“Come on, let’s kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns. We can tell our father, ‘A wild animal has eaten him.’ Then we’ll see what becomes of his dreams!” [Genesis 37.20]
It occurred to me today that Joseph did not interpret his dreams but instead, simply told them to his brothers and father. THEY interpreted them.
One night Joseph had a dream, and when he told his brothers about it, they hated him more than ever. “Listen to this dream,” he said. “We were out in the field, tying up bundles of grain. Suddenly my bundle stood up, and your bundles all gathered around and bowed low before mine!” His brothers responded, “So you think you will be our king, do you? Do you actually think you will reign over us?” And they hated him all the more because of his dreams and the way he talked about them. Soon Joseph had another dream, and again he told his brothers about it. “Listen, I have had another dream,” he said. “The sun, moon, and eleven stars bowed low before me!” This time he told the dream to his father as well as to his brothers, but his father scolded him. “What kind of dream is that?” he asked. “Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow to the ground before you?” [Genesis 37.5-10]
So, Joseph's brothers intended to harm Joseph because of their own interpretation of his dreams. I wonder where they got their interpretation? Rather than trying to understand what the dreams might mean (as his father Jacob did after Joseph's second dream), they imagined the worst.
Jacob's sons' imagination of the worst was not unlike Eve's imagination of the worst that God would withhold the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Instead of having the patient faith and foresight to believe God had a plan that would reveal itself, Eve believed evil of God.
It is the work of Satan to plant these imaginations in the minds of men. These imaginations are, at their core, deception. Jesus defined Satan's modus operandi well:
For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies. [John 8.44]
Even though they believed the worst, Joseph's brothers indeed saw what became of Joseph's dreams as they themselves predicted! We will see later that Joseph explained it quite well:
You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people. [Genesis 50.20]
Sometimes, we are so dumb that we believe the imaginations of Satan, think the worst, and fight the very blessings of God.
So, here is a good place to put a plug in for the necessity of God's Word (truth) in our lives:
We are human, but we don’t wage war as humans do. We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ. [2 Corinthians 10.3-5]
Interestingly enough, let's look at this same passage in the King James Version:
For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; [2 Corinthians 10.3-5 KJV]
Through obedience to Christ (the Living Word of God), we cast down what??? Imaginations!
In the New Living Translation version of this passage, it describes imaginations as human reasoning and false arguments. When you combine human reasoning with Satan's false arguments (lies), disaster lies ahead.
Not ironically, Paul described love as follows:
Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. [1 Corinthians 13.4-7 (underline mine for emphasis)]
So, how do we tie all this together? It seems prudent that we be a little more controlled in our thoughts about our circumstances (whatever they may be). By "controlled" I mean subject to, and believing, the "good" God intends instead of believing the lies of Satan whispered to us in our own thoughts. We do this by knowing and trusting God's character (by knowing His Word) and striving for that character in our own lives (by living like Jesus in every way possible).
Father, forgive me for believing Satan's lies whispered into my thoughts whether regarding people or circumstances. I want to know You as You have revealed Yourself in Jesus!
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