Every circumstance or experience presented in the Bible brings a lesson or two for us today. These lessons are worth learning and applying in our personal lives as we walk with Christ.
One such experience is that of Joseph, Jacob's most loved son (see Genesis 37:3). Aside from having a coat of many colors (which inspired a musical years ago), Joseph also had dreams which made his brothers hate him.
We find the account in Genesis 37:1-11.
What can we learn from Joseph's dreams? Let's talk about that.
The dreamer
Joseph's dreams, and the reactions he received by telling them, are found in Genesis 37:5-11.
"Joseph had a dream, and he told it to his brothers; and they hated him even more. 6 So he said to them, "Please hear this dream which I have dreamed: There we were, binding sheaves in the field. Then behold, my sheaf arose and also stood upright; and indeed your sheaves stood all around and bowed down to my sheaf."
And his brothers said to him, "Shall you indeed reign over us? Or shall you indeed have dominion over us?" So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.
Then he dreamed still another dream and told it to his brothers, and said, "Look, I have dreamed another dream. And this time, the sun, the moon, and the eleven stars bowed down to me."
So he told it to his father and his brothers; and his father rebuked him and said to him, "What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall your mother and I and your brothers indeed come to bow down to the earth before you?" And his brothers envied him, but his father kept the matter in mind."
Now what do we learn from here? Here are three things:
1) When God gives a dream, it's really beyond us
Joseph received big dreams, so big that he sounded very arrogant even to his own father.
We all know that God was the one who gave Joseph his dreams, as evidenced by his life in the future as the second most-powerful man in Egypt. Yet, at the time, Joseph was but a young man who was looked down upon by his own brothers.
When God gives a dream, it's always beyond us. It'll always be bigger than us, simply because it's from God.
2) Some may not like God's plan for us
Joseph's brothers hated him all the more for his dreams. His father even rebuked him for such "wild" dreams. Even though Joseph might not have had the slightest intention to insult or ridicule his siblings and his father, the enormity of his dream caused them to reject it.
When we receive a dream, a vision, or a goal from God, the truth is that some won't like it. There will always be a people who will not like us and won't want us to be prospered, but God is the one who has the final say.
3) God will fulfill His plans in His time
Joseph was still very young when he received the dream, and we know that it will take some time before his dream finally comes true. He was seventeen when he dreamt his dreams, and was about thirty when they came to pass (see Genesis 41:46).
When God gives us a dream, it's in His personal timeline. His plans will never fail, and He will always fulfill what He has said He will fulfill.
