Joseph
happened to be the eleventh and the favorite of Jacob's twelve
children. Even his name in Hebrew, Yosef (He will add) points at
abundance,whether it is in terms of adding another child to his
mother or regarding material abundance.
The
story of Joseph is a very uncommon destiny. Hashem speaks to Joseph
through dreams and also confers him the ability to interpret other
people's dreams.
Rejected
and unloved by most of his brothers, misunderstood by his own father,
Joseph will literally endorse the role
of a savior towards his family.
Joseph
prefigures the mission of our Messiah (who is ben Yosef as well as
ben David).
When
Hashem chooses you to fulfill His purpose, do not expect relatives
and friends to understand you. You might even get misinterpreted or
misquoted in many ways.
The
story, as told in Genesis
37,
tells us about two specific dreams young Joseph had. It also shows us
that Joseph was disliked by many of his brothers. Apparently, Jacob's
concubines' sons were misbehaving, and Joseph was reporting their
behavior to his father.
The
simple fact of reporting their bad behavior must have caused
resentment in Joseph's brothers' hearts. But Jacob's wholehearted love
for Joseph fired the fuel of their jealousy even more.
So
when Joseph came up with his first dream, even if the dream was
expressed in the form of a parable, it increased their hatred and
jealousy. Joseph was being favored, even in his dreams, and they were
symbolically bowing before him.
Joseph
addresses his brothers:
“Hear this dream
that I have dreamed:
Behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and
behold,my sheaf arose and stood upright. And behold, your sheaves
gathered around it and bowed down to my sheaf.”
The
thought of Joseph ruling over them was just unbearable. He must have
seemed so presumptuous to his brothers, because according to the
story, they did not walk in righteousness.
His
brothers are already fuming. Then Joseph comes up with a second
dream :
« Behold,
I have dreamed another dream. Behold, the sun, the moon and the
eleven stars were bowing before me. »
Joseph's
second dream causes him even to be rebuked by his own father.
Joseph's Hashem sent dreams are mistaken for misplaced pride and they
will dramatically change Joseph's destiny.
His
brothers are plotting to kill him. Despite his eldest brother,
Reuben's efforts to bring him back to his father, Joseph will be sold
to the Ismaelites and brought to Egypt. Jacob will live for years
with the thought that his beloved son is dead, gone forever from his
life.
One
can imagine that he will report most of his affection on Benjamin,
his twelvth and last son.
Dreams,
visions and Hashem's plan
God
often uses dreams and visions to speak to us. We know that these
dreams and visions come from Him, because they are very symbolic and
part of the divine universe.
Even
at a time I hadn't given my heart to Yeshua, I received an amazing
amount of visions, back in 1996. I knew they were God-given. I saw
Torah scrolls flying in the sky and was even taken once to the Mount
of Olives during my sleep.
Sometimes,
like in Joseph's case the symbols that appear in our dreams, can
contain Hashem's plan for the future. They are not always easy to
decrypt and sometimes we are only capable of reading their very
meaning backwards.
We
must realize that Hashem's vision is much bigger than one individual.
Our human vision is very short sighted if we compare it with our
Lord's wide and global vision.
Joseph
suffered for a while, but through his destiny, Hashem saved Israel
from the famine.
Increase
your trust in Hashem. Whatever is part of the plan is good, even if
you don't understand the why's yet.
Copyright©
by Isabelle Esling
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