat one day. It was a good crop.”
Judah tapped Issachar’s arm. “This has to be a dream. I could only imagine the blisters his smooth hands would get from actually working.”
Joseph ignored the laughter. “My bundle of wheat stood tall in the middle of the field as your bundles came and stood around it. Then, your bundles bowed down to mine.”
Reuben walked up to Joseph. “Are we going to bow to you?” He bent forward. “Let me practice now.”
Joseph watched as the others mimicked the eldest sibling. Then, he walked back to his father’s tent.
A few days later Joseph came to a full breakfast table. He took his seat next to their father, Israel. “Would you like to hear my dream, Abba?”
Reuben smiled as he chewed. “Does this one involve physical labor?”
Joseph glared at him as Israel nodded. “The sun, moon and eleven stars bowed down to me.”
Israel set his food back on his plate. “Are your mother and I, along with your brothers going to bow to you one day?”
The brothers burst into laughter. Dan held a hand out. “No, I’m not going to waste my energy playing that game again. I live in the real world. I’m saving myself for important things.”
Israel stared at the table, then, at Joseph as he filled his plate.
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Joseph and his boyhood dreams make for some interesting conclusions. I’ve heard some top preachers say he ranged anywhere from arrogant to stupid for sharing his dreams with his brothers.
I don’t think he was either extreme. I believe Joseph was simply being transparent by sharing his nighttime visions. He had no idea where his life was going to end up. What would you think when you saw bundles of cut wheat stalks moving around in a field?
You see, it makes as much sense as some of your dreams of a T-rex coming toward you and your legs won’t move. He didn’t know God was showing him a glimpse of his future. They couldn’t hide their contempt for this brash younger sibling. Why would anybody think they’d bow down to him someday?
I find it interesting that Israel took note of these dreams. God had spoken to him at night. Was God using the same portal to tell Joseph something?
Good parents notice little things about their children. Mary pondered many things about Jesus. I think she later shared them with Dr. Luke as he composed his gospel account. Aren’t we all glad she did?
Does God still speak to people through dreams today?
Yes, He does, but it’s not His principle way of communicating to us. The best way for you to hear from God is by reading the Bible. The more time you spend studying it the better He’ll communicate to you. That’s why it’s so well preserved for us. It’s God’s guidebook for us to live by.
Psalm 46:10 tells us to be still, and know I’m God. The only time many of us are still is when we’re unconscious. Society has trained us to always be busy or we’re wasting our life. Quiet is too seldom worked in purposefully. That’s not God’s design.
Our daily time spent in God’s Word should be one of those times with no distractions. That’s why it’s referred to as a quiet time. Your life may be at one of those seasons where the only time that’s quiet in your home is when the baby is napping. Don’t always use that time to clean the house. Spend time with your heavenly Father. He’s waiting for you to come to Him.
I wonder how often Joseph thought about these dreams of his. It wouldn’t be the last time dreams would play a role in his life. Other people would come to him to interpret their dreams. That ability would lead to his rise in power.
I also wonder if, when Joseph’s brothers came to Egypt to buy food during the famine, did he hear the wheat bundles bending when they bowed down to him?
Don’t discount all of your dreams. Some of them may be God talking to you. I’ve had a scene to a book I’ve been working on play out in a dream. It was so funny I woke up laughing. Oh, yeah, you’ll read it someday
I had a dream repeat when I was about ten. In it I was behind the barn and I flew above the apple trees there. The first time I was alone. The next time my mom was with me. The take-away for me was the confidence that someday Jesus would tell me to fly.
I knew it likely wouldn’t be actual levitation, but something I shouldn’t be able to do on my own. Writing is the answer to that riddle in my life. Sometimes I shake my head at some of the things I write. My first thought is often. “I didn’t just write that. Did I?”
I have a friend who was preaching at a church and was led to further his training at a seminary because of a dream.
Yeah, God still uses dreams to talk to His children. Don’t feel bad if He doesn’t use them for you. Most people are’t given dreams to guide them, otherwise that T-rex would eat them.
Invest your time studying the Bible. You’ll learn about God in there and you’ll see yourself in there, too.
Yeah, the Bible is as much a mirror as it is a window.
I’ll see you later. Wade
Good blog, Wade.
Blessings…DiAne
Thanks for stopping by and commenting, DiAne.