Fulfillment of a vision

Fulfillment of a vision

Introduction

Genesis 41:41 “And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, See, I have set thee over all the land of Egypt.”

            The above verse marks the fulfillment of the eternal vision that the Lord had concerning the life of Joseph. We see Joseph reaches the stage in life where he literally experiences his visions being fulfilled. Visions and dreams are not new to Joseph. He was filled with divine dreams right from his young age. In Genesis 37:2 ‘These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren; and the lad was with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives: and Joseph brought unto his father their evil report.’ Until the age of seventeen Joseph was filled with dreams and at the same time he faced oppositions for the same. In Genesis 41:46 ‘And Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went throughout all the land of Egypt.’ At the age of thirty, Joseph stood before the king and he witnesses the fulfillment of his dreams.

            The book of Genesis chapters 37 to 41 mentions three important dreams in the life of Joseph. As a part of today’s meditation let us meditate how Joseph stood firm in his visions amidst of all troubles.

Vision amidst oppositions

Genesis 37:5 ‘And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and they hated him yet the more.’

Opposition from family - When Joseph shares his dream to his brothers, they were not happy. Joseph thought that his brothers will be as excited as him. But they hated him for this cause. They did not support him nor listen to him. We read in Genesis 37:8‘And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words.’ The moment Joseph shares his dream to his brothers, they instantly started to hate him. This hatred went on to become an evil thought. In Genesis 37:18 ‘And when they saw him afar off, even before he came near unto them, they conspired against him to slay him.’ This verse we see the hatred increased to an extent where they intended to kill their own brother. But Joseph did not hide his dreams. He was faithful and honest to share this to his brothers. This was the key reason why the Lord chose him. The Lord chose Joseph to be the leader and not his brothers.

In Genesis 37:11 ‘And his brethren envied him; but his father observed the saying.’ Here we see the opposition that Joseph faced becomes a jealousy. His brothers were filled with envy. And this brings in a bitterness in their hearts. His brothers were so consumed with jealousy and evil thoughts.We read in Genesis 37:9-10 ‘And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me.

And he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth?’ According to his dream, his brothers were compared to the shining stars. This signifies that the Lord placed his brothers to the stars. But due to their own evil thoughts they failed to inherit the blessings of the Lord. Their anger and jealousy makes them to miss out the revelation of God. We see even Joseph’s father did not support his visions. Jacob who has received God’s vision in the past, fails to understand Joseph’s vision and rebukes him. Despite of all the oppositions, Joseph stood firm in his vision.

Oppositions in the society – Genesis 39:20 ‘And Joseph's master took him, and put him into the prison, a place where the king's prisoners were bound: and he was there in the prison.’  When Joseph gets closer to the fulfillment of his vision, he faced oppositions from the people around.

Visions that were forgotten

Genesis 40:23 ‘Yet did not the chief butler remember Joseph, but forgat him.’

            Here we see the chief butler receives the revelations from Joseph and forgets the same. This seems more or less a failure-like situation in the life of Joseph. In Genesis 41:1 ‘And it came to pass at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh dreamed: and, behold, he stood by the river.’ The prison life of Joseph gets extended and there was a delay for some point of time. In Genesis 41:9 ‘Then spake the chief butler unto Pharaoh, saying, I do remember my faults this day:’ Only at this point, the butler gets reminded of Joseph and he calls him from prison. Even if a man that forgotten him, the Lord himself creates a situation and reminds them to call Joseph out of prison.

Visions amidst challenge

Genesis 41:15 “And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I have dreamed a dream, and there is none that can interpret it: and I have heard say of thee, that thou canst understand a dream to interpret it.”

            This was the most important day in the life of Joseph. The King wanted Joseph to interpret his dream. The situation here is very dangerous as this can turn out to be good as well as bad. At this point, Joseph who was just a dreamer all these years transforms into an interpreter before the King. In Genesis 41:16 ‘And Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, It is not in me: God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace.’ Over here we see Joseph invites the interference of the Lord almighty to crack the dream. As Joseph believed that only the Lord almighty can guide him to interpret the dream of the King. This was the climax of the entire struggle that Joseph gone through in his entire lifetime. When Joseph interprets the dream, the king was blown away seeing his intelligence. This we read in Genesis 41:39 ‘And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Forasmuch as God hath shewed thee all this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou art:’

Therefore, we the children of God must never give up on our divine visions that the Lord has given us in our lives. Whatever be the oppositions we face, we must never lose our faith on the Lord almighty. In Habakkuk 2:3 ‘For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.’ Amen.