When some Midianite traders passed by, they (his brothers) drew Joseph up, lifting him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt. . . . Meanwhile, the Midianites had sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard. Genesis 37: 28, 36, NRSV.
Holy God, we are amazed at Your powerful control over the lives of Your children. Help us to rest in the assurance that we are safe in Your keeping. Please reveal this to us as we study Your Word. In the blessed name of Jesus we pray. Amen.
During the past week I read this rabbinic story, which was the springboard for this series on, “Guarding our Dreams.” I will bring it to you verbatim, as I believe, to do otherwise, would fail to make the impression that I believe is important.
“In far-off Krakow, back when sleep was still often disturbed by dreams, there lived one Eisik, son of Yekel, a poor man whose family seldom ate their fill. One night in a dream he saw the distant city of Prague, noticing that there was a certain bridge over the Vlatava with a treasure buried beneath it. The dream was so vivid that he couldn’t forget it, especially when it kept recurring every night for two weeks. So finally, in order to exorcise the demon from his mind, he determined to walk all the way to Prague to see for himself. After several days he arrived in the city-recognizing it from his dream-found the bridge and went underneath it to locate the treasure. But suddenly a soldier grabbed him by the back of the neck and took him away to prison for questioning. There he was asked what he was doing prowling under the bridge. Not knowing what else to say, he blurted out the truth. He said he was looking for a treasure that he had imagined in a dream. Impulsively the soldier broke into laughter and scoffed, ‘You stupid Jew! Don’t you know that you can’t trust what you see in dreams? Why, for the last two weeks I myself have dreamt that far away in Krakow, in the house of one Jew, Eisik, son of Yekel, there is a treasure buried under the stove in his kitchen. But wouldn’t it be the most idiotic thing in the world if I were to go all the way there to look for it? In a city where there must be a hundred Eisiks, sons of Yekel! Where one could waste a lifetime looking for a treasure that doesn’t exist!’ Still laughing, the soldier gave him a kick and let him go. Then Eisik, son of Yekel, walked back to Krakow, to his own home, where he moved the stove in his kitchen, found the treasure buried there, and lived to a ripe old age as a rich man.” Sometimes God can use even our enemies, to lead us to the fulfillment of our dream(s).
Under any circumstances, but especially under adverse circumstances, the key ingredient is, trust in God. Joseph could have become so disillusioned with everything that was going on in his life, that he might have given up his faith in God, and forgotten about his dreams. But it was, I believe, precisely, his faith in God, that kept him from giving up on God and his dreams. His behavior in the prison, and before Potiphar’s wife, are evidence that he would trust God, come what may!
When his brothers sold him to the Midianites, I am almost sure, they said to themselves, or, among themselves: “We are looking at the end of the dreamer and his dreams.” Thank God, for their sakes, and the sake of the civilizations of their day, that their “prophetic prognostic” was false. The dream that God had put in Joseph’s heart was about to come true, and would save the lives of many people! Without him realizing it, God was using the threads of adversity in the fabric of Joseph’s life to produce a masterpiece of integrity, ability, and prosperity! You see, my friends, God is the Master Artist. Let Him have whatever is going on in Your life. He will take it and weave it, paint, it, or sculpt it, whatever is necessary. But when He gives it back to you, it will be everything you ever dreamed of, and then some! After all, it is He who gave you the dream!
We will continue our conversation tomorrow.