Dreamer, nothing but a dreamer. Part 2

Last week we started looking at Joseph. If you’re anything like me you went back and looked again and again.

It’s a nice visual, that’s all I’m saying.

By the end of the post last week I was feeling just awful for poor Joseph. He had been thrown in a pit by his brothers, hit on by some married old lady, thrown in jail for standing up for what he believed in and had been separated from his family for years. That poor kid! It’s a rough life, even if you are ridiculously good looking.

This week as we continue on with the story of Joseph, things become a bit clearer. It suddenly makes sense why he had to go through so much to get to a place where he could be used by God.

We were starting to see little clues of the way that God was going to be using Joseph for his ministry. The fact that he went on this crazy rollercoaster ride of responsibility was one of the major ways we saw God’s influence; there was no way that on his own Joseph could continually rise higher and higher after falling so low every time. In Genesis 41 it becomes glaringly obvious that this was all part of God’s plan to call Joseph into his service.

We don’t see the glaring white light like Paul (Saul) saw on the road to Damascus; Joseph doesn’t have his lips purified by seraphs like Isaiah; there isn’t even any “and the word of the Lord came upon him.” Joseph and God never have this tête-à-tête where they discuss what path Joseph’s ministry is going to take. Instead, Joseph’s call just happens as an inevitable result of the circumstances of his life. As I stated eearlier, by the end of last week I was feeling bad for poor Joseph. This week, however, it made sense.

Let’s pretend for a moment that Joseph’s brothers had not sold him to the Ishmaelites. This would mean that Joseph would never have made it to Egypt and definitely wouldn’t have made his way to be right-hand man to the Pharaoh. If he hadn’t been thrown in jail he wouldn’t have been made known to the Pharaoh. Even his time serving in a position of authority for both Potiphar and in the jail made him and ideal candidate to, in essence, rule alongside the Pharaoh.

One of the greatest lines comes up in Genesis 41:15-16, where Pharaoh is all like “Mmmm, hey there, can you interpret my dream?” And then Joseph is all like, “Actually, I can’t do that, yep, I have no interpreting ability at all!” I can only imagine the atmosphere all around with him saying that. The cupbearer is fearing for his life, he was the one who made the recommendation. The bystanders are wondering why he wouldn’t just make something up! The Pharaoh is steamed because nobody, that’s right, NOBODY, says no to Pharaoh!!! And following that split second of tension, Joseph follows up by saying “But I’m sure God can give you the answer you’re looking for.”

And this becomes Joseph’s standard response. He avoids taking credit for the things that are done because he realizes that all of this is coming from God. When he tells Pharaoh to appoint a wise and discerning man to essentially rule over the land, he never suggests himself as that man. Instead Pharaoh sees Joseph’s wisdom through the faith that he has in God. Joseph does not seek out Pharaoh to show how astute he is. He never says more than he needs to in order to seem wiser. Instead, he says what needs to be said and gives all credit to God. This is in essence his call; to believe in God and to give God the credit for these amazing acts of faith.

Too bad we’re not called to do the same.