The Dream of Joseph

1. Date: 12/11/22

2. Sermon Title: The Dream of Joseph

3. Context: Genesis 50:15-21

(Genesis 50:15) When Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, "What if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him?"

(Genesis 50:16) So they sent word to Joseph, saying, "Your father left these instructions before he died:

(Genesis 50:17) 'This is what you are to say to Joseph: I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins and the wrongs they committed in treating you so badly.' Now please forgive the sins of the servants of the God of your father." When their message came to him, Joseph wept.

(Genesis 50:18) His brothers then came and threw themselves down before him. "We are your slaves," they said.

(Genesis 50:19) But Joseph said to them, "Don't be afraid. Am I in the place of God?

(Genesis 50:20) You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.

(Genesis 50:21) So then, don't be afraid. I will provide for you and your children." And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.

4. Preaching Note 

1) Joseph’s Challenges

Jacob had twelve sons. The eleventh son is Joseph. Jacob was especially fond of Joseph. So his brothers were jealous of Joseph. One day his brothers were tending sheep in Shechem, and Joseph went to his brothers on an errand for his father. The brothers threw Joseph into a deep pit to get rid of him. “Now, let us kill him, throw him into some pit, and have him eaten by wild beasts. And let us see what becomes of his dreams” (Genesis 37:20). Joseph fell into a deep pit and was unable to do anything. However, Joseph's life does not end in the deep pit.

     Merchants were passing by. They were going to Egypt. One of the brothers, Judas, offered to sell Joseph into slavery. So he took Joseph out of the pit and sold him into slavery. Joseph was sold as a slave to an Egyptian bodyguard named Potiphar.

     Joseph was a good-looking and handsome man. While Potiphar was at work, Potiphar's wife seduced Joseph. Joseph vigorously repelled it and on the way, his clothes came off. Joseph went out, and Potiphar's wife, embarrassed, called her servants and accused Joseph of taking off her outer garment and trying to rape her. So Joseph ended up in prison. Joseph couldn't do anything. But Joseph's life does not end in prison.

Q.1 What do I struggle with the most?

2) Joseph’s Dream

The king of Egypt had a dream. Joseph interpreted the dream. “There will be seven years of plenty followed by seven years of famine. Stock up on rice for a good harvest. Then this country will become a great power.” According to Joseph's interpretation, there were seven years of plenty and seven years of famine. There was nothing to eat in other countries. Only Egypt had rice. Other countries came to Egypt to borrow rice. Egypt became a great power. The king of Egypt praised Joseph as “a man with the Spirit of God.” Joseph became prime minister.

     There was no rice in Jacob's house either. Joseph's brothers went to Egypt to borrow rice. In the Prime Minister's seat was Joseph, whom they had sold into slavery. They thought, 'Now we are dead!' At this time, Joseph speaks to his brothers. “But don't worry now. Don't beat yourself up either. My brothers sold me into this place, but God sent me here before my brothers to save our lives” (Genesis 45:5).

    Joseph's brothers were afraid of Joseph's retribution. The brothers convey Jacob's will to Joseph, saying, 'Joseph must forgive his brothers'. The brothers visit Joseph. Joseph tells his brothers. “Don't be afraid. Would I even take the place of God?” (v. 19). “My brothers tried to harm me, but God turned it into good, and saved countless lives like today” (v. 20).

Q.2 What am I looking at in front of hardship?

3) The Lesson of Joseph’s Story

The key lesson of Joseph's story is in verse 20 of today's text. Joseph's older brothers tried to harm their younger brother, but God changed it for good and saved countless lives. This includes faith in God as the lord of historical providence and in His history of salvation. It is the best moment that most effectively explains God’s historical providence, which holds the thread of all human destiny and controls it from behind the scenes.

     We are beings with many evil thoughts and plans. However, today's text tells us that these human’s evil plans cannot change God's plan. It is said that human’s evil destroys the order of nature, but God turns the evil into good. This is called ‘God’s savior’. Through this story of Joseph, we can learn absolute trust in God's historical providence and His will to save us. The apostle Paul expressed this great faith this way: “I am sure. Neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in the Lord Jesus Christ. No” (Romans 8:38-39).

Through today's text, we can learn how great faith is to read God's providence and his will to save, which never ceases even in our finiteness and difficult reality. In fact, it is not easy to comprehend God's providence. It's because we normally experience 'the silence of God'. Paradoxically, however, God's silence contains an infinite message, and the true believer is the one who tries to grasp God's will here. In other words, the person who develops the ability to accept God's silence as an answer is one who walks the right path of faith. I sincerely hope that this Winter break will be a good opportunity to further improve your ability to read God's message in silence.

Q.3 What is your dream?