THE DREAMER
MIKE CUNNINGHAM
JANUARY 27, 2013 SERMON

Almost 63 years ago I was a scrawny 17-year-old-kid who wanted to serve in the U. S. Coast Guard more than anything else in the world. I dreamed of being stationed aboard one of their Weather Patrol cutter’s up in the freezing North Atlantic during the Korean Conflict. I wanted to experience the thrill of being on the ship while it was being battered by 100 foot waves as it tried to navigate through the fog shrouded nights away from huge icebergs. This morning I’m going to talk about another 17 year old guy who lived thousands of years ago. He also had a dream. His name is Joseph and the Bible tells us that he had lots of them. For instance,

1 Meanwhile Jacob had settled down where his father had lived, the land of Canaan. 2 This is the story of Jacob. The story continues with Joseph, seventeen years old at the time, helping out his brothers in herding the flocks. These were his half brothers actually, the sons of his father’s wives Bilhah and Zilpah. And Joseph brought his father bad reports on them. 3 Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons because he was the child of his old age. And he made him an elaborately embroidered coat. 4 When his brothers realized that their father loved him more than them, they grew to hate him—they wouldn’t even speak to him.

5 Joseph had a dream. When he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more. 6 He said, “Listen to this dream I had. 7 We were all out in the field gathering bundles of wheat. All of a sudden my bundle stood straight up and your bundles circled around it and bowed down to mine.” 8 His brothers said, “So! You’re going to rule us? You’re going to boss us around?” And they hated him more than ever because of his dreams and the way he talked. 9 He had another dream and told this one also to his brothers: “I dreamed another dream—the sun and moon and eleven stars bowed down to me!” 10 When he told it to his father and brothers, his father reprimanded him: “What’s with all this dreaming? Am I and your mother and your brothers all supposed to bow down to you?” 11 Now his brothers were really jealous; but his father brooded over the whole business.

12 His brothers had gone off to Shechem where they were pasturing their father’s flocks. 13 Israel said to Joseph, “Your brothers are with flocks in Shechem. Come, I want to send you to them.” Joseph said, “I’m ready.” 14 He said, “Go and see how your brothers and the flocks are doing and bring me back a report.” He sent him off from the valley of Hebron to Shechem. 15 A man met him as he was wandering through the fields and asked him, “What are you looking for?” 16 “I’m trying to find my brothers. Do you have any idea where they are grazing their flocks?” 17 The man said, “They’ve left here, but I overheard them say, ‘Let’s go to Dothan.’
” So Joseph took off, tracked his brothers down, and found them in Dothan. 18 They spotted him off in the distance. By the time he got to them they had cooked up a plot to kill him. 19 The brothers were saying, “Here comes that dreamer. 20 Let’s kill him and throw him into one of these old cisterns; we can say that a vicious animal ate him up. We’ll see what his dreams amount to.” 21 Reuben heard the brothers talking and intervened to save him, “We’re not going to kill him. 22 No murder. Go ahead and throw him in this cistern out here in the wild, but don’t hurt him.” Reuben planned to go back later and get him out and take him back to his father.

23 When Joseph reached his brothers, they ripped off the fancy coat he was wearing, 24 grabbed him, and threw him into a cistern. The cistern was dry; there wasn’t any water in it. 25 Then they sat down to eat their supper. Looking up, they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites on their way from Gilead, their camels loaded with spices, ointments, and perfumes to sell in Egypt. 26 Judah said, “Brothers, what are we going to get out of killing our brother and concealing the evidence? 27 Let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites, but let’s not kill him—he is, after all, our brother, our own flesh and blood.” His brothers agreed.

28 By that time the Midianite traders were passing by. His brothers pulled Joseph out of the cistern and sold him for twenty pieces of silver to the Ishmaelites who took Joseph with them down to Egypt. 29 Later Reuben came back and went to the cistern—no Joseph! He ripped his clothes in despair. 30 Beside himself, he went to his brothers. “The boy’s gone! What am I going to do!” 31 They took Joseph’s coat, butchered a goat, and dipped the coat in the blood. 32 They took the fancy coat back to their father and said, “We found this. Look it over—do you think this is your son’s coat?” 33 He recognized it at once. “My son’s coat—a wild animal has eaten him. Joseph torn limb from limb!”

34 Jacob tore his clothes in grief, dressed in rough burlap, and mourned his son a long, long time. 35 His sons and daughters tried to comfort him but he refused their comfort. “I’ll go to the grave mourning my son.” Oh, how his father wept for him. 36 In Egypt the Midianites sold Joseph to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s officials, manager of his household affairs. Genesis 37:1-36 (MSG)

1 After Joseph had been taken to Egypt by the Ishmaelites, Potiphar an Egyptian, one of Pharaoh’s officials and the manager of his household, bought him from them. 2 As it turned out, GOD was with Joseph and things went very well with him. He ended up living in the home of his Egyptian master. 3 His master recognized that GOD was with him, saw that GOD was working for good in everything he did. 4 He became very fond of Joseph and made him his personal aide. He put him in charge of all his personal affairs, turning everything over to him. 5 From that moment on, GOD blessed the home of the Egyptian—all because of Joseph. The blessing of GOD spread over everything he owned, at home and in the fields, 6 and all Potiphar had to concern himself with was eating three meals a day.

Joseph was a strikingly handsome man. 7 As time went on, his master’s wife became
infatuated with Joseph and one day said, “Sleep with me.” 8 He wouldn’t do it. He said to his master’s wife, “Look, with me here, my master doesn’t give a second thought to anything that goes on here—he’s put me in charge of everything he owns. 9 He treats me as an equal. The only thing he hasn’t turned over to me is you. You’re his wife, after all! How could I violate his trust and sin against God?”

10 She pestered him day after day after day, but he stood his ground. He refused to go to bed with her. 11 On one of these days he came to the house to do his work and none of the household servants happened to be there. 12 She grabbed him by his cloak, saying, “Sleep with me!” He left his coat in her hand and ran out of the house. 13 When she realized that he had left his coat in her hand and run outside, 14 she called to her house servants: “Look—this Hebrew shows up and before you know it he’s trying to seduce us. He tried to make love to me but I yelled as loud as I could. 15 With all my yelling and screaming, he left his coat beside me here and ran outside.”

16 She kept his coat right there until his master came home. 17 She told him the same story. She said, “The Hebrew slave, the one you brought to us, came after me and tried to use me for his plaything. 18 When I yelled and screamed, he left his coat with me and ran outside.” 19 When his master heard his wife’s story, telling him, “These are the things your slave did to me,” he was furious. 20 Joseph’s master took him and threw him into the jail where the king’s prisoners were locked up.

But there in jail 21 GOD was still with Joseph: He reached out in kindness to him; he put him on good terms with the head jailer. 22 The head jailer put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners—he ended up managing the whole operation. 23 The head jailer gave Joseph free rein, never even checked on him, because GOD was with him; whatever he did GOD made sure it worked out for the best. Genesis 39:1-23 (MSG)

1 As time went on, it happened that the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt crossed their master, the king of Egypt. 2 Pharaoh was furious with his two officials, the head cupbearer and the head baker, 3 and put them in custody under the captain of the guard; it was the same jail where Joseph was held. 4 The captain of the guard assigned Joseph to see to their needs. After they had been in custody for a while, 5 the king’s cupbearer and baker, while being held in the jail, both had a dream on the same night, each dream having its own meaning.

6 When Joseph arrived in the morning, he noticed that they were feeling low. 7 So he asked them, the two officials of Pharaoh who had been thrown into jail with him, “What’s wrong? Why the long faces?” 8 They said, “We dreamed dreams and there’s no one to interpret them.” Joseph said, “Don’t interpretations come from God? Tell me the dreams.” 9 First the head cupbearer told his dream to Joseph: “In my dream there was a vine in front of me 10 with three branches on it: It budded, blossomed, and the clusters ripened into grapes. 11 I was holding Pharaoh’s cup; I took the grapes, squeezed them into Pharaoh’s cup, and gave the cup to Pharaoh.”

12 Joseph said, “Here’s the meaning. The three branches are three days. 13 Within three days, Pharaoh will get you out of here and put you back to your old work—you’ll be giving Pharaoh his cup just as you used to do when you were his cupbearer. 14 Only remember me when things are going well with you again—tell Pharaoh about me and get me out of this place. 15 I was kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews. And since I’ve been here, I’ve done nothing to deserve being put in this hole.” 16 When the head baker saw how well Joseph’s interpretation turned out, he spoke up: “My dream went like this: I saw three wicker baskets on my head; 17 the top basket had assorted pastries from the bakery and birds were picking at them from the basket on my head.” 18 Joseph said, “This is the interpretation: The three baskets are three days; 19 within three days Pharaoh will take off your head, impale you on a post, and the birds will pick your bones clean.”

20 And sure enough, on the third day it was Pharaoh’s birthday and he threw a feast for all his servants. He set the head cupbearer and the head baker in places of honor in the presence of all the guests. 21 Then he restored the head cupbearer to his cupbearing post; he handed Pharaoh his cup just as before. 22 And then he impaled the head baker on a post, following Joseph’s interpretations exactly. 23 But the head cupbearer never gave Joseph another thought; he forgot all about him. Genesis 40:1-23 (MSG)

I plan to continue this story next week; however, I have some thoughts about today’s message that I want to leave with you first. How do you think you would feel if you were one of Joseph’s brothers? Would you hate Joseph and treat him with contempt by giving him the silent treatment as his brothers did? Would you become angry, bitter and resentful? And what do you think of his dad? It’s obvious that Joseph was his favorite kid? Look at the way he treated Joseph. Have any of you folks lived in a family where one of your siblings was obviously loved more than the others? I have and it was very noticeable. I didn’t like it. It wasn’t fair. It was wrong. I was the favorite child!

Do you think Joseph was simply a naïve’ 17 year old kid, or was he behaving like a proud braggart? Did you notice how one of Joseph’s dreams finally got his father’s attention and troubled the old man greatly? He became deeply concerned, didn’t he? Suppose you were in the father’s shoes. What kind of thoughts do you think might be flooding through your mind?

Here’s something else to think about. What do you think of Ruben? He turned out to be a good guy, right? Wrong! Commenting on those verses, the ESV Study Bible informs us that: “While Reuben’s action may have been prompted by inappropriate lust, it challenged Jacob’s position as head of the household. As the firstborn son, Reuben may also have viewed his action as establishing HIS authority over his brothers. (See 2 Samuel 16:20-23). Yet it had the opposite effect (see 1 Chronicles 5: 1-2) also the note on Genesis 48: 3-7). Although initially Jacob takes no immediate action-implied by the narrator’s brief comment, Israel heard of it-he later denies Reuben his preeminence as the firstborn (49:3-4). Although Jacob’s actions run counter to the provisions for inheritance in Deuteronomy 21:15-17, the unseemly behavior of Reuben means that he will not inherit what he otherwise would have received.”

Do you see why it’s so important not to rush and judge someone guilty without having examined all of the evidence? The fact is that all of us sometimes jump to erroneous conclusions. Stop and think of all the harm something like that can cause. Some people have been shunned and families have been torn apart. Folks have been passed over for promotion, while others have been denied a mortgage or auto loan. People have been tried and convicted without having been given the opportunity of defending him or herself. If the gossips get a hold of certain misinformation they have a field day. It whets their insatiable appetites because they take pleasure in sowing seeds of doubt, anger, bitterness, resentment and hatred while they slander someone that doesn’t measure up to their expectations.

Parental favoritism often fans the flames of jealousy, envy, anger, bitterness and hatred. Let’s take a moment and think about the kind of thoughts that would be racing through your mind if you were in Joseph’s shoes. In his book, “Dangerous Calling,” Peter Paul Tripp wrote that Joseph “Would not give in [to Potiphar’s wife]. Why? It wasn’t fear of consequences, or what he had learned from past experiences, or his skill at negotiating the complicated relationships of the palace. Genesis 39 tells us clearly what motivated Joseph at this critical-choice point in his life. You see, he was able to resist because of the deep heart devotion he had to his Lord. His heart was not ruled by horizontal pleasure but by vertical worship. He could not conceive of doing such a wicked thing against God. A glory greater than the temporary glories of the created world had captured his heart, and so he spoke with an immediate, emphatic, and heartfelt no,” pg. 66

“The Dreamer” was in love with God. He didn’t become bitter or resentful. He didn’t obsess over what he would do to his brothers when he was finally released from jail. He didn’t worry himself sick by fearing what the future held for him. Nor did he throw himself into a depression.

Finally, where was God during this time? What was He doing? For starters, we will see that He was ruling the world that He created just as He planned back in eternity past.

1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus: Ephesians 1:1 (NIV) 3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will– 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace 8 that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. 9 And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10 to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment–to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ. Ephesians 1:3-10 (NIV)

I hope that I’ve given each of you folks enough “food for thought” for this Lord’s Day and that He turns it into a blessing for you and everyone who reads it later.

Lord willing, next week ….